Iraq News and Discussions

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Time_Traveller
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Iraq News and Discussions

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Demonstrators breach Baghdad's parliament in protest over PM nomination in Iraq

Wednesday 27 July 2022 18:10, UK

Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have breached Baghdad's parliament building in a protest against the selection of a nominee for prime minister by Iran-backed parties.

Only security forces were inside the building and they appeared to allow the protesters in with relative ease.

Many were followers of an influential cleric and some were seen walking on tables and waving Iraqi flags.

The breach comes amid the biggest protest since Iraqi elections were held in October.

The demonstrators were protesting against the recent nomination of Mohammed al Sudani as the official nominee of the Co-ordination Framework bloc, a coalition led by Iran-backed Shiite parties and their allies.

https://news.sky.com/story/demonstrator ... q-12660172
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Fireworks at a wedding in Iraq start fire which kills over 100 people
https://www.google.com/search?q=firewor ... uqujw,st:0

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66932327
At least 100 people have died and 150 others are injured after a fire broke out during a wedding in Iraq's biggest Christian town.
Hundreds were celebrating in a banqueting hall in Qaraqosh in Nineveh province when it happened.
It is not known what started the fire but some reports suggest fireworks set it off.
Flammable panels fuelled the flames, causing parts of the ceiling to catch fire and fall, fire officials said.
"The fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when fire breaks out," Iraq's civil defence directorate said, quoted by state news agency INA.
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Iraqi Government Denounces Tehran-allied Militia Attacks Against U.S. Troops
by Sinan Mahmoud
October 23, 2023

Introduction:
(The National) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani has ordered security forces to clamp down on rogue militias linked to Iran, who have launched a wave of attacks on US forces who are training the official army.

Security forces must “pursue the perpetrators of these attacks and not allowing under any circumstances any harm to security and stability,” he said on Monday.

Under the country's 2005 constitution, Iraq's prime minister is the commander in chief of the armed forces, but military power remains spread between powerful armed groups with differing political loyalties.

Tehran-allied militias began a surge of attacks on bases hosting US troops with drones and missiles last week, while pledging support for Hamas, which launched a massive surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,400, mostly civilians, and triggering Israeli bombing raids in Gaza, killing nearly 5,000, also mainly civilians.

Attacks have hit Ain Al Asad in western Iraq, a military base near Baghdad's international airport and Harir in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
Read more here: https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2 ... -troops/

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Iraq Holds First Provincial Elections in a Decade
December 18, 2023

Introduction:
(DW) People in Iraq headed to the polls on Monday in the first provincial council elections since 2013.The elections are being held under beefed-up security.

The Shiite Muslim alliance is likely to strengthen its power amid an ongoing boycott by populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is the alliance's main political rival.

Polling is taking place in 15 provinces of Iraq, leaving out three that are autonomous Kurdistan regions.

Some 17 million people are eligible to cast their votes at a total of 7,166 polling stations set up across Iraq.

Polling began in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Basra at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), as was broadcast by Iraqi state television. The polling will continue until 6:00 p.m. local time.
Read more here: https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-holds-first ... 67752454
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Behind Iraq’s Call to Remove US-led Forces
by Ellen Ioanes
January 7, 2024

Introduction:
(Vox) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced Friday he will remove about 900 US-led coalition forces from his country, saying that “the justifications for its existence” — the threat of the Islamic State, or ISIS — “have ended.”

Al-Sudani announced that he would put together a “bilateral committee,” which includes members of the coalition forces, charged with ending their presence in the country, Reuters reported Friday. But it’s not clear that al-Sudani and the Iran-linked political blocs crucial to his appointment as prime minister will actually be able to push coalition forces out, though it may succeed in limiting their ability to operate in the country and the wider region.

The announcement came just a day after the US killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, also called Abu Taqwa, who the Department of Defense said was a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba (HaN), a Shia militant group associated with Iran and responsible for attacking US installations in Iraq and Syria. Other reporting has identified Abu Taqwa as Mushtaq Taleb al-Saeedi. The Pentagon confirmed the identity of Abu Taqwa as al-Jawari, but did not confirm the identity of a second person killed in the attack, beyond his affiliation with Abu Taqwa and HaN.

