Iraq has banned eight local commercial banks from engaging in U.S. dollar transactions, taking action to reduce fraud, money laundering and other illegal uses of U.S. currency days after a visit by a top U.S. Treasury official.
The United States launches retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, about a week after a drone attack killed three U.S. troops at a remote base in Jordan.
According to three security sources, no attack was detected on the al-Harir air base in northern Iraq, which hosts U.S. forces, despite claims made by Islamic Resistance in Iraq militants. The U.S. military had recently conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, targeting over 85 locations linked to Iran s Revolutionary Guard and its supported militias. The U.S. military has faced frequent attacks in Iraq and Syria, mainly involving rockets and one-way attack drones, since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday condemned overnight US strikes in Iraq and Syria, saying Washington had poured "oil on the fire" in the Middle East.
US strikes in the west of Iraq against armed pro-Iran groups killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and wounded 23, Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said on Saturday.