A boycott call and security concerns mar Iraq's first provincial elections in a decade
Baghdadโs streets are nearly empty on Monday, the main day of polling in the countryโs first provincial elections in a decade.
Voter apathy and concerns about violence mark Iraq's first provincial elections in a decade
Iraqis have begun voting for the first time in a decade to select new provincial council members, who in turn will appoint governors, with the outcome seen as a bellwether for the parliamentary elections due to take place in 2025.
Denmark seeks to legally prevent burnings of Quran or other religious scriptures
Denmarkโs foreign minister says the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other holy books in front of foreign embassies.
Thousands of Muslims took to the streets to express outrage over Quran desecration in Sweden
Thousands of people took to the streets in a handful of Muslim-majority countries to express their outrage at the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.
Protesters storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad after man threatens to burn Quran in Stockholm
Protesters angered by an Iraqi man in Sweden who threatened to burn a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad.
Populist Iraqi cleric announces suspension of his movement
Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr says he will suspend the movement he leads for one year, citing โcorruptionโ among some of his followers.
Protests against Quran burning held across the Middle East
Angry protesters in several Middle Eastern countries have gathered to denounce the recent desecration of Islamโs holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.
Political crisis continues in Baghdad after bloody clashes
Iraqi paramilitary forces killed in heavy clashes have been laid to rest as the country's parliament speaker called for three days of mourning for the dozens killed.
EXPLAINER: What spurred the bloody armed clashes in Baghdad?
Iraq witnessed bloody street violence for nearly 24 hours spurred by loyalists of a powerful Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, that was the culmination of a 10-month power struggle.
Hundreds of thousands gather for mass prayer in Baghdad
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have held a mass prayer called for by an influential Shiite cleric in Baghdad, a highly symbolic move amid an unprecedented political crisis roiling Iraq.
In Baghdad's Sadr City, cleric's support underpins protests
Residents of the impoverished Baghdad suburb of Sadr City say they support an influential Shiite cleric who called on thousands of his followers to storm Iraq's parliament.
Threat of protests, violent escalation stirs fears in Iraq
Thousands of Shiites gathered in Baghdad for a counter-rally called by Iran-backed groups against their rival, an influential cleric whose followers are staging a sit-in inside the Iraqi parliament, have left the area.
Iraq cleric's followers camped out in parliament for 2nd day
Hundreds of followers of an influential Shiite cleric are camped out inside Iraq's parliament after toppling security walls around the building and storming in the previous day.
Iraqi protesters storm parliament in Baghdad, set up sit-in
Thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric have stormed into Iraq's parliament to protest government formation efforts led by his rivals from Iran-backed groups.
EXPLAINER: What's behind the storming of Iraq's parliament?
Followers of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came by the thousands to storm the country's parliament at his command, and they rapidly dispersed with little violence.
Followers of cleric enter Iraqi parliament in show of force
Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have breached Baghdadโs parliament, chanting anti-Iran curses in a demonstration against a nominee for prime minister by Iran-backed parties.
Iraq's PM to push for regional dialogue at Mideast summit
Iraqโs caretaker prime minister, whose country is mired in political crisis, says it is in Iraqโs interest to keep pushing for a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to ease regional tensions.
Iraq's new parliament holds 1st session marked by disarray
Iraqโs new parliament has reelected its speaker for a second term, the first step toward forming a new government after a general election whose results have been contested by powerful Iran-backed factions.
Clashes with cleric's supporters kill 5 in southern Iraq
Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in the posters, gather in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)BAGHDAD โ Supporters of a firebrand Iraqi cleric shot dead five people on Saturday, according to medical officials, in overnight clashes with anti-government protesters in southern Iraq. Following the clashes beginning on Friday, al-Sadrโs supporters stormed Haboubi square, and torched tents pitched in the square. Anti-government protesters feel betrayed by al-Sadrโs flip-flop approach toward them, especially in the last few months when he withdrew support for their movement. Dozens returned to the anti-government sit-in's site on Saturday morning in support of those protesters killed overnight.
Iraq PM agrees to resign after weeks of protests
(CNN) - Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi has agreed to resign after weeks of anti-government protests that led to hundreds of casualties, Iraq's president announced Thursday. In a televised speech to the nation on Iraq's Al-Iraqiya TV, President Barham Salih said Abdul Mahdi had agreed to step down on the condition that a successor is agreed to replace him. "The prime minister has agreed to resign," Salih said, adding that Abdul Mahdi had asked "political blocs to reach an acceptable alternative" in order "to prevent a vacuum." One of Iraq's leading Shiite clerics and most powerful politicians, Muqtada al-Sadr, had called on other parties Tuesday to back his push for a no-confidence vote in Abdul Mahdi. The protests, which have gripped parts of Iraq for the past month, were sparked by longstanding complaints over unemployment, government corruption, and a lack of basic services.