Irak

„The general commanding coalition forces in Iraq predicts it will take two years of hard work to clear the so-called Islamic State from its twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa, and then to burn out the remnants that will likely flee to the vast empty desert between Syria and Iraq. In a Christmas Day sit-down with The Daily Beast at…

„As a show of solidarity and peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians, a Muslim Iraqi businessman decided to build a 30-meter/ 85-foot tall Christmas tree, to celebrate the holidays in a country torn apart by war. The businessman, Yassi Saad, said he did so in order to join ‚our Christian brothers in their holiday celebrations,‘ and help ‚Iraqis forget their…

„The Iraqi parliament started discussing a bill last month that will give influential tribal chiefs increased powers, including partnering with the federal government to enforce national security. The proposal to establish the Iraqi ‚Supreme Council for Clans and Tribes,‘ which has passed its first reading, immediately drew criticism that the plan will further weaken the government and undermine state sovereignty.…

„Isis is developing its own arsenal of military grade weapons and ammunition including rockets, mortar rounds and bombs – as it battles to defend territory across Syria and Iraq, a report has found. Facilities abandoned following the recent Mosul offensive have revealed manufacturing on ‚an industrial scale‘, making tens of thousands of units in a tightly controlled and bureaucratic process.…

Von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken [caption id="attachment_15184" align="alignleft" width="350"] Qais Al-Khazali, Anführer der schiitischen Asaib Ahl al-Haq Miliz[/caption] Vielleicht mag Barack Obama bis zum Ende seiner Amtszeit glauben, dass der Kampf gegen den IS im Nahen Osten oberste Priorität habe. Und so hat er dann eine Koalition zusammengschustert, in der zwar niemand im IS das größte Problem sieht – meist…

„I have just returned from Mosul, where the coalition battle to retake this northern Iraqi city and its environs from ISIS has been under way since October. With a television crew, I passed through several neighborhoods on the eastern side of the city, reaching Al-Zohur, one of the front lines along which elite Iraqi units are preparing to move on…

„Young Iraqis have organized a mixed-gender cycling event in the middle of Baghdad, after a photo of a young woman on a bike went viral last week. Marina Rada had posted the picture, taken by photographer Ayman al-Amiri, on her Facebook page last Sunday, accompanied with the caption: ‚I am society‘. The image captured Iraqi imaginations and has become a…

„A native of Iraq, Ashour has been in exile because of his work in the human rights sector – especially women’s rights and LGBT+ rights. He also never really hid the fact he himself was gay. He has endured it all – police arrests, government monitoring and homophobia-fuelled bashings – but it wasn’t until he started receiving threats concerning his…

„As Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been closing in on Tal Afar, a town 33 miles west of Mosul, through the western Mosul axis, the organization’s top commanders have openly discussed their post-Islamic State plans to secure the border with Syria and push into the country. These senior militia commanders are closely affiliated and coordinated with Iran. The spokesman…

„Yanar Mohammed runs a secret network of safe houses in her native Iraq. The women who come through its doors are honor-killing runaways, rape survivors, war widows and assorted others who have been to the cliff edge of hell and back. The shelters are meant to give them a second chance in life. Running the shelters gave her a second…

Von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken Noch sind sie Alliierte im Kampf gegen den IS, die schiitischen Milizen im Irak. Nur: Von Anfang an hatten sie eine andere, eigene Agenda und erhielten sie ihre Befehle aus Teheran. Der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama mag ja glauben, dass der Islamische Staat irgendwie der Hauptfeind im Nahen Osten sei und man eine Allianz schmieden…

„A week after his tank division punched through Islamic State defenses on the southeast edge of Mosul, an Iraqi army colonel says the fight to drive the militants out of their urban stronghold is turning into a nightmare. Against a well-drilled, mobile and brutally effective enemy, exploiting the cover of built-up neighborhoods and the city’s civilian population, his tanks were…

„Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from the Islamic State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 80-page report, ‚Marked With An ‘X’: Iraqi Kurdish Forces’ Destruction of Villages, Homes in Conflict with ISIS,‘ looked at destruction of homes between September…

„For months prior to the offensive, Iran, and its Iraqi proxies pressured the Iraqi government to accept the militias’ role in the Mosul offensive, a move that could give them a share of victory and provide them with a pretext to justify their activities long after the defeat of ISIS. That would secure Iran’s influence in Iraq that predominantly relies…

„The most intriguing aspect of the Mosul campaign, however, has been the differing and often opposing agendas of the various components of the attacking force.  These, with surprising rapidity, have now have come to the fore. Just two weeks into the offensive, two of its most prominent backers – the Baghdad government of Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, and the…