Iraq

23 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iraq's High Electoral Commission yesterday announced that it will start manually recounting votes in 870 electoral stations based on judicial orders, Anadolu news agency reported.

The agency quoted Imad Jamil, a member of the commission's media team, as saying that the manual recount came upon the order of the Elections Judicial Commission, which accepted 21 appeals filed against the results in 870 stations, noting that the process could change the preliminary results of the elections.

20 Nov 2021; MEMO: Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada Al-Sadr decided on Friday to dissolve his Promised Day Brigade in a "goodwill" gesture to dissolve the armed factions in Iraq.

Al-Sadr announced in a statement: "As a goodwill gesture, I announce the dissolution of the Promised Day Brigade and the closure of its headquarters."

20 Nov 2021; MEMO: Turkish contractors and consultancy firms can be a part of projects involving infrastructure, hospitals, schools and public buildings in Iraq, Nail Olpak, head of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) said in Iraq, Daily Sabah Newspaper reports.

According to the report, this cooperation can be further facilitated by a reversal in discrimination regarding the conditions of fair competition, as well as the easing of processes required to do business, a Turkish trade official said Friday.

18 Nov 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources yesterday warned Turkey that its plan to build a new dam on the Tigris River would affect Iraq's share of the river's waters.

Ministry spokesperson, Ali Radi, said Turkish authorities had been contacted via the Foreign Affairs Ministry to warn them of the new project's impact on Baghdad's share of the river's water in terms of quantity and quality.

09 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iraqi security officials and militia sources said the drone attack that targeted the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Sunday was carried out by at least one Iran-backed militia, Reuters reported.

The sources said it was unlikely that Tehran had approved the attack, because it is keen to avoid an escalation of violence on its western border.

BAGHDAD, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The failed assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday complicated the political scene in the country, as the attack ramped up the tension sparked by followers of parties rejecting the results of the Oct. 10 early election.

The assassination attempt took place before dawn when a booby-trapped drone landed on the residence of al-Kadhimi in the heavily fortified Green Zone in the center of the capital, but the prime minister escaped unhurt.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A top Iranian general visited Baghdad after the assassination attempt against Iraq’s prime minister, and said Tehran and its allies had nothing to do with the drone attack that lightly injured the Iraqi leader, two Iraqi politicians said Monday.

The two Shiite Muslim politicians requested anonymity because Esmail Ghaani’s visit was not announced publicly. They quoted the Iranian general as saying that Tehran is not opposed to any politician named by the Shiite blocs in the newly elected parliament to become the next prime minister.

08 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said yesterday that he knows who attacked his home with drones in order to assassinate him, pledging to punish them, Anadolu reported.

"We will pursue those who committed yesterday's crime," he pledged. "We know them well, and we will expose them," he stressed.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Troops deployed around Baghdad on Sunday following the failed assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted the residence of Iraq’s prime minister. The attack significantly ramped up tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month’s parliamentary election results.

07 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has survived an assassination attempt after an armed drone targeted his home in Baghdad in the early hours this morning.

Kadhimi was unharmed however seven of his security guards were injured according to two officials who spoke to AP. Iraqi intelligence have launched an investigation into the attack, no group has claimed responsibility.