Iraq

The Sheikhan criminal court occupies a municipal office building north of Mosul. Cases are heard after long delays and defense attorneys have limited contact with their clients.

World News

At A Makeshift Iraqi Court, Harsh Justice For Those Accused Of Aiding ISIS

8:28am December 10, 2016

by Peter Kenyon

Working in difficult circumstances, lawyers and judges do their best to administer justice. NPR was present at a trial of a man accused of repairing ISIS vehicles. He and relatives denied ISIS links.

U.S.-Led Coalition Hits Main Mosul Hospital With Airstrike

12:47pm December 08, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS says it launched the strike at the request of the Iraqi military, and that ISIS was using the hospital complex as a command and control center.

World News

Civilians Face Heightened Danger As Iraqi Forces Fight To Retake Mosul

5:55pm December 06, 2016

by Peter Kenyon

As the number of injuries and deaths increase for civilians in Mosul and Iraqi troops trying to liberate them from ISIS, it raises questions about guidance that civilians should stay in place.

Iraqi children who were displaced by fighting in Mosul follow instructions given by a teacher, center, during an outdoor class at a camp for internally displaced people in Hassan Sham on Nov. 10.

World News

ISIS Drove Them From School, Now The Kids Of Mosul Want To Go Back

9:21am November 30, 2016

by Alice Fordham

A boy from Mosul, now in an Iraqi camp, quit school after ISIS took it over. "The children were terrified," says his mother. "They should be playing, and instead it was blood, blood everywhere."

World News

Battle For Mosul Heats Up As Iraqi Forces Fight To Free City From ISIS

6:28pm November 28, 2016

The city of Mosul, Iraq, is under heavy fire as Iraqi troops try to free the city from ISIS control. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with the International Rescue Committee's head of Iraq programming, Alex Milutinovic, about conditions in the city.

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World News

More Civilians Flee ISIS-Held Iraqi City Of Mosul

5:01am November 28, 2016

by Peter Kenyon

The Iraqi Army, Kurdish fighters and Shiite militias are all grinding toward the city of Mosul. Civilians are fleeing the city in greater numbers, resigning themselves to spending winter in a tent.

Archaeologist Layla Salih looks around the ancient site of Nimrud, in northern Iraq, outside Mosul. The Islamic State captured the area in 2014 and destroyed many of its archaeological treasures that date back 3,000 years. The extremist group was recently

World News

In Northern Iraq, ISIS Leaves Behind An Archaeological Treasure In Ruins

8:00am November 26, 2016

by Alice Fordham

Iraqi forces recently drove the Islamic State from the ancient site of Nimrud. But during its stay, the extremist shattered freizes, leaving cuneiform texts strewn around the desert.

Shiite worshippers gather for Arbaeen in Karbala on Nov. 20. Dozens of Shiite pilgrims were targeted for attack Thursday after the holiday, which marks the end of the 40-day mourning period after the anniversary of the 7th century martyrdom of Imam Hussei

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At Least 57 Dead In Iraq Truck Bombing Targeting Shiite Muslims

5:06pm November 24, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The victims included Iranians who were returning from a major religious pilgrimage in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

World News

Iraqi Special Forces Spread Thin By Mosul Battle

9:29am November 20, 2016

by Alice Fordham

An Iraqi special forces commander worries that the battle to force ISIS from the city of Mosul is too dependent on his elite troops.

Iraqi soldiers pose on a tank they captured from ISIS in a small base a few miles east of Mosul.

World News

The Fight For Mosul, Underway For A Month, Is Only Just Beginning

4:58pm November 18, 2016

by Alice Fordham

Iraqi security forces, paramilitaries and international allies still face stiff resistance from ISIS in the city's outskirts. Inside the city, soldiers say civilians are being used as human shields.

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