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Iraq

August 8, 2026

Baghdad 1:26 pm

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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

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are pictured during training before deploying to fight the Islamic State, at a temporary military camp near the front line in Gwar, northern Iraq September 22, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR479TU

Kurdish fighters struggle to pay bills

Peshmerga fighters are committed to fighting the Islamic State, even though their salaries are not enough to make ends meet.

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption, poor services and power cuts in Baghdad, Iraq, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1P4DG

To veil or not to veil: Iraqi women face scrutiny over their choices

Iraq's religious parties are increasingly forcing women to wear the veil through intimidation and repressive policies, to the frustration of secular progressives.

Iraqi men walk past posters advertising a pornographic film at a cinema
in Baghdad, April 30, 2003. Pornography and prostitution was officially
banned under the regime of Saddam Hussein until his ousting from power
by U.S.-led forces two weeks ago.

REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra - RTRMOD7

XXX trumps IS as Iraqi lawmakers focus on eradicating Internet porn

A number of Iraqi parliamentarians recently signed a draft bill to block pornographic sites in the country, an effort some call a narrow approach to a complex issue.

Iraqi Shiite Muslim men from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, July 10, 2015. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RTX1JV9P

Iraq's child soldiers

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units are following in the footsteps of Iran’s Basij in their recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Iran to export gas to Iraq soon, says Iranian official

After the nuclear deal, Iran will need to deepen economic ties with Iraq, including the Kurdish Regional Government.

Violence in Turkey could push US to pick sides in Turkey, PKK battle

The escalation of violence in Turkey is reaching such a magnitude that Turkey may not be an effective coalition partner against Washington’s priority, the Islamic State.

An Iraqi Christian fighter, a member of Babylon Christian Battalion, stands guard near the site of car bomb attack in Baghdad, May 5, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
- RTX1BOU9

Iraqi Christians take up arms to regain lost land

Iraq’s Christians are taking up arms to reclaim land now controlled by the Islamic State, but some worry their efforts could worsen the sectarian divide and further complicate the struggle against the terror group.

A man from the minority Yazidi sect stands guard at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, December 20, 2014. Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State fighters. REUTERS/Ari Jalal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4IV2I

Yazidi infighting, disputes over Sinjar stall battle against Islamic State

Kurdish political parties have formed various armed forces that are fighting for control of Sinjar, which is still not out of danger from the Islamic State.

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption and poor services in regard to power cuts and water shortages, in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad, August 14, 2015. Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on parliament and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday to focus their anti-corruption campaign first on improving the judiciary. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed - RTX1OBB8

Will Abadi's reforms work?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi approved major reform measures for the country, but challenges, especially when it comes to implementation on the ground and within state institutions, still stand in the way.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon in the town of the northwestern city of Ariha, after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the area in Idlib province, May 29, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. A coalition of rebel groups called Jaish al Fateh, or

Al-Qaeda's emir strikes back

After 11 months of silence, Ayman al-Zawahri issues audio messages calling for terrorist attacks against the United States and its allies.

Iraqi children traumatized by IS violence

The Islamic State has left Iraqi families, and especially children, traumatized amid persistent but insufficient efforts by international organizations.

PKK vs. Turkey: Violence plagues people of Basak

Turkish security forces expand their operations to urban areas in the southeast of the country.