Afghan officials say they are closely investigating pictures that show the new commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, on an official visit in Bamiyan Province in 2018. VOA’s Rahim Gul Sarwan reports from Kabul. 

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The Islamic State group (IS) could be the major beneficiary of the conflict between the United States and Iran as tensions reach a new level between the two countries over the U.S. killing of Iran’s most powerful commander, Qassem Soleimani, experts charge.
The U.S.-led counter-IS coalition in Iraq and Syria said in a statement Sunday that it had temporarily stopped all of its attacks on IS and training of local forces because of “repeated rocket attacks” over the last two months by Iran-backed Shiite militants in Iraq. The move, which the coalition said was made to protect its personnel, followed reports that dozens of U.S. and allied forces left Iraq because of Iran’s threats of revenge.

A picture of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad airport, is seen on the former U.S. Embassy’s building in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 7, 2020.Experts said the withdrawal of the forces could imperil the international fight against IS, allowing the group to reorganize in Iraq and Syria.
“Obviously, the U.S. operation and the recent escalation and the relationship between Iran and the United States is adversely affecting and has already adversely affected the campaign against ISIS or the remnants of ISIS because it has taken resources away from that fight,” said Sarhang Hamasaeed, the director of Middle East Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, using another acronym for IS.
Hamasaeed said that IS, which was defeated in Iraq in December 2017 and in Syria in March 2019, has resurged in recent months despite the help from the U.S.-led coalition to the Iraqi government and Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. A U.S. exit because of the recent escalations with Iran will be exploited by IS and other extremist groups in the region, he warned.
“The Iraqi forces may not have stated it publicly in order not to get caught in the military and political sensitivities, but it is clear that Iraq still needs the resources of the United States and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS to continue the fight against the remnants of ISIS,” he told VOA.
The Iraqi parliament Sunday passed a resolution that asked for the removal of American troops and other foreign forces. The decision was in protest of the U.S. airstrike in Baghdad last Friday that also killed, along with Soleimani and several others, the Iraqi Shiite leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Act of war
Iran’s regime labeled the U.S. strike on Soleimani an act of war, vowing a “harsh revenge.” The regime Tuesday fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq.
WATCH: Qassem Soleimani: From Construction Worker to Architect of Iran’s Middle East Expansion

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Ahmet Yayla, a counterterrorism researcher and professor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, told VOA that the recent escalation had forced the anti-IS coalition to shift its attention away from IS to counter possible Iranian attacks.
“ISIS is observing these developments and very much aware that two of its arch enemies are at [each other’s] throats. This is a morale boost for [IS] first. Also, they will carefully calculate their actions and the movements of the Iranian proxies and American forces in the region and will carry out operations while they are busy with each other,” Yayla said.
The diverged attention makes IS prisons guarded by Kurds in northeast Syria particularly vulnerable by giving the militant group an opportunity to carry out operations to free its members, according to Yayla.
“The Kurds are on high alert, too, as their ally and protector’s shift has changed, and they can very easily find themselves [in the crossfire] of the Iranians and ISIS,” he added.
The largest Shiite Muslim country in the world, Iran is an opponent of the Islamic State, which is a Sunni extremist group. The country, after the 2014 rise of IS in Iraq, supported Shiite militias and organized them into one group known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
WATCH: A Look at Soleimani’s Axis of Resistance

