Iraqi premier makes rare visit to Syria amid Arab normalization

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday visited neighboring Syria, marking a growing Arab normalization with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The official visit was the first by an Iraqi premier to war-torn Syria in more than a decade. Al-Sudani met al-Assad, who said the visit would mark a “practical leap” in ties between the two countries. In mid-2014, the Islamic State extremist organization overran large swathes of northern Iraq.

Shortly thereafter, the hardline jihadists proclaimed a caliphate, which also included the regions they controlled in Syria.