Tag Archives: Iraq

Tuesday, 21 March 2017 WASHINGTON – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he won assurances of greater U.S. support in fighting Islamic State militants in talks on Monday with President Donald Trump and top advisers, but cautioned that military might alone would not be sufficient. Abadi’s remarks followed his first …

Tuesday, 14 March 2017   AMMAN – A prominent Iraqi Sunni politician on Monday warned Washington the acceleration in a military campaign in western Mosul to drive out Islamic State jihadists was causing a sudden surge in civilian casualties that threatened to undermine the effort to crush the militants. Khamis …

Tuesday, 7 March 2017   BAGHDAD – Elite Iraqi security forces dislodged Islamic State militants from the main government building in Mosul on Tuesday, their last major city stronghold in Iraq, an Iraqi spokesman said. According to Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the elite interior ministry unit, …

Wednesday, 1 March 2017 BAGHDAD – U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State’s hands, a general and residents there said, trapping the militants in a dwindling area within the city. The army’s 9th Armoured …

Thursday, 23 February 2017 SOUTH OF MOSUL: A few hundred civilians have fled their homes in the outskirts of western Mosul, the first reported displacement since a U.S.-backed offensive on the jihadists’ remaining stronghold there began at the weekend. A Reuters correspondent saw about 200 women and children being transported …

Tuesday, 7 February 2017 BAGHDAD – The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said on Monday it has limited the movement of its personnel after receiving “credible threats of possible attacks on hotels frequented by Westerners”. “As a reminder, U.S. citizens should maintain a heightened sense of security awareness and take appropriate …

Tuesday, 24 January 2017 BAGHDAD – The United Nations expressed “deep concern” on Tuesday about 750,000 civilians living in western Mosul, ahead of a U.S.-backed offensive to dislodge Islamic State from this area. Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, is divided into 2 halves by the Tigris river that …

Thursday, 12 January 2017 Turkey is considering naturalizing some working Iraqi and Syrian refugees along with their families, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday. He added that among the over 3 million refugees the country had taken in were some who possessed “high levels of education, experience and means” …

Thursday, 12 January 2017 The operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the clutches of the Islamic State group, also called ISIS, could end in three months or less, a senior Iraqi commander said Tuesday. The Mosul offensive began in October last year. Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati said …

Wednesday, 28 December 2016 BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday it would take three months to remove Islamic State from Iraq, as U.S.-backed forces battle to dislodge the militants from Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country. Abadi had previously pledged the northern city would be …