At least 25 people were killed in recent violence:
An old mine killed a Peshmerga member near Erbil.
Thirteen ISIS militants were killed in an operation that targeted an area west of Samarra. The operation comes a day after clashes.
Near Qaim, security forces killed over 10 militants trying to sneak into Iraq.
Security forces near Ramadi killed a suicide bomber.
In other news:
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi alleged that there were “dangerous violations” committed during the parliamentary elections. Of particular concern was the use of untested ballot counting machines. The premier implied that the fault lies with the electoral commission, whose members are now banned from traveling abroad. The ban is part of a set of recommendations laid out by the Council of Ministers, which also recommended a partial recount and the tossing of ballots from displaced and overseas voters. The Supreme Judicial Council, however, warned that a manual recount or the annulment of the results is not allowed by law.
Meanwhile, Abadi also demanded that Turkey respect Iraq sovereignty in regards to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.). Turkey has slowly been encroaching on Iraqi territory in its quest to eliminate the guerrilla group.
Turkey recently began filling a reservoir on the Tigris River at the Ilisu Dam, apparently surprising Baghdad officials who expected the work would start in late June. The operation is exacerbating a pre-existing water shortage affecting water used for irrigation. Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq, Fatih Yildiz, promised sufficient water supplies will be released.
