BAGHDAD: Four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three injured on Wednesday in an ambush by Daesh militants on an army convoy near the northern oil city of Kirkuk, a military statement said.
The ambush took place in a rural area southwest of Kirkuk that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the jihadist group in 2017.
After the defeat of Daesh as a force able to hold swathes of territory, remnants switched to hit-and-run attacks on government forces in different areas of Iraq.
Two military officials said security forces were heading to the area around 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Kirkuk to arrest a suspected militant when they came under sniper and automatic weapons fire.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military statement blamed it on Daesh militants.
Daesh ambush kills four Iraqi soldiers near Kirkuk
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Daesh ambush kills four Iraqi soldiers near Kirkuk
- Remnants switched to hit-and-run attacks on government forces in different areas of Iraq
The art of war: fears for masterpieces on loan to Louvre Abu Dhabi
- UAE paid more than €1 billion to borrow priceless works, but experts in France want them back
PARIS: The Middle East war has raised fears for the safety of priceless masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum’s only foreign branch.
The Abu Dhabi museum, which opened in 2017, has so far escaped damage from nearly 1,800 Iranian drone and missile strikes launched since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.
However, concerns are mounting in France. “The works must be removed,” said Didier Selles, who helped broker the original agreement between France and the UAE.
French journal La Tribune de l’Art echoed that alarm. “The Louvre’s works in Abu Dhabi must be secured!” it said.
France’s culture ministry said French authorities were “in close and regular contact with the authorities of the UAE to ensure the protection of the works loaned by France.”
Under the agreement with the UAE, France agreed to provide expertise, lend works of art and organize exhibitions, in return for €1 billion, including €400 million for licensing the use of the Louvre name. The deal was extended in 2021 to 2047 for an additional €165 million.
Works on loan include paintings by Rembrandt and Chardin, Classical statues of Isis, Roman sarcophagi and Islamic masterpieces: such as the Pyxis of Al-Mughira.
A Louvre Abu Dhabi source said the museum was designed to protect collections from both security threats and natural disasters.
