Iraq has 2,000 kilometres of railways and its network was connected to Istanbul in 1940. The country plans a major revival of its network. For now, the line between Baghdad and Akashat on the Syrian border only works as far as Fallujah, says Taleb Jawad Kazem, deputy director general of Iraq’s railways. But the lines to Basra at the southern tip of the country, and to the Shiite holy city of Karbala in central Iraq, never stopped operating. And work is under way to reopen the links to Baiji, Tikrit and Samarra to the north of Baghdad, adds Kazem.
Islamic State
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Counter-terrorism
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Iraq
Iraqi PM declares Mosul liberated from ISIL
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