[Published here May 16, 2019]
Laylan (Iraq) (AFP) – No documents? No doctor. Without state-issued IDs, Iraqi mothers struggle to have children born under the now-defeated Islamic State group treated for conditions ranging from asthma to epilepsy.
Don’t ‘politicise’ electricity, Iraq minister urges as summer nears | AFP
[Published here May 15, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – With temperatures rising on both the weather and security fronts across the region, Iraq’s freshman electricity minister is warning that politicising his country’s power sector could have ripple effects around the world.
Pompeo in surprise visit to Iraq amid ‘imminent’ Iran threats | AFP
[Published here on May 7, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – Iraq has promised to guarantee the safety of US interests from Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday as he paid a surprise trip to Baghdad where he accused Tehran of planning “imminent” attacks.
Despite full reservoirs, Iraq water woes far from over | AFP
[Published here May 1, 2019]
Al-Mashahada (Iraq) (AFP) – After plentiful winter rains, Iraq is heading into summer with overflowing reservoirs and lush marshes. But don’t be fooled, observers warn: its water woes and related protests are not over.
IS chief refers to Syria defeat in first video in five years | AFP
[Co-written with AFP’s Ali Choukeir; published here on April 29, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – The Islamic State group’s elusive supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first purported appearance in five years in a propaganda video released Monday, acknowledging IS’s defeat in the Syrian town of Baghouz while threatening “revenge” attacks.
Iraq offers to try foreign IS suspects, for a price | AFP
[Published here April 10, 2019]
Iraq has offered to put on trial hundreds of accused foreign jihadists in Baghdad in exchange for millions of dollars, potentially solving a legal conundrum for Western governments but sparking rights concerns. Continue reading
Yazidi doctor soldiers on in mental battle against IS | AFP
[Published here March 13, 2019]
Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – The military fight against the Islamic State group may be nearing an end, but one Yazidi doctor treating survivors is soldiering on against unseen scars the jihadists carved into her community.
