Iraq

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – A few days ago, a resident in the northern city of Mosul posted a comment about ongoing protests in southern Iraq on Facebook. “We greet you from Mosul,” wrote Imam al-Qaysi. “Our hearts are with you and we know what it’s like to live in these tragic conditions. We don’t have state […]

Iraq

Qatar plans Expansion of US-Leased Al-Udeid Airbase to Battle Extremists

AFP

Doha (AFP) – The US and Qatar plan to expand Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf as it battles jihadists, Qatari state media said Tuesday. The two countries have also discussed making Al-Udeid a “permanent” base, the official QNA news agency said, as Doha seeks to bolster ties with […]

Iraq

Iraq: New anti-Corruption Protests in South raise death Toll to 11

AFP

Baghdad (AFP) – Fresh protests hit southern Iraq Sunday as medical sources put at 11 the number of demonstrators killed in two weeks of unrest sparked by ire over corruption and lack of public services. Security forces remained deployed around the capital Baghdad after struggling Friday to disperse crowds of angry protesters who took to […]

Iraq

Massive South Iraq Protests move to Baghdad as Police use Water Canons; 1 Dead

Middle East Monitor

A security guard outside a branch of one Iraq’s most powerful paramilitary groups shot and killed a protester on Friday while trying to push back a crowd, police sources said, ratcheting up tensions over a lack of basic services sweeping southern cities. Two people were wounded when demonstrators throwing bricks and stones gathered outside the […]

Iraq

Protest Wave: ‘Explosion of Rage at System that has Robbed Iraqis of’ Hope

Ali Choukeir

Baghdad (AFP) – In the heat of battle against the Islamic State group, Iraqis united against a common enemy. But just a few months after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the jihadists, social grievances that once simmered on the back burner have boiled over in a series of protests that have spread to […]

Iraq

Iraq: Massive Protests against US-Installed Gov’t Enter Second Week

AFP

Basra (Iraq) (AFP) – Protests in Iraq continued into their second week Monday following days of clashes that left eight people dead, with demonstrators rallying to put social problems in the spotlight. Months after Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group, attention has turned from the military battle to the fight for jobs and […]

Iraq

Iraq bombs meeting of Daesh leaders in Syria; kills high-value targets

Middle East Monitor

Iraq has launched an air attack on a gathering of Daesh leaders inside neighbouring Syria, killing 45 members of the hardline militant group, its military said on Saturday. F-16 fighter jets destroyed three houses on Friday which were connected by a trench in the town of Hajin, where the leaders were meeting. Those killed included […]

Climate Change

Is Fertile Crescent Drying up? Neighbors’ Dams, Global Heating, and Iraq’s Low Tigris

Niqash

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – In Baghdad, locals have been fretting about dramatic falls in the level of the Tigris river. The government has a plan. Only problem is, that plan requires billions in funding that Iraq does not have. The passengers in the small bus all peer out anxiously as the vehicle crosses the Sanak bridge […]

Iraq

In Post-ISIL Iraq, Cleric al-Sadr adds PM Haidar al-Abadi in Quest for Gov’t of National Unity

AFP

Najaf (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr on Saturday said they had formed an alliance in a bid to create a new government after May polls. Sadr’s joint list with communists won 54 seats in the legislative elections to become the biggest bloc in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament, while […]