![Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during a news conference in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX2C8B9](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/05/RTX2C8B9.jpg/RTX2C8B9.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=87wZWE7G)
Mohammed A. Salih is a journalist based in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. He has written about Kurdish and Iraqi affairs for local and international media, and he holds a master's degree from the Missouri School of Journalism.
![Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during a news conference in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX2C8B9](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/05/RTX2C8B9.jpg/RTX2C8B9.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=87wZWE7G)
![RTSAHR2.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/04/RTSAHR2.jpg/RTSAHR2.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=AVvIzUWv)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![RTSDS26.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/04/RTSDS26.jpg/RTSDS26.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=khK-hQl-)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![RTSARA8.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/03/RTSARA8.jpg/RTSARA8.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=QWNDEF0Q)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![515910278.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/03/515910278.jpg/515910278.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=ba6cjpvI)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![P3.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/12/P3.jpg/P3.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=_iuPNOjg)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![RTSR8Q.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/11/RTSR8Q.jpg/RTSR8Q.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=lEpncdUS)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![krgparliament.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/08/krgparliament.jpg/krgparliament.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=J6SnU3p4)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces guards a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1D](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/08/RTR4SF1D.jpg/RTR4SF1D.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=4zsk5yzb)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![P6.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/08/P6.jpg/P6.jpg?h=5021389d&itok=NSLQaDsp)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attend a joint news conference in Arbil April 6, 2015. Abadi said the Baghdad government would work with Kurdish authorities to liberate the northern province of Nineveh from Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTR4W8W4](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/07/RTR4W8W4.jpg/RTR4W8W4.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=hXMHuFVY)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih
![Kurdish peshmerga forces take part in a training session at a training camp on the outskirts of Dohuk province April 7, 2015. The coalition forces were training Kurdish peshmerga soldiers on how to fight in street battles. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTR4WE6F](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/07/RTR4WE6F.jpg/RTR4WE6F.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=Tk6Nejdp)
![Mohammed A. Salih](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg/Mohammed%20Salih.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=9tMkV661)
Mohammed A. Salih