Qatar FM in Iraq 'to support rebuilding' after Islamic State devastation

Qatar's foreign minister has arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to reportedly discuss rebuilding the country after the devastating war against the Islamic State group.

The spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Mahjoob, announced the official visit on Wednesday, saying Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will meet with his Iraqi counterpart and other senior officials.

An Iraqi foreign ministry official told The New Arab's Arabic-language service that the meetings will discuss several key issues "most notably Doha's support for rebuilding cities that were destroyed by IS".

Since the 1980s, resource-rich Iraq has been battered by war and international economic sanctions.

The country is still reeling from the dramatic rise of IS and the punishing fight to recapture territory, with swathes of Iraq in ruins and millions of people displaced.

While the defeat of IS brought an end to three years of death and destruction across northern and western Iraq, Baghdad estimates $100 billion is needed nationwide to rebuild.