for decades baghdad has meant violence. and the last place most people would want to call home especially the jews. but it wasn't always soon. diamond got no final and still i think i'm a lucky guy i got a son and gamble of mine. i 1st came across the jews of baghdad when i was asked to catalog an archive. it belonged to the family of david dunn goal. when david's father was born there were 140000 jews in baghdad. they made up nearly half the city. few people in baghdad now remember them. through the houses and old synagogues are everywhere. edwin has arrived in baghdad looking for his roots. i feel. i haven't finished with this place. i always any thought was rape. there's a unfinished business here. i do. because when i go. on the road are you kidding are you crazy. i feel. bad for our. edwin was he just being flowery. iraqi jews are the ones unsung. the ones who were captured and taken slaves. the ones who sang by the waters of babylon there we sat down and wept when we remembered zion. they stayed and wrote a great book

baghdad says that's just not true the k r g this is a kiddish regional government. feel that they have the right to negotiate and decide on the oil that has. located in the region they feel they have the right to save his contacts and this is what their real disagreement lies with a u.s. ally has gone iraqi kurds are feeling less secure than when thousands took to the streets a year and a half ago demanding democratic reforms. shut if you will. even though you know you want to do or how many you get it. yeah i believe that moment about woman on the set i'm gonna tell you this was you know as that yeah you know and to us that yeah they can but it is a good you know we're into this here now. as kurdish leaders define bank bad and broken deals for oil pipelines with turkey. it seems they're betting that this new alliance will protect them even if it cost them the promise of an independent kurdistan. democratic. and they had a. could you know it. for the company could just stand up we could toss them to 20 with little quicker than to. go on when i've been. through this

forces in baghdad and the holy cities of karbala. and here in the jack. up e.g.o.'s. as i already know landed here. destroyed everything. at the beginning of august trying to root out sanders mahdi army and take control of. u.s. marines invaded the cemetery when taken into a part of the graveyard where you can actually see the destruction from the fighting that took place in 2004 there's r.p.g. holes in the walls some of these graves are completely destroyed a member speaking to iraqis at the time who simply couldn't believe that things had to tarry to such an extent that this one of the most holy and sacred sites in all of iraq had turned into a battleground between the mighty army and the americans. hundreds of monte finds as dined in the battle. in a new section of the cemetery built for sound as followers killed in the uprisings and sectarian violence that the u.s. led occupation provoked. families comes on of that day. so. no one knows how many iraqis have been killed since the invasion. of them it's range from more than 150002 over a 1000000. for years the u.s.

>> there was a lot more commercial activity in baghdad. i was there in 2004 and it was the height we were very much everywhere. what's really nice they see people driving around in the commercial activity and it's kind of nice to see all that. it's not that baghdad is that i had seen in the past. >> one of the things you talk about is the sense that we are out of the wood in iraq and a little bit misplaced you felt that there are dangers lurking that we i need to be careful about. >> i do think that it's in a precarious situationit right no. prior to me going i was also of the belief that i was defeated and it is time to focus on economic development and isis is no longer around we just have to deal with widows and orphans but that is not the case. it was defeated in the sense t that it no longer holds territory thatnn the personnel e eathere and i learned many of tm had b been ordered to be intentionally captured to use ptthe camp to reset and get stronger and be around and be able to survive to fight another day and then you have the 30,

reminder of our breaking news from iraq where the military says there's been a suicide attack in baghdad the blast happened a short time ago in saddest city that in the northeast of the iraqi capital and several people have been killed and injured let's speak to our correspondent in baghdad rob mattson rob what more can you tell us about this attack. for the moment the information as you can imagine. but according to operations command center that's a mixture of the military and police here in fact that we are hearing as you said a number of injured and killed in this explosion we don't yet know the exact details it's still very early but what we're being told so far is that apparently a suicide bomber with an explosive packed belt has a particular detonated his explosives after being surrounded by security forces this happened in the commercial wholesale marketplace of shia militia neighborhood that parts of the predominantly shia side a city that's northeast of baghdad southern city is home to about half of baghdad eight million people most of them are shia muslims it's named after the

