Tag: Iraq

Iraqis Dig Up COVID-19 Dead To Rebury In Family Graves

A member of the Iraqi civil defense sprays disinfectant on and around a building where Islamic students are quarantined for having had contact with Iraq’s first confirmed case of novel coronavirus infection, in the central holy city of Najaf, on February 26, 2020. Haidar HAMDANI / AFP

 

Mohammad al-Bahadli dug into Iraq’s hot desert sand with bare hands to reach his father’s corpse.

“Now he can finally be with our people, our family, in the old cemetery,” 49-year-old Bahadli said, as relatives sobbed over the body, wrapped in a shroud.

After restrictions were eased for the burying of those who died of the novel coronavirus, Iraqis are exhuming the victims to rebury them in their rightful place in family cemeteries.

For months, families of those who died after contracting Covid-19 were barred from taking the body back to bury in family tombs, for fear the corpses could still spread the virus.

Instead, the authorities established a “coronavirus cemetery” in a plot of desert outside the shrine city of Najaf, where volunteers in protective gear carefully buried victims spaced five metres (16 feet) apart.

Only one relative was permitted to attend the speedy burials, which often happened in the middle of the night.

Victims from all religious sects — both Shiite and Sunni Muslims, as well as Christians — were buried there.

But on September 7, Iraqi authorities announced they would permit those who died after contracting Covid-19 to be relocated to the cemetery of their family’s choice.

Many of those buried under the emergency rules came from other parts of the country.

“The first time, he was buried so far away,” Bahadli said of his 80-year-old father’s funeral rites.

“I’m not sure it was done in the proper religious way.”

– Grave mix-up –

Iraq has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the Middle East by Covid-19, with more than 280,000 infections and nearly 8,000 deaths.

On September 4, the World Health Organization (WHO) said: “the likelihood of transmission when handling human remains is low.”

 

This picture taken on April 24, 2020 shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva next to their headquarters, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
This picture taken on April 24, 2020, shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva next to their headquarters, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus.
Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

 

Days later, after pressure from families, Iraqi authorities announced they would permit bodies to be transferred only by “specialised health teams.”

But the first re-burials proved chaotic.

At the “coronavirus cemetery” in the desert outside Najaf, hundreds of families began arriving late Thursday to dig up their family member and carry the body home.

They brought their own shovels, baskets to scoop away the sand, and new wooden coffins to carry the dead.

The sounds of fierce sobbing and mourning prayers mixed with the clinks of pickaxes echoed across the sand.

There were no medical professionals or cemetery guides on site to help families locate or properly excavate the bodies, an AFP correspondent said.

In some cases, families dug into a grave site marked with a relative’s name, only to find an empty coffin, or to uncover the body of a young man when they were expecting to find the corpse of their elderly mother.

Other bodies were not wrapped in burial shrouds, required by Islam as a sign of respect.

The findings sparked outraged criticism of the state-sponsored armed group that had taken charge of the burials in recent months, with some angry relatives setting fire to the faction’s base nearby.

– ‘Haunting’ –

“The grave-diggers don’t have expertise or the right materials,” said Abdallah Kareem, whose brother Ahmed died of complications from Covid-19.

“They don’t even know how to locate the graves,” he told AFP while tending to the grave.

Kareem, who comes from some 230 kilometres (140 miles) to the south in Iraq’s Muthanna province, opted not to rebury his brother in case it violated religious edicts.

In Islam, the deceased must be buried as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.

Cremation is strictly prohibited and reburials are virtually unheard of — although not necessarily outlawed if the body is kept intact, a Najaf cleric told AFP.

Despite the complications, families were nevertheless relieved to have the closure that a traditional burial brought.

“Since my father was buried here, I keep replaying his words in my head before he died: ‘My son, try to bury me in the family cemetery, don’t let me be too far from my relatives,'” Hussein, another mourner who gave only his first name, told AFP.

The 53-year old dug up his father’s body by hand to transfer him to the vast Wadi al-Salam cemetery, where millions of Shiite Muslims are buried.

“The dream that had been haunting me for these last few months has been realised,” Hussein said.

AFP

Iraqi Coronavirus Cases Top 200,000

Iraqi Shiite Muslim men get their temperature checked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as they arrive to participate in Ashura commemorations at the headquarters of Shiite Muslim leader and head of Hikma party Ammar al-Hakim, in the capital Baghdad, on August 21, 2020.(Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

 

Iraq on Saturday registered nearly 4,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases recorded by the country to over 200,000.

