STELLA MARTANY

FILE.- Pope Francis, surrounded by shells of destroyed churches, listens to Mosul and Aqra Archbishop Najib Mikhael Moussa during a gathering to pray for the victims of war at Hosh al-Bieaa Church Square, in Mosul, Iraq, once the de-facto capital of IS, Sunday, March 7, 2021.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini,FIle)

For Iraqi Christians, Pope Francis’ visit was a rare moment of hope

The death of Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through Iraq’s Christian community, where his presence once brought hope after one of the darkest chapters in the country’s recent history.

CORRECTS TO TUESDAY, NOT THURSDAY - Assyrian revellers dressed in traditional clothing attend "Akitu," the Assyrian New Year celebrations, in Dohuk, Iraq, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

A man wielding an axe wounds 3 people at the Assyrian Christian new year parade in Iraq

Witnesses and officials in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk say a man with an axe has attacked a new year parade by Assyrian Christians and wounded three people.

Iraqi Kurds holding lit torches walk up a mountain during a procession to celebrate their Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in Akra, Iraq, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Kurds in Iraq and Syria celebrate the Newroz festival of spring at a time of new political horizons

Kurds in Iraq and Syria this week have marked the Newroz festival, a traditional celebration of spring and renewal, at a time when many are hoping that a new political beginning is on the horizon.

Farooq Safar standing in his back yard that was bombed by a Turkish drone in October 2024. Guharze village in Dahuk, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

Iraq’s displaced Kurds hope to return home after Turkey’s Kurdish militants declare a ceasefire

The mountains of northern Iraq have for years been a sanctuary for Kurdish militants fighting a decades-long insurgency against the government in neighboring Turkey.

Preparations are underway ahead of the visit of UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to al-Nuri Mosque in the old city of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, reconstructed by UNESCO after being damaged in battles with the Islamic State group when it held the city. (AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed)

Historic landmarks in Iraq’s Mosul are reopening as the city heals from Islamic State devastation

For over 850 years, the leaning minaret of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri stood as an iconic landmark in the Iraqi city of Mosul until it was destroyed by the Islamic State group in 2017.

Skateboarders practice in the first skatepark of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

A new skate park in Baghdad is the safe space Iraqi youth have longed for

Car bombs and militant attacks may no longer a daily concern in the streets of Baghdad, but many young Iraqis say their opportunities remain limited.

Protesters gather to demonstrate against a proposed law to permit underage female marriage in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

Iraqi lawmakers pass a bill that critics say legalizes child marriage

Iraq’s parliament has passed three divisive laws including amendments to the country’s personal status law that opponents say would in effect legalize child marriage.

Residents of northeastern Syria walk towards the Tishrin Dam to join a sit-in demanding an end to the war in the region in Aleppo's countryside, Syria, Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. The Tishrin Dam has become a flashpoint in the conflict between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups, which has intensified in the weeks since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Leaders from rival Kurdish groups look to mend ties during Syria upheaval

The leaders of two previously rival Kurdish groups have met in northern Iraq in an apparent step toward reconciliation at a time when the political upheaval in Syria has left Kurds in the region facing an uncertain future.

A Turkish drone strike hits near protesters demanding an end to the war around the Tishrin Dam, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. Turkish drones and warplanes hovered during the protest, with airstrikes targeting areas near the march route, according to participants and a war monitor. The health administration in Kobani reported five civilians killed and 15 injured. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Conflict between Turkey and Kurdish groups rises around key dam in northern Syria

A key dam in northern Syria has become a flash point in the conflict between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups.

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq launches its first national census in nearly four decades

Iraq has begun its first nationwide population census in decades in a step aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long impacted by conflict and political divisions. The act of counting the population is also contentious.

People line up to vote during parliamentary elections of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, in Irbil, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Salar Salim)

Dominant Kurdish parties maintain their sway in the election for the parliament in the Iraqi region

Final results from this month’s vote for the regional parliament in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region show the two dominant Kurdish parties maintaining their hold while an opposition party made inroads.

A man registers to vote during parliamentary elections of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, in Irbil, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Salar Salim)

Iraq’s Kurdish region goes to the polls with a flagging economy and political infighting top of mind

Residents of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region are going to the polls in long-awaited parliamentary elections under the shadow of ongoing rivalries, economic instability, and unresolved disputes with Baghdad.

This is a locator map for Iraq with its capital, Baghdad. (AP Photo)

Four Iraqi soldiers killed in Islamic State group ambush

Iraq’s Interior Ministry says four Iraqi troops have been killed in an ambush by the extremist Islamic State group.

FILE- An Iraqi woman protests against a proposed law to permit underage female marriage in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, July 28, 2024. Rights groups and many Iraqi women fear the country's parliament will open the door to child marriages as lawmakers consider legal changes that would give religious authorities more power over family law. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

Iraqi women fear rise in child marriages as lawmakers consider giving conservative clerics more say

Rights groups and many Iraqi women fear the country’s parliament will open the door to child marriages as lawmakers consider legal changes that would give religious authorities more power over family law.

Iraqi Army soldiers stand guard near the debris of a drone shot down by Iraq's air defenses in Kirkuk, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)

Turkish drone shot down by Iraqi air defenses over northern city of Kirkuk

Iraq says its air defenses have shot down a Turkish drone over the northern city of Kirkuk. The incident comes as the two countries have been attempting to develop closer economic and security ties, raising concerns amid the already volatile security situation in the region.

FILE - Mourners prepare to bury the remains of Yazidi victims in a cemetery in Sinjar, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed, File)

Iraq’s Yazidis hope a new village will prompt survivors of a 2014 Islamic State massacre to return

Iraq’s Yazidi community leaders have announced plans for an internationally funded project to build an entire new village to house displaced survivors of one of the bloodiest massacres committed by Islamic State militants against their religious minority.