diplomats in baghdad on wednesday night for what the foreign ministry said which talks about promoting bilateral ties resolving regional crises and tackling terrorism but no one in iraq is on the any illusion about what that means the increasing pressure by the u.s. on iraq's neighbor and big east regional ally iran iraq's politics economy military a majority shia population share deep geo political and religious ties with iran. the more pressure that mounts on the iranian government the more difficult it becomes for u.s. ally in iraq. u.s. secretary of state mike pompei a came to iraq on an on schedule visit on choose day because of what he said was specifics threats to americans in iraq the statement was directed towards what the u.s. calls iran's proxy forces officially there are around sixty thousand iraqi fighters with pro iran armed groups in iraq known as a popular mobilization forces ohashi the xabi they were highly effective in the battle against isolate in iraq and syria and were formally incorporated into iraq military and security apparatus in two thousand and sixteen on we

it's nearly 500km from baghdad to the city of basra.me to the country's main port and once fertile farmland. but now, it's hard to find fresh water here. and the rising salinity of the water is having a crippling effect on the city. this was basra last summer when the city erupted in anger. protesters were furious about corruption, unemployment and poisoned water. gunfire the authorities cracked down hard. more than a dozen demonstrators were killed. basra was a broken city. this one—day protester cursed the city's leaders as the scum of the earth. a city once known as the venice of the east had become a vision of hell. its canals, a symbol of corruption and dysfunction. the sweltering summer heat, turning this into a toxic stew. tens of thousands were rushed to the city's hospital, suffering from stomach cramps and serious diarrhoea. doctors and nurses were overwhelmed. the city had never seen a health crisis on this scale. it was basra's slums that were worse hit. people here live in toxic filth, and have limited access to clean drink

when i talked about repelling isis from baghdad, they talk about iraqis defending baghdad. iran-backed militias they are to be part of the fight. they were very careful to thank me, and american, to be there. they also said iraqis fought them off. this emergence of iraqi nationalism, i got the sense of trying to foster and build that. i got this from the prime minister. mr. alterman: do you think there is an american role in encouraging that or is that something that largely iraqis have to work out among themselves? sen. duckworth: i think there is an american role in that. personnel is always very encouraging of us. other senators. tri-partisan. was careful to remind us to please help support this effort on the iraqi leadership to foster an iraqi identity and really congratulate them on defending baghdad. iraqi people in the sense of nationalism. i also felt from young people a real resentment, especially in the baghdad area, that the iran-backed militias had overstepped their bounds and they felt iran gone too far and they were pushing back against that. mr. alterman: tha

the beginning of the holy month of ramadan security forces here in baghdad saying that several people have been killed after a man wearing an explosive belt detonated those explosives when he was surrounded by security forces in a wholesale market in the area of saddam city souder city is to the northeast of baghdad and it was named after a prominent cleric muhammad sort of side of after the fall of saddam hussein and it's become a center for the saddest movement which is now developing into a political party led by the prominent shia cleric. the son of muhammad sadat. now we now know that eisel is claiming responsibility for this attack but it's also interesting to note that at the end of april i will back it all but daddy the leader of isolate said to have appeared in a video for the first time in five years claiming revenge for the land lost by i saw in both syria and iraq. the cia has warned friends and colleagues of murdered journalists that their potential targets of saudi arabia's government the report by time magazine says three people have been given security briefings in rec

forces in baghdad. his death captured forever on video shot by the us military and eventually leaked to the public by wiki leaks. and then still alive and started running. the file you could find. more than. 10 years ago in. america. chad. had. less than an hour's drive the notion of ever. because one fabric is now all but disintegrated and the prospect of kurdish autonomy has been a fault line cutting across the north since iraq's borders were drawn but when i was based here it still at least looked like the same country now it looks like a different planet and that seems to be the master plan of the kind of. massive foreign investments and regeneration and infrastructure projects transforming the way the cities look. kurdish leaders establish their own regional governments when a u.s. sponsored no fly zone was set up after the 1st gulf war. and they welcomed u.s. forces during the 2003 invasion. in the years that followed washington lavished political and financial support on kurdish leaders building

with all of the government leaders with the prime minister they were gracious to make time for us in baghdad and we were -- i was able to visit my shoe down site and then we went up to the region and met the prime minister and had a very good conversation and was able to see the changes because when i served in iraq i flew all over the country's and could see the changes that have happened. >> what changes did you see? >> when i is to go to the kurds there's one hotel at the top of help and that was it and we landed on a hillside and would walk up to the hotel and now it's a high-rise and modern an and -- there is unfinished areas where 2014 with i.c.e. is happening but it's very vibrant and [inaudible] this is an international cosmopolitan city here and very different to be in the same country but to also to the different -- >> know it's always hard on the government trip to judge what security feel like because they want to keep you secure but did you get any sense for how activity had changed whether there was more commercial activity and how that felt? >> i sense a lot more commercial ac

