Baghdad - Page 2

BAGHDAD (AP) – A German woman well known in Iraq´s art scene and an ardent supporter of mass anti-government protests was kidnapped outside the Baghdad arts center where she worked, a security official and activists said Tuesday. The abduction of

Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militia group that killed an American civilian contractor in December while launching terrorist rocket attacks against Iraqi military bases, issued a statement on Wednesday accusing the U.S. military of using the coronavirus pandemic as cover to attack its own bases.

A group of Iraqi women joined ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Thursday — a daring exercise given both cultural stigmas against women participating in politics and the proclivity of Iran-backed Shiite militia thugs and Iraqi government security forces for murdering demonstrators.

The Iraqi capital of Baghdad experienced snowfall for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday, in what meteorologists claim is the biggest snowfall in the Middle Eastern country for the past century. 

A barrage of rocket fire targeted Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Sunday, hitting part of the U.S. embassy complex in that country. Saudi Arabia’s al-Arabiya news agency noted that the American compound “has been regularly hit by rockets in recent months.”

Police clashed with protesters in Baghdad on Monday after a few comparatively quiet days, resulting in 14 security troops suffering injuries from thrown rocks and complaints of excessive force leveled against police by the protesters.

JERUSALEM — Iran this morning claimed it is not seeking escalation or war. This after crossing all red lines by sending militias to attack our embassy in Iraq and now launching ballistic missiles at U.S. forces.

Iraqi officials on Monday backed away from their threat to expel U.S. troops following the killing of Iranian terrorist mastermind Gen. Qasem Soleimani and some important Iraqi Shiite militia leaders.

Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sobbed Monday as he prayed beside the coffin of terror leader Qasem Soleimani who was eliminated in a U.S. airstrike, as Soleimani’s daughter promised a “dark day” for the United States lay ahead.

The U.S. drone strike that killed the world’s most dangerous terrorist mastermind, Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani, also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a prominent Iraqi militant aligned with Iran.

During former President Barack Obama’s administration, the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) asked on Twitter whether Iranian elite Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani would ever “pay a price” for killing many Americans and balking at U.S. sanctions against him and Iran.

So far, this is the anti-Benghazi. Trump told us the truth. Trump sent immediate help. So far, security has been adequate enough to keep our people in Iraq safe.

Iraqi lawmakers loyal to Iran and its Shiite militia proxies announced on Thursday they are working on legislation to expel American forces from Iraq.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Adviser to the Secretary of State Brian Hook stated that the breach at the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad “was orchestrated by the Iranian regime.”

Iran-backed militiamen behind an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, have begun retreating from the area on Wednesday following a threat from President Donald Trump to hold Tehran accountable for the siege. 

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that there are no plans to evacuate the U.S. embassy in Baghdad or pull any of the American troops in Iraq out of the

Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced Tuesday evening that he has approved the deployment of 750 U.S. soldiers to the Middle East following an attack by pro-Iran forces on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Ben Rhodes, a former national security aide to former President Barack Obama, accused President Trump of pursuing a foreign policy based on “Obama envy” following news of a violent mob attacking the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

100 U.S. Marines and two Apache helicopters are now protecting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after pro-Iran mobs attacked the American compound on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

“We strongly responded, and always will,” Trump said. “Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”

Security forces killed 13 protesters on Sunday in one of the bloodiest days of the Iraqi protest movement, now in progress for almost two months.

Iraqi protesters burned down the home of Zainab Khazraji, a member of the Iraqi parliament, on Tuesday night. Local media reports said there was no apparent reason for targeting Khazraji and no political message was sent along with the vandalism.

BAGHDAD — Dozens of Iraqi protesters attacked the Iranian consulate in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on Sunday, scaling the concrete barriers ringing the building, bringing down an Iranian flag and replacing it with the Iraqi flag, eyewitnesses said.

Pope Francis reached out to the people of Iraq Wednesday, sending his condolences for deaths and injuries suffered by protesters and promising his prayers.

Iraqi police fired tear gas and stun grenades on Friday as protests resumed in Baghdad after three weeks of relative calm. There were also reports of live rounds being fired. The Iraqi Human Rights Commission reported 21 killed and 1779 injured in disturbances around the country.

An Iraqi bishop says there is a “strong fear” among the people that the Islamic State may return thanks to the Turkish offensive against the Kurds in the north of Syria.

Iraqi President Barham Salih on Monday condemned violence against protesters and journalists during demonstrations across the country and called on the Iraqi military to protect them.

The death toll from four days of widespread protests in Iraq climbed to 60 as of Friday afternoon, with a growing number of allegations that security forces are unnecessarily targeting demonstrators with lethal ammunition.

Massive demonstrations were held in Baghdad on Wednesday against corruption, government inefficiency, and high unemployment.

BAGHDAD — Two rockets landed near the US embassy in Baghdad overnight, security sources told AFP early Tuesday, with foreign diplomats there reporting emergency sirens repeatedly going off.

Israel was responsible for the bombing of an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month, U.S. officials have confirmed, an attack that would mark a significant escalation in Israel’s years-long campaign against Iranian military entrenchment across the region.

Militants from the Islamic State terror group killed at least seven Iraqi security forces and injured 16 more in two separate attacks late Wednesday night, Iraqi police have reported.

WASHINGTON, DC — Some factions of a Baghdad-sanctioned organization of mainly Iranian-backed Shiite militias are engaging in egregious violations such as torture, extrajudicial detentions, rape, extortion, and kidnappings in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, where persecuted religious minorities like Christians are struggling to recover from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) atrocities, top U.S. officials said this week.

Three missiles struck a military base housing local and American troops north of Baghdad late on Monday, the Iraqi armed forces confirmed, without elaborating further.

Baghdad is ready to step forward and act as a peacemaker between the United States and Iran if asked, Iraq’s parliament speaker said Saturday.

A rocket was fired into Iraq’s capital of Baghdad on Sunday evening, landing less than a mile from the U.S. Embassy, according to a report.