Iraq

The United States has already strained its relationship with Iraq in a bid to pressure Iran, but the COVID-19 pandemic presents a new factor for potential miscalculation among rivals.

"It was like, 'oh s--- we got struck,'" one U.S. service member said. "We had to take our posture and then, we're watching Al Jazeera on the news 10 minutes later and...it wasn't what we thought it was."

Iraqi militia Usbat al-Thayireen warned President Donald Trump and U.S. forces "to leave vertically before we force them to leave horizontally."

Two more rockets were fired near Iraq's capital of Baghdad as the country braces for an escalation in the battle among U.S. troops and Shiite Muslim militias, with the threat of ISIS still looming.

"The government of Iraq expresses its condemnation, in the strongest possible terms, of those heinous American attacks and aggressions that violate the sovereignty of Iraq that violate international law," the letter said.

A visual reconstruction by Amnesty International and SITU Research found projectiles killed at least two dozen Iraqis since October 2019.

The U.S.-led coalition told Newsweek it "is re-positioning troops from a few smaller bases" in Iraq, where violence involving U.S. troops, militiamen and militants has recently escalated.

It was first reported by the Associated Press that two of the officials wounded in the attack were Iraqi troops. A spokesperson later confirmed three coalition troops were also wounded.

"You did not take out leaders, you did not take out depots, you took out average joes," an Iraqi official told Newsweek in the wake of deadly U.S. strikes met with outrage.

Iraq's military said U.S. strikes "targeted the Iraqi military establishment and violate the principle of partnership and alliance between the Iraqi security forces and the parties that planned and carried out this treacherous attack."

The Pentagon "conducted defensive precision strikes against Kata'ib Hizbollah (KH) facilities across Iraq" where the Popular Mobilization Forces accused the U.S. of violating the country's sovereignty.

"We believe that it is the most appropriate time to resume national and popular jihadi operations to expel the evil aggressors from the land of the holy shrines," Kataib Hezbollah said, without directly claiming responsibility for the attack.

"Three Coalition personnel were killed during a rocket attack on Camp Taji," the U.S.-led coalition said amid reports afterward of airstrikes against positions in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border.

As the U.S. military prepares to send defenses to Iraq, neighboring Iran has unveiled its new Raad-500 short-range ballistic missile, said to be lighter and longer-range than its predecessors.

A new report tallies up the material losses of the war, but the damage to Iraqi moral and earthly heritage is impossible to quantify.

President Donald Trump said "nobody's done more than I've done" to battle ISIS in the Middle East, "but at the same time, Russia should do it, Iran should do it, Iraq should do it, Syria should do it."

Joint Staff Surgeon Air Force Brigadier General Paul Friedrichs said it was "extraordinary" that no American soldiers were seriously injured in the January attack.

The current cost to the federal government for operations in Iraq is an estimated $1.922 billion, including interest and additions to the base budget.

Law enforcement officers arrested a man they believe to be the leader of an Al-Qaeda group in Phoenix, Arizona Friday for the murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006.

Iraq and Syria have come out against President Donald Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, further raising questions about Washington's foreign policies at a time of heightened tensions across the region.

The rockets reportedly hit the embassy cafeteria and caused minor injuries to at least one person.

"A traumatic brain injury is life threatening, not just at the time, but for the rest of your life," the Democratic presidential candidate noted.

The Pentagon said 34 U.S. service members were diagnosed with concussions and other traumatic brain injuries after Iranian missile strike on Ayn al-Asad base in Iraq.

The president has criticized past administrations for not keeping control of valuable Iraqi oil fields conquered by the military.

During Tuesday's Democratic debate, Senator Bernie Sanders called former Vice President Joe Biden out for his support of the war in Iraq. "I did everything I could to prevent that war," Sanders said. "Joe saw it differently."

The Syrian military has accused Israel of bombing the T-4 Base in Homs hours after rockets hit an Iraqi military base used by U.S. and allied personnel near Baghdad.

Syria's prime minister said that "the presence of Americans in Syria is a sign of occupation, and we believe that all nations and governments must stand up to their unlawful presence in the region."

The Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq's western Anbar province was one of two military facilities hit by Iranian ballistic missiles last week.

Iraq is considering buying Russia's S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system as the U.S.-Iran rivalry creates new unrest and a need for new defenses.

At least six rockets were fired in the Sunday attack that wounded at least four Iraqi troops.