Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization forces ride on a military Hummer in the town of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as they fight alongside Iraqi forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on June 10, 2015. (AFP/PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Iraq: Ramadi tribes cautious about US deployment of troops

by Manaf Al-Obaidi | Jun 12, 2015 | Middle East

Anbar, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s Sunni tribal leaders have reacted cautiously to the US President Barack Obama’s decision to deploy additional troops to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS,) with some casting doubt over the effectiveness of the step. The...

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In this May 27, 2015 photo, Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen fire weapons against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants after regaining control of eastern Husaybah town, 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of Ramadi, Iraq. (AP Photo)

Iraqi government forces, volunteer militias close in on Ramadi

by Manaf Al-Obaidi | May 31, 2015 | Middle East

Anbar, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi government forces and Sunni and Shi’ite volunteer militias have made strategic gains on the outskirts of the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the head of the Anbar police force said on Saturday. “The joint...

Media ID: 55343325
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Iraqi artist Wissam Al-Farati holds his lutes, named “Tigris” and “Euphrates,” which he fashioned out of a soldier’s helmet and a pickaxe used to dig battle trenches, at his home in Baghdad, Iraq. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iraqi artist transforms instruments of war into “instruments of peace”

by Manaf Al-Obaidi | May 9, 2015 | Lifestyle & Culture

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—In a recent video posted on the Internet, Karim Wasfi, an Iraqi musician and the former conductor of Iraq’s National Symphony Orchestra, walks into a car bomb site in Baghdad with his cello and starts playing a sad, haunting melody he had...

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Iraqi security troops from Baghdad head to Ramadi on the orders of Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi to reinforce troops there in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, on April 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Street battles engulf Ramadi as Iraqi forces inflict “heavy losses” on ISIS

by Manaf Al-Obaidi | Apr 20, 2015 | Middle East

Ramadi, Asharq Al-Awsat—Fierce street battles erupted in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday between government forces backed by local tribal volunteer groups and fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to Iraqi security officials. Maj. Gen....

Media ID: 55342741
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Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi (C) tours the city of Tikrit after Iraq security forces regained control from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, on April 1, 2015. (Reuters/Stringer)

Iraqi forces retake Tikrit from ISIS

by Manaf Al-Obaidi | Apr 2, 2015 | Middle East

Salah Al-Din and Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi lifted the Iraqi flag over the Salah Al-Din governorate building in the provincial capital Tikrit on Wednesday, declaring a victory for Iraqi forces over the Islamic State of Iraq and...