Such attacks have occurred in varying tempo and intensity for years now, ramping up again following Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attacks. Pentagon leadership has maintained that Abu Taqwa was “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.” But given that Harakat al-Nujaba and groups like it are technically part of the Iraqi military, al-Sudani’s office called Thursday’s strike an “unwarranted attack on an Iraqi security entity that is operating within the powers authorized by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”
Read more here: https://www.vox.com/world-politics/202 ... ne-drone
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Massive Attack On Al Assad Air Base In Iraq
January, 2024

Introduction:
(The Drive) It's been a very active day in terms of hostilities in the Middle East. Al Assad Air Base in Iraq, where U.S. military personnel and contractors are based, came under a massive barrage from Iranian-aligned militant groups in the country. The attack was so big that reports state it overwhelmed Al Assad's air defenses, with multiple projectiles landing within its permitter, causing injuries.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a blanket moniker for a number of groups hostile to the U.S. and Israel over the war in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack. It caused minor injuries to U.S. personnel and seriously injured one Iraqi.
Full statement of U.S. CENTCOM:
"At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems while others impacted on the base. Damage assessments are ongoing. A number of U.S. personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. At least one Iraqi service member was wounded."
Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... missiles


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U.S., Iraqi Officials to Hold Talks
by Jospeh Clark
January 26, 2024

Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) A commission made up of officials from the U.S. and Iraq will begin holding high-level talks in the coming days designed to advance the nations’ shared goal of building an enduring security partnership, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced Thursday.

The U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission aims to build upon joint commitments to regional security and Iraqi sovereignty outlined during the U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue held last year in Washington.

Previous discussions have focused on transitioning the U.S.-led mission by Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to a timeline that reflects the threat posed by the terrorist group, operational requirements and the Iraqi security forces’ capabilities, Austin said.

During the upcoming meetings, military and defense experts will focus on the evolution of Iraq’s campaign to defeat ISIS.

“The United States and Iraq have enjoyed a deep and productive partnership on security matters in the 10 years since the Iraqi government invited the United States and the coalition to fight ISIS, including the seven years since the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq,” Austin said in a statement announcing the commencement of the forum.
Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/26012024 ... d-talks/
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Everything We Know About the Aftermath of Last Night’s Airstrikes
by Howard Altman
February 3, 2024

Introduction:
(The Drive) As the U.S. assesses the results of its first wave of retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian forces and their proxies in Iraq and Syria, Tehran-linked militias in the region have delivered mixed messages, vowing revenge but also saying they don't want to escalate tensions.

The airstrikes, carried out in response to the deadly Jan. 28 drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan, killed dozens of Iranian-backed militia fighters, as well as civilians, according to claims by Iraq, Syria, Iranian-backed militias and a monitoring group. The War Zone cannot independently verify those assertions and we've reached out to the U.S. military for an updated bomb damage and casualty assessment, which is still being conducted, a U.S. defense official told The War Zone on Saturday.
Additional extract:
Regional Reaction

“The Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement confirms that the Islamic Resistance will respond to the American aggression in what it deems appropriate at the time and place it determines,” the group threatened, according to the Hezbollah-aligned Al Mayadeen Telegram channel. Al-Nujaba is part of the umbrella group of militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and notably used language similar to statements made by U.S. President Joe Biden.

However, Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesperson for the group, told The Associated Press in Baghdad that "we do not wish to escalate or widen regional tensions."

Mosawi added that the targeted sites in Iraq were mainly "devoid of fighters and military personnel at the time of the attack."
Read more here: https://www.twz.com/news-features/ever ... rstrikes
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Post by erowind »

At every turn the US is escalating this war when all it has to do is stop supporting Israel in their genocide.

At every turn where an American force is involved in a war or the occupation of another country the answer should always be, "Why are we we here?" The answer is that there is not a single country on Earth that genuinely threatens the United States in any way yet America threatens countless others. Bring all the troops home and defund the federal army.

I cannot think of a single place on Earth where the presence of American soldiers has helped in any way during my entire lifetime.

What about ISIS? If we didn't invade Iraq there would be no ISIS. What about the Taliban? If we didn't fight a proxy war with the Soviet Union there would be no Taliban.
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erowind wrote: Sun Feb 04, 2024 3:58 am
I cannot think of a single place on Earth where the presence of American soldiers has helped in any way during my entire lifetime.
But isn't that an oversimplification? The U.S. military doesn't just bomb or attack places. They provide a lot of peacekeeping, disaster relief and humanitarian aid work.
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