Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's visit to Saudi Arabia at the end of July signalled the Gulf Sunni powerhouse's ambition to distance its Iranian foe from policy-making in Baghdad.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Iraq on Tuesday, just days after the start of an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar, to speak with Iraqi leaders about the next steps in the fight against Islamic State.

A U.S. Army artillery "mishap" was responsible for the deaths of two U.S. service members in northern Iraq over the weekend, a Pentagon official said on Monday.

Iraqi forces are carrying out air strikes on Tal Afar, a town held by Islamic State west of Mosul, in preparation for a ground assault, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq plan to open the Arar border crossing for trade for the first time since 1990, when it was closed after the countries cut ties following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Saudi local media reported on Tuesday.

Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim Al-Araji said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had officially asked him to facilitate bilateral talks between Tehran and Riyadh.

Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday in a surprise unannounced visit.

Two U.S. service members were killed and five injured during combat operations in northern Iraq on Sunday, the military said, adding that initial reports indicated the incident was not due to enemy contact.

Leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada Al-Sadr said that he discussed files of Yemen, Bahrain, Syria as well as others like Jerusalem, Iranian-Saudi relations and Iraqi-Saudi relations during his meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince.

Former Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr Al Olum said it was necessary for Iraq to regain an old pipeline that used to export Iraqi crude through Saudi Arabia, Saudi-owned Al Hayat newspaper reported on Thursday.

Militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the Iraqi embassy in Kabul on Monday that began with a suicide bomber blowing himself up at the main gate, allowing gunmen to enter the building and battle security forces.

A senior Iraqi general predicted a relatively easy victory for his forces in the upcoming battle for the Islamic State haven of Tal Afar as up 2,000 fighters and their families there are "worn out and demoralised".

Bahrain strongly condemned the terrorist bombing that targeted the Iraqi embassy in Afghanistan. Bahrain condemned this sinful act and affirmed the support of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism and their efforts to confront various terrorist organizations that threaten peace and security.

The Saudi Press Agency said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received in Jeddah on Sunday (July 30, 2017) leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada Al-Sadr.

Bahraini Foreign Ministry congratulated in a statement the Iraqi government and people over the liberation of Mosul, after it was under the control of ISIS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on Sunday and congratulated the armed forces for their "victory" over Islamic State after nearly nine months of urban warfare, bringing an end to jihadist rule in the city.

Iraqi security forces expect to take full control of Mosul in the coming hours as Islamic State's defensive lines collapse in its former de facto capital in Iraq, state television reported on Saturday.

After eight months of grinding urban warfare, Iraqi government troops on Thursday captured the ruined mosque in Mosul from where Islamic State proclaimed its self-styled caliphate three years ago.

Iraqi forces on Tuesday pushed towards the river side of Mosul's Old City, their key target in the eight-month campaign to capture Islamic State's de-facto capital, and Iraq's prime minister predicted victory very soon.

If Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is confirmed dead, he is likely to be succeeded by one of his top two lieutenants, both of whom were Iraqi army officers under late dictator Saddam Hussein.