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Employees wait for customers at a travel agency in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on January 29, 2017, after the US President passed an executive order earlier in the week, suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls on travellers from seven mainly-Muslim countries, including Iraq. / AFP / SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)SABAH ARAR AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi lawmakers said Sunday that they might ban U.S. nationals from entering the country in retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order on Iraqis in the U.S., a move that could hinder the fight against ISIS.

The Iraqi parliaments foreign committee issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to act after President Trump controversially ordered that citizens from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries be refused entry to the U.S. for at least ninety days.

Iraq is on the front line of the war on terrorism, said the statement. It is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way. The proposal could now be put to a vote in the Iraqi parliament. Some Iraqi members of parliament (MPs) are in support of a ban on U.S. nationals, while others say they will urge Washington to reconsider.

If a ban is enacted it could impact thousands of American aid workers, contractors and journalists currently working in Iraq, as well as more than 5,000 U.S, military personnel there to aid Iraqi forces in their effort to oust ISIS from Mosul and the country.

Iran Says to Ban U.S. Visitors in Retaliation to Trump Move

This decision by the U.S. is arbitrary, said Intisar Al-Jabbouri, a Sunni MP from the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. The Iraqi government has the right to reciprocate.

The U.S. withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011, but since ISIS captured swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, it has slowly sent advisors, trainers and special forces back to the country. Their guidance as well as weapons and funding has been key to the fight against ISIS.

Iraqi forces are battling the militants of the so-called Islamic State in the neighborhoods of Mosul , Iraqs second largest city and the largest urban center still under ISIS control. American military advisors are nearby, helping to direct the fight.

If Iraq were to ban U.S. citizens from traveling to Iraq it would have devastating consequences for our fight against ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, said Chris Harmer, a senior analyst with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Thats just in the short term."

Trump Refugee Order Dashes Hopes of Iraqis Who Helped the U.S.

Nevertheless the idea has caught on in certain, influential circles. Moqtada Al-Sadr, a powerful Shiite cleric who led a violent insurgency in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, quickly issued a statement saying Americans should leave. It would be arrogant for you to enter freely to Iraq and other countries while barring them the entrance to your country, Sadr said on his website, addressing the U.S. And therefore you should get your nationals out.

Sadr's motivations may have more to do with his alignment with Iran, however, than reciprocity for President Trumps ban on Iraqi nationals. Those that closely aligned with Iran might think this is a good ideaan opportunity to remove American influence from Iraq once and for all, said Dr. Renad Mansour, an Academy Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House.

It's possible Trump's order could exacerbate cracks in the already fragile coalition in Iraq, in which groups who receive support from the U.S. fight in concert with those who are backed by Iran. Iranian generals have been spotted on the frontlines in key battles against ISIS, both in Iraq and Syria. Shi'ite militias, many funded by Tehran, are ruthless fighters but have been accused of abuses against civilian populations , fueling sectarian tensions.

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Mansour says Sadr and those with his very powerful movement will try to stoke those tensions further by pressuring the government to ban Americans. The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite militias, also issued a statement on Sunday urging Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to kick out U.S. nationals. Its going to be tricky for [Prime Minister] al-Abadi to deal with, said Mansour.

Despite the strong rhetoric and anti-American sentiment in response to Trumps decision, lawmaker Jabbouri says it would be difficult for Iraq to approve and implement such a ban given the essential role the U.S. plays in both its military and humanitarian efforts. There is a strategic need to keep American experts to ensure the sustainability of the coalition fight against ISIS, she says. However, leaders of some of the parliament's most powerful blocs have called the for ban on Americans.

But if the Iraqi people demand even a temporary ban on U.S. personnel, it could provide an opening for Iran to extend its influence on the country. The U.S. scaling-back of operations have already left room for an increasing Iranian presence, Harmer says. Long term, it would complete the decline of U.S. strategic influence in Iraq and pave the way for Iran to increase their already significant influence over the Iraqi government." The effect, he says, would be "catastrophic."

