Iraq

Islamic State has begun to reassert itself in its heartlands in the Middle East and continues to seek opportunities to strike in the west, the United Nations has said. A report to the UN security council based on recent intelligence from member states describes how the group is mounting increasingly bold insurgent attacks in Iraq and Syria, calling and planning for the breakout of its fighters from detention facilities and exploiting the weaknesses of local security forces.

The new leader of Islamic State has been confirmed as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, according to officials from two intelligence services. He is one of the terror group’s founding members and has led the enslavement of Iraq’s Yazidi minority and has overseen operations around the globe.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said German troops are ready to stay in Iraq — should the Iraqi government wish it. The German parliament has also signaled its support for troops to stay put.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday.

Members of the U.S.-led Coalition against Islamic State are pulling troops from Iraq as training of both the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga are paused due to security concerns and uncertainty over the future of the multinational mission.

The Pentagon is immediately sending 750 more troops to the Middle East after pro-Iranian protesters tried to storm the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The State Department plans to dramatically downsize the number of American personnel in Iraq, according to a memo sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and obtained by CNN.

Deliberate killings, abduction and arbitrary detention are among abuses that continue against Iraqi anti-government demonstrators by unknown groups, according to a UN report released Wednesday.

On 11 December 2019, Christoph Buik was appointed as new head of mission for the European Union Advisory Mission in Iraq (EUAM Iraq). He will take up his duties on 1 January 2020. Christoph Buik, a German national, is currently Director of the UN Standing Police Capacity.

A third anti-government activist has been murdered in Iraq in less than 10 days, police and medics said Wednesday, as the United Nations accused militias of killing and abducting demonstrators.