Radical Islamists may be attacking the Iraqi energy sector in an attempt to push up the already high price of oil. The past week saw attacks on three oil tankers and a refinery in the central provinces. Militants attacked Iraq’s largest refinery, located in Bayji in Salah ad-Din province on 26 February. Gunmen entered the […]
Versar, the Springfield Virginia-based project management company, has announced it was awarded an approx. $1.5 million contract from the United States Forces in Iraq for the training of Iraqi Ministry of Defense personnel. The contract will continue through September 2011. This contract will train and certify over 300 Iraqi engineers and technicians to operate and […]
A former U.S. Army major and his wife have been convicted of bribery and money laundering in a huge scheme that illegally funneled some $60 million in Iraq war contracts, the Justice Department said on Wednesday according to a report from AFP. Eddie Pressley and his wife Eurica, from Harvest, Alabama, engaged in "an audacious […]
Iraq restored partial operation at its largest oil refinery on Monday after a two-day shutdown due to a bomb attack, Reuters reports. "We have restarted production operation at 50 percent of the original capacity on Monday," Abdul-Qader Saab, the refinery's deputy manager, said. The militants planted explosives at a kerosene and benzene production unit at […]
A representative of the protesters in Sulaimaniya said the anti-government campaigners have given the Kurdistan Regional Government 48 hours to respond officially to their demands or they will stage a general strike in Sulaimaniya city. The parliament sent a 12-member delegation to hear the demands of the marchers on Monday, almost 12 days after the […]
Gunmen shot their way into Baiji [Bayji] refinery early on Saturday, killing five members of staff, according to the Washington Post. Guards killed two of the gunmen, but the rest escaped. The gang set off explosions that forced the facility to shut down for at least two weeks, officials said. Baiji, situated about 150 miles […]
Riad El-Taher has been jailed for 10 months for making illegal payments to the Iraqi Government of Saddam Hussein in contravention of United Nations sanctions and UK law Riad El-Taher, a British citizen aged 71 from Esher, Surrey, has admitted that in 2001 he made four illegal payments totalling over $500,000 to the Iraqi Government […]
The United Nations has prepared a comprehensive Briefing Book on Iraq, and presented it to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The book is comprised of two parts: The first part addresses key policy issues, including: macroeconomic challenges, development planning and prioritization, governance and public sector reform, anti-corruption, private sector development, social protection and the challenges of […]
Overview Violence continues to creep up in Iraq. As illustrated in this week’s map of incidents, even Kurdistan has not been spared, with a series of protests taking place in urban areas around the region. Indeed the whole country is being rocked by unrest, with a series of demonstrations planned for Friday morning. Personnel should […]
Hundreds of protesters inspired by unrest around the Arab world took to the streets of the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya on Sunday and at least 48 people were injured, according to Reuters. Associated Press reports at least one person killed overnight. A source told Iraq Business News that a massive demonstration is planned for […]
Iraqi authorities have arrested a high-ranking police official in connection with the purchase of a bomb detector that the British government says does not work, officials said on Thursday. Reuters reports that Iraq spent about £75 million [$120m] on the devices, which are widely used by police and soldiers at security checkpoints and were meant […]
Iraq will host its first Arab League Summit in two decades on March 29 despite ongoing unrest in the Middle East, a foreign ministry official said. The summit is seen as crucial for Iraq's reintegration into the Arab world and comes at a critical time in the region following popular protests that have unseated Tunisia […]