According to the Iraqi health ministry, 201,050 Iraqis have contracted the virus, including 6,353 who have died, while 143,393 are declared to have recovered since the pandemic began.

The daily increases have hovered around 4,000 for more than a week, but authorities have declined to reimpose a strict lockdown that was lifted earlier this summer.

 

 Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

An overnight curfew remains in place, most restaurants are closed for dine-in customers and land crossings are officially shut.

But airports, supermarkets and take-out cafes are open, with varying degrees of social distancing or mask-wearing.

Many fear yet another spike in cases is imminent, as Shiite Muslims converge on the holy city of Karbala to commemorate the beginning of the mourning month of Muharram.

 

Iraqi Shiite Muslim men get their temperature checked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as they arrive to participate in Ashura commemorations at the headquarters of Shiite Muslim leader and head of Hikma party Ammar al-Hakim, in the capital Baghdad, on August 21, 2020.  (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

 

Muharram, which includes the memorial of the killing of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Hussein in 680 AD, is typically marked by mass funeral processions and self-flagellation.

It usually sees thousands of pilgrims cross the border from neighbouring Iran, which has suffered the largest mortality figure from COVID-19 infections in the Middle East, with more than 20,200 deaths officially registered.

Iraq’s hospitals have already been worn down by decades of conflict and poor investment, with shortages in medicines, hospital beds and even protective equipment for doctors.

 

-AFP

Thirty Years Ago, Iraq Invaded Kuwait

Iraqi Flag

 

 

On August 2, 1990, the army of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein swarmed into neighbouring Gulf emirate Kuwait, annexing the small oil-rich territory.

Seven months later, Iraq was chased out by a US-led international coalition, leaving behind a devastated and pillaged Kuwait, and 750 oil wells ablaze.

Here is a recap of the conflict and its aftermath:

– Accusations –

On July 18, 1990, tensions spiral after Iraq accuses Kuwait of stealing petrol from the Rumaila oil field and encroaching on its territory.

Saddam demands $2.4 billion from the emirate.

Kuwait counters, saying Iraq is trying to drill oil wells on its territory.

It is one of several disputes, the most complex involving their border — a bone of contention since Kuwait’s independence in 1961.

Iraq also accuses the emirate of flooding the oil market, driving down crude prices.

Attempts by the Arab League and Saudi Arabia to mediate an end to the crisis fail and talks are suspended on August 1.

– Invasion –

The next day, Iraq invades.

“Iraqi troops began at 2 a.m. local time to violate our northern borders, to enter Kuwait territory and to occupy positions within Kuwait,” Radio Kuwait announces in its first news bulletin.

It is followed by patriotic music and calls on Kuwaitis “to defend their land, their sand and their dunes”.

Violent clashes with heavy weaponry break out in Kuwait City between Kuwaiti units and the Iraqi army.

Faced with 100,000 Iraqi troops and 300 tanks, the 16,000-strong Kuwaiti army is overwhelmed.

The capital falls that morning and Kuwait’s head of state Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad Al-Sabah flees to Saudi Arabia.

His brother Fahd is killed as Iraqi troops seize the palace.

In Baghdad official radio announces the end of the “traitor regime” it accuses of being an accomplice in an “American Zionist plot”, aimed at undermining the recovery of the Iraqi economy.

–  Shockwaves –

The international community condemns the invasion and oil prices soar on world markets.

At an emergency meeting, the UN Security Council demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Washington freezes Iraqi assets in the US and its subsidiaries abroad, along with Kuwaiti assets, to prevent them benefiting Baghdad.

The Soviet Union, Iraq’s main arms supplier, halts its deliveries.

On August 6, the UN Security Council slaps a trade, financial and military embargo on Iraq.

Two days later, the US president George H.W. Bush announces he is sending troops to Saudi Arabia.

Iraq closes its borders to foreigners. Thousands of western, Arab and Asian civilians are held against their will in Iraq or Kuwait, with some 500 people used for months as human shields at strategic sites.

– Annexation –

On August 8, Baghdad announces Kuwait’s “total and irreversible” incorporation into Iraq.

Later in the month, Iraq annexes the emirate as its 19th province.

“Kuwait is part of Iraq,” Saddam declares.

– Liberation –

On November 29, the UN Security Council authorises the use of “all necessary means” to force Iraq out of Kuwait if it has not withdrawn its troops voluntarily by January 15, 1991.

Baghdad rejects the ultimatum.

