Author: Abu Hadah

Building on their long-standing partnership, NATO and Iraq have launched a political dialogue process. Earlier today, a delegation of high-level Iraqi officials led by the National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji, visited Alliance Headquarters for discussions with senior NATO officials. “Since 2018, at the request of the Iraqi authorities, our non-combat advisory and capacity building mission, NATO Mission Iraq, has advised Iraqi security institutions helping them to shore up their nation’s security, fight terrorism and prevent the return of Daesh; we work hand-in-hand every day to enable Iraq to build more sustainable, transparent, inclusive and effective armed forces and security institutions…

Anxiety mounts every day that a full-scale Middle East war could erupt from the flames of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “We feel and we’re afraid of it,” Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour this week. “We don’t want any escalation in the war. … We don’t like a regional war because it’s dangerous to everybody. Dangerous to Lebanon, dangerous to Israel and to the countries surrounding Israel,” he said, adding, “A regional war is bad for everybody.” But the one thing that could avert such a disaster is that a more expansive conflict may not be in…

With less than six months left to live, U.S. Army veteran Jay Tenison posted his No. 1 bucket list item on Reddit. He wanted to fire an M1 Abrams tank — and feel the “thunder of doom” again. Tenison, 39, an Iraq War veteran, was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. IN POTENTIAL CANCER BREAKTHROUGH, NEWLY FOUND ‘KILL SWITCH’ TRIGGERS DEATH OF CANCER CELLS: ‘ONE-TWO PUNCH’ It had been nearly two decades since he last fired a tank, but it was his top request on a list of things he wanted to accomplish once he received the terminal diagnosis. His wish came true…

The attacks have been claimed by an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militants dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Senior U.S. defense officials tell Fox News Digital there have been two new attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. At Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, a one-way attack drone was shot down near the base. No injuries or damage were reported. At Patrol Base Al-Shaddadi in Syria, there was a multi-rocket attack, though no injuries or damage were reported to infrastructure.  The latest round of attacks brings the total number of attacks to at least 90 since Oct. 17, which…

Israel risks facing a long and bloody insurgency if it defeats Hamas and occupies Gaza without a credible post-war plan to withdraw its troops and move toward the creation of a Palestinian State, US and Arab officials, diplomats and analysts said. None of the ideas floated so far by Israel, the United States and Arab nations for the post-war administration of Gaza have managed to gain traction, according to two US and four regional officials as well as four diplomats familiar with the discussions, raising fears the Israeli military may become mired in a prolonged security operation. As Israel tightens its…

An Iraqi airman was killed and another injured when their military helicopter crashed as they took part in a major security operation for provincial elections, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The aircraft encountered a “technical problem” shortly after takeoff from an airbase outside Tuz Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk, on Monday evening and crashed, killing the pilot and injuring the second officer, the ministry said. Monday’s provincial council elections were the first in a decade but passed off without incident, despite a persistent threat from holdout jihadists operating from remote desert and mountain areas. The electoral commission reported turnout of 41…

Talks to resume operations on an Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline are ongoing, after a six-month stoppage. Talks to restart Iraqi oil exports via a crude oil pipeline that runs through Turkey are still ongoing, an Iraqi oil official told Reuters, one day after Turkey said operations would start again this week following a near six-month stoppage. “We have further meetings soon and things will be more clear on how serious is Turkey to show some flexibility,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar had said on Monday that Turkey would resume operating the…

“We are waiting for the government’s response and its action in response to this demand,” Sadr added. “If the government and parliament do not respond, we will have another position to announce later.” Prominent Shia cleric and leader of the Sadr Movement in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr called for the closure of the US embassy in Baghdad on Friday, 27 October, in a boost of support to the people of Palestine and Gaza Strip, which is facing a “genocide by the Israeli army”. Israel’s devastating war against Gaza has killed at least 8,005 Palestinians, including 3,324 children, the besieged enclave’s health ministry has said. Early…

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda recently expressed his concern to the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the war being fought between Israel and Hamas could spread throughout the Middle East. Warda, a native of Iraq and the archbishop of Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, fears that a possible escalation in the conflict will end up unleashing a wave of migration in the Holy Land, which, he explained, would be devastating for the Christian community of the region, seriously affected by violence and poverty. “Speaking on behalf of all the people…

BAGHDAD — The United Nations office in Baghdad has ranked Iraq among the top five countries most affected by climate change, and in 39th place among the most water-stressed countries. Official Iraqi statistics indicate that the overall desertification rate has reached 69.7% of the country’s total area, which places a heavy burden on the ecological system in general. To address this reality, the Iraqi government has put in place a set of ambitious plans, including a tree-planting initiative to combat desertification and dust storms. This initiative is classified as one of the most important government initiatives to address climate change…