The Latest Breaking News from Baghdad

Muqtada al-Sadr and Iraq’s propensity for an intra-Shia conflict

Before Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s call for an end to the violence, analysts feared Iraq was headed to war.

Al Jazeera · Aug 31, 2022

Political crisis continues in Baghdad after bloody clashes

Iraqi paramilitary forces killed in heavy clashes have been laid to rest as the country's parliament speaker called for three days of mourning for the dozens killed

The Independent UK · Aug 31, 2022

Britain and the US… And the Round of Violence in Iraq

In contrast to its establishment by the British in the early twentieth century, the second effort to establish an Iraqi state, made this century by the US, was chaotic and not based on a vision for how to build it. There is an immense difference in scale between the two…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 31, 2022

EXPLAINER: What spurred the bloody armed clashes in Baghdad?

Iraq witnessed bloody street violence for nearly 24 hours spurred by loyalists of a powerful Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, that was the culmination of a 10-month power struggle

The Independent UK · Aug 30, 2022

Deadly turmoil erupts in Iraq after top cleric’s resignation

Iran closed its border crossings with Iraq after deadly clashes erupted in Baghdad over a prominent cleric’s decision to resign from politics, deepening a government crisis in the OPEC-member state.

Tribune News Service · Aug 30, 2022

Iraq: Moqtada al-Sadr supporters invade the government palace and swim in the pool

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Monday announced he was withdrawing from Iraqi politics in a Twitter post. Almost immediately after, hundreds of his supporters swarmed the government palace in Baghdad in the heart of the heavily secured Green Zone. After the crowd was cleared from the perimeter, a curfew was…

France 24 · Aug 30, 2022

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urges supporters to withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone, with dozens dead

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calls on followers to withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone, after days of unrest.

ABC News · Aug 30, 2022

Iraq's Sadr tells supporters to withdraw after violent clashes

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr told his followers to leave their protests in central Baghdad on Tuesday and apologised to the Iraqi people after nearly two days of violent clashes between rival Shi’ite Muslim groups.

Reuters · Aug 30, 2022

Violence in Iraq escalates: List of key events

Thirty people killed in Iraqi capital Baghdad after fighting between supporters and rivals of Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al Jazeera · Aug 30, 2022

Iraq Oil Exports Unaffected by Political Turmoil

Iraq's oil exports are unaffected by the current political turmoil in the country, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Baghdad is seeing its worst fighting for years as clashes between Shiite groups spill into a second day. Supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have surrounded the Majnoon oil field in…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 30, 2022