UN chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to review the humanitarian situation, calling for protection of civilians to be the “absolute priority” as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in Mosul, which was seized by the Islamic State group in 2014, and officials and witnesses have said … Read more
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed members of a 68-country coalition against the Islamic State to Washington and vowed to hunt down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. ‘Nearly all of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead, including the mastermind behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere,’ told delegates huddled at the State Department. ‘It … Read more
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed members of a 68-country coalition against the Islamic State to Washington and vowed to hunt down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. ‘Nearly all of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead, including the mastermind behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere,’ told delegates huddled at the State Department. ‘It … Read more
The 68-nation US-led coalition against the Islamic State group will meet in Washington on Wednesday to accelerate efforts to destroy the remaining jihadist strongholds in Iraq and Syria. US President Donald Trump has ordered his generals to come up with an accelerated strategy to “eradicate” the group’s so-called caliphate, and allied ministers are keen to … Read more
A car bomb exploded in the Iraqi capital on Monday, killing at least 23 people and wounding 45 others in a mainly Shia district in southwestern Baghdad. The attack – as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC – targeted a busy commercial district of the Hay al-Amel suburb, according … Read more
President Donald Trump said the operation against the Islamic State group in Mosul is “moving along,” as he hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the White House on Monday. In a meeting on the 14th anniversary of the US invasion, Trump questioned whether the United States should have pulled combat troops out of the … Read more
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi left for Washington on Sunday to meet President Donald Trump as his forces press an assault to recapture west Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group. The premier’s office said Abadi would also meet Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, without giving specific dates. On Wednesday, … Read more
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney on Thursday urged Iraq to agree to a UN investigation of atrocities committed by the Islamic State group and bring those responsible for crimes to justice. Clooney, who represents Yazidi women who escaped from IS enslavement, was addressing UN member-states for the second time in six months to appeal for … Read more
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday that he will not hesitate to strike “terrorist sites” in neighbouring countries, after Baghdad carried out air raids in Syria last month. “I will not hesitate to strike terrorist sites in neighbouring countries, if they threaten the security of Iraq,” Abadi said in a speech in north Iraq, … Read more
US President Donald Trump will host Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Washington this month, the White House said Tuesday, a fence-mending meeting as the two countries fight the Islamic State group in Mosul. Press secretary Sean Spicer said Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will visit next week and “the following week, the president will … Read more
Iraqi forces say they have retaken the main government offices in Mosul as the offensive continues to oust the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The advance could pave the way for an attack on the heavily-populated old city, where the militants are still entrenched. Thousands of civilians are streaming out of the city every day. … Read more
Three people were wounded by gunfire as Iraqi forces dispersed a demonstration Tuesday by students who threw stones at the premier during a visit to Kut, officials and witnesses said. A student said demonstrators were wounded when security forces fired to disperse them in the city south of Baghdad. An officer and a doctor confirmed … Read more
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was in Baghdad for talks on Saturday, the first such visit by a chief diplomat from the kingdom in years, Iraqi officials said. He met his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a foreign ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Another government official said it was the first visit to … Read more
The Iraqi air force struck members of the Islamic State group inside neighbouring Syria Friday, officials said, adding that the targeted militants were responsible for recent bombings in Baghdad. The strike was announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a statement and is believed to be the first of its kind by Iraqi jets on … Read more
Iraqi forces consolidated positions Tuesday after blasting their way to the southern edge of Mosul in an assault Baghdad and its partners hope will spell the doom of the jihadist “caliphate”. They were upbeat on the third day of a rekindled offensive in the operation which was launched on October 17 to retake Iraq’s second … Read more
The commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said Monday he expected its forces would be allowed to stay in Iraq after Mosul is recaptured. “I don’t anticipate that we will be asked to leave by the government of Iraq immediately after Mosul,” Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said. The US commander was … Read more
The U. S. military is not in Iraq “to seize anybody’s oil”, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump at the start of a visit to Iraq on Monday. Mattis, on his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief, is hoping to assess the war effort as U.S.-backed Iraqi … Read more
U. S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the offensive in the northern Iraqi city, … Read more
Iraqi government forces launched a major offensive to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group on October 17, 2016. – October 17: Iraqi forces launch an offensive to drive IS out of Mosul, where the jihadists declared an Islamic “caliphate” in June 2014. IS overran Mosul and swathes of other territory north … Read more
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced the launch of military operations to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State group, a statement from his media office said. “The prime minister announced the launch of liberation operations on the western side of Mosul,” a statement said. Iraqi federal forces launched a huge offensive on … Read more