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Sad day across the region as people are still reeling from a conflict that saw hundreds of thousands displaced from the city of Kirkuk and a number of people killed in clashes as Iraqi forces took control of the disputed area. The Hashd al-Shaabi also took control of Sinjar this morning and were in Makhmour […]
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Light fighting has erupted between Peshmerga forces and Hashd al-Shaabi overnight in Kirkuk, leading to an unconfirmed amount of deaths. Tensions are high as shots have also been fired within the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk. All sides are calling for calm and restraint. Crisis talks on Sunday failed to resolve the standoff as Kurdish leaders […]
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No clashes yet as tensions between the Iraqi forces and Iranian backed Hashd al-Shaabi and the Kurdish Peshmerga in Kirkuk keep escalating. Despite rumors of an imminent attack by the Iraqi security forces on the Kurdish forces in the southern province of Kirkuk, thousands of volunteers have gone to the front lines in case war […]
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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has rejected any calls for negotiation, mediation, or initiative with Erbil that includes discussing the Kurdistan referendum without first cancelling the results. During his weekly press conference, Abadi said any talks with the Kurdistan Region must respect three conditions that are not up for negotiation: the unity of Iraq, the […]
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An explosion in Damascus killed a number of policemen and civilians in what turned out to be a twin suicide bomb attack in the Syrian capital. Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar said one assailant blew himself up at the main entrance to a police station in the central Midan district. A second detonated his explosive belt […]
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The Islamic State’s days are counted. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say they have driven ISIS militants out of 80% of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa. The SDF announced that its three-month-old assault was now in its “final stages”. Meanwhile in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, the operation to retake Hawija has begun today. […]
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The end is near. Iraqi forces have launched an operation to recapture the last stronghold of so-called Islamic State in the country’s western desert. The Iraqi army, Anbar provincial police and Sunni Arab tribal fighters began moving on the town of Anah near the border with Syria on Tuesday. Coalition airstrikes were conducted in the […]
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Iran threatens to close its borders and withdraw its diplomatic mission in Erbil should the Kurdistan Region proceed with the referendum. Supreme National Security Council explained that the relationship between Tehran and Erbil only exists as part of a united Iraq. The Kurdistan Region’s High Council for the Independence Referendum on Sunday however announced the […]
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An explosion in Kirkuk shocked the city last night. A car bomb exploded in Kirkuk’s al-Adan neighborhood on Saturday evening, killing at least two people and wounding 10 others. It went off on the main Kirkuk-Baghdad road and security forces cordoned off the area out of fear there might be another rigged vehicle. Meanwhile, Iraqi PM […]
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Some good news out of Erbil last night as it seems Gorran has agreed in principle to reactivate the parliament after a historic trilateral meeting with the KDP and PUK on Tuesday. The three parties will have one more meeting this week to finalize a deal. On their end however, the Iraqi Parliament voted against […]
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