Iraq launches its first national census in nearly four decades

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades Wednesday, a step aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long impacted by conflict and political divisions. The act of counting the population is also contentious. The census is...

Iraq's Parliament elects a new speaker to end a nearly yearlong vacuum

BAGHDAD (AP) — After a nearly yearlong vacuum, Iraq’s Parliament elected a new speaker Thursday, selecting a prominent Sunni lawmaker who has a close relationship with Iran. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who served a previous stint as speaker from 2006 to 2009, was elected by a vote of...

Dominant Kurdish parties maintain their sway in the election for the parliament in the Iraqi region

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Election results from the vote for the regional parliament in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region show the two dominant Kurdish parties have maintained their hold while an opposition party has made inroads, officials said Wednesday. According to the...

Iraqi forces kill Islamic State group commander and 8 other officials

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister announced Tuesday that the Islamic State militant group’s leader in Iraq was killed in a military operation along with eight of the group’s other senior leaders.‎ U.S. officials said two American service members were injured in the joint raid overnight...

Iraq's Kurdish region goes to the polls with a flagging economy and political infighting top of mind

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Residents of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region went to the polls in long-awaited parliamentary elections Sunday under the shadow of ongoing rivalries, economic instability and unresolved disputes with Baghdad. The primary competitors are the two...

Iraq moves to revoke Saudi broadcaster's license after report angered militia supporters

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s commission governing media announced Saturday that it would take steps to revoke the license of a Saudi television station to operate in the country. That came hours after dozens of supporters of Iraqi militias stormed and looted the office of the...

Clashes break out at protests over arrested activists in southern Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah demanding the release of activists arrested over earlier demonstrations, with clashes breaking out between protesters and security forces. The city in the southern province of Dhi Qar has...

Four Iraqi soldiers killed in Islamic State group ambush

BAGHDAD (AP) — Four Iraqi troops were killed Wednesday and several wounded in an ambush by the extremist Islamic State group, Iraq's Interior Ministry said. The attack came days after the U.S. military announced that troops from its coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria will...

Wrapping up mission, US troops will leave some longstanding bases in Iraq under new deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced an agreement with the Iraqi government Friday to wrap up the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by next year, with U.S. troops departing some bases that they have long occupied during a two-decade-long...

US and Iraq reach deal to end American-led mission to fight Islamic State group and shift troops from longstanding bases