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U.S. President Donald Trump in a statement Wednesday following Iran’s missile attacks called on Tehran to work with Washington against their common foe, IS.
“The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran, and we should work together on this and other shared priorities,” Trump said, while at the same time calling Soleimani “a ruthless terrorist” and defending the decision to kill him.
Iran role against IS
Iranian officials say Soleimani, through his Quds Force leadership, played a key role in the ultimate demise of IS, particularly in Iraq. Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif last week called Soleimani “the most effective force fighting Daesh [ISIS], al-Nusra, al-Qaida,” and other extremist groups.
However, according to Norman Roule, a retired CIA officer and a top Iran analyst, Tehran has played a minor role in the fight against IS despite claims by Iranian officials.
“Iran despite its rhetoric has actually been a rather modest element in the counter-ISIS fight with the exception of work in Iraq, which took place at the same time as heavy U.S. airstrikes and assistance. Iran’s activities in Syria have generally been aimed at sustaining the Bashar al-Assad regime. So to the extent to which the regime faced ISIS elements, Iran played a role,” Roule told VOA.
Al-Qaida-Iran
The former CIA official said Iran in the past has turned its eye from al-Qaida operations conducted from its territory despite U.S. condemnation.
“Iran has not necessarily supported al-Qaida, but they have tolerated al-Qaida operations, and indeed the al-Shura Council from al-Qaida was based in Iran for some time. And there have been public reports confirmed by the administration that al-Qaida operatives operated from within Iranian territory with the knowledge of Iranian officials,” he told VOA.
Mohammad Jawad Rahimi, a U.S.-based Afghanistan analyst, said the recent rise of tensions with the U.S. makes it more likely for Iran to continue to permit al-Qaida operations and, possibly, ease its pressure on IS.
“After Soleimani’s death, the Iranian regime publicly threatened to target the United States. In order to target the U.S. and its regional allies, the Iranian regime will increase its anti-American foreign operations not only through its Quds Force, but it will also reorganize or support other fighter groups including IS in the region, especially in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other countries. If the Iranian regime doesn’t support the IS openly, it will do it secretly because its number one goal is to target the U.S. and damage its interests in the region,” Rahimi told VOA.

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The top U.S. general says Iran was intending “to kill” when it fired missiles at Iraq bases used by U.S. forces, contradicting the administration’s general belief that Iran deliberately avoided casualties.
“In my professional assessment, at al-Asad [Airbase] … the points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said Wednesday. “Based on what I saw and what I know, they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and aircraft, and to kill personnel.”

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley arrives to conduct briefings for members of Congress on last week’s targeted killing of Iran’s senior military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Jan. 8, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.Milley said early warning systems and what he called “defensive techniques” were the reasons no U.S. or Iraqi troops were hurt.
The overall assessment by the Trump administration so far is that Iran deliberately avoided casualties because it wanted to avoid a more serious military confrontation with the United States.
Milley stressed that his belief about Iran’s true intent was his own assessment. He also said he thought it was “too early to tell” if Iran intended to strike again.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Iran fired 16 missiles — with 11 hitting al-Asad and one falling outside a second airbase in Irbil. Four others failed in midflight.
Most of the damage was to tents, parking lots and airbase taxiways. A U.S. helicopter was also damaged.
Late Wednesday, two rockets were fired into Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, home to a number of foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy.
Iraqi officials said no one was hurt and that no one was claiming responsibility yet.

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European Union foreign ministers meet later this week on the escalating crisis between Iran and the United States, but EU executives already have set the tone, calling Wednesday for dialogue and salvaging the Iran nuclear deal. 
Speaking from Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the use of weapons in the Middle East must stop. 
“We are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks,” she said. “There cannot be enough of that.”
 
In many ways, Europe is caught in the crossfire of the mounting tensions. It has condemned Iran’s missile attacks in Iraq, and offered cautious support of the U.S. strike that killed top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani — but it also urged restraint on both sides.  

 
As part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, experts say, Europeans are worried about the fallout. Germany is moving troops out of Iraq. At the same time, the Europeans strongly support the Iran nuclear agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew from two years ago, and are urging Iran to stick to it.  
 
“I think they [Europeans] are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” said Julien Barnes-Dacey, Middle East program director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “On the one hand, they do not want to create transatlantic divisions, whatever their frustrations with President Trump. And they also have significant issues with the way Iran has conducted itself in the region.”

Europe has many reasons for concern, said Iran expert Guillaume Xavier-Bender of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. It is a lot closer to the Middle East than the United States, making it more vulnerable to potential missile strikes and other effects of any widening conflict — from a resurgent Islamic State, to impacts on its trade and oil imports.  
 
“Europeans have no interest in anything that would continue the escalation in the region, that’s why its priority is de-escalation,” Xavier-Bender said.
In response, the European Union is offering what some analysts say is critical — diplomacy and mediation.  
 
“Europeans have been on the phone since this last week with everyone in the region — with the U.S., with Iran, with Israel, with Saudi Arabia — saying ‘calm things down.’ Even with the Chinese and the Russians,” Xavier-Bender said.
 
One example of the EU’s potential mediation came this week. Washington denied Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a visa to attend a U.N. meeting, while the EU, by contrast, invited him for talks in Brussels. So far, it’s unclear when that will happen.
 

