Report about 'Desert Phantoms' Military Force Stirs Debate in Iraq

Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the parliament in Baghdad. (AFP)
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the parliament in Baghdad. (AFP)
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Report about 'Desert Phantoms' Military Force Stirs Debate in Iraq

Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the parliament in Baghdad. (AFP)
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the parliament in Baghdad. (AFP)

A vague report about the formation of a new military force in Iraq that is loyal to parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi has sparked fierce debate among Sunnis in the country.

The report, which was widely circulated on social media, said the "Desert Phantoms" was formed of Iraqis from the western provinces. They have been trained by American forces and were carefully selected based on their political loyalty to Halbousi's Taqaddum coalition.

The report claimed the force has been tasked with protecting the headquarters of Sunni parties and blocs in Baghdad from attacks that they have recently come under. The force is seeking to deploy in Baghdad to protect party and political headquarters.

Halbousi slammed the report, tweeting that people will "no longer fall for the policy of intimidation, led by a handful of mercenaries, that is aimed at stirring unrest and spreading rumors."

A source close to the speaker suspected that armed factions were behind the report.

The report is part of systematic attempts to spread panic in the country, he told local media on Sunday.

"The Desert Phantoms are a fabrication aimed at deceiving naive people and leading them to believe that a sectarian group of thugs is deployed in the desert. This is ridiculous," he added.

He did, however, express his concern over the hidden intentions behind the spread of such rumors. He suspected that armed groups "active outside the authority of the state" would exploit the situation to "spark terror among the people of Iraq to cover for their suspicious plots."

Head of the Sahwat al-Iraq, Ahmad Abu Risha said the report is aimed at excluding the Taqaddum coalition from the new government.

"The Desert Phantoms is the latest lie to target the destroyed provinces," he tweeted, in reference to the provinces of al-Anbar, Salaheddine and Nineveh that were occupied by the ISIS terrorist group.

"The lie has been used for petty political goals and interests with the aim of intimidating entire blocs from taking part in the new national majority government," he added.

"Those with ill intentions must know that we do not believe in the state of militias and gangs, but we believe in a state that is ruled by justice and is protected by its brave army," he stressed.

The recently formed alliance between Moqtada al-Sadr, Halbousi and Masoud Barzani to form the national majority government did not sit well with the Coordination Framework, which is mainly comprised of pro-Iran factions.

The Framework is seeking to obstruct government formation efforts in an attempt to revert to the old way of forming cabinets through various alliances.

The pro-Iran factions had emerged as the major losers in the October parliamentary elections, which they have dismissed as a sham.



UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.