11 killed, 25 injured in Baghdad suicide car bomb attack

Oman Air confirmed that flights to and from Amman (AMM), Dubai (DXB), Bahrain (BAH), Doha (DOH), Dammam (DMM), Kuwait (KWI), Copenhagen (CPH), Baghdad (BGW), and Khasab (KHS) are cancelled until March 22.

An Indian crew member was killed after the US-owned tanker Safesea Vishnu was attacked near Basra, Iraq, on March 11. The Indian Embassy in Baghdad confirmed that 15 other Indian sailors were successfully evacuated and are receiving assistance as regional maritime tensions continue to escalate.

Iraqi PM al-Sudani urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure Iraq is not used as a military launchpad. Despite this, Iran's IRGC claimed a missile strike on the US Army headquarters at Harir Air Base in Erbil, marking a significant escalation in the regional conflict.

As the crisis escalates in West Asia, Reuters reported, citing Iraqi security sources on Saturday (local time) that a rocket attack targeted military base housing US diplomatic centre near the Baghdad international airport, as per Iraqi security sources.

Terming the European Union's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation a "strategic miscalculation," the Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr. Mohammad Fathali, has warned that such moves ignore the "realities on the ground" and violate international law.

Iran has economic problems due to sanctions against it and some people are angry "but other people use this opportunity to reach their target and achieve their aims", Dr Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said and noted that the situation at the moment "is very good, under control" and is not like what is being mentioned on some some social media handles.

The United States military killed a senior Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader with direct links to the ISIS ambush that targeted American soldiers in Syria in December in a strike carried out in the country's northwest region.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, along with partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria as a part of Operation Hawkeye Strike.

Australia will launch a national royal commission into antisemitism after a deadly Bondi Beach shooting. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the inquiry will examine causes of antisemitism, the attack itself, and recommend measures on security, social cohesion and extremism.

"Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to conduct patrols over Syria to help prevent any attempted resurgence of the Daesh terrorist movement following its military defeat at Baghuz Fawqani in March 2019. Careful intelligence analysis identified an underground facility in the mountains some miles north of the ancient site of Palmyra. This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation," the government said in a press statement.