Hundreds of protesters gathered in Baghdad on Saturday to demand US troops leave the country in accordance with a parliament vote earlier this year.
“We will choose resistance if parliament’s vote is not ratified!” read one of the banners at the demonstration, which took place near an entrance to the high-security Green Zone, which includes the US embassy and other foreign missions.
Others carried signs bearing the logo of Hashd Al Shaabi, a state-sponsored network of armed groups including many supported by Iraq’s powerful neighbour Iran.
Following a US strike on Baghdad in January that the US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis in January, outraged Iraqi MPs voted to oust all foreign forces in the country.
The US has sent thousands of troops to Iraq since 2014 to lead an international coalition helping Baghdad fight ISIS.
Washington has drawn down those forces in recent months to about 3,000, and other coalition countries have also shrunk their footprint.
Since October 2019, those troops were regular targets of missiles, as were diplomats at the US embassy.
In the summer, there was a marked increase in attacks against coalition logistics convoys using roadside bombs.
Although no one claimed the attacks, Washington has blamed militias backed by Iran.
The US in late September issued a threat to close its Baghdad embassy and carry out bombing raids against hard-line elements of the Hashed, due to the sharp rise in attacks in Iraq.
Pro-Iran factions announced a temporary truce in October that put an end to the attacks, with no rockets fired at the embassy or foreign troops since.
Iraq has long been caught in the struggle for influence between its two main allies, the US and Iran, with the tug-of-war intensifying under US president Donald Trump.
Baghdad has been closely monitoring the results of the US presidential elections, seeing a change in the White House as a sign that tension between Washington and Tehran could decrease.
Meanwhile, a young demonstrator was shot dead in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Friday and gunmen killed a prominent activist in the capital, police and medics said.
They said Omar Fadhel was killed in the centre of Basra, while at about the same time a key figure in anti-government protests launched in Baghdad in October 2019 was gunned down with a silencer as he drove through an eastern district.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Fringe@Four Line-up
October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)
October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)
November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)
November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)
November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)
November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)
December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)
The 100 Best Novels in Translation
Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
