The head of Israel’s air force said Wednesday that in any future conflict with Lebanon the Jewish state will have “unimaginable” military power at its disposal. Major General Amir Eshel told a security conference that Israel’s armed forces now have far more punch than they did in the 2006 war against Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. … 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
Iraqi forces have thwarted an attempt by around 200 jihadist fighters to flee their bastion of Tal Afar towards Syria, west of the city of Mosul, a security spokesman said Monday. Forces from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), a paramilitary organisation dominated by Shiite militia groups, said the Islamic State group used tanks in their … Read more
Nearly 2,000 Iraqi troops were killed across Iraq in November as they battled to force ISIS extremists from the country, according to newly released UN figures. That’s nearly triple the number of military casualties reported in October, when an offensive to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS first began. The toll for November includes … Read more
Iraq asked Saudi Arabia on Sunday to replace its ambassador in Baghdad, stressing that his presence in Iraq would hamper the development of bilateral ties, the official television reported. Ahmed Jamal, spokesman of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, told the state-run Iraqiya channel that Iraqi senior officials sent a request to Riyadh to take appropriate measure … Read more