World Conflicts
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Iraq instability

Active Medium intensity Internationalized intrastate Middle East 9 Dec 2017 to present

Iraq faces residual Islamic State attacks and armed factions aligned with Iran. During the 2026 U.S.-Iran war, airstrikes repeatedly hit Popular Mobilization Forces bases and militias attacked U.S. sites until an April ceasefire. U.S. troops completed their withdrawal on 30 September 2026, and the government has pushed its militia disarmament deadline to June 2027.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

Airstrikes on PMF bases, 28 Feb - 8 Apr 2026
145
Shafaq News (PMF Commission) as of 10 Apr 2026
PMF wounded, 28 Feb - 8 Apr 2026
~270
Shafaq News (PMF Commission) as of 10 Apr 2026
U.S. troop withdrawal completed
30 Sep 2026
NPR as of 30 Sep 2026
New militia disarmament target
June 2027
The National as of 22 Sep 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
27
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026
Deaths in 2026, 2 Jan to 27 Sep 2026 (UCDP)
231 best estimate (223–231)
UCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 27 Sep 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
60–80range across 2 sources
Killed in 2026 so far (UCDP)
231
People displaced
1M
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
1.4M
Recorded events, last 30 days
53

Parties and actors

  • Government of Iraq / Iraqi Security Forces State armed forces
  • Popular Mobilization Forces and Iran-aligned factions (e.g. Kataib Hezbollah) State-affiliated and non-state armed groups
  • Islamic State remnants Non-state armed group
  • United States (and Israel, per PMF) Foreign states conducting airstrikes in 2026

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub
Disarmament of armed factions outside state control Active talks
Parties
Government of Iraq, Iran-aligned armed factions
Mediators
None reported
Last development
22 Sep 2026

The government's 30 September 2026 deadline for factions to disarm was not met; PM Ali al-Zaidi now targets June 2027. Some groups say they placed weapons under state authority, while Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba refuse.

The National as of 22 Sep 2026

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 250 125 500 250 750 375 1K 500Nov 2021: 262 events, 120 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 321 events, 185 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 332 events, 206 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 228 events, 88 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 229 events, 88 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 674 events, 232 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 623 events, 236 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 562 events, 143 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 689 events, 163 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 548 events, 177 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 553 events, 185 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 608 events, 139 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 405 events, 175 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 493 events, 290 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 324 events, 105 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 225 events, 153 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 265 events, 113 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 438 events, 140 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 353 events, 130 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 410 events, 92 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 508 events, 79 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 296 events, 128 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 497 events, 111 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 446 events, 93 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 484 events, 113 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 624 events, 125 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 537 events, 130 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 488 events, 59 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 774 events, 78 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 545 events, 87 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 419 events, 55 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 670 events, 86 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 625 events, 87 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 671 events, 124 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 614 events, 62 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 530 events, 119 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 599 events, 72 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 410 events, 62 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 274 events, 97 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 273 events, 77 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 667 events, 61 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 414 events, 36 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 278 events, 49 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 225 events, 41 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 113 events, 36 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 73 events, 41 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 54 events, 28 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 55 events, 34 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 77 events, 35 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 38 events, 34 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 48 events, 28 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 142 events, 40 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 342 events, 140 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 124 events, 43 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 76 events, 46 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 39 events, 21 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 73 events, 47 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 68 events, 33 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 61 events, 27 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 53 events, 27 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians).
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 20265327
Sep 20266127
Aug 20266833
Jul 20267347
Jun 20263921
May 20267646
Apr 202612443
Mar 2026342140
Feb 202614240
Jan 20264828
Dec 20253834
Nov 20257735
Oct 20255534
Sep 20255428
Aug 20257341
Jul 202511336
Jun 202522541
May 202527849
Apr 202541436
Mar 202566761
Feb 202527377
Jan 202527497
Dec 202441062
Nov 202459972
Oct 2024530119
Sep 202461462
Aug 2024671124
Jul 202462587
Jun 202467086
May 202441955
Apr 202454587
Mar 202477478
Feb 202448859
Jan 2024537130
Dec 2023624125
Nov 2023484113
Oct 202344693
Sep 2023497111
Aug 2023296128
Jul 202350879
Jun 202341092
May 2023353130
Apr 2023438140
Mar 2023265113
Feb 2023225153
Jan 2023324105
Dec 2022493290
Nov 2022405175
Oct 2022608139
Sep 2022553185
Aug 2022548177
Jul 2022689163
Jun 2022562143
May 2022623236
Apr 2022674232
Mar 202222988
Feb 202222888
Jan 2022332206
Dec 2021321185
Nov 2021262120

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 250 500 750 1K 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Erbil 237 events · 23 fatalities
  2. Baghdad 113 events · 34 fatalities
  3. Al Basrah 109 events · 39 fatalities
  4. Maysan 97 events · 63 fatalities
  5. Al Anbar 94 events · 117 fatalities
  6. Al Sulaymaniyah 84 events · 23 fatalities
  7. Kirkuk 81 events · 61 fatalities
  8. Ninewa 78 events · 47 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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