>> i sense a lot more commercial activity in baghdad but when i was there in 2004 it was the height of the worst times there so it was in a and these things go out side and the green zone was massive. there were now that we were there they took down the c barrier and it was nice to drive out what happened inside the green zone was to see people driving around in the commercial entity with a lot of college students and people going to school so it's nice to see all of that and to see -- [inaudible] it's not an image of bag that i seen in the past. >> one thing i've seen you talk about is in many ways the sense that we are out of the woods in iraq and a little bit misplaced and that you have felt that there are dangers lurking that we need to be careful about. >> i do think that iraq is in a precarious situation right now. prior to me going i also find it obsolete that isis is defeated and now it's time to focus on development and that isis is no longer around and have to deal with widows and orphans. that is truly not the case. isis is defeated in the sense that it no longer host territ

embassy here in baghdad that came in the back of u.s. president donald trump saying that he intended to keep u.s. troops in iraq in order to watch iran that was something that as you can imagine incensed iran and incensed the shia groups many of the shia groups here in iraq which are close links with iran but it also incensed the iraqi government as well because it said that was an affront to its sovereignty and only iraq could decide what foreign troops if any would entitle to be here the whole situation that we're facing at the moment as far as the iraqis themselves are concerned is that this is a situation that the iraqi people do not want to be in but they have long feared that the u.s. and iran are going to be in the midst of a faceoff which could increase could get come more tense and their country is going to be right in the middle of it tehran will have to leave it there but thanks very much for joining us from baghdad meanwhile iran's supreme leader says he doesn't swan's war with the united states but i it's so that the company

chapters about the battle of baghdad and why that was so important. it's about dealing with the shiite militias. we talked about the internal wars going on. both the sunni and shiite side. these volumes capture all of that, help you to understand it, and understand the interaction among all of these different events and why he was the sum total of those interactions that ultimately produce this remarkable transformation of what's going on in the war. the complexity of those volumes from start to finish, they handle it in a way that you always know exactly what's going on. you aren't just being hit with endless little details and bewildered by what this is supposed to mean. it's part of a wider narrative that helps understand this conflict in ways that i have not seen in any other work so far. >> that complexity also speaks to another thing that really stood out to me. throughout the entirety of this work but especially in volume 2, the patron saint of warfare famously said among his many brilliant observations that the most important thing in war is u

baghdad for the british say iran is threats then that assessment says being disowned by u.s. central command sets an extraordinary rebuke of a senior allied officer by the us what should we make of this. let me just give you a little bit of background before we go to get into the into that element although the operation inherent resolve is the u.s. led coalition operation to try to counter threats from both in iraq and in syria and this was major general christopher again giving a press conference here in baghdad but but done a video link to reporters where he was continually pressed about the potential threat from shia armed groups in iraq on american sets within within iraq and he gave that response not just within hours of that response coming out u.s. centcom which is the military operations center which controls operations both in the middle east and afghanistan did as you said come out with this extraordinary counter statement in which it said recent comments from deputy commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from u.s. and its

iran dispute rob madsen has more on that from baghdad. iraqis filled baghdad's tucker square chanting yes yes to iraq demanding that their country should not become a battleground in someone else's war started it started to set up our message is for peace our message is to say no to the iranian agenda and mil to the american agenda as iraqis we should make independent decisions. i know that. we reject war by any shape or form iraqis including sunni and shia people from all of iraq's ethnic and religious groups came to talk we are square to make our voices heard iraqis don't want their land to be a battleground by the iranians or the americans and iraq and its eastern neighbor iran share trade cultures and religion iran also supplies about 80 percent of the electricity and gas needed in the south of iraq but iraq also relies on u.s. and foreign troops to combat the threat of i saw it also means foreign investment. this rally is being called by mcdonald's out of these are shia cleric is also a leader of one of the biggest political blocs in

