Salafist danger spawns pan-Shiite solidarity

Rising incitement against Shiites by Salafist forces has prompted solidarity among the various sects of Shiite Islam.

Iraq

Iraqi prime minister criticized for halting strikes on cities

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has come under fire from some rival circles for a decision to halt indiscriminate strikes on cities, which were causing civilian casualties.

Iraq

Netanyahu missteps on Hamas, Islamic State comparison

In his UN General Assembly speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Islamic State, ignoring Israel's ongoing negotiations with Hamas in Cairo.

Palestine

Eid al-Adha: a time for Iraq to remember its war dead

The religious duty of visiting the dead on holidays has a special meaning for Iraqis, as many of them have lost loved ones in successive wars since the 1980s.

Iraq

US leverages Iran-Iraq-Syria axis against Islamic State

New alignment offers the potential for breakthrough in the battle against extremist groups; the Arab world has a pulse, not an illness.

Iraq

Fighting robs Iraqi farmers of harvest

The Islamic State attacks and defensive military operations have affected the agricultural sector in Iraq's Salahuddin province, where wheat production had been expected to reach 4.5 million tons this year.

Iraq

Moscow backs fight against IS … to an extent

Russia is expressing cautious solidarity with the United States in fighting the Islamic State, while continuing its unequivocal support of the Syrian government.

Iraq

Security ministries on hold in Iraq

Iraq's parliament has failed to vote on the candidates proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the posts of interior and defense ministers, letting the country slip down a dangerous path.

Iraq

Iranian conservative says the US needs Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian conservative Amir Mohebian discussed why he believes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pessimistic about the nuclear negotiations, how US policy in the Middle East has benefited Iran and how the United States is now in a position where it needs Iran to deal with regional issues.

Iraq

IS makes plans to fend off attacks on Mosul

The Islamic State focuses on preparations to fight off expected attacks to Mosul by identifying secondary locations for headquarters, storing weapons in mosques and planting booby-traps.

Iraq

Peshmerga look to restore image after defeats

Peshmerga forces are slowly but steadily regaining lost territory to the Islamic State, after initial defeats this summer sent shock waves through Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraq

US, Iran woo rival Kurdish factions in battle against IS

While US airstrikes against the Islamic State have mostly benefited areas controlled by Kurdistan Democratic Party forces, Iran has reportedly provided materiel and advisers to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Iraq