National Overview The national level of hostile incidents increased in this reporting period from 126 to 140. The number of incidents peaked towards the start of the reporting period but declined as the Eid Festival approached. The number of incidents during 2009 Ramadan was higher than for the same period this year, although the August/September […]
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Weekly Security Update for 8th September 2010
National Overview The total number of officially reported hostile incidents nationally was 126 last week, consistent with the number of incidents recorded during the last reporting period. The number of incidents in the west rose by a quarter this week and incidents in Baghdad also rose significantly. The south east saw a very minor rise […]
Iraq Tightens Oilfield Security
Iraq has tightened security around oil infrastructure and oilfields in the south, in response to intelligence suggesting al Qaeda and other insurgent groups plan to attack oil facilities, a security official said. Reuters reports that Ali al-Maliki, head of the municipal security committee in the southern oil hub of Basra, said the information indicated that […]
Weak Laws Deter Iraq Investors More Than Violence
Seven years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, Iraq largely has been unable to revamp business laws that would help make the country more attractive to investors, according to a report from Bloomberg. “Investors still note security concerns, but now are more likely to cite regulatory hindrances and other practical barriers to doing business,” […]
Weekly Security Update for 1st September 2010
National Overview The total number of hostile incidents reported nationally was 125 this week, down from 132 incidents during the last reporting period. There was a significant rise in the number of recorded incidents in the north central region with slight rises in the west, south central and south east regions. The north dropped slightly, […]
'Misappropriated' Computers for Children Recovered
AFP reports that 90 percent of the $1.9m batch of US-purchased computers destined for schoolchildren but allegedly sold off on the cheap have been recovered. As we reported on Saturday, an unnamed senior official at Umm Qasr port had reportedly misappropriated the gift and auctioned the computers for just $45,700. But customs chief Nofal Salim […]
US-Donated Computers for Children Missing
The U.S. military is demanding to know what happened to $1.9 million worth of computers purchased by American taxpayers, and intended for Iraqi schoolchildren, that have instead been auctioned off by Iraqi officials for less than $50,000. Reports from Associated Press and al Jazeera say the shipment of computers intended for schoolchildren in the central […]
Iran to Claim $1 Trillion War Reparations from Iraq?
Debate is raging in Iran regarding the issue of claiming reparations from Iraq in relation to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Earlier this month, a member of the Majlis (the Iranian parliament), Eivaz Heidarpour, who is also a member of Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that Iran could claim compensation from […]
Weekly Security Update for 26th Aug 2010
National Overview The total number of hostile incidents reported nationally increased for the third week in a row, seeing a significant rise in the number of recorded incidents in Baghdad and slight rises in the north and north central regions. The west and south east regions remained the same, in terms of numbers of incidents, […]
Refinery Boss Resigns Following Threats
Dr. Ali al-Obaidi, who has been in charge of Iraq's Baiji refinery since 2007, has reportedly resigned from his position, having successfully slashed the level of theft from the facility. He had initially been installed as part of a joint U.S.-Iraqi corruption crisis team. According to Iraq Oil Report, the man credited with reducing theft […]
The Next Baghdad Boom
By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch In hopes of making good on a campaign promise just months before the November elections, President Barack Obama successfully oversaw the last of combat troops depart from Iraq just a few weeks shy of the 31 August deadline. While 50,000 soldiers will remain in Iraq as ‘advisors,’ […]
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Iraq Ready to Resolve Debt Dispute with Kuwait
Iraq has intensified efforts to resolve its debt problems with neighboring Kuwait, in order to end the international restrictions imposed on the country following the invasion of Kuwait two decades ago, said Iraq’s deputy foreign minister. Iraq was placed under United Nations’ Chapter 7 status in 1991 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Speaking to AKnews, […]