2,500 American troops leave Iraq after 12-year ISIS mission
Iraq enters post-US military era as militias, foreign forces and security challenges take center stage in Baghdad
September 30, 2026
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The withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 US troops marks the end of Operation Inherent Resolve, but Iraq continues to face questions over armed groups, foreign forces and security in the Kurdistan Region.
Despite the military withdrawal, US-Iraq relations are not ending. Analysts say the relationship is expected to increasingly focus on economic and commercial cooperation, alongside continued defense ties, as Baghdad seeks to consolidate its sovereignty while maintaining its partnership with Washington.
Iraq is set to enter a new phase after the United States completes the withdrawal of its remaining 2,500 troops on September 30, ending the 12-year US-led Operation Inherent Resolve mission against ISIS and more than two decades of US military involvement in the country.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has described October 1 as a new era of Iraqi sovereignty, with Baghdad planning four public holidays to mark what it calls “Independence Day.” The withdrawal follows a 2024 agreement between Baghdad and Washington. However, the departure of US forces does not mean Iraq will be free of foreign military deployments. Turkey still maintains troops in northern Iraq, although Ankara has said it will gradually hand over a military base to Baghdad, dw.com reports.
As Egypt is threatened with losing its vital water supply, the building of dams in the region highlights the fragility of water supply in North Africa.
History:
In 1843 it was decided to build a series of diversion dams (barrages or weirs) across the Nile at the head of the delta about 12 miles downstream from Cairo, so as to raise the level of water upstream to supply the irrigation canals and to regulate navigation. This delta barrage scheme was not fully completed until 1861, after which it was extended and improved; it may be regarded as marking the beginning of modern irrigation in the Nile valley. The Zifta Barrage, nearly halfway along the Damietta branch of the deltaic Nile, was added to this system in 1901. In 1902 the Asyūṭ Barrage, more than 200 miles upstream from Cairo, was completed. This was followed in 1909 by the barrage at Isnā (Esna), about 160 miles above Asyūṭ, and in 1930 by the barrage at Najʿ Hammādī, 150 miles above Asyūṭ.
The first dam at Aswān was constructed between 1899 and 1902; it has a series of four locks to allow navigation. The dam has twice been enlarged—first between 1908 and 1911 and again between 1929 and 1934—thus raising the water level and increasing the dam’s capacity. It is also equipped with a hydroelectric plant with an installed power of more than 345 megawatts.
Brittanica
On July 21, 1970, Egyptian engineers completed the Aswan Dam, which controls the flow of the Nile River.
Egypt and Ethiopia have expelled diplomats from each other’s countries in a sharp escalation of tensions already fuelled by the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Egypt and Ethiopia have turned a long-running dispute over the Nile into a fresh diplomatic confrontation, expelling each other’s diplomats and giving them just 48 hours to leave. The escalation began in Addis Ababa, where Ethiopia declared Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Moharam Ahmed Soliman persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said the decision was taken under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations but did not publicly explain what prompted it.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. Egypt wants the United Nations Security Council to “undertake its responsibilities” and prevent Ethiopia from starting to fill its massive, newly built hydroelectric dam on the Nile River.
Images of Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda loyalist Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi appeared in videos on accounts linked to the Flydubai co-pilot.
Al-Qaeda images appeared in videos on social media accounts linked to Flydubai suspect Hamam al-Hammami. Photo: X
Images of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda loyalist Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi appeared in videos on social media accounts linked to Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, CNN reported, as authorities investigate his background and possible extremist connections.
The material included cockpit footage showing Israeli aircraft and photographs of al-Zawahiri, who led al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden, and al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor loyal to the group who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing at a CIA base in Afghanistan. Nine people were killed in that attack, including seven CIA officers and contractors.
Two posts appeared in quick succession on a LinkedIn profile bearing al-Hammami’s name, about nine hours after the September 30 Flydubai incident. But CNN reported that it was unclear who had published the posts or whether they had been scheduled in advance. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that the LinkedIn profile belonged to al-Hammami.
Al-Qaeda Figures Appeared In Cockpit Video
The first LinkedIn post contained several clips filmed inside the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. CNN said it geolocated one clip to Dubai International Airport, where an aircraft belonging to Israeli airline El Al was visible.
War isn’t over: Al-Qaeda calls for copycat attacks on US, Israeli planes after Flydubai plot
Story by Edited by Priyanshu Priya
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Israeli airline El Al aircraft sit on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport near the city of Lod on October 2, 2026.
Al Qaeda has reportedly called for copycat attacks targeting Americans and Israeli airliners, invoking the September 11 attacks while praising the alleged hijacker of a Dubai-bound flydubai flight over “crash attempt”.
A LinkedIn profile with al-Hammami’s name said that he worked at Oman Air for several years but left in February 2025.
