"Tidbits From TNT" Thursday Morning 7-29-2021
TNT:
Tishwash: A missile attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad
Two missiles targeted the vicinity of the American embassy in Baghdad at dawn today, Thursday, and it was reported that two columns of American forces were targeted in Diwaniyah province, in attacks that raise fears of continuing to strike American interests in Iraq despite the agreement between Baghdad and Washington to end the "combat mission" of American soldiers in the country.
Two Katyusha rockets landed near the US embassy in the Green Zone, according to a security source, explaining that the attack did not cause casualties or damage.
At the same time, the security forces confirmed that "a Katyusha rocket fell behind the Al-Rahman Mosque in the Al-Mansour area of Baghdad." Al Mansour is a residential neighborhood near the Green Zone.
The official Security Media Cell announced in a tweet that an investigation had been opened into the incident, which did not cause "negligible losses," adding that the missile was launched "from the Palestine Street area", about 13 km from the Mansour area. And it considered that "this outlaw act" constitutes "a threat to citizens within safe residential neighborhoods."
In addition, the platforms of the Popular Mobilization spoke of targeting two logistical support convoys belonging to the American forces in Diwaniyah Governorate.
These attacks coincide with the return of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi from Washington after a visit in which it was agreed to end the "combat mission" of the United States in Iraq by the end of the year, in a move condemned by Iraqi pro-Iranian factions, which Washington often blames for attacks targeting their interests.
And US President Joe Biden announced on Monday, when receiving Al-Kazemi at the White House, that the United States will start a "new phase" of military cooperation with this country. Biden said, "We will not be at the end of the year on a combat mission" in Iraq, but "our cooperation against terrorism will continue even in this new phase that we are discussing."
He explained that the "role" of the US military in Iraq will be limited to "training" the Iraqi forces and "helping them" in confronting the "ISIS" organization, without giving any timetable or tangible elements with regard to many .
" real withdrawal"
Subsequently, the Coordinating Committee of the Iraqi Resistance, which includes pro-Iranian factions, some of which are affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, considered, in a statement yesterday, that the withdrawal announced by Baghdad and Washington "is not real."
She stressed that "the position of the resistance rejecting the existence of any kind of occupation in all its forms will not change" and that it "will remain fully prepared until the real withdrawal."
The political researcher and head of the "Center for Political Thinking" Ihsan Al-Shammari explained that "the continuation of targeting by missiles or drones of the American diplomatic mission or the existing advisory forces, may threaten the agreement" between the two parties on ending the "combat mission."
He added that these attacks may contribute to "showing the government that it is unable to protect these forces and open the door to counterattacks, and thus to a climate of security confusion."
Since the beginning of the year, about fifty attacks have targeted US interests in Iraq, especially the US embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi military bases that include Americans, and the Baghdad and Erbil airports, in attacks often attributed to Iraqi pro-Iran factions . The last of them was a drone and targeted a site of the international coalition against ISIS, which is led by the United States of America, in Kurdistan .
Washington launches strikes in response to these attacks, the last of which was on June 29, when it bombed the sites of Iraqi militias backed by Iran at the Syrian-Iraqi border.
These attacks raise the concern of military officials in the international coalition to combat jihadists led by the United States, the enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States deploys 2,500 soldiers in Iraq out of 3,500 members of the coalition forces.
Western military officials and diplomats in Iraq believe that these attacks not only pose a threat to the deployed forces, but also threaten their ability to combat ISIS, which still maintains sleeper cells in the desert and mountainous regions of the country, although the organization was officially defeated in 2017
On the other hand, five Iraqi soldiers, including two officers, were killed when their helicopter fell in the area south of Kirkuk in the north of the country, where ISIS cells are still active, a security source attributed to "the helicopter came under direct fire link
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Shybaby: Government adviser reveals details of $1 billion grant from World Bank
The Prime Minister's Financial and Economic Advisor, Mazher Mohammed Saleh, revealed details of the $1 billion grant from the World Bank.
"The billion dollars confirmed by the World Bank is a grant to the Central Bank of Arafi to complete the construction of housing units for the poor and complete a number of infrastructure projects of water and sewage," Saleh said.
"The amount is modest, not as big as the World Bank's potential, and generally all world bank funds go to development projects," he said.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday urged the World Bank to quickly disburse more than one billion dollars in loans to Iraq.
Al-Kadhimi also stressed the importance of developing cooperation with the World Bank and ways to develop it.
Raghad Dahham
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Tishwash: Al-Kazemi leaves Washington and confirms that no combat forces will remain in Iraq
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi left today, Thursday, from the American capital, Washington, announcing the agreement that there would be no combat forces in Iraq by the end of this year.
Al-Kazemi said in a tweet to him on Twitter, which was reviewed by Mawazine News, that "we left Washington for our beloved Baghdad after a successful visit, economic, political and cultural understandings, and an agreement to transfer the security relationship to training and advice, and the absence of combat forces by the end of the year."
"We look forward to strengthening social and political solidarity to serve our people, and we hope for continuous communication to devote the values of cooperation and dialogue," link
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Tishwash: Official: Al-Kazemi's visit to the United States is a new beginning for the Iraqi economy
Mazhar Muhammad Salih, advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, considered Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s visit to the United States as a new beginning for the transition from the economy of wars to the economy of peace, development and construction
Saleh said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), today, Wednesday, that "Iraq suffers from a large deficit in investments for a number of reasons, and development was limited to the energy sector and oil production and focus on electricity, as important and large productive sectors were neglected, including industry, services and agriculture.
He added, "Iraq needs new technological thought and new partnerships, and to invite US companies, which represent the largest economy in the world, to invest in Iraq, and it comes within the framework of the investment law to revive the effective and large Iraqi economy and reduce the volume of high unemployment.
He added, "America's role in investment, construction and reconstruction is an important turning point that must be worked on in the strategy of the relationship between Iraq and the United States, and the current openness is the first of its kind.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi stressed during his meeting with the Businessmen Forum and the American Chamber of Commerce that "the Iraqi government has taken bold measures towards real reforms in the economy, the most important of which is strengthening credit activity in the banking sector," continuing: "We started to address the weak infrastructure despite the budget deficit, This is done by encouraging private sector investment.
He added, "The government has proposed clean energy projects through competitive and transparent bidding, which resulted in attracting the largest international companies in the field of solar energy, and we are now in negotiations with the largest international companies to grant 7,500 megawatts in the field of solar energy during the next two years. link
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