On Sunday, Iran rained 12 missiles on the city of Erbil in Iraq. The missiles landed near the US Consulate complex. Iran says the targets were not Iraqi or American bases, but 'strategic centres' run by Israel. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: 12 Iranian Missiles land in Iraq

Iraq's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to protest against a ballistic missile attack on its northern Kurdish regional capital of Erbil, it further called it a flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty.

Iraq summons Iranian ambassador to protest against Erbil missile attack

Tehran&nbsp;had&nbsp;warned&nbsp;Iraqi authorities many times that its territory should not be used by third parties to conduct attacks against&nbsp;Iran,&nbsp;Foreign&nbsp;Ministry&nbsp;Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.

He was speaking one day after&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;attacked Erbil in northern&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous&nbsp;Iraqi Kurdish region that appeared to target the United States and its allies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the missile assault.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irans-revolutionary-guard-claims-responsibility-for-missile-strike-on-iraqs-kurdish-capital-461951">Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims responsibility for missile strike on Iraq's Kurdish capital</a>

Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards Corps had launched the attack against Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil, suggesting it was revenge for recent Israeli air strikes that killed&nbsp;Iranian military personnel in Syria.

"The central government of&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;has the responsibility to ensure that its territory is not used as a base for attacks by third parties against&nbsp;Iran," said Khatibzadeh.

"Several times in the past,&nbsp;Iraq's territory was used against&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;by third parties including terrorist groups such as Kurdish militants, the United States and the Zionist entity," he added, referring to Israel.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iraq-to-host-another-round-of-iran-saudi-arabia-talks-ministry-461841">&nbsp;Iraq to host another round of Iran-Saudi Arabia talks: Ministry</a>

The&nbsp;Iraqi Kurdish regional government said the attack only targeted civilian residential areas, not sites belonging to&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;countries, and called on the international community to carry out an investigation.

Sunday's attack came as talks to revive the 2015&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;nuclear deal face the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.

Watch |&nbsp;US makes 'new demands' in nuclear talks, accuses Iran of trying to complicate efforts | World News

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In another setback for regional diplomacy,&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;said on Sunday it was suspending a fifth round of talks due this week in Baghdad with regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Tehran had warned Iraqi authorities many times that its territory should not be used by third parties to conduct attacks against Iran, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.

Tehran had warned Iraqi authorities many times that its territory should not be used by third parties to conduct attacks against Iran, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday. He was speaking one day after Iran attacked Erbil in northern Iraq with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region that appeared to target the United States and its allies. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the missile assault. Also read | Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims responsibility for missile strike on Iraq's Kurdish capital Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards Corps had launched the attack against Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil, suggesting it was revenge for recent Israeli air strikes that killed Iranian military personnel in Syria. "The central government of Iraq has the responsibility to ensure that its territory is not used as a base for attacks by third parties against Iran," said Khatibzadeh. "Several times in the past, Iraq's territory was used against Iran by third parties including terrorist groups such as Kurdish militants, the United States and the Zionist entity," he added, referring to Israel. Also read | Iraq to host another round of Iran-Saudi Arabia talks: Ministry The Iraqi Kurdish regional government said the attack only targeted civilian residential areas, not sites belonging to foreign countries, and called on the international community to carry out an investigation. Sunday's attack came as talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal face the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text. Watch | US makes 'new demands' in nuclear talks, accuses Iran of trying to complicate efforts | World News In another setback for regional diplomacy, Iran said on Sunday it was suspending a fifth round of talks due this week in Baghdad with regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Tehran warned Iraq often about threats posed to Iran: Foreign ministry

Iraq&nbsp;will&nbsp;host&nbsp;another&nbsp;round&nbsp;of&nbsp;talks&nbsp;between regional foes&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;and&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabia&nbsp;on Wednesday, the foreign&nbsp;ministry&nbsp;in Baghdad said on Saturday, without giving further details.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein revealed the development during remarks at a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Turkey's southern coast cited by local media. A foreign&nbsp;ministry&nbsp;spokesman confirmed the comments to Reuters.

The&nbsp;talks&nbsp;will be the fourth&nbsp;round&nbsp;hosted by Baghdad between officials from its two neighbours and mutual adversaries, according to local media.

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The&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;ministry&nbsp;did not respond to request for comment.

Diplomats hope the opening of direct channels between&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;and&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabia&nbsp;will signal an easing of tensions across the Middle East after years of&nbsp;hostilities that have brought the region close to a full-scale conflict.

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Talks&nbsp;to revive the 2015&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;nuclear deal on Friday faced the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.

Negotiators have reached the final stages of 11 months of discussions to restore the deal, which lifted sanctions on&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, long seen by the West as a cover for developing atomic bombs.

Iraq will host another round of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry in Baghdad said on Saturday, without giving further details.

Iraq will host another round of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry in Baghdad said on Saturday, without giving further details. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein revealed the development during remarks at a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Turkey's southern coast cited by local media. A foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the comments to Reuters. The talks will be the fourth round hosted by Baghdad between officials from its two neighbours and mutual adversaries, according to local media. Also read | Iran nuclear deal: EU says 'pause' in Vienna talks needed due to 'external factors' pointing at Russia The Saudi foreign ministry did not respond to request for comment. Diplomats hope the opening of direct channels between Iran and Saudi Arabia will signal an easing of tensions across the Middle East after years of hostilities that have brought the region close to a full-scale conflict. Also read | Saudi blogger Raif Badawi released after 10 years in prison Talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Friday faced the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text. Negotiators have reached the final stages of 11 months of discussions to restore the deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, long seen by the West as a cover for developing atomic bombs.

Iraq to host another round of Iran-Saudi Arabia talks: Ministry

The Iraqi parliament&nbsp;on&nbsp;Saturday reopened registration for candidates to run for president, a contest already behind schedule following last October's general&nbsp;election.

MPs, whose job it is to elect the president, a largely ceremonial role reserved for a Kurd, set a three-day period for candidates to register, an AFP correspondent inside parliament said, by a&nbsp;vote&nbsp;of 203 in favour from 265 who attended a special session.

Lack of a quorum and legal issues have held up the contest, adding to war-scarred&nbsp;Iraq's political uncertainty because the president has to name a prime minister from the largest bloc in parliament.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/its-a-long-road-ahead-for-iraqs-pledge-to-phase-out-gas-flares-458844">It's a long road ahead for Iraq's pledge to phase out gas flares</a>

On&nbsp;February 13,&nbsp;Iraq's supreme court ruled out a bid by frontrunner and veteran politician Hoshyar Zebari to run for president after a complaint filed against him over years-old corruption charges.

His exclusion, from a field of some 25 candidates after an initial registration, appeared to clear the way for his main challenger, incumbent President Barham Saleh, expected to run for a second term.

Iraqi politics have been in turmoil since the October 2021 general&nbsp;elections, which were marred by a record-low turnout, post-election&nbsp;threats and violence, and a delay of several months until final results were confirmed.

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Intense negotiations among political groups have since failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to name a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi.

The largest political bloc led by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, had backed Zebari for the presidency.

The Iraqi parliament on Saturday reopened registration for candidates to run for president, a contest already behind schedule following last October's general election.

The Iraqi parliament on Saturday reopened registration for candidates to run for president, a contest already behind schedule following last October's general election. MPs, whose job it is to elect the president, a largely ceremonial role reserved for a Kurd, set a three-day period for candidates to register, an AFP correspondent inside parliament said, by a vote of 203 in favour from 265 who attended a special session. Lack of a quorum and legal issues have held up the contest, adding to war-scarred Iraq's political uncertainty because the president has to name a prime minister from the largest bloc in parliament. Also read | It's a long road ahead for Iraq's pledge to phase out gas flares On February 13, Iraq's supreme court ruled out a bid by frontrunner and veteran politician Hoshyar Zebari to run for president after a complaint filed against him over years-old corruption charges. His exclusion, from a field of some 25 candidates after an initial registration, appeared to clear the way for his main challenger, incumbent President Barham Saleh, expected to run for a second term. Iraqi politics have been in turmoil since the October 2021 general elections, which were marred by a record-low turnout, post-election threats and violence, and a delay of several months until final results were confirmed. Also read | Pope Francis lands in Iraq on first-ever papal visit Intense negotiations among political groups have since failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to name a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi. The largest political bloc led by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, had backed Zebari for the presidency.

Iraq's delayed presidential vote back on

In the oilfields of southern&nbsp;Iraq, billions of cubic feet of gas literally go up in smoke, burnt off on flare stacks for want of the infrastructure to capture and process it.

