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The alleged abuse and burning of an Iraqi woman at the hands of her husband and his family has caused uproar on social media.

Videos of 20-year-old Malak Haider Al-Zubaidi bedbound, covered in bandages, her face swollen from burns, crying out in pain circulated online.

Al-Zubaidi was allegedly abused and later set on fire by her husband, Mohammed Al-Mayahli, a police officer in the Iraqicity of Najaf.

After the incident, however, Al-Mayahli wrote on Facebook that Al-Zubaidi has a mental illness and set herself on fire.

She burned herself with petrol and accused me and my family there are sponsored accounts that are posting these lies just to slander my family, Al-Mayahli wrote on Facebook.

READ:Iraq: PM-designate resigns, intelligence chief named new candidate

Videos of Al-Zubaidi on social media show her on a hospital bed screaming in visible pain, they never loved me and treated me like a slave, in apparent reference to her husbands family.

While, Al-Zubaidis family allege Al-Mayahli had forbidden her from visiting her parents for eight months.

On Sunday, Najafs Governor, Louay Al-Yasiri, ordered an investigation into the incident.

The governors media office said Al-Yasiri had called for a specialised investigation team regarding the burning of a Najaf woman.

Activists have reacted angrily to the incident, calling for justice for Malak, and new laws to protect women from domestic violence.

One user wrote on Twitter: I saw a video of her in the hospital and I cant get her screams out of my head. Justice for Malak.

Another posted a drawing and wrote: It is a crime against humanity. Where is the role of the authorities? A law should be enacted to criminalize such behaviour.

READ:Rockets land near oil district in southern Iraq, no casualties

Iraq does not have laws specifically to protect women fromdomestic abuse. Instead, the countrys constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the family but allows husbands to discipline their wives.

While campaigners have pressured the government topass lawsto prevent violence against women, the groups have had little success as conservative parties still dominate Baghdad.

The most recent data from 2012 provides an incomplete picture of the scale of domestic abuse, but analysts estimated one in five women arevictims.

Iraqi lawyer, Mohammed Jumaa, said on Twitter, he had seen hundreds of similar cases, where the lives of abused women, such as Al-Zubaidi, were lost and those responsible were not brought to justice.

Adding, if it wasnt for social media in these cases, then the governor would not have said anything in our country, you have no rights if social media did not sympathise with you.

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Iraq: Uproar over woman's alleged torture by her husband - Middle East Monitor

US-backed forces capture ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq

U.S.-backed forces in Syria arrested members of four Islamic State cells in recent raids, while an Iraqi operation Monday destroyed an ISIS hideout and killed nearly two dozen militants, officials said.

In two operations supported by coalition aircraft over 72 hours, Syrian Democratic Forces apprehended four elements of the active cells in Deir al-Zour province, a hotbed of ISIS activity in the countrys northeast, the Kurdish-led group said on Twitter.

The raids were part of an ongoing effort to combat and tighten the noose on ISIS activities, it said.

The operations were a sign of the competence and commitment of the anti-terror commandos, said Col. Myles B. Caggins III, spokesman for the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve.

The Coalition continues to support the SDF for anti-ISIS operations by sharing intelligence and providing eyes-in-the-sky, while we all face the challenge of preventing the spread of COVID-19, he said in a text message late Monday.

Though its been more than a year since ISIS was ousted from its last territorial stronghold, the group continues to wage an insurgency in both countries, carrying out assassinations, kidnappings and bombings.

In Iraq, security forces fought an ISIS sleeper cell for hours in Kirkuk province, the latest in a series of recent clashes.

Coalition aircraft conducted strikes, helping destroy a terrorist den in the rugged al-Shai Valley and kill 23 militants, Iraqs security media cell said on Facebook. One security forces member was killed and at least four others wounded, it said.

The coalition has continued to support anti-ISIS operations with combat support and intelligence assistance, despite withdrawing hundreds of trainers after the coronavirus outbreak there led the government to pause military training.

Inherent Resolve has also been consolidating its troops on larger bases and building up defenses against the growing threat of attack from Iran or its Shiite militia proxies. Officials have seen a spike in disinformation and threatening messages online, Caggins said last week.