On January 17, after diplomatic initiatives fail, Operation Desert Storm is launched with intensive bombardments of Iraq and Kuwait.

On February 24, Bush announces a ground offensive.

The allied troops free the emirate in days.

Bush announces on February 27 the liberation of Kuwait and the cessation of hostilities the next day, at 0400 GMT.

Iraq accepts all UN resolutions.

The crisis divides Arab states.

Egyptian and Syrian armies take part in the coalition, but it is denounced by other Arab countries.

More than a decade later, in 2003, Kuwait serves as a bridgehead for the US-led invasion of Iraq, which leads to the overthrow of Saddam.

AFP

Rockets Hit Baghdad Airport Close To US Troops

Iraqi Flag

 

The Iraqi army said Monday a rocket had struck within the grounds of Baghdad airport, where US forces are deployed, in another attack against American interests in Iraq.

While a wave of similar attacks that began in October has since eased, the latest strike came three days ahead of US-Iraqi talks as part of a “strategic dialogue” including on future military cooperation.

A security official told AFP that the attack caused “no casualties or damage”.

Baghdad International Airport is closed under coronavirus lockdown measures in Iraq, which has reported some 13,000 cases including 400 deaths from the disease.

Monday’s rocket fire was the 29th such attack against American troops or diplomats since October.

None of the attacks have been claimed, but Washington has accused armed groups backed by its arch-enemy and Iraq’s neighbour, Iran.

The US withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, eight years after leading the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein and set off a bitter sectarian conflict.

Thousands of American soldiers were redeployed to the country from 2014 onwards as part of a coalition battling the Islamic State group.

In January a US drone killed Iran’s powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad airport, sparking a new escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.

In response, Baghdad’s parliament voted to expel all foreign soldiers from Iraqi territory, but the decision was never implemented.

AFP

Iraq On Total Lockdown Until March 28 Over Coronavirus

A father walks with his child along a deserted street during a curfew imposed as a measure to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on March 21, 2020. – Basra governor announced a curfew in the southern province bordering Iran from Monday until Sunday morning. All together, more than half of the 18 Iraqi provinces announced curfews for several days in hope it could contain the new coronavirus outbreak. Hussein FALEH / AFP.

 

Iraq on Sunday imposed a total nationwide lockdown until March 28 to fight the novel coronavirus, as the number of cases grew and the death toll climbed to 20.

Most of Iraq’s 18 provinces had so far imposed their own local curfews but the new measures would include the whole of the country, according to a new decision by the government’s crisis cell.

Schools, universities and other gathering places would remain closed, as would the country’s multiple international airports, it said in a statement seen by AFP.

Many had feared a potential influx of cases from neighbouring Iran, where 1,685 people have died after contracting the COVID-19 respiratory illness, according to the latest official toll Sunday.

Iraq first shut its 1,500-kilometre border with Iran about a month ago and deployed troops to enforce the decision.

It has logged a total of 233 coronavirus cases and recorded 20 deaths, but there are concerns that many more are going undetected as only 2,000 people of the country’s 40-million population have been tested so far.

Authorities have struggled to enforce previous curfews.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims turned out in Baghdad and other cities in the south of the country to commemorate the death of a revered Muslim imam.

READ ALSO: Emirates To Suspend All Passenger Flights From March 25

And Moqtada Sadr, a populist cleric with a cult-like following, has continued to hold mass prayers in his hometown of Kufa south of Baghdad and in the capital’s densely-populated Sadr City.

Health Minister Jaafar Allawi sent Sadr a personal letter in a bid to convince him to call off his weekly prayers, which present an enormous contamination risk.

Allawi has expressed fears that a wider outbreak would overwhelm the country’s health system, which already faces shortages in equipment, medicine and staff after decades of conflict and little investment by national authorities.

Last week, he said he had not been granted his request for $5 million in emergency funds from the federal government.

Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest crude producer, and falling oil prices have put the country in a bind as more than 90 percent of its state budget is funded by oil revenues.

AFP

Three Days After Attack, Fresh Rockets Hit Iraq Base Housing US Troops

Iraq on the map

 

A fresh spate of rockets targeted an Iraqi base north of Baghdad on Saturday where foreign troops are deployed, Iraqi and US security sources told AFP, in a rare daytime attack.

It was the 23rd such attack since late October on installations across Iraq where American troops and diplomats are based, with the latest rounds growing deadlier.

None of the attacks has ever been claimed but the US has blamed hardline elements of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of armed groups incorporated into the Iraqi state.

