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Iraq

August 8, 2026

Baghdad 7:01 am

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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

Stepping back 1,300 years into Iraq's Ukhaidir palace

The historical Fortress of Al-Ukhaidir is collapsing because of natural causes and the Iraqi state’s neglect.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter (L) and Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., testify before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on "U.S. Strategy for Syria and Iraq and its Implications for the Region." in Washington December 1, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron - RTX1WOT9

US threatens to bypass Baghdad, arm Sunnis against IS

Congress and the Obama administration are demanding that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi do more to combat sectarianism.

Baghdad Jewish cemetery reminds of bygone days

Jewish monuments in Iraq are numerous and make some Iraqis nostalgic for the time when Muslims and Jews were neighbors.

Will natural gas cartel be successful in setting LNG, CNG prices?

Key heads of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum member states gather in Iran to push for new global energy market.

Why defeating Islamic State won't bring stability to Iraq

Competing factions have different agendas for a post-IS Iraq, paving the way for even greater conflict.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a news conference at the Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, Nevada November 16, 2015. Carson announced that he sent to a letter to Congress urging the termination of all public funding for the resettling of Syrian refugees into the U.S. REUTERS/David Becker - RTS7EUA

Congress threatens to shut down government over Syrian refugees

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Nov. 30.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and French President Francois Hollande hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1VN6X

Will downing of Russia warplane thwart France’s efforts for broader anti-IS coalition?

Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane threatens to complicate French efforts to bolster closer Western coordination with Moscow in combating IS.

How renewed Turkey-PKK conflict threatens the KRG

The stability of Iraqi Kurdistan might again be at risk after the Turkish government, led by the AKP, launched its most extensive raids against PKK positions in years.

Peshmerga general: KRG political problems won't affect fight against IS

A Kurdish general calls for more ammunition, aid and NATO troops to join the peshmerga in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Yazidis wary of going back to liberated Sinjar

Liberation of the Yazidi Iraqi town Sinjar from 16 months of IS occupation delighted everyone except thousands of Yazidi refugees who have no intention of going back.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY RON BOUSSO
Israeli Jews of Iraqi origin play backgammon at the Iraqi area of Jerusalem's landmark Mahne Yehuda market on November 26, 2009. Signs of the changing times can be seen throughout the maze of narrow streets that make up Mahne Yehuda, which is known to locals simply as the "Shuk" -- Hebrew for market. AFP PHOTO/MARINA PASSOS (Photo credit should read MARINA PASSOS/AFP/Getty Images)

After KRG formally welcomes Jews back to Iraq, will their numbers increase?

The opening of a Jewish representation office in Iraqi Kurdistan gives exiled Iraqi Jews a glimmer of hope of returning to their homeland after fleeing persecution and dispossession.

U.S. Representative Peter King (R-NY) talks with reporters as he departs after a Republican caucus candidates' forum for the next House speaker, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 8, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS3KT7

GOP blames Obama for anti-refugee backlash

Republicans say a failed Middle East strategy has fueled "fear and panic" in the United States.