When throngs of Iraqis began converging on Baghdad’s main square in peaceful protest more than a year ago, a highly educated businessman made sure he was there on the first day – Oct. 1, 2019.
Christians in Iraq remain shaken by the twin suicide bombing in Baghdad. It was the first mass-casualty attack since 2018, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than a hundred.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a rare and deadly twin suicide bombing that rocked central Baghdad killing over 30 and wounding dozens.
Iraq’s military blames the Islamic State for yesterday’s ambush on a security post near the airport in Baghdad. “IS attacked the monitoring tower, killing five members of the tribal Hashed and six local people who had come to help repel the attack,” a security source told AFP.
The latest attacks in Baghdad underscore Iraq’s complexity. A handful of Shia militia groups backed by Iran act like puppet masters, pulling Iraq’s political strings and threatening Iraqi minorities.
The Yazidis of northern Iraq, an ancient religious minority brutally persecuted by Islamic State, want nothing more than peace, security and a better life in their home town of Sinjar – but they want it on their terms.
Some 2,200 U.S. troops are leaving Iraq later this month, officials announced Wednesday, leaving 3,000 soldiers behind to support local authorities. It’s the first troop withdrawal from Iraq since 2016.
A Katyusha rocket landed in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, causing damage to an empty building and no casualties, Iraqi police sources said on Saturday.
Record-setting summer heat and government incompetence are taking a toll on Iraq. Two people were killed by security forces in Baghdad last week while protesting power cuts.
Clashes between Iraqi protesters and security forces in central Baghdad killed at least two demonstrators overnight, security and medical sources said on Monday.