Iraq
Iranian Guard attacks militant group in Iraq amid unrest
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Saturday attacked a Kurdish militant group's base located in the north of neighboring Iraq, state media said, a week after widespread anti-government protests began over a young woman's death in police custody.
The death of a 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after being detained by Iranian morality police, has launched unrest across Iran's provinces and capital of Tehran. Amini’s family hails from Iran’s Kurdish region.
IRNA said the Guard’s ground forces fired artillery from positions within Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, attacking what it described as a “terrorist group” based across the border in Iraq. The report did not elaborate.
IRNA also said some members of a separatist group, so-called “Komleh” in Iran, were arrested by intelligence forces, without giving details.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s military, quoted the Guard’s statement as saying the operation will continue in order to ensure border security.
Tasnim added that the attack targeted the bases of Kurdish separatist groups in the north of Iraq and took place at 16:00 local time, and caused serious damage to them.
The Guard’s attacks were in response to the support of the separatist group for the recent unrest in the country, as well as their attempt to import weapons into Iran, the report said.
State TV suggested Saturday that 41 protesters and policemen have been killed since the protests erupted last Saturday. He said official statistics would be released by the Interior Ministry. According to a tally by The Associated Press, there have been at least 11 deaths from both sides since protests began after Amini’s funeral.
Iranian authorities have also disrupted or cut internet access to stymy the protests, and tightened restrictions on popular platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.
On Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that his satellite internet firm Starlink would seek permission to operate in Iran. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was up to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to decide on Starlink’s next steps.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday it was allowing American tech firms to expand their business in Iran, one of the most sanctioned countries in the world, to boost internet access for the Iranian people.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the United States’ move and said “bids to violate Iran’s sovereignty won’t go unanswered.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a tweet accused the U.S. of “nefarious designs”. He said Washington was "loosening communications sanctions, while keeping Max Pressure in place. Both meant to provoke instability.”
Heavy gunfire rocks Iraq's Green Zone amid violent protests
Supporters of an influential Iraqi Shiite cleric fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns into Iraq's Green Zone and security forces returned fire Tuesday, a serious escalation of a monthslong political crisis gripping the nation.
The death toll rose to at least 30 people after two days of unrest, officials said.
After cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Monday he would resign from politics, his supporters stormed the Green Zone, once the stronghold of the U.S. military that's now home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies. At least one country evacuated its embassy amid the chaos.
Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since al-Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government — unleashing months of infighting between different Shiite factions. Al-Sadr refused to negotiate with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals, and his withdrawal Monday catapulted Iraq into political uncertainty and volatility with no clear path out.
Iran closed its borders to Iraq on Tuesday — a sign of Tehran’s concern that the chaos could spread, though streets beyond the capital's government quarter largely remained calm. The country's vital oil continued to flow, with global benchmark Brent crude trading slightly down at $103 a barrel.
A day after the stormed the Green Zone, supporters of al-Sadr could be seen on live television firing both heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades into the heavily area through a section of pulled-down concrete walls. Security forces armed with machine guns inside the zone sporadically returned fire.
Some bystanders filmed the gunfight with their mobile phones, though most hid behind still-standing segments of wall, wincing when rounds cracked nearby. As al-Sadr's forces fired, a line of armored tanks stood on the other side of the barriers that surround the Green Zone, though they did not use their heavy guns.
At least one wounded man from al-Sadr's forces was taken away in a three-wheel rickshaw, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry visible in the background. Heavy black smoke at one point rose over the area, visible from kilometers (miles) away.
At least 30 people have been killed and over 400 wounded, two Iraqi medical officials said. The toll included both al-Sadr loyalists killed in protests the day before and clashes overnight. Those figures are expected to rise, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information to journalists.
Members of Iraq's majority Shiite Muslim population were oppressed when Saddam Hussein ruled the country for decades. The 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam, a Sunni, reversed the political order. Just under two-thirds of Iraq is Shiite, with a third Sunni.
