The Iraqi government has reclaimed more than a quarter of its territory earlier captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, since the US-led coalition air campaign began in August 2014, a Pentagon spokesman says. ISIS took over large swathes of northern and western Iraq in June 2014. The announcement comes ahead of…
Iraq Launches Military Operation Against ISIS
Iraq has launched a military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit from Islamic State. Troops and militia attacked different fronts backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets. According to the Iraqi government, military forces are advancing into the city. Tikrit is150km (95 miles) north of the capital Baghdad and was seized by IS…
Aid Crisis Grips UNHCR
A shortfall of $58.45 million funding, coupled with this year’s recent growth in the number of internally displaced persons, may leave about 1 million Syrian and Iraqi refugees without proper help. This is coming just as winter approaches, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR has said. Despite the fact that about $154 million…
US to send Additional 1,500 Troops to Iraq
The US is to send 1,500 more non-combat troops to Iraq to boost Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State, IS, militants. The latest deployment will more than double the US presence in Iraq. President Barack Obama authorised the deployment following a request from Iraq’s government. IS militants control large areas of Iraq and Syria but have…
900,000 Children Displaced in Iraq – UNICEF
The conflict across Iraq has left no fawer than 900,000 of the country’s children homeless, the United Nations Children Education Fund, UNICEF has said. In a statement released on its website, September 22, the international organization said the crisis which has affected an estimated 1.8 million of the country’s population has also exposed many of…