The Biden administration has made it clear to Iraq’s new prime minister that it will not work with ministers and senior officials who are affiliated with Shiite militias the U.S. has designated as terrorist organizations, two sources briefed on the issue told me.
Turkish police have apprehended more suspects in connection with the bombing of a bustling pedestrian avenue in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded several dozen others, bringing the number of people in custody to 50, Turkey’s justice minister said Tuesday.
A year after the October 2021 elections, the Iraqi Council of Representatives finally ended the stalemate and confirmed the country’s fifth president. The election of Abdul Latif Rashid removed the complex constitutional obstacle prior to government formation. The intra-Kurdish competition for the Iraqi presidency was the de jure reason for the one-year delay to finalize the process of what was supposed to be an early election to swiftly replace Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government. In real time, the new government—which was seated after the natural end of its predecessor’s term—may be an interim government, as another early election seems to be the only way to restore the political equilibrium in Baghdad.
The Ministry of Interior of Turkey has said since the beginning of this year, it has deported more than 57,000 Afghan citizens who entered the country “illegally”.
Anadolu Agency reported that on Saturday Turkish government officials reported 57,174 Afghan citizens have been returned to their country this year.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Turkish-Kurdish militia group, which is banned in Turkey as a terrorist organization, said on Monday that it was not involved in the Sunday explosion in Istanbul.
“We have nothing to do with this incident and it is well-known by the public that we would not target civilians directly or approve of actions directed at civilians,” PKK said in a statement published by the Kurdish Firat News Agency.
A group of Iranian clerics visited the headquarters of the Baqir Brigade, Iran’s ally, in the city of Aleppo. The brigade has played a major role in curbing Russian influence in Aleppo in favor of Iran.
Over the past few days, Iranian clerics have visited the headquarters of the Baqir Brigade in Aleppo.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, is taking advantage of the difficult living conditions of the people to attract more people into its ranks by offering high salaries.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is still the largest and most dominant faction in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, amid its continuous attempts to control other areas to expand its influence, despite the existence of other factions supported by Turkey.
Iran again bombed Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, targeting alleged headquarters of the Iranian-Kurdish opposition located in northern Iraq.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bombed the Koysinjaq area in both Erbil and Sulaimaniyah provinces on the morning of Nov. 14. At least five rockets hit both sides of the border between the two provinces, injuring many residents, according to the local health authorities. Two deaths have been reported so far.
CIA chief warns his Russian counterpart “on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons” during face-to-face talks in Ankara.
US and Russian spy chiefs traveled to Turkey’s capital for a delicate meeting amid increasing fears that Russia may be readying to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Turkish security forces have arrested a Syrian woman they say confessed to carrying out the attack under instructions from Kobani, but both the Kurdistan Workers Party and Syrian Kurdish forces deny any involvement.