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Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki (Photo by Reurters) Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki has called for “substantial” Russian military and political presence in the terror-ravaged country, saying this would bring “balance” to the entire region. “It’s well known that Russia has historically strong relations with Iraq, therefore we would like Russia to have a substantial presence in our country, both politically and militarily,” said the senior Iraqi official during a Monday meeting with speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, in Moscow, RT reported. “This way, a balance would be established that would benefit the region, its peoples and its countries” added Maliki, saying his country believes “in Russia’s role in solving most of the key international issues as well as improving stability and balance in our region and worldwide.” Matviyenko, in turn, welcomed Baghdad’s desire to boost ties with Moscow and said, “Russia is also determined to expand

This photo taken on November 7, 2016 shows Iraqi forces checking a body they pulled from a mass grave they discovered in Hamam al-Alil area after they recaptured it from the Daesh terrorist group during the ongoing operation to retake Mosul. (Photo by AFP) Iraqi soldiers have found two mass graves containing the bodies of people slaughtered by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group during the extremists’ control of a desert town west of the country. “The Iraqi army found two mass graves in Rutbah containing the bodies of members of the security forces and of civilians,” a captain in the army's 1st division said Thursday. Rutbah, a small town in Anbar Province, was retaken from Daesh in May last year. The military official said the graves could have been dug as soon as Daesh took control of the town in mid-2014 and began executing civilians and security forces to wreak havoc. The mayor of Rutba, situated about 390 kilometers west of Baghdad, said one of the graves was located in ce

Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs A senior Iranian official says any threat to Iraq's security and territorial integrity will affect the entire Middle East, stressing that the Islamic Republic opposes Iraq’s partition and any interference in its internal affairs. Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday after a meeting with Jan Kubis, the UN special representative for Iraq, Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, said the two sides discussed ways to reinforce Iraq’s territorial integrity and national solidarity. He added that any measure to combat terrorism in Iraq must be carried out under the supervision of the United Nations. The Iranian official emphasized that the Islamic Republic and the UN opposed meddling by any country in the internal affairs of Iraq or any other state without thei