Friday, October 16, 2026

Review Dunya Mikhail, The Beekeeper of Sinjar, Serpent’s Tail, 2018


  

The Beekeeper of Sinjar is full of heartbreaking stories of mostly Yazidis who were victims of the Islamic State takeover of northern Iraq in 2014. Author Dunya Mikhail befriended a Yazidi man named Abdullah who was helping women escape from the militants. He told her of some of the people he assisted. Many of the tales are similar but they need to be told as the community faced genocide during the war.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 16 Govt forces took south Kirkuk and Kirkuk city after fighting Peshmerga Aftermath of KRG independence referendum


1914 UK convoy with 16th Indian Bgd on way to Egypt told it was being sent to Persian Gulf to

            secure Persian oil fields and occupy Basra

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Musings On Iraq In The News

  

I was quoted by Paul Iddon in this article “Could the US exit from Iraq fuel an Islamic State resurgence?” in The New Aab.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 15 UN inspectors found Iraq worked on hydrogen bomb


1905 British Amb to Turkey O’Connor sent memo written by Sir Sykes to Foreign Office detailing oil

deposits in Mosul vilayet

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Iraq Devalues Dinar Again To Maintain Bloated Govt Budget


  

Iraq devalued the dinar for the second time since 2020. Both times the government claimed this was a necessary reform but failed to bring about any positive results. Rather this is simply a way to maintain the budget.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 14 Oil discovered in Kirkuk


1920 UK military took Kifl railway station Major transportation hub in mid-Euphrates during

            1920 Revolt

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 13 Al Qaeda in Iraq became the Islamic State of Iraq


1920 UK military relief force fought rebels outside Samawa Rebels withdrew during night

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

Review Dunya Mikhail, The Beekeeper of Sinjar, Serpent’s Tail, 2018

   The Beekeeper of Sinjar is full of heartbreaking stories of mostly Yazidis who were victims of the Islamic State takeover...