Battling ISIS in Iraq prevents attacks in France: Hollande

French President Francois Hollande told French soldiers training Iraqi special forces that involvement on the ground against the Islamic State group was key to preventing terror attacks at home.

"Taking action against terrorism here in Iraq is also preventing acts of terrorism on our own soil," he said at a base of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service near Baghdad.

Hollande arrived in Baghdad on Monday to meet the French forces helping Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State group and to hold talks with top officials.

Hollande, who was travelling with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, had already visited in 2014 and remains the most prominent head of state to come to Iraq since the launch two and half years ago of a US-led coalition against the jihadists.