From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's armed forces are marking their 94th anniversary. But sadly there's little to celebrate. The army is facing unprecedented challenges - an enemy that has seized large parts of the country, internal corruption […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi received the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at his office on Sunday, and called on Australia to increase its militarty support to Iraq. The Australian PM expressed his readiness to support to Iraq in "military and training fields", according to a press releasee from the Iraqi PM's office, […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces are also trying to re-take territory occupied by ISIL. One of the key battles is in the village of Sultan Abdullah. Peshmerga forces were reportedly in full […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. The Director for the Middle East & Asia at the US State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources has said that while the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, IS) is not able to fully exploit the oilfields under its control, it could be able to produce as much as 50,000 barrels of oil a […]
By John Lee. US News have reported on the presence of several thousand American armoured vehicles being serviced at a US base in Kuwait, in possible preparation for their movement into Iraq. The vehicles are primarily MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles) expensive bulletproof and IED resistant trucks that became a key tool in the US […]
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. Despite all the negative developments concerning extremist groups in the Middle East, they have had a positive impact on religious communities. Shiite and Sunni institutions in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to denounce […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP) have collaborated to deliver eight mobile medical clinics which arrived in Erbil on Sunday. These urgently needed clinics will be immediately deployed to parts of Iraq and Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The vehicles, flown in from Amman, Jordan, were procured by WHO and have […]
During a speech to an audience of top Washington scholars and officials at the Center from Strategic International Studies (CSIS), Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said, ‘Iraq can only be saved if Baghdad is willing to devolve some of its powers to regional authorities and be more inclusive of minorities.’ He […]
