Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet on Friday, Iraqi state media says

Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, will meet his Syrian and Iranian counterparts on Friday to discuss the situation in Syria, the Iraqi state news agency said on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Friday meeting comes after a whirlwind advance by Syrian rebels that started last week as they captured the main northern city of Aleppo from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and then captured the city of Hama on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, arrived in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, the Iraqi state news agency (INA) said, adding that the Iranian Foreign Minister is to arrive on Friday.

Some Iraqi fighters entered Syria early this week to support Assad, Iraqi and Syrian sources said. Iraq’s Hashd Al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition has mobilised along the border with Syria, saying this was purely preventative in case of spill-over into Iraq.

OPINION: Many moving parts in Syria puzzle on brink of new offensives