This week’s headlines: ISIS Territory “Down to the Last One Percent” as Security Forces Move Toward Rawa ▪ Kurdistan Parliament Affirms Federal Court Ruling on Independence; KDP MPs Return to Baghdad ▪ Earthquake Hits Along Iran-Iraq Border ▪ Kirkuk KRG Office Relocates to Erbil; Ousted Governor’s Case Dismissed ▪ Iraqi Foreign Minister Visits Qatar

This week’s headlines: Abadi, Speaking in Qa’im, Declares City Cleared of ISIS Militants; Operations in Anbar Continue ▪ Suicide Attacks Roil Kirkuk; Sadr Orders PMU to Withdraw ▪ Federal Court Ruling, Budget Woes Further Erode KRG Leverage ▪ VP Nujaifi Sets Conditions for May Elections in Speech at USIP; Denies Report He Asked U.S. to Arm Sunni Militias ▪ ISIS Atrocities During Mosul Battle Detailed in UN Report

This week’s headlines: KRG President Barzani Steps Down as Kurdish Parties Clash ▪ Unaided by Rumors, ISF, Peshmerga Tensions Continue Over Border Control ▪ Date Fixed for National Elections ▪ Tillerson: U.S. Will Stay in Iraq Until ISIS is Defeated ▪ ISF Make Measured Progress in Western Anbar ▪ Amid Growing Need, World Bank Approves Aid Package; Ninewa Governor Ousted

This week’s headlines: Allegations and Rhetoric Confuse Situation as ISF Take Over Disputed Territories ▪ Reports of Casualties and Looting Amid ISF, Peshmerga Clashes ▪ Kurdish Elections ‘Suspended’ for Eight Months; Referendum Results ‘Frozen’ ▪ Abadi Dismisses Tillerson Comments on PMUs, Seeks Regional Cooperation ▪ ISF “Coming to Liberate You” in Anbar ▪ Lack of Planning in Mosul Causing “Chaos” as Funding Urgently Needed

This week’s headlines: Iraqi Security Forces, PMUs Move Quickly Into Disputed Territories ▪ Political Fallout Over Referendum Continues: Barzani Loses Leverage, Kirkuk Governor Ousted, Kurdish Elections Postponed ▪ Thousands of IDPs Move Through Disputed Territories Amid Unreliable Reporting ▪ U.S. Colonel Says There is “Work to Be Done” After ISIS is Cleared ▪ Extreme Hardship Remains in Western Mosul

This week’s headlines: Hawija Declared Cleared of ISIS as Most Militants Surrender to Peshmerga ▪ Dialogue Pushed as Next Steps in Easing Erbil-Baghdad Tensions ▪ Iran, Turkey Unite in Disdain for Kurdish Independence ▪ Diyala Security Situation Remains Tenuous as Focus Shifts ▪ Schools Reopen in Mosul; HRW Condemns Forced Detentions

This week’s headlines: Referendum Tensions Relax, For Now, Aided By Calls from Sistani ▪ Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga Continue Cooperation Toward Hawija ▪ Revered Former President Jalal Talabani Dies at 84 ▪ Despite Saber Rattling, Iran and Turkey Await Next Steps for the KRI ▪ New Reports Released on Toll of Operations in Mosul ▪ Airstrikes Continue Over Anbar

This week’s headlines: Kurdistan Votes for Independence, Baghdad Retaliates ▪ Turkey, Iran Conduct Military Exercises on Iraqi-Kurdish Borders ▪ Aid Agencies Prepare as Military Operations Commence Near Hawija ▪ UN, Amnesty Condemn Executions in Nasiriya ▪ IDP Returns to Cleared Areas May Be Premature, Report Suggests

This week’s headlines: Tensions Mount in Kirkuk as Kurdish Independence Referendum Looms ▪ Governor of Kirkuk Disputes Ouster ▪ Attack in Nasiriya Results in Mass Casualties ▪ Mass Displacement from Hawija Expected as Operations Begin ▪ Encouraged by Improved Security, More IDPs Return to Eastern Mosul ▪ “Hundreds” of ISIS Militants Killed in Western Anbar ▪ Kurdish Parliament Reconvenes Without Gorran

This week’s headlines: Kurdish Parliament to Reconvene as Tension Mounts Over Referendum Participation ▪ ISIS Militants Surrender in Sharqat, Flee Hawija Ahead of Operations ▪ Iraq Considers Options for Foreign ISIS Fighters, Families ▪ Village Near Tal Afar Cleared Again; Commission Releases Mosul Report ▪ Security in Western Anbar Remains Tenuous

This week’s headlines: Hawija Operations “Imminent” ▪ Intense Fighting Continues Near Tal Afar ▪ Barzani Doubles Down on Referendum ▪ ISIS Militants Released by Hezbollah May Have Reached Iraq

This week’s headlines: Abadi Declares Tal Afar “Liberated” from ISIS ▪ Despite Military Success, More Displacements and Abuse of Tal Afar Civilians ▪ Hawija May Be Next for Security Forces as Atrocities Continue ▪ IEDs Roil Baghdad ▪ Forced Returns to Anbar Province; Jordanian Border Reopens ▪ Kirkuk Provincial Council Votes to Participate in Kurdistan Region Independence Referendum ▪ Militia Storms Diyala Provincial Council Over Attempts to Dismiss Governor