Iraq

Latest Stories

Pope Francis is welcomed upon his arrival at the Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Cathedral, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. Pope Francis has arrived in Iraq to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis urges Iraq to embrace its Christians on historic visit

By Nicole Winfield and Samya Kullab - Associated Press

Pope Francis is flanked by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi upon his arrival at Baghdad's international airport, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. Pope Francis heads to Iraq on Friday to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Latest: Pope honors massacre victims at Baghdad church

Associated Press

A timeline of disaster and displacement for Iraqi Christians

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

President Joe Biden salutes before boarding Marine One with first lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Houston. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Joe Biden seeks to replace decades-old war powers authority

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

File - In this Tuesday Nov. 2, 2010 file photo, mourners carry the coffins of slain Christians during their funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, who were killed Sunday when gunmen stormed a church during mass and took the entire congregation hostage. The attack, claimed by an al-Qaida-linked organization, was the deadliest recorded against Iraq's Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence against them. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Ahead of Pope visit, survivor recalls Iraq church massacre

By SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

This Dec. 29, 2019, aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

U.S. forces: Rockets hit airbase in Iraq hosting American troops

By Samya Kullab - Associated Press

FILE - This March, 13, 2019 handout file photo from the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, shows senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the 90-year-old Grand Ayatollah who is revered by many Shiites worldwide and whose words hold powerful influence in Iraq and beyond. The pontiff and ayatollah will meet in al-Sistani’s modest home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. (Office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, via AP, File)

Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 7 2010, followers attend a mass at Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi Christians have gathered for mass in the same church that just a week before was the scene of a horrific bloodbath that left scores dead and wounded. Pope Francis is pushing ahead with the first papal trip to Iraq despite rising coronavirus infections, hoping to encourage the country’s dwindling number of Christians who were violently persecuted during the Islamic State insurgency while seeking to boost ties with the Shiite Muslim world. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

EXPLAINER: Pope’s risky Iraq trip aims to boost Christians

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

An Iraqi medical worker holds a vial of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine before starting the vaccination of health personnel, at a clinic in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP/Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq launches vaccine program after arrival of China doses

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press

Father Nazeer Dako arranges a Vatican flag to welcome Pope Francis at St. Joseph's Chaldean Church ahead of the Pope's visit, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP/Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Vatican defends pope’s Iraq trip amid virus as ‘act of love’

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addresses in a conference in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) * FILE **

History As It Happens: Can the U.S. and Iran get along?

By Martin Di Caro

Ayat Rawthan, a petrochemical engineer, poses for a photo near an oil field outside Basra, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2021. Rawthan is among just a handful of women who have eschewed the dreary office jobs typically handed to female petrochemical engineers in Iraq. Instead, they chose to become trailblazers in the country’s oil industry, taking up the grueling work of drilling. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jourani)

In oil-rich Iraq, a few women buck norms, take rig site jobs

By SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

In this photo released by Government Spokesman Office, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, second right in the background, claps his hands after Thailand's Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul received the first China's Sinovac vaccine at Bamrasnaradura Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 28 , 2021. (Government Spokesman Office via AP)

The Latest: First US J&J vaccine doses shipping Sunday night

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, in Washington. Kirby announced late Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, that the U.S. military conducted airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were used by Iran-backed militia groups, in response to recent attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq. Kirby said the action was authorized by President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Biden: Strikes in Syria sent warning to Iran to ‘be careful’

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and ROBERT BURNS and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East. Kirby said the operation in Boukamal, Syria, sends an unambiguous message: “President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.” (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

EXPLAINER: US airstrike in Syria sends message to Iran

By ZEINA KARAM and BASSEM MROUE - Associated Press

F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson AFB N.C., demonstrates its maneuverability at the Charleston Air Expo, Joint Base Charleston S.C., April 9, 2011. The F-15E is a multirole fighter capable of air to surface and air to air combat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class James Richardson/Released) ** FILE **

U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle jets used in strikes against Iran-backed militias, Pentagon says

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

A formation of U.S. Navy F-18E Super Hornets leaves after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over northern Iraq, Sept. 23, 2014. These aircraft were part of a large coalition strike package that was the first to strike ISIL targets in Syria. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel)

U.S. airstrike hits Iran-backed militias in Syria: Report

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Recent drone attack on Saudi royal palace launched from Iraq

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press

Iraqi Christians place a cross on a church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Iraq's Christians are hoping that a historic visit by Pope Francis in March will help boost their community's struggle to survive. The country's Christian population has been dwindling ever since the turmoil that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. And it was dealt a near death blow in 2014, when Islamic State group militants overran northern Iraq, site of Iraq's historical Christian heartland. (AP/Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit

By MARIAM FAM - Associated Press

File - In this Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 file photo, Shiites attend a prayer or the first time in months since the restrictions were imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at a mosque in Kufa, Iraq. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

Old habits imperil Iraq as doctors warn of second virus wave

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD - Associated Press