From CNN. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Col. Tim Collins, Former British Army Commander, speaks with CNN's Hala Gorani about the chaos in Iraq:
By Patrick Schmidt. For a terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) follows relatively normal business practices. It may come as a surprise to those not familiar with the group, but the organization has published an annual report revealing its secrets to success and longevity. ISIL is thought to earn at […]
By John Lee. The United Nations have declared the highest level of emergency in northern Iraq, estimating that over a million people have been displaced in the aftermath of the June offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Nicolay Mladenov, head of UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission: Iraq) has said that in […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Following the arrival of additional American military advisors to Iraq yesterday, the Defense Department reported that some of those troops had traveled to Sinjar Mountain. After almost a week of airstrikes by American aircraft and a simultaneous offensive by Kurdish security forces, thousands Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain can now […]
By Patrick Schmidt. While the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) conquest of oil fields and major dams has garnered the attention of the international community, the seizure of some of Iraq’s most valuable farmland has not received the same amount of attention. ISIL has large portions of Iraq’s top five most productive […]
By John Lee. Following on from France's move to rapidly supply Kurdish Peshmerga led forces with arms and equipment, Germany's Federal Ministry of Defence has pledged "non lethal aid" to the Iraqi army. Typically, non-lethal aid is sent when a matter is politically sensitive, or if a government has reservations about supplying one side in […]
By John Lee. The New York Times has reported that French President Francois Hollande has endorsed the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraq's new PM, and with Baghdad's approval France is now ready to send arms to Kurdish forces. The move comes after the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani remarked that the Peshmerga were not sufficiently […]
By Patrick Schmidt. In addition to current energy holdings in Syria, the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds seven different oil fields in Iraq. This past month the militants seized Ain Zalah and Batma oil fields. They had previously gained control of Najma, Qayara, Himreen, Ajeel and Balad oil fields. The […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Independent Human Rights Committee of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have made public their attempts to get the international community to recognize the crimes committed against Yazidi minorities. The spokesman of Independent Human Rights Committee, Mohammed Gomashini, noted: “Our committee started to attempt recognition of IS crimes against Kurdish Yazidi people […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Defence secretary Chuck Hagel has announced that additional military advisors are being deployed to Iraq. On Tuesday, an additional 130 American military advisers arrived in the country. The staff are tasked with accessing the ongoing humanitarian crisis taking place in the north of the country. This announcement comes almost a week after […]
In an interview with Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times, US President Barack Obama has said that a residual U.S. troop presence in Iraq would never have been needed had the Shiite majority not “squandered an opportunity” to share power with Sunnis and Kurds. “Had the Shia majority seized the opportunity to reach […]
From CNN. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The nomination of a new Iraqi prime minister could giveIraqis "a nationalistic surge," says CNN military analyst.
