Caretaker PM Mustafa Al Kazemi maintains grip on Falcon Cell

Militias aim for top intelligence seat after Sudani approved as PM 

Just weeks into the job, new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is already having to deal with militia rivalries. To keep these in check, the Coordination Framework candidate has also named himself head of the national intelligence service.

• UNITED KINGDOM - Charles III, King of Spies

• IRAQ - Intelligence services suit up ahead of Arba'een pilgrimage

• UNITED STATES/CHINA - Pressure mounts on Confucius institutes

• UNITED KINGDOM - GCHQ creates a behavioural science research centre to screen hires

• GERMANY - Doubts over counter-terrorism, now counter-espionage

• FRANCE - New candidate for the CNRLT

Talabani family feud hinders presidential negotiations 

The yearlong rift within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is hampering talks between Iraqi Kurdistan's political parties as they tackle the very urgent task of appointing a president. It has also prompted Baghdad to take direct action.

Paris rallies to save Iraqi contracts 

Despite the many technical and political obstacles hampering French investments in Iraq, France is determined not to miss out on the potential economic opportunities and is counting on senators and industry bosses to bolster the bilateral relationship.

French security firms struggle to get foot back in Iraq 

The promise of contracts tied to large infrastructure projects made by Baghdad raised high hopes among French security specialists, particularly GEOS and Amarante. But these opportunities have yet to materialise.

Qassem Al Araji treads carefully with results of probe into PM Kadhimi's attempted assassination 

After a drone attack on the home of the Iraqi prime minister last month, the country's national security adviser Qassem Al Araji fell short of naming potential perpetrators when unveiling his findings on 29 November to avoid stirring the Shi'ite militia hornet's nest.

Falcon cell restores image in mission with coalition 

The counterintelligence unit, which reputedly reports directly to the prime minister and former intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kazemi, has emerged after months of laying low to conduct an operation against Islamic State fighters in the Hamrin Mountains.

Secret Falcon Cell further challenged by Basra assault 

Iraq's Falcons counterintelligence unit was attacked by a Shi'ite militia group in Basra earlier this month, dealing it another blow and exposing the struggle the prime minister is having with pro-Iranian factions.

Militias target intelligence service INIS 

When an officer of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), Mohammed Latin, was assassinated at his home in the Mansour [...]

After Baghdad bombings, Kazimi gives intelligence services a firm shaking 

In the wake of the twin attacks in Bagdad on 21 January, Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kazimi is restructuring the country's main intelligence and security agencies and is using the opportunity to appoint individuals able to answer to him.

Militia groups ejected from Baghdad airport 

According to our sources, after consulting with the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), the director of Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority, [...]

Al Kazimi puts intelligence at centre of anti-corruption strategy 

Announced on 31 August by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kazimi, the composition of the new anti-corruption committee, directly attached [...]