units into baghdad and surrounding areas. so more units, more headquarters, , translated into the ability for those headquarters and those soldiers to partner with iraqi army and national police units in their sectors. and so you had a synergy between the partnership of units and the ongoing work of the military transition teams, which were still in place, but both of those aspects were under the control of the brigade combat team commander in the sector. so you achieve a certain synergy, particularly as the baghdad security plan was developed and implemented. and eventually this partnership was transformed over time to the rotation of units and the standup of the u.s. advise and assist brigades. and with that i'll conclude my remarks, only adding that i acknowledge that there's much importance that it didn't discuss site side look forwarde q&a. thanks. >> thanks, seth. thank you all so much. i want to start by saying that i was one of the outside raters on these two volumes and i've read the entirety of these two volumes. ye

we're only just a few days into the beginning of the holy month of ramadan security forces here in baghdad saying that several people have been killed after a man wearing an explosive belt detonated those explosives when he was surrounded by security forces in a wholesale market in these a million area of saddam city a sort of city to the northeast of baghdad and it was named after a prominent cleric muhammad sort of started after the fall of saddam hussein and it's become a center for the saddest movement which is now developing into a political party led by the prominent shia cleric. the son of muhammad sadat. now we now know the eisel is claiming responsibility for this attack but it's also interesting to note that at the end of april i will back it all but daddy the leader of eisel is said to have appeared in a video for the first time in five years claiming revenge for the land lost by i saw in both syria and iraq. the head of the roman catholic church has issued a new law making it compulsory for all clergy to report cases of sexual abuse but francis issued the landmark to create whi

baghdad so what is the latest on this warning coming out of the u.s. state department. well so far we've been talking to a u.s. official who didn't want to be identified but he is based in the baghdad embassy and he's saying that they're describing this as an ordered departure it's not an evacuation it's he's into pains to stress that because although they are evacuating all non-emergency personnel from the embassy in baghdad which is just a few 100 meters from where i am as well as the consulate up in bill that there will be personnel still staying in the embassies and in the consulate services that it would normally offer will be suspended but there will still be there noticeably this is not also been extended to. members of the public who are still u.s. civilians who are very maybe living and working in iraq in oil and gas facilities are construction and at the moment they the u.s. state department is saying that the members of staff who are supposed to be leaving the country are ordered to use regular show jeweled commercial airlines there are no special airlines or

well iran's foreign minister is now in iraq for 2 days of talks with his counterpart that baghdad has found itself caught between its neighboring to iran and its ally washington but demonstrators are demanding that it stays out of this dispute while matheson reports. iraqis filled baghdad's tucker square chanting yes yes to iraq demanding that their country should not become a battleground in someone else's war so to get us out of to sort out our messages for peace our message is to say no to the iranian agenda and no to the american agenda as iraqis we should make independent decisions. i don't think. we reject war by any shape or form iraqis including sunni and shia people from all of iraq's ethnic and religious groups came to talk we are square to make our voices heard iraqis don't want their land to be a battleground by the iranians or the americans. iraq and its eastern neighbor iran share trade cultures and religion iran also supplies about 80 percent of the electricity and gas needed in the south of iraq but iraq also relies on u.s. and foreign troops to combat the threat of i

embassy in baghdad. this in response to what the administration calls a threat linked to iran. tonight david martin has new information on this. >> reporter: reacting to intelligence reports, iranian-backed militias in iraq are moving rockets within range of u.s. outposts. the state department ordered nonessential personnel at the u.s. embassy in baghdad to leave. the order also applies to diplomats at the consulate in irbil. this threat is real, a senior state department official told reporters. although just the day before a british general with the u.s.-led military coalition in baghdad said it's no worse than it's ever been. >> there has been no increased threat from iranian-backed forces in iraq and syria. >> reporter: that left democrats on the senate foreign relations committee demanding to see the intelligence, which so far has been closely held. >> i've never seen an administration that is less forthcoming about such critical information than the trump administration. it's pretty outrageous. >>

