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Further attacks targeting US and allied military forces are likely in Iraq and Syria through December. US defense officials have reported at least 70 drone and rocket attacks since mid-October. Authorities added that they intercepted most of the attacks. Affected locations in Iraq include Al-Asad Airbase in Anbar Governorate and Al-Harir Air Base in Erbil Governorate. In Syria, the attacks have occurred near Al-Tanf Base in Homs Governorate and the Conoco oil fields in Deir-Ez-Zur Governorate.

The incidents coincide with increased tensions in the region connected to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The US is an ally of Israel. Anti-Western and anti-Israeli sentiment is currently heightened. Further attempted strikes against US interests in Iraq are possible. Attacks could take various forms, including weaponized drone, mortar, or rocket attacks. Targets include US military, government, or civilian interests. Heightened security is likely near the site of any future attack.

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Iraq, Syria: Further attacks targeting foreign military forces are likely in Iraq and Syria through December /update 3 - Crisis24

Iraqi armed groups have claimed more than 70 such attacks against US forces since Oct. 17 over Washington's backing of Israel in its bombardment of Gaza.

The attacks paused during the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire but have since resumed.

The US in November launched two series of strikes against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups who had engaged in attacks against their forces.

Those strikes killed at least 10 militants who were identified both as members of shadowy militia Kataeb Hezbollah and of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an official security institution composed mainly of Shi'ite Muslim armed groups, many with close links to Iran.

Iraq's government condemned those strikes as escalatory and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swaths of both countries before being defeated.

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Suspected US strike in Iraq kills 5 militia members - Deccan Herald

Preliminary estimates suggested that Iraqs Eridu oil field holds between 7-10 billion barrels of reserves. Senior Russian oil industry sources spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com said the true figure may well be 50 percent more than the higher figure of that band. In either event, the Eridu field part of Iraqs Block 10 exploration and development region is the biggest oil find in Iraq in the last 20 years, and Russia wants to control all of it, alongside its chief geopolitical ally, China.

The approval last week by Iraqs Oil Ministry for Inpex the major oil company of key U.S. ally Japan to sell its 40 percent stake in the Block 10 region that contains the huge Eridu discovery leaves the way clear for Lukoil to take total control of the entire oil-rich area.

Block 10 lies in the southeast of Iraq, approximately 120 km west of the key oil export route from Basra, and just south of the huge oil fields in and around Nassirya.

Back in 2021 at least before the U.S. formally withdrew from Iraq by ending its combat mission there at the end of December it was clear that Washington knew what Russia and China were up to long term in the country, and how the U.S. was being manipulated by Iraq. In a moment of insight, the then-U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Dana Stroul, said: Its [] clear that certain countries and partners would want to hedge and test what more they might be able to get from the United States by testing the waters of deeper co-operation with the Chinese or the Russians, particularly in the security and military space. This view could equally have been aimed, not just at Iraq, but also at most other countries in the Middle East at that time most notably Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. That said, this profound insight had no effect on Washington at that point, and posed no impediment at all to either Russia or Chinas continued drive to entirely push the U.S. out of the Middle East, as analysed in depth in in my new book on the new global oil market order.

Multiple field exploration and development deals, plus countless lower-profile contract-only agreements, with Russian and Chinese firms allow the two countries plenty of scope to leverage these out into a harder geopolitical presence across the country, including into the very fabric of its key infrastructure.

These plans, in turn, link into corollary plans by Russia and China to turn the entire southeast region of Iraq that culminates with the major oil export hub of Basra into a region criss-crossed by Russian- and Chinese-controlled oil and gas fields and transportation hubs.

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Russia takes control of Iraq's biggest oil discovery for 20 years - Modern Diplomacy

Iraqis marked International Volunteer Day on Tuesday with campaigns to clean up communities and nurture a greener environment.

Armed with gloves, brooms, rubbish bags and saplings, Baghdad residents joined forces to transform the banks of the Tigris river, which snakes through the capital.

I think its a good time to serve my country, biologist Shireen Ali, 30, told The National after sweeping the steps leading to the riverbank in the city's Azamiyah district.

You will not get money when you volunteer to do something but in the end you will do something for your country, Ms Ali said, wearing a white glove and holding a broom.

Stop complaining that this is not clean, this is not painted and there are no trees in the streets: you take one day off from your work and come and do something, and enjoy, she added.

The UN hailed global efforts on this year's International Volunteer Day, the theme of which is The power of collective action: if everyone did.

On this important day, lets recommit to ensuring that all people can lend their energies to shaping a better future for all people and the planet we share, said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Lets stand with volunteers, everywhere, he added.

Baghdad is plagued by poor municipal services, inadequate waste disposal and high levels of pollution. Rubbish and waste piles are common sights in some areas of the city, especially the riverbanks.

Volunteer groups have been cleaning up the city, including in a campaign last year focusing on the banks of the Tigris.

Ahmed Al Khazali, 30, has been volunteering for 10 years, leading up to 70 volunteers in three neighbourhoods in eastern Baghdad.

We want to send a message to all citizens to take responsibility and serve the country amid this negligence, Mr Al Khazali said.

His team helps poor families, and organises clean-up projects and workshops.

The country needs a lot. If we unite and co-operate to serve it we will make a change, the business college student added.

Decades of war, UN-imposed sanctions, political and security instability and mismanagement have pushed pollution in Iraq to worrying levels.

The country is plagued by oil pollution, discharges of untreated waste into waterways and even nuclear and dioxin contamination.

It is also classified by the UN as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change.

Its severe water crisis has been gradually worsening for decades, negatively affected by climate change, mismanagement and pollution.

Iraqs two main water sources, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which account for more than 90 per cent of the countrys reserves, have significantly declined over the years.

Construction of dams and diversion of water upstream in Turkey and Iran has exacerbated the crisis.

Desertification affects 39 per cent of the country and 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by historically low water levels in the two rivers, reduced rainfall and the rise in sea levels.

Updated: December 05, 2023, 3:17 PM

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Iraq marks International Volunteer Day with nationwide clean-up and tree-planting - The National

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

A US air strike in northern Iraq killed five militants, Central Command said, in a "self defence" strike as the militants "prepared to launch a one-way attack drone."

The air strike hit militiamen on Sunday in Kirkuk province, according to a Centcom statement, which is affiliated with Iran-backed Shiite militias.

"Iraqi Security Forces were notified of the strike and responded to the location, where they confirmed the death of the militants and the destruction of the drone. The United States will continue to defend US and coalition personnel from attacks," the statement read.

The air strike came after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of Tehran-allied militias, claimed responsibility for a drone attack on US troops in northern Iraq and a rocket attack in Syria.

Iran's proxy groups have increased drone and drone attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria due to Washington's support of Israel in the Israel-Gaza war, which began after Hamas operatives killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in Israel on October 7.

The attacks against US forces have hit Ain Al Asad in western Iraq, a military base near Baghdad's international airport, and Harir airport in the northern city of Erbil, as well as bases inside Syria.

At least 62 US personnel have suffered minor injuries or traumatic brain injuries in the attacks, according to the Pentagon.

In retaliation, the US carried out three limited air strikes in Syria, but late last month it expanded these attacks to Iraq, killing at least nine militiamen.

Iraqi militia groups have vowed to increase their attacks.

Updated: December 05, 2023, 2:15 PM

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Air strike kills at least five militants in northern Iraq - The National