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Since October, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens have taken to the streets of Beirut to protest what they say is  a corrupt political system that has failed to provide even the most basic of services. But without much media coverage, protesters are using social media to get the word out. VOA’s Betty Ayoub reports. 

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Two rockets fell on Wednesday inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions, but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said.
Sirens were sounding inside the Green Zone. Police sources told Reuters at least one rocket fell 100 meters from the U.S. Embassy.
“Two Katyusha rockets fall inside the Green Zone without causing casualties. Details to follow,” the military said.
Two loud blasts followed by sirens had been heard in Baghdad, Reuters witnesses said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Iran launched missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq overnight in retaliation for the killing by the United States last week of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, raising concern about a wider war in the Middle East.

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When the nation’s largest electric utility preemptively shut off power last fall to prevent wildfires in California, customers lost more than just their lights — some lost their phones, too.
Data from the Federal Communications Commission shows 874 cellphone towers were offline during an Oct. 27 power shutoff that affected millions of people. That included more than half of the cell towers in Marin County alone.
The outages mean people who depend solely on cellphones couldn’t call 911 or receive emergency notifications, compounding the dangers associated with an unprecedented power outage in an era dominated by wireless communication.
On Wednesday, some Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would require telecommunication companies to have at least 72 hours of back-up power for all cell phone towers in high-risk fire areas. Telecom companies would have to pay for it.
Sen. Mike McGuire said he wrote the bill after meeting with telecom company officials last summer, where he said they assured him they had plans to prevent widespread outages during a power shutoff.
“As we all know, this wasn’t true. They were wrong. And, candidly, lives were put at risk,” McGuire said.
The federal government has tried to mandate backup power for cell phone towers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But the industry successfully fought it.
“Do I believe we are in for a fight? Hell yes,” McGuire said, adding: “This is no longer a discussion about cost.”
McGuire announced his bill on the same day representatives from AT&T and Verizon were scheduled to testify before state lawmakers about the outages and ways to prevent them.  It’s the second time lawmakers will have hauled in private companies to account for the effects surrounding the widespread blackouts in the fall, the largest planned power outages in state history.
In November, lawmakers questioned executives from the state’s largest investor-owned utilities, including the leadership of troubled Pacific Gas & Electric, whose equipment has been blamed for sparking the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 people and destroyed roughly 19,000 buildings. The company filed for bankruptcy last year.
Telecommunications outages have worsened as wildfires have become more common and more destructive. A report from the California Public Utilities Commission found 85,000 wireless customers and 160,000 wired customers lost service during the 2017 North Bay Fires.
Most recently, the FCC says up to 27% of Sonoma County’s wireless cell sites were offline during a fire in October.
 In advance comments to the legislative committee, California’s four largest wireless companies — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon — say they generally make sure their major telecommunication hubs have at least between 48 hours and 72 hours of on-site backup power. They use mobile generators at other sites, but said the generators don’t work at every cell tower.
Also, the companies said the electric company warns them about blackouts just two hours ahead of time, making it hard for them to get their mobile generators in place and to keep them fueled.
AT&T spokesman Steven Maviglio said the company is experienced in managing large-scale outages, but noted “the power companies’ decision to shut off power to millions of Californians in October was the largest event our state had ever seen.”
 “Today, we are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in our network resiliency to address these new challenges and will continue to work to ensure our customers have the connectivity they need,” Maviglio said.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law requiring telecommunications companies to report large outages to the Office of Emergency Services within one hour of discovering them. Officials are still developing regulations for that law.
 
 

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Cardi B’s announcement that she wants to seek Nigerian citizenship has set off a Twitter feud between her West African fans in friendly rivals Nigeria and Ghana.
The Grammy-winning rapper visited both countries last month on her African tour.
Her announcement in a tweet on Friday criticized the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and sent Middle East tensions soaring.
“Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger. Dumbest move Trump did till date … I’m filing for my Nigerian citizenship,” she tweeted.
Many in West Africa saw her tweet as proof that she preferred Nigeria.
Ghanaians were quick to point out the pitfalls of living in Africa’s most populous nation, where traffic jams and power cuts are more visible than opulent nightclubs and luxury hotels.
“Hope you have a generator to power your house (because) they don’t have light but we do,” one user tweeted, adding an emoticon of a Ghana flag.
Some fans in Ghana expressed concern for her safety, warning about the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
Confusion, pride
But most Nigerian fans were quick to offer up a passport exchange, underscoring the mix of pride and confusion that the 27-year-old star would prefer Nigeria to America.
This week she asked fans to weigh in on whether her Nigerian name should be CHIOMA B or Cadijat.
Cardi B, who was born Belcalis Almanzar, is of Afro-Caribbean descent, tracing her roots to Trinidad and the Dominican Republic.
It was not immediately clear how the rapper might acquire citizenship in Nigeria, though a number of celebrities have recently been given honorary citizenship in other African countries.
British actor Idris Elba now has a passport from Sierra Leone, his late father’s birthplace. And fellow rapper Ludacris recently acquired citizenship in Gabon after marrying a woman from the Central African nation.
 

