SULEIMANIYA, Iraq: Iraq will continue hitting ISIS targets in Syria, as well as in neighboring countries if they give their approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday.

"I respect the sovereignty of states, and I have secured the approval of Syria to strike positions (on its territory)," he told a conference in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.

Abadi on Feb. 24 announced the first Iraqi airstrike inside Syrian territory, targeting ISIS positions in retaliation for bomb attacks in Baghdad.

"I will not hesitate to strike the positions of the terrorists in the neighboring countries, we will keep on fighting them," Abadi said.