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Sarah Benhaida
Iraqi electoral commission employees examine electronic counting machine print-outs in the holy city of Najaf on May 13, 2018, for the special round of voting that took place for the police and military on May 10 in the country's first parliamentary election since declaring victory over the Islamic State terror group. (AFP Photo/Haidar Hamdani)
May 14, 2018, 12:47 am
Iraqi PM appears to hold lead after vote in first post-IS election
While his political alliance is likely to win the most seats, Haider al-Abadi to face lengthy haggling to cobble together government
By Sarah Benhaida
An Iraqi man, from the Shabak community, stands amidst the rubble of a house which was destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the village of Baz Gerkan east of Mosul on January 10, 2018. (AFP Photo/Ahman Al-Rubaye)
January 16, 2018, 1:15 pm
Minorities in north Iraq look to post-jihadist future
With victory declared against the Islamic State group, ethnic and religious minorities are reclaiming their place within the country's fractured society
By Sarah Benhaida
A general view shows Mosul's Old City, on January 8, 2018 (AFP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)
January 10, 2018, 6:35 am
Mosul’s old heart in ruins six months after IS ousted
For many residents, the euphoria at the city's liberation from jihadist rule has been replaced by uncertainty about the future
By Sarah Benhaida
An Iraqi man weaves a carpet at his textile workshop in the Iraqi city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, on October 12, 2017. (AFP Photo/Sabah Arar)
November 5, 2017, 11:38 am
Traditional carpet weaving in central Iraq unravels
Hit by years of war and cheap imports, Iraqi rug makers now struggling to keep historic craft alive
By Sarah Benhaida
Members of the Iraqi armed forces backed by paramilitary fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces pose for a photograph in Hawija on October 5, 2017, after retaking the city from the Islamic State terror group. (AFP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)
October 5, 2017, 3:52 pm
Iraq forces retake Islamic State bastion Hawija
Iraqi PM calls latest victory one 'for the whole world' while spokesman for US coalition says terror group 'close' to defeat in country
By Ahmad Al-Rubaye and Sarah Benhaida
In this Thursday, May 4, 2017 photo, a boy walks by graffiti of Palestinian flags with Arabic reading: "The flag is four colors that shine on the face of the sun" in the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
June 1, 2017, 9:32 am
Palestinian refugees’ dreams of returning home fade
As time passes since 1948 and 1967 wars, frustration at entrenched status quo grows among those who fled and their descendants
By Mussa Hattar and Sarah Benhaida
Young men sit on a ledge past campaign posters displaying an electoral list ahead of municipal elections in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, on May 10, 2017. (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)
May 11, 2017, 5:49 pm
Palestinian elections highlight Hamas-Fatah division
Municipal voting being held Saturday in West Bank only; turnout expected to be only some 42%
By Sarah Benhaida
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas greets his supporters following a trip to Washington DC, on March 20, 2014, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
May 1, 2017, 10:38 am
Trump, Abbas gear up for White House meeting
PA leader to meet US president for first time Wednesday in expected bid to revive peace talks amid conflict with Hamas, US criticism over stipends to terrorists
By Sarah Benhaida
Foreign students of the Bethlehem Icon Center work on their painting during their course, in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on April 11, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)
April 13, 2017, 8:03 am
Ancient sacred art resurrected in city of Jesus’s birth
In Bethlehem, a group of enthusiasts specializing in the sacred craft of iconography work to keep the 2,000-year-old tradition alive
By Sarah Benhaida
A Palestinian farmer hoses off the udders of cows at the Jebrini dairy farm in the West Bank town of Hebron, where cow dung is used to produce electricity as an alternative power source, April 10, 2017. (AFP Photo/Hazem Bader)
April 12, 2017, 11:50 am
Palestinian family powers up with cow pies
With the help of Hebron's Polytechnic University, farmers are using bovine manure to produce electricity for one of the West Bank's largest dairy plants
By Sarah Benhaida
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas casts his vote in Fatah elections at the Muqataa, the Palestinian Authority headquarters, in the city of Ramallah, on December 3, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI)
December 3, 2016, 5:19 pm
Fatah picks party officials amid talk of Abbas succession
As PA leader seeks to quell internal rivalries, Saturday's vote seen as an indicator of the strengths and weaknesses of various factions
By Sarah Benhaida
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaking at a rally marking the 12th anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, November 10, 2016. (AFP/Abbas Momani)
November 29, 2016, 2:15 pm
Abbas’s Fatah opens first congress since 2009
Elections to Palestinian Authority central committee will signal future direction of West Bank ruling party
By Hossam Ezzedine and Sarah Benhaida
(FILES) This file photo taken on October 21, 2016 shows forces from Iraq's elite Rapid Response Division, which is at the forefront of the southern advance on Mosul, are deployed near the village of Tall al-Tibah, some 30 kilometers south of the jihadist-held city. (Bulent Kilic/AFP)
November 4, 2016, 4:48 pm
Elite Iraq forces punch into Mosul, face tough resistance
3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters entrenched in city, with over a million civilians believed trapped
By Sarah Benhaida
During the ongoing battle against Islamic State group an Iraqi forces tank advances towards the village of Salmani, south of Mosul, October 30, 2016. (AFP/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)
October 31, 2016, 4:14 pm
Advancing Iraqi forces near Mosul city limits
Elite unit commander denies reports that some troops are already battling Islamic State group inside jihadi-held city
By Sarah Benhaida and Ahmad Al-Rubaye
A suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) group is detained by Iraqi Kurdish forces in the southern Domiz neighbourhood of Kirkuk, October 21, 2016. (AFP/Marwan IBRAHIM)
October 27, 2016, 12:39 pm
Jihadists said to shave beards as pressure builds on Mosul
US and British defense officials predict assault on Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria within weeks
By Sarah Benhaida and W.G. Dunlop
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