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Remarks by President Donald Trump on Iran, released by the White House:
As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
 
Good morning.  I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.  We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.
 
Our great American forces are prepared for anything.  Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.
 
No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well.  I salute the incredible skill and courage of America’s men and women in uniform.
 
For far too long — all the way back to 1979, to be exact — nations have tolerated Iran’s destructive and destabilizing behavior in the Middle East and beyond.  Those days are over.  Iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism, and their pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world.  We will never let that happen.
 
Last week, we took decisive action to stop a ruthless terrorist from threatening American lives.  At my direction, the United States military eliminated the world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani.  As the head of the Quds Force, Soleimani was personally responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities.
 
He trained terrorist armies, including Hezbollah, launching terrorist strikes against civilian targets.  He fueled bloody civil wars all across the region.  He viciously wounded and murdered thousands of U.S. troops, including the planting of roadside bombs that maim and dismember their victims.
 
 Soleimani directed the recent attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq that badly wounded four service members and killed one American, and he orchestrated the violent assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.  In recent days, he was planning new attacks on American targets, but we stopped him.
 
Soleimani’s hands were drenched in both American and Iranian blood.  He should have been terminated long ago.  By removing Soleimani, we have sent a powerful message to terrorists: If you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our people.
 
As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime.  These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior.
 
In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia, and shot down two U.S. drones.
 
 Iran’s hostilities substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013, and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash.  Instead of saying “thank you” to the United States, they chanted “death to America.”  In fact, they chanted “death to America” the day the agreement was signed.
 
Then, Iran went on a terror spree, funded by the money from the deal, and created hell in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration.  The regime also greatly tightened the reins on their own country, even recently killing 1,500 people at the many protests that are taking place all throughout Iran.
 
The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway, and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout.  Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism.  The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to recognize this reality.
 
 They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal -– or JCPOA –- and we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place.  We must also make a deal that allows Iran to thrive and prosper, and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential.  Iran can be a great country.
 
Peace and stability cannot prevail in the Middle East as long as Iran continues to foment violence, unrest, hatred, and war.  The civilized world must send a clear and unified message to the Iranian regime: Your campaign of terror, murder, mayhem will not be tolerated any longer.  It will not be allowed to go forward.
 
Today, I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process.  Over the last three years, under my leadership, our economy is stronger than ever before and America has achieved energy independence.  These historic accompliments [accomplishments] changed our strategic priorities.  These are accomplishments that nobody thought were possible.  And options in the Middle East became available.  We are now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world.  We are independent, and we do not need Middle East oil.
 
The American military has been completely rebuilt under my administration, at a cost of $2.5 trillion.  U.S. Armed Forces are stronger than ever before.  Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal, and fast.  Under construction are many hypersonic missiles.
 
The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it.  We do not want to use it.  American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.
 
Three months ago, after destroying 100 percent of ISIS and its territorial caliphate, we killed the savage leader of ISIS, al-Baghdadi, who was responsible for so much death, including the mass beheadings of Christians, Muslims, and all who stood in his way.  He was a monster.  Al-Baghdadi was trying again to rebuild the ISIS caliphate, and failed.
 
 Tens of thousands of ISIS fighters have been killed or captured during my administration.  ISIS is a natural enemy of Iran.  The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran, and we should work together on this and other shared priorities.
 
Finally, to the people and leaders of Iran: We want you to have a future and a great future — one that you deserve, one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world.  The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.
 
I want to thank you, and God bless America.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you.
 
