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Iraq

August 6, 2026

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa underscored the Kurdistan Region’s growing role in Syria’s Kurdish politics.

Mourners carry one of the bodies of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) who were killed earlier in Diyala in central Iraq by US-Saudi strikes, during the funeral in Baghdad on July 29, 2026. The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 militants, including Iranians, according to the Hashed al-Shaabi. The US and Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by murtadha ridha / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Renewed Iraq attacks test Zaidi’s push to disarm Iran-backed militias

An attempt by Iraqi government forces to seize weapons belonging to an Iranian-backed faction encountered resistance, raising questions about Prime Minister Ali Zaidi’s pledge to disarm militias by Sept. 30.

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

Latest News

Analysis

Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Exclusive

US nears full withdrawal from Iraq as bases in Kurdistan Region face attacks from Iran, proxies

Patriot

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Zaidi cancels Riyadh trip after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad, July 25, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

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

Why did Russia offer autonomy for Syria’s Kurds?

Draft constitution from Russia seeks to decentralize Syrian state authority, limit presidential powers; Turkish forces struggle in two-front campaign against both the Islamic State and Syrian Kurds; Al-Monitor offers in-depth reporting on Syrian Kurdish region.

Iraq welcomes return of foreign archaeological missions

Iraq has signed a contract with a British exploration mission for further excavation at the historic Tell Khaiber site west of Nasiriyah.

Protesters hold protraits of Iraqi female journalist Afrah Shawqi during a demonstration calling for her release on December 30, 2016, in Baghdad.
Shawqi, 43, who is employed by Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based pan-Arab newspaper, was abducted on December 26, 2016, from her home in a southern neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital. / AFP / SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Why are kidnappings on the rise in Baghdad?

As the Islamic State is being forced out of Iraq, abductions, robberies and other crimes are on the rise as a result of the proliferation of militias.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Baghdad, July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1M0DA

Will Iraq succeed in bringing Iran, Saudi Arabia closer?

Iraq has been stepping up its mediation efforts to achieve a Saudi-Iranian reconciliation amid a conducive political and economic environment.

Iraqis celebrate addition of Khidr Elias feast to UNESCO heritage list

UNESCO's addition of Iraq's Khidr Elias feast to its Intangible Cultural Heritage List is reviving interest in the religious and social tradition.

Members of the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), a group formed by Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, grieve in a procession alongside a coffin during the funeral a fighter who was killed the day before in the northern city of Samarra during an attack by the Islamic State group (IS), on January 17, 2017 in the southern city of Basra. / AFP / HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images)

Sadr’s fighters guard Shiite shrines, Sunni inhabitants in Iraq's Samarra

The predominantly Sunni city of Samarra, which includes one of the main Shiite holy shrines and is under the control of mostly Shiite militias, continues to be a prime target for IS and criminal groups.

TO GO WITH STORY BY BRYAN PEARSON Habib al-Sadr, director general of Iraq's biggest television company, Al-Iraqiya, answers questions during an interview with AFP at his Iraqi Media Network company headquarters in Baghdad's upmarket Al-Karrada suburb, 23 August 2007. Sadr has far-reaching plans to expand his ever-growing media empire -- provided he can outlive the constant threats to his life. All is in place for the launch mid-September at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of a new religious ch

Will Egypt join Iraq in the 'Axis of Resistance'?

Iraq is playing the role of broker to include Egypt in the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran.

Iraqi security forces stand next to burnt car at the site of an attack on a police checkpoint, near the town of Qadisiyah, 40km south of the Iraqi holy Shiite city of Najaf on January 1, 2017.
Gunmen wearing suicide vests and driving an explosives-laden vehicle opened fire on the checkpoint near the town of Qadisiyah, which lies around 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Baghdad. / AFP / Haidar HAMDANI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Losing ground in north, IS targets Iraq's Shiite south

As the Islamic State is attacked from all sides in Mosul, it is making a last ditch effort to disrupt military operations by carrying out attacks in Iraq's predominately Shiite province of Najaf.

Iraq seeks to combine Sunni, Shiite troops

As part of the national reconciliation, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered that the Sunni Ninevah Guard be included in the Popular Mobilization Units.

Iraqi Christians eager to rebuild their lives post-IS

Christian families are preparing to return to their homeland in the liberated areas of Iraq, despite a lack of adequate support from the government and security forces.

People drive a vehicle in al-Rai town, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2YTMK

Syrians express 'deep anger' at Turkey for war

Al-Monitor reports from Damascus and Aleppo, where Russian Chechen troops stand guard; Iraqi prime minister seeks improved ties with neighbors.

The speaker of the Parliament of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Yossef Mohammed speaks during a joint press conference with Kurdistan's Prime Minister (unseen) about oil agreements on May 14, 2015 in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

KRG speaker: Independent Kurdish state complex issue

Kurdish parliament Speaker Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq discusses with Al-Monitor the current issues of Iraqi Kurdistan.