The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By John Lee. The Associated Press has reported recently on the northern Iraqi town of Amerli where some 15,000 members of Iraq's Shi'a Turkmen minority are cut off from food and water supplies and besieged on all sides by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters. If ISIL are able to enter the town it is […]
By John Lee. No doubt in the hope of happier times ahead, Iraq's National Museum has opened two new halls at a recent well attended ceremony. Showcasing objects from a span of 7000 years of Mesopotamian history, a key feature of the new part of the museum was some 500 objects from the Hellenistic period, […]
By Barbara Slavin for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. US officials have begun discussions with local leaders in Iraq’s Ninewa province about how to recapture the city of Mosul in the wake of the successful operation to recover control of Mosul […]
By Patrick Schmidt. American officials have announced that more US troops may be deployed to Iraq in the coming weeks. The additional troops would be based in the capitol city of Baghdad. Approximately 748 US troops have been deployed to Iraq since the rise of the Islamic State (IS). These troops supplement the usual 100 […]
By John Lee. Iraqi counter-terrorism experts have announced that the recent increase in US air strikes in the Mosul dam area (north of Mosul) have caused two waves of ISIL retreats. Following the beheading of American journalist James Foley, the Islamic State issued a warning to the US that further strikes would see the execution […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Iraqi government has announced that security forces have reclaimed the K3 Refinery in Haditha. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had occupied the facility and expelled its staff from the area. Security officials announced that they had killed a number of militants and were now inspecting the facility […]
By John Lee. The Canadian government has confirmed that they have two cargo planes operational to assist in the transfer of arms and supplies to Iraqi Kurdish forces. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird (pictured) went as far as to endorse US air strikes against the "brutal" ISIS: “Canada supports all efforts, including United States supply drops […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has recently given an interview with Rudaw English discussing his hopes for a new Iraqi government that can improve the relations between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government. Despite a joint Kurdish--Iraq security operation to re-take Mosul dam with US air cover (initially reported as being solely Kurdish) […]
By John Lee. The Italian government has joined Germany and France in saying they are preparing to send arms and other assistance to both Kurdish aligned forces and the federal government of Iraq in Baghdad. The move follows a visit to Iraq by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who announced on his return that Italy […]
By John Lee. French President Francois Hollande has called for an international conference to discuss new strategies to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It is not the first time such an idea has been discussed, with counter-terrorism expert David Kilcullen suggesting a repeat of the WW2 ARCADIA conference, only this time aimed […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Baghdad local government has announced the opening of refugee camps in Al-Nahrawan for those who are fleeing the violence of the Islamic State (IS) in the north. The complex cost $4.3 million dollars and can house up to 1,000 families with facilities including schools, hospitals, shops, and recreational facilities. "The complex […]
By Patrick Schmidt. On Monday, Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) announced that it will invest $4.9 billion in the Zubair oil field project. The investment will help establish the facilities needed to launch the project and help Zubair reach its potential of over 800,000 barrel per day production. KOGAS have a 23% stake in the Zubair […]