 

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Iran’s missile attack on two American bases in Iraq in response the the U.S. strike that killed its top general is the culmination of nearly two years of steadily rising tensions since President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The two countries are now engaged in their most serious confrontation since the 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy. Both sides have signaled restraint following the missile attack, but the threat of an all-out war remains.
A timeline of the main events leading up to this week’s hostilities:
-May 8, 2018: Trump announces that the U.S. is withdrawing from the nuclear deal signed by his predecessor, President Barack Obama, which had provided sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and stepped-up U.N. monitoring. Over the next several months, the U.S. ratchets up sanctions, exacerbating an economic crisis in Iran.
-Nov. 5, 2018: U.S. imposes tough sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, the lifeline of its economy, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces a list of 12 demands it must meet for sanctions relief. Iran rejects the wide-ranging demands, which include ending its support for armed groups in the region, withdrawing from the Syrian civil war and halting its ballistic missile program.
-May 5, 2019: The U.S. announces the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” without providing details. It threatens “unrelenting force” in response to any attack.
-May 8, 2019: Iran vows to enrich its uranium stockpile closer to weapons-grade levels if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for its nuclear deal. The European Union urges Iran to respect the nuclear deal and says it plans to continue trading with the country. Trump says he would like Iran’s leaders to “call me.”
-May 12, 2019: The United Arab Emirates says four commercial ships off its eastern coast “were subjected to sabotage operations.”. Trump warns that if Tehran does “anything” in the form of an attack, “they will suffer greatly.”
-June 13, 2019: Two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz are hit in an alleged assault that leaves one ablaze and adrift as 44 sailors are evacuated from both vessels and the U.S. Navy rushes to assist. America later blames Iran for the attack, something Tehran denies.
-June 20, 2019: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shoots down a U.S. military surveillance drone. Trump says he called off a planned retaliatory strike on Iran over concerns about casualties.
-July 1, 2019: Iran follows through on a threat to exceed the limit set by the nuclear deal on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, which is used for civilian applications and not for nuclear weapons.
-Sept. 14, 2019: A drone attack on Saudi oil facilities temporarily cuts off half the oil supplies of the world’s largest producer, causing a spike in prices. The U.S. says Iran carried out the attack directly, calling it an “act of war” against Saudi Arabia. Iran denies involvement, while the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claim responsibility.
-October 2019: Massive anti-government protests erupt in Lebanon and Iraq. While the protests are primarily driven by economic grievances, they target governments that are closely allied to Iran. In Iraq, protesters openly decry Tehran’s influence and attack Iranian diplomatic facilities.
-November 2019: Protests break out in some 100 cities and towns in Iran after authorities raise the price of gasoline. The scale of the protests and the resulting crackdown are hard to determine as authorities shut down the internet for several days. Amnesty International later estimates that more than 300 people were killed.
-Dec. 27, 2019: A U.S. contractor is killed and several American and Iraqi troops are wounded in a rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq. The U.S. blames the attack on Kataeb Hezbollah, one of several Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq.
-Dec. 29, 2019: U.S. airstrikes hit Kataeb Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria, killing at least 25 fighters and bringing vows of revenge. Iraq calls the strikes a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.
-Dec. 31, 2019: Hundreds of Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters barge through an outer barrier of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and hold two days of violent protests in which they smash windows, set fires and hurl rocks over the inner walls. U.S. Marines guarding the facility respond with tear gas. There are no casualties on either side.
-Jan. 3: A U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s international airport kills Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the mastermind of its regional military interventions. A senior commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq is also killed in the strike. Iran vows “harsh retaliation.” Trump says he ordered the targeted killing to prevent a major attack. Congressional leaders and close U.S. allies say they were not consulted on the strike, which many fear could ignite a war.
-Jan. 5: Iran announces it will no longer abide by the nuclear deal and Iraq’s parliament holds a non-binding vote calling for the expulsion of all U.S. forces. Some 5,200 American troops are based in Iraq to help prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Trump vows to impose sanctions on Iraq if it expels U.S. troops.
-Jan. 8: Iran launches several ballistic missiles on two bases in Iraq housing American troops in what it says is retaliation for the killing of Soleimani. There are no immediate reports of U.S. or Iraqi casualties. Trump tweets that “All is well!” and says he will deliver a statement Wednesday. Iran’s supreme leader says “we slapped them on the face” but that “military action is not enough.”

