Government of Iraq Releases 2014 Casualty Data
By Patrick Schmidt. According to figures from the Iraqi government, at least 15,000 individuals have been killed since the start of the year. Many of those individuals died following the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in June. This year’s figure is a sharp increase from 2013, when only 6,522 people were killed by violence […]
Iraq and Russia Maintain Oil Glut
By John Lee. Iraq and Russia are leading the global surge in oil exports despite a highly competitive market. This has maintained low prices not seen since 2009, with a February settlement for Brent Crude at $56.42 a barrel. Bloomberg reported record export data of 10.6 million barrels a day from Russia and 2.9 million bpd […]
ISIL Hit by 100 Air Strikes Since Christmas
By John Lee. The Christmas and the New Year period brought no respite for fighters of the so called "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria, with some 100 strikes targeting the group in their key command and control sites including Raqqa in Syria, and Mosul and Fallujah in Iraq. US Defence officials also reported other […]
Iran, Iraq Defence Ministries Sign Cooperation Agreement
By John Lee. A recent announcement from the Iraqi government has stated that Baghdad and Tehran are continuing to negotiate additional plans for military aid and the reformation of a national army. Defense ministers from both nations have already signed a memorandum of understanding regarding this issue, following a visit from Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi to […]
Iraq in 2015 ...
The year just gone by has been a exceptionally difficult one for Iraq, as it attempts to tackle the misery being spread by the so-called Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL), while at the same time managing the effects of a dramatic fall in the price of oil. But without diminishing the enormity of these challenges, […]
China Opens Consulate in Kurdistan
In the presence of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, China’s Vice Foreign Minister, Zhang Ming, officially opened China’s consulate general in Erbil today. Prime Minister Barzani in his speech applauded the decision of the government of China to open its consulate general in Erbil. He said: “Opening the consulate general of the People’s Republic of China […]
Basra "Moving Towards Independence"
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. Since the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921, its provinces have had different positions toward decentralization as a result of the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. In addition, economic resources have varied widely from one […]
Displaced Iraqis seek Safety as Winter Falls
More than 3,000 internally displaced Iraqis are living in Arbat camp three months after it opened to shelter to some of the 2 million people uprooted by conflict in northern and central Iraq in 2014. They comprise some 660 families, including 40-year-old Laila, her husband Khalaf and their seven children. The family from Sinjar fled […]
Video: Battles Rage for Control of Kirkuk
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On the frontlines outside the Iraq's city of Kirkuk, contact between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is regular. While Kurdish forces' lines have held so […]
Currency Auction Results, 31st Dec
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 19 banks took part in its currency auction on Wednesday. A total of $190,311,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Weekly Security Update, 23 – 29 December 2014
2015 draft budget wins cabinet approval as Baghdad sets out New Year spending plans for defence, energy and reconstruction priorities. While the Iraqi public accounts are anticipated to run at a deficit of some 23 trillion dinars (approximately $20 billion) during the coming year as a consequence of sliding oil prices and security expenditure, the […]
Budget 2015 "Needs Serious Revision"
Iraqi State Budget 2015- It Deserves Careful Reading But Needs Serious Revision By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. The first reading of the draft law for budget 2015 by the Federal Parliament was done on 25 December at a presence of only 229 members of the Parliament. According to the parliamentary procedure the first reading entail reading […]