One highlight of Pope Francis' historic visit to Iraq is his meeting Saturday with a revered religious leader for Shiite Muslims, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

BAGHDAD (AP) — In Iraq, two decades of back-to-back conflicts have left ancient Christian communities that were once a vibrant and integral part of the landscape scattered and in ruins.

BAGHDAD (AP) — From afar, the sprawling complex of the newly inaugurated American University in Baghdad appears like a floating mirage.

Encircled by blue waters of a man-made lake, former...

BAGHDAD (AP) — From afar, the sprawling complex of the newly inaugurated American University in Baghdad appears like a floating mirage.

Encircled by blue waters of a man-made lake, former...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Faris Fadel had just one word to describe the recent pardoning by the Trump administration of four private security contractors convicted of killing Iraqi civilians — including his...

SINJAR, Iraq (AP) — One by one, the flags belonging to a patchwork of armed forces were lowered in a northern Iraqi town once brutalized by the Islamic State group. The territorial claims...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States plans to reduce its military force in Iraq from the current 5,200 to about 3,500 by November, U.S. officials said Friday. The cut would be in line with...

“The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorists,” St. Martin’s Press, by Tracy Walder with Jessica Anya Blau

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The new top federal prosecutor for southern Ohio was formally sworn into office Friday at a ceremony attended by federal judges, federal agents, defense attorneys, county and...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Abbas Ali spends most of his free time camped out in Tahrir Square — the epicenter of Iraq's anti-government protests — going home only at 3 a.m. to catch few hours of sleep, change...

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Christmas tree in the middle of a central Baghdad plaza occupied by anti-government protesters is bare, save for portraits of those killed under fire from security forces. A...

BAGHDAD (AP) — The shoes are coming off again in Iraq.

In years past, Iraqis have beaten their shoes against portraits of Saddam Hussein in a sign of anger and insult. In 2008, an Iraqi...

BAGHDAD (AP) — The protesters stand by the thousands on the abandoned building's open floors, waving Iraqi flags and cheering. Some sit on the edge, feet dangling in the air from high floors as...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Joseph Wilson, the former ambassador who set off a political firestorm by disputing U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion, died Friday, according to his...

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq, confirmed by U.S. officials, is threatening to destabilize security in the volatile country that has struggled to remain...

SAFWAN, Iraq (AP) — Iraq on Thursday handed over to Kuwait the remains of 48 of its citizens who went missing after Saddam Hussein's invasion of the country 28 years ago and subsequent Gulf...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Baghdad's Green Zone area, the heavily fortified strip on the west bank of the Tigris River, reopened to the public Tuesday after 16 years — a move meant to portray increased...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Baghdad's Green Zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades.

The 4-square mile (10-square kilometer) heavily guarded strip on the banks...

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's self-governing Kurdish region has elected a new president in a parliamentary vote boycotted by a key opposition party.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq on Monday mourned the loss of Lamia al-Gailani, a beloved archaeologist who helped rebuild the Baghdad museum after it was looted following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

Al-Gailani, who died in Amman, Jordan, on Friday at the age of 80, was one of Iraq's first women to excavate the country's archaeological heritage.

AL-JAHRA, Kuwait (AP) — On the outskirts of Kuwait City, the love Kuwaitis have for former U.S. President George H.W. Bush could be seen in 2016 on a billboard one Bedouin family put up to announce their son's wedding.

That son being Bush al-Widhan, born in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War that saw U.S.-led forces expel the occupying Iraqi troops of dictator Saddam Hussein.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iraq's President Barham Salih began a visit to Iran on Saturday, where he pledged to improve relations less than two weeks after the United States restored oil sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

BERLIN (AP) — A golden statue of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was installed at an art festival whose motto is "Bad news" has been taken down after authorities in the German city of Wiesbaden said it was becoming a security issue.

The dpa news agency reported that the four-meter (13-foot) sculpture depicting Erdogan with a raised right arm, evoking the statue of Saddam Hussein toppled by American forces in Iraq, was removed early Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister on Sunday suspended the country's electricity minister over a power crisis amid mushrooming protests in the country's Shiite heartland demanding better services and jobs.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made the announcement on his Twitter account, saying the suspension of Qassim al-Fahdawi, the electricity minister, would last until an investigation is concluded. He did not elaborate.

BAGHDAD (AP) — For more than three years after graduation, Karar Alaa Abdul-Wahid tried to get a stable job in the Iraqi government and in the private sector — to no avail.

He once was offered a job with the Oil Ministry in his energy-rich hometown of Basra, but it came with a hefty price: he would have to pay a bribe of $5,000, which he couldn't afford.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets for the sixth day on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked the internet in the country's Shiite heartland.

It's the summit eve in Singapore. Global anticipation of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's third-generation autocrat Kim Jong Un is close to feverish. It's the biggest, and most mind-boggling, summit of its kind this century — and probably for several decades.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — For Iran, the so-called "Axis of Evil" has boiled down to a party of one, as President Donald Trump prepares for direct talks with North Korea.

With Saddam Hussein overthrown and Kim Jong Un now preparing for a planned meeting in Singapore with Trump, Iran remains the last renegade among former President George W. Bush's grouping of nations opposed to the U.S.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis voted in the first national election since the country declared victory over the Islamic State group. The vote — the fourth since the 2003 U.S.-led toppling of Saddam Hussein — was marked by reports of low turnout and irregularities.

Results are expected within the next 48 hours according to the independent body that oversees Iraq's election, but negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for months.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Early voting has begun for Iraq's security forces, prisoners and hospital patients ahead of Saturday's national parliamentary elections.

The independent body that oversees Iraq's elections says thousands of people are expected to cast their ballots before polls close Thursday evening.

There is no clear front-runner in the upcoming elections, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi facing stiff competition from political alliances with closer ties to Iran.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis head to the polls this weekend for the first time since the government declared victory against the Islamic State group, in national elections that could tilt the balance of power between the United States and Iran.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi women running for parliament this month are undaunted, despite many challenges they face ahead of the May 12 elections — including unprecedented smear campaigns complete with sex videos that have forced some to withdraw.

Many see the vote as a chance to push women's issues to the fore in this traditionally male-dominated society, where women still find it hard to win a powerful place in politics.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Civil rights attorneys contended Wednesday that the Trump administration tried to rush deportations of Iraqis who faced torture, sexual slavery and even beheadings in their home country.

A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel in Cincinnati heard arguments on the federal government's request to lift a judge's order blocking the deportations.

BAGHDAD (AP) — In the aftermath of a destructive three-year war to defeat the Islamic State group, Iraqi politicians are promising citizens a better future, employing social media, online videos and traditional billboards. Eager to shape the country, they didn't bother waiting for Saturday's official campaign kick-off. For weeks, they've been chatting with shoppers at outdoor markets, shaking hands and greeting potential voters with cheek kisses.