Iraq's Kurdish Authorities Say 'Attack' Shuts US-run Oil Field
A flame rises from a chimney at Taq Taq oil field in Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, August 16, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari/File Photo
Iraqi Kurdish authorities said on Friday that oil production at an oil field operated by US firm HKN Energy has been halted following an attack.
A security source told AFP the attack was carried out with two drones the previous day.
The natural resources ministry in the northern Kurdistan region said in a statement "yesterday, an outlaw group in Iraq launched a terrorist attack on the HKN oil field in the Sarsang area" in Dohuk province, damaging the field and "halting production".
The autonomous Kurdistan region has been pulled into the war engulfing the Middle East, suffering mostly from drone attacks on US bases and interests there.
Several Iran-backed armed groups -- known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq -- claim daily drone attacks on US bases.
Drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts US-led coalition troops and a major US consulate complex.
On Tuesday, a source at an oil company in Kurdistan told AFP that most foreign oil companies had temporarily halted production as a precautionary measure.
Senior ISIS Security Leader in Syria Lived ‘Semi-Permanently’ in Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5296204-senior-isis-security-leader-syria-lived-%E2%80%98semi-permanently%E2%80%99-lebanon
Senior ISIS Security Leader in Syria Lived ‘Semi-Permanently’ in Lebanon
Members of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces during a security operation earlier this year. (ISF file photo)
A senior ISIS security official arrested in Lebanon had been living in the country on a “semi-permanent” basis, Lebanese judicial sources said. Investigators suspect he served as the group’s general security emir for its self-proclaimed Southern and Central provinces in Syria.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) said its units continue to carry out preemptive operations to track down extremist cells and dismantle their networks before they can launch attacks.
It announced that it arrested a Syrian national identified by the initials H.R., born in 1994, on June 30.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect was not a rank-and-file militant but had risen through ISIS’s leadership before assuming responsibility for overseeing the group’s security and operational activities in southern and central Syria.
His duties included supervising security operations, managing militant movements, implementing orders from senior leaders, and coordinating with commanders in other Syrian provinces.
While the ISF declined to disclose where the suspect was arrested or details of his movements inside Lebanon, a Lebanese judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was detained in Beirut last week after an intensive intelligence operation tracked his presence in the country.
The source said preliminary questioning showed the suspect had been residing in Lebanon on a near-permanent basis.
He admitted planning attacks inside Syria, including preparations to target a Syrian army barracks in Daraa province and other sites elsewhere in the country.
Lebanese judicial and security authorities are analyzing evidence seized from the suspect, particularly his mobile phone and laptop, to examine his communications, identify the extent of his network, and determine whether he received support or instructions from other parties.
Two of the suspect’s relatives were detained for questioning but later released after investigators found no evidence linking them to the case or the plots.
The source said Lebanese authorities attach particular importance to the investigation because of the suspect’s senior position within ISIS, which could provide valuable intelligence on the group’s networks and operations inside Syria.
Lebanon also plans to coordinate with the relevant Syrian authorities to exchange information on his contacts and determine whether individuals or groups inside Syria were involved in planning any attacks.
The source said the suspect denied any role in the recent Damascus bombings claimed by ISIS but stressed that the investigation remains ongoing pending an examination of his electronic devices.
Trump Says Iraq Will Be Rid of Iran ‘Burden’ Soonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5296184-trump-says-iraq-will-be-rid-iran-%E2%80%98burden%E2%80%99-soon
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as they participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as they participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Tuesday his government will not allow any party to carry weapons outside the authority of the state after the US-led anti-ISIS coalition ends its mission in the country on September 30.
He made his remarks while meeting President Donald Trump at the White House at the beginning of an official visit to the US. The visit will focus on security files, as well as investment, energy and bilateral relations at a time when Baghdad is seeking to bolster its partnership with Washington and maintain balanced relations in the region.
The American administration has been pressuring Iraq to impose state monopoly over arms, meaning cracking down on Iran-aligned armed factions and their influence.
Al-Zaidi said that Iraqi authorities have already received weapons from some armed factions.
“After September 30, we won’t allow any party outside of the state to carry weapons,” he stressed.
Trump, meanwhile, praised the new PM, saying the US is “going to have a long-term relationship with Iraq. We're going to have a long-term relationship with a man that will be a great leader.”
He announced that Washington will reveal next week a major oil partnership with Baghdad. Iraq has “tremendous oil reserves, they have tremendous potential wealth,” he added.
Trump also said the US was ready to support Iraq if it needed protection, but he added that he thinks it may not be necessary.
The US president hailed al-Zaidi, saying he will remain in his position for a long time and that “in a short period of time he's changed that country so much, especially toward their thinking about the United States.”
“It's a great honor to have the Prime Minister of Iraq with us. He's been a great fighter, and he's been a great fan of America,” he went on to say.
US President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters)
“We're there to help them [Iraq]. We're there to protect them, if need be, but we don't think that's going to be necessary. And their -- their primary, I consider it an opponent. They might have considered a friend, but I consider that an opponent, was Iran, was a big burden on Iraq because they were the bully of the Middle East,” Trump remarked.
“This man is going to be a great leader in the Middle East, beyond Iraq. His influence is going to spread all throughout the Middle East, and we're very happy about it and we are very happy to have you with us.”
Underscoring the complicated competing interests that al-Zaidi is confronting in Iraq, the PM sidestepped a question about Trump's remarks on the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“At that time, I wasn’t involved in politics," al-Zaidi said. "Let’s talk about the future.”
He stressed that the economic situation in Iraq demanded that his government work on forging a strong partnership with the US, saying Baghdad wants to elevate the ties from crisis management to building economic and investment opportunities.
Before departing Iraq, he said he was keen on effectively deepening the partnership, revealing that he will offer Trump means to achieve that.
“I will deliver a message that Iraq, as a sovereign nation, stands at an equal distance from regional conflicts and chooses to embark on the path of development, extending its hands to friends in the process,” he added.
Iraqi state television said al-Zaidi will also meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior Pentagon officials, as well as members of Congress and head of the World Bank.
He will travel to Houston for meetings with officials from Halliburton, Chevron and ExxonMobil, and head of the US Chamber of Commerce.
French PM Visits Morocco to Promote Paris-Rabat Rapprochementhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5296179-french-pm-visits-morocco-promote-paris-rabat-rapprochement
French PM Visits Morocco to Promote Paris-Rabat Rapprochement
Morocco's King Mohammed VI welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron upon his arrival in the capital Rabat on October 28, 2024 (AFP)
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is set to begin a two-day visit to Morocco on Wednesday, in a move aimed at deepening bilateral ties and paving the way for a possible visit by King Mohammed VI to France.
According to AFP, Lecornu will be accompanied by a delegation of 12 ministers, including Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
During the visit, he is scheduled to meet Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch as part of a High-Level Meeting between the two governments, the first such gathering since 2019.
Relations between the two countries improved significantly after French President Emmanuel Macron recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in the summer of 2024.
In October 2024, Macron made a three-day state visit to Rabat, where he received a warm official welcome.
The visit marked the end of three years of strained relations, fueled in particular by allegations of espionage and a visa dispute, and concluded with the signing of numerous bilateral agreements.
Wednesday’s trip marks Lecornu's first foreign visit since taking office in the autumn of 2025.
Following an official military welcome on Wednesday evening, the French and Moroccan prime ministers will lay wreaths at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V on Thursday morning before holding bilateral talks.
A broader meeting between the two government delegations will then take place at Morocco's Foreign Ministry, where several bilateral agreements are expected to be signed.
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