This article was originally published on TIME.com

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Iraq Threatens Ban on US Citizens, Putting the Fight Against ISIS at Risk - Fortune

Kurdish regional government forces. Isis has been pushed out of nearly all cities and towns it once held in Iraq. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Children detained by Iraqs Kurdistan regional government on suspicion of connections to Islamic State say they were tortured, according to a report from an international human rights group.

The children who have not been formally charged with a crime said they were held in stress positions, burned with cigarettes, shocked with electricity and beaten with plastic pipes, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York based international watchdog.

More than 180 boys under the age of 18 are being held, HRW estimates, and government officials have not informed their families where they are, increasing the likelihood of the children being disappeared.

Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said: Legitimate security concerns do not give security forces licence to beat, manhandle or use electric shocks on children.

Many children escaping from Isis are victims who need help, yet face further abuse by Asayish [Kurdish security] forces.

The rights group said it had interviewed 19 boys aged 11 to 17 while they were in custody at a childrens reformatory in Erbil. The group said the interviews had been conducted without a security official or intelligence officer present.

As Iraqi security forces have retaken territory from Isis over the past year and a half, they have also detained hundreds of men and boys.

Many of those detained are likely to have suffered inhumane treatment or been tortured. Rights groups warn that such practices risk sowing resentment against Iraqi security forces in the wake of military victories against Isis.

If the authorities and the international coalition really care about combatting Isis, they need to look beyond the military solution, and at the policies that have empowered it, said Belkis Wille, the senior Iraq researcher for HRW.

Policies like torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of property and displacement are and will continue to [be] drivers for victims families to join extremist groups, she added.

Iraqi forces have pushed Isis out of nearly all the cities and towns the group once held in Iraq. Mosul is the last major urban centre Isis holds in Iraq and Iraqi forces have retaken half the city since the operation was officially launched in October.

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Children held in Iraq over suspected Isis links 'say they were tortured' - The Guardian

Congressman and Iraq War veteran Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said that President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees amounts to "a Muslim ban," despite the administration's assertions that the order aims solely to keep the country safe.

"What he's doing with this Muslim ban just is so wrong and un-American, you see why so many Americans across the country are rising up against it," the Democratic representative told ABC News' Martha Raddatz on "This Week."

When Raddatz noted, "They will tell you again and again, it is not a Muslim ban," Moulton replied, "There's no question what's going on here. We're not stupid. We see what Trump is up to."

On Saturday, Moulton tweeted to President Trump: "Your #MuslimBan is completely at odds with our most fundamental value: freedom. I'm ashamed that you are our president."

Moulton also said he believes that Trump's new defense secretary, ret. Gen. James Mattis, does not support the executive order. The order signed Friday immediately suspends immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa -- Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya -- for 90 days. It also ends for 120 days the entry of any refugees into the U.S., and indefinitely suspends the entry of Syrian refugees.

"You know, I worked for Gen. Mattis. I know him," said Moulton, who as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marines served four tours in Iraq, including two as special assistant to Gen. David Petraeus. Moulton also worked to gain asylum in the U.S. for an Iraqi interpreter who risked his life working with Moulton and fellow U.S. service members.

"There is no way in hell that he is supportive of this," the congressman said of Mattis. "He relied on translators for his life, just like I did. He understands what it means to put your life in the hands of an Iraqi or an Afghan. And he also knows that implicit in that is that they put their lives in our hands, as well, and now we're abandoning them."

Mattis along with Vice President Mike Pence stood at Trump's side when the president signed the order Friday.

Moulton added that he believes the executive order is an indication that Mattis and another former high-ranking military officer in the administration, ret. Gen. John Kelly, the new secretary of homeland security, "don't have a voice in the Trump administration, that Trump is just doing things for political gain, not in the best interests of our national security."

The Democratic Massachusetts representative predicted the executive order will be used by terror groups as a recruiting tool and that it won't make the U.S. safer.

