Key Takeaways:

• POLITICS: Court Rejects Challenges to Three New Laws; Top Syria Diplomat to Visit Baghdad; Baghdad Signs Cooperation Agreements with Prague – On February 11, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court rescinded its February 4 injunction that suspended the implementation of three laws that parliament passed in a single vote on January 21. The Court also said it dismissed objections filed by lawmakers who called for nullifying the vote over alleged procedural and other violations. The laws in question are amendments to the Personal Status Law, the General Amnesty Law, and a bill addressing the return of land confiscated by the Ba’ath regime. The Court’s sudden reversal comes after it faced strong pushback from Sunni political parties and Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faeq Zaidan, who argued that the Court does not have the power to suspend the laws. President Abdullatif Rashid signed the three bills into law on Thursday. On February 12, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani revealed that he had received an official invitation to visit the Iraqi capital, adding that he “will be in Baghdad soon.” Reports indicate that Shaibani and Iraqi officials will discuss Syria’s possible participation in the Arab League summit meeting that Baghdad is expected to host later this year. On February 13, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in the Czech Republic, where he was met by his Czech counterpart, Prime Minister Petr Fiala. During the visit, Iraq and the Czech Republic signed a bilateral treaty for air transportation and four other agreements between their respective interior ministries, industry unions, and chambers of commerce, as well as between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. Iraq’s Ministry of Environment and its Czech counterpart also signed a statement of intent for future cooperation in environmental protection. In other developments, on February 10, seventeen demonstrators were reportedly injured when security forces used tear gas to block a convoy of Sulaymaniyah teachers from entering Erbil, where they intended to stage a protest demanding regular payment of their salaries, which have been embroiled in protracted disputes between the federal government and the KRG. more…
• SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Four Iraqis Killed, Several Wounded in Multiple IED and Remnants of War Explosions; Iraqi Airstrikes Kill Seven ISIS Militants – Between February 8 and 12, the explosions of two remnants of war and two improvised explosive devices in Basra, Salah ad-Din, and Anbar killed at least four Iraqis and wounded at least ten people, at least five of whom were children. Most of the casualties occurred when an old landmine detonated in the Rumaila desert, killing four people. Between February 10 and 12, two airstrikes by Iraqi F-16 jets targeted ISIS militants in the Pulkana region of Salah ad-Din province and the Rawa district of Anbar province, killing seven ISIS militants. In other developments, on February 13, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani appointed Major General Mowafaq al-Jubouri as the new commander of the Ninewa Operations Command. Jubouri, who commands the Iraqi army’s 15th division, will replace the outgoing Major General Taha Askar. more…
• ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Expands Maysan Refinery; Preparations Underway to Resume Cross-Border Trade with Syria; KRG Resumes Sending Non-Oil Revenue to Baghdad – On February 10, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said it will add a new oil refining unit at the Maysan oil refinery to raise its capacity from 40,000 to 110,000 barrels per day. The statement did not mention the project’s cost, timeline, or the company undertaking the expansion, which will reportedly be done in accordance with the “Euro 5 standard” for emissions. On February 10, the head of the Iraqi-Syrian Business Council said that Iraq is preparing to resume cross-border trade with Syria in the coming days. The resumption of trade, disrupted by the fall of the Assad regime in December, awaits the signing of an agreement between Iraqi and Syrian authorities as the Syrian side works to equip its side of the al-Qaim/al-Bukamal border crossing with border guards and customs services. According to sources, the border crossing on the Syrian side is expected to be fully operational within days. On February 12, the KRG Finance Ministry said it deposited more than IQD 51.89 billion (approximately $39 million) into the Central Bank account of the federal Finance Ministry as remittance for non-petroleum revenue generated in January 2025. This latest transfer is the first since October 2024. The four-month gap in remittances occurred as disagreements escalated between Baghdad and Erbil in late 2024 before the two sides reached a “final” agreement on salaries on February 2. The agreement coincided with parliament passing a budget amendment designed to facilitate the resumption of halted oil exports from the Kurdistan region. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.

POLITICS: Court Rejects Challenges to Three New Laws; Top Syria Diplomat to Visit Baghdad; Baghdad Signs Cooperation Agreements with Prague

On February 6, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein traveled to Morocco for talks with Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fattah, in an effort to enhance economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement by Iraq’s Foreign Ministry. During the meeting, the two ministers reviewed Iraq’s economic development plans in various sectors, including natural gas, renewable energy, tourism, industry, and finance, and underscored “the importance of establishing effective mechanisms to enhance economic and investment cooperation between the two countries,” the statement added. The two ministers discussed plans to develop several “memoranda of understanding that will contribute to establishing joint working mechanisms between Iraq and Morocco.” 

