Iraq

Kataib Hezbollah controls access points to key Iraqi border city

Iran-linked armed groups have over the past year tightened and consolidated their grip on a key border area between Iraq and Syria, preventing journalists from entering and local residents from farming their land.

Shelly Kittleson | Iraq | Apr 17, 2021

Members of the Popular Mobilization Units wave the faction flag during a symbolic funeral ceremony in the central holy city of Karbala, on the anniversary of the airstrikes by US planes on several bases belonging to the Hezbollah brigades near al-Qaim, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2020.

Car bomb kills four in Baghdad

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which police say also destroyed five cars and wounded 17 people.

Al-Monitor Staff | Iraq | Apr 15, 2021

Iraq to shutter displacement camps

Iraq is working on closing all displacement camps this year and to return the displaced people to their homelands.

Omar al-Jaffal | Iraq | Apr 14, 2021

Iraq’s new political parties seek funds from citizens

New parties have an uphill battle to compete in Iraq's political system.

Omar al-Jaffal | Iraq | Apr 13, 2021

More Lebanese doctors leave for Iraq

As Lebanon is sinking deeper into an unprecedented financial and political crisis, many medical doctors are increasingly packing their bags and leaving for the Gulf or Europe, and more recently for Iraq.

Mustafa Saadoun | Iraq | Apr 12, 2021

Medical staff are pictured outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon, March 17, 2021.

Iraq's Kurdistan region sticks with AstraZeneca vaccine, reports no issues

Kurdish authorities say they will continue administering the vaccine following the European Union's conclusion that blood clots should be listed among "rare side effects" of the British-Swedish vaccine.

Adam Lucente | Iraq | Apr 9, 2021

Medical staff handle an empty vial of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at a vaccination center at the Messe trade fair grounds during the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic on April 8, 2021 in Erfurt, Germany.

Kadhimi deepens cooperation with Saudi Arabia, UAE in Gulf tour

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is pursuing two-track diplomacy, expanding cooperation with both Levant and Gulf countries.

Hassan al-Mustafa | Iraq | Apr 8, 2021

Where will new round of strategic talks with US take Iraq?

Iraq and US agreed on shifting the anti-IS coalition to training and support only, working on ending the presence of any combat forces.

Hassan Ali Ahmed | Iraq | Apr 7, 2021

Iraq passes $89 billion federal budget bill

The budget confronted issues of unemployment, currency devaluation and non-oil revenues and was passed as lawmakers prepare for October's general election; the challenge is implementation.

Joe Snell | Iraq | Apr 6, 2021

Iraqis stand outside the parliament building, or Council of Representatives, in Baghdad's Green Zone on Feb. 27, 2020.

Rockets land near Iraqi air base ahead of strategic dialogue with US

No one was hurt in the latest barrage, an Iraqi military official said

Al-Monitor Staff | Iraq | Apr 6, 2021

US soldiers load cargo into planes during a logistical operation to clear equipment and heavy machinery from the Balad military base, north of Baghdad, on Aug. 27, 2010 a week before the US military is due to end its combat mission in the country.

Iraqi prime minister makes first visit to Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi made his first visit to Saudi Arabia in an effort to enhance ties between the two countries.

Ali Mamouri | Iraq | Apr 1, 2021

An Iraqi woman stands at passport control as she waits to have her passport stamped at the Arar southern Iraqi border crossing with Saudi Arabia on November 11, 2009.

Despite Baghdad-Erbil agreement, Iraq fails to pass federal budget bill

Disagreements over the dollar exchange rate and foreign loans have blocked the parliament from passing the country's budget bill for a fifth time.

Joe Snell | Iraq | Mar 31, 2021

Iraqi protesters take part in a demonstration at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on December 21, 2020.

Ukrainians held hostage by PKK militants in Iraqi Kurdistan over arms trafficking scam

Al-Monitor sheds light on how two Ukrainian men were taken hostage by a Kurdish militant group that was scammed by Ukrainian crooks in a million dollar plus arms trafficking deal.

Amberin Zaman | Iraq | Mar 30, 2021

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels man a security checkpoint on Oct. 28, 2009 near a PKK base in the Qandil mountains, near Rania province, in northern Iraq.

Pro-Iran parties launch smear campaign against Iraq's intelligence service

A political campaign targeting the Iraqi National Intelligence Service poses new challenges for the state’s key institutions.

Mustafa Saadoun | Iraq | Mar 29, 2021

Qais al-Khazali (C) commander of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq pro-Iran faction attends the funeral procession of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and eight others at the Imam Ali Shrine in the shrine city of Najaf in central Iraq on Jan. 4, 2020.

House committee votes to repeal Iraq war military authorization

The resolution will next head to the full House for a vote. Bipartisan support for repealing the authorization pertaining to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq gained steam following the February US airstrikes in Syria, which the president approved without consulting Congress.

Adam Lucente | Iraq | Mar 26, 2021

Iraq

Kataib Hezbollah controls access points to key Iraqi border city

Iran-linked armed groups have over the past year tightened and consolidated their grip on a key border area between Iraq and Syria, preventing journalists from entering and local residents from farming their land.

Car bomb kills four in Baghdad

Iraq to shutter displacement camps

Iraq’s new political parties seek funds from citizens

More Lebanese doctors leave for Iraq

Iraq's Kurdistan region sticks with AstraZeneca vaccine, reports no issues

Kadhimi deepens cooperation with Saudi Arabia, UAE in Gulf tour

Where will new round of strategic talks with US take Iraq?

Iraq passes $89 billion federal budget bill

Rockets land near Iraqi air base ahead of strategic dialogue with US

Iraqi prime minister makes first visit to Saudi Arabia

Despite Baghdad-Erbil agreement, Iraq fails to pass federal budget bill

Ukrainians held hostage by PKK militants in Iraqi Kurdistan over arms trafficking scam

Pro-Iran parties launch smear campaign against Iraq's intelligence service

House committee votes to repeal Iraq war military authorization

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