Iraq

Iraq’s PM-designate withdraws from post, prolonging deadlock

Baghdad (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister-designate announced his withdrawal from the post Sunday night after failing to secu...
22:16 1 March 2022

Pentagon sees Taliban deal as allowing fuller focus on China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban opens the door for an initial American troop wi...
12:41 1 March 2022

Virus response in Mideast tainted by political views of Iran

BEIRUT (AP) — In the Middle East, even virus outbreaks are political. The coronavirus has killed 26 people in Iran -- th...
15:24 27 February 2022

Devices found in missiles, Yemen drones link Iran to attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A small instrument inside the drones that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil in...
8:51 19 February 2022

Aging Shiite cleric a powerhouse in Iraq. What comes after?

NAJAF, Iraq — When Iraq’s top Shiite cleric underwent surgery for a fractured bone last month, it sent shivers around the country and beyond. “May God...
5:45 18 February 2022

Iran: US killing of general was a miscalculation

MUNICH — The U.S. killing of a top Iranian general was a miscalculation that has had the effect of bolstering support in Iraq for the removal of Ameri...
19:01 14 February 2022

US to seek more help from NATO to counter Islamic State

BRUSSELS, Belgium — US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday he is looking to NATO allies for more help countering the Islamic State extremist gro...
20:12 11 February 2022

Iraqi officials: US will grant vital Iran sanctions waiver

BAGHDAD — The United States has signaled to Iraq its willingness to extend sanctions waivers enabling the country to continue importing vital Iranian ...
5:46 10 February 2022

AP FACT CHECK: Dems skew health care, Iraq facts in debate

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential contenders stretched beyond the facts on policy and sometimes on their own records Friday in their New Hampshire ...
3:54 8 February 2022

Not a break, but fissures in US-Iraqi military alliance

BAGHDAD — A new watchtower rose over an American military base in northern Iraq, and cranes lifted hefty slabs of concrete to reinforce the barricades...
7:42 6 February 2022

Iraqi officials: At least 8 shot dead in southern Iraq

BAGHDAD — At least eight anti-government protesters were shot dead and 52 were wounded in clashes with followers of a radical Shiite cleric in souther...
21:09 5 February 2022

Iraqi officials say Baghdad wants to minimize reliance on US

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in operations against the Islamic State group,...
18:41 5 February 2022

Guests help Trump highlight State of the Union themes

WASHINGTON — A mother who lost her Army husband to a roadside bomb in Iraq. A man whose brother was killed by someone the White House contends should ...
3:35 5 February 2022

US general slips into Iraq for talks to salvage relations

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — The top U.S. commander for the Middle East slipped quietly into Iraq Tuesday, as the Trump administration works to s...
16:04 4 February 2022

Iraqi protesters reject PM-designate picked by ruling elites

BAGHDAD — Anti-government demonstrators on Sunday rejected Iraq’s new prime minister-designate following his nomination by rival government factions, ...
17:56 2 February 2022

Iraq says joint operations with US-led coalition resume

BAGHDAD — Joint military operations with the U.S.-led coalition to counter the Islamic State group have resumed after a nearly three-week pause, an Ir...
19:18 30 January 2022

Pentagon seeking Iraqi permission to deploy missile defenses

WASHINGTON — The United States has asked Iraq for permission to put Patriot missile systems at bases hosting U.S. troops to improve defenses against a...
17:20 30 January 2022

Pentagon: 50 troops suffered brain injuries in Iran strike

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Tuesday raised to 50 the number of U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike ea...
0:59 29 January 2022

Nighttime rocket attack on US Embassy in Baghdad injured 1

BAGHDAD — A nighttime rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad injured at least one embassy personnel member, staffers there said Monday.
9:45 27 January 2022

Iraqi protesters defy top cleric and return to the streets

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of anti-government protesters flooded the streets of Iraq's capital and southern provinces on Sunday, defying a powerful Iraqi reli...
14:04 26 January 2022

4 dead, tents ablaze after Iraq cleric pulls protest support

BAGHDAD — Iraq cracked down on anti-government protesters who have been occupying key public squares for months, leaving four demonstrators dead Satur...
20:00 25 January 2022

Pentagon: 34 troops suffered brain injuries in Iran strike

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike this month on an...
22:46 24 January 2022

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s false assurance about troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON — At first, President Donald Trump stated inaccurately that no U.S. troops were injured in the Iranian missile attack against them in Iraq....
20:33 24 January 2022

US general says troop surge in Middle East may not end soon

ABOARD THE USS BATAAN — Over the past eight months, the United States has poured more than 20,000 additional troops into the Middle East to counter th...
20:46 23 January 2022

More US troops under medical evaluation after missile attack

WASHINGTON — Additional U.S. troops have been flown out of Iraq for closer evaluation of potential concussion injuries from the Iranian missile attack...
0:23 22 January 2022

Outgoing Iraq PM says US troop ouster up to next government

BAGHDAD — Iraq's outgoing prime minister said Wednesday it was up to the next government to see through parliament's decision to oust U.S. troops.
0:22 16 January 2022

Iran warning puts thousands of European troops in spotlight

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A warning by Iran's president that European forces in the Middle East could be at risk if their nations join the U.S. pr...
14:08 15 January 2022

Key takeaways from Democratic presidential debate in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — Some key takeaways from Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, the final forum before the Iowa caucuses:
4:21 15 January 2022

Iraqis worry US-Iran tensions are eclipsing their protests

BAGHDAD — Young Iraqis who drove mass protests demanding sweeping political reforms are worried that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which is ...
6:11 14 January 2022

US troops in Iraq got warning hours before Iranian attack

AIN AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — American troops were informed of an impending missile barrage hours before their air base in Iraq was struck by Iran, U.S...
19:40 13 January 2022