On February 9, the office of President Abdullatif Rashid said the president has filed a lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court against Prime Minister Sudani, his Finance Minister, and speaker Mashhadani calling for the immediate disbursement of the delayed salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan region. A spokesman for the president said the case was indeed filed on January 20 and called for funds to be released immediately regardless of the salary domiciliation process, which has been stymied by the KRG. The Court is scheduled to make a ruling in the case, which may have been rendered moot by recent breakthroughs on oil export and budget disputes between Baghdad and Erbil, on February 18.

On February 10, security forces in Erbil blocked scores of teachers and other government employees coming from Sulaymaniyah from entering the city. The civil servants are part of a weeks-long protest demanding regular payment of their salaries, which have been embroiled in protracted disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional government (KRG). The protesters headed to Erbil on Monday in an attempt to set up a protest outside the office of the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) in the city. Security forces set up roadblocks and reportedly fired tear gas at the demonstrators, causing suffocation and other injuries among 17 protesters. Senior members of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) dismissed the protests as politicized, while the KRG Interior Ministry said the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was fomenting the unrest to destabilize the region. Meanwhile, the governor of Erbil dismissed the protesters who attempted to enter Erbil as “Arabs…not residents of Kurdistan and not employed here.” The governor, Omid Khoshnaw, accused a group of Iraqi lawmakers who had visited the protest site in Sulaymaniyah last Friday of exploiting the legitimate discontent of Kurdistan’s civil servants for political goals.

On February 11, the Federal Supreme Court rescinded an injunction it had made a week earlier  that suspended the implementation of three controversial laws. The Court also said it dismissed objections filed by lawmakers who had asked the Court to nullify the Jan 21 vote during which parliament passed the three bills. According to court documents and press statements, the objecting lawmakers argued that the vote violated parliamentary bylaws by putting all three bills to a single vote instead of allowing the legislature to vote on each one separately. There were also allegations that quorum was lacking during the vote, and that parts of the bills were altered before the vote without giving lawmakers the chance to review them. The laws in question are amendments to the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, the General Amnesty Law No. 27 of 2016, and a bill addressing the return of land confiscated by the Ba’ath Party regime. The Court’s sudden reversal comes after it faced strong pushback from the Supreme Judicial Council and its president, judge Faeq Zaidan, who argued that the court does not have the power to suspend laws yet to be published in the official gazette. The Federal Supreme Court also faced pushback from political parties, mostly Sunni blocs, who accused it of overreach and interfering in the work of the legislative branch. Tuesday’s decision by the Court to dismiss the objections was met with praise from Sunni politicians like the Azm party leader Muthanna al-Samarraie, who called it “a triumph for justice.” Speaker Mahshhadani also welcomed the decision, which he said offered an opportunity “for the innocent…to return to a life of freedom and join in building the country.” The Federal Supreme Court has not yet published the rationale behind its latest decision. President Abdullatif Rashid signed the three bills into law on Thursday.

On February 12, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani revealed that he has received an official invitation to visit the Iraqi capital, adding that he “will be in Baghdad soon.” Political sources told Shafaq that Shabani and Iraqi officials will discuss Syria’s possible participation in the Arab League summit meeting that Baghdad is expected to host later this year.  Shabani’s visit will be the first high-level diplomatic engagement between a cautious Baghdad and the new government in Damascus since Iraqi intelligence chief Hamid al-Shatri met with Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in late December.

On February 13, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, where he was met by his Czech counterpart, Prime Minister Petr Fiala. During the visit, Iraq and the Czech Republic signed four agreements between their respective interior ministries, industry unions, chambers of commerce, and between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Iraqi and Czech civil aviation authorities also signed a bilateral treaty for air transportation. Additionally, the two sides signed a statement of intent between Iraq’s Ministry of Environment and its Czech counterpart for future cooperation in environmental protection. Speaking at a joint press conference, Sudani and Fiala expressed their interest in creating favorable conditions for businesses and investors to work in each other’s markets. Both sides also expressed their desire to enhance economic, trade, and investment cooperation in areas including, but not limited to, crude oil refining, chemicals, mining and mineral processing, geological surveying, environmental technologies (particularly sustainable waste management, air quality monitoring, and water management), infrastructure development, transportation, civil aviation, the railway industry, construction equipment and materials, energy engineering and renewable energy, medical equipment, as well as machinery and equipment for agriculture and food processing.