The flares produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming without any economic or social benefit.

Analysts say the waste is particularly egregious, as&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;is a significant importer of natural gas, meeting a third of its needs through expensive and not always reliable supplies from neighbouring Iran.

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The government has pledged to phase out the practice by 2030 but the road to a greener, less wasteful energy sector is proving a long one.

For the oil companies exploiting the mega fields around Basra, it is actually cheaper to flare off the associated gas than to capture, process and market it, despite the obvious environmental costs.

Currently, only half of the three million cubic feet of gas that comes out of Iraqi oil wells each day is captured and processed.

The rest is burnt off in flares creating the plumes of acrid black smoke that blight the skies.

"Flared gas, if captured and processed, could provide electricity to three million homes," said Yesar al-Maleki, Gulf analyst at Middle East Economic Survey.

"This could definitely help the country end its acute power shortages that go up all the way to a supply and demand gap of nine gigawatts in summer."

Up in smoke

In December,&nbsp;Iraq's oil minister Ihsan Ismail pledged to cut flare gas by 90 per cent by 2024.

But despite contracts with foreign oil majors, including France's TotalEnergies, the target is likely to face bureaucratic obstacles in a sector which provides 90 per cent of government revenues.

Over the past two years, the government has cut flare gas by just five per cent.

The captured gas is fuel that&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;desperately needs for its power stations.

Under an exemption from US sanctions on Iran,&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;imports 750 million cubic feet per day from its eastern neighbour.

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Any disruption to that supply can lead to widespread power cuts, particularly in summer when the demand for air conditioning and refrigeration peaks.

Maleki said the failure to address the issue bore multiple costs for&nbsp;Iraq.

"It loses financially by burning money in the air; it loses more money by importing gas from neighbouring countries at a premium; it loses more money resolving resultant issues in its power sector when it switches its gas turbines to costly and pollutive liquid fuels; and it definitely loses environmentally."

Basra province is home to&nbsp;Iraq's five largest oilfields and accounts for 65 percent of its flared gas, according to World Bank figures.

The Basrah Gas Company, a consortium of&nbsp;Iraq's state-owned South Gas Company, Shell and Mitsubishi, captures one billion cubic feet of gas from the three fields in which it operates.

It plans to raise that figure to 1.4 billion cubic feet by the end of 2023 but doing so requires heavy investment, in processing as well as capture.

Managing director Malcolm Mayes said the consortium was investing around $1.5 billion in a giant new processing facility in Artawi, outside Basra.

"In Artawi, we are building two processing trains," Mayes said.&nbsp;

"The first will be on stream in May 2023 and the second will come on stream in November 2023, and at that point we will have the capacity to process 1.4 billion cubic feet -- approaching 90 percent from our lease area."

Cleaner electricity

Iraq&nbsp;has also signed a mega-contract with TotalEnergies that includes building a processing facility for the associated gas from three southern oilfeilds.

"The plant's launch is scheduled for 2026," the French firm said.

Iraq&nbsp;says the plant will process 300 million cubic feet a day of gas that is currently flared off, rising to 600 million in a second phase.

Teams from TotalEnergies are already on the ground carrying out preliminary studies, but the process is dragging on.

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Last month, Baghdad said some clauses of the contract "require time and cannot be implemented or solved in a short period".

A similar project awarded to Chinese firms in neighbouring Maysan province is only half finished.

In the meantime, Basra's residents continue to live with the environmental consequences.

"Everything is polluted by these flares -- the water, the animals, they're all dead," said Salem, an 18-year-old shepherd in the village of Nahr Bin Omar, site of a major oilfield just north of Basra.

In the oilfields of southern Iraq, billions of cubic feet of gas literally go up in smoke, burnt off on flare stacks for want of the infrastructure to capture and process it.

In the oilfields of southern Iraq, billions of cubic feet of gas literally go up in smoke, burnt off on flare stacks for want of the infrastructure to capture and process it. The flares produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming without any economic or social benefit. Analysts say the waste is particularly egregious, as Iraq is a significant importer of natural gas, meeting a third of its needs through expensive and not always reliable supplies from neighbouring Iran. Also read | Pope Francis lands in Iraq on first-ever papal visit The government has pledged to phase out the practice by 2030 but the road to a greener, less wasteful energy sector is proving a long one. For the oil companies exploiting the mega fields around Basra, it is actually cheaper to flare off the associated gas than to capture, process and market it, despite the obvious environmental costs. Currently, only half of the three million cubic feet of gas that comes out of Iraqi oil wells each day is captured and processed. The rest is burnt off in flares creating the plumes of acrid black smoke that blight the skies. "Flared gas, if captured and processed, could provide electricity to three million homes," said Yesar al-Maleki, Gulf analyst at Middle East Economic Survey. "This could definitely help the country end its acute power shortages that go up all the way to a supply and demand gap of nine gigawatts in summer." Up in smoke In December, Iraq's oil minister Ihsan Ismail pledged to cut flare gas by 90 per cent by 2024. But despite contracts with foreign oil majors, including France's TotalEnergies, the target is likely to face bureaucratic obstacles in a sector which provides 90 per cent of government revenues. Over the past two years, the government has cut flare gas by just five per cent. The captured gas is fuel that Iraq desperately needs for its power stations. Under an exemption from US sanctions on Iran, Iraq imports 750 million cubic feet per day from its eastern neighbour. Also read | Even as Covid rages in Iraq, vaccines viewed with suspicion Any disruption to that supply can lead to widespread power cuts, particularly in summer when the demand for air conditioning and refrigeration peaks. Maleki said the failure to address the issue bore multiple costs for Iraq. "It loses financially by burning money in the air; it loses more money by importing gas from neighbouring countries at a premium; it loses more money resolving resultant issues in its power sector when it switches its gas turbines to costly and pollutive liquid fuels; and it definitely loses environmentally." Basra province is home to Iraq's five largest oilfields and accounts for 65 percent of its flared gas, according to World Bank figures. The Basrah Gas Company, a consortium of Iraq's state-owned South Gas Company, Shell and Mitsubishi, captures one billion cubic feet of gas from the three fields in which it operates. It plans to raise that figure to 1.4 billion cubic feet by the end of 2023 but doing so requires heavy investment, in processing as well as capture. Managing director Malcolm Mayes said the consortium was investing around $1.5 billion in a giant new processing facility in Artawi, outside Basra. "In Artawi, we are building two processing trains," Mayes said. "The first will be on stream in May 2023 and the second will come on stream in November 2023, and at that point we will have the capacity to process 1.4 billion cubic feet -- approaching 90 percent from our lease area." Cleaner electricity Iraq has also signed a mega-contract with TotalEnergies that includes building a processing facility for the associated gas from three southern oilfeilds. "The plant's launch is scheduled for 2026," the French firm said. Iraq says the plant will process 300 million cubic feet a day of gas that is currently flared off, rising to 600 million in a second phase. Teams from TotalEnergies are already on the ground carrying out preliminary studies, but the process is dragging on. Watch | The nuclear threat in Ukraine: UN atomic watchdog condemns Russia after fire incident Last month, Baghdad said some clauses of the contract "require time and cannot be implemented or solved in a short period". A similar project awarded to Chinese firms in neighbouring Maysan province is only half finished. In the meantime, Basra's residents continue to live with the environmental consequences. "Everything is polluted by these flares -- the water, the animals, they're all dead," said Salem, an 18-year-old shepherd in the village of Nahr Bin Omar, site of a major oilfield just north of Basra.

It's a long road ahead for Iraq's pledge to phase out gas flares

In the stores and buses of&nbsp;Iraq&nbsp;masks are rare even as Covid-19 spreads widely, vaccines are viewed with suspicion and the sick see hospitals as a last resort.

At Al-Shifaa Hospital in the capital Baghdad, the ramifications are clear.&nbsp;

"More than 95 percent of those sick with Covid-19 in intensive care are unvaccinated," said Ali Abdel Hussein Kazem, assistant director of the facility.

Half of the 40 intensive care beds are occupied in the department, where&nbsp;irregular beeping from monitors and IV machines is constantly heard.&nbsp;

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Al-Shifaa hospital has been turned into a Covid treatment centre since the start of the pandemic and can treat 175 patients.

Linked to breathing devices, an old man and a young woman share a large room, where a family member is allowed to monitor them -- masked and in a white protective outfit.

Next door, a man in his 60s fidgets, pushing away his blanket. An asthmatic, he is also hooked up to a ventilator.

"He says he is suffocating," an alarmed relative said, summoning a doctor.

