Iraq

04 May 2021; MEMO: Iraq intends to invest $3 billion in the Basra Gas Company over the next five years, local media reported.

The company said in a statement yesterday that the investment plan will provide about 2,000 jobs during the project's construction period, noting that it started exporting cooking gas in 2016.

BAGHDAD, May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) –– Two rockets targeted an airbase at Iraq’s Baghdad airport housing US-led coalition troops on Sunday, in the second such attack in 10 days, the Iraqi army said.

One of the projectiles was intercepted by the C-RAM counter rocket, artillery and mortar system deployed to protect US troops in Iraq, a security source said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack which the army said caused no casualties.

Washington routinely blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for such attacks on its troops and diplomats.

BAGHDAD, May 1 (Xinhua) -- At least four soldiers were killed in an overnight attack by extremist Islamic State (IS) militants north of the Iraqi capital, the Iraqi military said on Saturday.

Two others were wounded by a roadside bomb that the militants had planted and detonated in the Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of Baghdad, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement, citing initial reports.

Reinforcement troops backed by helicopters have been searching the area for hours since early morning for the attackers, according to the statement.

29 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced yesterday that it had arrested the commander of the 5th Border Guard Force Battalion west of the country, along with two other security chiefs, following an attack launched by Daesh fighters.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: A roadside bomb in Iraq's southern Al-Diwaniya province yesterday targeted a convoy carrying logistical equipment for the US-led anti-Daesh coalition forces in the country, Anadolu reported.

The agency quoted an unnarmed police captain as saying that the explosion caused "minor material damages" to one of the vehicles, without causing any human casualties.

BAGHDAD, Apr 26 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, yesterday suspended Minister of Health, Hassan al-Tamimi, and launched an investigation into the huge fire at the Ibn al-Khatib hospital.

A statement by Al-Kadhimi’s media office said, the prime minister held an extraordinary session to discuss the tragic fire at the hospital, which is located in eastern Bagdad and provides care for severe COVID-19 patients.

26 Apr 2021; MEMO: In the aftermath of a deadly fire which took the lives of over 80 COVID-19 patients, Iraq's health minister and the governor of Baghdad have both been suspended, Anadolu Agency reported.

At a special Sunday Cabinet session, Health Minister Hassan Al-Tamimi and Baghdad Governor Muhammad Jaber were suspended and referred for investigations, said a statement by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's media office.

26 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said yesterday that 847 candidates have registered to run in the upcoming early parliamentary elections scheduled for October, Anadolu reported.

The commission added in a statement that 22 political alliances and 13 political coalitions have also expressed their desire to participate in the upcoming elections.

The statement did not give further details about the names of the coalitions or their affiliations.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe coronavirus patients.

Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the Saturday night fire, which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ward of Ibn al-Khatib hospital. Iraq’s prime minister fired key hospital officials hours after the catastrophic incident.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi army said today it is not in need of any foreign or US troops to fight beside them, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to a statement by the Iraqi army spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the withdrawal of the foreign troops from Iraq will be decided by the technical committees between Baghdad and Washington.

On Friday, a top US CENTCOM general said no plans for full US withdrawal from Iraq for the foreseeable future.