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Iraq

March 12, 2026

Baghdad 7:25 am

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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.

US warns of kidnapping threat in Iraq as Iran-backed militia hits diplomatic facility

A number of US-related sites have been targeted by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, prompting Baghdad to bolster its air defenses.

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on Nov. 24, 2025.

Exclusive

Baghdad, US turn to Iraqi Kurds for oil exports as Iran war hits supplies

Baghdad wants Kurdish pipelines to move up to 200,000 barrels per day to global markets, but Erbil is demanding relief from a dollar embargo and greater autonomy over trade.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Israeli-Kurdish relations are rooted in a common struggle against Islamic extremism and the Kurds’ strategic presence across Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Israel hopes Iran’s Kurds, and other minorities, will mobilize to help bring down the Iranian regime.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Kurds see opening yet remain wary as Trump seeks help to oust Iran regime

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barr

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

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

<<enter caption here>> on April 13, 2015 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Assassinations, kidnappings shake Baghdad

Journalists and activists fear being targeted as another wave of protests and violence occur in Iraq.

Iraqi army aircraft damaged in rocket attack on Camp Taji

The attack is the latest in a long-running series of low-level attacks believed to be carried out by Iran-sponsored militias in Iraq.

Iraqi PM calls for investigation after two protesters killed in Baghdad

The prime minister said security forces have 72 hours to finish their investigation into the protester deaths.

Iraqi security forces stand guard at a checkpoint enforcing a curfew due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic during the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in Baghdad on May 26, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq issues 'total curfew' for Eid al-Adha

COVID-19 cases have increased to historic highs of around 2,000 a day in Iraq.

The Iraqi parliament votes on the new Iraqi government, headed by Adel Abdul Mahdi, October 24, 2018 in Baghdad. - The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved 14 new cabinet ministers proposed by prime minister-designate Adel Abdel Mahdi, even as key portfolios such as defence and interior affairs remain unassigned, an official said. A total of 220 lawmakers out of 329 elected in May to a deeply divided parliamant, approved Mahdi's 14 picks, including for the ministries of foreign affairs, finances, and petro

Iraqi government not giving up on early elections

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is seeking to manage disparate political blocs to allow early electons.

Rockets hit Iraqi base used by coalition troops, no casualties

The attack came as the US-led coalition prepares to hand over the base to Iraqi security forces.

German woman kidnapped in Baghdad freed in Iraqi operation

German national Hella Mewis, who was abducted outside of her office in Baghdad on Monday evening, was freed in an operation carried out by Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi doctors under siege as they battle surge in COVID-19 cases

Doctors complain that they have been suffering violence and abuse from some families who blame medical personnel for patients' COVID-19 deaths.

Iraq's coronavirus cases top 100,000 as Baghdad airport reopens

The Health Ministry reported 2,361 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 102,226.

An Iraqi woman looks at the damage outside her house in a residential area of the capital, Baghdad, on July 13, 2015, the day after a car bomb explosion. A string of bomb explosions, including two suicide attacks, killed at least 21 people and wounded 62 in Shiite-dominated neighbourhoods of Baghdad, Iraqi police and medical sources said. AFP PHOTO / SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Serious housing crisis creeps up on Iraq

Iraq is facing a difficcult housing crisis due to oil prices dropping amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Demonstrators block a road during a protest in the southern city of Basra on July 14, 2020, as protesters gathered to denounce the lack of electricity and services. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's supreme leader to Iraqi PM: Iran does not interfere in Iraq-US relations

During Iraqi prime minister's trip to Iran, the two countries emphasized on building a constructive relationship based on mutual respect and national interests.

German woman 'kidnapped' in Baghdad

Baghdad-based artist Hella Mewis was reportedly abducted while riding her bike Monday evening.