in just a moment 1st let's talk to rob matheson who is in baghdad so rob what is the latest with this this embassy warning. i'm not hearing our. so we at this point walt talk to the same bus ravi who is an tehran right now and we will try to establish a connection with robin just a moment so say what if with all this rhetoric that's going around what is the latest that we're hearing from iran. well supreme leader of the of the of come in a made a speech from his residence into iran yesterday evening tuesday evening speaking to some of the country's top leaders civilian leaders including president hassan rouhani the speaker of parliament the head of the judiciary was also there as well as several military leaders and he covered a wide range of issues almost everything currently on iran's plate he dived into it relatively deeply but one thing really stuck out that sort of goes along with what we're hearing out of iraq and we were hearing with the latest u.s. moves with regard to its embassy he said that a lot of what the united states is doing the uproar it's creating in the middle east

embassy in baghdad which is in the green zone evacuated non-essential staff earlier this week citing a heightened threat from iran to get more now from charles stratford in baghdad charles what else do we know. certainly in the last few minutes we've heard from the baghdad operation command center they indeed say security forces discovered what they describe as they could to show a rocket launch pad on one of the main highways close to the green zone and as you say no casualties have been reported and nobody has claimed responsibility of course there has been increasing fears of any kind of escalation as this crisis between the u.s. and iran develops as you mentioned all non-essential u.s. embassy staff were ordered to leave or last week we also saw an evacuation of exxon mobil exxon mobil employees foreign employees with exxon mobil who are vacuity from. an oil field in the south of the country and it's incidents like these that only obviously increase the tension in iraq because of course iraq is very much in the middle of this crisis iraq shares incredible political military and r

embassy not far from here in baghdad. but a u.s. government official tells cbs new this category of weapon is routinely supplied by iran to its proxies in iraq. so elaine, this crisis is heating up. >> quijano: all right, roxana, thank you. a terrifying situation played out in broad daylight for a mother and daughter am a suburban texas neighborhood saturday. mola lenghi has the story. >> this surveillance video from a home in the forest hill suburb of fort worth shows the moment eight year old salem sabatka out for a walk with her mother was snatched up by someone in a passing car. her mom tried desperately to hold on jumping into the car after her daughter but pis say she was pushed out as the car drove off with salem, leaving the mother on the ground in a panic and without her daughter. police issued a statewide amber alert, posted pictures on social media of salem and the car the suspect was driving asking for the public's help. >> we had so many people come up asking what they can do. around we lit reallily told them, just take

nonef from its embassy in baghdad.y claim it's highly likely iranian forces were behind attacks on four oil tankers. a charge aran denies and they warn commercial airlines flying over the persian gulf of the potential for miscalculation or misidentification by iranian military forces. i was on the fence about changing from a manual to an electric toothbrush. but my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. what an amazing clean! i'll only use an oral-b! -b. brush like a pro. >>> if you missed it, hea heavyweight wilder funnished in a wilder fashion. he's a monster in the ring but he's like a puppy dog around his kids. >> his right hand is thor's hammer and -- >> reporter: heavyweig

network on the ground in baghdad. roxana saberi reports. >> reporter: in its latest show of force, the u.s. military released these images showing the aircraft carrier "uss abraham lincoln" and an amphibian sub ship showing they're ready. it's another sign that the trump administration is doubling down that iran and militias are planning attacks against american forces in the region. >> are we going to war with iran? i hope not. >> reporter: both president trump and iran's supreme leader say they're not seeking war, but in iraq, some are concerned their country could be drawn into another conflict. this shopkeeper says iraq has had enough problems in the war against isis and other wars before that. that would shatter the relative stability iraq has enjoyed since they rocked defeat over isis a year and a half ago. iraqi militia along with iran help to fight remnants against the militia state. they've warned the groups not to provoke an attack with the u.s. but the trump administration is concerned theyance to iran. add

