IRAQI President Barham Salih and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad have vowed “to join hands together” in the fight against terrorism as they discussed relations between the two countries.

In a phone conversation on Thursday evening, the two leaders spoke of their “two brotherly peoples, who have close historical, geographical and social ties,” and the challenges faced by both Iraq and Syria.

Mr Salih and Mr Assad vowed to “join hands together in the face of common dangers, especially terrorism … and not allow terrorist groups to catch their breath and exploit loopholes to carry out their criminal acts.”