The suspected terrorist who attempted to crash the Flydubai plane with over a hundred Israelis on board had terrorist immigrants on his social media and had been flagged for extremism concerns when he was flying for Oman Air, which removed him from his position.
The suspected terrorist co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly attacked a fellow pilot with an axe several times and then sent the plane into a nose dive in what has been referred to as a terrorist attack. The plane dropped several thousand feet within a minute before passengers were able to storm the cockpit, subdue al-Hammami, and take control of the airplane. The incident came a week before the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks.
Al-Qaeda began as a logistical network to support Muslims fighting against the Soviet Union during the Afghan War; members were recruited throughout the Islamic world. When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the organization dispersed but continued to oppose what its leaders considered corrupt Islamic regimes and foreign (i.e., U.S.) presence in Islamic lands. Based in Sudan for a period in the early 1990s, the group eventually reestablished its headquarters in Afghanistan (c. 1996) under the patronage of the Taliban militia.
Peshawar school massacre A soldier surveying the damage to the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, following a deadly attack by Taliban gunmen, December 2014.
Pakistani Taliban, formally Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan or Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), militant group that formed about 2007 to counter Pakistani government rule in Pashtun-inhabited regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan. Like the unaffiliated Afghan Taliban, with which it shares ethnic, cultural, and ideological ties, the Pakistani Taliban combines a traditional Pashtun social code (Pashtunwali) with the strict religious puritanism of the Deoband school of Islam. The group emerged during the Afghanistan War (2001–14) in response to Pakistan Army operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA; now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), a region where local tribes had previously enjoyed considerable autonomy. Those operations sought to secure the border region against militants fleeing Afghanistan. The TTP targets Pakistani security personnel and installations, typically in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with acts of terrorism. The group is notorious internationally for its 2012 assassination attempt against Malala Yousafzai, an activist against the group’s prohibition on girls’ education, and the Peshawar school massacre in 2014, in which it stormed an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 150 people.
Formation and leadership history
The TTP was created in late 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, a militant commander sympathetic to the Deoband school of Islam and whose Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan had been a dominant force among the region’s militant networks for several generations. Mehsud had been one of the major insurgents against the army in FATA and had previously concluded a short-lived ceasefire with the government in 2005. The formation of the TTP brought together militant groups from across FATA and parts of the North-West Frontier Province (the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until 2010) under Mehsud’s command. Its founding objectives included resistance to NATO forces and the Pakistan Army, enforcement of a Deobandi interpretation of Islamic law, and the cessation of military activity in FATA and the Swat district of the North-West Frontier Province.
Mehsud was killed in 2009, and his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, a fellow tribesman, was killed in 2013. The appointment of a commander outside the Mehsud tribe, Mullah Fazlullah, created discord within the TTP. Many disaffected members, inspired by the rapid expansion of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014–15, pledged allegiance to ISIS and formed the Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K), a group dedicated to a transnational jihad and hostile toward the TTP and the Afghan Taliban. In 2018 Fazlullah was killed, and leadership was returned to the Mehsud tribe with the appointment of Noor Wali Mehsud as commander.Areas Of Involvement: IslamterrorismPashtun
Resurgence in the 2020s
Under Noor Wali Mehsud the TTP’s membership stabilized, and it became more closely aligned with the Afghan Taliban in both its structure and objectives, reportedly facilitating the flow of support between the organizations. After the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in the country, TTP activity in Pakistan saw a sharp resurgence, with the number of attacks reportedly increasing from fewer than 200 in 2021 to more than 600 in 2024. In January 2023, a suicide bombing on a police compound in Peshawar killed more than 80 people during Friday prayers, shaking public confidence in the ability of Pakistan’s security apparatus. The dramatic rise led Pakistan to blame the Afghan Taliban for allowing the TTP to operate in Afghanistan, an accusation the Afghan Taliban denies. In October 2025 the Pakistan Army, emboldened by a warming relationship with the United States and a new military pact with Saudi Arabia, launched an air strike on Kabul in an alleged attempt to target Noor Wali Mehsud. The attack prompted the ruling Afghan Taliban to retaliate against the strike on Afghanistan’s capital, leading to a direct confrontation between the Pakistan Army and the Afghan Taliban.
Israeli forces help settlers seize West Bank olive groves: witnesses
A Palestinian takes part in a community action to clear the area around the olive trees in preparation for the upcoming harvest season on the outskirts of the West Bank town of Birzeit. (File/AP)Short Url
Injuries were reported in several locations in the West Bank
RAMALLAH: Israeli soldiers on Saturday backed settlers who seized Palestinian olive groves at the start of the harvest season, with injuries reported in several places across the occupied West Bank, witnesses and medics said.
October is the traditional start of the harvest for Palestinians, many of whom regard olive trees as a cultural symbol.
