By Patrick M. Schmidt. In statements made to the Financial Times, Turkish officials have encouraged the United States to allow American businesses to import Kurdish oil. They argued that the United States should support the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) economically as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS) has been able to directly […]
British Charity Makes Urgent Appeal to Help Refugees Fleeing Islamic State A British-run charity has launched an emergency appeal to help the many hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes by the Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq. The AMAR International Charitable Foundation is one of the only organisations offering help to families […]
From CNN. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Col. Tim Collins, Former British Army Commander, speaks with CNN's Hala Gorani about the chaos in Iraq:
By Patrick Schmidt. For a terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) follows relatively normal business practices. It may come as a surprise to those not familiar with the group, but the organization has published an annual report revealing its secrets to success and longevity. ISIL is thought to earn at […]
By John Lee. The United Nations have declared the highest level of emergency in northern Iraq, estimating that over a million people have been displaced in the aftermath of the June offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Nicolay Mladenov, head of UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission: Iraq) has said that in […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Following the arrival of additional American military advisors to Iraq yesterday, the Defense Department reported that some of those troops had traveled to Sinjar Mountain. After almost a week of airstrikes by American aircraft and a simultaneous offensive by Kurdish security forces, thousands Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain can now […]
By John Lee. Following on from France's move to rapidly supply Kurdish Peshmerga led forces with arms and equipment, Germany's Federal Ministry of Defence has pledged "non lethal aid" to the Iraqi army. Typically, non-lethal aid is sent when a matter is politically sensitive, or if a government has reservations about supplying one side in […]
By John Lee. The New York Times has reported that French President Francois Hollande has endorsed the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraq's new PM, and with Baghdad's approval France is now ready to send arms to Kurdish forces. The move comes after the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani remarked that the Peshmerga were not sufficiently […]
By Patrick Schmidt. In addition to current energy holdings in Syria, the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds seven different oil fields in Iraq. This past month the militants seized Ain Zalah and Batma oil fields. They had previously gained control of Najma, Qayara, Himreen, Ajeel and Balad oil fields. The […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Defence secretary Chuck Hagel has announced that additional military advisors are being deployed to Iraq. On Tuesday, an additional 130 American military advisers arrived in the country. The staff are tasked with accessing the ongoing humanitarian crisis taking place in the north of the country. This announcement comes almost a week after […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Crude oil reached $105 dollars per barrel late last week despite the ongoing crisis and advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The increase came after a period of unusually low oil prices in the global market. Oil has fallen over $10 dollars over the past two months […]
U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Iraq on Monday, successfully conducting airstrikes on four ISIL checkpoints and multiple ISIL vehicles near Sinjar Mountain in defense of internally displaced Yazidi civilians in the area. At approximately 1:10 p.m. EDT, U.S. fighter aircraft struck and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint southwest of Sinjar Mountain. At […]
