Page 5 - Iraq

US troop drawdown talks will go on as long as nothing disturbs talks: Iraq

The Iraqi government met again with the US government on Sunday on how to draw down American troops who have been deployed there for years combating the Islamic State. The two governments had held their first, long-awaited meeting January 27, but those meetings had been put on pause after Iran-backed militants struck a base in Jordan the very next day with a drone that killed three US service members. In the weeks since, the US has launched multiple retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria including a strike last week that killed a high-ranking commander of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia who the US said is responsible for "directly planning and participating in attacks" on American troops in the region. Both Iraq and the US had agreed last August to enter into talks to transition US forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating IS. There are approximately 2,500 troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the .

Drone strike in Baghdad kills high-ranking militia commander: Officials

A US drone strike hit a car in the Iraqi capital Wednesday night, killing three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials said. The strike came on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. A crowd gathered as emergency response teams picked through the wreckage. A U.S. official familiar with the matter said that a senior Kataib Hezbollah commander was targeted in a U.S. strike on Wednesday in Iraq. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity. Two officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq said that one of the three killed was Wissam Mohammed Abu Bakr al-Saadi, the commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah's operations in Syria. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to journalists. The strike came amid roiling tensions in the region and days after the U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria

Russia accuses US of aggression against Iraq and Syria, US vows to continue

Russia accused the United States on Monday of aggression against Iraq and Syria aimed at preserving its global dominance and salvaging the Biden administration's image ahead of US elections. The US retorted that its military response to unjustified attacks by Iranian-backed proxies against American forces is not only legal but will continue. The exchange came at a contentious UN Security Council meeting called by Russia, Syria's closest ally, where both countries also said they did not want an escalation and spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Many council members expressed fears of a growing Mideast conflict and urged de-escalation and stepped-up peace efforts. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US of violating international law and continuing to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East. He said violence by the United States and its allies has escalated from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon, the Red Sea and Yemen and is nullifying international efforts to

US, UK forces hit dozens of Houthi sites to counter ship attacks

US intends further strikes, Houthis promise 'escalation', more Red Sea assaults

Highlights of the day: Ladakh shuts down as thousands march for statehood

Updates: Catch all the latest updates from around the world

US President Biden delivers reprisal to Iran with room for de-escalation

The biggest question from Friday night's airstrikes was what the next step would be. On a call with reporters, a spokesman said there would be more in coming days

Iraq condemns US military strikes, calls it 'violation of sovereginty'

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden in a statement said that the US does not seek confilct in the Middle East but "if you harm an American, we will respond"

US retaliates for fatal drone attack, hits Iranian militias in Iraq, Syria

"Our response began today," Biden said in a statement. "It will continue at times and places of our choosing."

US, Iraq governments expected to soon begin talks on troops withdrawal

The US and Iraq are expected to soon begin talks on the American military presence in the country following calls from the Iraq government for the US to withdraw its troops, as reported by CNN

Indian tea exporters tackle West Asia market loss, gain ground in Iraq

'Aggressive promotion' helps companies to regain business share in nation

US strikes 3 facilities in Iraq after attack on forces, says Lloyd Austin

The US military struck three facilities in Iraq on Tuesday, targeting an Iranian-backed militia in retaliation for missile and drone attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria over the past several days, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. The US strikes hit militia facilities in western Iraq, near the Syrian border, US Central Command said. At President Biden's direction, US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq, Austin said in a statement. These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias. The strikes came hours after the US said militants fired two one-way attack drones at the al-Asad Air Base, injuring US service members and damaging infrastructure. And they follow the militia's most serious attack this year on the air base

Iran-backed militants launch attack on US airbase in Iraq, several injured

Earlier on Saturday, the US conducted airstrikes against a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and was prepared to launch, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said

