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Iraq

March 12, 2026

Baghdad 5:09 am

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Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

US warns of kidnapping threat in Iraq as Iran-backed militia hits diplomatic facility

A number of US-related sites have been targeted by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, prompting Baghdad to bolster its air defenses.

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on Nov. 24, 2025.

Exclusive

Baghdad, US turn to Iraqi Kurds for oil exports as Iran war hits supplies

Baghdad wants Kurdish pipelines to move up to 200,000 barrels per day to global markets, but Erbil is demanding relief from a dollar embargo and greater autonomy over trade.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Israeli-Kurdish relations are rooted in a common struggle against Islamic extremism and the Kurds’ strategic presence across Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Israel hopes Iran’s Kurds, and other minorities, will mobilize to help bring down the Iranian regime.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Kurds see opening yet remain wary as Trump seeks help to oust Iran regime

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barr

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Winthrop Rodgers

In Sulaymaniyah, reporting on Kurdish issues

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani speaks at a news conference following his meeting with Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID Administrator Ambassador Randall L. Tobias in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad May 25, 2006. REUTERS/Ali Haider/Pool - RTR1DQND

Talabani's Party Stung by Loss In Iraqi Kurdistan Elections

The upcoming meeting of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in January 2014 may be an opportunity to elect new leadership.

A woman grieves at a cemetery in Baghdad's Adhamiya April 2, 2009. REUTERS/Ahmed Malik (IRAQ SOCIETY) - RTXDJ6S

In Iraq, Honor Crimes Spread to Cities

Once common only in rural areas, the practice of murdering women and other Iraqis for what some perceive as immoral acts has made its way into the country’s urban centers.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) and Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) hold a joint news conference in Baghdad, July 7, 2013. Barzani visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeatedly accused ea

Iraqi Political Factions Divided Over New Electoral Law

Iraqi political forces are squabbling while each tries to shape the new electoral law in a way that best suits its political clout.

An Iraqi man armed with an AK-47 stands guard in front of a cinema in
Baghdad, May 23, 2003. Shi'ite conservative muslims have warned cinemas
not to play erotic movies. A month after Saddam's fall, theaters have
already started to show European, Turkish or American movies containing
nudity, but are feeling the pressure from clerics to stop airing them.
REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

JD/WS - RTRO57Y

Iraqi Ministry of Culture Curtails Performing Arts

With the acting minister of defense also taking on the role of minister of culture, as well as an increasing outcry from religious figures against artistic liberties, arts and culture in Iraq are facing a dire situation.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims participate in an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad May 3, 2013. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims poured onto the streets of Ramadi and Falluja in the western province of Anbar following Friday prayers, in their biggest show of strength since the outbreak of protests last year. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ985

Iraq's Sunni Protesters Divided Over Government Negotiations

The formation of a delegation from the Anbar protests to negotiate with the Iraqi government has been stalled by objections within the protest movement, claiming misrepresentation.

Kurdish security forces inspect the site of a bomb attack in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 29, 2013. Six people were killed on Sunday in a series of explosions outside a security directorate in the capital of Iraq's usually peaceful autonomous Kurdistan region, security and medical sources said. Gunfire could be heard after the blasts in Arbil that wounded a further 36 people, according to the city's health directorate

Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing Rock Iraqi Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq deals with the implications of its first terrorist attack in six years.

The enigma of Qasem Soleimani and his role in Iraq

Al-Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, profiled in last month's New Yorker, has been among the most influential, and controversial, figures in Iran-Iraq relations.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during Baghdad Day celebrations at al-Zawra park in Baghdad November 15, 2008. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ) - RTXAMED

Maliki Says Terrorism in Iraq 'Directly Related' to Syria

In an exclusive written interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, “The increasing growth of extremist groups” is the deeper problem in Syria and warned “against the narrow, revenge-based view that controls some of the region's countries."

Employees of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) take part in vote counting at an analysis centre in Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (230 miles) north of Baghdad, September 22, 2013. Iraqi Kurds voted on Saturday for a new parliament that analysts said was poised to lead the oil-producing region further down the road to greater autonomy from Baghdad. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTX13V6S

Elections Not Enough To Solve Iraqi Crisis

The 2014 elections are unlikely to salvage what remains of the Iraqi state after years of bitter political divisions.

A worker adjusts a pipe at the Nassiriya oilfield in Nassiriya, 300km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad,September 8, 2012. Production from Iraq's southern oilfields is at 2.5 million barrels per day as the country edges closer to becoming the world's biggest source of new supplies over the next few years, a senior Iraqi oil official said. Picture taken September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR37U0U

Debate Over Oil-Revenue Surplus Renewed in Iraq

Iraqi lawmakers are considering whether to distribute the surplus among Iraqi citizens or add it to the state’s budget.

A man looks at a car on fire at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad October 7, 2013. Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 22 people, police said. Five of the six blasts were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts, but there was also an explosion in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Doura. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX142ZK

Iraqis Traumatized by Bombings

The frequency with which Iraqis witness the carnage wreaked by explosions has psychologically scarred a high percentage of the country’s population.

Iraqi Literacy Drive A Response to Extremism

An Iraqi youth group has organized a reading event in Baghdad to promote a literary culture and fight extremism.