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Iraq

August 18, 2026

Baghdad 10:23 am

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Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defences activated near the airport in Erbil, on July 24, 2026.

Explainer

Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran’s Kurdish opposition groups have turned Iraqi Kurdistan into a frontline in the war.

A man inspects the damage at the site of a strike in Bartalla, in the northern Iraq's Nineveh province, after US-Saudi attacks on militias, July 29, 2026.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

Iraqi authorities are cracking down on drone attacks after US and Saudi airstrikes targeted Iran-backed militias in the country.

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Qaani

Analysis

How Turkey is deepening energy and economic ties with Iraq as Iran weakens

a worker inspects an oil field in Iraq

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

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

As oil fires burn in the distance, a man covers his face near the entrance to the besieged city of Basra on March 29, 2003, in Iraq.

Rise in Iraqi cancer cases may be linked to wars, environment

The causes of the spike may be linked to Iraq's wars or environmental pollution, but the evidence is sketchy.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dahuk on May 14, 2013.

KRG puts PKK on notice for killing of peshmerga forces

The Biden administration slams PKK attack on Iraqi Kurdish allies as 'brutal.'

Wasni protest

Iraqi judiciary releases PMU leader, citing lack of evidence

The commander of an Iraqi Popular Mobilization Unit accused of involvement in murder was released June 9 after the court said it failed to find sufficient evidence.

Green Zone convoy

Another Iraqi intelligence officer killed in Baghdad

The most recent killing is likely meant to undercut Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's efforts to curb militias outside the control of the state.

A picture taken on Jan. 13, 2020, during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State, shows a US soldier walking past a drone at the Ain al-Asad air base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

US air defenses shoot down drones near Iraq air base

Drones were intercepted and brought down near the air base that hosts US forces.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity Prime Minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Erdogan threatens to strike refugee camp inside Iraq

The rhetoric against Makhmour, a settlement where residents are overwhelmingly sympathetic to the Kurdistan Workers Party, could be part of a strategy to divert attention away from economic problems at home.

n Iraqi sits across graffiti reading in Arabic "Where's my killer?" and depicting renowned Iraqi anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni (Ehab al-Ouazni), who was shot dead in an ambush earlier this month, in the shrine city of Karbala on May 23, 2021. A wave of deadly attacks on pro-democracy activists and journalists in Iraq has sparked mounting calls to boycott October parliamentary elections, as perpetrators go unpunished. Killings, attempted murder and abductions have targeted more than 70 activists sin

Iraqi activists worry about election security

Some parties that grew out of the October protests have withdrawn candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections over security concerns.

The model of an airplane of Iraqi Kurdish carrier "Zagrosjet" decorates the center of a roundabout near Erbil's International airport in the capital of Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region on April 15, 2021. An explosives-packed drone slammed into the Erbil airport late on April 14 in the first reported use of such a weapon against a base used by US-led coalition troops in the country, according to officials. It comes after around 20 bomb and rocket attacks blamed on pro-Iran Shiite armed groups agains

Iraqi armed factions using drones against US-led coalition

Iraqi security and coalition forces are increasingly concerned about the use of drones by armed factions against military bases and airports.

Members of Iraqi security forces close access to the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, on April 25, 2021, after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe COVID-19 cases.

Iraqi security forces to fill security vacuum that harbors Islamic State

In an effort to curb growing Islamic State activity in security gaps along the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal Iraqi government are establishing Joint Coordination Centers.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 22, 2020.

Iraq unveils massive anti-corruption project

Iraq has lost $150 billion to corruption since 2003, according to Iraqi President Barham Salih.

Baghdad rally for Palestinians

Iraqis flood streets in support of Palestinians

A massive protest called by a popular cleric and a conference planned by a political alliance linked to Shiite armed factions bear witness to widespread Iraqi support for the Palestinian cause.

Yazidi women hold up pictures of missed relatives during a commemoration ceremony in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Aug. 3, 2019.

'Mountain of information' against Islamic State leads UN investigators to recognize Yazidi genocide

While Monday’s findings leave “no space for denial,” Yazidis now call for legislation and support for development of social and economic life.