Iraq

With its dirt roads and drab dwellings, the camp can be a bleak place. But the beat of a daf, a drum sacred to Yazidis, throbs underneath loud, energetic singing, rising over shouts of children in a trash-strewn playground.

Pope Francis has touched down in Iraq for the first-ever papal visit to the predominantly Muslim country, beginning a four-day visit in Baghdad, where yellow and white Vatican flags and likenesses of the pontiff flutter above hastily weeded traffic circles.

The American troop presence will decline in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500, and in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500. Senior military leaders reportedly oppose the move.

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking the return of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, purchased by Hobby Lobby for display in the Museum of the Bible, which authorities say cooperated with the investigation.

In updating its tally, defense officials noted that most of the injured service members have been treated and returned to Iraq. The statement, once more, contradicts President Trump's initial remarks.

More than half the American troops diagnosed with concussions were transferred from the Iraqi base that was attacked to Germany or the U.S.

At least five structures were damaged in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. There have been no reports of casualties.

In a nationally televised address from the White House, the president also announced a new round of what he termed "punishing economic sanctions" against the Tehran government. And he called on NATO to become "much more involved in the Middle East process."

Iran says the airstrikes were carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

President Trump ordered the death of the best-known Iranian paramilitary commander in a move expected to yield shock waves across the world. What will happen now?