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☆ TikTok Star Is Killed in Third Death of Social Media Influencer in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It took less than 46 seconds for the helmeted assassin to pull over his motorcycle, walk to the driver’s side of the S.U.V., yank open the door and fire his handgun four times, killing one of Iraq’s most prominent TikTok personalities, a 30-year-old woman whose name on social media was Um Fahad. The Iraqi Interior Ministry, which released the video, said it had formed a committee to investigate her death. The victim, whose real name was Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, had become popular on social media sites, especially TikTok and Instagram, where her videos showed her wearing tight or revealing clothing, or singing and cuddling her young son. They won her some 460,000 followers, but also drew the ire of conservatives in Iraqi society and in the government. At one point, officials ordered Ms. Sawadi jailed for 90 days, reprimanding her for a post that showed her dancing at her 6-year old son’s birthday party.

Persons: yank, Fahad, Mahdi Sawadi, cuddling, Sawadi, reprimanding Organizations: Iraqi Interior Ministry Locations: Baghdad

☆ Same-sex couples face up to 15 years in prison in Iraq’s LGBTQ crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Nechirvan Mando | Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Iraq has passed a new law that penalizes same-sex relations with up to 15 years in prison, a move condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the country’s LGBTQ community. Samar called on the US and other countries to put diplomatic pressure on the Iraqi government to revoke the law. He warned that international business coalitions have already signaled that such discriminatory practices could negatively impact Iraq’s economic growth. “Respect for human rights and political and economic inclusion is essential for Iraq’s security, stability, and prosperity. This legislation is inconsistent with these values and undermines the government’s political and economic reform efforts,” Miller said on Saturday.

Persons: ” –, Raad al, Mohsen Al, ” Al, Mandalawi, ‘, I’ve, ” Samar, Samar, Mohammed Shia, Joe Biden, “, ” Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Sarah Sanbar, ” “, ” Organizations: CNN, Iraq, Maliki, Iraqi, US Department of State Locations: Iraq, Iraq Samar, Samar, Al

Baghdad, Iraq CNN —Iraqi social media star Ghufran Sawadi, better known as Umm Fahad, was shot dead outside her home in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, on Friday night, a Baghdad police source told CNN. The attack took place in the Zayouna area east of Baghdad, and was captured on video by a surveillance camera and shared on social media. A Baghdad police source confirmed the authenticity of the video to CNN. Other Iraqi social media personalities have previously been targeted in deadly attacks. Most recently, another popular Iraqi TikTok personality, Noor Alsaffar, known as Noor BM, was shot dead in Baghdad in September 2023, an Iraqi security source told CNN at the time.

Persons: Ghufran, Umm Fahad, Sawadi, ” Sawadi, ”, Noor Alsaffar, Noor, Alsaffar Organizations: Iraq CNN, CNN Locations: Baghdad, Iraq, Iraqi, Instagram

☆ Analysis: Can Netanyahu avoid triggering a regional war?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In a paradigm shift after decades of shadow proxy war, Tehran is usurping Israel’s strategy. “We have decided to create a new equation,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami said. When faced with existential threats in the past, Israel has executed the most audacious raids the region has ever witnessed. The damage that can be inflicted on Iran is huge, is huge.”So the most important question right now must be, can Netanyahu read the room right – with Iran threatening to attack, allies warning him not to – and avoid triggering a regional war. Iran, he implied, won’t attack Israel as long as it fears America’s reaction.

