US president Joe Biden authorized the airstrikes as a response to the recent attacks on US military bases in Iraq. The move is being criticized by anti-war and progressive sections as a sign of continuation of Trump-era policies in the region  

Protesters, activists and human rights groups have urged successive Iraqi governments to investigate the targeted killings of protesters, opposition activists and critics since the anti-government protests began in the country in October 2019

Protests in capital Baghdad saw thousands mobilize outside the prime minister’s office even as the Iraqi parliament continues to debate the 2021 budget for over a month. Protesters in the oil-rich southern region also forcefully shut down an oil field

Deputy head of the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was killed in a drone strike by the US inside Iraq last year, along with top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iran has also issued a similar warrant against Trump and 47 other Americans 

Thousands of protesters gathered at Tahrir square in Baghdad after marching to the highway leading to the airport where Soleimani and Muhandis were killed last year. They demanded the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

After increasing its military presence in the region in the last few weeks the US flew two of its B-52 bombers above the Persian Gulf on Tuesday

The four guards belonging to private militia company Blackwater, which was hired by the US army during its invasion of Iraq, were originally convicted in 2014 for the murder of 14 innocent Iraqi civilians in 2007

The government has tried to justify the currency devaluation as a necessary measure to prevent the country’s foreign reserves from running out. Other austerity measures have also been planned for the near future

The protesters, mostly government employees and unemployed youth, are demanding timely disbursal of their delayed salaries and employment

Protesters in the city of Nasiriyah were reportedly attacked by followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leading to multiple deaths and injuries

By January, the number of troops in both these countries will be down to around 2,500. Peace activists have welcomed the decision even as sections of the establishment have resisted it

Protesters, who marched in several cities renewing their demands for an overhaul of Iraq’s political system and an end to corruption, were met with police repression