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Iraqi PM Announces Implementation of Projects to Reduce Traffic Congestion in Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
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Iraqi PM Announces Implementation of Projects to Reduce Traffic Congestion in Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani announced on Wednesday kickstarting the implementation of three initial projects to alleviate chronic traffic congestion in Baghdad.

Speaking to a group of young engineers, Al-Sudani said: “This government is a service-oriented government and has prioritized services across all sectors, including a package of 19 projects in Baghdad.”

“The launch of the three projects is an opportunity to meet with graduate engineers who have not had the chance to secure employment, with the aim of assisting them in finding alternatives based on private sector opportunities,” explained the premier.

Besides Al-Sudani expressing his support for young Iraqi innovators, he affirmed that the country is on the verge of a reconstruction revolution and project announcements.

During a meeting with government officials late last March, Al-Sudani shed light on the daily suffering of citizens due to traffic congestion at Baghdad’s entrances and the failure of the relevant authorities to appreciate the problem’s true magnitude.

He held responsible authorities accountable for delay in implementing traffic-relief projects.

Al-Sudani emphasized that “the situation at Baghdad’s entrances can no longer be tolerated.”

He reiterated the need for “relevant authorities to prioritize project plans, as there are projects that cannot stand delay or procrastination.”

Baghdad, with a population of almost 9 million, is grappling with severe traffic congestion caused by unregulated car imports and a constant influx of people seeking better job prospects.

The road network in the capital has not been updated, starting from its entrances, and financial and administrative corruption has hampered the allocation of the over trillion dollars of oil sales revenue that could have modernized the city's infrastructure, including tunnel and metro systems.

For his part, the Minister of Construction and Housing Bangen Rekani confirmed that the three projects to alleviate the traffic congestion represent a qualitative leap for the residents of Baghdad.

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Israeli Strike Kills a Senior Hezbollah Commander in South Lebanon

Rockets launched from Lebanon to Israel over the border are intercepted, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Rockets launched from Lebanon to Israel over the border are intercepted, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strike Kills a Senior Hezbollah Commander in South Lebanon

Rockets launched from Lebanon to Israel over the border are intercepted, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Rockets launched from Lebanon to Israel over the border are intercepted, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2024. (Reuters)

An Israeli strike killed one of Hezbollah's top commanders in south Lebanon on Wednesday, prompting retaliatory rocket fire by the Iran-backed group into Israel as their dangerously poised conflict rumbled on.

The Israeli military said it had struck and eliminated Hezbollah's Mohammed Nasser, calling him commander of a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel.

Nasser, killed by an airstrike near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, was the one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders to die yet in the conflict, two security sources in Lebanon said.

Sparked by the Gaza war, the hostilities have raised concerns about a wider and ruinous conflict between the heavily armed adversaries, prompting US diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces were hitting Hezbollah "very hard every day" and will be ready to take any action necessary against the group, though the preference is to reach a negotiated arrangement.

Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets at the border after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, declaring support for the Palestinians and saying it would cease fire when Israel stops its Gaza offensive.

Hezbollah announced at least two attacks in response to what it called "the assassination", saying it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster reported that dozens of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli Defense Ministry said that air raid sirens sounded in several parts of northern Israel.

Israel's military did not give a number of rockets launched but said most of them fell in open areas, some were intercepted, while a number of launches fell in the area of Kiryat Shmona.

It added that no injuries were reported but firefighters were working to extinguish a number of fires that were ignited by the rocket attack.

Following the rocket salvos, it said, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah launcher that was used to fire the barrages toward Israel as well as two additional launchers.

The sources in Lebanon said Nasser was responsible for a section of Hezbollah's operations at the frontier. One of the sources said a second Hezbollah fighter and a civilian were also killed.

Nasser was of the same rank and importance as Taleb Abdallah, a top commander who was killed by an Israeli strike in June, prompting Hezbollah to fire its largest barrages of drones and rockets yet in retaliation, the sources said.

The Israeli military statement said Nasser and Abdallah "served as two of the most significant Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon".

Senior Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Nasser had known he was a target but had not left the battlefield in nine months. Hezbollah would inflict its "punitive response" on Israel for "its crime, so that this enemy understands that the arm of the resistance is long", he said.

The hostilities have inflicted a heavy toll on both sides of the frontier, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters and 87 civilians, according to Reuters tallies. Israel says fire from Lebanon has killed 18 soldiers and 10 civilians.