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The two discussed
the situation in Syria and the war on Islamic State in a phone
call from Pence following Friday's U.S. strikes on a Syrian
airbase to punish a chemical attack that killed scores of
civilians this week in an area held by the opposition to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
Pence "affirmed that U.S. policy in the region didn't change,
its priority is to defeat Daesh in Iraq and the region," said a
statement from Abadi's office.
The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government issued a statement on Friday in
reaction to the events in Syria reflecting a difficult balancing
act between its alliance with the United States and with Shi'ite
Iran, a key backer of Assad.The Iraqi statement condemned the
chemical attack, without naming Assad, calling instead for an
international investigation to identify the perpetrator.
The statement also criticized "the hasty interventions" that
followed the chemical attack, in an apparent reference to the
U.S. strikes.
A U.S.-led coalition has been providing air and ground support
to Iraqi forces battling the militants, allowing them to
recapture most cities they had overran in 2014 in Sunni areas of
northern and western Iraq.
An Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militia said on Friday it would
keep on fighting in Syria in support of Assad, despite the U.S.
missile strikes.
"Our movement is proceeding on the path of jihad and resistance,
and our position concerning the war in Syria won't change,"
al-Nujaba spokesman Hashim al-Musawi said in a statement.
Al-Nujaba is one of the groups accused by human rights
organizations of killing scores of fleeing civilians in the
Syrian city of Aleppo last year.
Iran, by leveraging its ties with Iraq's Shi'ites, has emerged
as the main power broker in Iraq after the United States
withdrew its troops in 2011.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Jason Neely)
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