This year’s season comes as violence soars, including near-daily attacks or thefts by settlers, who enjoy political support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government ahead of October 27 elections.
Near the village of Beita in the northern West Bank, Palestinians began the harvest in the morning when they were confronted by settlers, who briefly backed down when faced down by the farmers as well as visiting solidarity activists, some of them Israeli, witnesses said.
Soldiers then rushed in, sending the farmers and activists running out, and detained a number of the Palestinians, including one who could be heard screaming inside a military jeep, an AFP journalist witnessed.
The Israeli army detained six journalists including one from AFP. They were released after 20 minutes without charge.
“Today, as usual, we went to harvest olives on the land where we, our parents and our grandparents grew up and lived,” farmer Mohammed Hamayel told AFP.
The army’s aim was “clearing the area for the settlers so they can harvest the olives. This is our land and, God willing, we will remain steadfast,” he said.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinian farmers on the olive groves, setting the dry fields on fire, an AFP journalist witnessed. Farmers and firefighters rushed to put the fires out.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said 12 Palestinians were taken to hospital after being beaten by settlers in five separate incidents Saturday.
The violence came after settlers killed one Palestinian on Thursday and another on Friday, according to Palestinian officials.
The violence has caused mounting international concern, with Britain recently leading sanctions on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
Netanyahu has voiced anger over the criticism, blaming incidents on a small number of people that he called juvenile delinquents.
Violence has also affected Israelis, with a Palestinian shooting dead a settler in September.
A suspected plague outbreak has erupted in Russia — killing a young lab worker, forcing nearly 200 people into isolation and triggering accusations that Vladimir Putin’s regime is trying to keep the infection’s possible spread under wraps.
The alarm was raised in Siberia after a worker at an anti-plague laboratory died of the disease, which killed tens of millions in the medieval Black Death, according to a report fromThe Moscow Times.
Anna Popova, who heads Russia’s public-health watchdog, then rushed 2,600 miles from Moscow to the Irkutsk region as authorities quarantined a hospital and placed scores of people who had come into contact with the victim under medical observation.
Black Death Flagellants in the Netherlands scourging themselves in atonement, believing that the Black Death is a punishment from God for their sins, 1349.
Over the course of the past year, we’ve documented plenty of Profiles in Courage who have bettered countless lives. These exemplary men and women have found cures to deadly diseases, helped Americans stay connected to internet services during a pandemic, and given back to the most vulnerable members of society. Yet this month’s Profile in Courage – Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman – may be the most courageous of all. On the fateful day of January 6, 2021, Officer Goodman diverted an angry mob of insurrectionists away from lawmakers, buying members of Congress precious time to escape to designated hiding locations. And, for protecting hundreds from an angry mob of lawbreakers, Goodman is truly a Profile in Courage.
Watching footage of Officer Goodman diverting the mob from Senate chambers, it’s clear that Goodman is an experienced officer capable of thinking on his feet in high pressure situations. This particular set of skills stems from Goodman’s four years as an infantryman in the army. According to Military.com, “He deployed to Iraq with 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), from 2005 to 2006. His awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Army Good Conduct Medal.” Whether in or out of the military, Goodman gained a reputation as someone ready to unflinchingly put their life on the line to protect others. After hearing about Goodman’s actions on January 6, a friend of his responded, “I’ve always said, if bullets start ripping through, I’m finding Goodman. He’s been in hostile firefights, so he knows how to keep his head.”
In chaotic situations such as the Capitol Riot, it is easy to be overwhelmed and take the path of least resistance from the perpetrators. Instead, Goodman strategically backed up as the “protestors” stormed the Capitol and started up a flight of stairs leading to Senate chambers. Knowing that the chambers lie to one side of the top of the stairs, he was determined to bait the mob to head in the other direction. To accomplish that aim, he gently pushed the man leading the mob. This move reflected restraint – designed to prevent loss of life and/or injury – and succeeded in getting the throng to pursue Goodman instead of heading toward the chambers. Shortly after Goodman lured the insurrectionists away from lawmakers, the Senate doors were sealed which gave lawmakers the opportunity to seek refuge. And, during this tense standoff, Goodman managed to stay in communication with fellow officers to describe the situation and obtain backup.
One can only imagine all the things that were going on in Officer Goodman’s mind as he engaged in the flight and fight of his life. In addition to trying to maintain balance between restraint, strategic movement, and constant communication, Goodman was grappling with a vicious bunch who brought racist flags and symbols with them. As New York Law School professor and former NYPD detective Kirk Burkhalter notes, it usually “doesn’t end up well for Black folks” when they’re being chased by angry White people carrying Confederate flags and donning Nazi shirts. Despite this terrifying context and sequence of events, Officer Goodman was able to keep composure and avert a substantial loss of life.
