The rally, called by a foundation which counts Bilal Erdogan, the son of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among its members started after crowds performed morning prayers at Istanbul's iconic mosques, including Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

Air strikes in eastern Syria "likely" launched by Israel killed at least 19 pro-Iran fighters, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "19 pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians, and six Iraqis, were killed and more than 18 were wounded" in at least nine air strikes overnight...

Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas. The attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade, prompting the United States to set...

"My country, always at the request of the Iraqi authorities, will support the unity, sovereignty and stability of Iraq," said Sanchez during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani. Spain has deployed more than 300 soldiers as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition and NATO's mission in...

"It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq," Baghdad said.

Ankara has operated several dozen military posts in the area for the past 25 years in its decades-old war against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey and many of its Western allies as a terrorist organization. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for retaliation...

Ankara, Turkey - Six Turkish soldiers were killed and one wounded when their base in northern Iraq was attacked by members of a Kurdish party outlawed by Ankara, the defense ministry said on Saturday. Turkey has operated several dozen military posts in northern Iraq for the past 25 years in its...

Officially taking over from his half-brother Sheikh Nawaf, who passed away on Saturday, Sheikh Meshal is faced with the task of pulling the country out of longstanding political paralysis and reforming a bloated public sector that have turned Kuwait into one of the Gulf's most laggard states.

The vote is expected to consolidate the position of the ruling Coordination Framework coalition, an Iran-aligned bloc that brings together Shiite Islamist parties with factions of Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of former paramilitary units integrated into the regular army.

There have been near-daily cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Hamas ally in Lebanon, and Israel since the Palestinian group's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel.

With less than 48 hours left before the conference's official end, COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber invited ministers to give their views in a "majlis" -- a traditional Gulf Arab meeting held in a circle. While Jaber called the gathering in an effort to produce a compromise, warning that "failure...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Sixty percent of farmers surveyed in four provinces of drought-hit Iraq reported having to reduce cultivated areas or water used, an international rights group said Sunday. The Norwegian Refugee Council called on the Iraqi authorities to improve governance of water resources in the country that has been described...

Ravaged by war and rocked by Islamic State group attacks, Iraq's demand for mental health professionals is great, but help is hard to come by. Baghdad's Al-Rashad psychiatric hospital receives patients suffering from serious psychological illnesses, such as schizophrenia, and offers outpatient treatment for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Due to US sanctions against Iran, Baghdad cannot pay Tehran directly for its gas. Baghdad's unpaid bills to Tehran for past gas imports amount to some $10 billion, according to the senior official.

President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as "its duty to support the resistance groups" but insisted that they act independently.

The forces encountered an IED (improvised explosive device) blast near the Mosul dam, the military official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. No casualties were reported. This is the latest in a growing series of attacks on US personnel in the region, following the outbreak of the war between...

Washington, United States - Over the last three weeks, Iran-backed militia groups have attacked US bases and facilities in Iraq and Syria 41 times. The US has defended itself against those attacks and will continue to do so, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East said. Following...

Baghdad, Iraq - An international summit in Baghdad on "regional stability" planned for late November has been postponed due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, an Iraqi official told AFP on Thursday. The third edition of the Baghdad conference "for economic integration and regional stability", co-organised by France, "is postponed until further...

To encourage renewable energy, Iraq's Central Bank in 2022 announced the allocation of $750 million in almost zero-interest loans for individuals and private companies adopting solar power. But the initiative is "stalling due to a lack of cooperation from banks", according to Mohamed al-Duleimi, an expert in renewable energies.

Its revenue rose to US$4.72bn in the first 9 months of 2023.

United Nations - The United Nations on Monday warned that Syria was at its "most dangerous" point in a long time as violence surges and as "spillover" from the Israel-Hamas war starts to have an impact. Syria has "seen growing instability and violence, exacerbated by the lack of a meaningful...

Erected at the entrance to the ancient city of Khorsabad, the sculpture shows the Lamassu, an Assyrian deity with a human head, the body of a bull and the wings of a bird.

Since Wednesday, three Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in five separate attacks -- Ain al-Assad, the Al-Harir base in northern Iraq and a military camp near Baghdad airport. The United States currently has about 2,500 troops stationed at the three bases, alongside around 1,000 soldiers...

Baghdad, Iraq - US troops stationed at two bases in Iraq have been targeted with rocket attacks that caused no casualties, US and Iraqi military sources said Friday, against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington's support...

Baghdad, Iraq - Saudi banks have offered to fund Iraq's largest housing project, which was previously stalled by South Korea's Hanwha Company due to a financial dispute with the Iraqi government, the official Iraqi daily Alsabah reported on Thursday.  The Bismaya project had already seen the construction of approximately 30,000...

"No to the occupation! No to America!" chanted demonstrators gathered in central Baghdad after Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr called for a protest "in support of Gaza" and against Israel, an AFP journalist reported.

