Iraq has launched its first national migration plan (2025–2030), a five-year strategy to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration. The plan aims to create opportunities for work, education, and family reunification, while strengthening migration governance and supporting national stability and development. Around two million Iraqis live abroad, over 58,000 have returned in the past seven [...]

In Iraq, over 600 pilgrims were briefly hospitalized after inhaling chlorine gas. The leak came from a water treatment station on the Karbala–Najaf road. The incident occurred overnight during the Arbaeen pilgrimage season. Iraq’s health ministry confirmed 621 cases of asphyxia from the chlorine leak. All affected individuals were given medical treatment. Thankfully, all patients [...]

The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced the arrest of 11 individuals on terrorist charges across several provinces. The operations were carried out with the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, Kurdish security agencies, and local forces. Five suspects were captured in Nineveh, where army aviation supported the destruction of seven hideouts. Four individuals were arrested in different [...]

Iraq has significantly reduced its national poverty rate to 10.8% from 2018 to 2024, as announced by Minister of Planning Mohammed Ali Tamim. This progress was shared during the launch of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index Report. The report examines poverty beyond income, identifying developmental gaps and social deprivations. Iraq collaborated with the UNDP and [...]

A fire broke out at the Corniche Hypermarket in Kut, Iraq, killing at least 61 people, with many others injured or missing. The five-story shopping center had only opened a week earlier. Most victims died from suffocation in bathrooms, and 14 bodies remain unidentified. Videos showed flames tearing through the mall as firefighters rescued people, [...]

On Wednesday, a drone attack hit the Ain Sifni oilfield in Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, which is run by U.S. company Hunt Oil. This was the second attack on the same site in one day and is part of a growing series of strikes on oilfields in the Kurdistan region. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), which operates [...]

Twelve Turkish soldiers died from methane gas exposure while searching a cave in northern Iraq during a military operation. The cave search was part of Operation Claw Lock, aimed at targeting PKK militants. A total of 19 personnel were affected, and the soldiers were reportedly trying to recover the body of a comrade killed in [...]

In a significant diplomatic development, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has agreed to increase the flow of water to Iraq following a request from Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani during a high-level meeting on July 1, 2025. Erdoğan approved an increase in water releases from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to 420 cubic meters per [...]

In the first half of 2025, Iraq's Interior Ministry reported the dismantling of over 60 sex trafficking networks and the arrest of 82 individuals accused of practicing sorcery and fortune-telling—offenses still punishable under Iraqi law. Colonel Abbas al-Bahadli, spokesperson for the Ministry, revealed that the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency uncovered 62 sex exploitation rings, [...]

Iraq has recorded 19 deaths and 123 total cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever so far this year, with the highest number reported in Dhi Qar province. The disease, transmitted through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood during slaughter, mainly affects those working in the livestock sector. The fatality rate ranges from 10% to [...]