Reported from the source

Quick summary: Iraq is increasingly becoming a battleground in the new Middle East conflict, with attacks targeting the last remaining U.S. military base, a northern refinery, and the UAE consulate in Erbil. Oil tankers are burning off the coast, and air attacks have reached Baghdad, as Shiite militias escalate their involvement against the U.S. Iraqi and Kurdish politicians are reportedly making desperate efforts to keep the country out of the conflict.

Iraq has emerged as a theater in the escalating new Middle East war. The last remaining U.S. military base in Iraq, Harir, located near Erbil in the Kurdish autonomous region, was attacked in early March. Subsequent assaults have targeted the northern Lanaz refinery and the Consulate of the United Arab Emirates in Erbil. Further signs of the conflict’s expansion include burning oil tankers off the Iraqi coast and the arrival of air warfare in the capital, Baghdad. Shiite militias within Iraq are increasingly engaging in combat against the United States. In response to the escalating situation, Iraqi and Kurdish politicians are reportedly making desperate attempts to prevent the country from being drawn further into the conflict.

Source: www.derstandard.at