Several Katyusha rockets were fired at the Taji airbase on Saturday, Iraqi and US military officials said.

There was no immediate information on casualties.

The US-led coalition’s surveillance capabilities have been impaired by cloudy weather in recent days, which the US official said may have contributed to the attackers’ readiness to launch the rockets during the day instead of under the cover of night.

Taji is overcrowded with members of the US-led coalition helping Iraq fight jihadist remnants, after units were moved to the air base from other installations.

It came three days after a similar attack on the base killed two American military personnel and a British soldier — the deadliest such incident at an Iraqi base in years.

The US responded Friday with air strikes on arms depots it said were used by Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned faction within the Hashed.

At least five members of Iraq’s security forces and one civilian were killed, none of them members of the Hashed, according to Iraq’s military.

Iraq has long feared it would get caught in the spiralling tensions between Iran and the US, its two main allies.

They dramatically spiked in late 2019 when a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a separate base in northern Iraq, leading to retaliatory American strikes on Kataeb Hezbollah.

Days later, a US drone strike killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Hashed deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Iraq’s parliament then voted to oust all foreign troops from the country, but the decision has not yet been implemented.

AFP

US, UK Troops Among Three Dead In Iraq Rocket Attack

Iraq on the Map

 

An American soldier and a British soldier, as well as one US contractor, were killed Wednesday when rockets hit an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad, a US military official said.

It was the deadliest attack on an installation hosting foreign troops in several years and comes after a spate of rocket attacks targeting US troops across Iraq as well as the US embassy in Baghdad.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Washington has blamed Iran-backed factions for similar attacks.

AFP

Coronavirus: Iraq Shut Schools, Varsities After Issuing Travel Ban

A member of the Iraqi civil defense sprays disinfectant on and around a building where Islamic students are quarantined for having had contact with Iraq’s first confirmed case of novel coronavirus infection, in the central holy city of Najaf, on February 26, 2020.  AFP

 

Iraq announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the capital Baghdad on Thursday, taking nationwide infections to six and raising concerns about the capacity of the dilapidated health system to respond.

The government announced sweeping measures late Wednesday to try to contain the spread of the virus, ordering the closure of schools and universities, cafes, cinemas and other public spaces until March 7.

It also banned travel to or from some of the worst affected countries, including China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Iraq had already blocked entry for foreigners travelling from neighbouring Iran, the main source of coronavirus infections in the Middle East, or China, where COVID-19 originated.

The health ministry said the first case in Baghdad was in a young man who had recently returned from Iran.

Iran has reported 19 fatalities from 139 infections — the highest death toll outside China.

The patient was placed under quarantine in a Baghdad hospital and is currently “in good health,” it said in a statement.

Iraq’s six confirmed cases have all been traced to neighbouring Iran, a popular tourism destination for Iraqis, who also visit the country to receive medical treatment.

Many hospitals in Iraq are poorly equipped or in disrepair and there are fewer than 10 doctors for every 10,000 people, the World Health Organization says.

Baghdad is the Arab world’s second-most populous city after the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The health ministry advised against large gatherings, urging officials to take steps to “restrict intermixing,” a move that may deal a blow to anti-government protests that have gripped Baghdad and southern Iraq since October.

AFP

Iraq Shuts Schools, Shrines Over Coronavirus

Iraqi Flag

 

Shrines have shuttered, streets are deserted and schools closed in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf, where only pharmacies draw crowds after a novel coronavirus case triggered widespread panic.

Najaf is popular among Shiite Muslim pilgrims from Iran, which has recorded 15 deaths from COVID-19, the highest death toll outside China, the epidemic’s epicentre.

It is also where Iraq confirmed its first novel coronavirus infection in an Iranian national studying in a Shiite seminary in the city, located around 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Baghdad.

Since he was diagnosed on Monday, authorities have beefed up precautionary measures.

Thirteen students who attended the same seminary school as the patient are being checked for the virus, Najaf governor Louai al-Yasseri told AFP.

In an exceptionally rare move, religious officials on Tuesday closed down the Imam Ali mausoleum in Najaf, allowing visitors access only to its surroundings.

The mausoleum where the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law is buried is one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims and is frequented yearly by millions of pilgrims.

Visitors, including millions of Iranians, kiss and caress the tomb, making the area especially vulnerable to contamination.

Amid the growing alarm, students remained at home on Tuesday after schools and universities temporarily closed their doors.

“The 1,028 schools in Najaf province have closed following the detection of the first novel coronavirus case,” said a spokesman for the province’s education department.

The health ministry said this would remain the case for at least 10 days.

Najaf is home to the Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace) cemetery, the world’s largest, where millions of people from Iraq’s Shiite majority are buried.

The health ministry on Tuesday advised against non-essential travel to Najaf and urged citizens to refrain from holding large gatherings.

Inside the city, life has come to a stand-still, according an AFP correspondent.

The few that brave the streets seek out pharmacies to purchase disinfectants and medical masks which have become more expensive and increasingly difficult to find.

“There have been no masks for two days. How will I protect my children and my wife,” laments Hussam al-Khafaji, 29.

“Either there are no masks or they sell at four dollars,” nearly four times the price before the outbreak, he told AFP from outside a pharmacy in central Najaf.

With most people staying indoors, the main anti-government protest camp in Najaf was left nearly deserted.

Demonstrators, who had gathered there daily since rallies in the capital and the south began in October, refrained from protesting over fears of a coronavirus outbreak among their ranks.

AFP

Iraq Confirms First Coronavirus Case

This picture taken on February 24, 2020 shows a view outside the quarantine zone at the hospital in the central Iraqi holy shrine city of Najaf where the first case of first case of coronavirus COVID-19 documented in Iraq is being treated.  Haidar HAMDANI / AFP

 

Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus infection in an Iranian national studying in the southern shrine city of Najaf, health officials said.

The country, whose healthcare system is run down, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died since a coronavirus outbreak there was first reported last week.

Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country’s first confirmed case.

Najaf’s provincial health authority said the Iranian national had entered “before the ban was declared”.

An AFP correspondent said the man is being quarantined in a hospital in the city.

The education directorate in Najaf said official mid-year exams, which had already started, would be cancelled until further notice to protect students.

The governor of Salaheddin, north of Baghdad, said that non-Iraqis would not be allowed into the province ahead of a religious pilgrimage to Shiite shrines in the area planned for Tuesday.

The deaths from the COVID-19 virus in Iran were the first in the Middle East and the country’s toll is now the highest outside China, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Chinese nationals have been barred from entering Iraq, despite it hosting several Chinese oil companies.

Iraq also closed the only border crossing with Kuwait at Safwan, south of Basra, late Sunday evening, after Kuwait confirmed multiple COVID-19 cases.

Concern has spread over social media networks in Iraq, with users expressing fears that the country cannot accommodate a coronavirus outbreak.

Many hospitals in Iraq are poorly equipped or in disrepair and there are less than 10 doctors for every 10,000 people, the World Health Organization says.

The novel coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries since it emerged in December and is causing mounting alarm due to new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

AFP

Rocket Hits Iraq Base Housing US Troops

 

A rocket attack on Thursday night slammed into an Iraqi base in the remote province of Kirkuk where American troops are stationed, Iraqi and US security sources told AFP. 

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was the first attack on the K1 base since December 27, when a volley of around 30 rockets killed a US contractor there, which Washington blamed on Kataeb Hezbollah, a hardline Iraqi military faction close to Iran.

The US then carried out retaliatory strikes that left 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters dead and, days later, killed Iran’s pointman on Iraqi affairs Qasem Soleimani.

AFP

Over 100 US Troops Suffered Brain Injury In Iran Attack – Pentagon

FILE PHOTO of US Troops.

 

More than 100 US troops sustained “mild” traumatic brain injury, far more than originally announced when Iran launched missiles at their base in Iraq last month, the Department of Defense said Monday.

“As of today, 109 US service members have been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI, an increase of 45 since the previous report,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Of them, 76 have returned to duty while most of the rest are still undergoing evaluation and treatment.

President Donald Trump had initially said that no Americans were injured in the strike on the Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq on the night of January 7-8, although authorities later reported that 11 troops were injured.

Iran fired ballistic missiles at the base to retaliate for the January 3 US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani while he was in Baghdad.

Trump was understood to downplay the impact on US troops to help ratchet down tensions between the two countries, amid concerns that a full war could break out.

It was only a week later that reports surfaced that US troops had experienced concussions and other brain injuries.

But the US leader then dismissed the reported injuries as “headaches” and “not very serious.”

“We are grateful to the efforts of our medical professionals who have worked diligently to ensure the appropriate level of care for our service members, which has enabled nearly 70 per cent of those diagnosed to return to duty,” said Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah in a statement Monday.

“We must continue to address physical and mental health together,” she said.

AFP