• Iraqi officials say Baghdad wants to minimize reliance on U.S.

    Iraqi officials say Baghdad wants to minimize reliance on U.S.

    Feb 05, 2020 06:49 PM EST

    ... November. "The Iraqis have not requested assistance with airstrikes in recent weeks, while our operations are paused. All coalition airstrikes have been coordinated with the Iraqi Security Forces for years," he said. Iraqi military personnel who have benefited from coalition training are making appeals in private, knowing firsthand Iraq's ...

  • U.S. general slips into Iraq for talks to salvage relations

    U.S. general slips into Iraq for talks to salvage relations

    Feb 04, 2020 04:44 PM EST

    ... Jan. 3 that targeted and killed Qassem Suleimani, Iran's most powerful general, but also struck down an Iraq general who was with him. The Iraqi, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. In response to what Iraqi leaders ...

  • Iraqi protesters reject PM-designate picked by ruling elites

    Iraqi protesters reject PM-designate picked by ruling elites

    Feb 02, 2020 03:25 PM EST

    ... Sunday. The building had been stripped of portraits paying tribute to those killed under fire from security forces. An image of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered religious figure, remained, and a lone Iraqi flag fluttered on the rooftop. Militiamen interviewed said they had come to clear the ...

  • Iraqi blocs select new PM-designate after weeks of jockeying

    Iraqi blocs select new PM-designate after weeks of jockeying

    Feb 01, 2020 08:55 PM EST

    ... thousands and withdrew support for Iraq's mass anti-government protest movement, only to reverse the decision later. The presence of U.S. troops on Iraqi soil has become the focus of Iraqi politics in the wake of the strike. Parliament passed a non-binding resolution for their ouster and ...

  • Brain injuries in Iraq focus attention on invisible war wounds

    Brain injuries in Iraq focus attention on invisible war wounds

    Jan 30, 2020 07:03 PM EST

    When it announced earlier this week that the number of TBI cases in Iraq had grown to 50, the Pentagon said more could come to light later. No one was killed in the missile attack, which was an Iranian effort to avenge the killing of Qassem Soleimani, its most powerful ...

  • Iraqis rally to demand U.S. troops leave

    Iraqis rally to demand U.S. troops leave

    Jan 24, 2020 07:11 PM EST

    If the conditions are met, “the resistance will temporarily stop until the last soldier leaves Iraq,” al-Sadr said, referring to American troops. Al-Sadr, whose followers fought U.S. troops after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust dictator Saddam Hussein, derives political capital from his ability to ...

  • Iraq prime minister says whether to oust U.S. troops is up to next government

    Iraq prime minister says whether to oust U.S. troops is up to next government

    Jan 15, 2020 06:04 PM EST

    ... decrease tensions. We have made international contacts for more consultations with our brotherly and sisterly countries,” al-Thani said in a joint press conference with Iraq's Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed al-Hakim.Al-Thani met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham Saleh later Wednesday. “We ...

  • U.S. troops clear rubble from Iraq base after Iran missile strike

    U.S. troops clear rubble from Iraq base after Iran missile strike

    Jan 13, 2020 12:53 PM EST

    AIN AL-ASAD BASE, Iraq (AP) — U.S. troops were clearing rubble and debris on Monday from a military base housing American soldiers in western Iraq, days after it was struck by Iranian ballistic missiles. The Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province is a sprawling ...

  • Are U.S. military leaders prepared to withdraw from Iraq?

    Are U.S. military leaders prepared to withdraw from Iraq?

    Jan 11, 2020 10:10 PM EST

    Iraq’s government is demanding that U.S. troops leave the country in the wake of last week's drone strike that killed an Iranian general and an Iraqi militia commander. But on Friday, as violent protests continued in Iraq, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would ...

  • Will fallout from Soleimani killing drive U.S. troops from Iraq?

    Will fallout from Soleimani killing drive U.S. troops from Iraq?

    Jan 10, 2020 11:50 PM EST

    ... Soleimani.So I think we need to keep this in perspective and understand, at the end of the day, we need to be careful, the Iraqis need to be careful, because, as President Trump showed, as he's done with Syria, he could leave Iraq with a tweet. Nick Schifrin ...