Read:Iran closes border to Iraq, flights stop amid violent unrest
Now, the Shiites are fighting among themselves after the Americans largely withdrew from the nation, with Iranian-backed Shiites and Iraqi-nationalist Shiites jockeying for power, influence and state resources.
It’s an explosive rivalry in a country where many remain way of the Iranian government’s influence even though trade and ties remain strong between its peoples. Iraq and Iran fought a bloody war in the 1980s that saw a million people killed.
Al-Sadr’s nationalist rhetoric and reform agenda resonates powerfully with his supporters, who largely hail from Iraq’s poorest sectors of society and were historically shut out of the political system under Saddam.
Al-Sadr's announcement that he is leaving politics has implicitly given his supporters the freedom to act as they see fit.
Iranian state television cited unrest and a military-imposed curfew in Iraqi cities for the reason for the border closures. It urged Iranians avoid any travel to the neighboring country. The decision came as millions were preparing to visit Iraq for an annual pilgrimage to Shiite sites, and Tehran encouraged any Iranian pilgrims already in Iraq to avoid further travel between cities.
Kuwait, meanwhile, called on its citizens to leave Iraq. The state-run KUNA news agency also encouraged those hoping to travel to Iraq to delay their plans.
The tiny Gulf Arab sheikhdom of Kuwait shares a 254-kilometer- (158-mile-) long border with Iraq.
The Netherlands evacuated its embassy in the Green Zone, Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra tweeted early Tuesday.
“There are firefights around the embassy in Baghdad. Our staff are now working at the German embassy elsewhere in the city,” Hoekstra wrote.
Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates stopped flights to Baghdad on Tuesday over the ongoing unrest. The carrier said that it was “monitoring the situation closely.” It did not say when flights would resume.
On Monday, protesters loyal to al-Sadr pulled down the cement barriers outside the government palace with ropes and breached the palace gates. Many rushed into the lavish salons and marbled halls of the palace, a key meeting place for Iraqi heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Iraq’s military announced a nationwide curfew, and the caretaker premier suspended Cabinet sessions in response to the violence.
Officials: Landslide at Shiite shrine in Iraq kills 7
A landslide collapsed the ceiling of a Shiite shrine in central Iraq over the weekend and killed at least seven people, including a child, officials said Monday as rescuers continued to search for survivors.
The landslide struck Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine near the holy city of Karbala, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, on Saturday.
According to Iraq's civil defense, the landslide hit the ceiling of the shrine, which lies in a natural depression, causing it to cave in and dumping a stream of rock and mud inside the structure. The entrance, walls and the minarets of the shrine, which was built on the place of a water source in the desert, remained standing.
Also read: 31 dead in India flash floods & landslides
Among the dead were four women, two men and a child, the civil defense said, adding that search teams had rescued six people. On Monday, rescuers were using a bulldozer to try to remove the rubble and search for survivors.
The cause of the landslide was not immediately known. The civil defense blamed high humidity for the landslide.
Also read: avy flooding, landslides destroy buildings, roads in China
Followers of cleric enter Iraqi parliament in show of force
Hundreds of Iraqi protesters breached Baghdad’s parliament Wednesday chanting anti-Iran curses in a demonstration against a nominee for prime minister by Iran-backed parties.
The majority of the protesters were followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The demonstrators, all of them men, were seen walking on tables of the parliament floor, leafing through folders, sitting in the chairs of lawmakers and waving Iraqi flags. The incident raised the stakes in the political struggle for Iraq nearly 10 months after federal elections.
No lawmakers were present. Only security forces were inside the building and they appeared to allow the protesters in with relative ease.
The demonstrators were protesting the recent selection of Mohammed al-Sudani as the official nominee of the Coordination Framework bloc, a coalition led by Iran-backed Shiite parties and their allies.
