By Anne-Laure Barbosa at Constellis Consulting Amidst continuing violence across northern and central Iraq, particularly where Peshmerga, ISF or Shia volunteers defend new borders with IS militants, the shooting of over 60 Sunni worshippers by suspected Shia militiamen in Diyala is a reminder of the extreme sectarian tensions which provide the backdrop to the current headlines […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani has announced coming reforms for the Kurdish security forces, most famous for the Peshmerga. The reforms would bring all units under a single unified command. In the past, the Minister of the Peshmerga did not have control over all troops, and the force was in some cases […]
By John Lee. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has recently remarked that countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are ready to give Iraq further assistance if it is requested and supported by NATO member states. Some NATO countries have already taken their own steps in Iraq, choosing variously to intervene on […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The British government announced Sunday the dispatch of an official special military envoy to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). General Sir Simon Mayall will assume the title of “Government Security Envoy.” “He will travel to Iraq next week to meet with political leaders in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil […]
By John Lee. It has been the site of a dramatic siege since the June offensive of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which seized large swathes of northern Iraq. Baiji refinery was vital for refined fuel products for much of the north of the country, and initially the Iraqi army unit […]
The Chairman of the British-based AMAR International Charitable Foundation, Baroness (Emma) Nicholson of Winterbourne, met the man commanding Peshmerga forces in the Kurdish region of Iraq on Friday and was given a full briefing on the latest situation on the battle against ISIS. Baroness Nicholson has flown into Erbil to meet AMAR’s medical teams treating […]
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, is seriously alarmed by reports regarding the inhuman conditions of the inhabitants of the northern town of Amerli, besieged and cut off from food and water supplies by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group for almost […]
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's Mahdi Army fought US troops to the death in past years, but now some members of the rebranded Shiite militia say they could do with a little help from their old foe:
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In Northern Iraq, US airstrikes have hit targets held by the Islamic State group near Mosul Dam. But well-armed Islamic State fighters appear to be changing tactics slowing down the gains made by […]
By John Lee. The Associated Press has reported recently on the northern Iraqi town of Amerli where some 15,000 members of Iraq's Shi'a Turkmen minority are cut off from food and water supplies and besieged on all sides by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters. If ISIL are able to enter the town it is […]
By Barbara Slavin for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. US officials have begun discussions with local leaders in Iraq’s Ninewa province about how to recapture the city of Mosul in the wake of the successful operation to recover control of Mosul […]
By Patrick Schmidt. American officials have announced that more US troops may be deployed to Iraq in the coming weeks. The additional troops would be based in the capitol city of Baghdad. Approximately 748 US troops have been deployed to Iraq since the rise of the Islamic State (IS). These troops supplement the usual 100 […]
