Baghdad: Iraq’s National Security Agency said Friday it arrested a former high-level security official for his involvement in the 1980 execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and his sister during Saddam Hussein‘s brutal crackdown on religious opposition. Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr was a leading Iraqi Shiite cleric and political critic who opposed the secular Ba’athist government … Read more
The Iraqi authorities have announced the cancellation of the licence of the Saudi Arabian television channel “MBC” to operate in the country. This comes after dozens of supporters of Iraqi militias attacked the MBC studios in Baghdad in protest over a broadcast by the “MBC in a Week” program on Friday afternoon, October 18, entitled … Read more
Multiple Katyusha rockets were fired near Baghdad International Airport, two Iraqi military officials told Reuters early on Tuesday, but a US official disputed reports that US military forces were targeted in the incident. “All military personnel are accounted for and military forces were not targeted as had been reported,” the US defense official told … Read more
The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense, a US official told Reuters, just hours after Israel struck Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and as tensions soar in the Middle East. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the strike was carried out because of a threat … Read more
Fifty thousand Pakistanis have disappeared in Iraq after performing the Shiite religious pilgrimage during the Ashura season in Karbala, according to official Iraqi and Pakistani announcements. For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org The story was raised by Chaudhry Hussain, the Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs, who said that 50,000 Pakistanis … Read more
At least four members of Iraqi law enforcement were killed while searching for Islamic State fighters in the town of Khan Bani Saad in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province, government and hospital sources said Saturday. At least three Iraqi police officers have been seriously injured, one of which is in critical condition. For more … Read more
Powerful Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is laying the groundwork for a political comeback two years after a failed and ultimately deadly high-stakes move to form a government without his Shi’ite rivals, multiple sources said. His return, likely planned for the 2025 parliamentary election, could threaten the growing clout of rivals including Iraqi … Read more
An explosion at a site used by Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in Iraq has focused a spotlight on the role that these groups play in Iraq and their threat to the region. The site of the explosion, around 50 kms. north of Baghdad, overnight Friday, includes a hangar and several concrete walls, and is part … Read more
One killed and six wounded in an airstrike on a military base used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to the south of Baghdad on Friday, according to Iraqi sources. Significant strikes were carried out overnight between Friday and Saturday against targets of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, south of Baghdad, as reported by Saudi-owned … Read more
Representative image Baghdad: A number of US military personnel have suffered brain injuries in a missile attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq’s Anbar province, the media reported. “Several ballistic missiles and rockets were fired towards the airbase on Saturday around 18:30 Baghdad time,” US Central Command CENTCOM said in a statement. “Some soldiers suffered … Read more