Iraq's public health system, already worn down by decades of war, under-investment and corruption, has struggled to cope with the coronavirus.

Since January,&nbsp;Iraq's 40 million people have been confronted with a fourth coronavirus wave, but -- unlike other countries -- the government has not imposed any restrictions.

Iraq&nbsp;has recorded more than 2.2 million infections and 24,000 deaths since the pandemic began two years ago, but data released by the authorities indicates that infections are now declining to around 2,000 new cases per day.

Despite 1,400 vaccination centres, officials struggle to overcome scepticism about the jabs, which health experts around the world say are saving lives.

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Help from abroad

Fewer than 10 million people in&nbsp;Iraq, about a quarter of the population, have been vaccinated, said health ministry spokesman Seif al-Badr.

Among them, not even seven million have received two doses, and those with a booster number less than 100,000.

In neighbouring Iran, 66 percent of the 83-million population have received two doses.

"About 90 percent of the sick are older than 60," said Al-Shifaa's intensive care director Mohammed Salih, as he made his morning rounds, checking X-rays and giving instructions.

"Most have chronic conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease," Salih said, accompanied by doctors and nurses from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a charity which is assisting the hospital.

Along with training that aims to "sustain the care", the MSF programme begun in November provides physiotherapy and mental health care, said Daniel Uche, a physician who heads the project.

Countering misinformation is another priority.

"Most of the pregnant women we admitted in our facility are not vaccinated because they are afraid for their precious babies, that maybe if they take the vaccine it will have an effect" on the infant, said Uche.&nbsp;

Salih said he noticed another trend: "Most of the patients come in only after reaching a critical stage."

They prefer to stay at home because of "social media" and "rumours" which minimise the gravity of the coronavirus or which raise suspicions about the vaccines, he added.

Those are the latest challenges for a health system crippled by decades of war and especially an international embargo under the dictator Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led 2003 invasion.

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"People are afraid of hospital because of rumours that say they won't get proper care, and that we won't be interested in looking after them," a nurse said, requesting anonymity.

Two deadly fires at public hospital Covid-19 units last year sparked outrage among the population. One blaze killed more than 80 people in Baghdad in April and three months later another claimed at least 60 lives in Nasiriyah, southern&nbsp;Iraq.

Be careful

Authorities acknowledge that challenges abound for a sector dealing with ageing equipment and shortages.

Badr, the ministry spokesman, said the health infrastructure in some provinces "was entirely destroyed" in the war against the Islamic State group jihadists from 2014-2017.&nbsp;

The health budget of the oil-rich country does not even receive two percent of state expenditures.

"For previous governments health care was not a priority," said Badr, adding that even though the system is challenged it is ready to help those who are sick with Covid-19.

"We have thousands of beds available for people who would have breathing difficulties. We also have medicine and the necessary equipment, as well as vaccines," he said.

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At Al-Shifaa, Farouk Naoum, 75, is leaving hospital after his recovery. He was among the minority of Iraqis vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but despite the protection it offered, he still got infected.

"You have to be careful, very careful," he said after his 31 days of treatment.

In the stores and buses of Iraq masks are rare even as Covid-19 spreads widely, vaccines are viewed with suspicion and the sick see hospitals as a last resort. At Al-Shifaa Hospital in the capital Baghdad, the ramifications are clear.

In the stores and buses of Iraq masks are rare even as Covid-19 spreads widely, vaccines are viewed with suspicion and the sick see hospitals as a last resort. At Al-Shifaa Hospital in the capital Baghdad, the ramifications are clear. "More than 95 percent of those sick with Covid-19 in intensive care are unvaccinated," said Ali Abdel Hussein Kazem, assistant director of the facility. Half of the 40 intensive care beds are occupied in the department, where irregular beeping from monitors and IV machines is constantly heard. Also read | Iraq: Thousands mark 2020 killing of Iran general Qassem Soleimani Al-Shifaa hospital has been turned into a Covid treatment centre since the start of the pandemic and can treat 175 patients. Linked to breathing devices, an old man and a young woman share a large room, where a family member is allowed to monitor them -- masked and in a white protective outfit. Next door, a man in his 60s fidgets, pushing away his blanket. An asthmatic, he is also hooked up to a ventilator. "He says he is suffocating," an alarmed relative said, summoning a doctor. Iraq's public health system, already worn down by decades of war, under-investment and corruption, has struggled to cope with the coronavirus. Since January, Iraq's 40 million people have been confronted with a fourth coronavirus wave, but -- unlike other countries -- the government has not imposed any restrictions. Iraq has recorded more than 2.2 million infections and 24,000 deaths since the pandemic began two years ago, but data released by the authorities indicates that infections are now declining to around 2,000 new cases per day. Despite 1,400 vaccination centres, officials struggle to overcome scepticism about the jabs, which health experts around the world say are saving lives. Also read | Morning news brief: UK minister resigns, Iraq rocket attack and more Help from abroad Fewer than 10 million people in Iraq, about a quarter of the population, have been vaccinated, said health ministry spokesman Seif al-Badr. Among them, not even seven million have received two doses, and those with a booster number less than 100,000. In neighbouring Iran, 66 percent of the 83-million population have received two doses. "About 90 percent of the sick are older than 60," said Al-Shifaa's intensive care director Mohammed Salih, as he made his morning rounds, checking X-rays and giving instructions. "Most have chronic conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease," Salih said, accompanied by doctors and nurses from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a charity which is assisting the hospital. Along with training that aims to "sustain the care", the MSF programme begun in November provides physiotherapy and mental health care, said Daniel Uche, a physician who heads the project. Countering misinformation is another priority. "Most of the pregnant women we admitted in our facility are not vaccinated because they are afraid for their precious babies, that maybe if they take the vaccine it will have an effect" on the infant, said Uche. Salih said he noticed another trend: "Most of the patients come in only after reaching a critical stage." They prefer to stay at home because of "social media" and "rumours" which minimise the gravity of the coronavirus or which raise suspicions about the vaccines, he added. Those are the latest challenges for a health system crippled by decades of war and especially an international embargo under the dictator Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led 2003 invasion. Also read | COVID-19: New Zealand police clash with anti-vaccine demonstrators "People are afraid of hospital because of rumours that say they won't get proper care, and that we won't be interested in looking after them," a nurse said, requesting anonymity. Two deadly fires at public hospital Covid-19 units last year sparked outrage among the population. One blaze killed more than 80 people in Baghdad in April and three months later another claimed at least 60 lives in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq. Be careful Authorities acknowledge that challenges abound for a sector dealing with ageing equipment and shortages. Badr, the ministry spokesman, said the health infrastructure in some provinces "was entirely destroyed" in the war against the Islamic State group jihadists from 2014-2017. The health budget of the oil-rich country does not even receive two percent of state expenditures. "For previous governments health care was not a priority," said Badr, adding that even though the system is challenged it is ready to help those who are sick with Covid-19. "We have thousands of beds available for people who would have breathing difficulties. We also have medicine and the necessary equipment, as well as vaccines," he said. Watch | Gravitas: From Iraq to Afghanistan: America's trail of deaths At Al-Shifaa, Farouk Naoum, 75, is leaving hospital after his recovery. He was among the minority of Iraqis vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but despite the protection it offered, he still got infected. "You have to be careful, very careful," he said after his 31 days of treatment.

Even as Covid rages in Iraq, vaccines viewed with suspicion

Around 337 ancient artifacts have been handed over to Iraq by Lebanon's Culture Ministry. &nbsp;

These artifacts were on display in a private Lebanese museum for years, the National News Agency (NNA) said in a report. &nbsp;

On Sunday, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada returned the items to Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon, Haider Shyaa Al-Barrak, during a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut, NNA said. &nbsp;

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At the ceremony, Al-Barrak said, "We are celebrating the handing over of 337 artifacts that are of different eras of civilisations in Mesopotamia." &nbsp;&nbsp;

During decades of war in the country, several antiquities of Iraq were smuggled abroad, Xinhua news agency reported.

Some of these antiquities have also found their way home recently.

In September 2021,&nbsp;3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was handed over to the Iraqi embassy by US authorities. It was also put up on display. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vienna-talks-far-from-balance-in-commitments-says-irans-top-security-official-451065" hreflang="en">Vienna talks 'far from balance in commitments,' says Iran's top security official</a>

At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, said, "This day, represent a victory in the face of the desperate attempts of those why try to steal our great history and our ancient civilisation." &nbsp; &nbsp;

As per Hussein, it was one of 17,926 artefacts, which had been recovered by Iraq from the UK, Japan, Italy, the US and the Netherlands. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Around 337 ancient artifacts have been handed over to Iraq by Lebanon's Culture Ministry. These artifacts were on display in a private Lebanese museum for years, the National News Agency (NNA) said in a report.