"It's fundamentally un-American, and it's also making America less safe. And that's something that Americans need to understand today, is that what Trump is doing is harming our national security. It will incite attacks against us. ISIS is already using this ban as propaganda. And it will prevent us from being able to get the allies that are so critical in our war against terror," Moulton said on "This Week."

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Iraq War Vet Congressman: Americans See That Trump's Order Is Really 'a Muslim Ban' - ABC News

President Trump defended his new extreme vetting policy Sunday in the face of severe pushback from judges, members of Congress and the press, saying President Obama did much the same thing when he put a pause on Iraqi refugees for six months in 2011.

He also bristled at accusations that his policy, which halts admissions from seven countries with a history of terrorism, is a Muslim ban, pointing to what he said are 40 other majority-Muslim countries that werent affected by his executive order Friday.

Mr. Trump also said the U.S. will begin issuing visas after his administration stiffens vetting procedures over the next 90 days.

America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months, he said.

Federal judges have poked at his policy, ordering him to allow new arrivals already approved for visas to remain in the U.S.

But the crux of Mr. Trumps order, which halts the issuance of new visas, remains in effect.

Mr. Obama in 2011 imposed a six-month pause on Iraqi refugees after the FBI concluded that terrorists had managed to exploit the program. One person was admitted even though his fingerprints were found on an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Problems persisted even after that. Two men who entered as refugees from Iraq including one whod most recently lived in Syria were charged with terrorism-related crimes a year ago.

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Trump says extreme vetting pause is same as Obama's 2011 Iraq policy - Washington Times

ERBIL, Kurdistan RegionCasualties of trauma remain high on the frontlines of the Mosul battle, says the world health organization (WHO) and that great amounts of funding is needed to provide healthcare for 2.7 million people affected by the ongoing war.

The WHO and other organizations try to treat patients and people sustaining wounds as a result of the war between government forces and ISIS militants in field hospitals near the front, many of them however need to be transferred to Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region.

Trauma casualty rates remain high near frontline areas, with many trauma cases requiring referral from Mosul to Erbil in northern Iraq. WHO says in a statement.

According to the organization, from the start of the Mosul offensive on October 17 until January 18, 1610 wounded civilians were sent to Erbils 2 main hospitals to receive trauma care.

Many hospitals in Mosul have suffered extensive damage and are no longer able to provide health services to the general population and to civilians injured. WHO reported. Without these services, patients are experiencing serious complications, and in some cases death.

A report by the organization says: To fully support the health needs resulting from the Mosul operation, WHO requires a total of US$ 65 million of which US$ 14 million (21%) has been received.

Iraqi troops supported by Peshmerga and coalition forces launched an offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS during which many civilians have lost their lives due to bombardment or deliberate ISIS attacks.

The world health organization believes that a patients chance of survival is greatly increased if they receive medical care within an hour of injury known as the golden hour.

It explains in a statement that: To fill this gap, WHO and partners have established a 50-bed field hospital, with two operating rooms, in Bartella, eastern Mosul to treat severely injured patients with gunshot wounds, mine and shell injuries, and other injuries.

Health officials in the Kurdistan Region have long complained that their hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of civilian cases brought to them from the frontlines, while urging the central government in Baghdad to shoulder some of the burden.

To this end, the WHO has brought to the frontlines health staff of various specializations, including surgeons and nurses to treat the wounded near the front.

The organization reported on Sunday that: Three additional field hospitals with a capacity of 4050 beds will be established soon to support access to trauma care to the west and south of Mosul. Each hospital will be handed over to the Ministry of Health after six months to scale-up national capacity for trauma care services in the country.

WHO pushes for further funds for its field hospitals because it believes the drive to the nearest hospital in Erbil could make a difference between life and death.

These hospitals will fill a critical gap, as trauma patients are currently transported to referral hospitals in Erbil, northern Iraq, a one- to 2-hour drive away, it reports. To ensure that these patients have a greater chance of survival during their journey, 4 trauma stabilization points are currently operational, with additional points planned along referral routes.

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Iraq: WHO seeks funds for greater 'chance of survival' on the front - Rudaw