- Iraqi army still struggling after $1.6 billion in US aid
The former governor of Iraq's northernmost province claims he has a workable plan for the recapture of Mosul from Islamic State with a combined force of Iraqi army, Kurdish peshmerga and 1,000 fighters within the city but loyal to him. – Washington Times
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expects two victories from the battle underway in Falluja, an Islamic States stronghold near Baghdad. The first is over IS, the second over political rivals, including some backed by Iran. - Reuters
Islamic State claimed a rare car bombing in the Iraqi Shiite holy city Karbala that killed 10 people and wounded 25 Tuesday, showing the extremist group retains its ability to strike populated areas despite recent battlefield defeats. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Eli Lake writes: Many Americans today wish the U.S. had never taken ownership of Iraq. But many also make the mistake of thinking that the U.S. signed that deed of purchase with the 2003 war. In fact the down payment was made with a haphazard operation to rescue half a million Kurds, and it began 25 years ago. – Bloomberg View
Ousted. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has fired several key government officials, including the country’s intelligence chief Zuhair al-Gharbawi. It’s unclear why now and what comes next, but al-Gharbawi was appointed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki