All posts tagged: Iraq

British Army member dies in Iraq training accident | UK | News

British Army member dies in Iraq training accident | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

A member of the British Army died in a training accident in Iraq on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said. UK Defence Secretary, John Healey, confirmed the incident took place in the north of the country on Sunday. The soldier’s identity has not been released and it has not yet known how the incident occurred. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Healey said: “A training accident occurred in Northern Iraq yesterday for which a service personnel from the British Army has died. The family has been informed and asked for a period of grace before further details are released. I know the thoughts of the House are with the family.” A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence added: “It is with deep regret that we can confirm that a training accident occurred in northern Iraq on Sunday 31 May 2026 in which a service person from the British Army died. The service person’s family have been informed and have requested a period of grace before further details are released. Our thoughts and sympathies are …

‘My 15-year-old relative was killed for refusing to marry her cousin. My family celebrated by dancing in the street’

‘My 15-year-old relative was killed for refusing to marry her cousin. My family celebrated by dancing in the street’

Published by Sam Flores

The men of my tribe [extended family] threw my relative Kawthar Bashar al-Husayjawi, 15, into a pit and put a little dirt over her body. They had killed her hours earlier with 10 bullets, and split her small head with an axe. My family then joined others in coming on to the streets to dance and celebrate her death. Kawthar lived in al-Nahrawan, a district in the south-east of Baghdad. She had been taken out of school and at age 13 forced to marry an alcoholic years older than her. She was subjected to a year of violence and mistreatment before fleeing back to her family, who initially subjected her to house arrest and constant pressure to return to her husband and abuser. She threatened to end her life and, eventually, was officially divorced in court late in 2025. Soon after, her cousin was released from prison and asked Kawthar’s parents for her hand in marriage. Kawthar refused as everyone knew the groom was involved in dealing in drugs and alcohol. Her family ignored her …

America’s way of war isn’t working – POLITICO

America’s way of war isn’t working – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Decades later in Afghanistan, U.S. officials marveled at their own ingenuity — special forces on horseback, precision bombs and a regime toppled in mere weeks. Yet it was only days before the bombing started that Bush asked “who will run the country” once the Taliban was toppled — a fair question no one thought to ask before fueling the B-52s. The men on horseback were brilliant, but there was no theory as to what came next. Moreover, al Qaeda’s longtime leader Osama bin Laden remained at large. Then came Iraq, with the war’s architects predicting a cakewalk in which U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators. But the occupation disbanded the Iraqi army, sending hundreds of thousands of armed, humiliated men into the streets with no jobs or prospects. The insurgency that followed should have surprised no one, and yet it surprised everyone. The logic collapsed even faster in Iran. The strategy, such as it was, amounted to this: Kill the country’s supreme leader and hope for a more moderate successor. According to the New …

UAE urges Iraq to prevent attacks from its territory ‘immediately’

UAE urges Iraq to prevent attacks from its territory ‘immediately’

Published by Sam Flores

DUBAI: The UAE demanded on Wednesday (May 20) that Iraq “immediately” prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there. The foreign ministry in a statement called on “Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory urgently and without conditions”, saying there was a “need to address those threats promptly, immediately and responsibly”. On Sunday, an unclaimed drone attack struck an electrical generator near the Arab world’s only nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries or radiation leak. Two other drones were intercepted. Last month, several Gulf countries – including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and Jordan demanded in a joint statement that Baghdad act immediately to stop attacks from its territory by pro-Iran armed groups. Along with the Gulf states, Iraq was dragged into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, with strikes repeatedly targeting both US interests – especially the embassy in Baghdad …

Iraqi man accused of NYC synagogue plot after attacks in Europe and Canada in response to Iran war

Iraqi man accused of NYC synagogue plot after attacks in Europe and Canada in response to Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — An Iraqi national accused of plotting at least 18 terror attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, including firebombing a bank in Amsterdam and stabbing Jewish men in London, has been arrested and charged with supporting Iran-backed terrorist organizations. According to a complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Manhattan, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi sought to attack a New York City synagogue last month and provided an undercover law enforcement officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, that he planned to target. Al-Saadi is also accused of involvement in two recent attacks in Canada: an attack on a synagogue and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March. U.S. prosecutors said he directed and urged other people to attack U.S. and Israeli interests, including by killing Americans and Jews. Al-Saadi posted about the attacks on Snapchat and Telegram and spoke about them in phone calls recorded by an FBI informant whose help he solicited in …

