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Ahmed Rasheed
Farhan al-Khouli, a Syrian military conscript who deserted his post on the first day of the rebel offensive, works at a horse stable in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2024
Demoralized and abandoned by allies: Why Syria’s army failed to fight
Rampant corruption and a heavy reliance on foreign allies hollowed out Bashar Assad's once-feared army.
A mourner attends the funeral of a commander from Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah armed group in Baghdad on Sept. 22
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2024
Iraq tries to avoid regional fight as militias fire at Israel
Two visits to Iran by Iraq's top security officials, seeking Tehran's help to rein in its allied Iraqi factions, failed, sources said.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024
U.S.-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year
The plan has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date.
U.S. soldiers are seen during the handover ceremony for Taji military base, from U.S.-led coalition troops to Iraqi security forces, in the base north of Baghdad in 2020.
WORLD
Jul 31, 2024
U.S. conducts strike in Iraq amid deepening regional tensions
Iraqi police and medical sources said the strike inside a base south of Baghdad killed four members of a group that contains several Iran-aligned armed militias.
U.S. soldiers during a handover ceremony of Taji military base from U.S.-led coalition troops to Iraqi security forces, in the base north of Baghdad on August 23, 2020
WORLD
Jul 23, 2024
Iraq eyes drawdown of U.S.-led forces starting September, sources say
The U.S. currently has around 2,500 troops in Iraq at the head of a more than 80-member coalition that was formed in 2014.
Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, on April 14, 2022.
WORLD
Feb 18, 2024
Iraqi armed groups dial down U.S. attacks on request of Iran commander
A top Iranian security official said: "Commander Qaani's visit was successful, though not entirely, as not all Iraqi groups consented to de-escalate."
Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech in Najaf, Iraq, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2023
Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hints at comeback with torching of Swedish Embassy
By having his supporters torch the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, the unpredictable Shiite cleric has dragged an administration run by his rivals into a diplomatic crisis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 28, 2021
Iran seeks to cool tensions in Iraq
Iran is intervening in Iraq to quell destabilizing internal unrest stirred up by Iranian-backed militias as Tehran seeks to preserve its deep influence in the country.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Feb 9, 2021
In Saddam strongholds that fought America, Iraqis fear a U.S. departure
The U.S. troop drawdown is creating a security vacuum, security officials, former fighters and residents say.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2014
Before Iraq polls, Shiite militias unleashed war on Sunni insurgents
The Sunni militants who seized the riverside town of Buhriz late last month stayed for several hours.

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Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition