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Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) marking its eighth anniversary, in Diyala province, Iraq.

Reuters

Russian-Israeli doctoral student abducted in Baghdad

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a 36-year-old Russian-Israeli researcher and academic, was kidnapped back in March while on a research trip in Iraq, the Israeli government revealed on Wednesday.

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A man wearing a mask walks on a bridge during a sandstorm in Baghdad.

REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Hard Numbers: Sands over Baghdad, pretty Russian graves, Europe’s neutral holdouts, global slogan of hate

8: Airports in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities closed Monday as a massive sandstorm tore across the country. The frequency of these storms, which blanket everything in a reddish-brown haze of sand and dust, has been increasing: this is the eighth one in the past month alone. Scientists blame droughts, heat, and soil degradation linked to global warming.

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What does a US troop withdrawal mean for Iraq?

Earlier this year, in response to diplomatic confusion over reports of an abrupt US withdrawal from Iraq, Mark Esper, the US Secretary of Defense, said decisively: "We have no plans to leave Iraq."

Now, eight months later, the Trump administration says it will reduce the number of US forces in the country to 3,000 in the coming weeks — a reduction from the 5,200 currently there. What does the US troop drawdown — and potential eventual full withdrawal — mean for Iraq, the region, and the US?

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