Around 337 ancient artifacts have been handed over to Iraq by Lebanon's Culture Ministry. These artifacts were on display in a private Lebanese museum for years, the National News Agency (NNA) said in a report. On Sunday, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada returned the items to Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon, Haider Shyaa Al-Barrak, during a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut, NNA said. Also Read | Athens: Hundreds of people protest against migrant pushbacks and border violence At the ceremony, Al-Barrak said, "We are celebrating the handing over of 337 artifacts that are of different eras of civilisations in Mesopotamia." During decades of war in the country, several antiquities of Iraq were smuggled abroad, Xinhua news agency reported. Some of these antiquities have also found their way home recently. In September 2021, 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was handed over to the Iraqi embassy by US authorities. It was also put up on display. Also Read: Vienna talks 'far from balance in commitments,' says Iran's top security official At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, said, "This day, represent a victory in the face of the desperate attempts of those why try to steal our great history and our ancient civilisation." As per Hussein, it was one of 17,926 artefacts, which had been recovered by Iraq from the UK, Japan, Italy, the US and the Netherlands. (With inputs from agencies)

Lebanon hands over 337 ancient artifacts to Iraq

For a man who sought to disappear, the leader of the Islamic State group seemed to have done everything right.

He hid out far from where his enemies expected. He never left the house, relying on trusted couriers to communicate with his far-flung underlings. He was the group’s only leader to never issue a video or voice address, for fear it would make him easier to track. Most of his most fervent followers would not have recognized him on the street.

But American commandos came for him anyway, and on Thursday, the leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, blew himself up during a raid on his hideout in northwestern Syria, U.S. officials said.

American leaders hailed al-Qurayshi’s death as a fresh wound to a fearsome organization whose reach and power had already been greatly diminished. But terrorism analysts warned that killing yet another leader would not erase a group whose members have continued to seek refuge and plan attacks in chaotic parts of the globe.

“It is another painful blow to an organization that just a few years ago cast a broad shadow across the entire region,” said Pratibha Thaker, editorial director for the Middle East and Africa at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “But I think everyone is wondering deep down how much taking down the top leader really matters since the organization is very decentralized.”

The United States has invested great resources in killing leaders of terrorist organizations. U.S. forces took out Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaida, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led al-Qaida in Iraq, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, al-Qurayshi’s predecessor at the helm of the Islamic State group.

While such attacks generate dramatic headlines, the groups they sought to undermine have often resurfaced in new and more powerful forms or simply replaced old heads with new ones, Hydra-style.

The killing of al-Qurayshi deprived the Islamic State of a key religious and military authority at a time when the group had already been routed from its territory and lost a huge number of fighters. Now it faces a potential leadership vacuum.

But terrorism experts said the group had become more diffuse and decentralized, allowing it to carry on. Even if it no longer has the power to hold territory as it once did, diminishing its ability to market itself as a “state,” it has proved that it can still carry out devastating, coordinated military attacks.

In recent weeks, its fighters in Iraq killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and an officer in a nighttime attack on an army post and beheaded a police officer on camera. In Syria, the jihadis attacked a prison in an attempt to free thousands of their former comrades and occupied the compound for more than a week before a Kurdish-led militia supported by the United States drove them out.

Still, the group is a shadow of its former self.

At its height around 2015, the Islamic State controlled a territory the size of Britain in Syria and Iraq and displaced al-Qaida as the world’s richest and most dangerous terrorist organization. It controlled large cities, collected taxes, provided public services and built a war machine.

Its propagandists attracted aspiring jihadis from around the world. Its operatives directed and inspired deadly attacks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The loss of its last patch of territory in 2019, after 4 1/2 years of war, was a major defeat. Now, it is a caliphate in name only. And persistent attacks by the United States and its partners in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere have disrupted its financing networks and led to the deaths of many of its cadres.

Al-Qurayshi was anointed the group’s leader, or caliph, in 2019 after his predecessor, al-Baghdadi, similarly blew himself up during a raid by U.S. Special Forces on his hideout in northwestern Syria.

From the start, al-Qurayshi lacked his predecessor’s public profile, and even his followers knew little about his background. The United States filled in some gaps by releasing notes of interrogation sessions from when he was detained by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2008.

But the revelations that he said he had served in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein and earned a master’s degree in Islamic studies in 2007 were overshadowed by what appeared to be his willingness to inform on his fellow jihadis.

After al-Qurayshi took control, the United States put a bounty of up to $10 million on his head and said he “helped drive and justify the abduction, slaughter and trafficking of members of Yazidi religious minority groups” in Iraq and oversaw “the group’s global operations.”

As it searches for a replacement, the militant group no longer has a large pool to draw from because years of concerted counterterrorism operations by the United States and its partners have killed so much of the group’s inner circle, an expert on the Islamic State, Hassan Hassan, wrote Thursday in New Lines, an online magazine.

“The leaders it can trust are a dying breed — quite literally,” Hassan wrote.

That leadership vacuum, the waning attractiveness of international jihadism and the increasing strength of enemy governments and competing militant groups could hinder the group’s ability to bounce back, he wrote. “The death of its leader under these circumstances will further disorient the group and weaken its ability to focus on international terrorism.”

The group already appears to be less dangerous in Iraq, according to a recent analysis of attack data by Michael Knights, the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and his colleague, Alex Almeida.

They found that Islamic State attacks increased in 2019 and 2020, but have declined since, in both quantity and quality.

“For now, at the outset of 2022, the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq is at a very low ebb, with recorded attack numbers that rival the lowest ever recorded,” they wrote.

They said increased Iraqi security deployments in rural areas, frequent counterterrorism raids and “decapitation strikes” against Islamic State leaders had contributed to the decline.

But terrorism analysts hesitate to write off the group, noting that it was regarded as a spent force just a few years before it came roaring back and solidified its control over entire cities in Syria and Iraq in 2014.

The group has long found it easiest to operate in failed states, conflict zones and poorly governed places, and its fighters still have many such territories to choose from, including in Afghanistan and parts of Africa.

In Syria, it remains most active in the east, which was badly battered in the country’s 10-year civil war and is only loosely controlled by a Kurdish-led militia whose administration is not internationally recognized and is short on resources.

The draw of chaotic places likely explains why al-Qurayshi sought refuge in Idlib province, in Syria’s northwest, miles from his organization’s past strongholds.

The area is one of the last territories still controlled by the rebels who set out to topple President Bashar Assad, and it is packed with millions of people who fled from elsewhere during the war, making it easier for strangers to blend in.

The Islamic State’s future could depend less on who its leaders are than on the opportunities for expansion that present themselves, and the group’s ability to take advantage of them.

“What we have seen in the jihadi movement on the whole over the last two decades is that it is highly pragmatic in the pursuit of its goals,” said Shiraz Maher, author of a book on the history of the global jihadi movement. “Their next move is to continue to hold out and bide their time and react to the realities as they pan out.”

For a man who sought to disappear, the leader of the Islamic State group seemed to have done everything right. He hid out far from where his enemies expected. He never left the house, relying on trusted couriers to communicate with his far-flung underlings.

