Iraq

Ahmed Hashem is an Iraqi refugee who came to San Francisco in 1994. (Courtesy photo)

Stories of Refugees, Part I: Out of Iraq

In the next few fortnights, this column will focus on stories of…

 

Iraqi security forces look for victims as civilians gather at the site after a car bomb at a commercial area in Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Deadliest attack in a year kills 115 in central Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A devastating truck bombing on a bustling commercial street in…

 

This file photo released Tuesday June 28, 2016 by the New Syrian Army, an anti-government rebel group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows U.S.-backed Syrian rebels of the New Syrian Army running in an unknown place in Syria. (The New Syrian Army via AP, File)

Syria’s new US-backed force stumbles in first test

BEIRUT — The call came around noon, about four hours after U.S.-backed…

 

Iraqi military forces prepare for an offensive into Fallujah to retake the city from Islamic State militants in Iraq on Monday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Elite Iraqi forces push into Fallujah, expect fierce battle

CAMP TARIQ, Iraq — Elite Iraqi special forces began their push Monday…

Iraqi military forces prepare for an offensive into Fallujah to retake the city from Islamic State militants in Iraq on Monday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a bomb explosion at an outdoor market in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Shaab, Iraq, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Wave of bombings in Baghdad kill 69

BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings struck outdoor markets and a restaurant…

Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a bomb explosion at an outdoor market in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Shaab, Iraq, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in the Iraqi capital's eastern district of Sadr City, Iraq, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)

Bombings kill 93 in Iraqi capital’s bloodiest day this year

BAGHDAD — In the deadliest violence in Baghdad this year, three car…

Citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in the Iraqi capital's eastern district of Sadr City, Iraq, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)
Smoke rises from Islamic State group positions after an airstrike by U.S.-led coalition warplanes in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo during the Iraqi government offensive that drove the militants out of the city. (AP Photo, File)

Iraq routed IS from Ramadi at a high cost: A city destroyed

RAMADI, Iraq — This is what victory looks like in the Iraqi…

Smoke rises from Islamic State group positions after an airstrike by U.S.-led coalition warplanes in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo during the Iraqi government offensive that drove the militants out of the city. (AP Photo, File)
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, left, receives the rank pennant from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the outgoing commanding officer of US and NATO troops in Europe, during the change in command at the United States European Command (EUCOM), in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, with General Joseph Dunford, second from left, and Command Master Chief Crispian Addington, second from right, pictured in the background. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

US combat death in Iraq reflects intensifying war

STUTTGART, Germany — The combat death Tuesday of a U.S. Navy SEAL…

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, left, receives the rank pennant from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the outgoing commanding officer of US and NATO troops in Europe, during the change in command at the United States European Command (EUCOM), in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, with General Joseph Dunford, second from left, and Command Master Chief Crispian Addington, second from right, pictured in the background. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Salman walk together to a meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In Saudi visit, Obama works to calm Gulf tensions with US

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Barack Obama strained to ease tensions with…

President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Salman walk together to a meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, and his Iraqi counterpart Khaled al-Obeidi review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense, Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday. (AP Photo)

US to send 200 more troops, Apache helicopters, to Iraq

BAGHDAD — The U.S. has agreed to deploy more than 200 additional…

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, and his Iraqi counterpart Khaled al-Obeidi review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense, Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday. (AP Photo)
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington on Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Kerry determines IS group committing genocide in Iraq, Syria

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday formally concluded the Islamic State…

Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington on Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
This image made from undated video shows Omar al-Shishani standing next to the group's spokesman among a group of fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/militant social media account via AP video)

Senior IS commander dies of wounds from US strike in Syria

BAGHDAD — Omar al-Shishani, a top Islamic State commander who was a…

This image made from undated video shows Omar al-Shishani standing next to the group's spokesman among a group of fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/militant social media account via AP video)
Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, center, arrives at a military a base outside Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi officials: US captured top IS chemical arms engineer

BAGHDAD — U.S. special forces captured the head of the Islamic State…

Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, center, arrives at a military a base outside Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A refugee stands near his tent in a camp where thousands of refugees are waiting to be allowed to cross the border into Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni on Sunday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

EU looks to refugee-laden Turkey to ease its migrant burden

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders will be looking to boost aid to…

A refugee stands near his tent in a camp where thousands of refugees are waiting to be allowed to cross the border into Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni on Sunday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A boy of a migrant family sleeps on the pavement, in Athens on Monday at the Victoria Square, where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Europe’s crisis worsens: Migrants face razor wire, tear gas

IDOMENI, Greece — Pressed against coils of razor wire and shouting "Help…

A boy of a migrant family sleeps on the pavement, in Athens on Monday at the Victoria Square, where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

US Embassy says several Americans missing in Iraq

BAGHDAD — The U.S. Embassy confirmed Sunday that "several" Americans have gone…

Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters evacuate an injured woman after she was shot by Islamic State group fighters as she tried to cross from neighborhoods under control of Islamic State group to neighborhoods under control of Iraqi security forces in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

Iraq must walk a fine line amid Iranian, Saudi tensions

BAGHDAD — While many Iraqi Shiites took to the streets in outrage…

Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters evacuate an injured woman after she was shot by Islamic State group fighters as she tried to cross from neighborhoods under control of Islamic State group to neighborhoods under control of Iraqi security forces in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)
Swedish police officers perform identity control checks among the passengers aboard the train from Copenhagen at the Swedish end of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark in Malmo, Sweden. (Stig Ake Jonsson/TT via AP, File)

After 1 million migrants, Europe’s borders are back

STOCKHOLM — Since it opened in 2000, the Oresund bridge between Sweden…

Swedish police officers perform identity control checks among the passengers aboard the train from Copenhagen at the Swedish end of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark in Malmo, Sweden. (Stig Ake Jonsson/TT via AP, File)
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin, speaks at the Pentagon on Monday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Obama vows to hit IS harder, says commandos now in Syria

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday vowed to accelerate the U.S.-led…

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin, speaks at the Pentagon on Monday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the U.S. Strategy for Syria and Iraq and its Implications for the Region. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

US sending new special ops force to fight Islamic State

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military will deploy a new special operations force…

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the U.S. Strategy for Syria and Iraq and its Implications for the Region. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)