Iraq
The Budding Kurdish-Iranian Alliance in Northern Iraq
In the dusty farms and villages of Sinjar, the interests of Iran and Turkey collide. Here in northern Iraq, Tehran is allying with non-state actors in order to further its own interests — this time with the controversial PKK group, which will bring it into conflict with Ankara.
Iraq’s Ministry of Death
No one believes Baghdad will hold anyone to account for gross negligence that caused the death of dozens of patients at Ibn al-Khatib hospital. Mismanagement and greed will continue to triumph in Iraq as long as the current system, entangled in patronage, does not reform.
Post-ISIS Security Pitfalls Lurk in a Small Town Near Baghdad
Though ISIS cells undeniably continue to operate in some Sunni-dominant areas, the use of forces linked to Shiite armed groups to conduct operations in Sunni-majority areas aggravates fears of human rights abuses and even “ethnic cleansing.”
The ISIS War Crime Iraqi Turkmen Won’t Talk About
Media attention of the crimes of ISIS have focused on attacks against Iraq’s Yazidi minority group. But another minority group, the Turkmen, also suffered terrible violence, and only now, slowly, is the embattled community piecing together its own story.
Bombs Over Erbil
The murky militia that took responsibility for last month's attack in Iraq issued a statement claiming that it “only targets the American, Turkish, and Israeli occupation bases.” Though many armed groups and others in the country have demanded an end to the “American-Israeli occupation,” the addition of “Turkish” is significant.
Inglourious Basterds of Mosul
It took five hours to watch the 101-minute Netflix film on Mosul and process the emotions that resulted from the realistic portrayal of brutal warfare in my hometown.
Walk by the Wall
A university teacher from Mosul describes decades of hardship and horror in his city under Saddam Hussein’s regime, then the U.S. occupation, and under ISIS’s rule.