The reported movements involve personnel and equipment being transferred between Harir Air Base, Erbil International Airport and the US consulate compound, in what sources described as preparations for the withdrawal of remaining US troops under a September 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad.
Archiv: Iraq / Irak
Bundeswehreinsatz im Roten Meer verlängert
Der Bundestag hat am Donnerstag, 16. Oktober 2025, den Bundeswehreinsatz im Roten Meer um ein Jahr verlängert. Dazu lag ein Antrag der Bundesregierung für die fortgesetzte Beteiligung der Bundeswehr an der EU-geführten Operation Eunavfor Aspides zur Abwehr von Angriffen der Huthi-Milizen auf die Schifffahrt im Roten Meer vor (21/1372(Dokument, öffnet ein neues Fenster)). In namentlicher Abstimmung wurde der Antrag auf Empfehlung des Auswärtigen Ausschusses mit 435 Ja-Stimmen bei 69 Gegenstimmen und 77 Enthaltungen angenommen.
Bundestag gibt grünes Licht für Fortführung des Irak-Einsatzes der Bundeswehr
(January 30, 2026)
Die Bundeswehr beteiligt sich seit 2015 am internationalen Anti-IS-Einsatz. Die Mission wird von einer breiten Koalition aus mehr als 70 Ländern getragen – darunter auch Deutschland.
Die Personalobergrenze von 500 deutschen Soldatinnen und Soldaten wird unverändert beibehalten.
Das aktuelle Mandat ist bis zum 31. Januar 2027 verlängert worden.
Iraqi Resistance holds remote talks on US-Saudi strikes
Participants discussed possible responses to the attacks, including the option of carrying out military retaliation or refraining from any action.
The sources added that “the factions are facing significant political and government pressure not to escalate militarily,” amid concerns that any retaliation could trigger serious security and political repercussions inside Iraq and further widen the regional conflict.
Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2025–2026): July 2026: Complete Withdrawal Reaffirmed
During Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi‘s visit to Washington, the United States and Iraq reaffirmed that all remaining U.S. military forces would withdraw from Iraq by 30 September 2026, marking the end of the U.S.-led military mission in the country.
PM Al-Zaidi calls off Saudi visit
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi on Wednesday canceled his planned visit to Saudi Arabia, a government source told Shafaq News, hours after deadly US-Saudi airstrikes targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) across seven Iraqi provinces.
CF leaders call government action after US-Saudi strikes
2026-07-29 12:28
Leaders of Iraq‘s Coordination Framework, on Wednesday, condemned the US-Saudi strikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) sites in Iraq that killed 20 members and injured 32 others in seven provinces.
Former PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, head of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, considered the strikes “a breach of the principle of Islamic fraternity, and a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.” He questioned the timing of the strikes, saying they came after the Iraqi government had formed investigative committees to examine claims that drones had been launched from Iraqi territory toward Saudi oil facilities. That step, he said, showed Iraq was addressing the matter through legal and institutional channels rather than military escalation.
Al-Sudani said Iraq retained its legitimate rights under international law, including the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Exclusive: Houthis claim Saudi attacks, offer PMF cooperation
A senior official in Yemen‘s Houthi movement said on Wednesday that the group, and not Iraq‘s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), carried out earlier attacks on Saudi Arabia, accusing Riyadh of blaming Iraqi factions for operations they did not conduct.
Abdullah Al-Numi, a member of the political bureau of the Houthi movement (Ansarallah) told Shafaq News that the PMF had repeatedly denied attacking Saudi Arabia, while his movement had openly claimed responsibility for earlier operations against Saudi ports and facilities, including sites in Yanbu and Jizan.
Saudi-US strikes leave 16 PMF casualties in Iraq’s Nineveh
2026-07-29 12:22
Ten Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) members were killed and six wounded in airstrikes on two facilities in Bartella, east of Mosul, part of the PMF’s preliminary nationwide toll of 20 dead and 32 injured.
The command stated that the strikes targeted the Fourth Regiment headquarters of the PMF’s 30th Brigade and its Anti-Armor Directorate.
