An Iran-backed militia calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has announced a purported $10 million reward for anyone who kills US President Donald Trump, citing the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as justification.
The Pentagon said the September pullout fulfils a 2024 agreement with Baghdad. American troop levels, once above 170,000 during the Iraq war, have steadily declined to a small advisory force ahead of the final withdrawal.
The most enduring consequence of a war is often not what happens on the battlefield, but what it reveals about the institutions that authorise it.
An explosion aboard the Panama-flagged MSC Sariska V has triggered competing narratives, with Iran claiming a retaliatory strike and Iraqi reports pointing towards a possible technical failure.
The attacks come as regional tensions continue to escalate, with the ongoing US-Israel conflict involving Iran entering its 36th day. Iran-backed militias have repeatedly targeted US military positions in Iraq and neighbouring areas in recent weeks.
Iraq has been witnessing a chronic power shortage since the US-led invasion in 2003
Strategically, the pullout in another five months ought not to be considered as a retreat of the American soldier; suffice it to register that US forces, at least a section thereof, will be very much in Iraq ostensibly to help the local Iraqi forces to counter the potentially murderous Isis.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attack had been perpetrated by the Daesh group. The military said it will provide details once an investigation is complete.
Iraqi military bases housing US troops across the country and the US embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad have been frequently targeted
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with some cabinet ministers and security commanders to discuss the hospital fire and its consequences.
