Iraq - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Iraq

July 27, 2024

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Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed (L), the wife of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, comforts a Kurdish woman during a ceremony marking the Anfal mass killings, after corpses were transferred from Baghdad to the Kurdish town of Chamchamal for burial, on February 21, 2024.

Ankara brushes off Iraqi first lady’s accusations labeling Turkey as 'invader'

In an unusual effrontery, the first lady accused Turkey of displacing hundreds and destroying large swaths of agricultural areas.

Al-Monitor Staff

By Al-Monitor Staff

Women worshippers stand at the altar, they pray and tie knots in pieces of cloth that represent their wishes, during their visit to the new Yazidi Temple in the village of Aknalich, 35 kilometres from the Armenian capital Yerevan, on October 11, 2019.

Yazidis or Kurds? The fight over identity in Armenia and Iraq

A growing number of Yazidis insist they are not ethnic Kurds, part of an effort to construct a distinct identity in order to survive.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A US Army armored vehicle flies an American flag as it provides security escort for a convoy of vehicles pulling equipment that is heading to Kuwait from Camp Adder as the Army continues to send it's soldiers and equipment home and the base is prepared to be handed back to the Iraqi government later this month on December 2, 2011, at Camp Adder, near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

Quick Take

US resumes talks with Iraq over future of troop presence

Negotiations between the Biden administration and a senior Iraqi delegation resumed in Washington on Monday as Baghdad has sought to establish an end-of-mission timeline for the 2,500 US troops that remain in their country.

Members of Yemen's security forces stand guard as as Shiite Muslims listen to a speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Huthi broadcast on a giant screen during a ceremony commemorating Ashura, July 16, 2024.

Analysis

Is Houthi expansion in Iraq a genuine threat or smoke screen?

Iraq's relations with Saudi Arabia are called into question as the Houthis seek to expand their influence in the region.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

Latest News

Regional View

Iraq’s first lady blasts Turkey’s assault against PKK in Kurdistan Region

Iraq's new first lady and Iraqi-Kurdish politician and writer Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed receives a bouquet of flowers during her husband's inauguration and handover ceremony as the new Iraqi president at al-Salam Palace in the capital Baghdad on Oct. 17, 2022.

US renews sanctions waiver for Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Quick Take

After 20 years, is Iraq making progress in bid to join WTO?

Quick Take

Iraq-China ties progress with Nasiriyah airport project

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Quick Take

Iraq aims to host first meeting between Turkey's Erdogan, Syria's Assad

A composite image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan (L) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Winthrop Rodgers

In Sulaymaniyah, reporting on Kurdish issues

An internal security patrol escorts women, reportedly wives of Islamic State fighters, in the al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria, on July 23, 2019.

Quick Take

Widow of ISIS leader sentenced to death in Iraq: What we know

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife held Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State in her home, according to Iraqi authorities.

Fighters of PKK inside Matin mountain north of Dohuk in a temporary base after leaving Turkish territory, on June 22, 2013.

Analysis

Baghdad silent as Turkey moves deeper against PKK militants in northern Iraq

A drone attack on Monday comes amid widening Turkish operations against PKK targets inside Iraqi Kurdistan.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

The Euphrates river near Dura Europos (Tell Salhiye), Syria. Iraq is just several miles downstream.

Regional View

In managing water crisis, can Turkey and Iraq bridge gap without Syria?

Turkey and Iraq need to bring Syria into the fold to resettle the historical water sharing problems between the three countries, according to experts and officials.

AFP via Getty Images

Quick Take

Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants in Iraq

The Turkish army's strikes are the first since the Iraqi central government’s decision to ban the Kurdistan Workers Party in March.

A large sign put up by private citizens bearing the portrait of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, with text in Arabic below reading "total allegiance", is displayed along Abo Romaneh street in the capital Damascus on May 10, 2021 ahead of the country's presidential elections. - A Syrian former minister and a member of the Damascus-tolerated opposition will face Assad in the May 26 presidential election, according to the constitutional court in Syria. The election will be the second since the start of a dec

Quick Take

As Assad 'welcomes' mending ties with Turkey, can Russia or Iraq mediate?

The stalled Ankara-Damascus dialogue is likely to see some fast developments, one expert says, though he warns not to expect too much thanks to complications including the upcoming US elections.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024. Modi claimed election victory for his party and its allies on June 4, but the opposition said they had "punished" the ruling party to confound predictions and reduce their parliamentary majority. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP) (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

From Israel to Iran, Modi 3.0 eyes deepening of India's Middle East ties

India refuses to be restricted by its former Cold War commitments; as with any other power or wannabe power, only self-interest matters, and the oil monarchies of the Gulf top India's list of friends in the region.

AP Muhammed Afsal

By AP Muhammed Afsal

A Boeing 737 aircraft of Emirati airline FlyDubai is seen on the tarmac of Sulaimaniyah Airport in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on August 2, 2020, as the airport resumes flight operations following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Quick Take

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraq's Sulaimaniyah airport for 6 months

The extension of the ban indicated that Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdish party controlling Sulaimaniyah had yet to resolve their differences.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

Quick Take

Iraq's PM says Baghdad mediating potential Syria-Turkey reconciliation

The Iraqi prime minister says he is in contact with the Turkish and Syrian presidents as part of reconciliation efforts

A man looks at artifacts, under restoration after being destroyed by the Islamic State (IS) group, at the Mosul Museum in Iraq's northern city on May 11, 2023.

Quick Take

Iraq recovers over 6,000 stolen historical artifacts, government says

An Iraqi official says the Iraqi government’s efforts to get back historical artifacts smuggled out of the country were focused on Mosul, which was overrun by ISIS in 2014.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community targeted in a brutal campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group, enter the western Iraqi city of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on Nov. 13, 2015.

Quick Take

Turkey’s Fidan says Iraqi Sinjar must be ‘clear’ of PKK presence

The top Turkish diplomat’s comment comes as Ankara is ramping up its threats for a large-scale operation in northern Iraq.

Quick Take

ISIS resurgence in Iraq sees fresh attacks, clashes after commander killed

The Islamic State is suspected of killing soldiers in eastern Iraq in the latest sign of the group’s persistence.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (L) welcomes Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during an official visit to Tehran on May 6, 2024. (Photo: KRG Presidency)

Analysis

In Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani welcomed by Khamenei, IRGC

Nechirvan Barzani’s trip to Tehran follows tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Islamic Republic over Kurdish armed groups and attacks by Iran-backed militias.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change