Iraq

Kurdish Regional Government Peshmergas attend a military training exercise conducted by U.S.-led coalition trainers at the Bnaslawa military training camp in Irbil, Iraq, in March.

U.S. Navy SEAL Is Killed In ISIS Attack In Northern Iraq

11:24am May 03, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The SEAL died after ISIS fighters broke through Kurdish defensive lines with a complex attack involving car or truck bombs and subsequent infantry-style raids, Defense Department officials say.

World News

Protesters Rush Parliament Inside Baghdad's Green Zone

6:42pm May 02, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Loveday Morris, Baghdad bureau chief at the Washington Post, about Muqtada al-Sadr's supporters flooding the city's green zone and the Shiite cleric's return.

Queue Listen Now

In Iraq, Sectarian Militias Threaten To Distract From Fight Against ISIS

4:26pm May 02, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with intelligence expert Derek Harvey about what recent instability in Baghdad means for the United States.

World News

Protesters Pull Back From Baghdad's Green Zone After Rushing Parliament

4:21pm May 02, 2016

Over the weekend, protesters broke through the walls surrounding the Green Zone. Rachel Martin talks to James Jeffrey, ex-U.S. ambassador to Iraq, about what the storming of Parliament means.

Queue Listen Now

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr speaks in Najaf, Iraq, on Saturday. His supporters entered Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone and parliament the same day.

World News

The Man At The Center Of Iraq's Political Storm

3:24pm May 02, 2016

by Hannah Bloch

In the years after the 2003 U.S. invasion, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as a powerful anti-government force. Now he's reinvented himself. What role will he play in Iraq's future?

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr storm parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday.

World News

Who's Behind The Demonstrators That Stormed Iraq's Green Zone And Parliament?

6:01pm May 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The demonstrators are mostly supporters of fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has had a fraught relationship with the U.S. They're calling for the government to follow through on its promises.

World News

Protesters Storm Iraq Parliament

5:06pm May 01, 2016

Shia protesters stormed into the heavily fortified Green Zone Saturday, many of them demanding an end to corruption. The BBC's Ahmed Maher has an update from Baghdad.

World News

Baghdad State Of Emergency Declared After Protesters Storm Green Zone

11:09pm April 30, 2016

by Maquita Peters

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr occupied the Iraqi parliament on Saturday, escalating a month-long political crisis.

Jessica Gray was widowed at age 26 when her husband, Staff Sgt. Yance Gray, was killed in Baghdad in 2007 while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was also survived by a 5-month-old daughter, Ava Madison Gray. North Carolina, 2008.

World News

In 'Service,' A Celebrated Photographer Turns His Lens On U.S. Troops

12:41pm April 24, 2016

by Hannah Bloch

Platon, best known for his portraits of leaders and celebrities, focuses on U.S. troops and their loved ones in his new book, Service. "It's time to celebrate a new set of cultural heroes," he says.

World News

Pentagon: Troops To Be Close To Iraqi Front Lines In Fight Against ISIS

8:35am April 19, 2016

by Tom Bowman

The Pentagon has authorized more than 200 additional troops for duty in Iraq to fight ISIS, specifically focused on retaking Mosul. They will be trainers, attack helicopter crews and artillery crews.

Queue Listen Now