It was the largest protest since federal elections were held in October, and the second time al-Sadr has used his ability to mobilize masses to send a message to his political rivals this month. Earlier in July, thousands heeded his call for a mass prayer, an event many feared would devolve into destabilizing protests.
Hours after his followers occupied parliament, al-Sadr issued a statement on Twitter telling them their message had been received, and “to return safely to your homes," signaling there would be no further escalation to the sit-in. Shortly after, protesters began making their way out of the parliament building with security forces supervising.
The incident, and al-Sadr's subsequent show of control over his followers, carried an implicit warning to the Framework alliance of a potential escalation to come if the government forms with al-Sudani at the helm.
Read:Iraqi cleric shows power as thousands attend mass prayer
Al-Sadr's ability to mobilize and control his large grassroots following gives him powerful leverage over his rivals. In a similar fashion, his followers stormed the Green Zone in 2016 and entered the country’s parliament building to demand political reform.
Earlier in the day, demonstrators breached Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the parliament and other government buildings, as well as foreign embassies.
Protesters chanted curses against Iran and said, “Sudani, out!”
Riot police had attempted to repel the protesters using water cannons, but demonstrators scaled the cement barrier walls and pulled down slabs using ropes to enter the Green Zone.
The demonstrators walked down the zone's main thoroughfare with little resistance from security forces. One security personnel was seen handing a protester a water bottle.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called for calm and restraint, and for protesters to “immediately withdraw” from the area.
Al-Sadr recently stepped down from the political process despite having won the most seats in the October federal election. Protesters carried portraits of the cleric.
Al-Sudani was selected by State of Law leader and former premier Nouri al-Maliki. Before al-Sudani can face parliament to be seated officially as premier-designate, parties must first select a president. Protesters also chanted: “Maliki, garbage!”
The Framework, in a statement, said they had known of “calls urging chaos, stirring up strife,” within the last 24 hours since nominating al-Sudani.
The United Nations said Iraqis had the right to protest but that it was “essential that demonstrations remain peaceful and comply with the law," in a statement.
Al-Sadr exited government formation talks after he was not able to corral enough lawmakers to get the majority required to elect Iraq’s next president.
By replacing his lawmakers, the Framework leader pushed ahead to form next government. Many fear doing so also opens the doors to street protests organized by al-Sadr's large grass roots following and instability.
Turkish strikes in north Iraq kill 8 tourists, wound over 20
Turkish airstrikes killed eight tourists in northern Iraq and wounded over 20, Iraqi Kurdish officials said on Wednesday.
At least four missiles struck the resort area of Barakh in the Zakho district in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, district mayor Mushir Mohammed told The Associated Press. All the casualties were Iraqi citizens.
Hundreds of Iraqi tourists come to the Kurdish region from the south during the peak summer months because the weather is relatively cooler. The touristic sites in Zakho is nearby military bases set up by Turkey.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi dispatched a delegation to the area lead by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes into northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its offensives targeting elements of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party or PKK.
Read: Iraqi soldiers kill nine IS militants
Wednesday's attack marked the first time that tourists had been killed in the frequent attacks by Turkey in the area, the officials said.
In April, Turkey launched its latest offensive, named Operation Claw Lock, in parts of northern Iraq - part of a series of cross-border operations started in 2019 to combat the outlawed PKK who are based in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq.
The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, and has led an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 which has killed tens of thousands of people.
Ankara has pressed Baghdad to root out PKK elements from the northern region. Iraq, in turn, has said Turkey's ongoing attacks are in breach of its sovereignty.
Severe water shortages strain wheat harvest in Iraq
Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of one hand. They were several grams lighter than he hoped.
“It’s because of the water shortages,” he said, the farm machine roaring behind him, cutting and gathering his year’s wheat harvest.
Chelab had planted most of his 10 acres (4 hectares) of land, but he was only able to irrigate a quarter of it after the Agriculture Ministry introduced strict water quotas during the growing season, he said. The produce he was growing on the rest of it, he fears, “will die without water.”