Sources cited in this section include: INA, Ultra Iraq, PUKMedia, ISHM archive, Rudaw, Peregraf, al-Hurra, Kurdistan Watch, Kurdistan24, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court, Baghdad Today, Shafaq, Arab News, Iraqi PM’s office.

SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Four Iraqis Killed, Several Wounded in Multiple IED and Remnants of War Explosions; Iraqi Airstrikes Kill Seven ISIS Militants

On February 8, security sources in Basra province said that an old land mine exploded in the Rumaila desert, to the west of Basra. The explosion killed four people, including two children, and wounded two other people. All victims were from one family that happened to be walking in the  area when the mine detonated. A few days later, on February 11, another explosive remnant of war detonated in the town of al-Qurna, to the north of Basra. The explosion caused various injuries among five children, according to security sources.  

On February 10, the Security Media Cell said that Iraqi F-16 jets conducted an airstrike that targeted a group of ISIS militants in the Pulkana region in eastern Salah ad-Din province. Ground troops deployed later to inspect the site found the bodies of two slain militants along with weapons, communication equipment, and various supplies, the Cell said in a subsequent statement. To the west, in Anbar province, another Iraqi F-16 strike on February 12 targeted a group of ISIS militants in a cave north of the Rawa district. The airstrike killed five ISIS militants, according to a statement by Iraq’s Joint Operations Command. 

On February 12, security sources in Kirkuk province said that an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on the road between the districts of Kifri and Tuzkhormatu. The explosion struck a pickup truck, injuring its civilian driver.

On February 12, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said that an IED explosion struck the vehicle of Salam al-Mahalawi, a battalion commander in the PMF 57th brigade in the remote al-Qaem district of Anbar province. Malawi and another PMF fighter were severely injured in the explosion, which was caused by a device that was planted on the vehicle itself, according to the PMF.

On February 13, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani appointed major general Mowafaq al-Jubouri as the new commander of the Ninewa Operations Command, security sources said. Jubouri, who commands the Iraqi army’s 15th division, will replace major general Taha Askar, who’s being reassigned to the Ground Forces Command at the Defense Ministry.

Sources cited in this section include: Shafaq, al-Sumaria, NINA, INA, Ultra Iraq.

ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Expands Maysan Refinery; Preparations Underway to Resume Cross-Border Trade with Syria; KRG Resumes Sending Non-Oil Revenue to Baghdad

On February 10, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said it will add a new oil refining unit at the Maysan oil refinery to raise its capacity from 40,000 to 110,000 barrels per day (bpd). The statement did not mention the project’s cost, timeline, or the company that is undertaking the expansion, which will reportedly be done in accordance with the “Euro 5 standard” for emissions. The expansion plan was first reported in late 2023. This comes less than a week after Iraq announced a similar expansion project worth $800 million at the 40,000 bpd refinery in Diwaniyah. 

On February 10, the head of the Iraqi-Syrian Business Council, Hassan al-Sheikh, said that Iraq is preparing to resume cross-border trade with Syria in the coming days. The resumption of trade, disrupted by the fall of the Assad regime in December, awaits the signing of an agreement between Iraqi and Syrian authorities as the Syrian side works to fulfill Iraqi requirements by establishing a fully equipped border crossing with border guards and customs services opposite the al-Qaim crossing on the Iraqi side. According to al-Sheikh, the border crossing on the Syrian side is expected to be fully operational within days.

On February 12, the KRG Finance Ministry said the KRG has deposited a sum of more than IQD 51.89 billion (approximately $39 million) in the Central Bank account of the federal Finance Ministry as remittance for non-petroleum revenue generated in January 2025. This latest transfer is the first since October 2024 when the KRG made a remittance for non-petroleum revenue generated in June 2024. The four-month gap in remittances occurred as disagreements escalated between Baghdad and Erbil in late 2024 before the two sides reached a “final” agreement on salaries on February 2. The agreement coincided with parliament passing a budget amendment designed to facilitate the resumption of halted oil exports from the Kurdistan region.  

Sources cited in this section include: Iraq’s Oil Ministry, al-Mirbad, ISHM archive, Shafaq, Rudaw.

IED Incidents and Resulting Casualties

Casualties Due To IEDs and ERWs from February 6, 2025 - February 13, 2025

Please note: some geographic locations represented are approximations and this map may not represent all incidents.

Derived from firsthand accounts and Iraq-based Arabic and Kurdish news sources, the Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor is a free publication of the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center.

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