Archive: iraq

28th December 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Documents reportedly captured from the Islamic State and circulated by the US government include what appears to be an official fatwa authorising the killing of "apostates" for food or organ transplants. According to a US government translation, IS's Research and Fatwa Committee was asked to… Read more
21st December 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
One of the photos posted from Iraq by Nayef bin Eid Mohammed Al Thani a few days before he and his Qatari companions were kidnapped Arabic media reports suggest the nine Qatari royals kidnapped in Iraq last week are being held by Iranian-linked Shia elements whose demands are… Read more
1st May 2015
By: Mustafa Habib
Almost a month since the Islamic State group was expelled from Tikrit, the city is a graffiti-covered ghost town ruled by opposing groups of gunmen, none of whom trust one another. By Mustafa Habib in Tikrit, via Niqash  In Basha Street in the centre of the Iraqi city of Tikrit,… Read more
28th November 2014
By: Ibrahim Saleh
Many displaced Iraqis seeking shelter in camps have found they cannot leave to get warm blankets, medicine or extra food. The camps lie in what are known as Iraq’s “disputed territories”. By Ibrahim Saleh in Diyala, via Niqash Ali al-Bayati brought his family to the Bahari Taza… Read more
29th September 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
Among people in Iraq and Syria who are threatened with the loss of their homes or their lives, and in the eyes of millions watching from afar, ISIS is evil. Members of ISIS view it differently, however. As far as they are concerned, ISIS is on a humanitarian mission to rid the world of sin and is… Read more
1st September 2014
By: Khales Joumah, Mosul
Towards the end of August, citizens of Mosul were invited to witness the city’s first death by stoning. Extremists who had taken over the city in early June had sentenced a man to death for adultery. Eyewitnesses say the event was shocking. And many in Mosul expect more of the same; they… Read more
24th August 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
It is already very clear that combating ISIS and the "Islamic State" will be no easy task. It is not simply a matter of defeating an evil and particularly brutal fighting force, because the "Islamic State" is where a multiplicity of the Middle East's most deep-seated problems have come home to… Read more
8th August 2014
By: Mustafa Habib
The article below is re-posted from the Niqash website by Mustafa Habib, Baghdad  Just a few days before the deadline for Iraq to form its new government, around 70 civil society activists met in Baghdad. They announced an initiative – the first of its kind – that will oppose the… Read more
11th July 2014
By: Anonymous Iraqi
In the article below, a local journalist explains why streets in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are so quiet, what’s worrying his family and friends there the most, and how he himself managed to get out of Mosul and into Iraqi Kurdistan. The article is re-posted here from the Niqash … Read more
25th July 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
August is still a week away but July has already become the bloodiest month in Iraq so far this year. Yesterday brought at least14 more deaths to add to the toll, including nine officers killed when insurgents attacked a police station near Mosul. Meanwhile, the mass breakout from Abu Ghraib and… Read more