At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50%.
The government took the step in the face of severe water shortages arising from high temperatures and drought — believed to be fueled by climate change — and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All those factors have heavily strained wheat production.
Wrestling with the water shortage, Iraq’s government has been unable to tackle other long-neglected issues.
Desertification has been blamed as a factor behind this year’s relentless spate of sandstorms. At least 10 have hit the country in the past few months, covering cities with a thick blanket of orange dust, grounding flights and sending thousands to hospitals.
“We need water to solve the problem of desertification, but we also need water to secure our food supplies,” said Essa Fayadh, a senior official at the Environment Ministry. “We don’t have enough for both.”
Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water needs. Both flow into Iraq from Turkey and Iran. Those countries have constructed dams that have either blocked or diverted water, creating major shortages in Iraq.
Water Resources Minister Mahdi Rasheed told The Associated Press that river levels were down 60% compared to last year.
For Chelab, less water has meant a smaller grain size and lower crop yields.
In 2021, Chelab produced 30,000 tons of wheat, the year before that 32,000, receipts from Trade Ministry silos show. This year, he expects no more than 10,000.
READ: India's Chennai rapid growth threatened by water shortages
His crops are both rain-fed and irrigated via a channel from the Euphrates. Due to low precipitation levels, he has had to rely on the river water during the growing season, he said.
Government officials say change is necessary.
The current system has been inefficient and unsustainable for decades. Water scarcity is leaving them no choice but to push to modernize antiquated and wasteful farming techniques.
“We have a strategic plan to face drought considering the lack of rain, global warming, and the lack of irrigation coming from neighboring countries as we did not get our share of water entitlements,” said Hamid al-Naif, spokesman at the Agriculture Ministry.
The ministry took measures to devise new types of drought-resistant wheat and introduce methods to increase crop yields.
“We are still dealing with irrigation systems of the 1950s. It has nothing to do with the farmers,” he said. “The state must make it efficient, we must force the farmer to accept it.”
Iraqi farmers have historically been heavily dependent on the state in the production of food, a reliance that policymakers and experts said drains government funds.
The Agriculture Ministry supports farmers by providing everything from harvesting tools, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at a subsidized rate or for free. Water diverted from rivers for irrigation is given at no cost. The Trade Ministry then stores or buys produce from farmers and distributes it to markets.
Wheat is a key strategic crop, accounting for 70% of total cereal production in the country.
Planting starts in October and harvest typically begins in April and extends to June in some areas. Last year, the Agriculture Ministry slashed subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, a move that has angered farmers.
Local demand for the staple is between 5-6 million tons a year. But local production is shrinking with each passing year. In 2021, Iraq produced 4.2 million tons of wheat, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In 2020, it was 6.2 million tons.
“Today we might get 2.5 million tons at best,” said al-Naif. That would require Iraq to drive up imports.
Most of the wheat harvest is usually sold to the Trade Ministry. In a sign of the low harvest, so far there are currently only 373,000 tons of wheat available in Trade Ministry storehouses, al-Naif said.
To meet demands amid the recent global crisis in the grain market, the government recently changed a policy to allow all Iraqi farmers to sell their produce to the Trade Ministry silos. Previously, this was limited to farmers who operated within the government plan.
Back in Chelab’s farm, the wheat is ready to be transported to the silo.
“It’s true we need to develop ourselves,” he said. “But the change should be gradual, not immediate.”
Iraq keen on cooperation on agri sector: Razzaque
Bangladesh will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iraq to enhance mutual cooperation in the agricultural sector, said Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday.
He said, “Iraq imports agricultural products from India and Turkey. The economic situation in Iraq is good now. They have expressed interest in signing a MoU for cooperation in the agricultural sector.”
Abdussalam Saddam Mohaisen, the Charge De Affairs of the Embassy of Iraq in Dhaka, has expressed interest in importing mangoes, vegetables and potatoes from Bangladesh.