Persons: CNN —, Joe Biden’s, Ebrahim Raisi’s, ” Israel, Hossein, “, Bashar al, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Benny Ganz –, David Barnea, Staff Herzi Halevi, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, of National Security Itamar Ben, Gvir, Ganz, Gallant, – Ganz, ” Netanyahu, ” Netanyahu’s, Saleh Al, Amos Yadlin, Yadlin, ” Yadlin, Bashar, Iran’s, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Biden Organizations: CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, –, Staff, of National Security, IDF’s Military Intelligence, UN Security Locations: CNN — Israel, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Osirak, Syria, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Lebanese, Beirut, Lebanon, Damascus, America

☆ Opinion: Biden needs to bring US troops back from Iraq, now
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Opinion Daniel R. Depetris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The subject of finally concluding America’s counter-ISIS mission in Iraq has been the plot of ongoing deliberations between Washington and Baghdad for the last three years. If the Biden administration’s approach is to wait for the perfect time to get out, then it will wait for eternity. It’s worth remembering why the United States sent troops to Iraq in the first place. The mission — eliminating ISIS’ territorial caliphate — was achieved. US troops should be pulled out of Iraq and Syria now.

Persons: Daniel R, Monday’s, Joe Biden, Mohammed Shia, DePetris, Sudani, ”, Biden, Nouri al, Barack Obama, “, —, Trump, Bashar Al, Assad, Saddam Hussein, territorially, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Israel, Iran’s Organizations: Defense, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Politico, Street, Guardian, CNN, Iraqi, ISIS, “, Islamic State, Maliki, US, US Air Force, State Department, “ ISIS, Twitter Locations: The, Iraq, Washington, Baghdad, Israel, United States, Syria, Iraqi, Mosul, Syrian, Baghouz, Iran, Iranian, Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Moscow, Israeli, Tehran

☆ Fighting Through Art: A Kurdish Dancer’s Journey to New York Stages
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Brian Schaefer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Hussein Smko was 9, the American military arrived in his hometown, Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region. It was 2003, and Smko, already a survivor of the Kurdish civil war, would chase the American Humvees with other kids. One day a soldier beckoned him over and demonstrated a simple, beguiling gesture: He held out a straight arm then made it ripple like water, a classic hip-hop move. “I thought it was like a big sparkle,” Smko, 30, said in an interview. The dance they were preparing, “On the Nature of Rabbits,” opens Wednesday at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan.

Persons: Hussein Smko, Smko, Pontus Lidberg, ” Organizations: American, Joyce Theater Locations: Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdish, Tarrytown, N.Y, Swedish, Manhattan

☆ Opinion | Why Authoritarians Like Saddam Hussein Confound U.S. Presidents
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Steve Coll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

America committed its worst foreign policy mistake of the post-Cold War era when it invaded Iraq in 2003 to disarm Saddam Hussein of his supposed weapons of mass destruction. Another central question has rarely been examined: Why did Mr. Hussein sacrifice his long reign in power — and ultimately his life — by creating an impression that he held dangerous weapons when he did not? Mr. Hussein recorded his private leadership conversations as assiduously as Richard Nixon. He left behind about 2,000 hours of tape recordings as well as a vast archive of meeting minutes and presidential records. And they clarify the complicated matter of why he could not persuade U.N. inspectors, multiple spy agencies and many world leaders that he did not possess weapons of mass destruction.

Persons: America, Saddam Hussein, Biden, George W, Hussein, Richard Nixon, Bush Locations: Iraq, Iran, Washington, United States, China, Russia

☆ Close US partners in the Middle East demand air defenses after Iranian drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US Congress has already asked DoD to develop a plan to equip the Peshmerga with air defenses. Iraqi Kurdistan expects the US to appreciate such stances and provide air defenses, given the high stakes for the autonomous region. Ceng Sagnic, chief of analysis of the geopolitical consultancy firm TAM-C Solutions, said “several considerations” are involved in supplying the Peshmerga air defenses. Turkey may not object to an American air defense provision to Iraqi Kurdistan under certain conditions. Advertisement“Using recent clashes as a reason to request additional US air defenses is likely to be viewed negatively in Ankara,” Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program, told BI.

