Iraq welcomes removal from revised US travel ban
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BAGHDAD—Iraq welcomed its removal from a revised US travel ban on Monday, calling it a "positive message" at a time when American and Iraqi forces are battling the Islamic State group.
Iraq was among seven Muslim-majority countries whose nationals were temporarily banned from traveling to the United States in an earlier order issued by President Donald Trump in January, which was blocked by the courts.
The White House had said the earlier ban was needed to prevent terrorists from entering the country, but has now removed Iraq from the list under pressure from the State Department and the Defense Department, which had noted the close cooperation between the two countries in battling ISIS militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The revised order is narrower and specifies that a 90-day ban on people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen does not apply to those who already have valid visas.