Iran strikes targets in northern Iraq and Syria as tensions escalate

Iran announced late on Monday that it had launched strikes against a "spy headquarters and the gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" shortly after missiles hit an upscale area near the US consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The security council of the Kurdish regional government said in a statement that four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes. Peshraw Dizayi, a prominent local businessman, was killed in one of the strikes along with members of his family, according to a post on X, by former Iraqi member of parliament Mashan al-Jabouri, who said that one of the missiles had fallen on Dizayi's "palace, next to my house, which is under construction on the road to the Salah al-Din resort". Soon after, a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards on state media said it had struck "terrorist operations" including Islamic State targets in Syria "and destroyed them by firing a number of ballistic missiles". Another statement claimed

Iraq prepares to close down US-led coalition's mission, says report

Sudani's statement came a day after a US strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad, prompting anger among Iran-aligned groups which demanded the government end the presence of the coalition in Iraq

US orders strikes on Iran-backed group after attack on its troops in Iraq

President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three US service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the US troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone. Iraqi officials said US strikes targeting militia sites early Tuesday killed one militant and injured 18. They came at a time of heightened fears of a regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Iran announced Monday that an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus killed one of its top generals, Razi Mousavi, who had been a close companion of Gen Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Iran's elite Quds Force. Soleimani was sla

12 Turkish soldiers killed over 2 days in clashes with Kurdish militants

Six Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday in clashes with Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, a day after another six were also killed. The six soldiers slain on Saturday died in a firefight when militants attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base, according to a statement by the Turkish Defense Ministry. The statement said 13 militants had been neutralized. In addition to the six Turkish soldiers killed on Friday, four militants were slain, authorities said. Turkey conducts operations and airstrikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a banned Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s. Ankara maintains that PKK has sanctuaries in northern Iraq, where its leadership is also purportedly based. The PKK is considered a terror organisation by the United States and the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984.

US fighter aircraft strike Hezbollah targets in Iraq after attacks on bases

US fighter aircraft struck two Hezbollah operations centers in Iraq in response to attacks on US bases that have escalated alongside Israel's operations against Hamas in Gaza, two defense officials said. They said attacks on U.S. bases included the first use of a short-range ballistic missile against U.S. troops, which happened Tuesday. The U.S. fighter jets struck Kataib Hezbollah operations center and a Kataib Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide additional sensitive details of the attacks. There were Kataib Hezbollah personnel at both sites at the time of the strikes but the officials said they could not yet confirm whether anyone there was killed. The U.S. strike followed another immediate, unplanned retaliatory strike by an AC-130 gunship that was in the air when the Iranian-backed militants fired two short-range ballistic missiles at Al-Asad Air Base in

US extends sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran

The Biden administration has extended by four months a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to continue to purchase electricity from Iran and give Iran limited access to the proceeds to buy humanitarian goods. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the 120-day waiver extension and it was transmitted to Congress on Tuesday, US officials said. The move is likely to draw criticism from Iran hawks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere who believe the extension will reward Iran at a time when it is coming under increasing pressure to end its support for proxy groups, including Hamas, that are destabilising the Middle East. There is roughly USD 10 billion in Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity currently being held in escrow accounts in Iraq, and the waiver will allow Baghdad to maintain its energy imports without fear of US penalties for violating sanctions on Iran. It will also keep in place a provision included in the last 120-day waiver under which portions of the electricity proceeds

Lupin, Amman Pharma collaborates for exclusive marketing of Ranibizumab

Lupin Limited has partnered with pharmaceutical manufacturer Amman Pharmaceuticals Industries for exclusive marketing and commercialisation of Ranibizumab in the West Asian region

Dispute between Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga turns deadly, 3 killed

The Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces briefly clashed Sunday in a dispute over control of a strategic military post, killing three, Iraq's military spokesperson said. The dispute was over who controls three vacated posts previously in the hands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. It marked further tension in a fragile alliance between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region inside federal Iraq. Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool did not specify the identities of the three killed, adding that seven others in the dispute were wounded. On Thursday, the PKK announced they were vacating the positions, citing what they said was the declining threat of the extremist Islamic State group in the area. They had held the military position since 2014, during the global war on the group. Turkiye often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that