Security

Deadly political divisions raise risks for Kurdistan

Rivalries between political leaders in Sulaimaniya have exploded into violence and undermined relations between Iraqi Kurdistan’s two ruling parties at a key political moment.

Bafel Talabani (left) and Lahur Talabany (right) at a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party gathering on June 15, 2021. (Source: PUK Media)

Jul 28, 2020

Kadhimi aims to reign in border corruption

New federal forces have deployed in a campaign to wrest control of border crossings from parties, paramilitary groups, and mafias.

Jul 17, 2020

Iraq draws electricity from oil projects to help failing power grid

The government is seeking stopgap solutions to major blackouts that have sparked protests in southern Iraq.

Jul 8, 2020

Protest disrupts Halfaya operations and local power supply

Financial constraints and OPEC cuts led to oil sector layoffs and protests that briefly shut down access to Missan province's largest field.

Jul 2, 2020

Tribal conflicts escalate in Iraq’s oil heartland

Local authorities are preoccupied with the pandemic and hampered by tangled power structures, prompting the prime minister to pursue a new security strategy.

Jun 19, 2020

Spiking pandemic hits Iraqi oil sector and security forces

Seeking to combat an exponential rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases, government measures are also disrupting oil and security operations.

Jun 17, 2020

Q&A: Dr. Adham Rashad Ismail, WHO head of mission in Iraq

The World Health Organization is still guardedly optimistic Iraq can avoid a coronavirus catastrophe, despite Iraq's poor mask compliance and perhaps premature end to its lockdown.

Jun 16, 2020

Kirkuk oil guards suffer payment delays as security risks grow

One of Iraq's most effective ways of securing oil infrastructure has been to enlist locals as guards, but now cash flows are drying up just as an insurgency intensifies.

Jun 4, 2020

Shell evacuation reveals cracks in Basra Gas Company consortium

Protests that prompted an emergency evacuation in May were caused by a breakdown in payments and cooperation between Shell and its government partners.

May 20, 2020

Basra Gas Company evacuates expat staff during protests

Foreign staff of the Shell-Mitsubishi-Iraq joint venture left the country after local workers protested for unpaid salaries.

May 15, 2020

Grounded jets and political spats as the Islamic State regroups

The Islamic State group capitalized on deteriorating U.S.-Iraqi relations as a pandemic further distracted the unfinished fight against it.