Archive | Security

Casualty Figures for July 2014

According to casualty figures released today by UNAMI, a total of at least 1,737 Iraqis were killed and another 1,978 were injured in acts of terrorism and violence in July*. The number of civilians killed was 1,186 (including 106 civilian police), while the number of civilians injured was 1,511 (including 177 civilian police). A further […]

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Why Islamic State has No Sympathy for Hamas

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. Most of today's Salafist jihadist movements have no interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for the time being regarding it as irrelevant. Instead, their call is to engage in intense, bloody confrontations involving bombings, executions, and […]

FAA Flight Restriction Announced

By Patrick M Schmidt. Following the Malaysian Airlines MH17 incident in Ukraine, the United States has taken a closer look at events in Iraq in relation to commercial airline safety and security. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that American commercial aircraft with flight plans over Iraqi airspace must maintain an altitude above 30,000 […]

$500m Bell Helicopter Order

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for aviation sustainment support, on-the-job maintenance training and maintenance advice and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $500 million (583 Iraqi dinars). The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of […]

US Approves $700m Lockheed Missile Deal

The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $700 million (816 billion Iraqi dinars). The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on […]

Weekly Security Update, 22 - 28 July 2014

By Anne-Laure Barbosa at Constellis Consulting Amid worsening levels of violence owing to the increase in direct clashes between the ISF and ISIS militias, Iraq witnessed movements in the political sphere with the election of a new President. Fouad Massoum, a Kurd member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) put forward by the Kurdish alliance, […]

UN Warns on Terrorist Oil Trade

By Patrick M Schmidt. The United Nations Security Council has released as statement following concerns about radical groups in Iraq and Syria using captured oil fields as a means to generate revenue for their organizations. The statement read “that any oilfields and related infrastructure controlled by terrorist organizations could generate material income for terrorists, which […]

ISIS Urges Turkish Business back to Iraq

In an interview wtih  Al-Monitor's Mehmet Cetingulec, Turkey’s Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said said the Islamic State (IS) is now contacting individual Turkish businessmen to call them back to Iraq: Al-Monitor: The Islamic State is blocking Turkey’s exports to southern Iraq. Are you doing anything to overcome this? Zeybekci: Of our exports, 70% is […]

US Contractor Extradition from Iraq

By John Lee. A former contractor has been extradited from Iraq after six years on the run, making him the first person to be returned to the United States under the U.S.-Iraq extradition treaty of 1936. Metin Atilan, 54, who has dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges on […]

Baiji Oil Refinery Comes Under Attack

By Patrick M Schmidt. On Saturday, Iraqi security forces reported that ISIS militants had taken control of a portion of the Baiji [Bayji, Beiji] oil refinery. Since then, security forces have driven the militants off of the oil refinery’s premises and are now searching the area for any remaining militants. Over the past month, Baiji […]

Emirates to Reroute Flights

By Patrick M Schmidt. Sir Tim Clark, Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines, has announced that the airline would no longer allow its own aircraft to fly over Iraq. This statement comes as a reaction to the missile strike on Malaysian Airlines MH-17 and concerns about ISIS militants in the north of Iraq being in possession […]