READ: Russia-Ukraine war not to trigger food crisis in Bangladesh: Razzaque
At a meeting with Razzaque at the Secretariat, Abdussalam expressed his interest.
He also lauded the success of agricultural development in Bangladesh.
The minister said discussions were held on how to further enhance Iraq's bilateral relations with Bangladesh at present.
Meanwhile, a delegation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) led by Megan Francic, Agricultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Dhaka, met with the minister.
The delegation said the USDA will provide technical and financial assistance to Bangladesh for the construction of cold storage.
They will also provide refrigerated vehicles for transporting agricultural products and cold chains in Bangladesh.
Razzaque said work is underway to set up a world-class packing house and accredited lab on two acres of land in Purbachal for which a consultant from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has already been hired.
“The USDA can assist us in building these packing houses and setting up accredited labs.”
The USDA is implementing a $27 million 'Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project'. The four-year project in 2021-25 will mainly work to increase the quality and export of agricultural products in Bangladesh.
Iran claims missile barrage near US consulate in Iraq
Iran claimed responsibility Sunday for a missile barrage that struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard earlier this week.
No injuries were reported in Sunday's attack on the city of Irbil, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said on its website that it attacked what it described as an Israeli spy center in Irbil. It did not elaborate, but in a statement said Israel had been on the offensive, citing the recent strike that killed two members of the Revolutionary Guard. The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying Iran fired 10 Fateh missiles, including several Fateh-110 missiles, which have a range of about 300 kilometers (186 miles).
The source said the attack resulted in multiple casualties and said the main target for the missiles was the "Zionist base, which is far from the American military base.”
Read: Iran launches rocket into space amid Vienna nuclear talks
An Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the U.S. consulate in Irbil, the intended target of the attack. Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan’s foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the U.S. facility but that residential areas around the compound had been hit.
In a Twitter post, he said the lack of reaction from the international community to repeated attacks by Iran on Kurdistan “is of great concern” and was encouraging future attacks by Tehran.
A U.S. defense official said the strike was launched from neighboring Iran, and that it was still uncertain how many missiles were fired and where they landed. A second U.S. official said there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and unoccupied.
Neither the Iraqi official nor the U.S. officials were authorized to discuss the event with the media and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, which is located near the U.S. consulate, went on air from their studio shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris on their studio floor.
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike near Damascus, Syria, that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard. On Sunday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
The missile barrage coincided with regional tensions. Negotiations in Vienna over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal hit a “pause” over Russian demands about sanctions targeting Moscow for its war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Iran suspended its secret Baghdad-brokered talks aimed at defusing yearslong tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia, after Saudi Arabia carried out its largest known mass execution in its modern history with over three dozens Shiites killed.
The Iraqi security officials said there were no casualties from the Irbil attack, which they said occurred after midnight and caused material damage in the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
One of the Iraqi officials said the ballistic missiles were fired from Iran, without elaborating. He said the Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles likely were fired in retaliation for the two Revolutionary Guards killed in Syria.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Mathew Tueller, said the U.S. condemns the criminal attack on civilian targets in Irbil. “Iranian regime elements have claimed responsibility for this attack and must be held accountable for this flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” he said in a statement posted by the U.S. consulate in Irbil.
U.S. forces stationed at Irbil’s airport compound have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks in the past, with U.S. officials blaming Iran-backed groups.
The top U.S. commander for the Middle East has repeatedly warned about the increasing threats of attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed militias on troops and allies in Iraq and Syria.
In an interview with The Associated Press in December, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said that while U.S. forces in Iraq have shifted to a non-combat role, Iran and its proxies still want all American troops to leave the country. As a result, he said, that may trigger more attacks.’
The Biden administration decided last July to end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by Dec. 31, and U.S. forces gradually moved to an advisory role last year. The troops will still provide air support and other military aid for Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State.