The central character, pickpocket turned master assassin Basim, speaks classical Arabic in "Assassin's Creed Mirage",.

Turkey has also launched strikes on positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq since Sunday, when two policemen were wounded in an attack in Ankara claimed by the PKK. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan alleged the perpetrators of the attack had been trained in Syria and warned...

Baghdad, Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani is scheduled to embark on a two-day visit to Moscow from October 10 to 11, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting sources. Prime Minister Al-Sudani is set to leave Iraq on October 9,...

A branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies -- claimed responsibility for the first bombing to hit Ankara since 2016.

In the wake of the bombing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already vowed that "terrorists" would never achieve their aims. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, claimed responsibility for the blast. It has waged a deadly insurgency against Ankara...

Tehran, Iran--Iraq and Iran have reviewed the implementation of the security agreement in a meeting between the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and Iraq's national security adviser. Iraq's National security adviser Qasim al-Araji, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday morning, met and held talks with General Ali-Akbar Ahmadian...

At the main hospital in Hamdaniyah -- a predominantly Christian town east of Mosul that is also known as Qaraqosh -- an AFP photographer saw ambulances arriving with sirens blaring and dozens of people gathering in the courtyard to donate blood. People were also seen gathering in front of the...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's oil revenues in August hit nearly $9 billion, according to the data issued by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO). The $8.99 billion revenue came from crude oil exports of more than 106 million barrels, the country's Ministry of Oil said in a statement, according to...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran's exports of agricultural products to the outside world shot up 10% in the first 5 months of this year, the Iranian customs administration reported on Monday, According to a report released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) in the first 5 months of this year...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq is working to complete the necessary preparations for the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to Moscow in the next few weeks, said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein. "Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, met with Sergey Lavrov, on the...

New York, US-- The GCC foreign ministers and the UK foreign minister have exhorted Iraq to uphold international agreements and United Nations resolutions on the demarcation of the Kuwaiti-Iraqi borders. Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States and the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and...

Only slightly more than 10 percent of Iraq's 13 million women of working age are in the job market, according to a July 2022 report issued by the International Labour Organization. When the war in Mosul ended in the summer of 2017, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR estimated the...

New York, United States -- At a meeting on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of Iraq respecting the sovereignty of Kuwait. The ministers underscored the...

SHARJAH, UAE - The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) said it is likely to host the first Gulf-Iraq Business Forum on September 26- 27, local media reports said. The theme of the event is “Partnership for a Promising Economic Future”, and is expected to present multiple investment opportunities....

Turkish military action has principally targeted the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) and its Syrian Kurdish ally, the People's Defence Units (YPG). A Turkish drone strike on Sunday killed a senior PKK official and three fighters in the Sinjar Mountains of northwestern Iraq, Iraqi Kurdish authorities said.

Ankara, Turkey - Turkey is engaged in “intensive negotiations” with regional partners to propose an alternative to the India-Middle East trade corridor plan agreed upon at the recent G20 summit, Financial Times reported on Sunday. The country aims to reinforce its historical role as a vital transport route for goods...

Days after thousands of people took to the streets in the Kurdistan region over unpaid civil service salaries which they blamed on Baghdad, the federal government said it would disburse annually to Iraqi Kurdistan two trillion and one hundred billion dinars to be paid in three equal installments of more...

Doha, Qatar - The Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) revealed the lists of nine works that would be included in the 9th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel. This includes published novels, unpublished novels, young adult unpublished novels and unpublished critical studies, with a total reaching 36 novels and critical studies, Qatar...

Baghdad, Iraq-- The UAE and Iraq have held discussions to boost economic, investment, educational, cultural, agricultural, food, technological, and energy cooperation. The discussions were held in the tenth session of the UAE-Iraq Joint Committee in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, co-chaired by Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, UAE Minister of State, and...

Supporters of the powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad alight on the night of July 20, after a Stockholm-based Iraqi refugee desecrated the Koran in Stockholm. The internal security forces court in Baghdad on Tuesday found 18 police officers guilty of failing to carry...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - Baghdad has asked Sweden to extradite Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who stoked international outrage by desecrating the Quran, he and his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday. "Iraq wants him extradited because he burnt a Quran outside the mosque (in Stockholm) in June," lawyer David Hall told AFP after...

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraq has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) - a member of the World Bank Group - for the development and rehabilitation of Baghdad International Airport. Media Office of the Iraqi Prime Minister stated in a statement that the agreement, which was signed under the sponsorship...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran and Syria have signed an agreement to connect the rail network between the two countries through Iraq. Mehrdad Bazrpash, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, made the announcement at the inauguration ceremony of the construction of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway on Saturday.  "The construction of the Shalamcheh...

Iraq's prime minister inaugurated construction work on what is slated to become the first railway line connecting the country to neighboring Iran. The "Basra-Chalamja connection project" will link the major port city of Basra in southern Iraq to Iran's vast railway network through the Chalamja border crossing, a transport ministry...