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Iraqi President Meets Kurdish Leaderships to Prepare for Negotiations

Iraqi President Fuad Masoum. (Reuters)
Iraqi President Fuad Masoum. (Reuters)
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Iraqi President Meets Kurdish Leaderships to Prepare for Negotiations

Iraqi President Fuad Masoum. (Reuters)
Iraqi President Fuad Masoum. (Reuters)

Iraqi President Fuad Masoum held talks in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Sunday with a number of party leaders to pave the way for negotiations between Irbil and Baghdad.

A source from Masoum’s office told Asharq Al-Awsat that he will continue his consultations with all political powers in Kurdistan in order to prepare the conditions to launch the Baghdad-Irbil negotiations that will tackle the pending issues between the two sides.

The president’s talks are aimed at unifying stances on the formation of the Kurdish delegation that will head to Baghdad for the negotiations, it explained.

Masoum is expected to visit Irbil within two days in order to continue his consultations.

His talks in al-Sulaimaniya coincided with protests by hundreds of displaced Tuz Khurmatu residents against poor living conditions.

They called for meting the president in order to relay their demands to him and urge him to exert efforts with the federal Iraqi and Kurdish governments to ensure their return to their homes.

They raised posters condemning either governments’ silence over their living conditions and pleaded to the United Nations and foreign embassies in Iraq.

“We declare that the government and international community’s silence over the injustice against us is a blatant violation of all humanitarian laws. The regional government’s silence is no less unjust than than the violations committed against us by political forces,” the demonstrators said.

They stressed that after the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces seized their city, Turkmen mobilization forces set fire in dozens of their houses. They accused them of committing all forms of oppression and violence against the remaining Kurdish residents at a time when these same Kurds fought with Turkmen and Arabs against ISIS terrorists.

“It is odd that Tuz Khurmatu residents are being displaced by the same people that they defended,” said the protesters.

“We are here to deliver a message of peace to all sides and demand that the government facilitate our honorable return to our homes,” they urged.

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Arab World

Drone Attack Against Iraqi Intelligence Services in Baghdad

Security personnel stand guard during a funeral procession for members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an attack in al-Qaim province near the Syria border the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
Security personnel stand guard during a funeral procession for members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an attack in al-Qaim province near the Syria border the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
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Drone Attack Against Iraqi Intelligence Services in Baghdad

Security personnel stand guard during a funeral procession for members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an attack in al-Qaim province near the Syria border the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
Security personnel stand guard during a funeral procession for members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an attack in al-Qaim province near the Syria border the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 17, 2026. (AFP)

A drone attack targeted Iraqi intelligence services in an upscale residential neighborhood in central Baghdad on Saturday morning, a senior security official said.

"A drone targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district" at around 10:00 am local time (0700 GMT), General Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi government's security media unit, said in a brief statement.

An Iraqi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier the attack targeted a "telecommunications building" with the National Intelligence Service, which cooperates with US advisors in Iraq as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.

Another drone, filming the operation, crashed into a private members sports club popular with Iraqi elite and foreign diplomats, according to the same source.

Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israel attack on its neighbor Iran on February 28.

Strikes have targeted Iran-backed groups, which in turn have claimed near-daily attacks on US interests, mostly in Iraq but also across the wider region.

A fighter from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed late Friday in a strike on a military airfield in northern Iraq. The group blamed the attack on the US and Israel.

On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the latest conflict.

Overnight from Friday to Saturday, at least three drone attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials.

One of the officials said that a fire broke out near the base following the third attack.

Arab World

Burhan Rejects Ceasefire Before RSF Surrender as Drone Strike Hits Power Station in Northern Sudan

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a group iftar with members of the community police in the final days of Ramadan. (Sudanese Armed Forces – Facebook).
Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a group iftar with members of the community police in the final days of Ramadan. (Sudanese Armed Forces – Facebook).
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Burhan Rejects Ceasefire Before RSF Surrender as Drone Strike Hits Power Station in Northern Sudan

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a group iftar with members of the community police in the final days of Ramadan. (Sudanese Armed Forces – Facebook).
Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a group iftar with members of the community police in the final days of Ramadan. (Sudanese Armed Forces – Facebook).

A drone attack blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck the town of Al-Dabba in northern Sudan, targeting a power station and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Dongola, officials said Friday. The strike cut electricity to the town and left at least three people injured.

The attack came hours after Sudan’s army chief and head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reiterated his rejection of any ceasefire and vowed to continue fighting until the RSF surrenders.

In an Eid al-Fitr address on Thursday evening, al-Burhan said there would be “no truce” unless the RSF withdrew and regrouped under a comprehensive peace plan leading to a permanent settlement, with no armed actors remaining outside state control.

He added that Sudan’s leadership remained open to peace initiatives that meet security requirements and prevent a return to war.

Al-Burhan accused the RSF of committing war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and said any future political process must dismantle the group’s role in Sudan.

He also pledged to “purge” the country of what he described as the “Dagalo militia,” referring to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, and to rebuild state institutions while advancing civilian governance and peaceful transfer of power.

Al-Burhan last year proposed a UN-backed initiative requiring RSF forces to withdraw to agreed locations in Darfur before negotiations begin. The proposal ran parallel to a plan by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt calling for a three-month humanitarian truce and a transition to a civilian-led government.

Shortly after his speech, RSF drones struck Al-Dabba, a strategic town in Northern State along the Nile. Local official Mohamed Saber, head of the area’s security committee, said the attack took place early Friday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, and targeted civilian infrastructure, including the engineering faculty.

He said three people were wounded but did not disclose their condition, accusing the RSF of deliberately targeting civilian sites “to spread fear among unarmed residents.”

According to the official, Sudanese army air defenses intercepted some of the drones, and military and allied forces remain on alert to repel further attacks.

The RSF did not immediately comment on the strike. It has previously said its drones target military positions or civilian sites used by the army and its allies.

Friday’s attack was not the first on Al-Dabba. In October 2025, RSF drones struck the town, killing five people and injuring others.

Al-Dabba, home to tens of thousands, is a key commercial and agricultural hub linking northern, western and eastern Sudan.

Arab World

Report: UN Chief Says He Is Cooperating with Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres looks on after a family picture during the EU Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres looks on after a family picture during the EU Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Report: UN Chief Says He Is Cooperating with Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres looks on after a family picture during the EU Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres looks on after a family picture during the EU Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the aim of Donald Trump's Board of Peace to fund and deliver the basics of a Gaza reconstruction plan to rebuild Palestinian homes and infrastructure, Politico reported on Saturday.

“There is an objective there that ‌was defined, ‌approved by the Security Council, ‌and ⁠we are cooperating ⁠actively with structures created by the Board of Peace,” Guterres told the news outlet in an interview.

Guterres saw no need for the board beyond Gaza's reconstruction. “This ⁠is not the effective way ‌to address ‌the dramatic problems that we have now,” he said.

“We need to be ‌clear about international law, to be clear about the values of the Charter of the United Nations. That is ‌essential in any peace initiative.”

He also called for an end to ⁠Iran's ⁠closure of the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting the UN could help protect the waterway and be part of a plan to de-escalate attacks.

Guterres said he had not spoken with Trump since the start of the war, although he has spoken to others in the administration.