Writer: Mohamad Ali Harissi

July 1, 2014
12:37 pm

Iraqi Raad Abdulhussein (C) and his friends sit watching on TV the 2014 FIFA World Cup round of 16 football match between Algeria and Germany on July 1, 2014 at the "Facebook" cafe in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. (photo credit: AFP/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Football-crazed Iraqis watch World Cup despite danger

Soccer fest provides respite from concerns over militant forces sweeping across the country

By Mohamad Ali Harissi

June 12, 2014
6:17 pm

Iraqi policemen man a checkpoint in the capital Baghdad on June 12, 2014, as jihadists and anti-government fighters have spearheaded a major offensive that overrun all of Nineveh province. (photo credit: AFP/ Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

Baghdad residents brace for jihadist onslaught

ISIL fighters seen as close as 90 kilometers from Iraqi capital; residents fear imminent arrival

By Mohamad Ali Harissi

April 19, 2014
8:52 am

Family members of Diaa Mutashar al-Issawi, seen in the poster, chant anti-Jabhat al-Nusra and Free Syrian Army slogans during his funeral in Basra on Monday. (photo credit: AP/ Nabil Al-Jurani)

Syria rivalry sharply splits jihadist ranks

The militant groups battling Assad are locked in fierce infighting, hampering efforts to topple him

By Mohamad Ali Harissi