For a man who sought to disappear, the leader of the Islamic State group seemed to have done everything right. He hid out far from where his enemies expected. He never left the house, relying on trusted couriers to communicate with his far-flung underlings. He was the group’s only leader to never issue a video or voice address, for fear it would make him easier to track. Most of his most fervent followers would not have recognized him on the street. But American commandos came for him anyway, and on Thursday, the leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, blew himself up during a raid on his hideout in northwestern Syria, U.S. officials said. American leaders hailed al-Qurayshi’s death as a fresh wound to a fearsome organization whose reach and power had already been greatly diminished. But terrorism analysts warned that killing yet another leader would not erase a group whose members have continued to seek refuge and plan attacks in chaotic parts of the globe. “It is another painful blow to an organization that just a few years ago cast a broad shadow across the entire region,” said Pratibha Thaker, editorial director for the Middle East and Africa at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “But I think everyone is wondering deep down how much taking down the top leader really matters since the organization is very decentralized.” The United States has invested great resources in killing leaders of terrorist organizations. U.S. forces took out Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaida, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led al-Qaida in Iraq, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, al-Qurayshi’s predecessor at the helm of the Islamic State group. While such attacks generate dramatic headlines, the groups they sought to undermine have often resurfaced in new and more powerful forms or simply replaced old heads with new ones, Hydra-style. The killing of al-Qurayshi deprived the Islamic State of a key religious and military authority at a time when the group had already been routed from its territory and lost a huge number of fighters. Now it faces a potential leadership vacuum. But terrorism experts said the group had become more diffuse and decentralized, allowing it to carry on. Even if it no longer has the power to hold territory as it once did, diminishing its ability to market itself as a “state,” it has proved that it can still carry out devastating, coordinated military attacks. In recent weeks, its fighters in Iraq killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and an officer in a nighttime attack on an army post and beheaded a police officer on camera. In Syria, the jihadis attacked a prison in an attempt to free thousands of their former comrades and occupied the compound for more than a week before a Kurdish-led militia supported by the United States drove them out. Still, the group is a shadow of its former self. At its height around 2015, the Islamic State controlled a territory the size of Britain in Syria and Iraq and displaced al-Qaida as the world’s richest and most dangerous terrorist organization. It controlled large cities, collected taxes, provided public services and built a war machine. Its propagandists attracted aspiring jihadis from around the world. Its operatives directed and inspired deadly attacks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The loss of its last patch of territory in 2019, after 4 1/2 years of war, was a major defeat. Now, it is a caliphate in name only. And persistent attacks by the United States and its partners in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere have disrupted its financing networks and led to the deaths of many of its cadres. Al-Qurayshi was anointed the group’s leader, or caliph, in 2019 after his predecessor, al-Baghdadi, similarly blew himself up during a raid by U.S. Special Forces on his hideout in northwestern Syria. From the start, al-Qurayshi lacked his predecessor’s public profile, and even his followers knew little about his background. The United States filled in some gaps by releasing notes of interrogation sessions from when he was detained by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2008. But the revelations that he said he had served in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein and earned a master’s degree in Islamic studies in 2007 were overshadowed by what appeared to be his willingness to inform on his fellow jihadis. After al-Qurayshi took control, the United States put a bounty of up to $10 million on his head and said he “helped drive and justify the abduction, slaughter and trafficking of members of Yazidi religious minority groups” in Iraq and oversaw “the group’s global operations.” As it searches for a replacement, the militant group no longer has a large pool to draw from because years of concerted counterterrorism operations by the United States and its partners have killed so much of the group’s inner circle, an expert on the Islamic State, Hassan Hassan, wrote Thursday in New Lines, an online magazine. “The leaders it can trust are a dying breed — quite literally,” Hassan wrote. That leadership vacuum, the waning attractiveness of international jihadism and the increasing strength of enemy governments and competing militant groups could hinder the group’s ability to bounce back, he wrote. “The death of its leader under these circumstances will further disorient the group and weaken its ability to focus on international terrorism.” The group already appears to be less dangerous in Iraq, according to a recent analysis of attack data by Michael Knights, the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and his colleague, Alex Almeida. They found that Islamic State attacks increased in 2019 and 2020, but have declined since, in both quantity and quality. “For now, at the outset of 2022, the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq is at a very low ebb, with recorded attack numbers that rival the lowest ever recorded,” they wrote. They said increased Iraqi security deployments in rural areas, frequent counterterrorism raids and “decapitation strikes” against Islamic State leaders had contributed to the decline. But terrorism analysts hesitate to write off the group, noting that it was regarded as a spent force just a few years before it came roaring back and solidified its control over entire cities in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group has long found it easiest to operate in failed states, conflict zones and poorly governed places, and its fighters still have many such territories to choose from, including in Afghanistan and parts of Africa. In Syria, it remains most active in the east, which was badly battered in the country’s 10-year civil war and is only loosely controlled by a Kurdish-led militia whose administration is not internationally recognized and is short on resources. The draw of chaotic places likely explains why al-Qurayshi sought refuge in Idlib province, in Syria’s northwest, miles from his organization’s past strongholds. The area is one of the last territories still controlled by the rebels who set out to topple President Bashar Assad, and it is packed with millions of people who fled from elsewhere during the war, making it easier for strangers to blend in. The Islamic State’s future could depend less on who its leaders are than on the opportunities for expansion that present themselves, and the group’s ability to take advantage of them. “What we have seen in the jihadi movement on the whole over the last two decades is that it is highly pragmatic in the pursuit of its goals,” said Shiraz Maher, author of a book on the history of the global jihadi movement. “Their next move is to continue to hold out and bide their time and react to the realities as they pan out.”

Leader’s death is another blow for the Islamic State, but it’s hardly the end

Iran has condemned the ''suspicious'' Baghdad airport attack by calling it an attempt to ''destabilise'' Iraq.

"Such suspicious actions have created insecurity and unrest in Iraq, paving the way for the ill-wishers and the insurgents, and affecting the government's services to the Iraqi citizens," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-iran-state-tv-hacked-broadcast-calls-for-khameneis-death-448621/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US airbase on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane.

The US airbase, known as Camp Victory, is located around the perimeter of Baghdad's civilian airport.

Rocket attacks have regularly struck the complex in recent years and are blamed by the US and some Iraqi officials on Iran-aligned Shi'ite militia groups who oppose the US&nbsp;military presence in the region.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rockets-hit-baghdad-airport-compound-no-casualties-448370">Also read |&nbsp;Rockets hit Baghdad airport compound; no casualties</a>

A series of attacks this month, some of which the United States blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, have targeted bases or installations hosting US&nbsp;military and diplomatic personnel but have caused no US casualties.

Such attacks mounted after the US assassinated the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Major General Qassem Soleimani, and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a January 2020 drone strike near Baghdad airport.

The attacks are rarely claimed but they are routinely pinned on pro-Iran factions, who demand that US troops deployed to help Iraqi forces fight the Islamic State jihadist group leave the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

Iran has condemned the ''suspicious'' Baghdad airport attack by calling it an attempt to ''destabilise'' Iraq. "Such suspicious actions have created insecurity and unrest in Iraq, paving the way for the ill-wishers and the insurgents, and affecting the government's services to the Iraqi citizens," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

Iran has condemned the ''suspicious'' Baghdad airport attack by calling it an attempt to ''destabilise'' Iraq. "Such suspicious actions have created insecurity and unrest in Iraq, paving the way for the ill-wishers and the insurgents, and affecting the government's services to the Iraqi citizens," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh. Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US airbase on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane. The US airbase, known as Camp Victory, is located around the perimeter of Baghdad's civilian airport. Rocket attacks have regularly struck the complex in recent years and are blamed by the US and some Iraqi officials on Iran-aligned Shi'ite militia groups who oppose the US military presence in the region. Also read | Rockets hit Baghdad airport compound; no casualties A series of attacks this month, some of which the United States blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, have targeted bases or installations hosting US military and diplomatic personnel but have caused no US casualties. Such attacks mounted after the US assassinated the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Major General Qassem Soleimani, and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a January 2020 drone strike near Baghdad airport. The attacks are rarely claimed but they are routinely pinned on pro-Iran factions, who demand that US troops deployed to help Iraqi forces fight the Islamic State jihadist group leave the country. (With inputs from agencies)

Baghdad airport attack: Iran condemns 'suspicious actions' for creating insecurity and unrest in Iraq

Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US air base on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane,&nbsp;Iraqi police sources said.

The police sources did not report any other damage or any injuries. The damaged aircraft was an out-of-use&nbsp;Iraqi Airways plane, they said.

Iraq's state news agency reported, citing the country's aviation authority, that there was no disruption to travel.

The US&nbsp;air base, known as Camp Victory, is located around the perimeter of Baghdad's civilian airport.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/now-robot-conducts-surgery-on-pigs-successfully-without-any-help-448430">Also read |&nbsp;Now, robot conducts surgery on pigs successfully without any help</a>

Rocket attacks have regularly struck the complex in recent years and are blamed by US and some&nbsp;Iraqi officials on Iran-aligned Shi'ite militia groups who oppose the US&nbsp;military presence in the region.

On Jan. 5, Katyusha rockets hit&nbsp;Iraqi military bases hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport and west of the&nbsp;Iraqi capital.

A series of attacks this month, some of which the United States blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, have targeted bases or installations hosting US&nbsp;military and diplomatic personnel but have caused no U.S. casualties.

The Iran-aligned militia have in previous years carried out dozens of similar attacks, mostly causing little harm. But the attacks have become more sophisticated in the past year, including with the use of fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones.

Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US air base on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane, Iraqi police sources said.

Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US air base on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane, Iraqi police sources said. The police sources did not report any other damage or any injuries. The damaged aircraft was an out-of-use Iraqi Airways plane, they said. Iraq's state news agency reported, citing the country's aviation authority, that there was no disruption to travel. The US air base, known as Camp Victory, is located around the perimeter of Baghdad's civilian airport. Also read | Now, robot conducts surgery on pigs successfully without any help Rocket attacks have regularly struck the complex in recent years and are blamed by US and some Iraqi officials on Iran-aligned Shi'ite militia groups who oppose the US military presence in the region. On Jan. 5, Katyusha rockets hit Iraqi military bases hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport and west of the Iraqi capital. A series of attacks this month, some of which the United States blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, have targeted bases or installations hosting US military and diplomatic personnel but have caused no U.S. casualties. The Iran-aligned militia have in previous years carried out dozens of similar attacks, mostly causing little harm. But the attacks have become more sophisticated in the past year, including with the use of fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones.

Several rockets hit Baghdad airport compound, civilian plane damaged

In Syria, US-backed Kurdish forces advanced inside a detention facility that came under attack by Islamic State militants last week.

Syria prison standoff: 550 Jihadists turn themselves in as SDF gains control

An audacious attack on a Syrian prison that houses thousands of Islamic State detainees. A series of strikes against military forces in neighboring Iraq. The dissemination of a video showing the beheading of a kidnapped Iraqi police officer.

The evidence of a resurgence of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is mounting by the day, three years after the militants lost their last territorial foothold in the so-called caliphate, which once stretched across vast parts of the two countries. The fact that the Islamic State group was able to mount multiple, coordinated and sophisticated attacks is evidence that what had been believed to be disparate sleeper cells are re-emerging as a more serious threat.

“It’s a wake-up call for regional players, for national players that ISIS is not over, that the fight is not over,” said Kawa Hassan, Middle East and North Africa director at the Stimson Center think tank. “It shows the resilience of ISIS to strike back at the time and place of their choosing.”

On Thursday, Islamic State fighters attacked a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka in an attempt to free the 3,500 prisoners held there and took a group of detained boys hostage to use as human shields. The assault drew the U.S. military into fight in what has become the biggest confrontation between U.S. forces and the Islamic State in three years.

By Tuesday, the Islamic State attackers still controlled part of the prison in Hasaka, even after the United States sent in ground troops and air support for the Kurdish-led forces trying to take it back.

In Iraq last week, around the same time as the prison attack began, ISIS fighters stormed an army outpost in Diyala province, killing 10 soldiers and an officer in the deadliest attack in several years on an Iraqi military base. Gunmen approached the base from three sides late at night while some of the soldiers slept.

The success of the attack raised fears that some of the same conditions in Iraq that allowed for the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 were once again making room for it to reconstitute.

In December, the Islamic State kidnapped four Iraqi hunters in a mountainous area of northeast Iraq, including a police colonel. The militants beheaded the police officer, and then released a gruesome video of the kidnapping that was reminiscent of what was once a common practice during the reign of ISIS.

The attacks in Iraq, conducted by ISIS sleeper cells in remote mountain and desert areas, have highlighted a lack of coordination between Iraqi government forces and the Peshmerga, Kurdish forces that answer to the government of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Many of the attacks take place in disputed territory claimed by both the Iraqi Kurdish government and the central government.

Ardian Shajkovci, director of the American Counterterrorism Targeting &amp;amp; Resilience Institute, said many of the ISIS fighters arrested in attacks since the group lost the last of its territory three years ago were younger and came from families with older members who had ties to the Islamic State.

“If so, this is a new generation of ISIS recruits, changing the calculus and threat landscape in many ways,” he said.

Iraq has struggled to deal with tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who are relatives of ISIS fighters and have been collectively punished and placed in detention camps, which are now seen as breeding grounds for radicalization.

Corruption in Iraqi security forces has left some bases in the country without proper supplies and allowed soldiers and officers to neglect their duties, contributing to the collapse of entire army divisions which retreated in 2014 rather than face the Islamic State. 
&nbsp;

An audacious attack on a Syrian prison that houses thousands of Islamic State detainees. A series of strikes against military forces in neighboring Iraq. The dissemination of a video showing the beheading of a kidnapped Iraqi police officer.

An audacious attack on a Syrian prison that houses thousands of Islamic State detainees. A series of strikes against military forces in neighboring Iraq. The dissemination of a video showing the beheading of a kidnapped Iraqi police officer. The evidence of a resurgence of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is mounting by the day, three years after the militants lost their last territorial foothold in the so-called caliphate, which once stretched across vast parts of the two countries. The fact that the Islamic State group was able to mount multiple, coordinated and sophisticated attacks is evidence that what had been believed to be disparate sleeper cells are re-emerging as a more serious threat. “It’s a wake-up call for regional players, for national players that ISIS is not over, that the fight is not over,” said Kawa Hassan, Middle East and North Africa director at the Stimson Center think tank. “It shows the resilience of ISIS to strike back at the time and place of their choosing.” On Thursday, Islamic State fighters attacked a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka in an attempt to free the 3,500 prisoners held there and took a group of detained boys hostage to use as human shields. The assault drew the U.S. military into fight in what has become the biggest confrontation between U.S. forces and the Islamic State in three years. By Tuesday, the Islamic State attackers still controlled part of the prison in Hasaka, even after the United States sent in ground troops and air support for the Kurdish-led forces trying to take it back. In Iraq last week, around the same time as the prison attack began, ISIS fighters stormed an army outpost in Diyala province, killing 10 soldiers and an officer in the deadliest attack in several years on an Iraqi military base. Gunmen approached the base from three sides late at night while some of the soldiers slept. The success of the attack raised fears that some of the same conditions in Iraq that allowed for the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 were once again making room for it to reconstitute. In December, the Islamic State kidnapped four Iraqi hunters in a mountainous area of northeast Iraq, including a police colonel. The militants beheaded the police officer, and then released a gruesome video of the kidnapping that was reminiscent of what was once a common practice during the reign of ISIS. The attacks in Iraq, conducted by ISIS sleeper cells in remote mountain and desert areas, have highlighted a lack of coordination between Iraqi government forces and the Peshmerga, Kurdish forces that answer to the government of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Many of the attacks take place in disputed territory claimed by both the Iraqi Kurdish government and the central government. Ardian Shajkovci, director of the American Counterterrorism Targeting &amp; Resilience Institute, said many of the ISIS fighters arrested in attacks since the group lost the last of its territory three years ago were younger and came from families with older members who had ties to the Islamic State. “If so, this is a new generation of ISIS recruits, changing the calculus and threat landscape in many ways,” he said. Iraq has struggled to deal with tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who are relatives of ISIS fighters and have been collectively punished and placed in detention camps, which are now seen as breeding grounds for radicalization. Corruption in Iraqi security forces has left some bases in the country without proper supplies and allowed soldiers and officers to neglect their duties, contributing to the collapse of entire army divisions which retreated in 2014 rather than face the Islamic State.

Prison attack is latest evidence of ISIS resurgence

For a third consecutive day, fighting raged between the Islamic State and Kurdish forces in Syria. This was after IS attacked a prison housing jihadists. As per reports, so far 70 people have been killed in the fighting.

Reports: 70 people killed in Syria as fighting continues to rage between the IS & Kurdish forces

The revival of the Islamic State is knocking at West Asia's doors as two attacks took place, one at a high profile prison in Syria and the other at a military base near Iraq. Now, a car bomb went off outside the prison, shortly after which gunmen clashed with security forces. This led to the killings of at least 40 Kurdish security forces and five civilians.

ISIS resurgence further destabilise West Asia with 40 Kurdish security officers killed in attacks

Kurdish region in Iraq has been inundated with heavy rainfall this as the flood water has now swept through the city of Erbil and has caused massive damage and a number of casualties which are yet to be reported.

Iraq: Floodwaters sweep through Ebril, govt announces holidays for schools

MPs belonging to the 'Coalition for the People' gathered alongside supporters on Baghdad's Tahrir square. Iraq's newly elected independent MPs travelled to parliament in tuk-tuk taxis.

Newly elected MPs ride to parliament in tuk-tuk taxi

Iraqi women are taking their safety into their own hands. Going against all societal expectations, more and more women are taking on martial arts to be better prepared in face of adversity.

Iraqi women sign up for Kickboxing to take their safety into their own hands

In Iraq, women are taking their safety into their own hands. Going against all societal expectations more and more women are taking on martial arts to be better prepared in face of adversity. Here's a report.

