Sadrist Movement

The political movement of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr on Oct. 11 said it had retained the biggest share of seats in the country's parliament, after elections with a record low voter turnout.

A Sadrist official who asked not to be named told AFP that the movement had won around 73 of the parliament's 329 seats in Oct. 10's election.

In a statement, the ministry said last December's advice applied to all of Iraq except the provinces of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, which are controlled by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

Followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have temporarily left the highly guarded Green Zone, where the parliament, government buildings and most of the embassies are, in the Iraqi capital, after a more than 24-hour occupation, a spokesman for the protestors has said. 

An influential Iraqi Shiite cleric on April 21 called on the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to help find a solution to the country's simmering political crisis "even through holding early elections."
     

Iraq's parliament gave embattled Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi until March 31 to present a cabinet of technocrats as Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr expanded his protest movement for reform.

Some 49 Turkish consulate staff members in Iraq are still being held hostage, with one month passing since they were kidnapped by militants.

Turkey has updated its travel warning for Iraq, increasing the number of Iraqi provinces where Turkish citizens may face security problems, from seven to 15.

Anbar, Baghdad, Basra, Diyala, Mosul, Kirkuk and Salahaddin were already listed by the Foreign Ministry as provinces that Turkish citizens should avoid travelling through.