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Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces Kill 4 Terrorists in Kirkuk

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the Counter-Terrorism Service Memorial Wall in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Ministry)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the Counter-Terrorism Service Memorial Wall in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Ministry)
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Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces Kill 4 Terrorists in Kirkuk

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the Counter-Terrorism Service Memorial Wall in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Ministry)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the Counter-Terrorism Service Memorial Wall in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Ministry)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi inaugurated on Tuesday a memorial wall in Baghdad commemorating the sacrifices of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), the security forces’ central unit in the battles against terrorist groups led by ISIS.

Kadhimi said during the inauguration that the monument commemorates the sacrifices of the heroic CTS martyrs.

“A few hours ago, your heroic colleagues in the Counter-Terrorism Service managed to kill an entire terrorist detachment in Kirkuk that tried to attack your units,” he said.

Kadhimi was referring to a security operation described as “major” against ISIS elements in Kirkuk.

Earlier, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Yahya Rasoul, announced that the CTS managed to kill an entire ISIS unit that tried to attack security forces patrols in Kirkuk.

Rasoul said the operation was carried out according to the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The security forces carried out the operation two days after a deadly ISIS attack on a federal police outpost south of Kirkuk that killed 13 security members and injured six others.

The spokesman added that snipers of the security unit monitored the terrorists and killed a number of them, as international coalition warplanes chased the rest and managed to destroy their hideout.

Meanwhile, an official in the international coalition to help Iraq in its war against ISIS ruled out the group’s resurgence in Iraq, amid local fears it was escalating its operations against security forces and rebuilding its military capabilities.

The official military spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Colonel Wayne Marotto, stated that ISIS terrorist gangs continue to take advantage of the security vacuum, as they are acting as a low-level insurgency compared to al-Qaeda in 2010, noting that ISIS carries out its attacks when it has the chance.

Marotto told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that Iraqi security forces and the international coalition are proactively intercepting and destroying ISIS hideouts, positions and temporary camps, drying up their financial resources and eliminating their key leaders.

“Iraqi security forces are at the forefront of the fight against ISIS.”

He confirmed that the coalition will continue to support the security forces. If the Iraqi prime minister requests the help of the coalition air force, it will support it, adding that it “has not seen any indication of the resurgence of ISIS.”

He vowed: “As long as these gangs continue to pose a clear and present threat to the security of Iraq and northeastern Syria, the coalition will continue to strike.”

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Arab World

Yemeni Forces Consolidate West Coast Gains, Reinforce Bab al-Mandab Positions

Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
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Yemeni Forces Consolidate West Coast Gains, Reinforce Bab al-Mandab Positions

Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS

Yemeni armed forces consolidated gains along the western coast and reinforced positions overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait as they pushed ahead in al-Wazi'iyah district in western Taiz province under Operation “Dawn of Yemen.” Fighting with the Houthis continued in the southern Taiz countryside and on fronts around the city.

The armed forces said they had neutralized more than 1,800 Houthi fighters in recent hours. Army figures put Houthi losses at nearly 10,000 killed or wounded over two weeks of air and ground strikes across multiple fronts.

Nation Shield forces, the Giants Brigades and the Joint Forces took full control of the Kahboub front, according to Yemeni military media. The advance strengthens government forces’ hold on heights overlooking Bab al-Mandab and boosts their ability to secure the strategic corridor as operations continue along the western coast.

Taiz province’s emergency committee suspended classes at public, community and private schools, institutes, colleges and universities in districts that have come under Houthi control. It also placed government employees there on temporary leave, citing exceptional security conditions.

The United Nations warned of a worsening humanitarian situation in Taiz as Houthi attacks spread, displacement rises and aid access faces growing restrictions. Major roads remain closed, adding to pressure on services and limited resources.

The eastern road into Taiz city remains closed, the United Nations said in a recent report. Road closures between Aden and Taiz have disrupted a major supply route from warehouses in Aden, hampering aid agencies’ ability to reach those affected and meet growing needs.

Arab World

Iraq Rejects Syrian Request to Repatriate 4,000 Suspected ISIS Detainees

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq Rejects Syrian Request to Repatriate 4,000 Suspected ISIS Detainees

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq has rejected Syria's request to repatriate thousands of suspected ISIS members transferred from Syrian detention centers to Iraqi custody earlier this year, a senior Iraqi security official said on Wednesday.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi said that a meeting had been held recently between Syria, Iraq and the United States to discuss the fate of the prisoners.

Al-Aboudi said Syria had requested that the 4,000 Syrian prisoners be handed over to be tried in Syria, but Iraq refused. Iraq has repatriated about 50 Syrian detainees who were determined not to be ISIS members, he told The Associated Press, while the Syrian prisoners remaining in Iraq include about 400 who are believed to be high-level members of the extremist group.

“Iraq is conducting investigations, and anyone proved to have committed crimes in Iraq will be tried under Iraqi law,” he said.

Some prisoners could later be transferred to their home countries to complete their sentences, he said.

Syria did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 5,700 prisoners with alleged ISIS ties — including some 4,000 Syrians — were transferred from northeast Syria to Iraq after fighting broke out in January between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had long guarded the detention centers where they were held.

Some ISIS-linked prisoners managed to flee during the chaos of the clashes, and there were fears that a larger-scale escape would take place. While the extremist group lost control of the territory it once seized in Iraq and Syria years ago, its cells still periodically carry out attacks in both countries.

The discussions about the prisoners' fate come as the United States has ended a 12-year mission to fight ISIS in Iraq, with the last US troops withdrawing from the country last month.

Al-Aboudi said Iraq has asked for financial support from the US and other countries taking part in the global coalition against ISIS to help with the costs of housing the prisoners.

“Iraq asked for an allocation of $500 million. The coalition promised support, but Iraq is still waiting,” he said.

A US defense official and the office of Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria and Iraq, referred questions about the prisoners to Iraqi and Syrian authorities.

Many of the prisoners transferred to Iraq had been held in Syria for years without charges. Rights groups have raised concerns about detention conditions in both countries.

Arab World

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security
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Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

President of the Arab Parliament Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Yamahi stressed that repeated terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia against Saudi Arabia and its civilian and oil facilities pose a direct threat to regional security.

During his speech at the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, Al-Yamahi addressed Iranian attacks that targeted several Arab countries and threatened civilians, infrastructure, and vital facilities, SPA reported.

He also discussed regional escalation and related threats to the security of Arab countries. He called on the international community to move beyond condemnation and take measures to protect states and their sovereignty and compel the parties to respect international law.