The U.S. presence in Iraq has long been a flash point for Tehran, but tensions spiked after a January 2020 U.S. drone strike near the Baghdad airport killed a top Iranian general. In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at al-Asad airbase, where U.S. troops were stationed. More than 100 service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts.
More recently, Iranian proxies are believed responsible for an assassination attempt late last year on Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Read: Iran nuclear talks adjourn, seen resuming before year's end
And officials have said they believe Iran was behind the October drone attack at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured in the attack.
Al-Kadhimi tweeted: “The aggression which targeted the dear city of Irbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people.”
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish-controlled region, condemned the attack. In a Facebook post, he said Irbil “will not bow to the cowards who carried out the terrorist attack.”
Islamic State strikes from shadows in vulnerable Syria, Iraq
With a spectacular jail break in Syria and a deadly attack on an army barracks in Iraq, the Islamic State group was back in the headlines the past week, a reminder of a war that formally ended three years ago but continues to be fought mostly away from view.
The attacks were some of the boldest since the extremist group lost its last sliver of territory in 2019 with the help of a U.S.-led international coalition, following a years-long war that left much of Iraq and Syria in ruins.
Residents in both countries say the recent high-profile IS operations only confirmed what they’ve known and feared for months: Economic collapse, lack of governance and growing ethnic tensions in the impoverished region are reversing counter-IS gains, allowing the group to threaten parts of its former so-called caliphate once again.
READ: General says US troops to remain in Iraq
One Syrian man said that over the past few years, militants repeatedly carried out attacks in his town of Shuheil, a former IS stronghold in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zour province. They hit members of the Kurdish-led security force or the local administration — then vanished.“We would think it is over and they’re not coming back. Then suddenly, everything turns upside down again,” he said.
They are “everywhere,” he said, striking quickly and mostly in the dark, creating the aura of a stealth omnipresent force. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
IS lost its last patch of territory near Baghouz in eastern Syria in March 2019. Since that time, it largely went underground and waged a low-level insurgency, including roadside bombings, assassinations and hit-and-run attacks mostly targeting security forces. In eastern Syria, the militants carried out some 342 operations over the last year, many of them attacks on Kurdish-led forces, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Jan. 20 prison break in Syria’s Hassakeh region was its most sophisticated operation yet.
The militants stormed the prison aiming to break out thousands of comrades, some of whom simultaneously rioted inside. The attackers allowed some inmates to escape, took hostages, including child detainees, and battled the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces for a week. It was not clear how many militants managed to escape, and some remain holed up in the prison.
The fighting killed dozens and drew in the U.S.-led coalition, which carried out airstrikes and deployed American personnel in Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the scene. The battle also drove thousands of neighboring civilians from their homes.
It harkened back to a series of jail breaks that fueled IS’s surge more than eight years ago, when they overwhelmed territory in Iraq and Syria.
Hours after the prison attack began, IS gunmen in Iraq broke into a barracks in mountains north of Baghdad, killed a guard and shot dead 11 soldiers as they slept. It was part of a recent uptick in attacks that have stoked fears the group is also gaining momentum in Iraq.
READ: Tension rises in Iraq after failed bid to assassinate PM
An Iraqi intelligence source said IS does not have the same sources of financing as in the past and is incapable of holding ground. “They are working as a very decentralized organization,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security information.
The group’s biggest operations are conducted by 7-10 militants, said Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Yehia Rasool. He said he believes it is currently impossible for IS to take over a village, let alone a city. In the summer of 2014, Iraqi forces collapsed and retreated when the militants overran vast swathes of northern Iraq.
On its online channel, Aamaq, IS has been putting out videos from the prison attack and glorifying its other operations in an intensified propaganda campaign. The aim is to recruit new members and “reactivate quasi-dormant networks throughout the region,” according to an analysis by the Soufan Group security consultancy.
