US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is on a visit to Iraq with Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a senior administration official on Sunday, (2 April).

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kushner wanted to see Iraq for himself and show his support for the Iraqi government. The official refused to divulge Kushner's itinerary in Iraq, his first outside the country since he was entrusted with the foreign affairs portfolio in the Trump administration, Reuters reports.

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He is expected to play a key role in talks later this week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump. The 36-year-old has also been given the responsibility of being the Middle-East peace envoy.

Kushner is expected to be back in the United States early this week, CNN reported.

On 20 March, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Trump in Washington for the first time. Al Abadi said that US had promised him of support in the fight against Islamic State, but added that military might alone would not be enough to win against the jihadists.

The visit comes after US military authorities recently admitted that they were probably behind an air strike in al-Jadida district of west Mosul on 17 March, which killed at least 200 civilians in the area.

Iraqi government forces are in the process of taking west Mosul and ousting Isis militants from the last of their urban strongholds in Iraq. In January, they captured east Mosul after a six-month battle.

Jared Kushner
Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, and a senior political advisor to President Donald Trump. Getty