charles stratford with the latest from baghdad charles thank you. the u.s. navy says it's conducted exercises in the gulf to highlight how effectively it can respond to potential sets this is regional rivals iran and saudi arabia say that they don't want to war the leader of iran's revolutionary guards a said his country is not pursuing a conflict and the saudi foreign ministry says the kingdom doesn't want to escalate tensions but will respond if iran chooses to engage in war on the staunch ally of the u.s. has called for 2 emergency summits involving gulf and arab leaders later this month to discuss the situation in the region. saudi arabia does not want war in the region and is not seeking it and will do its best to evade it but at the same time if the other party chooses war then we will respond with all strength and determination and will defend itself and its interests the kingdom hopes others to be wise and the iranian regime and its agents to stay away from recklessness and stupid acts and spare the region instability in saudi arabia ask the internat

assets in iraq oh iraqis killed tell him square in the heart of baghdad on friday demanding that their government put iraq's safety 1st and that their country should be at the center of talks to find a solution. and iraq at the how it allowed their legitimacy on iraq has become a bridge where meetings have been held at the iranian embassy with european diplomatic missions and it's taken the decision to start talks with moderate countries affected by the situation to lobby the united states and iran to try to extinguish the fires of war a minute iraqis may need more evidence to convince them that they won't be dragged into an unwanted conflict rob matheson al jazeera baghdad. has been a iraqi diplomat he's now director of the center for the study of the middle east at indiana university he says a european nation is much more likely to lead any mediation i have always been skeptical that iraq can ever play that role there are other countries in the region that have also that might have more ability to play that role and i think even they are sitting on the sidelines so i'm not sure that

now and rob matheson the iran simply has too much influence in iraq for baghdad to be on board with any sort of confrontation with iran right rob. yes i mean that's that's pretty much correct and really no surprise that iraq would take this stance iraq's history with its neighbor to the east goes back so many years in terms of trade and culture and particularly religion of course both countries are predominantly shia and recently when the iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif was here the iraqi foreign minister mohammed al hakim said iraq was opposed to the u.s. sanctions on iran and it was also opposed to any unilateral or one sided action by the u.s. but of course iraq is in a very difficult position because being loyal to iran is one thing and iran of course has made significant investment in the country but of course iraq also needs troops from the u.s. and other foreign countries to be able to deal with the ongoing crisis that the country is facing at the moment from the threat from isis so this is really putting iraq in a very difficult position right in the center her

and baghdad thank you very much indeed well let's head around. same bus rafi extends standing by for a sense here on the zain what is iran's position given all this mansingh rhetoric. well the supreme leader ayatollah ali come in and made a speech last evening tuesday evening to a senior members of his government including the president the parliamentary speaker the head of the judiciary and senior military commanders and his message to them was that the uproar that the united states was creating was was was all for show that their actual power to hurt iran is far less than their their shows their public shows of grantor so essentially he's telling the iranian people that america's bark is worse than its bite its actions in the region aren't something that people should be alarmed by at this stage again reemphasizing iran's position that this is all psychological warfare and he did say even then that iran is still not in a position where it wants a conflict with the united states and he reiterated a statement that many iranian leaders have said o

you've got to know if baghdad is falling apart the rest of the country is. we were surprised at how many us troops were surprised at the state of disrepair at the electricity and water system etc. initially what shocked me was that this one marine patrol that i came across didn't know what to do. then i went to an iraqi police station and found all of the iraqi police sitting in their uniforms waiting for the americans to tell them what to do. they were from a society where for decades if you showed initiative you got killed. so you waited for someone to say it was okay to go out and patrol the streets. in the interim while the us commanders figured that out, we filmed the riots and looting. the central bank getting looted. the museum getting booted. we kept saying where are the american troops? it's the kind of report that i wonder if it helped drive policy when it was shown on evening news back in the states. a question i would love to, again, perhaps some of the folks in the pentagon in the audience can answer this question. the rules of engagement sectio

if mohammed jeffords early for came to baghdad to clarify where iraq stands in the ongoing tension between the u.s. and iran iraq's foreign minister seems to have given him an answer. against the unilateral measures taken by the us we are standing by iran in its position and god willing we can play an intermediary role between the parties if necessary. iran's foreign minister has proposed signing a non-aggression pact with gulf neighbors but iran says it will take action if necessary. we will defend ourselves against any efforts for a war with iran whether it is a military or economic one that would victimize the iranian people we will face it with strength and resistance iran and iraq have close ties to trade culture and religion but iraq relies on the u.s. and foreign troops to combat the threat of eisel and it needs foreign investment especially to develop its oil fields iraq has been doing a diplomatic balancing act for years and some say that puts it in a perfect position to be able to mediate between the united states and iran but to do it successfully like most negotiations it has t

