Sistani welcomes Iraqi politicians

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's welcoming of the Iraqi president and prime minister is not a sign that he is backtracking on steering clear of politics, but that he wants the political arena to succeed in implementing reforms, thereby protecting Iraq's religious and cultural diversity.

Iraq

Grade inflation hits Iraqi high schools

Iraqi high school students tend to get extremely high final grades, which raises questions because of the country's weak educational system and that many families want their children, but sons especially, to become doctors at any price.

Iraq

Budget failure creates more economic woes for Iraq

Iraq failed to agree on a budget for 2014 and seems set to fail on agreeing to a 2015 budget; economists warned that this would only add to the nation's financial problems.

Iraq

Iraqi Shiites join Sunnis to fight Islamic State

The Islamic State aimed to create a Shiite-Sunni conflict to impose its control, but Iraqi Sunnis have instead turned to help from Shiites to get rid of the extremist group.

Iraq

Iraqi army crippled by flaws

Since its establishment, the Iraqi army has been directed inward, playing a domestic role rather than protecting the country from foreign forces.

Iraq

Turkey's border security problem

Political factors are not the only cause of Turkey’s border security vulnerability.

Countries

Anbar province calls for support to fight Islamic State

The government in Anbar province is voicing concern about the progress of the Islamic State in several cities, calling for a quick solution to prevent the province from falling to the militants.

Iraq

Islamic State tightens noose around Iraq, Syria

The Islamic State is tightening control over the regions it captured in Iraq in an attempt to consolidate its power.

Iraq

Islamic State intelligence network stifles resistance

Terrorist group reportedly uses Saddam-era intelligence officers and tactics; Syria’s Alawites seek accountability from government; Syrian army advances around Hama; Temple Mount as flash point; Egyptian campaign against terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula makes life harder for residents of the Gaza Strip.

Palestine

Turkish military angered by Ankara’s peshmerga move

The Turkish military is said to be riled and to have informed the government of its opposition to seeing Iraqi Kurdish fighters in Turkey.

Iraq

Iraqi weapons trade thrives

The weapons trade in Iraq has become widespread in light of the escalation of the war against the Islamic State, and an increasing number of Iraqis possess guns for personal use.

Iraq

Turkey finds out one is the loneliest number

The regional and global loneliness Ankara dragged itself into with its foreign policy since 2009 is becoming hazardous with the threat from the Islamic State.

Iraq