Tag Archives: Iraq

Bartalla, Iraq | AFP | Iraqi forces fought their way into jihadist-held Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, as a top commander declared the “true liberation” of the city from the Islamic State group had begun. Just over two weeks into the massive offensive to retake Mosul — IS’s last …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP |  Iraqi President Fuad Masum called on Wednesday for parliament to revise a law passed over the weekend that included a provision banning alcohol. The ban on the sale, import and production of alcohol, which was slipped into a draft law on municipalities in parliament on …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP |  Iraq launched a broad offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group a week ago. Here is what we know so far about the country’s biggest military operation in years: What have Iraqi forces retaken? Federal forces operating out of the main staging base …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties. Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any …

Washington, United States | AFP | The offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State jihadists has so far progressed faster than planners anticipated, but military experts fear the fighting could get tougher as US-backed Iraqi forces enter the city. Here is an overview of some factors determining the size and …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP |  A wide array of Iraqi and international forces are involved in the fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran the country’s second city in 2014. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the launch of the much-awaited operation on Monday and anti-IS …

Paris, France | AFP |  A complex offensive is taking place to recapture Mosul, the Islamic State group’s last major stronghold in Iraq and the country’s second city. Questions of timing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Monday that operations to liberate Mosul had begun after already calling an operation to …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday snubbed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s criticism of the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq ahead of a planned operation to retake Mosul city, urging him to “know your place”. “He is insulting me personally. You are not …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  A young Iraqi woman who survived rape and abuse as a sex slave of Islamic State fighters has became a UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman, called for justice for the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Former British prime minister Tony Blair on Wednesday defended his case for going to war in Iraq, after a long-awaited report found the 2003 invasion was based on flawed evidence and woefully executed. The hugely anticipated Chilcot report offered a damning verdict on Britain’s …