Iraq

Monday greeted the reports of five US troops killed in Mosul as a result of a roadside bomb, or IED. For a comprehensive definition of what an IED is, click here for the Globalsecurity.org's explanation (click here for an Iraq specific explanation). The ‘pre-offensive’ is gearing up in Mosul, after Prime Minister Maliki announced the […]

In a small but symbolic step forward today, the Iraqi parliament approved a change to the Iraqi national flag, removing the stars the represented Saddam Hussein's Ba’ath Party. This is a temporary change and a new flag design will be brokered in a years’ time. I think at this point, the Iraq people need much, […]

Mosul, in the Kurdistan province in northern Iraq, has suffered a bomb blast that came almost immediately after police arrived to act on a tip that the building contained explosives. According to Brigadier General Abdul Karim Al-Jubouri, it occurred at 1630 local time, and witnesses said it was the loudest blast they had ever heard […]

BBC does these pieces sometimes where they will interview and tell the story of someone who is living the headlines. In a piece dated January 19 they tell the story of Noor who is an Iraqi refugee living in Syria. It's quite searing, and gives a human perspective to the media headlines. In today's Washington […]

The clashes between the Shi’ite sect Soldiers of Heaven and the local Iraqi security forces have occurred almost exactly a year after the previous clashes that killed over 25o people in Najaf, although this time, the violence is farther south, in Nasiriyah and Basra. They are targeting Shi’ite observers of Ashura, a major Shi’ite holiday […]

Woman bomber kills 11 in Iraq in Baquba, capital of the Diyala province. Incidentally, this is the province where a major operation to clean out insurgents is underway. Unfortunately, this has been the third female bomber in three months in Baquba. With the upsurge in booby-trapped houses killing coalition and local security forces, the insurgents […]

Unfortunately, Judge Amir Jawdat Naeib was assassinated in Baghdad on his way to work today. According to the linked BBC article, assassinations have gone down since the ‘surge’, but this is another example of how far Iraq is from true stability. Despite this, the Coalition has announced that over 60 militants have been killed in […]