Iraqi armed forces

A view of deserted ruins in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, where the Iraqi army recently moved in to restore federal government control. Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. A new agreement aims to bring order to Iraq's northern region of Sinjar, home to the Yazidi religious minority brutalized by the Islamic State group. Since IS's fall, a tangled web of militia forces have run the area, near the Syrian border. Now their flags are coming down, and the Iraqi military has deployed in Sinjar for the first time in nearly 20 years. (AP Photo/Samya Kullab)

In a northern town brutalized by IS, Iraq tests its power

Dec. 24, 2020 6:04 AM EST

SINJAR, Iraq (AP) — One by one, the flags belonging to a patchwork of armed forces were lowered in a northern Iraqi town once brutalized by the Islamic State group. The territorial claims symbolized by each were replaced by the fluttering of just one: The Iraqi state’s. The hoisting of the national...

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2020 file photo, the U.S. Embassy is seen from across the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq. At least three rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, Dec. 20 Iraqi security officials said, sparking fears of renewed unrest as next month's anniversary of the slaying of an Iranian general draws near. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Iraqi army: 8 rockets target US Embassy in Baghdad

Dec. 20, 2020 3:05 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Eight rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone late Sunday, Iraq's military and Iraqi officials said, sparking fears of renewed unrest as next month's anniversary of the U.S. slaying of an Iranian general draws near. An Iraqi military statement said an...

ICC closes probe into abuse of Iraqis by British troops

Dec. 9, 2020 11:48 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Wednesday she is closing a preliminary probe into allegations of killings and torture of Iraqi prisoners by British troops from 2003-2008 and will not open a full-scale investigation because U.K. authorities have...

FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2015, photo, U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin III, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense. That's according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity because the selection hadn't been formally announced. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Biden makes pitch for retired general to be Pentagon chief

Dec. 8, 2020 6:06 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday made his case for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, urging Congress to waive a legal prohibition against a recently serving military officer running the Pentagon. With concern rising in Congress about maintaining civilian...

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020 file photo, Iraqi army soldiers are deployed in front of the U.S. embassy, in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials on Thursday, Dec. 3, say the U.S. is withdrawing some staff from its embassy in Baghdad, temporarily reducing personnel amid regional security concerns. U.S. Ambassador Mathew Tueller said the reduction of staff members will not affect the mission’s work, adding that he will continue to carry out his duties from the embassy for the “foreseeable future.”(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

US to reduce staff at Baghdad embassy amid regional tensions

Dec. 3, 2020 12:39 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. is withdrawing some staff from its embassy in Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Thursday, temporarily reducing personnel amid regional security concerns. U.S. Ambassador Mathew Tueller said the reduction would not affect the mission's work, adding that he will continue to...

FILE - In this March 27, 2020 file photo, U.S. soldiers stand guard during the hand over ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq. In a quest to root out Islamic State group hideouts over the summer, Iraqi forces on the ground cleared nearly 90 villages across a notoriously unruly northern province. But the much-touted operation still relied heavily on U.S. intelligence, coalition flights and planning assistance. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan, File)

EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran?

Dec. 3, 2020 1:25 AM EST

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — In a quest to root out Islamic State group hideouts over the summer, Iraqi forces on the ground cleared nearly 90 villages across a notoriously unruly northern province. But the much-touted operation still relied heavily on U.S. intelligence, coalition flights and planning assistance....

In this Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, image taken from a video provided by Defense.gov Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller speaks at the Pentagon in Washington. Miller said Tuesday that the U.S. will reduce troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan by mid-January, asserting that the decision fulfills President Donald Trump’s pledge to bring forces home from America's long wars even as Republicans and U.S. allies warn of the dangers of withdrawing before conditions are right. (Defense.gov via AP)

Acting Pentagon chief cites risks during troop reductions

Nov. 18, 2020 2:51 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The coming period of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq is “fraught with risk,” but the military will not hesitate to strike back if extremists attempt to undermine the transition to a smaller U.S. force in those countries, the newly installed acting secretary...