US defense chief makes surprise visit to Baghdad

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for talks with U.S. military commanders, seeking ways to intensify the fight against Islamic State militants.

Carter said earlier at the start of his trip to the Middle East that he would be speaking to commanders to "get their latest reading on the battlefield situation and also very importantly their thinking about ways that we can continue to accelerate the campaign to defeat ISIL".

Islamic State, also called ISIS or ISIL, is a Sunni hardline group that has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.