In 688, Caliph Abd al-Malik began building the Dome of the Rock, which still stands on that site today.

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At the end of last year, relations between Prime Minister Nuri al-Malik's government and the Iraqi Kurds seemed to deteriorate further.

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Ibrahim Malik al-Hindawi, chief judge of Karkh Civil Court, was killed by gunfire from another vehicle as he drove through western Baghdad's Amriya neighborhood.

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