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Baath Party Legacy Looms over Iraqi Parliament Speaker Election

The Iraqi Parliament has been operating without a speaker since last October following the dismissal of Mohammed Al-Halbousi (Parliament's media)
The Iraqi Parliament has been operating without a speaker since last October following the dismissal of Mohammed Al-Halbousi (Parliament's media)
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Baath Party Legacy Looms over Iraqi Parliament Speaker Election

The Iraqi Parliament has been operating without a speaker since last October following the dismissal of Mohammed Al-Halbousi (Parliament's media)
The Iraqi Parliament has been operating without a speaker since last October following the dismissal of Mohammed Al-Halbousi (Parliament's media)

Late on Friday night, shortly before the session to elect a new parliament speaker in Iraq, political discourse shifted towards candidates' associations with the former leader, Saddam Hussein.

Iraqis on social media shared an old video featuring Mahmoud Mashhadani, a contender from the Azem Alliance. In the video, Mashhadani praises Saddam, saying, “There is no leader for Iraq’s Sunnis after Saddam Hussein.”

Bloggers also circulated a video of Shalan Al-Karim, a candidate from the Takadum Party, from 2013 during the Anbar province protests, where he expresses sympathy for Saddam.

Using such videos to discredit opponents during elections is a political norm, but it has intensified among Iraqi Sunni factions.

The Iraqi Constitution banned the Baath Party in 2005, and in 2016, the Parliament passed a law penalizing affiliation with and promotion of the party.

Mashhadani (Azem Alliance), Al-Karim (Takadum Party), and Salem Al-Issawi (Al-Siyada Alliance) are prominent contenders for parliament speaker, succeeding the ousted Mohammed al-Halbousi.

Since November, Iraq’s Parliament has been without a speaker after al-Halbousi was dismissed on forgery charges.

These indicators in local public opinion suggest a rise in Al-Issawi’s chances, backed by businessman Khamees Al-Khanjar, who is younger than Mashhadani (aged 76) and Al-Karim, 56.

Al-Issawi is an up-and-coming politician who has kept a distance from the intense rivalry between Sunni and Shiite factions in Iraq.

However, the Al-Siyada Alliance, which Al-Issawi is a part of and is led by Al-Khanjar, has faced backlash due to the characterization of ISIS militants as “revolutionaries” in 2014.

Observers believe that Al-Khanjar has managed to navigate these challenges, forming political alliances with both Sunni and Shiite groups, securing significant seats in recent elections.

However, the question of whether he will win over the post of parliament speaker remains uncertain.

Twisting Facts

Responding to what he termed “public opinion campaigns,” Al-Karim issued a statement, addressing the re-circulation and manipulation of a video accusing him of promoting the banned Baath Party.

The candidate for the speaker ‘sposition condemned the reposting of the video as “an unscrupulous and disrespectful act.”

“This video resurfaced in 2014 during the legislative elections, used as evidence in a complaint against me, leading to my disqualification by the Accountability and Justice Commission,” reminded Al-Karim.

“Back then, I filed an appeal against the decision, and the Judicial Appeals Board acknowledged that the video was edited to tarnish my image,” he added.

He believes that the recent reposting of the video aims to obstruct his parliamentary duties. Al-Karim cautioned against entities trying to revive tensions and societal divisions.

On the other hand, the second candidate, Mashhadani, refrained from commenting on the controversy surrounding his past remarks about the Baath Party and the former regime’s leader.

Ahead of the speaker election session scheduled for Sunday, Iraqi Sunni parties haven't agreed on a candidate. Meanwhile, Shiite coordination forces are leveraging this division to elect a candidate aligned with their interests.

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Arab World

Trump Pledges Retaliation After 3 Americans Killed in Syria

Trump Pledges Retaliation After 3 Americans Killed in Syria
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Trump Pledges Retaliation After 3 Americans Killed in Syria

Trump Pledges Retaliation After 3 Americans Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump said Saturday “there will be very serious retaliation” against ISIS after three Americans, two soldiers and their civilian interpreter, were killed by a single gunman in an ambush targeting a joint US-Syrian government patrol in central Syria.