Meanwhile, concerns over the spreading coronavirus pandemic may have distracted forces on both sides of the Syrian battlefield, said Robin Fleming, a researcher with the Rojava Information Center, in a report last week that found anti-ISIS operations had declined sharply in March, with just three confirmed arrests for the whole month, compared to 96 in February.

ISIS attacks also fell, the independent activist group in northeastern Syria reported. Deaths from assassinations were down about two-thirds, but the group was still distributing fliers throughout Deir al-Zour province earlier this month, threatening anyone working with the civil authorities or SDF in northeastern Syria, Fleming said.

The coalition provided hospitals and SDF-run prisons with about $1.2 million in medical equipment and riot gear late last month, citing the need to bolster both the COVID-19 response and the detention of alleged ISIS members, who it said would likely try to exploit any weakness and resurge.

Days after the supply delivery, coalition aircraft aided the SDF in suppressing a riot where alleged ISIS fighters had attempted a prison break.

garland.chad@stripes.comTwitter: @chadgarland

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US-backed forces capture ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq - Stars and Stripes

CAIRO 17 April 2020: A 107-year old coronavirus female patient in Iraq recovered and is in a good health, said the health directorate in Dhi Qar governorate in southern Iraq, while older people are at a high risk from the novel virus.

In a brief statement, the directorate said the woman tested negative for coronavirus.

It is not the first case in this age to recover from coronavirus. Two women in each of Turkey and Netherlands who were also 107 years old recovered.

Iraq has so far 1,434 coronavirus cases and 80 deaths, according to Worldometers, while 856 people recovered from the disease. Globally, over 2.2 million people were infected and more than 147,000 people died.

Iraq has evacuated hundreds of citizens stranded in other countries including in Egypt. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Monday said two exceptional flights took off from the Egyptian capital Cairo to the Iraqi capital Baghdad, evacuating 324 Iraqi nationals over coronavirus.

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107-year old Iraq woman recovers from coronavirus: directorate - Egypttoday

My last day in Kurdistan for a long time. I will miss it dearly

The driver picked me up late at night on April 2 to take me to Erbil International Airport. I hired him because he worked for one of the major NGOs in the city, meaning he had the proper permissions to drive around. Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan Region have been under lockdown for weeks due to COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. People can only walk to nearby supermarkets and pharmacies.

We were stopped numerous times during the roughly four-mile drive to the airport. At one point, I had to show a letter from the US Consulate saying I was traveling abroad.

The anti-virus measures in Iraq include a flight ban. On March 17, the Iraqi government closed its airports to passenger flights. It only gave 24 hours notice, and flights were already limited before that. Turkish, Emirati and Jordanian airlines had already stopped services to and from Iraq.

I didnt make it out. I was stuck in Iraq.

I spent about two weeks in an apartment, continuing to file stories as I called and messaged sources via WhatsApp throughout Iraq and Syria. Then an email from the consulate in Erbil came just before 5:30 pm on April 1.

Action: Flights available for U.S. citizens to depart Iraq, read the subject line.

Days after the ban began, the consulate started emailing American citizens about possible Qatar Airways flights that might reach the US for a short period. They sent the same email reading flights may be available this week several days in a row. Some of us were skeptical. Other Western embassies informed their citizens of these exempted flights as well.

The consulate told us that destinations would be limited and that this arrangement would likely not happen again. Being the snobby New Yorker I am, I assumed JFK would be one of the destinations. However, the email said only Miami and Montreal were available from Erbil, via Doha. So I bought the Miami ticket for more than $3,000. I then bought a separate ticket from Miami to LaGuardia in New York City for a slightly cheaper $28.

I saw many people I know when I got to the airport. I quickly met another American journalist and teammates from the Kurdistan Rugby team. The expatriate community in Erbil very much resembles a small town, where everyone knows and works with each other.

The atmosphere was joyous. The last few weeks were stressful. We werent able to move around and didnt know when we would be able to go home. We eagerly started to line up at the check-in counter three hours before the scheduled flight time. We wanted to get home.

The line wasnt moving, though. We realized nobody had been checked in. Worry started to set in. I checked Twitter. A source had tweeted an article saying the Transportation Ministry had canceled all the previously exempted flights. I didnt believe it. Numerous consulates fought for this flight. Qatar Airways sent a plane and charged us each thousands.

