Iraq Government
ISIS Drone Attack In Iraq Kills 2 Kurdish Fighters, Injures 2 French Soldiers, Reports Say
An explosive-laden drone, sent by the Islamic State group (ISIS), was intercepted and shot by Kurdish forces in Iraq early this month, according to reports Tuesday. However, the drone blew up and killed two Kurdish fighters and injured two French soldiers. The incident reportedly happened on Oct. 2 in Erbil, which serves as the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, where French troops have been fighting along with Kurdish fighters against ISIS, according to the New York Times and French newspaper Le Monde. Neither Iraqi officials nor French authorities have confirmed the incident. About 500 French military personnel have been deployed in Iraq to fight ISIS. They include special forces who are training Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the northern part of the country.
Meet Alrobot, Iraq's New Anti-ISIS Weapon
A new remotely controlled war machine for the Iraqi Security Forces. Mosul wasn't supposed to fall again. The city in Northern Iraq saw intense fighting between American forces and Saddam Hussein's sons in 2003, and in 2008 saw major campaign by American troops against insurgent forces. When ISIS attacked Mosul in summer 2014, two divisions of the Iraqi Security Forces were supposed to hold the city, but the 30,000 defenders crumbled and fled from the onslaught of under 2,000 enemies. Mosul remains in ISIS' hands today.
Iraq: ICRC camera drone captures damage in Ramadi
Chilling aerial footage of Ramadi, a once bustling city in central Iraq, has captured the extent of destruction caused by war. In late December, Iraqi forces, backed by US air strikes, announced the recapturing of Ramadi, which had been lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in May 2015. The US-led coalition carried out more than 600 air strikes in the area from July to December last year. A new six-minute clip, released by the International Red Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC) shows homes in Ramadi turned to rubble, along with flattened school, destroyed hospitals and damaged ambulances. READ MORE: Dramatic video'shows destruction of huge ISIL convoy' "Rare aerial footage gathered by ICRC shows the once prosperous Ramadi in central Iraq now in tatters - a ghost town," the ICRC said on Monday.
Why are Canadian troops in Iraq wearing Kurdish flag?
Footage of Canadian soldiers sporting Kurdish flags on their uniforms in Iraq has raised questions about Canada's military training mission in the war-torn country. Canadian military personnel are training Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Footage shot by Canadian news channel CTV in Iraq showed Canadian troops wearing the red, green and white flag of Kurdistan, with a yellow sun at its centre, on one sleeve of their uniforms in late April. A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence told Al Jazeera the Kurdish flag is being used to ensure troop safety. "Our members are wearing the flag of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to enhance cohesion with partner forces and to ensure easy visual identification, which contributes to force protection," Daniel Lebouthillier said in an email.