Saudi Arabia launches strikes on Iran-backed militia targets in Iraq
(July 29, 2026 | 03:43 AM)
Saudi Arabia‘s armed forces, in coordination with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), carried out precision strikes on Wednesday against Iran-backed militia targets in Iraq linked to recent drone attacks on the Kingdom‘s oil facilities, the Ministry of Defense announced.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki said the operation followed attempted drone attacks on oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh region on Monday and Tuesday, which Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed. He said those attacks originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by Iran-backed terrorist militias.
Al-Zaidi orders investigation on reported attack on Saudi Arabia from Iraq
The Iraqi Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, directed, on Monday, the competent security authorities to investigate the statement issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the targeting of the Kingdom with drones launched from Iraqi territory.
Who is striking Iraqi Kurdistan? New drones deepen an unanswered question
The structural reason attribution stays murky is itself worth naming because the „Islamic Resistance in Iraq“ is not a single group but an umbrella of interchangeable front names, staffed largely by Kataib Hezbollah personnel, under which the harder-line factions operate. Attacks surface under disposable labels while the parent organizations issue denials, distributing deniability by design. In that framework, the absence of a claim is not evidence of an outside hand; it is the system working as intended.
Which leaves open a possibility that neither the proxy-signal nor the internal-defiance reading captures: that the strikes serve simply to manufacture instability in a region whose neutrality makes it a soft and symbolically useful target. When drones are intercepted over the cities, their debris cleared and their intended target never confirmed, even the object of the attack becomes a matter of inference.
Iran media say 43 million people attended leader’s funeral ceremonies
Anywhere between 41 to 43 million people participated in the six-day funeral ceremony for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian media report.
Iran’s Press TV called Khamenei’s funeral “the largest procession the world has ever witnessed”. Ceremonies took place across five cities: Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad.
Barakah false flag: How Israeli drones targeted UAE nuclear plant to frame Iran, unleash nuclear catastrophe
The UAE‘s long-range AN/TPY-2 radar, integrated with the THAAD missile-defense system, can reportedly detect ballistic missiles at roughly 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers under optimal conditions. General air-surveillance radars like the Ground Master 400 typically track aircraft out to about 470 to 515 kilometers.
Patriot system radars, used for engagement and fire control, usually operate in the 150 to 300-plus kilometer range, depending on target type and altitude.
None of these radars can detect the launch or low-altitude flight of a small kamikaze drone originating in Iraq. That is a technical fact, not a matter of interpretation.
Even if the Emiratis possessed precise intelligence from Iraq about the exact time and location of the drone‘s launch, a highly unlikely scenario given the operational security of such attacks, a more fundamental question remains.
Why would Abu Dhabi not inform its Saudi neighbors that a hostile drone would be traversing at least 800 kilometers of the Saudi mainland, flying freely for up to five hours, without any reaction from Saudi air defenses? The absence of such notification is telling.
What can be determined with certainty is this: the drone attack was indeed carried out from the western border and over Saudi territory. And, there is no evidence – technical or otherwise – to support the claim that it was launched from Iraq.
Baghdad hails US-Iran deal, urges lasting peace
Iraq on Monday welcomed the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran, expressing hope that the agreement would strengthen regional stability and help end ongoing conflicts.
In a statement, the ministry reiterated Iraq‘s „firm and principled“ position in rejecting war and supporting dialogue and peaceful means as the only viable path to resolving disputes.
Iranian FM Araghchi dials Field Marshal Asim Munir, other world leaders amid fresh ME Tensions
Diplomatic channels have become increasingly active as governments seek to assess the situation and prevent further escalation. Alongside his conversation with COAS Munir, Araghchi also reached out to the foreign ministers of Türkiye, UK, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and France.
During discussions, he briefed counterparts on Tehran’s position regarding recent events and reiterated Iran’s stance on safeguarding its national interests.
Exclusive: Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan during Iran war as part of secret network across region, sources say
The secret deployment to Azerbaijan, reported by CNN for the first time, was one of several military positions Israel maintained across the Middle East that gave its military unprecedented reach, highlighting the role Iran’s neighbors played — some with permission, some likely without — in facilitating operations against Tehran and becoming entangled in the conflict.