Then the men in maroon jackets the Qatar Airways representatives starting making announcements in Kurdish, Arabic and English. People started to gasp. An employee told us that the flight was canceled and would leave the exact same time tomorrow.

The frustration of people was clear, perhaps especially for locals. Crises are not new in Iraq. I recall a conversation with a Kurdish friend shortly before the lockdown. I asked if he was worried about the virus, to which he replied no.

In my life, weve had the Iran-Iraq War [1980-1988], the Gulf War [1990-1991], the Kurdish civil war [1994-1997], the Iraq War [2003-2011], ISIS, the Battle of Kirkuk [2017], and now this, he said. Its just one more thing. All we know is war in Iraq.

I saw a local traveler speaking to an airline employee in Kurdish. After receiving the news, he switched to English, loudly cursing Iraq and this country as he threw his bag to the ground. It was telling of the frustration people have felt for years.

We headed for the door, but airport security would not let us leave. They wouldnt tell us why. Much to our dismay, they continued letting would-be travelers in.

A friend of mine pleaded with a guard to let her out with her cat. She said it could not stay in the airport for 24 hours. I did not know how to explain this in Kurdish, so I tried Arabic.

No Arabic. Im Kurdish, said the guard.

Many Kurds dislike speaking Arabic, and Kurdish is the predominant language in Erbil.

Confusion quickly set in. Social distancing was impossible in the check-in area, which now had hundreds of us in it. An announcement over the loudspeakers told us to leave our would-be checked bags and take our personal luggage to the gate area. Most people refused this.

Instead, we lined up at the check-in counter and went to sleep. Airport staff handed out food: croissants, potato chips, soda and water.

We made friends. I met an American military veteran who was now working as a contractor.

I dont know how yall do it, he said to me. How you can come here, and not be military?

We discussed our drastically different experiences in the country. Ive experienced Baghdad nightlife, the Kurdish mountains, and Chaldean Catholic beer gardens. Ive reported from Kurdish military bases during war and violent protests in Baghdad. But for the most part, I felt safe during the year and a half I lived in the country.

I passed out sometime around 3 am on the cold, asylum white, airport floor. I woke up to the sound of people moving. I went over to a British contractor working at the airport, who told me they were working to receive permission from Iraqi authorities to take off.

An email from the consulate then came in.

It WILL depart, it read, referring to the flight.

And it did. Amid all the conflict between the US and Iran in Iraq, our government helped us get out.

The check-in went smoothly after that. I breezed through the remaining security checkpoints. Erbil International Airport is heavily guarded, and there are multiple screenings both inside and outside the airport.

At the last scanner, I saw the same guard whom I spoke to about the cat. He smiled and spoke to me in Kurdish.

How long have you been here? he asked.

About a year, I replied.

You are welcome in Kurdistan.

That will be my last day in Iraq, Kurdistan, Erbil for a long time. I will miss it dearly, and it was not how I wanted to say goodbye. But in a way, it was a fitting end. Locals fed me like they always did. Friends surrounded me. And I was safe.

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Reporter's Notebook: Evacuating Iraq in the Time of Coronavirus - The Media Line

The move reflects domestic storage limitations and the global demand shock that led OPEC and other producers to drastically curtail output through the rest of the year.

A worker from Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects welds the pipeline connecting the Zubair-1 and Zubair-2 oil depots to the Fao depot, providing more flexibility for both exports and feeding the Shuaiba refinery. (Source: Basra Oil Company)

BASRA - The state owned Shuaiba oil refinery in Basra has shut in two-thirds of its 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) operating capacity, as a slowdown in global demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic has filled up storage and tanker ships are not loading fuel exports.

The refinery is Iraq's largest, following the destruction of much of the Baiji refinery in the aftermath of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group's attack in Iraq in 2014. A long-delayed fourth refining unit is nearing completion.

All sources quoted or referenced spoke to Iraq Oil Report directly and exclusively, unless stated otherwise. Iraq Oil Report typically grants anonymity to sources that can't speak without risking their personal safety or job security. We only publish information from anonymous sources that we independently corroborate and are important to core elements of the story. We do not provide anonymity to sources whose purpose is to further personal or political agendas.

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Originally posted here:
Iraq slashing allocations to largest refinery as demand plummets - Iraq Oil Report