Iraq government
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, accompanied by Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, right, speaks during a news conference at Fiera Roma in Rome, Monday, June 28, 2021. Blinken is on a week long trip in Europe traveling to Germany, France and Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
US warns that Islamic State extremists still a world threat

By Matthew Lee Jun. 28, 2021 06:49 AM EDT

Jordan's King Abdullah II, center, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Egyptian, Jordanian and Iraqi leaders meet in Baghdad

Jun. 27, 2021 11:25 AM EDT

CORRECTS SPELLING TO ISMAIL FROM ISMAEL - Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, Iraq Oil minister speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 11, 2021. Iraq's oil sector is rebounding after a catastrophic year triggered by the coronavirus pandemic with key investment projects on the horizon, but the country's oil minister warned an enduring bureaucratic culture of fear threatens to stand in the way. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban).
AP Interview: Iraq oil minister says gas sector a priority

By Samya Kullab Jun. 11, 2021 10:21 AM EDT

A follower of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds a picture of him while waiting with others to receive a dose of the Chinese Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine at a clinic in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, May 4, 2021. Iraq’s vaccine rollout had been faltering for weeks. Apathy, fear and rumors kept many from getting vaccinated despite a serious surge in coronavirus infections and calls by the government for people to register for shots. It took al-Sadr’s public endorsement of vaccinations — and images of him getting the shot — to turn things around. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraq pushes vaccine rollout amid widespread apathy, distrust

By Abdulrahman Zeyad May. 05, 2021 02:42 AM EDT

Iraq's health minister resigns over Baghdad hospital fire

May. 04, 2021 12:55 PM EDT
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's health minister resigned Tuesday over a week after a deadly blaze killed dozens of people in a Baghdad hospital for COVID-19 patients...

Mourners take the body of Khudair Ali, a coronavirus patient who died in a hospital fire, during his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, April 25, 2021. Iraq's Interior Ministry said Sunday that over 80 people died and over 100 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe coronavirus patients in the early morning Sunday. (AP/Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Death toll in fire at Iraqi COVID-19 hospital surpasses 80

By Samya Kullab Apr. 25, 2021 04:56 AM EDT

An Iraqi nurse prepares a shot of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Iraq blames public for new virus record, urges vaccinations

Apr. 09, 2021 04:40 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2016 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier guards a position at Camp Swift, northern Iraq. Iraq’s prime minister asked the Iranian leadership to rein in Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and in a strongly worded message to Tehran, suggested he would confront the factions, two Iraqi officials said Wednesday, April 7, 2021, ahead of another round of strategic talks with Washington. (AP Photo/Susannah George, File)
No timetable for withdrawal of troops after US, Iraq talks

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra And Samya Kullab Apr. 07, 2021 12:22 PM EDT

Iran warns election delays could slow nuclear deal moves

By Lorne Cook Mar. 15, 2021 06:43 AM EDT
BRUSSELS (AP) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday urged the United States to quickly rejoin the international agreement limiting Iran’s...

FILE - This Dec. 29, 2019, aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
US warns of military response to rocket attack on Iraq base

By Samya Kullab And Lolita C. Baldor Mar. 03, 2021 10:57 AM EST

Iraqi health personnel wait to receive a coronavirus vaccine at a clinic in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP/Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraq launches vaccine program after arrival of China doses

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra Mar. 02, 2021 12:13 PM EST

Dutch riot police enclose a group of demonstrators who refused to leave after police broke up a demonstration of hundreds of people who protested against the coronavirus lockdown and curfew on Museum Square in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. The group was eventually allowed to leave. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Latest: First US J&J vaccine doses shipping Sunday night

By The Associated Press Feb. 28, 2021 05:54 AM EST

FILE -- In this Feb. 22, 2021 file photo health worker collects a saliva sample from a man for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test at the Shurja market, in Baghdad, Iraq . Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see the pontiff. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
'Not a good idea:' Experts concerned about pope trip to Iraq

By Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab Feb. 28, 2021 03:57 AM EST

Security forces patrol in the empty streets of Baghdad at the start of the new curfew to counter the spread of COVID-19 Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq was under its first full day of a new curfew imposed by the government in response to infection rates that have shot back up again after easing last autumn. Mosques and schools are closed, large gatherings prohibited, and the wearing of masks and other protective gear will be enforced, according to a statement from the government. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Old habits imperil Iraq as doctors warn of second virus wave

By Abdulrahman Zeyad Feb. 19, 2021 01:05 AM EST

Security forces work at the site of a deadly bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Iraq's military said twin suicide bombings at the Bab al-Sharqi commercial area in central Baghdad Thursday ripped through the busy market killing over two dozen and wounding over 70, with some in serious condition. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Twin suicide bombings rock central Baghdad, at least 32 dead

By Samya Kullab And Qassim Abdul-Zahra Jan. 21, 2021 06:20 AM EST

Children stand outside the ruins of their home, in the Hay Tanak slum of Mosul, Iraq, Nov. 28, 2020. A push by the Iraqi government to close displacement camps by the end of the year threatens to leave tens of thousands of people homeless and without aid during a pandemic and at the onset of winter. The displaced were driven from their homes during the war against the Islamic State group and many say they cannot return because their homes were destroyed or they fear reprisal by tribes and militias. Aid groups say the haphazard implementation of the policy is fueling more displacement and resentment. (AP Photo/Samya Kullab)
Camp closures force Iraqi families back to shattered homes

By Samya Kullab Dec. 16, 2020 01:04 AM EST

FILE - In this April 17, 2019, file photo, Iraqi soldiers chant slogans against IS while Australian and New Zealand coalition forces participate in a training mission with Iraqi army soldiers at Taji Base, north of Baghdad, Iraq. In a quest to root out Islamic State group hideouts over the summer, Iraqi forces on the ground cleared nearly 90 villages across a notoriously unruly northern province. But the much-touted operation still relied heavily on U.S. intelligence, coalition flights and planning assistance. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)
EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran?

By Samya Kullab Dec. 03, 2020 01:25 AM EST

Anti-government protesters run for cover while security forces use tear gas to disperse them on the closed Joumhouriya Bridge that leads to the Green Zone government areas in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. Thousands of Iraqi protesters have taken to the streets to mark one year since mass anti-government demonstrations swept Baghdad and Iraq's south. Protesters marched Sunday in the capital and several southern cities to renew demands to bring an end to corruption perpetuated by Iraq's politicians. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Tear gas fired as thousands mark one year of Iraq protests

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra Oct. 25, 2020 08:46 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 30, 2020 file photo, a woman wearing mask and gloves, prays at the grave of her mother who died from the new coronavirus, at a cemetery in the outskirts of the city of Babol, in northern Iran. Iranian state TV said Wednesday Oct. 7, 2020, that the country has hit its highest number of daily deaths from the coronavirus, with 239 new fatalities. Wednesday's report quotes the spokesperson of the country’s health ministry as saying the new deaths were recorded since Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
Iran virus death toll hits record high, 3rd time in a week

By Amir Vahdat And Samya Kullab Oct. 14, 2020 07:35 AM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 file photo released by Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, middle, receives by Kuwaiti officials after his arrival from the U.S. in Kuwait. Kuwait state television said Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, the country's 91-year-old ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, had died. ( KUNA via AP, File)
Kuwait ruler, longtime diplomat Sheikh Sabah, dies at age 91

By Jon Gambrell And Adam Schreck Sep. 29, 2020 09:35 AM EDT