the beginning of the holy month of ramadan security forces here in baghdad saying that several people have been killed after a man wearing an explosive belt detonated those explosives when he was surrounded by security forces in a wholesale market in these a million area of saddam city a sort of city is to the northeast of baghdad and it was named after a prominent cleric muhammad sort of sadat after the fall of saddam hussein and it's become a center for the saddest movement which is now developing into a political party led by the prominent shia cleric. the son of muhammad saddam. now we don't know the eisel is claiming responsibility for this attack but it's also interesting to note that at the end of april i will back it all but the leader of eisel is said to have appeared in a video for the first time in five years claiming revenge for the land lost by i saw in both syria and iraq. the un security council has held and formal meeting on the continuing growth of illegal israeli settlements various member states reiterated that building on palestinian land violates un resolutions an

sanctions or the war in the middle east we get baghdad's view of u.s. policy after violation of international law and deployment of military attack aircraft to the persian gulf and with world nuclear powers threatening iran we learned to stop worrying and love the bomb with daughter allegedly dr strangelove director stanley kubrick coming up in today's going on the ground but 1st today one of the most influential companies on earth host its annual general meeting stand by for flashing images. this is the only decision i think. yes twitter which still can give me a blue tick but is arguably so powerful it may be used to announce the end of the world talks about money today that's perhaps will be said about it's all well ian powell or that the company is linked to this last night the state department ordered all non-emergency u.s. employees in iraq to evacuate the country workers at the embassy in baghdad and the american consulate in or b.l. have been ordered to leave immediately seen by many as a prelude to a u.s. military attack on iran the world will

she spoke on a high-profile visit to baghdad. >> reporter: as the u.s. prepares to send more troops to the middle east to counterwhat the pentagon says is a heightened threat by teheran. they described its presence in the region as its weakest in history. on a visit to baghdad, iran's foreign minister sounded more diplomatic but equally defiant. he said we'll face any effort for a war against the people of iran whether military or economic with steadfastness and force. men a iraqis, including these demonstrators in baghdad friday night are calling on the u.s. and iran to keep their country out of the conflict. iraq hosts mer than 5,000 american troops and a wide-range of local militias. some of which the trump administration says have received orders from teheran to plan attacks on americans. we asked a senior leader of an iraqi political block about the allegation. have you had any sign of of that? he told us i don't think any iraqi groups will target americans or american interests in the near future but it the war starts and things go badly this is so

javad zarif spoke on a high profile visit to baghdad.ur roxana saberi is there. >> reporter: as the u.s. prepares to send more troops to the middle east to counter what the pentagon says is a heightened threat posed by tehran, a top commander of iran revolutionary guard taunted the u.s. today describing its presence in the region as its weakest in history. on a visit here to baghdad iran foreign minister mohamad javad zarif sound more diplomatic but equally defiant. he said we'll face he said we'll face any effort for a war against the people of iran whether it is military or economic with steadfastness and force. many iraqis including these he demonstrators in baghdad on friday night are calling on the u.s. and iran to keep their country out of the conflict. iraq hosts more than 5,000 american troops and a wide range of local militias. some of which the trump administration says have received orders from tehran to plan attacks on americans. we asked a senior leader with ties with some of the militias with about the allegations. have you

iraqis filled tucker you square in the heart of baghdad on friday demanding that their government put iraq's safety 1st and that their country should be at the center of talks to find a solution. in iraq at the however though legitimacy on iraq has become a bridge where meetings have been held at the iranian embassy with european diplomatic missions and it's taken the decision to start talks with moderate countries affected by the situation to lobby the united states and iran to try to extinguish the fires of war. iraqis may need more evidence to convince them that they won't be dragged into an unwanted conflict rob matheson al jazeera baghdad. there's a member of the middle east center's research committee at the london school of economics he says he's not convinced by iraq's pledge to stand by iran against the u.s. . the influence of iran the presence on the ground is for iran the power on the ground is for iran and not for the united states this is the mistake of the united states of course of course since 2003 they left the door open for the iranians don't filtrate iraq and to str

