Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities received Wednesday 300 artifacts excavated by an American-Iraqi joint team from the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq.

A statement by the ministry said the minister Abdul Amir al-Hamdani expressed his pleasure to receive the artifacts excavated from Ur and described them as important.

BAGHDAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A ferryboat sank in Tigris River in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Thursday, leaving at least 93 dead and sparking anger among Iraqis.

The incident took place in the afternoon when a ferryboat carrying dozens of people capsized because of high water levels while crossing from the bank of the river to a small tourist island called Um al Rabeein in northern Mosul, some 400 km north of the capital Baghdad.

MOSUL, Iraq, March 17 (Xinhua) -- A clash in northern Iraq killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded five Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants on Sunday, the Iraqi military said.

A soldier asked the force of Turkish PKK militants to show their pass permission at a checkpoint before the PKK vehicles ran over the soldier, sparking a clash that killed two soldiers and wounded five PKK militants, according to a statement by media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC).

BAGHDAD, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Sunday that his country won't return to war policies as the friend to all regional countries and an advocate of peace.

Abdul Mahdi made the comments during a meeting with Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari and his accompanying delegation in the capital Baghdad, according to a statement by Abdul Mahdi's media office.

11 Mar 2019; DW: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in neighboring Iraq on Monday to kick off a three-day visit as the Islamic Republic is under mounting US pressure over its regional influence.

BAGHDAD, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Saturday ahead of an official visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Iraqi official news agency reported.

Rouhani is expected to visit Iraq on Monday to meet Iraqi top officials, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said in a brief statement.

BAGHDAD, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi President Barham Salih Monday discussed with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas bilateral relations, and expressed Iraq's support to the rights of the Palestinian people to achieve peace and stability on their land.

A statement by the presidency office said that Salih received Abbas and accompanying delegation, and the two sides held a meeting to discuss means to enhance cooperation and coordination in a way that serves the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples.

BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) and Iraq's Basra Gas Company (BGC) signed Wednesday a contract for constructing a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant in Iraq's southern province of Basra.

During the signing ceremony, CPECC President Liu Haijun said "we are delighted to have been selected by BGC to be part of this strategically important gas project. Winning this important contract represents a new recognition of our proven capacity in project execution in Iraq."

Baghdad, Feb 4 (AFP) Iraqi politicians on Monday hit back at Donald Trump after the US president said he plans to keep American forces in the country to spy on Iran.

In an interview with CBS television, Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the United States out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly "to be looking a little bit at Iran".

BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's President Barham Salih on Monday rejected any role for U.S. troops in Iraq beyond helping Iraq's security forces.

Salih's comments came during the Rafidain Center for Dialogue (RCD) Forum in Baghdad, in response to a question regarding recent comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump and the intention of the latter to keep an eye on Iran through his troops in Iraq.

"The presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is part of an agreement to support Iraqi forces in the fight against terror," Salih said.