Baghdad

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US Teams With Al-Sadr
US Teams With Al-Sadr

US Teams With Al-Sadr

Common enemies inspire peculiar alliance

(Newser) - The US military and the man who was once considered the most powerful destabilizing force in Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr, now have a common enemy: rogue members of Sadr's Mahdi Army. Since Sadr declared a ceasefire three months ago, US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, have been secretly meeting with Sadr's...

Qaeda Busted in Baghdad: Gen.
Qaeda Busted in Baghdad: Gen.

Qaeda Busted in Baghdad: Gen.

Baghdad Commander says al Qaeda wing ousted from the city

(Newser) - The Iraqi-based terror network Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has been ousted by US troops from every neighborhood in Baghdad where it once operated, according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of US forces in the city. Fil also tells the New York Times that violence is down significantly.

Huge Iraqi Dam Could Fail
Huge Iraqi Dam Could Fail

Huge Iraqi Dam Could Fail

Biggest dam in Iraq could flood Mosul and kill up to 500K, US report says

(Newser) - Iraq’s biggest dam is vulnerable to breaking and flooding the city of Mosul, killing up to 500,000 and flooding the Tigris River, the BBC reports. A US report today warns that an ongoing $27 million reconstruction project has not fixed the dam's flaws. Poor construction, incorrect parts, and...

Bomb Wounds Highest Ranking Officer Injured in Iraq

Iraqi army finds eight of 10 kidnapped sheiks

(Newser) - A roadside bomb blew shrapnel today into the highest-ranking US commander yet injured in Iraq, CNN reports. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko, who had taken command October 10, was evacuated to Germany after the bomb detonated by his vehicle in Baghdad. His injuries were not life-threatening and he...

Wary Iraqis Probe US Raid on Sadr City

Civilian casualties in firefight stir charges of excessive force

(Newser) - Iraqi officials are sorting through conflicting reports of an American raid in the Baghdad Shiite enclave of Sadr City yesterday that the US military said killed 49 "criminals" and Iraqis said left 17 people dead, including an elderly woman and several babies, and many wounded. The civilian casualties provoked...

Turkey OKs Strikes in Iraq
Turkey OKs Strikes in Iraq

Turkey OKs Strikes in Iraq

526-19 vote gives year-long permission to respond to Kurdish attacks

(Newser) - The Turkish Parliament today authorized its prime minister to send the country's military into Iraq to combat Kurdish separatists who have been accused of raids on Turkish soil. The 526-19 vote gives year-long permission for military strikes across the border, CNN reports. With 60,000 Turkish troops amassed in the...

Baghdad Shiites Turn Away From Mahdi Army

As al-Sadr's militia degenerates, locals seek out US military

(Newser) - In Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, a substantial shift in allegiances is under way, the  Times reports: locals are beginning to turn from the Mahdi Army, the militia that once represented their best defense against Sunni insurgents. A lack of coherent ideology has turned a militia into a gang, and local...

Iraqis Dispute Identity of 25 Killed by US

Military says they fired first; civilians say militia defended town from al-Qaeda

(Newser) - American troops killed 25 Iraqis north of Baghdad today, the New York Times reports, but accounts differ over why the Iraqis were armed. The US military said soldiers were fired upon by "criminals " involved in transporting arms from Iran; civilians in the mainly Shiite district of Khalis said...

US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet
US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet

US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet

September stats are lowest since summer of 2006

(Newser) - The death tolls among US soldiers and Iraqi civilians both fell significantly in September, hitting their lowest levels since the summer of 2006. Civilian deaths dropped 50% to 988, compared to 1,975 in August. The American death toll in September was 64, the fewest casualties since July 2006, the...

Blackwater Guard Kept Blasting 'After Call to Stop'

First details emerge in probe of Iraq shooting

(Newser) - At least one Blackwater security guard continued firing at Iraqis, despite colleagues' call to stop during the incendiary incident earlier this month that killed at least eight civilians, witnesses have told investigators. Another guard for the private security firm is said to have pointed his gun at a fellow employee...

Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules
Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules

Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules

State Dept exempted security firm from Iraqi and US military oversight

(Newser) - Blackwater, the private security firm involved in the shooting of 10 civilians in Baghdad Sunday, has operated outside US military regulations governing other security contractors in Iraq, the Washington Post reports. Deployed and protected by the State Department, they were exempted from oversight by the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and not...

US Bars Travel for Officials After Iraqi Shootings

Iraqi officials blast killings by private security operation

(Newser) - Tensions are so high in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis by a private American security operation that the US has barred civilian officials from road travel outside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone for their own safety. The Iraqis were killed when contractors with security outfit Blackwater opened...

After Attack, Iraq Bans US Security Firm

Baghdad blames civilian deaths on Blackwater, threatens prosecution

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has revoked an American security contractor's license to do business in the country and is weighing criminal charges against employees who allegedly opened fire on civilians yesterday, the AP reports. Blackwater USA personnel were escorting a State Department convoy through Baghdad when they opened fire, killing eight...

US Forces Talking With Sadr's Army
US Forces
Talking With
Sadr's Army

US Forces Talking With Sadr's Army

Dialogue with radical group represents a reverse face

(Newser) - US officials are holding their noses and negotiating with the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the LA Times reports. The US has held a hard line against the radical cleric, but analysts say that the military has grudgingly accepted that the Mahdi Army is currently holding...

Shiites Force Sunnis From Baghdad
Shiites Force Sunnis From Baghdad

Shiites Force Sunnis From Baghdad

Internally displaced ranks surge as majority seeks ‘Manifest Destiny’

(Newser) - Shiites have been clearing Baghdad of Sunnis at an accelerating rate, and those who remain live under siege. Curbing sectarian cleansing was a key goal of the US troop surge, but the forced migration has only intensified throughout the country, Newsweek reports: The ranks of internally displaced persons have doubled...

Bush Visits Iraq, Says Some Troops Might Come Home

Surprise war council in Iraq points to improving security

(Newser) - Fewer US troops will be needed in Iraq if security conditions continue to improve, said President Bush today during a surprise visit to Iraq. The pronouncement came after meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker–both of whom will be...

Bush Drops In on Iraq
Bush Drops
In on Iraq

Bush Drops In on Iraq

Prez makes surprise trip to Baghdad, will meet with Maliki, generals

(Newser) - President Bush landed today in Anbar Province, just west of Baghdad, for a surprise trip in advance of the September 15 status briefing on Iraq. Bush will meet with President Nouri al-Maliki, local officials and US generals including David Petraeus, CNN reports. The president was on his way to a...

Iraqi Civilian Deaths Spike in August

Almost half the 1,809 casualties killed in a single day

(Newser) - August was the second deadliest month for Iraqi civilians since the US troop surge began, the AP reports, with almost half the deaths occurring on just one disastrous day. At least 1,809 Iraqis were killed last month, compared to 2,100 in December, just before the surge began. On...

Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria
Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria

Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria

Anchor plans 10-day trip through Mideast before surge report

(Newser) - Katie Couric leaves today for a 10-day trip to Iraq and Syria, where she will cover the war and the turbulent Middle East as the Pentagon's September 15 deadline for a report on Iraq looms. Couric will spend six days in Iraq, twice anchoring "CBS Evening News" live from...

US Arrests Iranians, Then Admits Error

Military seizes energy ministry delegation at Baghdad checkpoint

(Newser) - US soldiers detained 8 envoys from Iran's energy ministry in Baghdad yesterday and held them overnight before admitting it was a mistake, the BBC reports. The men, who were energy experts on an official visit, were released after Iraqi leaders intervened. The US military said they were stopped at a...

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