Irbil

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has raised international alarm over Iran's recent missile strikes, warning that these actions, coupled with the Red Sea tensions involving the Houthi rebels, foreshadow an impending escalation of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Pope Francis has visited parts of northern Iraq that were held by Islamic State (IS) militants on the third day of his historic trip to the country.

Christians were among those targeted by IS when they seized the region in 2014, carrying out human rights abuses.

The Pope prayed among ruined churches in Mosul, the former IS stronghold, before meeting Christians in Qaraqosh.

Pope Francis has called for an end to violence and extremism, on the first ever papal visit to Iraq.

In a speech after being welcomed by Iraqi President Barham Salih, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to come to Iraq, which he described as the "cradle of civilisation".

The pontiff is making his first international trip since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Iran is targeting more than 10 ballistic missiles on at least two airbases in Iraq, where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said.

There are no casualties at the base so far, athough the Pentagon said it was still assessing damage from the strike.

People living in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence for the Kurdistan Region in Monday’s controversial referendum.
The electoral commission said 92% of the 3.3 million Kurds and non-Kurds who cast their ballots supported secession.
The announcement came despite a last-minute appeal for the result to be “cancelled” from Iraq’s prime minister.

Iraq gave a three-day deadline to Kurdistan to give control over its airports. The measure is a response to the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum, reports BTV. 

The government may ban international flights to the country within 72 hours if the sites are not handed over to the central government.

Many Iraqi entrepreneurs are finding restaurants and eateries a safe business bet, despite the country's slumping economy, prevailing violence and an ongoing war with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Iraq's oldest Christian monastery has been destroyed by ISIL extremists after surviving assaults from nature and man for 1,400 yearsThe oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Iraqi Kurdish forces are traveling to Turkey on their way to cross into Syria to battle Islamic State militants besieging the town of Kobane, the BBC reports.

A plane carrying 150 Peshmerga was said to have left Irbil.

Last week, Turkey agreed to the deployment after refusing to allow Turkish Kurds to cross the border to fight.