Iraqi women go against all societal expectations

Thousands of supporters of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, an alliance known for its pro-Iran leanings, rallied to mark 2020 killing of Iran's influential general Qassem Soleimani.

The supporters chanted "Death to America" and filled a Baghdad square to honour the general &nbsp;who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards, until his death on January 3, 2020.

"US terrorism has to end" read one sign at the rally by backers of the pro-Iranian Hashed, a former paramilitary alliance that has been integrated into Iraq's state security apparatus.

Former US president Donald Trump ordered the strike that killed Soleimani near Baghdad's airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Hamdi al-Muhandis, Hashed's deputy.

Trump said at the time that the assassination came in response to a wave of attacks on US interests in Iraq.

The killing of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's Middle Eastern military strategy, sent shock waves across the region and sparked fears of a direct military confrontation between decades-old arch enemies Washington and Tehran.

The Islamic republic, which wields considerable influence in neighbouring Iraq, warned it would avenge Soleimani's death.

Five days after his killing, Iran fired missiles at an air base in Iraq housing US troops and another near Arbil in the north.

Since then dozens of rockets and roadside bombs have targeted Western security, military and diplomatic sites across Iraq.

Iraqi and Western officials have blamed hardline pro-Iran factions for the attacks, which have never been claimed by any group.

In February last year, the US carried out an air strike against Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary force stationed along the&nbsp; 
Iraqi-Syrian border, following rocket attacks on its Baghdad embassy and a US military contracting firm north of the capital.

Hashed has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of US troops who are deployed in Iraq as part of a multinational coalition fighting jihadists of the Islamic State group.

Senior Hashed official Faleh al-Fayyad reiterated the demand Saturday, saying the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis was "a crime against Iraqi sovereignty".

In December, Iraq announced the end of the "combat mission" there of the US-led coalition against the IS. But about 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition troops will remain deployed in Iraq to offer training, advice and assistance to national forces.

(With inputs from agencies)

Thousands of supporters of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, an alliance known for its pro-Iran leanings, rallied to mark 2020 killing of Iran's influential general Qassem Soleimani.

Thousands of supporters of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, an alliance known for its pro-Iran leanings, rallied to mark 2020 killing of Iran's influential general Qassem Soleimani. The supporters chanted "Death to America" and filled a Baghdad square to honour the general who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards, until his death on January 3, 2020. "US terrorism has to end" read one sign at the rally by backers of the pro-Iranian Hashed, a former paramilitary alliance that has been integrated into Iraq's state security apparatus. Former US president Donald Trump ordered the strike that killed Soleimani near Baghdad's airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Hamdi al-Muhandis, Hashed's deputy. Trump said at the time that the assassination came in response to a wave of attacks on US interests in Iraq. The killing of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's Middle Eastern military strategy, sent shock waves across the region and sparked fears of a direct military confrontation between decades-old arch enemies Washington and Tehran. The Islamic republic, which wields considerable influence in neighbouring Iraq, warned it would avenge Soleimani's death. Five days after his killing, Iran fired missiles at an air base in Iraq housing US troops and another near Arbil in the north. Since then dozens of rockets and roadside bombs have targeted Western security, military and diplomatic sites across Iraq. Iraqi and Western officials have blamed hardline pro-Iran factions for the attacks, which have never been claimed by any group. In February last year, the US carried out an air strike against Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary force stationed along the Iraqi-Syrian border, following rocket attacks on its Baghdad embassy and a US military contracting firm north of the capital. Hashed has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of US troops who are deployed in Iraq as part of a multinational coalition fighting jihadists of the Islamic State group. Senior Hashed official Faleh al-Fayyad reiterated the demand Saturday, saying the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis was "a crime against Iraqi sovereignty". In December, Iraq announced the end of the "combat mission" there of the US-led coalition against the IS. But about 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition troops will remain deployed in Iraq to offer training, advice and assistance to national forces. (With inputs from agencies)

Iraq: Thousands mark 2020 killing of Iran general Qassem Soleimani

Iraqi top court ratified the countries parliamentary election results. The elections were held in October. The court rejected complaints of irregularities filed by pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi, former paramilitary alliance

The court ruling has now paved way for the parliament to meet and elect a president who will, in turn, appoint a prime minister. The prime minister will then form a new government.

Iraq is trying to recover from years of war and jihadist violence but remains hobbled by political divisions, corruption and poverty.

The ratification follows a delay of more than two months since the October 10 legislative polls won by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, a political maverick and former anti-US militia leader who opposes all foreign interference.

Sadr's movement won more than a fifth of the seats -- 73 out of the assembly's total 329, well ahead of the 17 seats of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Hashed.

That was sharply down from the Alliance's 48 seats in the outgoing assembly. Hashed leaders rejected the result as a "fraud".

They took their case to court seeking "to have the results annulled" because of "serious violations", their lawyer said earlier in December when the hearing began.

Judge Jassem Mohamed Aboud of the Federal Supreme Court on Monday said the tribunal "rejects the request of the plaintiffs... not to ratify the final results of the election".

He declared the judgment "binding on all authorities".

Later the court media officer announced that the body "has ratified the results of the legislative elections".

(With inputs from agencies)

Iraqi top court ratified the countries parliamentary election results. The elections were held in October. The court rejected complaints of irregularities filed by pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi, former paramilitary alliance The court ruling has now paved way for the parliament to meet and elect a president who will, in turn, appoint a prime minister.

Iraqi top court ratified the countries parliamentary election results. The elections were held in October. The court rejected complaints of irregularities filed by pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi, former paramilitary alliance The court ruling has now paved way for the parliament to meet and elect a president who will, in turn, appoint a prime minister. The prime minister will then form a new government. Iraq is trying to recover from years of war and jihadist violence but remains hobbled by political divisions, corruption and poverty. The ratification follows a delay of more than two months since the October 10 legislative polls won by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, a political maverick and former anti-US militia leader who opposes all foreign interference. Sadr's movement won more than a fifth of the seats -- 73 out of the assembly's total 329, well ahead of the 17 seats of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Hashed. That was sharply down from the Alliance's 48 seats in the outgoing assembly. Hashed leaders rejected the result as a "fraud". They took their case to court seeking "to have the results annulled" because of "serious violations", their lawyer said earlier in December when the hearing began. Judge Jassem Mohamed Aboud of the Federal Supreme Court on Monday said the tribunal "rejects the request of the plaintiffs... not to ratify the final results of the election". He declared the judgment "binding on all authorities". Later the court media officer announced that the body "has ratified the results of the legislative elections". (With inputs from agencies)

Iraqi top court ratifies election results, rejects fraud claims

An Iraqi government official said on Sunday that Iraq has signed agreements with two Chinese companies to build 1,000 schools in the nation over the next two years.

The official Iraqi News Agency quoted a housing ministry official, Hassan Mejaham, as saying that the country needs 8,000 schools to "address the shortfall in the education sector."

Despite its oil wealth, Iraq's infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades as a result of numerous conflicts and widespread corruption.

The agreements, which were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi on Thursday, call for Power China to build 679 schools and Sinotech to build the remaining 321.

The schools are expected to be completed in two years, with the first being delivered a year after work begins "very soon," according to Mejaham.

He went on to say that Iraq would fund the project using oil products.&nbsp;

A second phase will see the construction of 3,000 more schools, followed by 4,000 more in the final phase.

"Decades of conflict and underinvestment in Iraq have decimated what was once the region's best education system," UNICEF wrote on its website, adding that "one out of every two schools is damaged and requires restoration."

It stated that "nearly 3.2 million school-aged Iraqi youngsters are out of school" in the country of 40 million people.

The World Bank cautioned in October that the coronavirus pandemic would exacerbate already low levels of education, and that international investment in the sector was needed.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

An Iraqi government official said on Sunday that Iraq has signed agreements with two Chinese companies to build 1,000 schools in the nation over the next two years.

An Iraqi government official said on Sunday that Iraq has signed agreements with two Chinese companies to build 1,000 schools in the nation over the next two years. The official Iraqi News Agency quoted a housing ministry official, Hassan Mejaham, as saying that the country needs 8,000 schools to "address the shortfall in the education sector." Despite its oil wealth, Iraq's infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades as a result of numerous conflicts and widespread corruption. The agreements, which were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi on Thursday, call for Power China to build 679 schools and Sinotech to build the remaining 321. The schools are expected to be completed in two years, with the first being delivered a year after work begins "very soon," according to Mejaham. He went on to say that Iraq would fund the project using oil products. A second phase will see the construction of 3,000 more schools, followed by 4,000 more in the final phase. "Decades of conflict and underinvestment in Iraq have decimated what was once the region's best education system," UNICEF wrote on its website, adding that "one out of every two schools is damaged and requires restoration." It stated that "nearly 3.2 million school-aged Iraqi youngsters are out of school" in the country of 40 million people. The World Bank cautioned in October that the coronavirus pandemic would exacerbate already low levels of education, and that international investment in the sector was needed. (With inputs from agencies)

China is on a school-building spree in Iraq. Over 1,000 by two firms

Iraq's security forces on Sunday released a statement saying that two rockets targetted Baghdad's highly secure Green Zone. US embassy is located in the Green Zone. Security forces said that the attack took place early Sunday.