Fortunately, Goodman’s actions haven’t gone unnoticed. A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced a bill to award the officer a Congressional Gold Medal for his bravery and service to America. Plenty of media outlets have written about the man and his selfless quest. Goodman puts matters simply: “My job is to protect and serve. And on that day, I was protecting.” And for protecting scores of lawmakers and democracy itself during an exceptionally dark day in our history, Officer Eugene Goodman is undoubtably a Profile in Courage.
Netanyahu confirms flydubai pilot conducted stabbing, praises passengers’ heroism at Ben-Gurion
Later, Netanyahu was filmed at the airport embracing one of the passengers who helped neutralize the attacker on the plane, who was still wearing a blood-stained shirt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with one of the passengers from the hijhacked flydubai flight at Ben-Gurion Airport on September 30, 2026.(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)ByMAYA ZANGER-SHAMIR, KESHET NEEVSEPTEMBER 30, 2026 16:30Updated: SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 20:23
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the public on Wednesday afternoon following the suspected hijacking incident involving a flydubai plane meant to land in Tel Aviv earlier in the day, confirming that one of the pilots had carried out a stabbing attack.
See Haaretz analysis:
Analysis
Netanyahu Should Be Careful Claiming Foresight Over a Threat He Failed to Prevent
As his allies cast Wednesday’s suspected terror incident as proof of Netanyahu’s prudence, they raise a more troubling possibility: Israel either failed to act on credible intelligence or is exploiting an isolated incident for political gain.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.null
Six years ago, Israelis were offered a promising new destination for travel and trade: the United Arab Emirates, which had just normalised diplomatic relations with Israel under a US-brokered deal.
Dubai government-owned Flydubai provided a budget choice for the three-and-a-half-hour trip. When many foreign carriers suspended flights to Israel in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack and the ensuing regional conflicts, Emirati airlines mostly kept flying. And many Israelis felt the highly security-conscious UAE was a safer place to holiday than Europe.
But Wednesday’s extraordinary brawl aboard a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai plane has come as a shock to Israelis who increasingly viewed the UAE as a safe haven in a region where they have few friends.
One pilot on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the other and attempted to crash the aircraft, according to witnesses and officials, forcing an emergency landing after the plane plunged 20,000 feet in a matter of minutes.
Known as the Abraham Accords and also signed by three other Arab states, the 2020 peace agreement formalised quiet but long-running commercial links between the UAE and Israel.
These have grown since the deal was struck, with bilateral trade surpassing $3bn per year in 2024, according to Israeli data, up to 25 flights per day at times, and a growing population of Israelis living in the UAE. A handful of known Israeli businesses operate, from bakeries to fintech companies, and Israeli tourists throng Dubai hotels such as the Atlantis The Royal.
The UAE has become Israel’s closest Arab ally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday to meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The two discussed “ways to strengthen ties”, according to the UAE state news agency, in the first acknowledgment of Netanyahu coming to the UAE.
Ask the questions but we can see with our eyes and commonsense provides the understanding of tge harm being done to our precious planet:
Are Space Shuttle Splashdowns Dangerous For Marine Life? New Findings Raise Questions
As the Artemis II Orion capsule prepares for a high-energy return, new environmental findings question the long-term cost of turning the Pacific into a ‘spacecraft cemetery.’
“There’s a line from the first Batman, Joker, he’s like, ‘I’ve already been dead once already. It’s very liberating,’” Fetterman told Maher on Friday. “That’s not reckless, that’s just freeing. It’s just freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really want to be able to say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback.”
Following the October 7 Hamas attack, Fetterman broke from the progressives who got him elected to saber-rattle for Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza. His stance has largely been antagonistic, trolling protesters rallying for a cease-fire by waving an Israel flag over them, laughing at military veterans getting arrested protesting for a cease-fire, and castigating the United States for abstaining from a cease-fire resolution instead of voting against it. He has described student encampment protests as “pup tents for Hamas” and spread debunkedpropaganda denigrating pro-Palestine demonstrations in Philadelphia.
Since adopting an aggressively pro-Israel stance, Fetterman has also backed harsher border policies—a curious stance given that he used to point to his wife’s undocumented status as a child to tout his progressive bona fides.
Fetterman frames his seismic shift as stances he’s always had, which his brain damage simply allowed him the freedom to embrace—despite constantly describing himself as a progressive through the years, seeking endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America, and himself endorsing progressive candidates for office.
While progressives who campaigned hard for Fetterman feel betrayed by his shift, conservatives have celebrated Fetterman’s self-described brain damage–induced embrace of right-wing positions—itself a clear signal he’s garnering the wrong audience.
“If only there was some way we could repeat this experiment with other elected officials,” replied another user in response to a Fox News post about how Fetterman’s brain damage “freed” him.
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