The locations in Azerbaijan were among numerous covert military sites and bases in multiple countries, the sources told CNN, including in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Somaliland. The forces, initially planned as potential rescue teams in the event of an emergency, expanded in scope to become military and intelligence gathering positions.
The Miller Doctrine
(May 27, 2026)
Yet proposals that skirt the edges of international law didn’t come out of nowhere. The U.S. under George W. Bush created legal mechanisms following the September 11th attacks to torture hundreds of people in CIA black sites and then at Guantanamo Bay. The Obama administration’s targeted drone strikes were assassinations by another name. The Biden administration further eroded international norms and subverted its own policies by financing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, in violation of the Leahy Law, which prohibits foreign military assistance to nations that violate human rights.
“Seems like Miller is sort of taking what he was already willing to do during the first term and then combining that with what Israel has been doing in the way it has just been completely ignoring any kind of international law, Geneva Conventions, any of it in its conduct in Gaza and Lebanon, to then influence U.S. foreign policy,” Annelle Sheline, a research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an interview.
In other words, Miller and the Trump administration have been able to steamroll what was left of international law; they just had to figure out how to do it.
Trump’s ‘blow ‘em up’ threat to Oman means he’s now attacked or threatened 1 out of every 13 countries
He’s launched strikes in seven countries so far this term — Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen — after also attacking some of those countries in his first term. That doesn’t even count the strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, which have targeted nearly 60 vessels and killed more than 190 people.
He has also threatened or left open the possibility of strikes against seven others this term: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Greenland (which is part of Denmark), Mexico, Panama and now Oman. He also threatened Mexico and North Korea in his first term.
Iraq officials confirm second alleged Israeli base in desert
– U.S. reportedly knew of at least one Israeli base since June 2025 but likely withheld information from Iraq.
– Iraq was compelled to shut down its radar to protect U.S. aircraft during both the 12-day war and the 2026 conflict.
– The concealment of Israeli operations intensified scrutiny over Iraq’s sovereignty and coalition transparency.
– Iraqi political figures called for full transparency and stronger oversight mechanisms to prevent foreign intrusion.
Relations with Iraq
(May 8, 2026)
– At the 2016 NATO Summit, Allied Leaders decided to provide direct support to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh with NATO AWACS surveillance aircraft. They also agreed to provide a training and capacity-building effort within Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government.
– In May 2017, NATO became a full member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh, in which all individual Allies were already taking part
Iraq denies radar detection of drones that struck Saudi Arabia
Iraqi air defense systems detected no trace of the three drones that struck Saudi facilities, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, announcing an investigation into how the aircraft crossed Iraqi territory undetected.
The ministry called on Riyadh to share relevant intelligence to help establish what happened, while reaffirming Baghdad‘s rejection of any threat to Saudi security or sovereignty.
The secret Israeli bases scandal roiling Iraqi politics
In a deeply embarrassing development for Baghdad, Israel established two forward-operating bases (FOBs) for supporting air campaigns against Iran on federal Iraqi territory in a flagrant violation of Iraq’s already fragile sovereignty.
The Wall Street Journal reported the first base’s existence, in the barren Nukhaib desert southwest of the Shia shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, on 9 May. The New York Times further revealed Sunday that Israel also set up a second base somewhere else in the country’s western desert regions that it operated for over a year and even used during the June 2025 12-day war.
Bundeswehreinsatz gegen den „Islamischen Staat“ wird fortgesetzt
(January 29, 2026)
Vor allem an der Grenze zur irakischen Region Anbar, aber auch in den zwischen Bagdad und Erbil umstrittenen Regionen in Nordirak sei der IS bestrebt, sich Rückzugsräume zu schaffen und erneut territorial Fuß zu fassen. Dabei stelle sich die Terrororganisation in ihren Befehls- und Kampfstrukturen zunehmend dezentral auf. So gelinge es ihr dem hohen Verfolgungsdruck teils auszuweichen.
