Middle East leaders and their Western allies have been warning that Islamic State could exploit the fall of the Assad regime to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where the extremist group once imposed a reign of terror over millions.

U.S. missions in Baghdad and Erbil are evacuating most diplomats in response to unspecified security threats, according to one former and two current U.S. officials.

Iraq on Friday submitted an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council, condemning Israel for violating its airspace to conduct military operations in the region, the Foreign Ministry said.

Italy's Eni is closely monitoring the security situation in Iraq, a spokesperson for the energy group said on Thursday after the United States decided to evacuate its embassy in the country.

Malaysia has issued a travel advisory for Iran, Iraq and Jordan amid tensions between Iran and Israel, urging its citizens to defer non-essential travel

He changed his trip plans and tried to leave out of Najaf, Iraq, but is now stuck there because the airspace was shut down after the Israeli strike on Iran.

A system of thousands of ridges and canals across a floodplain in southern Iraq has long been believed to be the remnant of a massive agricultural system built by slave labor.

The Zanj, enslaved people largely from Africa, rebelled at the same time they were ordered to build a massive system of canals in what is now Iraq, a new study finds.