By Anne-Laure Barbosa at Constellis Consulting On 14 August, Nouri al-Maliki bowed to increasing domestic and international pressure, and agreed to step down as Prime Minister to endorse Haider al-Abadi in a televised speech. This endorsement paves the way for the formation of a new government, after months of parliamentary deadlock and Maliki’s stubborn insistence to […]
By John Lee. The United States is now far more open to Iraqi requests for increased military support to fight ISIS, The Wall Street Journal reports. Previously, initiatives to sell arms and rapidly transfer foreign military sales such as F-16s and Hellfire missiles have been slowed by concerns in Congress regarding Nouri-al Maliki's authoritarian style of leadership. […]
By John Lee. Thousands of fighters from as many as 25 pro-government tribes have launched a coordinated offensive against ISIS fighters in the Western Iraqi province of al-Anbar. The leader of these "Sahwa" fighters, Sheikh Abdel Jabbar Abu Risha, announced that the offensive was not related to Maliki stepping down and had been planned for […]
By John Lee. British Prime Minister David Cameron has been defending his case that the UK should expand its role in the current crisis in Iraq. He argued that the world was increasingly interconnected, ISIS were a unique and particularly extreme terror threat and that they will pose a threat to Europe if allowed to […]
By Patrick Schmidt. After remaining in the hands of the Islamic State (IS) the Mosul Dam and surrounding areas have been mostly recaptured by Kurdish security forces. American airpower over Northern Iraq assisted the Kurdish in recapturing the facility during their offensive. The United States announced that it had launched 14 strikes against Islamic State […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has agreed to step down at a time of national crisis and deep division.
By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) militants fighting in Iraq are selling oil from oilfields and refineries they control to local communities and smugglers, augmenting their existing ample finances. It is understood that at least some of the oil is used to fuel a power plant they […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. In an interview with BBC, Masrour Barzani (pictured), the Head of the Kurdish Security Council, has requested that the international community supply Kurdish security forces with heavy weaponry. Barzani once again emphasized that there was no need for foreign military intervention with ground troops. “We need more modern weaponry. We need […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Kurdish security forces have announced that a military airport will open in Erbil that will be the receiving point for international military assistance to the regional government. Iraqi, Kurdish and American forces will jointly operate the airbase. While the Kurdish security forces have already received weapons from the United States, they […]
By Laith Hammoudi. This article was originally published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, iwpr.net, and it is reproduced by Iraq Business News with permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News Nuri al-Malik, prime minister of Iraq for the last […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has finally bowed to pressure and stepped aside to make way for Haider al-Abadi [Haydar al-Abbadi], who has been asked by Iraq's president to form a government. Appearing on state TV flanked by Mr Abadi and other Shia politicians, Mr Maliki said: "I announce before you today, to […]
British Charity Makes Urgent Appeal to Help Refugees Fleeing Islamic State A British-run charity has launched an emergency appeal to help the many hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes by the Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq. The AMAR International Charitable Foundation is one of the only organisations offering help to families […]
