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Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war across the Middle East, trading attacks by land, sea, air and in cyberspace. Iran has largely used foreign proxies to strike Israeli interests, while targeted assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists have been a key part of Israel's strategy. Israel's strike in the Syrian capital, Damascus, that killed three top Iranian commanders Monday was the most brazen attack in years, raising fears of a wider confrontation. That would be particularly dangerous in a region already in turmoil on multiple fronts, including Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, cross-border skirmishes between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia against Western interests in the Red Sea. An escalation between Israel and Iran would also risk further entangling the United States, given the presence of U.S. troops in the region.

By Timour Azhari

Authorities say that Iraq’s former defense minister, who holds dual Iraqi-Swedish citizenship, has been arrested in Sweden

Iran's elite Quds Force to Baghdad has led to a pause in attacks on U.S. troops by Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters. Here's a look at Iraq's most influential Shi'ite parties and armed groups, who remain divided over how to address the presence of U.S. forces in the country: THE COORDINATION FRAMEWORK

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — An explosive drone struck Khor Mor gas field in the Sulaimaniya region of northern Iraq on Thursday, two sources told Reuters, adding the explosion had caused limited damage but no one had been injured.

Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad is denying U.S. allegations that have resulted in it being hit with sanctions from the Treasury Department

Iraq launched multiple rockets and ballistic missiles on Saturday (local time) targeting Washington's al-Assad Airbase in Western Iraq, said US Central Command. CENTCOM said that several US personnel are undergoing evaluation for «traumatic brain injuries» and at least one Iraqi service member was wounded in the attack. «At approximately 6:30 pm (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase.

strikes in Syria and Iraq, Iran has sought to «flex its muscles» in the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war without provoking a confrontation with the United States, analysts said. In neighbouring Iraq, the strikes by Iran's Revolutionary Guards targeted an alleged Israeli «spy headquarters» in the autonomous Kurdish region in response to the assassination of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders in recent weeks. In Syria, the strikes targeted the Islamic State jihadist group in response to twin suicide bombings that killed around 90 people at an official memorial event in southern Iran earlier this month.

died. The number of children among them, more than 3,000, exceeds the annual death toll for children in all wars in each of the preceding three years. The Economist estimates, from satellite imagery, that over a tenth of Gaza’s housing stock has been destroyed, leaving more than 280,000 people without homes to which they can return.

In the last week alone, an Israeli airstrike has killed a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, Hezbollah struck a sensitive Israeli base with rockets and Israel killed a senior Hamas militant with an airstrike in Beirut

ISRO). Rajiv Chetwani, chief information security officer, ISRO, was speaking at the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

US forces were attacked four times in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, November 23 with rockets and armed drones, but there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, reports Reuters quoting US Military official.The official, , on condition of anonymity told Reuters that US and international forces were attacked at two sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone The Ain Al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad launched multiple one-way drones, and the Erbil airport base near Erbil airport in northern Iraq launched a drone. In the early hours of Monday, a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed attacks on those locations. Analysts say the group is an umbrella group for several Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups.

U.S. fighter aircraft struck two Hezbollah operations centers in Iraq in response to attacks on U.S. bases that have escalated alongside Israel's operations against Hamas in Gaza, two defense officials said. They said attacks on U.S.

militants in Iraq and Syria have long battled with U.S. and coalition forces, launching sporadic attacks against bases in the region where troops are deployed to fight Islamic State group insurgents. But since Oct. 17, as civilian deaths in Israel's war against Hamas began to skyrocket, there has been a dramatic spike in attacks by Iran's proxies, operating under the umbrella name of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. While most of the more than five dozen attacks have been largely ineffective, at least 60 U.S. personnel have reported minor injuries. Most often those have been traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, and all troops have returned to duty, according to the Pentagon. In response to the attacks, the U.S. has walked a delicate line. The U.S. military has struck back just three times as the Biden administration balances efforts to deter the militants without triggering a broader Middle East conflict. A look at the attacks and the U.S. response:

Here is an outline of the pipeline dispute: WHAT IS THE LATEST? On a visit to Erbil on Sunday, Iraqi oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said he expects to reach an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and foreign oil companies to resume oil production from the Kurdish region's oilfields within three days, signalling a potential restart soon. Turkey had said last month the pipeline was ready to begin operations, but Iraq maintained it had received no official notification over the pipeline and a senior energy adviser told Reuters Baghdad was waiting to iron out «lingering financial and technical issues» ahead of any restart. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? While Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, exports about 85% of its crude via ports in the south, the northern route via Turkey still accounts for about 0.5% of global oil supply. WHAT PROMPTED THE SHUTDOWN? Supplies of 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) were halted on March 25 after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration ruling. The ICC ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages of about $1.5 billion for unauthorised exports by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018. KRG exports flow through a KRG pipeline to Fish-Khabur on the northern Iraqi border, where the oil enters Turkey and is pumped to the port of Ceyhan on its Mediterranean coast. Iraq's federal government says state-owned marketer SOMO is the only party authorised to manage crude exports via Ceyhan.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday, as he tours the Middle East attempting to tamp down tensions after war erupted between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas last month.

By Kanishka Singh

Israel-Hamas war. Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington's support for Israel since Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people in a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7. Israel's retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 4,100 people, according to its Hamas-controlled health ministry. «We can confirm a rocket attack on US and coalition forces at the Baghdad diplomatic support centre, near the Baghdad international airport, occurred Friday at approximately 2:50 am» (2350 GMT Thursday), a Pentagon official said. «Initial assessments indicate two rockets were fired. One was intercepted by acounter-rocket system and the other impacted an empty storage facility.

Aleppo, putting them out of action, Syrian state media said on Friday. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited a military source to report that the missile strikes happened «simultaneously» at 13:50 (local time), causing material damage to the airstrips, which resulted in them being «out of service.» «The Israeli latest aggression comes in the framework of the occupation authorities' continued policy, based on aggression and violation of the international law and the UN convention,» Syrian foriegn Ministry said in a statement as cited by its state media agency. Israel has so far not commented on the strikes on the Syrian airports. Al Jazeera publication quoted Syrian television channel Sham FM as stating that Syrian air defences were activated in response to the attacks on both airports. Damascus and Aleppo airports not only handle civil aviation but also host military bases. Israel has in the past carried out strikes on targets in Syria, including its airports as part of operations believed to be aimed at disrupting Iranian supply lines, Al Jazeera reported. The attacks on the two Syrian airports come ahead of a planned visit by Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who on Thursday departed from Tehran for Baghdad and is scheduled to proceed to Syria and Lebanon later. Before his departure, Amirabdollahian addressed reporters in Tehran, stating that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is the primary source of crises in West Asia, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. The Iranian minister, on his arrival in Beirut, said if the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, the war may open on «other fronts».

WASHINGTON—The Pentagon is poised to make controversial cuts to the Army’s storied special-operations forces, amid recruiting struggles and a shift in focus from Middle East counterterrorism operations to a threat from China. The Army is cutting about 3,000 troops, or about 10% from its special-operations ranks, which could include so-called trigger-pullers from the Green Beret commando units who have conducted some of the nation’s most dangerous and sensitive missions around the world, from the jungles of Vietnam to the back alleys of Baghdad. The reductions would enable the Army to rebalance toward the large conventional ground forces needed in a potential fight in Asia.

By Timour Azhari