Persons: —, America’s, Masrour Barzani, ” Mohammed Salih, ” Salih, Ceng Sagnic, ” Sagnic, Mazlum Kobane, ” Ali Bakir Organizations: DoD, Service, Kurdistan’s, NBC News, Foreign Policy Research Institute, TAM, C, ISIS, ”, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Reuters, US Locations: Kurdish, Syria, Turkey, Iraq’s Iran, United States, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Iran, Iraqi, Erbil, Jan, Washington, Iraq, American, Baghdad, Ankara, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan

Washington CNN —A US military strike on Wednesday in Baghdad killed a Kataib Hezbollah commander who was responsible for attacks on American forces in the region, according to US Central Command. A US official said the strike was part of the response President Joe Biden authorized last week in response to the Jordan attack. As of Tuesday, there had been at least 168 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. In addition to the three soldiers killed in the Jordan attack, three other service members were medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The Iraqi government said the US’ strikes killed at least 16 people, including civilians.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jordan, Biden, –, Sabrina Singh, ”, “, CNN’s MJ Lee, Kevin Liptak Organizations: Washington CNN, US Central Command, Central Command, Command, Local, CNN, White, Iraqi Popular Mobilization, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pentagon, Regional Medical Center, Iraq’s, US, United Locations: Baghdad, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Germany, ”, United States, Anbar Governorate

☆ Mideast Crisis Blinken Takes Bid to Avoid Wider War to Qatar and Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Erin Mendell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

At the U.N. Security Council on Monday, China’s ambassador, Zhang Jun, broadly accused the United States of using excessive force around the world and manipulating public opinion about its intentions. The Security Council has frequently been a platform for U.S. and Russia’s spats over Ukraine, Syria and, most recently, the war in Gaza. “Iran has never sought to bring its dispute with the United States into Iraq’s territory,” Mr. Iravani told the Council, reiterating Iran’s stance that it does not seek a war with the United States. Algeria, the only Arab member of the Council, has drafted a new resolution calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. The attacks killed 1,200 people and led to the abduction to Gaza of 240 others, Israeli officials said.

Persons: Zhang Jun, Vladimir V, Putin, Russia’s, Vasily Nebenzya, Biden, Nebenzya, “, ” Robert Wood, Mr . Wood, ”, Saeid Iravani, Mr, Iravani, Rosemary DiCarlo Organizations: . Security, United Nations Security, Security, Pentagon, Israel Locations: United States, Russia, China, Iraq, Syria, East, U.S, Ukraine, Gaza . China, Iran, The U.S, Israel, Gaza, Jordan, Middle East, America, Red, Tehran, Algeria

☆ ‘We hold the US responsible,’ says brother of Iraqi student killed in airstrikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The brother of an Iraqi student killed as a result of US airstrikes on Iraq and Syria on Friday says the family holds the United States responsible for his death. “My brother was killed instantly,” Anmar told CNN on the phone from Al Qaim on Tuesday. Security forces inspect a damaged car at the site of a US airstrike in Al Qaim, Iraq, February 3, 2024. Shell casings lie at the site of a US airstrike in Al Qaim, Iraq, February 3, 2024. A destroyed building at the site of a US airstrike in Al Qaim, Iraq, February 3, 2024.

Persons: Abdulrahman Khaled, Al Qaim, Anmar Khaled, “, Abdulrahman, ” Anmar, Stringer, –, ”, John Kirby, ” Kirby, Joe Biden, ” CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Betsy Klein Organizations: CNN, White House, Security, Reuters, Al, General Hospital, Preparatory High School, ISIS, Department of Defense, Popular, National Security Locations: Iraq, Syria, States, Al, Iranian, Abdulrahman, Anbar, Al Qaim, Jordan, United States, Iran

CNN —US officials said Monday that Iraq was not notified ahead of a series of strikes on Iran-linked targets in the country, contradicting earlier statements that the Iraqi government was notified before the strikes occurred. We informed the Iraqis immediately after the strikes occurred,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a briefing on Monday. “Iraq, like every country in the region, understood that there would be a response after the deaths of our soldiers,” he noted. In a statement to CNN, Kirby said he “responded with information that I had been provided at the time” after the strikes on Friday. “For operational security reasons, we did not provide any kind of official pre-notification with specific details on these strikes,” the spokesperson said.