Völkerrechtliche Grundlage für den Fähigkeitsaufbau der regulären irakischer Streit- und Sicherheitskräfte ist laut Bundesregierung die Zustimmung der irakischen Regierung sowie mehrere Resolutionen des UN-Sicherheitsrates, nach denen vom IS eine Bedrohung für den Weltfrieden und die internationale Sicherheit ausgeht.
Israel‘s secret base in Iraq: what happened in the western desert and why Baghdad couldn‘t respond
(May 16, 2026)
The physical record is not seriously in dispute, and it begins with a shepherd. On March 4, a local herder in the remote desert southwest of Najaf and Karbala reported unusual helicopter activity to military authorities in Najaf. Iraqi forces were dispatched. They came under fire from the air. One soldier was killed, and two were wounded. Baghdad submitted a protest note to the Global Coalition without naming who had fired, and the incident was quietly classified —until the Wall Street Journal named the party responsible on May 9.
In Iraqi Desert, Two Israeli Outposts Were Kept Secret for Months
The presence of an Israeli outpost in Iraq was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. Iraqi officials told The Times there was another undisclosed second base also in Iraq’s western desert.
The base Mr. al-Shammari came across predated the current war between the United States, Israel and Iran, the regional security officials said, and was used during the 12-day war against Tehran in June 2025.
Israeli forces began preparing to build the makeshift base as far back as late 2024, one of the regional officials said — identifying remote sites from which to operate in future conflicts.
Iraqi farmer killed to hide evidence of two Israeli bases in country: Report
The presence of two secret Israeli bases in Iraq may have led to the death of a shepherd who discovered them, according to an investigation by The New York Times (NYT).
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel set up a covert outpost in Iraq’s western desert during the conflict with Iran. The site was reportedly used to support air operations and housed special forces units.
Saudi Arabia intercepts three drones entering from Iraq
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed three drones that entered its airspace from Iraq on Sunday morning.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said the drones were neutralised after crossing into Saudi territory.
Israel built and defended a secret Iran war base in Iraq
An Iraqi government spokesman declined to comment further on the incident or whether it knew of the Israeli base.
Israel Built and Defended a Secret Iran War Base in Iraq
Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who almost discovered it early in the war, people familiar with the matter including U.S. officials said.
Leak Severed a Link to Al-Qaeda‘s Secrets
(October 9, 2007)
The al-Qaeda video aired on Sept. 7 attracted international attention as the first new video message from the group‘s leader in three years. In it, a dark-bearded bin Laden urges Americans to convert to Islam and predicts failure for the Bush administration in Iraq and Afghanistan. The video was aired on hundreds of Western news Web sites nearly a full day before its release by a distribution company linked to al-Qaeda.
Computer logs and records reviewed by The Washington Post support SITE‘s claim that it snatched the video from al-Qaeda days beforehand. Katz requested that the precise date and details of the acquisition not be made public, saying such disclosures could reveal sensitive details about the company‘s methods.
Here Are The Countries’ Ships Allowed Through Iran’s Strait Of Hormuz
(March 27, 2026)
Below are other „friendly“ nations to Iran whose vessels are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz
Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars
(26.4.2018)
As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.
After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.
Iraq conflict has killed a million, says survey
(January 30, 2008)
The margin of error in the survey, conducted in August and September 2007, was 1.7 percent, giving a range of deaths of 946,258 to 1.12 million.
ORB originally found that 1.2 million people had died, but decided to go back and conduct more research in rural areas to make the survey as comprehensive as possible and then came up with the revised figure.
Survey Puts Iraqi War Dead Above One Million
(September 18, 2007)
The British polling agency ORB has released a new survey of Iraqis that suggests that more than one million Iraqis have been killed since the war began. One surprising finding from the study was that most of the estimated 1.2 million deaths were the result of a gun shot, not car bomb.
How many countries has the US bombed since 2001, and how much has it cost?
(March 3, 2026)
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, President George W Bush launched what he called a “war on terror”, a global military campaign that reshaped US foreign policy and triggered wars, invasions and air strikes across numerous countries.
According to an analysis by Brown University’s Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs, US-led wars since 2001 have directly caused the deaths of about 940,000 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other conflict zones