Iraq - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

August 19, 2026

Baghdad 6:56 pm

39°C

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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 Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi meets with senior Iraqi officers during his visit in Kirkuk, Iraq June 2, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC251H9N531M

Iraqi forces team up for anti-IS operation in Kirkuk

A large joint operation to root out Islamic State sleeper cells began in Kirkuk in a show of strength and unity after a rash of attacks in the area in recent weeks.

Police tape cordon is seen at the site of a bomb attack at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the Baladiyat neighbourhood of Baghdad, Iraq June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC1F71BFBE30

Anti-Saudi blocs in Iraqi parliament want to sue

Iraqi political forces said they intend to enact a law to sue Saudi Arabia and have Riyadh compensate for the damage caused by suicide attacks carried out by Saudis in Iraq, which would embarrass the Mustafa al-Kadhimi government that is making a new start in Iraqi-Saudi economic relations.

Closed shops are seen during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC2QZG9QKZIO

Iraq returns to lockdown after surge in coronavirus cases

Iraq registered more than 400 COVID-19 cases today, breaking the previously highest number from only a few days ago.

An Iranian cleric chants slogans as they gather to mourn during the forty days memorial, after the killing of Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. air strike at Baghdad airport, at the "Valley of Peace" cemetery in Najaf, Iraq February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2BYE9HRC06

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq wage 'fake news' campaign against US

Several pro-Iran militias have lately claimed responsibility for attacking US forces in Iraq, but examining their media activities indicates they are probably fake groups created by existing militias to show strength without taking the risk of ramifications.

A healthcare worker takes blood samples from a woman during testing for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sadr city, district of Baghdad, Iraq May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC21TG9DOH2Z

Iraq registers dramatic jump in COVID-19 cases

There were 416 new confirmed infections of the novel coronavirus in Iraq today.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-SECURITY/AIRFORCE REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - S1AEULZGSTAA

Turkey conducts rare strike in Iraq's Sulaimaniyah province against PKK

Most Turkey-PKK fighting takes place in other parts of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where Turkey has military bases.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio in Rome, Italy, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria - RC1FD9F23680

Intel: US, Italy to co-host virtual meeting of anti-IS coalition

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Italian counterpart, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, will co-host a virtual meeting for members of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State on June 4, the State Department announced today.

Gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei waves a rainbow flag during a rally to support the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum, in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu - RC1650EE2B70

Rainbow flags over Baghdad fan debate, spur fear

In what both progressive and conservative critics considered a tone-deaf step to support Iraq’s LGBTQ community, several Western embassies’ raising of the rainbow flag did not have its intended effects.

TOPSHOT - Relatives of farmer Hamad al-Ibrahim clean his damaged land in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-led coalition declared the IS proto-state defeated in March 2019 after a bli

Coalition airstrike kills Islamic State leader in eastern Syria, Iraq says

Mu'taz Numan 'Abd Nayif Najm al-Jaburi was killed in a coalition-led airstrike, Iraq's intelligence services said.

Iraqis walk at a luna park empty in the northern iraqi city of Mosul on May 25, 2020 on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday which starts at the conclusion of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, after months of closure due to the coronavirus Covid-19 lockdown. - Muslims around the world began marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr, many under coronavirus lockdown, but lax restrictions offered respite to worshippers in some countries despite fears of skyrocketing infections. (Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP)

Iraq registers jump in COVID-19 cases during Eid al-Fitr holiday

The Iraqi authorities said there were 163 confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, which was greater than the number in a single day that prompted lockdowns in Baghdad last week.

An Iraqi fighter with the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) inspects the site of the Islamic State (IS) group attack, a day earlier, on a unit of the paramilitary force in Mukaishefah, about 180km (110 miles) north of the capital, on May 3, 2020. - IS group remnants in Iraq are exploiting a coronavirus lockdown, coalition troop withdrawals and simmering political disputes to ramp up deadly attacks, according to analysts and intelligence officials, the bloodiest so far being an ambush early on M

Kirkuk tribesmen rally as IS launch new wave of attacks

As Islamic State sleeper cells continue to carry out attacks south and west of oil-rich Kirkuk, local tribesmen made efforts to show unity while other factions showed off "resistance" to the United States and Israel.

Iraq to launch investigations against killing of protesters

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadimi announced the formation of an investigation committee to look into the killings of Iraqi protesters.