Thousands of Moqtada al-Sadr’s followers prayed outside parliament in a show of support for the populist leader who has called on the judiciary to dissolve parliament by the end of next week. Rival Iraqi factions took to the streets of Baghdad to call for a new government with supporters of religious scholar Moqtada al-Sadr demanding early elections and his Iran-backed […]
Tag: Iraq
Heatwaves Scorch Iraq As Protracted Political Crisis Grinds On
Temperatures have soared to nearly 50 degrees Celsius in Baghdad on an almost daily basis amid heated political crisis. Baghdad, Iraq – Under Iraq’s blistering summer heat, thousands gathered inside Baghdad’s Green Zone for mass prayer on Friday. Some wrapped their faces in cloths soaked in water, others brought bottled water to pour over their heads, many carried umbrellas – all […]
Iraqi MPs From Muqtada al-Sadr’s Bloc Resign
Al-Sadr had urged the lawmakers from his bloc to resign in order to create space for the establishment of a new government. Iraqi lawmakers from firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc resigned on Sunday, the parliamentary speaker said, a move ostensibly designed to end eight months of political paralysis. “We have reluctantly accepted the requests of our brothers and sisters, […]
Iraq Passes Law To Criminalize Relations With Israel
Violators of the anti-Israel law could face penalties including life imprisonment or even the death sentence. The parliament said in a statement that the legislation was “a true reflection of the will of the people”. Iraq’s parliament has been unable to convene on any other issue bar the law prohibiting ties with Israel, including electing a new president and forming […]
Iran Attack Left Over 100 Troops With Brain Injuries
The U.S. military on Monday disclosed a more than 50% jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, with the number of service members diagnosed climbing to over 100. No U.S. troops were killed or faced immediate bodily injury when Iran fired missiles at the Ain al-Asad base in […]
Iraqi MPs Back Call To Expel U.S. Troops
Following the assassination of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad airport last week, the Iraqi MPs have passed a resolution calling for foreign troops to leave the country. The Iraqi Parliament has also called for a formal complaint to be made at the UN about U.S. “violations” of Iraqi sovereignty. The United States has about […]
Trump Steals PR March In Nicodemus-like Trip To Iraq
Foregoing the bad optics of going to Florida to spend his planned 16 days holiday while the government is in lockdown mode, U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made an unannounced Christmas visit to US troops in Iraq. The couple traveled to Iraq in the dead of night to Iraq to thank the troops for “their service, […]
The Middle East Continues To Burn Slowly
After over seven years of war, there seems to be no end in sight to the human catastrophe that currently obtains in Syria. More than 400,000 people killed or reported missing. Also, it is estimated that more than half the population of 22 million have been driven from their homes with at least 6.1 million Syrians internally displaced, and another […]
The Eagle Flies To The East While The Bear Lurks
The Islamic State (IS) militant group, also known as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in its bid to create an Islamic state across the Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria, continues to run rampant in the Middle East by capturing large territories, carrying out public executions, kidnapping and raping women as well as looting oil resources and money […]