Archive | Security

Video: Peshmerga Cut-Off IS Supply-Line

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kurdish fighters have reportedly cut-off a major supply line for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in northwestern Iraq. The Kurdish Peshmerga say they've seized an area near the Mosul […]

Baroness Nicholson meets with Iraqi PM

Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, UK Trade Envoy for Iraq and Iraq Britain Business Council’s (IBBC) Chairman, met Iraq’s new Prime Minister, Mr Haider al-Abadi, for wide-ranging talks during his visit to London this week. Mr al-Abadi was attending the Lancaster House coalition conference on the situation with Da’esh (Islamic State) but was keen to […]

Decentralization of Powers Weakens IS

By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Just like any Middle Eastern leader, Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Ibrahim al-Badri) relies upon his relatives to guarantee his own security. However, ever since his spectacular appearance in the Mosul mosque in […]

Islamic State Fortifies Positions

By Patrick Schmidt. Last month, the Islamic State (IS) posted a tender for Iraqi contractors to bid on. The contractor will be in charge of digging a trench around the city of Mosul, that will measure 2 meters deep by 2 meters wide. The Islamic State is willing to pay the contractor 4,000 dollars per […]

Kerry on Number of IS Militants Killed

By Patrick Schmidt. The Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry announced that airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria had significantly reduced the terrorist group’s numbers. The announcement came after a meeting with other leaders from the 21-member coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS). Since August 2014, over 2,000 […]

ISIL Targets Professional Women, UN Warns

The United Nations human rights office today confirmed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has established unlawful, so-called ‘shari’a courts’ in the territory under its control that have been carrying out cruel and inhuman punishments against men, women and children. Those who are punished are accused of ‘violating the group’s extremist […]

PM Barzani meets Pope’s Envoy

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday received in Erbil Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, Apostolic Nuncio in Iraq and his accompanying delegation. Archbishop Giorgio Lingua said that the Vatican follows the situation in the Kurdistan Region very closely. He conveyed Vatican’s gratitude to the Kurdistan Region for sheltering and assisting the internally displaced persons and refugees, […]

FM Receives Head of UNICEF

By John Lee. Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, received the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Anthony Lake, and the accompanying delegation on Tuesday. They reviewed the work of the organization and services to care for children of the world and Iraq. Dr. Jaafari said that the world today is witnessing the dire reality in the […]

Weekly Security Update, 13 - 19 January 2015

National Overview The establishment of new Sinjar governing institutions revives KRG-PKK rivalry as Peshmerga operations continue to resist ISIS attacks in the Gwer-Mosul corridor. Formed on Wednesday 14 January following the nomination of local residents of the Sinjar (also known as Shingal) and surrounding regions, the Yezidi administrative council has evoked a mixed response from […]

Germany’s New Consul General visits DFR

The new German consul general to Erbil, Dieter Lamle, visited the KRG Department of Foreign Relations on Monday to introduce himself and to discuss latest developments with Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of the KRG Foreign Relations. In welcoming Mr Lamle, Minister Mustafa stated that the Kurdistan Region strongly values its ties with Germany and praised […]

UAE Offers Mirage Fighters to Iraq

By John Lee. Defense News cites a source within the government of the United Arab Emirates as saying that the UAE may sell up to 10 Mirage 2000-9s fighter jets to the Iraqi Air Force in March. The decision comes following a visit by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, to Abu Dhabi in December. […]

Video: Daily Life in Erbil

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In Iraq, some of the heaviest fighting between ISIL fighters and Kurdish Peshmerga forces is taking place outside Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region. But people in the city itself enjoy […]