
The Saudi execution of insurrectionist Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr threatens to touch off a conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims across the Middle East and beyond. Massive Shiite protests have occurred across the region over the past few days and have spread into Asia.
by John Hayward5 Jan 2016, 7:28 PM PST0

Iraqi officials claimed gunmen kidnapped 26 Qatari falcon hunters, including members of the royal family, in southern Iraq.
by Mary Chastain16 Dec 2015, 1:17 PM PST0

While the world waits to see if the tension between Turkey and Russia escalates, Turkey has also become embroiled in a dispute with the Iraqi government that has the potential to become more serious: Turkish troops have been crossing the border into Iraq without permission.
by John Hayward6 Dec 2015, 6:42 PM PST0

A federal judge has denied a new trial request filed by four decorated U.S. veterans, who were convicted of allegedly shooting indiscriminately into a crowd of Iraqi civilians back in 2007 while working as Blackwater security contractors hired by the federal government.
by Edwin Mora11 Nov 2015, 8:51 PM PST0

The church of Saint George in Baghdad, which was closed down in 2007 after being firebombed by Islamic militants, was finally reopened Monday, but local clergy worry that there are no longer any Assyrian Christians left to worship there.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.4 Nov 2015, 6:54 PM PST0

The Vicar of Baghdad has gone the extra mile to deal with Islamist terrorism in Iraq. He even invited ISIS terrorists to dinner, despite their putting a $157 million bounty on his head.
by John Hayward2 Nov 2015, 11:16 AM PST0

With astonishing speed, American influence—withered by years of Barack Obama’s indecisiveness—is fading, as Iraq realigns around Russia and Iran. Take it from the Iraqis, who are celebrating the arrival of “Putin the Shiite” in Syria, hoping he’ll swing into Iraq to pick up the fight against ISIS.
by John Hayward9 Oct 2015, 4:48 PM PST0

Iraq’s central government is cutting off wage and pension payments to Mosul, and other parts of northern Iraq controlled by the Islamic State. The move is expected to be one more crushing blow for people caught in the living nightmare of the Islamic State.
by John Hayward2 Oct 2015, 12:33 PM PST0

The masked gunmen who kidnapped 16 Turkish construction workers from their job site in Baghdad at the beginning of September have released a video of their hostages, showing them alive and well, and they claimed that the captives will be released soon.
by John Hayward29 Sep 2015, 10:15 PM PST0

Patriarch Louis Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad, is the latest Christian leader to ask Christians in the Middle East not to abandon their homelands despite threats from radical Islamic groups. He also slammed the countries who give preferential treatment to Christian refugees.
by Mary Chastain16 Sep 2015, 7:52 PM PST0

On Wednesday, masked gunmen wearing military uniforms kidnapped 18 Turkish nationals from a sports stadium they were building in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, according to their employer, Ankara-based Turkish conglomerate Nurol Holding.
by Edwin Mora3 Sep 2015, 6:54 AM PST0

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government is striving to contain what has grown into a significant drug abuse problem among its population, pushing the limits of both law enforcement and medical care facilities in accommodating criminals and those who need help fighting their addictions.
by Frances Martel7 Aug 2015, 9:10 AM PST0

The Baghdad National Library is working hard to digitalize their priceless papers and manuscripts before militant groups like the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) move in.
by Mary Chastain5 Aug 2015, 10:23 AM PST0

The Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, took to Twitter on Tuesday to condemn the Turkish government for participating in a “dangerous escalation” of violence against Kurdish targets in northern Iraq, after announcing they would limit their attacks to creating an “anti-ISIS” zone in the Syrian heartland.
by Frances Martel29 Jul 2015, 9:45 PM PST0

An aging Russian warplane piloted by the Iraqi air force accidentally dropped a bomb on a Baghdad residential neighborhood on Monday, killing or injuring over a dozen people.
by John Hayward6 Jul 2015, 11:27 AM PST0

AAP reports that Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said her government would consider sending more troops to help battle ISIS in Iraq, but the Iraqis have been oddly slow to request assistance, even as the Islamic State overruns cities and begins lining up an attack on Baghdad.
by John Hayward4 Jun 2015, 7:17 PM PST0

Observers have known Islamic State terrorists have managed to get their hands on Iraqi equipment, but on Sunday, the Iraqi Prime Minister revealed the stunning numbers. “In the collapse of Mosul, we lost a lot of weapons… We lost 2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Iraqi state television.
by Michael Lucchese2 Jun 2015, 8:54 PM PST0

Contents: ISIS suicide bombers strike Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad; ISIS continues to gain supporters throughout the Mideast
by John J. Xenakis30 May 2015, 10:16 AM PST0

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released their first video from Palmyra, Syria, which shows the city’s ancient ruins untouched for now. Those buildings and temples earned Palmyra the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The group’s official media outlet uploaded the short video to YouTube.
by Mary Chastain27 May 2015, 11:10 AM PST0

REUTERS– Islamic State militants overran Iraqi government defences east of the city of Ramadi on Thursday, police and pro-government tribal fighters said. The defensive line was breached at Husaiba, about 10 km (six miles) from the city, on Thursday afternoon
by Breitbart News21 May 2015, 11:53 AM PST0

The European Union on Monday approved a multi-phase military operation to defeat human smugglers who are trafficking migrants from Libya to Europe. Smugglers have been charging migrants thousands of dollars each to make the trip, and there’s no guarantee of reaching Europe or even of surviving.
by John J. Xenakis19 May 2015, 7:23 PM PST0

This victory will permit ISIS to threaten Baiji, Iraq’s largest oil refinery, as well as the villages in the suburbs around Baghdad, and Baghdad itself. Furthermore, weapons stores and other assets in Ramadi were not destroyed and are available to ISIS.
by John J. Xenakis18 May 2015, 1:20 PM PST0

The sectarian and factional chaos unleashed in Iraq by the ISIS invasion has neighboring tribes literally at each other’s throats, according to a report by the Associated Press. Some Sunni tribes initially welcomed the Sunni extremists of ISIS when they rolled across the border, thinking they might help change the balance of power in Shiite-dominated Baghdad. After watching ISIS turn northern Iraq into a torture chamber, some members of the al-Lehib tribe changed their minds, and ended up fighting alongside Iraqi military forces and the Kurds.
by John Hayward23 Apr 2015, 7:25 PM PST0

A federal judge on Monday sentenced one former Blackwater guard to life in prison and three others to nearly 30 years behind bars for their role in killing 14 unarmed civilians, including women and children, and injuring 18 others in Iraq.
by Edwin Mora14 Apr 2015, 8:52 PM PST0

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in an event that appears intended to strengthen ties between Baghdad and Damascus in light of their mutually shared threat of Islamic State (ISIS) invasion. Iraq’s desire to forge stronger ties with Assad flies in the face of American diplomatic efforts to isolate the dictator after his alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians.
by Frances Martel26 Mar 2015, 11:49 AM PST0