Iraq: ISHM: July 25 - August 1, 2019

Key Takeaways:

• PMF Chairman Says Reorganization Needs Two Months; Parliament Scrutinizes KRI Payments; Iraq Militia Threatens Bahrain Over Executions – On July 29, the head of the Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia threatened the king of Bahrain with retaliation over Manama’s recent execution of Shia opposition activists. On July 30, PMF committee chairman, Falih al-Fayyadh, informed Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi that the PMF is “fully committed” to complying with the prime minister’s instructions on reorganizing the force but said the process requires two months to complete. On July 31, the parliamentary finance committee said it seeks to summon the finance minister for questioning over federal payments to the KRG amid continued failure by the latter to meet its obligations to deliver oil to federal authorities. more…
• ISF Disrupts Major Terror Plot; Israel Possibly Conducted Airstrikes In Iraq; Turkey/PKK Conflict Displaces KRI Villagers – On July 29, the Interior Ministry said it foiled the “largest terrorist plot” of the year, involving attacks in Baghdad and several other provinces. Authorities arrested some 200 suspects in Ninewa and Baghdad in connection to the foiled plot. On July 28, security forces announced that they repelled a militant attack on the Allas oilfield in Salah ad-Din. On July 29, the commander of the KRI border guards claimed that residents of around 400 villages in the KRI have recently evacuated their homes due to PKK presence in their areas. On July 30, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat claimed that Israel recently conducted airstrikes against Iranian targets in Iraq. On July 29, Iraqi Defense Minister announced plans to build a new naval base in Basra. On July 29, an IED exploded on a vehicle in Diyala injuring two civilians. On July 27, a “sticky bomb” attached to a bus exploded on the road from Baghdad to Karbala, killing one civilian and wounding two. On July 31, ISIS gunmen attacked a security forces checkpoint in Salah ad-Din, killing three PMF members and two policemen. On July 31, ISIS militants clashed with Kurdish security forces in Kifri district of Diyala, resulting in the death of five to eight people and eight other injuries. more…
• Kuwait To Build Residential Cities In Salah Ad-Din; KRI Plans New Railways; Iraq And Kuwait Commission Shared Oilfields Study – On August 1, the Iraqi government said it plans to establish a university in Sinjar. On July 26, a Ninewa MP said he opposed plans to transfer families with alleged links to ISIS from Syria into IDP camps in Ninewa province. The MP claimed that 2,000 of the group were children of ISIS fighters and would threaten peace in the province. On July 28, the The Iraqi Observatory for Victims of Human Trafficking issued a new report in which it revealed that there were 27 human trafficking networks engaged in sex trafficking and organ trade in Iraq. On July 29, Doctors Without Borders reported that 20 Yazidi women and girls between the ages of 13 and 30 have committed suicide due to trauma in Sinjar since April. more…
• Sinjar To Get A University; Relocation Of Displaced Persons From Syria To Iraq Stirs Controversy; Report Exposes Human Trafficking Networks In Iraq – On July 29, the KRG Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction said it was prioritizing plans to build an inter-province railway network. On July 29, the Emir of Kuwait offered to build “several” residential cities in the districts of Baiji, Yethrib and Balad in Salah ad-Din province, where many homes were destroyed by ISIS. On July 29, the heads of the Iranian Stock Exchange and the Iraqi Securities Commission signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish joint investment funds. On July 30, Jordan’s Minister of Energy announced that Iraq will likely start exporting 10,000 bpd of oil from Kirkuk to Jordan within two weeks. On July 31, the Ministry of Oil announced that Iraq and Kuwait have agreed to appoint British oil and gas reservoir evaluation firm ERC Equipoise to develop a study on joint oilfields straddling their borders. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.