Who has 'boots on the ground' in fight against IS?

A mismatch in priorities between the United States and its Sunni allies is obliging the Obama administration to rely more on Iran-backed forces to fight the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

Iraq

Sunnis, Shiites show unity in Najaf

While the news headlines scream of sectarian violence, many everyday Iraqis tell a different story of cohesion and solidarity in cities where the displaced have gathered.

Iraq

Turkey shuts down smugglers by shooting mules

The tension in villages of Uludere in Turkey that lost 34 people in an airstrike by the Turkish air force three years ago persists and frequently develops into confrontations with Turkish soldiers.

Iraq

Forget Uber, Iraqis strap into satoutas

Struggling to make ends meet, Iraqis have innovated a new means to transport goods and people for little money, which has been competing with taxi drivers.

Iraq

Turkish military wary of Erdogan plan for Syrian buffer zone

The United States remains opposed to a no-fly zone in northern Syria; Masrour Barzani calls for "amicable divorce" for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; Jacky Hugi writes that Israel should back the Syrian government "at any price."

Iraq

New units step toward reforming Kurdish peshmerga

Some Kurdish officials are hopeful that new peshmerga brigades will be immune to politicization.

Iraq

Masrour Barzani: Kurdish independence would help defeat IS

Masrour Barzani, chief of the Iraqi Kurdish intelligence services, talks to Al-Monitor about delays in international support against the Islamic State.

Iraq

IS threat could push Jordan beyond its borders

Despite the imminent terrorist threat, some Jordanians reject the necessity to intervene in Syrian and Iraqi territory.

Iraq

Iraq's defunct military industry

Some Iraqi parties are calling for the reactivation of the Military Industry Commission, a relic of Saddam Hussein's rule, in order to jump-start investment.

Iraq

Security situation weighs on Iraq's economy

The wars that befell Iraq have negatively impacted the country’s economy, spiking its poverty rates and driving some to distrust what seems to be a temporary solution to the crisis the government seems inclined to adopt.

Iraq

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

Saudi Arabia

Iraqi children use art to confront trauma

Militarization continues to sweep over Iraqi society and has had a profound impact on children, whose artistic creations are now imbued with images of war and violence.

Iraq