Iraq: Katyusha Targets House of Anti-Corruption Official


Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
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Iraq: Katyusha Targets House of Anti-Corruption Official


Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)

The Iraqi Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency announced that a Katyusha rocket targeted the home of the Interior Ministry’s Undersecretary for Intelligence.

The agency issued a statement announcing that the house of Lt-Gen Ahmed Abu Ragheef was targeted by a Katyusha rocket in Baghdad’s Karrada area on Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi had assigned Abu Ragheef to chair the national supreme anti-corruption committee.

The Interior Ministry said that it was a failed attempt, and the attack had only damaged the fence of the house, adding that the site of the launchpad has been determined and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

The committee has sparked widespread controversy being the only body to arrest dozens of persons involved in corruption charges, including senior officials.

Political observers believe that Abu Ragheef became a target of the corrupt mafias targeting him and undermining his committee before the public.

A large explosion shook large parts of Baghdad on Wednesday after a locally-made Katyusha rocket fell on Abu Nawas Street on the Tigris River, opposite the Green Zone.

Security sources indicated that the missile was set to target the Green Zone but missed it and landed on an apartment building without causing any significant casualties.

On Wednesday, the Security Media Cell statement stated that the rocket was launched from east of Baghdad, near the al-Amana neighborhood.

The security forces arrested a suspect near Muzaffar Square, east of the capital.

The Green Zone, which hosts government and parliament buildings, many diplomatic missions, most notably the US embassy, and the houses of several senior Iraqi officials, has often been targeted by dozens of missiles landing in empty lots or on civilian homes.



Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh made a call to global investors on Wednesday to come do business with Syria after US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington's sanctions on the country.

"Syria today is a land of opportunities, with immense potential across every sector—from agriculture to oil, tourism, infrastructure, and transportation,” Barnieh said in an interview with Reuters at the Finance Ministry in Damascus.

"We envision a central role for the private sector in the new Syrian economy. The finance ministry's role is not to spend indiscriminately or act as a regulatory enforcer over businesses, but rather to enable and support growth."

A wall outside his office still bore the discolored outline of one of the many posters of former strongman Bashar al-Assad that used to hang in Syria's public buildings before his ousting by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last year.

Changes in Syria have been swift since Assad fled to Russia in December of last year.

HTS commander Ahmed Sharaa was appointed president, formed a government and had quick success garnering Gulf Arab support and getting most European sanctions lifted.

The stunning turn of events was capped by a meeting between Sharaa and Trump in Riyadh on Wednesday after Trump's pledge to cease US sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad-family rule, measures widely seen as the biggest external obstacles to the country's economic recovery.

Trump has not set out a timeline for removal.

"One of the most critical outcomes of lifting sanctions would be Syria's reintegration into the global financial system," Barnieh said.

"This would allow us to restore financial flows and attract investments, which are urgently needed across all sectors,” he said, adding that Syrian authorities have already seen strong interest from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and several EU countries, among others.

He noted that the government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of public financial management, including reforms to the tax system, customs, and banking -- part of a broader effort to modernize an economy long burdened by an oversized public sector.

He also struck a cautioning tone, saying that the removal of sanctions would be just the first step in a years-long recovery for a country ruined by 14 years of war.

"The lifting of sanctions is not the final chapter," he said.

"We cannot afford to become complacent. We are entering a new phase that demands real results and visible progress on the ground."