Baghdad

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Kurdistan referendum is legitimate

By Dr. Walid Phares

Lieutenant General Raid Shaker Jawlat, center, of the Iraqi federal police talks with Colonel Pat Work of the U.S. Army's 82nd airborne division as they look at a map of Mosul, in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. Work warned that as Iraqi forces close in on the Islamic State group's last remaining positions in Mosul the troops are at increased risk of friendly fire attacks. (AP Photo/Balint Szlanko)

Islamic State loss of Mosul may presage greater victory in Iraq

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

This frame grab from video released Tuesday, July 4, 2017, and provided by Furat FM, a Syrian Kurdish activist-run media group, shows U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters in the eastern side of Raqqa, Syria. The SDF forces have breached the wall around Raqqa's Old City, the U.S. military said Tuesday, marking a major advance in the weeks-old battle to drive Islamic State militants out of their self-declared capital. (Furat FM, via AP)

Kurdish referendum vote opposed by White House

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

The Iraqi government's victory in liberating Mosul from the Islamic State has been tempered with fears that September's vote by the Iraq's Kurdish minority to form their own state could reignite sectarian conflicts among the country's myriad ethnic groups. (Associated Press)

Kurdish independence vote causes concern among Iraqi leaders

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman speaks from the KRG representative offices in Washington D.C. on Monday. (Laura Kelly/The Washington Times)

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman says Iranian-backed Shia militias undermine Kurdish region

By Laura Kelly - The Washington Times

Australian girl on vacation killed in Baghdad car bomb blast

By ROD McGUIRK - Associated Press

In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017, file photo, smoke rises during heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi special forces in the industrial area of west Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

Pentagon warns Iraqi militias to ‘fall in’ behind Baghdad, amid growing sectarian tensions

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

Iraqi security forces and civilians inspect the site of a deadly bomb attack, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 30, 2017. Another bomb exploded outside a popular ice cream shop in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad just after midnight on Monday, killing and wounding dozens of civilians, hospital and police officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Nighttime, early morning bombings in Baghdad kill 27

By Murtada Faraj - Associated Press

In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017, file photo, smoke rises during heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi special forces in the industrial area of west Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

In shadow of Mosul fight, Iran establishes Nineveh foothold

By SUSANNAH GEORGE and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press

Mosul siege extends IS fight in Iraq, puts civilians at risk

By SUSANNAH GEORGE - Associated Press

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 18, 2017 file photo, Civilians flee heavy fighting by Iraqi special forces to wrest the al-Tanek neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq. Iraq’s Sunni minority is pushing for a greater say in power once the Islamic State group is defeated, reflecting a growing sentiment that the country’s government must be more inclusive to prevent extremism from gaining ground once again. But so far, many Shiite politicians are wary, and the Sunni leadership is divided and disorganized. The danger is that Iraq will fall into the same sectarian cycle that has plagued it for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

Sunnis seek greater say in post-IS Iraq but face resistance

By MUHANAD AL-SALEH and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press

There are an estimated 7,000 overall U.S. military personnel in Iraq, including several hundred Special Forces fighters advising the Iraqi army in the siege of Mosul. (Associated Press)

Donald Trump faces Iraq SOFA after ISIS defeat

By Carlo Muñoz and Dan Boylan - The Washington Times

Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdish Region Security Council, speaks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. The Chancellor is in the capitol to discuss ongoing cooperation between the
Kurdistan Regional Government and the United States. (Laura Kelly)

High level Kurdish official says referendum on independence could happen by end of this year

By Laura Kelly - The Washington Times

This undated photo obtained by the Associated Press shows an Iraqi bodyguard hired by Sallyport Global to protect VIPs. When a Toyota SUV was stolen from Balad air base, he became the chief suspect and was linked to a dangerous Iran-backed militia and was viewed by investigators as “a hard-core recruit to become a terrorist who poses a serious threat to all personnel on this base.” (Photo via AP)

US company turned blind eye to wild behavior on Iraq base

By DESMOND BUTLER and LORI HINNANT - Associated Press

An Iraqi Special Forces soldier watches the plume of smoke from a coalition airstrike on a car bomb as troops move to take another district from Islamic State militant control in Mosul. (Associated Press)

Mosul battle bogs down Iraq, U.S. coalition allies

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

In this Sunday, April 16, 2017 photo, Ali al-Moussawi, the owner of a mobile library truck, arranges his books on a street in Baghdad, Iraq. The mobile bookstore is the latest in a series of efforts by the 25-year-old to share his passion for reading and revive a love for books in Baghdad, which was once the literary capital of the Muslim world but is now better known for bombs than poems.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Bookstore on wheels turns heads in Baghdad

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN - Associated Press

Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool Abdullah, an Iraqi joint command spokesman, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) ** FILE **

US denies loosening rules for avoiding civilian casualties

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN and ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

Iraqi security forces advance during fighting against Islamic State militants in the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 25. 2017. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)

Iraq: Police Commandos recapture new neighborhood in Mosul

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SUSANNAH GEORGE - Associated Press

Iraqi special forces advance towards the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The advance comes as part of a major assault that started five days earlier to drive Islamic State militants from the western half of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)

Iraqi forces advance in Mosul, strike IS inside Syria

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SARAH EL DEEB and ANDREA ROSA - Associated Press

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend talks with an Iraqi officer during a tour north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017. Forces fighting the Islamic State group should be able to retake the IS-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria within the next six months, according to the top U.S. commander in Iraq. On a tour north of Baghdad Wednesday, Townsend said “within the next six months I think we’ll see both (the Mosul and Raqqa campaigns) conclude.” (AP Photo/ Ali Abdul Hassan)

US commander: Mosul and Raqqa should be retaken in 6 months

By SUSANNAH GEORGE - Associated Press