Arnold urges Iraq to show fighting spirit at World Cup

Arnold urges Iraq to show fighting spirit at World Cup

Published by Sam Flores

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 16 : Iraq coach Graham Arnold said on Saturday he expects his side to show a trademark “fighting mentality” at next month’s World Cup after qualifying for the finals for the first time since 1986. Iraq secured the last berth in the expanded 48-team tournament with a win over Bolivia in the intercontinental playoff final in Mexico in April. The finals will be held in North America. Drawn in Group I alongside Norway, France and Senegal, Arnold described the pool as “the toughest group in the World Cup”. “We work together as a family and we go to the World Cup believing we can make Iraq proud,” Arnold told reporters. Iraq open their campaign against Norway on June 16 before facing 2022 runners-up France on June 22 and Senegal four days later. “Norway is our first focus and we are getting ready for that game. Then we face the best team in the world, France — it will be a great experience,” Arnold said. “What I expect from the Iraqi boys is …

US charges alleged Iran-backed ⁠Kataib Hezbollah suspect – What we know | News

US charges alleged Iran-backed ⁠Kataib Hezbollah suspect – What we know | News

Published by Sam Flores

EXPLAINER A criminal complaint unsealed on Friday in a Manhattan federal court accuses Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, of involvement in at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks spanning the United States, Canada, and Europe. The United States Department of Justice has arrested and charged an Iraqi national alleged to be a senior commander of an Iran-backed armed group that is said to have orchestrated a wave of international terror attacks. A criminal complaint unsealed on Friday in a Manhattan federal court accuses Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, of involvement in at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks spanning the US, Canada, and Europe. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list According to US court filings, the attacks were carried out to compel the US and Israel to halt their recent military actions against Iran. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that agency personnel arrested al-Saadi, whom he described as “another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism”. Al-Saadi was arrested overseas and brought to the US. Patel called the arrest the latest …

Iraqi shepherd stumbled across secret Israeli military base

Iraqi shepherd stumbled across secret Israeli military base

Published by Sam Flores

A shepherd nearly uncovered a secret Israeli military base in the Iraqi desert in March. The base was built for the Israeli-US attack on Iran in late February, and served as a “logistical hub” for its air force, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Special forces were stationed at the base, from which Israel would have launched search and rescue missions in case of downed fighter jets. However, no Israeli aircraft was shot down during the war. The WSJ, citing US officials, said Washington was aware of the secret base, located in the vast Iraqi desert. It was nearly uncovered in March, when a shepherd reported “unusual military” activity, including helicopter flights, to the Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi military sent troops in Humvees to investigate, but Israel launched air strikes to prevent them from discovering the base, killing one soldier and wounding two others. ‘Reckless operation’ Lt Gen Qais al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi media in March: “It appears there was a certain force on the …

Iranian Propaganda vs. U.S. Talking Points: How We Determined the Real Damage to U.S. Military Bases

Iranian Propaganda vs. U.S. Talking Points: How We Determined the Real Damage to U.S. Military Bases

Published by Sam Flores

So in the early days of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, my colleagues and I started seeing a lot of these videos that were filmed on U.S. military bases and also foreign bases, where the U.S. operates in the Gulf and the Middle East. And they showed a number of Iranian, usually drone strikes, on key infrastructure. And then not too long after that, we started seeing a stream of Iranian satellite imagery that came out of Iranian state media that were then filtering down through social media. And these images claim to show very massive swaths of destruction at these bases that the U.S. operates out of. And normally, what we would do is we would hit these up against American satellite imagery. But the U.S. government requested for American satellite companies to restrict the release of this imagery in the Middle East and the Gulf — not even restrict it, but even to retroactively remove images going back to early March. And also, U.S. officials weren’t talking a whole lot …

Lufthansa prepares refueling stopovers for jet fuel emergency – POLITICO

Lufthansa prepares refueling stopovers for jet fuel emergency – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Goldman Sachs research shared with POLITICO estimates that commercial jet fuel stocks in Europe, excluding government reserves, could fall to below 23 days of supply by the end of May or early June. That is a critical threshold flagged earlier by the International Energy Agency, beyond which airports may begin to face shortages. This would occur under the base scenario, which anticipates that the situation in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz will normalize by June.  “Under an adverse scenario (normalization delayed to July), stocks could be depleted entirely by year-end,” the research said. Lufthansa reported overall positive results despite higher fuel costs, with its first quarter revenues up 8 percent to €8.7 billion compared with the same period a year ago. However, the group said that jet fuel prices, which have doubled since the start of the war in the Middle East, are expected to lead to additional costs of €1.7 billion in 2026. In April, Lufthansa cut 20,000 flights to eliminate routes that had become unprofitable due to higher fuel costs. The company also …