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Air strike in Iraq kills five members of pro-Iran paramilitary group, say security sources - The Times of Israel

Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

Thats why we started the Times of Israel eleven years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we havent put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

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US military official confirms 'self-defense strike' in Iraq in which 5 said killed - The Times of Israel

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