“We mourn the loss of three great patriots in Syria. We know how it happened, an ambush,” he told reporters at the White House.

Earlier, the Pentagon said initial assessments showed the attack was carried out by ISIS.

However, a Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces who held extremist ideas.

Nour Eddin al-Baba said Syrian forces had issued intelligence warnings to US-led forces and that the assailant was known to authorities ahead of the deadly attack.

He told Syrian state television that leadership in the country’s Internal Security Forces in the Badia region had alerted the US-led international coalition against ISIS in Syria about preliminary information “indicating a possible breach or expected ISIS attacks.”

“However, (coalition) forces did not take the Syrian warnings into account,” al-Baba said.

According to the Pentagon, the attacker was killed by “partner forces,” in a sign to the Syrian government forces.

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a security source as saying that Syrian service personnel were injured, without providing further details.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on X, “Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.”

The US-led coalition has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting ISIS suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria's security forces. Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.

The United States has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there.

Arab World

6 Peacekeepers Killed in Drone Strike on UN Facility in Sudan

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
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6 Peacekeepers Killed in Drone Strike on UN Facility in Sudan

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

A drone strike hit a United Nations facility in Sudan on Saturday, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

The strike hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement.

"Attacks as the one today in South Kordofan against peacekeepers are unjustifiable. There will need to be accountability," he said in a statement.

Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, UNISFA.

“Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” said Guterres.

The Sudanese military blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces, RSF.

The attack “clearly reveals the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it,” the military said in a statement.

The military posted a video on social media showing plumes of dense black smoke over what it said was the UN facility.

In a statement, the Sovereignty Council headed by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan called the attack a "dangerous escalation.”

The RSF in a statement on Telegram said it rejected "the claims and allegations... regarding an air attack that targeted the United Nations headquarters in Kadugli, and the accompanying false accusations against our forces of being behind it through the use of a drone.”

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus in a statement said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack.

He asked the UN to ensure that his country's personnel were offered "any necessary emergency support.”

"The government of Bangladesh will stand by the families in this difficult moment," Yunus added.

Dhaka's foreign ministry said it "strongly condemned" the attack.

Abyei is a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, and the UN mission has been deployed there since 2011 when South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan.

Guterres also called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan to allow “a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to settle the conflict in the country.

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country. The conflict has killed over 40,000 people — a figure rights groups consider a significant undercount.

The fighting has recently centered on Kodrofan, particularly since the RSF took control of el-Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

Arab World

2 US Service Members and One American Civilian Killed in Ambush in Syria, US Central Command Says

Residents ride a motorcycle along a war-damaged street in Palmyra, Syria. (AP)
Residents ride a motorcycle along a war-damaged street in Palmyra, Syria. (AP)
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2 US Service Members and One American Civilian Killed in Ambush in Syria, US Central Command Says

Residents ride a motorcycle along a war-damaged street in Palmyra, Syria. (AP)
Residents ride a motorcycle along a war-damaged street in Palmyra, Syria. (AP)

Two US service members and one American civilian were killed and three other people wounded in an ambush on Saturday by a lone member of the ISIS group in central Syria, the US military’s Central Command said. 

The attack on US troops in Syria is the first to inflict casualties since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago. 

Central Command said in a post on X that as a matter of respect for the families and in accordance with Department of Defense policy, the identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified. 

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: “Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.” 

The shooting took place near historic Palmyra, according to the state-run SANA news agency, which earlier said two members of Syria’s security force and several US service members had been wounded. The casualties were taken by helicopter to the al-Tanf garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan. 

SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details. 

The US has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the ISIS group. 

Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting against the ISIS as Damascus improves its relations with Western countries following the ouster of Assad when opposition factions overthrew his regime in Damascus. 

The US had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the fall of the five-decade Assad family rule. The interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, made a historic visit to Washington last month where he held talks with President Donald Trump. 

ISIS was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019, but the group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in the country. The United Nations says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq. 

US troops, which have maintained a presence in different parts of Syria, including al-Tanf garrison in the central province of Homs, to train other forces as part of a broad campaign against ISIS, have been targeted in the past.  

One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij when a blast killed two US service members and two American civilians, as well as others from Syria while conducting a patrol.