Iraq Report Prompts More Defensiveness Than Regret From Tony Blair
LONDON — His voice sometimes close to cracking, his expression strained and grim, former Prime Minister Tony Blair spent much of the past two days responding to the damning judgment of an inquiry into how he led Britain into the Iraq war, engaging in an extraordinary public mix of soul searching, regret and defensiveness. […]
Chilcot report: We owe a debt to Iraq – Britain’s failures helped cause the mess the country is in today
Over 13 years since the US-led invasion and two years since Islamic State (Isis) emerged out of the deserts of Syria and conquered Iraqi cities as far south as Tikrit, it is rare to see positive headlines from Iraq. While there have been brief periods between 2003 and 2016 when Iraq has looked to be […]
Fallujah: Over 350 Yazidi girls kidnapped 2 years ago freed from ‘sexual jihad’ after Isis withdrawal
Hundreds of Yazidi sex slaves have been freed from the embattled city of Fallujah after the Islamic State (Isis) continue their withdrawal whilst under pressure from the Iraqi army. The 354 girls from the fringe minority sect had been kidnapped by the extremists 305 miles away in their spiritual home near Mount Sinjar, in northern […]
Jordan declares Syria and Iraq borders closed military zones
Jordan has declared its border regions with Syria and Iraq to be closed military zones after a suicide bombing on Tuesday that killed six soldiers. It is not clear who was behind the attack, which was launched from Syrian territory, close to a refugee camp. The Jordanian government said no new refugee camps would be […]
Istanbul bombing another sign Syria, Iraq war spreading to Turkey
The war raging in neighboring Syria and Iraq continues to destabilize Turkey as spillover violence and increased fighting with the Kurds risks plunging the country into deeper instability. “Turkey is the new target of the proxy wars, especially when the latest developments in north Syria and southeastern Anatolia are taken into consideration,” Prof. Mehmet […]
One of the biggest ever battles against ISIS is going on right now in Falluja
The Iraqi army stormed to the southern edge of Fallujah under US air support on Monday and captured a police station inside the city limits, launching a direct assault to retake one of the main strongholds of Islamic State militants. A Reuters TV crew about a mile (about 1.5 km) from the city’s edge said […]
Iraqi Forces in Fallujah Repel ISIS Attack in City’s South
(CAMP TARIQ, Iraq) —Iraqi forces battling their way into Fallujah repelled a four-hour attack by the Islamic State group in the city’s south on Tuesday, a day after first moving into the southern edges of the militant-held city with the help of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes. Also Tuesday, a leading aid group raised alarm over […]
ISIS bomb attack kills dozens at Iraq markets around Baghdad targeting Shiites
A wave of bombings struck outdoor markets and a restaurant in Shiite-dominated neighborhoods of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 69 people, officials said – the latest in deadly militant attacks far from the front lines in the country’s north and west where Iraqi forces are battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). […]
‘This is our 1948’: Kurds kindle a close relationship with Jews and Israel
It was cold and dark when we arrived. The beams of light from our clunky sedan on the potholed road seemed to be the only thing piercing the darkness. To the north, Mount Shingal, which we had just crossed, lurked. To the south lay the city of Shingal, and beyond that the front […]
U.S. on verge of ‘losing Iraq completely to Iran’
Escalating protests in Baghdad threaten the Iraqi government as Shiite Muslim factions battle for control for the country, and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney says Iran could soon wield all the power in Iraq unless the U.S. changes course in significant ways. He is also reacting to ISIS killing a U.S. […]