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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Spain’s King Felipe VI on Wednesday visited special forces helping Iraq fight jihadists, during the first trip by a Spanish monarch to the war-ravaged country in four decades, a diplomat said. The king, whose country is a member of an international coalition battling the Islamic State group, also later met President Barham Saleh. Iraq in 2017 declared victory over IS following a bruising months-long campaign backed by the coalition, which continues […]
by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday Turkey had committed to protecting Washington’s Kurdish allies fighting jihadists, during a surprise visit to Iraq to soothe concerns over the US troop withdrawal from Syria. The remarks by US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, on a whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, follow tensions between Washington and Ankara over the Kurds’ fate. Turkey reacted angrily to […]
by Saul LOEB with Sebastian SMITH in Washington Agence France Presse AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFP) — President Donald Trump used a lightning visit to Iraq — his first with US troops in a conflict zone since being elected — to defend withdrawing from Syria and to declare an end to America’s role as the global “policeman.” Trump landed at 7:16 pm local time at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, accompanied by his wife […]
HAWIJA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi authorities said they uncovered a new mass grave containing the remains of dozens of people in an area of northern Kirkuk province once held by the Islamic State group. Security forces have discovered dozens of mass graves since they drove out IS in 2017 after three years of occupation of swathes of northern and western Iraq. The United Nations said in November that more than 200 mass graves containing up to […]
by Haydar Indhar Agence France Presse NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) — Adel al-Kawwaz expertly spins the potter’s wheel, shaping the wet clay into a smooth jug. His family is famous for this millennia-old Iraqi craft, but Kawwaz is struggling to keep it alive. For thousands of years, clay utensils for storing food and cooking were found in virtually every home in Sumer, the earliest known civilization in modern-day southern Iraq. Kawwaz’s own family drew their name […]
by Martin Turner Agence France Presse RANIYE, Iraq (AFP) — After rolling pyramid-shaped dice, Iraqi Kurdish artisan Hoshmand Muwafaq shifted his pebble around an ornate board, his handmade recreation of one of the Middle East’s oldest and most popular games. Originating nearly 5,000 years ago in what would become Iraq, the Royal Game of Ur mysteriously died out — until Muwafaq resurrected it by making his own decorated wooden board. “It is a nice feeling […]
by Hazel Ward Agence France Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work in fighting sexual violence in conflicts around the world. The pair won the award “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict,” Nobel committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in an announcement which won international […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Dozens have been injured in a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck western Iran near the border with Iraq early Sunday, local media reported. The shallow quake hit 26 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of the city of Javanrud in Kermanshah province, the US Geological Survey said, near the site of a powerful quake last year that killed hundreds. A local medical university said a 70-year-old man had died of a heart […]
by Ammar Karim Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — As the stultifying summer heat sends Iraqis in search of cool spots, restaurateur Ali Hussein provides sanctuary — even though it means hooking up to an expensive generator. “The clients must be comfortable when they eat,” said Hussein, who stakes his reputation on ensuring customers are constantly blasted by air conditioning. Outside, temperatures at this time of year can reach 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), sending […]
(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, July 7, have asked the help of Iraq and Libya to help secure the release of five Filipinos who were abducted by armed men in those countries. This was revealed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in a statement. According to the DFA, based on initial reports from the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, two Filipinas were taken by armed men in Uzem District, south of Kirkuk. Based […]
JERUSALEM,Undefined(AF) —Israel declined to comment on Tuesday on a weekend air strike against an Iraqi paramilitary base in eastern Syria after its US ally implicated it in the attack. The Sunday evening strike against the Al-Hari base on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq came less than 24 hours after Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike Iran’s “proxies” anywhere in Syria. Fighters of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, mainly composed of Iran-trained […]
by Sarah Benhaida Agence France Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — An alliance spearheaded by nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr looked on the course Monday for a surprise triumph at Iraq’s first nationwide election since the defeat of the Islamic State group. In a further political upset, the rival Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former fighters appeared to be coming in second, squeezing internationally favored prime minister Haider al-Abadi into third. The outcome throws open the race to […]
