Iraq begins exhuming ISIS mass grave at Al-Khasfa thought to hold 3,000+ victims In 2024, Human Rights Watch said that hundreds of thousands of victims remain buried in mass graves across Iraq, including those killed under former President Saddam Hussein. Iraq
Analysis How ISIS brides held by Syria’s Kurds are smuggled to suitors in Europe The women are finding their prospective husbands on the internet using smuggled mobile phones. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Widow of ISIS leader sentenced to death in Iraq: What we know Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife held Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State in her home, according to Iraqi authorities. Iraq
UK formally recognizes genocide against Yazidis by Islamic State The United Kingdom is the latest country to recognize the 2014 mass slaughter of Yazidis by the Islamic State as genocide. Iraq
Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan face 'extinction,' community leaders say As Yazidis struggle to survive in displacement camps in Iraq, one community leader continues to help women survivors of the Islamic State genocide to resettle in Europe. Iraq
Kurdistan officials concerned about PKK, Iran and energy sector High-ranking officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have voiced concerns over the lack of effective collaboration from Baghdad and risks to security from the presence of the PKK. Iraqi-Kurdistan
International wing of Yazidi force in Sinjar says it's 'not fighting Turkey' After three Western deserters claimed that the YBS forces were fighting Turkey and Iraq, the commander of the international brigade denied the allegations. Iraq
Analysis The Takeaway: Russia-Ukraine war spills over into Nile Dam dispute Israel reveals IRGC plots; Hamas looks to capitalize on Jerusalem violence; Iraq steps up desert drug busts; Iraq builds a wall with Turkey; migrant boat tragedy fuels anger in Lebanon; and more. By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn
Yazidi militia says Iraqi army attacks linked to Turkey’s anti-PKK campaign The Iraqi army is seeking to dislodge Yazidi fighters from Sinjar who Turkey says are members of the PKK. Thousands of Yazidi civilians are fleeing the area as clashes escalate. Iraq
Is Turkey behind border wall, Iraqi deployment in Sinjar? Baghdad’s military moves in Sinjar, coinciding with a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, and the construction of a wall along the border with Syria have rekindled fears among the local Yazidi population. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Against all odds, Yazidi girl outlives her top-ranking Islamic State captors Sipan Ajo, a 22-year-old Yazidi survivor from Kocho, emerged six months ago from seven years of captivity in Syria and has described her ordeal in detail to a journalist for the first time. Iraq
Analysis The Takeaway: Ukraine war looms over Iran nuclear talks, energy markets More on the Ukraine War from Israel, Russia, Lebanon and Gaza; Nile Dam crisis escalates … all in less than 1,100 words. By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn , Joe Snell
Turkey bombs village in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting PKK Turkey's conflict with the PKK has so far this year been concentrated in northern Iraq. By Al-Monitor Staff
Islamic State leader’s death brings little solace to Iraq's suffering Yazidis Yazidis react to the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who played a central role in orchestrating the slaughter and trafficking of the minority group. Iraq
Iraqi army boots PKK-linked leader’s statue from Sinjar, arrests fighters The Iraqi army has arrested several fighters from a PKK-linked Yazidi faction operating in Sinjar as part of an attempt to get them to abide by an accord signed in 2020 for greater stability and security. Iraq
Turkey strikes Yazidi militia in Iraq The Sinjar Resistance Units is a member of the Popular Mobilization Units, making it officially part of the Iraqi security forces. Iraq
