Turkey Bombs Kurdish Targets in Iraq, Syria After Attack on Defense Firm
The targeted strikes on a separatist Kurdish group in Iraq and Syria came hours after an attack on an aerospace contractor in Turkey’s defense sector that killed five people (WSJ)
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Turkey, but Ankara blamed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)(AP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Says Joint Iraqi-U.S. Mission Killed ISIS Leader
Senior U.S. officials said they were awaiting more analysis in order to assess who was killed in the mission, but they confirmed the joint U.S.-Iraqi raid against the self-declared Islamic State operatives in Iraq (WaPo)
Kurdish Official Warns Against U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s special representative to the United States said that the self-proclaimed Islamic State and other terror groups still represent a significant threat to regional security (The Hill)
Four Iraqi Soldiers Killed by Self-Proclaimed Islamic State
The ambush followed the United States’ recent announcement it would withdraw troops from Iraqi territory; U.S. troops will remain in Syria as part of its coalition to combat the Islamic State until 2026 (WaPo)
WSJ: U.S., Iraq Reach Deal on Troop Withdrawal Timeline
The countries agreed that the United States and other coalition forces would withdraw their troops from Iraq by the end of 2026, unnamed U.S. defense officials told the Wall Street Journal; a small number of U.S. military personnel are expected to remain in that country following the withdrawal in an advisory capacity (WSJ)
Iran’s New President Begins Multi-Day Trip to Iraq
On Masoud Pezeshkian’s first foreign trip as Iran’s president today, he pledged to deepen ties with Iraq as part of efforts to reduce Iran’s international isolation (Al Jazeera)
Trade between the countries has nearly doubled since last year; Iraq is Iran’s second-largest trade partner behind China (NYT)
Joint U.S.-Iraqi Counterterrorism Operation in Western Iraq Was One of Largest Missions in Recent Years
Unnamed U.S. and Iraqi officials told the New York Times that more than two hundred troops from both countries participated in last week’s operation over two days; U.S. Central Command said the operation, which was targeting a senior commander overseeing self-declared Islamic State operations in Europe and the Middle East, killed at least fourteen Islamic State fighters (NYT)
Central Command said in July that the number of attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was on track to double this year from the last one (Centcom)
Iraq, U.S.-led Military Coalition Postpone Announcement on Deal to Wind Down Coalition’s Presence
Iraq’s foreign ministry said the delay was “due to recent developments;” while it did not specify which developments it was referring to, the delay comes amid U.S. preparations for a potential retaliatory attack on Israel by Iran (CNN)
Rocket Attack on Iraq Base Wounds U.S. Personnel
Five U.S. service members and two contractors were hurt in a suspected rocket attack on the main base hosting U.S. forces in Iraq, unnamed U.S. officials told multiple news outlets (WaPo)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the incident “marked a dangerous escalation and demonstrated Iran’s destabilizing role in the region,” according to a Pentagon summary of his call with his Israeli counterpart (FT)
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, it resembled others carried out by Iran-backed groups in Iraq and comes as diplomats work to contain broader escalation between Israel and Iran in the Middle East (NYT)
U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East had come under attack at least 165 times between the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the end of January 2024, when a drone strike killed three U.S. troops stationed in Jordan (AP)
Washington authorized limited retaliatory strikes in response at the time, and the attacks had since decreased in intensity (Al Jazeera)
Today, Iraq’s military condemned “reckless” actions against bases on its soil (Reuters)
U.S. Forces Report Defensive Strike in Iraq
U.S. forces struck an area south of Baghdad where they detected fighters attempting to launch a drone attack, unnamed U.S. officials told ABC (ABC)
The strike follows rocket launches last week toward an Iraqi air base housing U.S. forces; Iraq condemned yesterday’s attack, Washington’s first since February (Reuters)
The U.S. officials did not confirm any casualties (France24)
Reuters: Rockets Launched Toward Base Housing U.S. Forces in Iraq
No casualties were reported in the attack, unnamed U.S. and Iraqi sources told Reuters, and U.S. sources said that the base itself had not been struck; the strikes followed a military summit in Washington earlier this week where the two countries discussed winding down the U.S. military mission in Iraq, which includes about 2,500 deployed troops (Reuters)
Talks Over Future of U.S.-Iraq Military Relations Begin in Washington
