National Overview Financial challenges threaten to derail Baghdad-Erbil oil agreement as militants open new fronts in Anbar and the Northern provinces. High level negotiations on the implementation of the December 2014 Federal-Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) budget ended in acrimony this week, as Kurdish officials denounced what they described as an attempt by the Baghdad authorities […]
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Iran-Iraq Sign Cooperation Deals
Dr. Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister, received Mr. Isaac Jhangere [Es'haq Jahangiri], Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who arrived in Baghdad this morning at the head of a senior-level delegation. After an official reception ceremony, a bilateral meeting was held to tackle the development of relations between the two countries and issues […]
Tags: Iran
KRG Pres Barzani meets with US Commander
President Masoud Barzani received a United States military and diplomatic delegation at his office today. The U.S. delegation was headed by General Joseph Votel, the Commander of the Special Operations Command as well as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other U.S. defense and state officials. During the meeting President Barzani shared his perspective on […]
Tags: 'Your Country' - United States, caliphate, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, KRG, Kurdistan News, terrorism
Anbar Officials Reject Shiite Forces
By Omar al-Jaffal for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Anbar Officials Reject Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces Officials in Iraq's Anbar province are concerned about the members of popular mobilization forces carrying out sectarian revenge operations against the residents of the province, […]
Iraqis Play Politics with Mosul Investigation
By Shukur Khilkhal for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqis had high hopes when in December, following months of waiting, a committee began an investigation into last June's fall of Mosul to the Islamic State. At the start, the committee banned more than 50 […]
Why Salafists see Shiites as their Greatest Enemy
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Helping Shiite groups in their military operations against Israel or the United States has always been a source of discord among Salafists. Radical Salafists consider both Shiites and Jews the enemies of Islam. But anti-Shiite […]
Jordan Offers Military Assistance to Iraq
By Patrick Schmidt. Following a meeting with Jordanian General Mohammed al-Zaben, Iraq’s Minister of Defense Khaled al-Obaidi announced that Jordan had offered all of its military power to assist in the fight against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The Jordanian general relayed the message from King Abdullah. Jordan has taken an increasingly active role […]
Kurds Reject Proposed Rival Force in Kirkuk
By Mohammed A. Salih for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. A law to found a paramilitary National Guard force in Iraq to assist in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) has put Kurds at loggerheads with other communities in northern […]
Tags: Badr Organisation, caliphate, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Kirk H Sowell, KRG, Kurdistan News, National Guard, Peshmerga, terrorism
Iraq to Launch Offensive Against IS
By Patrick Schmidt. General George Allen, coordinator of the international coalition fighting against the Islamic State (IS), announced that the Iraqi Security Forces would begin a ground offensive against the group in the coming weeks. The offensive will be supported by the international coalition’s airpower. The coalition has launched over 2,000 airstrikes against the Islamic […]
Kurdistan Needs $1.4bn to Stabilize Economy
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq Needs an Estimated US$1.4 billion this Year to Stabilize the Economy The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is facing an economic and humanitarian crisis as a result of the influx of Syrian refugees (starting in early 2012) and more recently the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in 2014. According to a newly […]
Tags: caliphate, IDPs, internally displaced persons, Iraq Budget News, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, KRG, Kurdistan News, Refugees, terrorism, World Bank
Security Council Targets ISIL Financing
Security Council approves resolution targeting sources of financing for ISIL Urging global cooperation “to impair, isolate and incapacitate” terrorist threats, the United Nations Security Council today approved measures targeting sources of funding for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), condemning those buying oil from the groups, banning all […]
Iraqi Tribes Become 'State within a State'
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Equipped with various firearms, convoys of tribal members can be seen across Iraq, in defiance of the laws prohibiting the firing of guns into the air. This causes major economic losses, while the country […]