By Simon Kent. NATO have announced that they are in talks with Iraqi officials to revive a coordinated training mission for Iraqi officers. Previously, NATO was in Iraq during the war against the ISIS predecessor, ISI, the Islamic State of Iraq. At that time, NATO was generally involved with training the Iraqi army in Jordan and […]
By Simon Kent. Zain Iraq is now listed on the Baghdad stock exchange, some 4 years after the company was required to do so under the terms of their market entry to Iraq, Reuters reports. Analysts such as Hassan Aldahan, chairman of Baghdad investment company Bain Alnahrain, explained that the 50% rise on share value was artificially […]
By Robert Tollast. Iraqi architect Rif'at al Chadirji has been awarded the 2015 Tamayouz Architectural Lifetime Achievement Award in a ceremony at the University of Coventry, UK. Michael Fitzpatrick, the Dean of Engineering and Computing at the university, presented the award which was announced on line in English and Arabic (video.) The architect and author was […]
By Simon Kent. Belgium has announced plans to open a consulate in Erbil, capital of the semi autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. In a sign of deepening ties between the KRG and Belgium, the central EU nation also announced they would provide hospital treatment for injured Peshmerga soldiers. The Peshmerga are the armed forces of […]
By Simon Kent. The Kuwaiti government has announced that $200 million will be dispersed to internally displaced people--refugees-- throughout the south, centre and north of Iraq. The aid will be distributed through the Kuwaiti Red Crescent and assist some of the 5 million conflict displaced people within Iraq. According to the Kuwaiti Red Crescent, the […]
By Simon Kent. The World Health Organization, long critical to internally displaced people in conflict zones and known for stemming epidemics and hunger during times of crisis, is facing a critical funding shortfall in Iraq. The BBC has reported the WHO may have to shut down many of its health clinics, some in critical areas […]
By Robert Tollast. Korean firm STX Heavy Industries has cancelled a proposed 500km pipeline to the Akkas gas field in Western Iraq, which is operated by state Korean gas firm KOGAS. STX Heavy were working on the project with KOGAS Akkas B.V and work was due to be finished in 2017, however the project ran […]
By Robert Tollast. US and Coalition air strikes may be marginally increasing the area of terrain covered in the campaign so far, according to attack data released by the US Department of Defence in the past 24 hours. Critics of the strikes note how they are few in number compared to comparable air campaigns against […]
By Simon Kent. After months of talks, the Kurdish Regional Government says it has authorisation from Baghdad to issue bonds, in a move aimed at easing growing financial pains in the semi autonomous region. According to Bloomberg, the region needs approximately $1.4 billion to balance its books. Quoting IBN blogger Robert Tollast, the report noted how the KRG […]
By Simon Kent. The Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan has announced plans to re-route a proposed pipeline to the country's Western neighbour. According to Ambassador Jawad Abbas, the $18bn, 150,000 bpd pipeline will now go south towards Basra and then west into the neighbouring Kingdom. The project is one of a number of oil and gas […]
By Robert Tollast. Loveday Morris, who usually reports on Iraq for The Washington Post, has written an engaging piece on the returning "internally displaced persons" or IDPs, to Tikrit following the expulsion of Islamic State forces in the town. Morris' piece touches on some of the nuance that is often lost in reporting on Iraq. For […]
By Robert Tollast, Iraq analyst with The Brecon Group. Standing on the Ziggurat, an impressive religious temple from the Sumerian period which was largely restored in the 1980s, you can still see solidified tar seeping out from the several thousand year old brickwork. In fact "qar" in the province’s name refers to tar that was […]