The talks are part of a review of the future of the some 2,500 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq; Iran-backed groups in Iraq have pushed for the exit of U.S. forces from the country amid tensions over the war in Gaza (Al-Monitor)
U.S. Central Command: Self-Declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Attempting to Reconstitute
An unnamed U.S. defense official told the Associated Press that the group was behind 121 attacks in Iraq and Syria in 2023; in the first half of 2024, the group claimed 153 attacks (AP)
Human Rights Watch: Iraq Has Arbitrarily Detained and Deported Syrian Refugees
Human Rights Watch announced it had documented cases of Iraqi authorities arbitrarily detaining and deporting Syrian refugees who held legal status or were registered with the UN refugee agency; the total number of deported Syrians is unknown (AP)
Supporters of Iran-Backed Militias Attack U.S.-Linked Businesses in Baghdad
Supporters of Iran-backed militias launched attacks against businesses in Baghdad associated with the United States, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chili House, and Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken; the attacks followed the rise of anti-American sentiment in Iraq over continued U.S. support for Israel (AP)
Turkish President Visits Iraq, Signs Deal on Iraq-Europe Transport Corridor
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Baghdad for the first time in almost thirteen years; during his visit, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on a transport corridor to link Iraq to Europe via railway and road, and a cooperation deal regarding the modernization of Iraqi irrigation systems (Al-Monitor)
Rockets Launched From Iraq Toward U.S. Military Base in Northeast Syria
It appeared to be the first such attack against U.S. forces since February when Iran-backed groups in Iraq halted their attacks (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Calls for Restraint in Middle East During Washington Visit
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for restraint in the Middle East on Monday during talks in Washington as tensions soar between Iran and Israel after Tehran’s weekend strikes (Reuters). Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Tamim, who co-chaired a meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Iraq was concerned about being “dragged into a wider war that will threaten international security and safety” (Middle East Monitor).
Iraq’s Prime Minister to Visit Washington Next Week, Discuss Economic and Security Relationship
Iraq’s government has said in recent months that it hopes to end the U.S.-led military mission in the country amid exchanges of fire between the United States and Iranian proxies (Reuters)
Iraq Aims to Reopen Oil Pipleine to Turkey by end of the Month
The pipeline has been closed for a decade; an alternative pipeline from the Kurdistan region has also been shut down for a year as Iraq’s government and the Kurdistan regional government have failed to reach a deal on resuming exports (Reuters)
Iraq to Send Ten Million Liters of Fuel to Gaza
Iraq agreed on Sunday to send ten million liters of fuel to the Gaza Strip in support of the Palestinian people, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said; Iraq also agreed to receive wounded Palestinians from Gaza and provide them treatment in government and private hospitals (Reuters).
Kataib Hezbollah to Supply Weapons to Jordanian Counterparts
Abu Ali Al-Askari, a senior member of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah faction in Iraq, announced that his organization is prepared to equip “12,000 fighters” in Jordan “to defend our Palestinian brothers” with weapons including tactical missiles and explosives (Middle East Monitor).
Iraqi Militia Claims Aerial Attack on Eilat
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed militant group, claimed responsibility for a missile attack that struck a building in Israel’s Red Sea port city of Eilat; there were no casualties, according to the Israeli military (Reuters)
Drone Strike Kills Sunni Tribal Leader in Iraq’s Diyala Province
A drone strike on Sunday killed a Sunni tribal leader in the town of Kifri in Diyala province, east of Iraq, security officials said (Reuters)
The tribal leader from the Turkmen minority was killed when a drone dropped explosives near his guesthouse in central Kifri (Al Arabiya)
Oil Firms Trade Blame Over Shut Iraq-Turkey Pipeline
Foreign oil firms operating in Iraq’s Kurdistan region are partly to blame for the delay in resuming crude exports after failing to submit contracts for revision, Iraq’s oil ministry said (Bloomberg). The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline (ITP), which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, has been halted, stuck in legal and financial limbo, since March 2023 (Reuters)
The flows were halted after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, in a longstanding arbitration case, ruled Ankara had violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating such exports without the consent of the Iraqi federal government (U.S. News).