The Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the death of two of its Basij paramilitaries in southeastern Iran this week. The Iranian regime claims that the two men had been ”martyred” in a “terrorist attack in the city of Saravan in the southeastern province of Sistan-and-Baluchestan.” This is the latest in a number … Read more
Aydin Hadid Talal thought his whole family had been killed in Islamic State’s ferocious assault on Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority a decade ago. Then last year, the 20-year-old started receiving messages from a Facebook account he didn’t recognize, asking about his missing brother, Rojin. “Can you give me a call?” the person asked. “No, … Read more
The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq held elections this week, with around two million people turning out to vote. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which typically garners the most votes, once again emerged with the highest number, garnering 800,000 votes. This is an important step for the region, and to understand why, … Read more
Iraq’s Kurdistan voted on Sunday to elect a new parliament for the autonomous oil-rich region, where voters expressed concern over economic struggles and disenchantment with the political elite. Iraqi Kurdistan presents itself as a relative oasis of stability in the turbulent Middle East, attracting foreign investors due to its close ties with the United States … Read more
Iraqi Kurds voted on Sunday for a new regional parliament amid an economic crisis caused by an enforced halt in oil exports and corrosive rivalry between the two main political parties. The vote is to elect 100 lawmakers who will then pick a parliament speaker, a president and a prime minister for the semi-autonomous … Read more
The Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, stirred controversy over comments he made about the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Kurdistan region in northern Iraq is an autonomous region with its own governing authority. Iran has carried out attacks on the region in the past, claiming to target “Mossad” and also targeting … Read more
Kurdish forces released 50 Syrian detainees with suspected ties to the Islamic State (IS) on Monday as part of an amnesty deal that could result in the release of between 1,000 and 1,500 prisoners, a regional security official confirmed. The agreement, which exclusively applies to Syrian nationals, was reached between the Kurdish-led Autonomous … Read more
The Iraqi army shot down an armed Turkish drone over a city in northern Iraq on Thursday, military officials revealed. For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org According to law enforcement and army sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the unmanned aerial vehicle was downed over the city’s … Read more
“My parents always told us about the Iraqi Jews, how they formed an integral part of society and then were expelled,” said Suzan Quitaz, a Kurdish journalist originally from Iraq. Like dozens of thousands of other Kurds, Quitaz’s family was expelled from their homeland and had their nationality revoked during the rule of Saddam … Read more
Iraq said on Monday it had arrested three people linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and suspected of planning attacks across the country, including on a key oil export pipeline in the north. Interior ministry officials showed reporters three suspects dressed in yellow jumpsuits with their faces covered by masks and said … Read more