Persons: Vedant Patel, ”, John Kirby, Kirby, “, Pat Ryder, ” Ryder, we’ll Organizations: CNN, ” State Department, National Security, State Department, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, United, Pentagon Locations: Iraq, Iran, “ Iraq, Syria, Jordan, United States, Anbar Governorate, Iranian

☆ Fact check: Trump makes false claims about Iraq, Iran and Nikki Haley in new Fox interview
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Remember I used to say: ‘Don’t do it, but if you do it, keep the oil.’”Facts First: Trump’s claim that he said “Don’t do it” is false; the claim was debunked eight years ago. In reality, Trump did not publicly express opposition to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq before it occurred. In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” Trump argued a military strike on Iraq might be necessary; when radio host Howard Stern asked Trump in September 2002 whether he is “for invading Iraq,” Trump responded, “Yeah, I guess so. Trump claimed on Fox, as he has before, that Iran “called me” to let him know of its plan to deliberately miss. Trump has provided no substantiation for the claim that Iran called him to telegraph the strike and offer reassurance.

Persons: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Mitch McConnell, Iraq Trump, “, Trump, ” Trump, Howard Stern, George W, Bush “, Qasem, Iran “, Asad, ”, Mark Milley, Haley, aren’t, That’s, We’ll, ” Haley, Olivia Perez, Cubas, … ” Mitch McConnell, McConnell, he’s, –, ” McConnell, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez Organizations: CNN, Republican, Fox News, Fox, Trump, Washington Post, Pentagon, ” CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Post, New, Green, Green New, Deal, Democratic, US Customs Locations: Iraq, Here’s, Iran, Iranian, New Hampshire, New, Indiana, Great, “

The US said the attack lasted 30 minutes, hitting 85 targets across seven locations in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill recognizing the PMU as a government entity operating alongside the Iraqi military. A screengrab from a video, geolocated by CNN to the town of Qaim, Iraq, shows the aftermath of US military strikes in the area, according to the Iraqi Military. Iraq and Syria condemned the US attack as infringements on their sovereignty that risk fueling regional conflict. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” Biden said in a statement Friday, following the strikes on Iraq and Syria.

Persons: Joe Biden, –, Biden, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Sanders, Matt Rourke, Qaim, Turki Al, John Kirby, Washington, ”, SANA, Kirby, Douglas Sims, “, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Jack Reed, Lloyd Austin, ” Biden, Charles Lister, ” Lister, Ebrahim Raisi Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Army, US Army, Dover Air Force Base, House, Hezbollah, Al, US National Security, Syrian, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq’s Armed Forces, United Nations Charter, Republican, Senate Armed, US, Coalition Forces, Austin, Middle East Institute, Iraq Locations: United States, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Gaza, Israel, Delaware, Iraqi, Al, ” Syria’s, Deir Ezzor, Gen, Qaim, ” Syria, Washington ,, Tehran

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 23 people, all rank-and-file fighters, were killed. The air assault was the opening salvo of U.S. retaliation for a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend. The U.S. has blamed that on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias. Iran, meanwhile, has attempted to distance itself from the attack, saying that the militias act independently of its direction. On Friday, the USS Carney shot down a drone over the Gulf of Aden and there were no injuries or damage.

