Category: Iraq

2 Suicide Drones Shot Down Near Iraqi Base Hosting US Forces: Coalition

Two armed drones were shot down in Iraq as they approached a military compound hosting U.S. personnel near Baghdad’s international airport, a U.S.-led coalition official said on Monday. “Two fixed-wing suicide drones, or improvised cruise missiles, attempted to attack Baghdad Airport this morning at approximately 4:30 a.m. [0130 GMT],” the official, speaking on condition of…


2 Armed Drones Shot Down Near Iraqi Base Hosting US Forces: Coalition

Two armed drones were shot down in Iraq as they approached a military compound hosting U.S. personnel near Baghdad’s international airport, a U.S.-led coalition official said on Jan. 3. “Two fixed-wing suicide drones, or improvised cruise missiles, attempted to attack Baghdad Airport this morning at approximately 4:30 a.m. [0130 GMT],” the official, speaking on condition…


Iraq Puts on Display Ancient Artifacts Returned by US

BAGHDAD—Ancient artifacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003 were put on display in Baghdad on Tuesday. Among the artifacts returned by the United States was a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient Sumerian tale believed to be one of the world’s first pieces…


Motorcycle Explosion in Southern Iraqi City Kills at Least 4

BASRA, Iraq—An explosion rocked the center of Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Monday, killing at least four people and wounding four others, according to Iraqi security forces. The blast sent a column of black smoke into the sky. The governor of Basra, Asaad al-Idani, told reporters on the scene that a motorcycle had exploded….


Military Failed to Properly Track Brain Injuries: IG Report

On Jan. 7, 2020, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in retaliation for the United States killing Iranian general Qassem Suleimani. No U.S. troops were killed in the strike, but the Pentagon initially reported that 34 of them suffered traumatic brain injuries. Officials then upped that number…


11 Iraqi Civilians Killed in ISIS Attack on Baghdad Village

The ISIS terrorist group on Oct. 26 killed at least 11 civilians and injured a number of others in a village northeast of Baghdad in eastern Iraq, security officials in the country said. Tuesday’s attack targeted “defenseless civilians” in the village of Al-Hawasha, near the town of Muqdadiya, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a…


Officials: Iraq Arrests Mastermind of Deadly 2016 Bombing

BAGHDAD—Iraq said Monday it has detained the mastermind behind a deadly 2016 bombing in a Baghdad shopping center, which killed around 300 people and wounded 250. The suicide car bombing in the central Karradah district was the deadliest attack by a single bomber in the Iraqi capital after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Iraqi…


Early Results Show Record Low Turnout in Iraq’s Election

BAGHDAD—Voter turnout in Iraq’s elections was 41 percent, according to preliminary results announced Monday, a record low in the post-Saddam Hussein era, signaling widespread distrust of the country’s leaders and the vote for a new parliament. The weekend’s election was held months ahead of schedule as a concession to a youth-led popular uprising against corruption…


Iraqi Forces Capture Top ISIS Leader Who Had $5 Million Bounty Reward

Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have captured a high-ranking member of the ISIS terrorist group who oversaw its finances and served as an ISIS deputy leader under the late Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi officials announced. “While our ISF heroes focused on securing the elections, their INIS [Iraqi National Intelligence Services] colleagues were conducting a complex external…


Drone Attack Hits Northern Iraq Near Erbil Airport and US Forces: Officials

BAGHDAD—A drone attack hit near Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq where U.S. forces stationed at on Saturday, Iraqi Kurdish security officials said. The internal security service for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, of which Erbil is the capital, initially said three rockets had hit near the airport. A second statement by the Kurdish counter-terrorism force said…