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.
The Iraqi President, Barham Salih, the appointing authority, has given the former Governor of the holy Shia city of Najaf 30 days to form a cabinet which must then be approved by Iraq’s Parliament.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
The ISIS has lost a lot of ground in the Middle East after a series of defeats, but it remains active in Iraq and Syria in a fragmented form.
This is the first period of extended dual US carrier operations in the Middle East since 2012, according to McKenzie.
Earlier on Thursday US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that "all options are on the table" to respond to the death of the three soldiers in a rocket attack on the Taji airbase.
