All posts tagged "Iraq"

President Donald Trump dropped a new threat to an old international foe on Tuesday.

Trump was slated to speak in Iowa and was arriving in Des Moines where he was expected to speak about the economy amid Republican concerns over upcoming midterm losses when he shared a sharp criticism of Nouri al-Maliki, an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, a period marked by significant sectarian violence, the rise of ISIS and allegations of authoritarian governance and marginalization of Sunni populations.

Trump wrote the following on his Truth Social platform:...

More than 21 million Shiite Muslims took part in the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq this year, which reached its peak on Sunday with attendees displaying their support for Gaza.

Arbaeen, which means forty in Arabic, marks the 40th day of mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and a founding figure in Shiite Islam.

It is one of the world's biggest religious gatherings and a major event for Shiites, who are the majority in Iraq and Iran....

Baghdad (AFP) - US forces carried out new strikes against two sites in Iraq early on Wednesday in retaliation for attacks by "Iran and Iran-backed groups," US Central Command said.  The US military "conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq," CENTCOM said on X, previously Twitter. "The strikes were in direct response to the attacks against US and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups," the post added, and come the day after a previous US air strike killed multiple Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq. Wednesday's attacks were carried out by US fighter aircraft......

By Timour Azhari and Anna Ringstrom BAGHDAD/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning, scaling its walls and setting it on fire in protest against the expected burning of a Koran in Sweden. All Baghdad embassy staff were safe, the Swedish foreign ministry press office said in a statement, condemning the attack and highlighting the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions. Thursday's demonstration was called by supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr to protest the second planned Koran bur......

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday visited neighbouring Syria, marking a growing Arab normalization with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The official visit was the first by an Iraqi premier to war-torn Syria in more than a decade. Al-Sudani met al-Assad, who said the visit would mark a “practical leap” in ties between the two countries. In mid-2014, the Islamic State extremist organization overran large swathes of northern Iraq. Shortly thereafter, the hardline jihadists proclaimed a caliphate, which also included the regions they controlled in Syria. Bu......

SAN JOSE, Calif. — When Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein were first elected U.S. senators from California in 1992 — a historic victory for women — Feinstein sat Boxer down and told her, “You’ve got to stick with this. The longer you stay, the better you’ll feel, the more you’ll get done.” Boxer took the advice to heart and stayed in office 24 years before retiring in 2017. “She was right. There’s no question about it,” Boxer told the Bay Area News Group on Friday. “But having said that, you’ve got to be able to do the job.” Feinstein has been unable to do that job for the past two months as ......