Persons: Hussein, Washington “, ” Mosawi, Rami Abdurrahman, Bassim, Awadi, embassy’s, “, —, Yemen’s, Carney, Dwight D, Abby Sewell, Bassem, Jon Gambrell, Tara Copp Organizations: Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Associated Press, Human Rights, U.S, Population Mobilization Forces, Islamic, Popular Mobilization Forces, Israel, U.S . military’s Central Command, U.S . Navy, Eisenhower Locations: BAGHDAD, United States, Iraq, Syria, Iranian, Baghdad, U.S, Britain, Jordan, Iran, Iraqi, Islamic State, Gaza, Aden, Red, Beirut, Jerusalem, Washington

Attacks The map shows five of the seven sites that the U.S. hit with military strikes in Syria and Iraq. The strikes hit more than 85 targets at different locations using more than 125 precision-guided munitions, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command. Two American officials said the United States also conducted cyberoperations against Iranian targets on Friday but declined to provide details. It is clear from statements from the White House, and from Tehran, that neither the United States nor Iran wants a wider war. Striking sites in the Mideast with aircraft launched from the United States and refueled midair is a muscular show of global reach and capability, the official said.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Mr, “, ”, John F, Kirby, Douglas, Sims, Yahya Rasool, That’s, Iran’s, Jordan, Roger Wicker of, William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, Moffett, Sanders, Sergeant Rivers Organizations: Iranian, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, U.S . Central Command, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, ”, Jordan . Middle, Revolutionary Guards, National Security Council, White House, Central Command, White, Pentagon, Dyess Air Force Base, U.S, military’s Joint Staff, Air Force, Iraq’s Armed Forces, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Revolutionary Guards Corps, Administration, Capitol, Biden, Republican, Armed Services Committee, Dover Air Force Base, Army Reserve Locations: United States, Syria, Iraq, East, Jordan, Iran, U.S, Jordan ., Tehran, Texas, Yemen, Israel, Gen, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Delaware

Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed across the Middle East, mostly in countries with close ties to the United States. There were more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007, during the war that followed the U.S. invasion. Image Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in 2019. Credit... Nasser Nasser/Associated PressWhy are so many troops there? A military coalition led by the United States, including forces in Syria and Iraq, defeated it. President Biden has retaliated with attacks on Iran-aligned militants, hitting groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Persons: Jan, Al, Nasser Nasser, Biden, Israel —, Al Tanf, ” Gen, Hossein Organizations: U.S, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Hezbollah, Army, Air Force, Washington, Operations, Navy’s, U.S . Central Command, Associated, Islamic, U.S ., Pentagon, ”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Jordan, Iraq, United States, State, U.S, Al Asad Air, Iraq’s, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Azraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, American, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Israel, Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has bolstered defenses at a base in Jordan that was attacked by Iran-backed militants as it prepares for a wider U.S. response to a drone attack that killed three service members, a U.S. official said Friday. Even as a larger U.S. military response seemed imminent, some Iran-backed factions pledged to continue to attack U.S. forces in the region. A second U.S. official confirmed the military had taken self-defense strikes inside Yemen against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. The U.S. options under consideration include targets in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, where the Iranian-made drone that killed the service members was fired from, the official said. The U.S. has blamed the Jordan attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias.

Persons: Harakat, Jordan, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, CQ Brown, Defense SecretaryAustin, ” Austin, Austin, ”, Aamer Mahdani, Abdulrahman Zeyad, Ahmed al, Haj Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Joint Chiefs, Dover Air Force Base, Defense, Hezbollah, Washington , D.C Locations: Jordan, Iran, U.S, The U.S, Yemen, Red, Yemeni, Hajjah, Sanaa, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Delaware, Iranian, Iraqi, backchannels, Washington ,, Baghdad

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Militia Blamed for Attack on U.S. Forces Says It Will Halt Military Activity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