"The Green Zone in Baghdad was the target of two Katyusha rockets. The first was shot down in the air by C-RAM defence batteries, the second fell in a square, damaging two vehicles," the statement said.

AFP quoted a security source to say that the shot down rocket fell near the US embassy, while the second came down roughly 500 metres (1,640 feet) away.

Previously, the source told AFP that two rockets had been shot down near the US embassy.

Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, told AFP the incident caused no casualties.

He said no shots hit the embassy or the so-called Union III area where US-led coalition forces are based. 
No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

In recent months, dozens of rocket assaults or drone bomb attacks have targeted American troops and interests in Iraq. 
The attacks are rarely claimed but are routinely pinned on pro-Iran factions.

The latest rocket fire comes after the announcement this week of the end of the "combat mission" in Iraq of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

But roughly 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition soldiers will remain deployed in Iraq to offer training, advice and assistance to national forces.

Pro-Iran factions in Iraq are calling for the departure of all US forces stationed in the country.

Sunday's attack also coincides with the 10th anniversary of the departure of US troops from Iraq on December 18, 2011, after the invasion and overthrow of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Washington then deployed its troops to the country in 2014 to fight IS, which had captured large swathes of the nation in a lightning offensive.

(With inputs from agencies)

Iraq's security forces on Sunday released a statement saying that two rockets targetted Baghdad's highly secure Green Zone. US embassy is located in the Green Zone.

Iraq's security forces on Sunday released a statement saying that two rockets targetted Baghdad's highly secure Green Zone. US embassy is located in the Green Zone. Security forces said that the attack took place early Sunday. "The Green Zone in Baghdad was the target of two Katyusha rockets. The first was shot down in the air by C-RAM defence batteries, the second fell in a square, damaging two vehicles," the statement said. AFP quoted a security source to say that the shot down rocket fell near the US embassy, while the second came down roughly 500 metres (1,640 feet) away. Previously, the source told AFP that two rockets had been shot down near the US embassy. Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, told AFP the incident caused no casualties. He said no shots hit the embassy or the so-called Union III area where US-led coalition forces are based. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. In recent months, dozens of rocket assaults or drone bomb attacks have targeted American troops and interests in Iraq. The attacks are rarely claimed but are routinely pinned on pro-Iran factions. The latest rocket fire comes after the announcement this week of the end of the "combat mission" in Iraq of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group. But roughly 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition soldiers will remain deployed in Iraq to offer training, advice and assistance to national forces. Pro-Iran factions in Iraq are calling for the departure of all US forces stationed in the country. Sunday's attack also coincides with the 10th anniversary of the departure of US troops from Iraq on December 18, 2011, after the invasion and overthrow of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. Washington then deployed its troops to the country in 2014 to fight IS, which had captured large swathes of the nation in a lightning offensive. (With inputs from agencies)

Two Katyusha rockets fired at Baghdad's ultra-secure Green Zone

From the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to Guantanamo Bay near Cuba, American soldiers have left a trail of blood and death. Their war crimes are well-documented, yet ignored. Palki Sharma lists out America's crimes in the last two decades.

Gravitas: From Iraq to Afghanistan: America's trail of deaths

A 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh that was looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago and recently recovered from the United States was formally returned to Iraq. On The West Asia Post, Ghadi Francis tells you the story of this tablet.

The West Asia Post: Looted Gilgamesh tablet back in Iraq

US Military announces that it has completed the transition process of its 2,500 combat troops in Iraq into advisory ones. The troops will remain in Iraq and assist Iraqi forces.

2,500 American combat troops to remain in Iraq & undertake the advisory role to assist Iraqi forces

The US military has announced that it has completed its transition from a combat mission in Iraq to one meant to “advise, assist and enable” Iraqi forces that are battling the remnants of the Islamic State.

US Announces End to Combat Mission in Iraq, now takes advisory role

Finally, the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which was handed over to the Iraqi embassy by US authorities in September, has been put up on display. &nbsp;&nbsp;

At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, said, "This day, represent a victory in the face of the desperate attempts of those why try to steal our great history and our ancient civilisation." &nbsp;

As per Hussein, it is one of 17,926 artefacts, which has been recovered by Iraq from the UK, Japan, Italy, the US and the Netherlands in the past year. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/old-letters-of-couple-reveal-underground-network-set-up-to-help-jewish-families-escape-nazi-rule-434408" hreflang="en">Old letters of couple reveal underground network set up to help Jewish families escape Nazi rule</a>

The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was of "great importance" as it is "one of the oldest literary texts of Iraq's history", Culture and Antiquities Minister Hassan Nazim told AFP news agency. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Gilgamesh Tablet, which is made of clay, is priceless. It features inscriptions in Sumerian, a civilisation of ancient Mesopotamia. After the start of the Gulf War in August 1990, the treasure was taken from a museum in Iraq.&nbsp;

In 2007, it was introduced fraudulently into the US art market. In 2014, the artefact was acquired by the craft retail chain, Hobby Lobby, for display at the Museum of the Bible, in Washington DC, which is funded by the family of Hobby Lobby’s owner, as per news reports. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/surprise-choice-allyship-is-dictionarycoms-word-of-the-year-for-2021-434770" hreflang="en">Surprise choice? Allyship is Dictionary.com's ‘word of the year’ for 2021</a>

In July, the US Department of Justice announced that it was ordering the official handing over of the tablet, as it had entered the US “contrary to federal law”, noting that federal agents had seized the tablet from the museum, in September 2019. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

At a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, it was formally returned to Iraq. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Finally, the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which was handed over to the Iraqi embassy by US authorities in September, has been put up on display. At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, said, "This day, represent a victory in the face of the desperate attempts of those why try to steal our great history and our ancient civilisation.

Finally, the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which was handed over to the Iraqi embassy by US authorities in September, has been put up on display. At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, said, "This day, represent a victory in the face of the desperate attempts of those why try to steal our great history and our ancient civilisation." As per Hussein, it is one of 17,926 artefacts, which has been recovered by Iraq from the UK, Japan, Italy, the US and the Netherlands in the past year. Also Read: Old letters of couple reveal underground network set up to help Jewish families escape Nazi rule The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was of "great importance" as it is "one of the oldest literary texts of Iraq's history", Culture and Antiquities Minister Hassan Nazim told AFP news agency. The Gilgamesh Tablet, which is made of clay, is priceless. It features inscriptions in Sumerian, a civilisation of ancient Mesopotamia. After the start of the Gulf War in August 1990, the treasure was taken from a museum in Iraq. In 2007, it was introduced fraudulently into the US art market. In 2014, the artefact was acquired by the craft retail chain, Hobby Lobby, for display at the Museum of the Bible, in Washington DC, which is funded by the family of Hobby Lobby’s owner, as per news reports. Also Read: Surprise choice? Allyship is Dictionary.com's ‘word of the year’ for 2021 In July, the US Department of Justice announced that it was ordering the official handing over of the tablet, as it had entered the US “contrary to federal law”, noting that federal agents had seized the tablet from the museum, in September 2019. At a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, it was formally returned to Iraq. (With inputs from agencies)

3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet goes on display in Iraq

People across West Asia are on high alert, extreme weather events are being witnessed across regions. From earthquakes, floods to droughts and wildfires, West Asian nations are now being battered by climate change and its consequences.

Report: Water crisis will impact Iraq's growth and jobs

From the rubble of Iraq's war-ravaged city of Mosul arises the sight of androids gliding in a restaurant to serve their amused clientele. The futuristic servers are the result of technology developed in part in the northern city formerly the stronghold of the militant Islamic State group.

Robot waiters take Iraq's Mosulites back to the future

Hundreds of Iraqi who failed t enter the EU from Belarus have returned home. Around 430 Iraqis stranded are being repatriated on a charter flight from Minsk to Baghdad.

Belarus-Poland migrant crisis | Hundreds of Iraqis repatriated from Belarus

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