mahmoud ikea made that pledge following talks with his iranian counterpart ahmed javits every in baghdad. no one has successfully registered to span the knowledge areas upcoming presidential election in july 77 potential candidates said they intended to run for the top job but almost all of them failed to get the required number of signatures and it's the final day of voting in europe's economy entry elections which are being closely watched as a barometer of the strength of the far right across the continent borders are casting ballots in $21.00 member states including germany france and italy. to zimbabwe now where the main opposition party the movement for democratic change is expected to choose its next president in a few hours the m.d.c. as interim leader nelson chamisa is widely expected to win this is a party's 1st congress since the death of its founder morgan china in last year the m.d.c. has been plagued by infighting stains childcare i stick to speak to how remote joins us live from where we're in central is in by way so the m.d.c. is 1st congress since trying to rise death ro

saw him baghdad he was triumphant he was crawling over the territory in iraq and syria that i still had captured his forces have since been routed thousands of his fighters are either locked up on the run or dead so the messaging has changed through a choreographed piece of video theater designed for two audiences for the outside world a reference to the easter sunday attacks in sri lanka the message i still can still strike anywhere any time for i saw internal audience a signal to supporters and enemies alike that baghdad is alive and in control i saw media output has been central to the movement those videos of beheadings and mass executions that the group put out back when it was at the height of its power was shocking and attracted mass coverage however times have changed for i saw and it's media output it's media messaging has changed to our starting point this week is the video and the reemergence of abu bakar al baghdadi. then. and now. and then. in two thousand and fourteen bucker al baghdadi was in mosul in northern iraq out in the open as the self-proclaimed caliph of the isla

if mama jeffords early for came to baghdad to clarify where iraq stands in the ongoing tension between the us and iran iraq's foreign minister seems to have given him an answer and. against the unilateral measures taken by the us we are standing by iran in its position and god willing we can play an intermediary role between the parties if necessary. iran's foreign minister has proposed signing a non-aggression pact with gulf neighbors but iran says it will take action if necessary. comes i'm on we will defend ourselves against any efforts for a war with iran whether it is a military or economic one that would victimize the iranian people we will face it with strength and resistance iran and iraq have close ties to trade culture and religion but iraq relies on u.s. and foreign troops to combat the threat of eisel and it needs foreign investment especially to develop its oil fields iraq has been doing a diplomatic balancing act for years and some say that puts it in a perfect position to be able to mediate between the united states and iran but to do it successfully like most negotiatio

there are fears in baghdad the growing tensions between the u.s. and iran could dangerous implications for iraq's stability as the fight against eisel continues on the ground is feared the group is just waiting for any weakness in international coalition efforts charles stratford explains from baghdad. iraqi security forces and armed groups backed by iran known as the popular mobilization forces or p.m.s. hunt eisel sleeper cells in northern iraq. the u.s. calls the p.m.s. iran's proxy militia they were set up after a decree by iraq's top shia cleric calling on iraqis to fight i saw when the iraqi military present isolette fancy of on the city of mosul in 2014 tens of thousands of p.m.s. fighters were formally integrated into iraq security forces 2 years later. military analysts say they were vital in the battle against eisel a fight the iraqi prime minister said was won in 2017 but some p.m.s. factions have warned they would support iran if there was a military escalation between the us and iran potentially jeopardizing the fight against eisel. an

the sort of thing shouldn't be happening meanwhile iran's foreign minister is now in baghdad for 2 days of talks with his iraqi counterpart iraqis fear that country could be caught in the middle of a possible conflict between tehran and washington as tensions continue to escalate meanwhile at least 14 fighters loyal to wall 25 to have died in fighting south of the libyan capital tripoli forces belonging to the u.n. recognize government say they've pushed back against tough those fighters near the old international airports. sudan's military chief has arrived in neighboring egypt on his 1st trip abroad since the army overthrew the former president tomorrow to share abdel fatah a bar han held talks with the egyptian president until fatah sisi the meeting has been closely watched by protest groups who reject any interference by egypt. a un maritime tribunals has ruled russia must release ukrainian sailors and ships it sees last year during a standoff in waters off the crimean peninsula the hamburg base tribunals called on russia to facilitate their release immediately but russia did not at