On both sides of the Syria-Iraq border, IS benefits from ethnic and sectarian resentments and from deteriorating economies. In Iraq, the rivalry between the Baghdad-based central government and the autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country has opened up cracks through which IS has crept back. Sunni Arab disenchantment with Shiite politicians helps the group attract young men.
In Afghanistan, IS militants have stepped up attacks on the country’s new rulers, the Taliban, as well as religious and ethnic minorities.
In eastern Syria, the tensions are between the Kurdish-led administration and Arab population. IS feeds off Arab discontent with the Kurds’ domination of power and employment at a time when Syria’s currency is collapsing.
Kurdish authorities have carried out crackdowns against the Arab population on suspicion of IS sympathies, especially after a wave of protests against living conditions. At the same time, to reduce tensions, Kurdish authorities released detained Arabs and encouraged members of Arab tribes to join the ranks of the SDF. But those steps have raised concerns over infiltration or charges of corruption, adding to the challenges.
The militants have cells extending from Baghouz in the east to rural Manbij in Aleppo province to the west, according to Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory.
“They are trying to reaffirm their presence,” he said.
East Syria is also fractured among several competing forces. The Kurdish-led administration runs most of the territory east of the Euphrates, supported by hundreds of U.S. troops. The Syrian government, with its Russian and Iranian allies, is west of the river. Turkey and its allied Syria fighters, who view the Kurds as existential enemies, hold a belt along the countries’ border.
Dareen Khalifa, a senior Syria analyst for the International Crisis Group, said the SDF’s dependence on an “unpredictable U.S. presence” in fighting the militants is one of its biggest challenges.
She said the SDF is viewed as a lame duck that makes local residents reluctant to cooperate with anti-IS raids or provide intelligence on IS cells, particularly after the group threatened or killed many suspected collaborators in the past.
Moreover, the Kurdish authorities’ claim to be able to govern and provide services to the region and its mixed population “has taken a blow in 2021 as the economic conditions in the area deteriorated,” Khalifa said.
Residents say the Islamic State group is not collecting taxes or actively recruiting people, indicating they are not seeking to seize and control territory like they did in 2014, when they became de-facto rulers of an area that stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq. Instead, they exploit the security vacuum and lack of governance and resort to intimidation and kidnappings.
The resident of Shuheil in Deir el-Zour said they mostly operate at night, in flash attacks on military posts or targeted killings carried out from speeding motorcycles.
“It is always hit and run,” he said.
He described the area as constantly on edge, under an invisible threat from militants who blend into the population. The fear is so great, no one talks openly about them, whether good or bad, he said.
“Everyone is afraid of assassinations,” he said. “They have prestige, they have a reputation. They will never go away.”
Iraq keen to boost trade, investment with Bangladesh
Iraq has expressed its interest to boost trade and investment with Bangladesh and renew the trade agreements between the two countries.
Iraqi Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulsalam Saddam Mohaimsen expressed interest at a meeting with Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at his official residence on Thursday.
The ambassador also invited the Commerce Minister to visit Iraq at a convenient time to discuss trade and investment issues.
In response, Tipu Munshi said, "Bangladesh has an opportunity to enhance trade and investment with Iraq. To this end, it will be easier to identify trade and investment sectors if trade delegations from both the government and business levels of the two countries exchange visits.”
Read: India seeks FBCCI's cooperation in boosting bilateral trade
“Bangladesh signed a trade agreement with Iraq in 1971 to facilitate trade and commerce. It has the potential to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries,” he added.
He said under the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the work of setting up 100 special economic zones in some important places of Bangladesh is progressing fast.
"Iraqi investors will benefit if they invest in Bangladesh's special economic zones. Bangladesh has made conducive environment for the investors and providing a number of attractive facilities. Iraq can take advantage of all these opportunities,” Tipu said.
Read: Chevron signs deal with Rock Energy to market its lube products in Bangladesh
Bangladesh exported goods worth USD $3.80 million to Iraq in the fiscal year 2020-2021. At the same time, it imported goods worth $53.42 million from Iraq.