Iraq

BAGHDAD, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces shot down two unknown drones above two areas in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said on Wednesday.

One of the drones was carrying explosives and was shot down late on Tuesday night in an empty area near al-Rashid Camp district in southern Baghdad, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement issued shortly after midnight local time.

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) said Sunday that its commando forces have killed 13 militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group across the country so far this month.

Spokesman of CTS Sabah al-Numan told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the commandos, backed by Iraqi aircraft, carried out several security operations in June, killing 13 IS militants and arresting many others, in addition to the destruction of some caves and hideouts.

09 June 2021; MEMO: The General Secretariat of the Iraqi government yesterday approved the National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2021-2024, which was prepared by the Federal Integrity Commission and contributes towards combating and reducing corruption, Anadolu reported.

BAGHDAD, Jun 8 (NNN-NINA) – Unidentified gunmen yesterday killed a senior officer of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a security source said.

Nibras Farman, an INIS officer, was shot dead when gunmen opened fire on him, with their silenced weapons, in front of his house, in al-Baladiyat neighbourhood, in eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said, on condition of anonymity.

The source also said that the security forces launched an investigation into the incident.

08 June 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Commission of Integrity said yesterday it had issued nine arrest warrants against senior officials on charges of administrative and financial corruption.

08 June 2021; MEMO: Unknown gunmen yesterday assassinated a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in the Al-Baladiyat area, east of the capital Baghdad.

An Iraqi security source said the unidentified gunmen shot Colonel Nebras Farman, a Shia Kurd who was head of the Financial Audit and Budget Department of the intelligence service.

According to the source, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, who also heads the intelligence service, has ordered an investigation into the attack.

07 June 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Presidency yesterday called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq and condemned Ankara's bombing of Makhmour refugee camp in the north of the country which led to killing three people on Saturday.

06 June 2021; MEMO: Iraqi military said on Sunday that air defences at Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase that hosts US Forces, intercepted and shot down two drones, reports Reuters.

The military said in a statement the drones were intercepted and shot down at around 12:30 am local time.

On May 8, an attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system targeted Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, but it caused no injuries.

05 June 2021; MEMO: Iraq's Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, Water and Marshlands reported on Friday that the country loses 100,000 dunams of farmland out of a total of 32 million dunams every year, due to desertification.

A member of the committee, MP Ali Al-Budairi, told the Iraqi News Agency: "Iraq is losing 100,000 dunams of agricultural land every year due to desertification, and there are no real solutions to this problem so far."

30 May 2021; MEMO: The US-led coalition against Daesh terror group said Sunday its mission in Iraq has shifted from direct combat to providing support to the Iraqi army, reports Anadolu Agency.