…

Two Afghan pilots died in a military helicopter crash in Farah province in western Afghanistan Wednesday.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the MI 35 gunship was on its way from the provincial capital to the Pur Chaman district in the east of the province.
MoD is citing technical reasons for the crash that occurred around 11 in the morning.
The ministry issued a statement saying more details would be shared after an investigation.
Last October another army helicopter had crashed in Farah killing 20 people including passengers and crew.
The Taliban had claimed downing the chopper but the government blamed it on bad weather.
Several members of the provincial council and a military commander had died in that crash.
 

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California’s governor said Wednesday that he is seeking $750 million in part to help pay rent for people facing homelessness in the most populous state’s latest attempt to fight what he called a national crisis.
                   
Gov. Gavin Newsom planned to sign an executive order Wednesday creating the fund, two days before he presents his second annual budget proposal to the state Legislature.
                   
The state’s worsening affordable housing and homelessness problem has prompted anger and outrage from citizens and repeated criticism from President Donald Trump aimed at Newsom and other Democratic leaders.
                   
The governor also directed the state to provide 100 travel trailers and modular tent structures to cities and counties that meet certain criteria. The trailers and tents would be used for temporary housing and to provide related health and social services. He also announced a multi-agency “strike team” to help local governments address homelessness.
                   
The new fund could include not only state taxpayer money but donations from philanthropic organizations and the private sector. The money would go to providers to pay rent, pay for affordable housing units, or to aid board and care homes.
                   
Newsom said a year ago that he wanted to build housing on surplus state property. His new order directs his administration to identify some of those properties that can be used by local governments or nonprofits to shelter homeless individuals on a short-term emergency basis, s o long as it doesn’t delay the development of affordable housing.
                   
He said the state will measure local governments’ success in moving people off the streets as a requirement for receiving more state assistance.
                   
“Californians are demanding that all levels of government, federal, state and local,  do more to get people off the streets and into services whether that’s emergency housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment or all of the above,” Newsom said in a statement.
                   
He said compassion for those who are homeless “isn’t allowing a person suffering a severe psychotic break or from a lethal substance abuse addiction to literally drift towards death on our streets and sidewalks.”
                   
To that end, he said he is also seeking $695 million including federal funds to increase spending on preventative healthcare through the state’s Medicaid program. The money, which he expected to eventually reach $1.4 billion, would go to prevent things that he said can lead to homelessness, including aiding tenants and helping people find housing. A portion could even go to rent assistance if it helps individuals lower their high use of healthcare services.
                   
Another nearly $25 million, eventually growing to more than $364 million, would go to test programs in three of the state’s 58 counties to put those deemed incompetent to stand trial for criminal offenses into community programs instead of state mental hospitals.
                   
Last year, Newsom signed a state budget that gave $650 million to local governments and agencies for things like rental assistance and emergency shelters. Of the $650 million, $275 million goes to the state’s 13 most populous cities, $175 million to county governments and $190 million to continuing care programs.

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Some commercial airlines on Wednesday rerouted flights crossing the Middle East to avoid possible danger amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
Australian carrier Qantas said it was altering its London to Perth, Australia, routes to avoid Iran and Iraq airspace until further notice. The longer route meant that Qantas would have to carry fewer passengers and more fuel to remain in the air for an extra 40 to 50 minutes.
Malaysia Airlines said that “due to recent events,” its planes would avoid Iranian airspace.
Singapore Airlines also said that its flights to Europe would be re-routed to avoid Iran.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it was barring American pilots and carriers from flying in areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace. The agency warned of the “potential for miscalculation or mis-identification” for civilian aircraft amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Such restrictions are often precautionary in nature to prevent civilian aircraft from being confused for ones engaged in armed conflict. The FAA said the restrictions were being issued due to “heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations.’’
Following the FAA, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation advised Indian commercial carriers to avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Persian Gulf airspace.
At least two Kazakh airlines – Air Astana and SCAT – were considering rerouting or canceling their flights over Iran following the crash of a Ukrainian plane that killed 176 people.
The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in the Iranian capital when a fire struck one of its engines, said Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation Ministry.
Kazakhstan’s officials said that Air Astana, the country’s flagship carrier, “is currently holding a meeting on whether to reroute or ban” flights. SCAT, one of the largest airlines in Kazakhstan, told Russia’s Interfax news agency that they were also considering rerouting flights. The emergency flight restrictions follow Iranian ballistic missile strikes Tuesday on two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops. Those strikes were retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad last week.

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