Latest Iraq News

FILE - This file image released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, and displayed at a Pentagon briefing, shows an image of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Islamic State group seemed largely defeated last year, with the loss of its territory, the killing of its founder in a U.S. raid and an unprecedented crackdown on its social media propaganda machine but tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the region provide a comeback opportunity for the extremist group. (Department of Defense via AP, File)

IS tries to stage comeback amid rising US-Iran tensions

Jan. 28, 2020 1:11 AM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group's self-styled “caliphate” across parts of Iraq and Syria seemed largely defeated last year, with the loss of its territory, the killing of its founder in a U.S. raid and an unprecedented crackdown on its social media propaganda machine. But tensions...

A riot policeman pins down a female anti-government protester to search her while security forces try to disperse demonstrators during clashes in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Nighttime mortar attack on US Embassy in Baghdad injured 1

Jan. 27, 2020 4:29 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — A top U.S. commander said Monday that mortars were used in an attack on the American embassy in Baghdad that injured one person and caused some material damage the previous night, not katyusha rockets as was initially reported by staffers and a statement from the military. Gen. Frank...

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2020, file photo a rescue worker searches the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. The downing of a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran highlights the limits of the civilian arm of Iran's government against the absolute power of the Shiite theocracy and the paramilitary forces beneath it. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Downing of jet in Iran reveals Islamic Republic's wider woes

Jan. 27, 2020 1:23 AM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Ukrainian jetliner stood ready for takeoff at Iran's main international airport bound for Kyiv, packed with passengers and so many bags on one of the cheapest routes to the West that the ground crew rushed to unload some luggage to make its weight for flight. Nearly...

Anti-government protesters hold a huge Iraqi flag as they gather during a protest in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi protesters defy top cleric and return to the streets

Jan. 26, 2020 3:28 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — One protester was killed by security forces after hundreds of anti-government protesters flooded the streets of Iraq's capital and southern provinces on Sunday, defying a powerful Iraqi religious leader who recently withdrew his support from the popular movement. Separately, five Katyusha...

German military resumes training troops in northern Iraq

Jan. 26, 2020 4:34 AM EST

BERLIN (AP) — The German military resumed training Iraqi troops in the country's Kurdish north on Sunday, about three weeks after it was suspended following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad. The military said the commander of the international operation fighting the Islamic State group...

Gen. Frank McKenzie, center front, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, walks as he visits a military outpost in Syria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. McKenzie made the unannounced visit to Syria, traveling to five different military outposts to meet with troops, hear from commanders and talk with the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)

General: US committed to Syria fight; Missions up against IS

Jan. 25, 2020 6:05 PM EST

GREEN VILLAGE MILITARY OUTPOST (AP) — U.S. troops at military outposts ín eastern Syria asked variations of the same question to their top commander Saturday: What is our future here? What are the goals we need to think about? Gen. Frank McKenzie, the U.S Middle East commander, knows the future is not...

Anti-government protester run during clashes with security forces in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Security forces set fire to anti-government protest tents in the country's south early Saturday and re-opened key public squares in Baghdad that had been occupied by demonstrators for months. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

4 dead, tents ablaze after Iraq cleric pulls protest support

Jan. 25, 2020 3:01 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq cracked down on anti-government protesters who have been occupying key public squares for months, leaving four demonstrators dead Saturday in a country reeling from political turmoil and violence. Security forces set fire to protesters' tents in southern Iraq and reopened public areas...

President of the Republic of Iraq Barham Salih is received by Pope Francis in a private audience at The Vatican, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, Pool)

Vatican urges visiting Iraqi president to protect Christians

Jan. 25, 2020 11:46 AM EST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Saturday urged Iraqi President Barham Saleh to guarantee the safety of Christians and ensure they have a future place in the war-battered country. Saleh met with Pope Francis, the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister during back-to-back audiences on his second...

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2011 file photo, Spc. Angel Batista, 26, left to right, of Bloomingdale, N.J., Spc. Jacob Greene, 22, of Shreveport, La., and Sgt. Joe Altmann, 26, of Marshfield, Wisc., with the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, sit beneath a new American flag just raised to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Sept. 11, 2011 at Forward Operating Base Bostick in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Most Afghans want US and NATO troops to leave Afghanistan once a peace deal to end Afghanistan's 18-year war is signed with the Taliban, according to a survey carried out by the American Institute of War and Peace Studies. The survey conducted in 2019, between Nov. 23 and Dec. 20 has a five percent margin of error. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Survey: Nearly half of Afghans want US troops out after deal

Jan. 25, 2020 6:20 AM EST

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Nearly half of all Afghans want U.S. and NATO troops to leave Afghanistan once a peace deal to end the country's 18-year war is signed with the Taliban, according to a survey released Thursday. The Institute of War and Peace Studies also found that an overwhelming 80% of Afghans...

FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019 file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. The Pentagon said Friday, Jan. 24, 2020, that 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month's Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and that half of the troops have returned to their military duties. Seventeen of the 34 are still under medical observation, according to Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

Pentagon: 34 troops suffered brain injuries in Iran strike

Jan. 24, 2020 5:47 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies President Donald Trump's initial claim that no Americans were...

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