Iraq

30 June 2021; MEMO: Leader of the pro-Iran Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq militia group Qais Al-Khazali yesterday vowed to attack US troops in Iraq in response to the US air strikes that killed at least five pro- Iran Iraqi militants near the Iraqi-Syrian borders earlier this week.

29 June 2021; MEMO: Iraq's Minister of Electricity, Majed Mahdi Hantoosh, submitted his resignation today following an escalation of protests over the repeated power outages in the country.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Moussa, told Anadolu Agency: "Hantoosh officially submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi."

28 June 2021; MEMO: Iran-backed militias under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have threatened to avenge the US airstrikes yesterday on their facilities. Five militants were killed in the strikes.

BAGHDAD, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held a tripartite meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II here on Sunday to enhance economic ties, security cooperation and regional stability.

The meeting "is an important message to our people that we are mutually supportive and unified to serve our people and the people of the region," a statement of al-Kadhimi's media office quoted his opening remarks as saying.

BAGHDAD, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Justice said Saturday that the foreign militants of the Islamic State (IS) group who were convicted in Iraq will not be extradited to their countries until they serve their sentences in Iraqi prisons.

Ahmed Luaibi, spokesman of the ministry, told the official Iraqi News Agency that the militants arrested in accordance with the Iraqi anti-terrorism law will not be extradited, but ambassadors of their countries will be allowed to visit them in respect of human rights principles.

BAGHDAD, Jun 25 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, announced yesterday, the signing of an agreement with Masdar, a renewable energy developer, based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to establish a solar energy project in central and southern Iraq.

Ismail, who is also chairman of the Iraqi Ministerial Council for Energy, attended the signing ceremony between the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and Masdar, to generate 2,000 megawatts, said a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil.

25 June 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi government announced yesterday that it has deported thousands of foreign workers, Anadolu has reported. Moreover, 400 private sector companies have been referred to the judiciary for not complying with a decision to localise the workforce.

"Thousands of foreign workers whose residency was illegal and affected Iraqi employment opportunities have been deported," said Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Adel Al-Rikabi.

22 June 2021; MEMO: Iraq's prominent Shia cleric and leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, said he hopes the new Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, would resort to reason to end sectarianism and not encourage "extremism and escalation of conflicts" in the region.

BAGHDAD, Jun 21 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said yesterday that, it approved 8,273 polling centres across the country, as part of its preparations for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for Oct 10.

These centres consist of 55,041 polling stations, and each will receive a maximum of 450 voters, said a statement, issued by the electoral commission on its website, stressing that the process of distributing polling stations depends on the voters’ place of residence.

19 June 2021; MEMO: Unidentified gunmen on Friday assassinated Iraqi captain Muhammad Al-Shamousi, who was in charge of fighting corruption in the Maysan governorate, south of the country.

Anadolu Agency quoted a Maysan police officer stating: "The captain in charge of executing arrest warrants against those accused of corruption was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Al-Amarah, the capital of the province."