Saudi Arabia has reopened its embassy in Baghdad, after a 25-year shutdown, which will allow the two countries to cooperate more closely against terrorism, al-Arabiya TV reported on Friday. The kingdom closed its embassy in Baghdad in 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Its reopening will allow the two countries to cooperate on security and the fight against extremism, the new Saudi ambassador to Iraq, Thamer al-Sabhan, told al-Arabiya. A thaw in the once chilly relations between Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shia-led Iraq could help strengthen a regional alliance against Islamic State militants who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria.

Copyright Reuters, 2016