His comment raised fears in Iraq about a possibly retaliatory U.S. attack on its territory. The militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, is the largest and most established of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq. (Kata’ib Hezbollah is separate from the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.) The other two Iraqi groups that are believed to have been involved in strikes U.S. targets — Harakat al Nujaba and Sayyid Shuhada — have not announced they will halt attacks. Kata’ib Hezbollah and other groups had ignored the Iraqi government’s request to stand down, but once the attack in Jordan on Sunday took American lives, Mr. Sudani demanded a complete halt from Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Persons: Biden, Israel, —, Nujaba, Sayyid Shuhada —, Kata’ib, Abu Hussein al, “, Pat Ryder, ”, Mohammed Shia, Sudani, Hisham al, Sudani’s, Nuri al, Qais, Hadi, Esmail Qaani, Falih Hassan, Farnaz, Eric Schmitt Organizations: Pentagon, Hezbollah, Party of, Iraqi Army, Kurdish Syrian Defense, Islamic, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Defense Department, U.S, Sunday, Revolutionary Guards, Maliki, Quds Force Locations: Iran, Iraq, U.S, Jordan, Syria, Gaza, The U.S, Islamic State, Lebanon, Yemen, Islamic Republic of Iran, United States, Iraqi, Baghdad, New York, Washington ,

☆ US and Iraqi governments expected to start talks on future of US military presence in the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The US and Iraq are expected to soon begin talks on the future of the US military presence in the country, according to sources familiar with the matter, amid public calls from the Iraqi government for the US to withdraw its troops. US military officials and diplomats will be involved in the discussions, officials said. The talks about the future of the US’ military presence have now taken on a greater urgency amid the wider regional instability, and amid growing public calls by the Iraqi government for the US to withdraw its troops from the country. Part of the discussions will focus on whether and when it will be feasible to end the US military presence in Iraq. “The Biden administration is not considering a withdrawal of forces from Syria,” a senior US official told CNN.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, ”, They’re, Mohammed Shia, Sudani, ” “, “, ” Jonathan Lord, Jon Alterman, it’s, Alterman, Elena Romanowski, Biden, CNN’s Haley Britzky Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, ISIS, Defense, ”, ISIS Coalition, Higher, Commission, Center for New American Security, Iraqi Security Forces, Middle, Center for Strategic, International Studies, “ Locations: Iraq, Iraqi, Iran, Syria, ”, Iranian, Baghdad, Israel

☆ Iran-backed groups in the Middle East and major US military deployments
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | Abbas Allawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The US has attacked Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, while Iran-linked groups have targeted American personnel in Iraq and Syria. The US, having been trying to pivot away from the Middle East for years, finds itself drawn back into the region. And in some places, including Iraq and Syria, the US military presence overlaps that of Iran and its allies. The US has around 13,500 US forces in Kuwait, the largest American military presence in the region. The US this month quietly reached an agreement that extends its military presence for another 10 years at the base.

Persons: Yemen’s, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Harakat, Sayyid, Al, Haq, Asad, Bashar al, Assad, Israel, Ali, Dalton Williams Organizations: UAE CNN, Hamas, Islamic, Navy, Marine Expeditionary Unit, Institute for National Security, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, National Intelligence, Badr Organization, Asad Air Base, Erbil AB, Al, Force, Fatemiyoun, ISIS, Syria Security, Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian Free Army, CNN, Gaza, US Air Force, Battalion, 163rd Cavalry Regiment, Ali Al Salem Air Base, U.S . Air Force, Washington, United Arab, US, Udeid, Base, Forward Headquarters, Combined Air Operations Centre, Prince Sultan Air Base, UAE, Al Dhafra, Al Dhafra Air Base, Gulf Air Warfare Center, US Naval Forces Central Command Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Iran, US, Iranian, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, Pakistan, Islamic Republic, Washington, Lebanon Lebanon, East, Lebanon, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Iraq Tehran, Baghdad, Al, Erbil, Syria Iran, Syrian, Pakistani, ”, Red, Saudi, Yemen’s, Kuwait, U.S, Palestinian, Arab, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Doha, Al Dhafra Air, Bahrain, Jordan, Incirlik

