A 73-year-old Kurdish farmer said the Iraqi army tried to arrest him for working on his farm in Kirkuk where longstanding land disputes have created tensions between communities.

The Pentagon on Thursday acknowledged that nearly 2,000 United States troops are currently stationed in Syria, more than double earlier official numbers.

Two journalists were killed in an airstrike in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Thursday while covering the conflict between Kurdish forces and the Syrian National Army (SNA), their employer said on Friday.

Nearly 2,500 Syrian soldiers, who sought refuge in Iraq earlier this month as Bashar al-Assad’s regime was facing a lightning-blitz by a coalition of rebels, are set to be “voluntarily” repatriated to their country in the coming days, a top security official in Iraq’s bordering province of Anbar said on Wednesday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces foiled two assassination attempts targeting Pope Francis during his historic trip to the country three years ago, the pontiff says in his forthcoming biography as reported by the Italian media on Tuesday.

The Swiss parliament on Tuesday passed a motion officially recognizing the crimes of the Islamic State (ISIS) against Iraq's Yazidi community as an act of genocide, calling for international reparations and justice for victims.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Wednesday told lawmakers that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will not receive the full amount of money it needs to pay its civil servant salaries, attributing the shortfall to insufficient funds in the Kurdish government’s share of the federal budget.

A “first-of-its-kind” security agreement was signed between Iraq and the UK on Thursday to enhance the cooperation over Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s border security to curb people smuggling and narcotics trade, according to the British home office.

Roads leading to Kirkuk from Erbil and Sulaimani were unusually congested on Tuesday as natives of the disputed province returned en masse to be recorded as residents of their hometown in the significant nationwide census, with Kurdish officials stressing the outcome of the process as vital for the future of Kurds in the country.

The Kurdistan Region interior ministry on Sunday announced its plan for the two-day census lockdown later this week, saying foreign missions and nationals, airports, international organizations and journalists will not be affected by the decision.

Reconstruction work has finished on Mosul’s iconic al-Hadba minaret that was destroyed by jihadists, the United Nations agency leading the project announced on Thursday.

Kurdistan Region’s long-suspended oil exports could be resumed later this year if the Iraqi parliament passes an amendment proposed by the federal government, Iraq’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

The United Nations deputy secretary-general on Tuesday labeled a proposed amendment to Iraq’s personal status law that could effectively legalize child marriage as “an assault on childhood.”

A French court on Tuesday sentenced 18 people, mostly Iraqi Kurds, to prison terms of up to 15 years for operating a smuggling network that transported migrants across the English Channel to the United Kingdom.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers on Tuesday amended the federal budget to authorize compensation to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for oil production and transportation costs, setting the rate at $16 per barrel, a long-sought agreement aimed at resuming exports from the region’s oil fields.

Iraq's Council of Ministers chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday approved requests from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to conduct the census based on residents' place of origin, using the 1957 census for reference in disputed areas, addressing long-standing demographic concerns.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday issued a formal request to its ministries for a banking and salary digitization project to proceed unimpeded, following reports that the process has been obstructed in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a Turkish aerospace facility in Ankara.

Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish political party said on Friday that their headquarters in Ankara were attacked overnight.

Election monitors at Kurdistan Region polling stations on Friday reported voters bringing phones into the ballot booths, a violation of election regulations that raises concerns over potential voter coercion.

The leader of the Change Movement (Gorran) on Thursday announced the party's withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and local governments, just days ahead of the parliamentary election.

A Kurdish member of Kirkuk’s provincial council is concerned that Iraq’s census is premature and could be tainted by new settlers in the province, which is given special treatment under the constitution because of its multi-ethnic and disputed status.

The leader of Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and the former speaker of parliament have expressed increased worry over the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga receiving artillery, arguing the weapons could fuel internal conflicts in disputed areas.

A senior commander of a Kurdish opposition party was killed in clashes with Iranian forces in Iran’s western Kurdistan province on Thursday.

Iraq’s federal supreme court reaffirmed on Tuesday that the constitution grants citizens the right to manage personal status matters based on their religion, sect, beliefs, or choices

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was injured on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported, after wireless communications devices exploded in southern Lebanon injuring many hundreds of people. Hezbollah members and fighters were among the injured and wounded, AP and Reuters have reported.

A drone hit a camp for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in Makhmour in Erbil province on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring others.

Iraq's oil ministry on Sunday dismissed accusations by a group of US congress members of assisting Iran in circumventing US sanctions and financing “terrorist entities.”

Senior Iraqi Shiite politicians are urging for the trial of the "Heist of the Century,” the alleged embezzlement of trillions of Iraqi dinars, be broadcast live, as suspicions grow over the judicial proceedings’ integrity and the involvement of high-ranking officials.

An education official in Kirkuk has criticized the Iraqi government for failing to support Kurdish education in the province, arguing that it is their "legitimate right" for Baghdad to provide financial compensation and salaries because the Iraqi government takes “all” of its revenues.

Representatives from the finance ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) met with their Iraqi counterparts in Baghdad on Wednesday in a bid to resolve persistent problems that have caused nearly two months of salary delays for most of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants. The federal government has blamed the KRG yet it appears optimistic that a resolution will be found, but Kurdish officials have complained that the delays are “politically motivated.”

Enerflex, a supplier for the gas industry, on Wednesday accused Dana Gas of wrongfully terminating their contract at a Khor Mor gas field expansion project and blamed security concerns at the site that forced them to suspend operations.

As Western countries jointly have appealed for Iran, Israel, and Hamas to de-escalate tensions, Donald Trump insisted that if he returns to the White House the world would not be waiting for an attack by Iran

An 18-year-old Iraqi national was detained by Austrian authorities on Friday for alleged links to a group plotting an attack on a Taylor Swift concert, according to the country’s interior minister. The suspect is reportedly an Islamic State (ISIS) sympathizer.

The Kurdistan Region’s environment board would like to see the establishment of a specialized environmental court because the existing courts cannot manage the large caseload.

A Nineveh court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Qassim Shasho, commander of the Yazidi Peshmerga unit in Shingal district, on charges of blasphemy.

Human rights activists gathered on Sunday in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to protest a proposed amendment to Iraq’s Personal Status Law that has drawn strong criticism for its measures such as the legalization of child marriage under certain religious jurisprudence.

In the capital of the Kurdistan Region, residents endure a relentless assault on their senses. The pervasive smell of exhaust makes breathing laborios, while smoke billows from ubiquitous electricity generators and decrepit vehicles burning unregulated fuel. During the summer, a dark oppressive haze blankets the horizon.

A delegation of Iraqi defense and Peshmerga officials and their US counterparts concluded a two-day meeting on Tuesday at the Pentagon as talks continue between the two countries to determine the future US-led international coalition in Iraq.

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