Iraqi forces made major gains in the six months since launching the operation to retake Mosul, but the battle for Iraq’s second city and the war against the Islamic State group are far from over. Tough close-quarters fighting in heavily-populated areas of Mosul is still ahead, and IS also holds territory in other parts of … Read more
Members of Iraq’s Christian minority celebrated Palm Sunday in the country’s main Christian town of Qaraqosh for the first time since it was retaken from the Islamic State group. Hundreds of faithful gathered in the town’s Tahira al-Kubra church for mass before starting the traditional Palm Sunday march, a procession during which palms are carried … Read more
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and the US’s top military officer met with Kurdish leaders in Arbil on Tuesday, the second day of their visit to Iraq. His inclusion in the US delegation is a sign of the influence wielded by Jared Kushner, a 36-year-old with no prior government experience who has become one of the … Read more
In the Iraqi Christian town of Qaraqosh, time stands still. The Islamic State group was expelled in October 2016, but life has not returned to its once-vibrant and wealthy neighbourhoods. It has a ghostly air: wide avenues silent but for the rattle of an empty tin can nudged by the breeze or dead leaves rustling … Read more
Provincial councillors in disputed, oil-rich Kirkuk province voted Tuesday to fly the Kurdish regional flag over government buildings, a move likely to increase tensions with Baghdad. Kirkuk is at the centre of a long-running dispute over northern territory between Kurdish authorities, who want to incorporate the land into their autonomous region, and the federal government … Read more
The UN has accused Turkish forces of serious violations during unrest in the south-east of the country that left 2,000 dead less than 18 months. Up to 500,000 people, mostly Kurds, were displaced between July 2015 and December 2016, a UN report said. Meanwhile, satellite imagery showed the “enormous scale of destruction of the housing … Read more
Iraqi Kurdish forces deployed at a state-run oil company Thursday, temporarily halting pumping through a pipeline that is one of the country’s two main avenues for crude exports, officials said. The move highlights two fault lines that may increasingly come to the fore as Iraq’s war against jihadists winds down: the dispute between Baghdad and … Read more
The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, said Tuesday that telecoms operator Asiacell will offer free access to the website to its nearly 12 million mobile phone customers in war-torn Iraq. The partnership is the first by a telecoms operator in Iraq and the foundation’s Wikipedia Zero project, which waives mobile data fees to … Read more
A female reporter working for an Iraqi Kurdish channel was killed in a roadside bomb attack while covering clashes between government forces and ISIL in Mosul, her channel said. Killed on Saturday, Shifa Gardi was a presenter and chief of output at Rudaw, a media group in Kurdistan funded by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). … Read more
Surrounded by the ruins of pastel-coloured buildings still bearing slogans glorifying the Islamic State’s “caliphate”, Wissam Ghanem is having a slow day selling beer, vodka and whisky. Iraqi forces expelled the jihadists from his town of Bashiqa, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Mosul, in December but it was badly damaged and few people … Read more
Hassan Jamil’s love affair with Donald Trump began in the thick of the American presidential campaign, when he found himself glued to his television screen on the other side of the world each night, transfixed by the billionaire’s “beautiful” hair, commanding presence and magnetic speaking style. Jamil, who doesn’t speak English, couldn’t understand the Republican … Read more
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s bomb attack Seven people have been killed and 15 wounded in a bomb attack on the offices of an Iranian Kurdish opposition party in northern Iraq, security sources say. A parked motorcycle and an explosive device were detonated late on Tuesday next to the headquarters of … Read more
About a month ago, photographer Eugenio Grosso traveled a 70-mile stretch in northern Iraq, from the city of Kirkuk to Sulaymaniyah in the country’s Kurdish region. He had only one purpose: to photograph the gas stations he saw along the way. “When I first noticed that there were so many petrol stations concentrated in the … Read more
Ferocity of Kirkuk attack points to tough fight for Mosul Smoke rises as Kurdish forces take position at a site of an attack by Islamic State militants in At least 100 fighters sneaked into Kirkuk in the early hours of Friday with machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, suicide vests and a message: “Islamic State has … Read more
Footage captures explosions near the Iraqi town of Bashiqa, where Kurdish forces have launched fresh Kurdish forces have carried out new attacks on positions of so-called Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq to retake the town of Bashiqa, near Mosul. Kurdish Peshmerga commanders said they made large advances into IS territory and secured part of … Read more
the defense secretary has arrived in Iraq to retake the northern city of Mosul US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Sunday for an update on the battle to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group and to discuss a possible role for Turkish troops with Iraqi and Kurdish … Read more
Many have fled the area round Mosul as government and Kurdish forces close in. Forces of so-called Islamic State have launched an attack in Iraq on a town in western Anbar province in an apparent attempt to divert attention from the government’s offensive on Mosul. The mayor of Rutba described the Islamic State (IS) assault … Read more
Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group have attacked government buildings in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least six police officers and 16 civilians. Twelve IS jihadists were also killed in the dawn attack. Hours later, witnesses said gunfire was still being heard and militants were walking openly through the streets. Separately, … Read more
Iraqi pro-government forces have made gains at the start of a large-scale operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country. Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters launched their push towards the city in the early hours of Monday. IS seized Mosul during a lightning offensive in … Read more
Four UK soldiers who “forced” an Iraqi boy into a canal and let him drown have been condemned by a judge investigating civilian deaths in the Iraq War. Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali, who was 15, died in Basra in May 2003 after he was detained on suspicion of looting. The judge’s report said Ahmed should … Read more