☆ U.S. Strikes 3 Sites in Iraq Linked to Militias Blamed for Base Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The United States on Tuesday carried out military strikes against three facilities in western Iraq associated with Iran-linked militias that American officials say attacked a major base in Iraq on Saturday, according to the Pentagon’s Central Command, injuring at least four U.S. service members. “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement. The attack against Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Saturday was the latest and the most serious of about 151 such rocket and missile strikes directed at U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza started. Al Asad Air Base, in Iraq’s western desert, is now primarily used by Iraqi forces but still has a U.S. contingent. At least 83 U.S. personnel have suffered injuries in the attacks by militias in Syria and Iraq, including traumatic brain injuries.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden, Austin, Biden “ Organizations: Pentagon’s, Command, Central Command, U.S, ”, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Pentagon, Houthi Locations: States, Iraq, Iran, Iraq’s, Syria, Iranian, Al Asad Air, Gaza, United States, Britain, Yemen, Al, U.S, Kurdish Syrian, Islamic State

☆ US personnel injured in attack on Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —US personnel were injured in a ballistic missile attack on Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq on Saturday, two US officials said. The attack resulted in minor injuries, the officials said, though it was not immediately clear how many personnel had been injured. US Central Command confirmed the attack Saturday evening and said in a statement that “a number” of US personnel are being evaluated for traumatic brain injuries. Multiple ballistic missiles and rockets targeted the base and, while most were intercepted by the base’s air defenses, some made impact, the CENTCOM statement said. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia group, claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.

Persons: ”, Biden, “, Mohammed Shia, Sudani, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Hamdi Alkhshali, Haley Britzky, Donald Judd Organizations: CNN, Asad Air Base, US Central Command, Hezbollah, US, ISIS, Reuters, UN, Pentagon Locations: Al, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Iranian, Gaza, Iraqi, Iraq’s, —, Davos, Switzerland, Aden

☆ Deadly Iranian Strike in Northern Iraq Inflames Tensions in the Region
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A deadly Iranian ballistic missile strike in northern Iraq on Tuesday drove a wedge — at least temporarily — between Baghdad and Tehran, adding to the already volatile and tense situation in the Middle East. The Iraqi government recalled its ambassador to Tehran and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Baghdad to the Foreign Ministry after at least eight ballistic missiles launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck overnight in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, killing four civilians, including an 11-month-old girl. The strike came amid widespread fears that the devastating war in Israel could spiral into a more deadly confrontation. The war has already sparked a low-level regional conflict between Iranian proxy forces in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and the United States and other Wester powers. The United States, France and Britain denounced the latest Iranian attack, which shook Erbil and set off sirens at the United States Consulate and at the airport, which was forced to suspend flights.

Persons: Iran’s chargé Organizations: Tuesday, Foreign, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, United States Consulate Locations: Iraq, Baghdad, Tehran, Iran’s chargé d’affaires, Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan, Israel, Syria, Yemen, United States, France, Britain

The move comes as the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. In its waning days, the Trump administration designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization over the strong objections of human rights and humanitarian aid groups. Yemen, on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula bordering the Red Sea, is the poorest country in the Arab world. While supporters of broad sanctions argue it’s possible to shape any enforcement mechanisms so to exempt food and humanitarian aid, aid organizations worry that fears of running afoul of U.S. regulation could scare away shippers, banks and other players vital to Yemen’s commercial food supply. The Red Sea attacks have already caused significant disruptions to global trade.

Persons: —, Biden, Antony Blinken, Trump, Blinken, ”, Scott Paul, “, Yemen’s Houthi, Jake Sullivan, Linda Thomas Greenfield, Brent, Houthis, Sullivan, Joe Biden's, ” Sullivan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Al Thani, Mohammed Shia, Masrour Barzani, Jon Gambrell, Edith M, Lederer, Ellen Knickmeyer Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, U.S, Nations, Oxfam America, White House, House, Economic, British, United Nations, Consulate, Islamic, Tuesday, ___ Associated Press Locations: Yemen, Red, Gaza, Israel, Yemenis, U.S, Davos, Switzerland, Iran, Malta, Tehran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Qatar, Kurdish, House, Irbil, ___, Jerusalem, Washington

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