Ten Republican members of the US House of Representatives have demanded that Washington designate several Iraqi paramilitary groups with ties to Iran as terrorist organisations and suspend security assistance to Baghdad over its recognition of these groups as part of the state's security forces.
The demand was made in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz dated January 28, and was posted on X by one of its signatories, Representative Joe Wilson.
The letter calls for the designation of several groups that are part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, which was made a branch of the Iraqi state's security forces after helping to defeat ISIS and end the extremists group's occupation of northern and western Iraq between 2014 and 2017.
Mr Wilson, former chairman of the Middle East House subcommittee, has also written to foreign affairs committee chairman Brian Mast to call for an investigation into former White House adviser Brett McGurk over “failed” Middle East policies that "endangered US national security".
Both letters cite part of a 2022 report by the Department of Defence Inspector General that highlights the influence of the powerful PMF-linked Badr Organisation in Iraq's ministries of defence and interior and units of its army.
They also point out Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim Al Araji's links to the group and his previous detention by the US in connection with attacks on American forces in Iraq in the aftermath of the US-led 2003 invasion.
The letter to Mr Rubio and Mr Waltz calls for terrorist designations for the Badr Organisation as well as the Abu Fadl Al Abbas Brigades; the Fatemiyoun Brigade; Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba; Kataeb Al Imam Ali; Kataeb Jund Al Imam; Kataeb Sayyed Al Shuhada; Saraya Al Jihad; Saraya Khorasani; and the Zainabiyoun Brigades.
It also calls for terrorism-related sanctions on the Badr Organisation, Abu Fadl Al Abbas Brigades, Kataeb Al Imam Ali, Kataeb Jund Al Imam, Saraya Al Jihad and Saraya Khorasani.
The House representatives said they wanted all US security assistance to Iraq to be suspended "as long as any Iranian-backed militia or foreign terrorist organisation are legally part of the Iraqi state or funded or trained by the government of Iraq".
While the US withdrew its forces from Iraq by 2011, they later returned as part of the international coalition against ISIS and remain in the country alongside other foreign troops to train and assist Iraqi forces in preventing a resurgence of the extremist group.
Iraqi military bases hosting US troops have faced repeated unclaimed attacks with mortars, rockets or drones amid demands for their withdrawal from Iran-allied factions. The attacks increased after the Gaza war began in October 2023 but subsided under a truce agreed to give Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani's government time to negotiate a US troop pullout with Washington.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
