Trump's son-in-law lands 16km from Mosul

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner travelled with a top US general to an Iraqi base 16 kilometres from Mosul today and voiced hope the city’s eventual recapture from Daesh would be “a victory for the world”.

Kushner was on the second day of a trip to Iraq as the guest of Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The visit to the Hammam Al-Alil base allowed them to get an operational briefing from Iraqi and US commanders.

Read: Size of Mosul crisis exceeds UN current capacity

The visit comes as Trump examines ways to accelerate a US-led coalition campaign that Washington and Iraq say has so far been largely successful in uprooting Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

During the visit, Kushner said the partnership between US and Iraqi troops was “very impressive”. He expressed hope that the collaboration would be enduring, signalling White House interest in longer-term US military assistance.

I hope the victory that you have in Mosul in the near future will not just be a victory for the American and Iraqi troops but it will be a victory for the world.

The trip has been Kushner’s first to Iraq and the visit to Hamman al-Alil, where US advisors and artillery are positioned to assist the battle in Mosul, was also the closest Dunford has gotten to Mosul since the campaign began.

Daesh condemns Trump

On Tuesday, Daesh issued its first official remarks referring to Trump since he assumed the US presidency in January, describing him as an “idiot.”

“You (the US) are bankrupt and the signs of your demise are evident to every eye,” spokesman Abi al-Hassan al-Muhajer said in a recording released on the messaging network Telegram.

“There is no more evidence than (that) you being run by an idiot who does not know what Syria or Iraq or Islam is.”

Even after Mosul and other pockets of territory are recaptured, US officials expect Daesh to go underground and fight on as a more traditional insurgency.

Kushner’s trip was his first to Iraq and the visit to Hammam al-Alil, where US advisers and artillery are positioned to assist the battle in Mosul, was also the closest Dunford has gotten to Mosul since the campaign began.

They stopped briefly at Qayyara West Airfield, another key hub in the war, where US forces manning High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems fired twice at Daesh targets in Mosul the night before.

Iraqi security forces are engaged in fierce, house-to-house fighting in Mosul. Nearly 290,000 people have fled the city to escape the fighting, according to the United Nations, and it has had a heavy toll on civilians trapped in the city.

Read: Iraqi forces take two more villages in Western Mosul

The advance has been slowed since 17 March, when scores of people sheltering from air strikes were killed in a blast. The United States has acknowledged it may have had some kind of role in the incident but also said Daesh may be to blame. A US investigation is ongoing.

Dunford said Baghdad was looking at ways to better safeguard civilians, given tactics by Daesh that has raised the risks – including the use of civilians as human shields.

“The Iraqis are looking to make some adaptations,” he told reporters after the talks, which included meetings on Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad.

US President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner is seen during a meeting in Erbil, Iraq on 4 April 2017 [Yunus Keleş/Anadolu Agency]

President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani (R) meets with Chairman of the US Joint Staff General Joseph Francis Dunford (L), US President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (not seen) and their committee at the President’s official residence in Erbil, Iraq on April 04, 2017. ( Yunus Keleş – Anadolu Agency )

President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani (R) meets with Chairman of the US Joint Staff General Joseph Francis Dunford (2nd L), US President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (L) and their committee at the President’s official residence in Erbil, Iraq on April 04, 2017. ( Yunus Keleş – Anadolu Agency )

President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani (R) in Erbil, Iraq on 4 April 2017 [Yunus Keleş/Anadolu Agency]

Chairman of the US Joint Staff General Joseph Francis Dunford (2nd R), US President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (2nd L) and their committee are seen during a meeting with President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani (not seen) at the President’s official residence in Erbil, Iraq on April 04, 2017. ( Yunus Keleş – Anadolu Agency )

President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani (2nd R) meets with Chairman of the US Joint Staff General Joseph Francis Dunford at the President’s official residence, in Erbil, Iraq on 4 April 2017 [Yunus Keleş/Anadolu Agency]