Iraq

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Iraq Breaking Apart: Kurds Plan Independence Vote

90 walk out of parliament meeting

(Newser) - With Iraq divided by violence , its Kurdish region is ready to consider forging a nation of its own. Massoud Barzani, the president of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, says he's planning a referendum on independence that could occur in "a matter of months," the BBC reports. Kurdistan has...

Obama to Send 200 More US Troops to Iraq

That brings total US forces there to nearly 800

(Newser) - President Barack Obama says he's sending about 200 more US troops to Iraq to protect Americans and the US Embassy in Baghdad. The announcement will bring to nearly 800 the total number of US forces in and around Iraq to train local forces, secure the embassy, and protect American...

ISIS Crucifies 8 'Moderate' Militants

Meanwhile, Russia sends jets to Iraq

(Newser) - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—or as the group now apparently prefers to be called, just the Islamic State —sent a grisly message to other Islamist militants this weekend in Syria by crucifying eight rebel fighters it deemed too moderate, according to a report from the Syrian...

New Airport Security Concern: 'Creative' Bombs

Intelligence indicates terrorists in Syria may be working on them

(Newser) - The US may boost security measures at its own airports—and call for improvements abroad—amid fears of attacks fueled by the crisis in Syria, ABC News reports. Terrorists in the country, according to new US intelligence, may be working on "creative" bombs targeting commercial planes, sources tell ABC....

ISIS: We've Formed a New Islamic State

All Muslims ordered to obey 'Caliph Ibrahim'

(Newser) - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has dropped "of Iraq and Syria" from its name because as far as it is concerned, there is no "Iraq" or "Syria"—just an Islamic caliphate stretching from Aleppo to eastern Iraq. The militant group has declared a new...

Iraq Launches Push to Reclaim Saddam's Hometown

State media claims success in Tikrit

(Newser) - Iraqi troops backed by helicopter gunships launched an operation today aimed at dislodging Sunni militants from the northern city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and one of two major urban centers militants seized in recent weeks in a dramatic blitz across the country. State media reports said the government...

ISIS Executed 160 Captives, Rights Group Confirms

Russia warns of emerging cross-border 'terrorist state'

(Newser) - Iraqi insurgents executed at least 160 captive soldiers earlier this month in the northern city of Tikrit, Human Rights Watch said today, citing an analysis of satellite imagery and grisly photos released by the militants. The rights group says the "number of victims may well be much higher, but...

Syria Launches Airstrikes in Iraq: Reports

57 civilians reported killed in hits supposedly on Sunni militant targets

(Newser) - Syria may have just fully inserted itself into Iraq's civil war. Syria launched cross-border airstrikes on several parts of Anbar province yesterday, killing at least 57 civilians and wounding more than 120 more, local officials tell CNN . The officials say they used scopes and other equipment to identify the...

ISIS Takes Hold of Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery

Kerry promises 'intense, sustained' US support

(Newser) - After more than a week of fighting, ISIS militants say they are now fully in control of Iraq's main oil refinery. The facility at Baiji, some 155 miles north of Baghdad, supplies around a third of the country's refined fuel and the BBC notes that its capture is...

Back to Iraq? It&#39;s Up to Congress
 Back to Iraq? 
 It's Up to 
 Congress 
OPINION
Jun 23, 2014 1:09 PM CDT

Back to Iraq? It's Up to Congress

Founding Fathers' decision allows for 'vigorous national debate': Rachel Maddow

(Newser) - As the US debates its future in Iraq, all eyes are on President Obama—but where we should be looking is Capitol Hill. Yes, congressional leaders recently said Obama needed no new authorization for further military action in Iraq. "But they're wrong," writes Rachel Maddow in the...

Iraq Loses Control of Western Border

ISIS miltants seize key border crossings

(Newser) - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters have taken another step toward making their name a reality with the weekend seizure of two key border crossings in western Iraq. Though the news that they took four key towns (Qaim, Rutba, Rawa, and Anah) in two days was reported yesterday, the...

Rand Paul: I Won't Send My Son to Iraq

Senator adds that he doesn't blame Obama for the 'mess'

(Newser) - Rand Paul hit the Sunday show circuit today to stake out a position on Iraq that sets him apart from the hawks in his party. "Let's not be involved in the Syrian civil war, and let's not be involved in the Iraq civil war," the senator...

Can ISIS Be Stopped?
 Can ISIS Be Stopped? 
Jun 22, 2014 7:49 AM CDT

Can ISIS Be Stopped?

Militants have taken four towns in two days

(Newser) - Officials in Baghdad are increasingly worried that the Iraqi Army is simply incapable of standing up to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is both better armed and better trained, diplomats and politicians tell the BBC . And the militants provided plenty of evidence for that as their campaign...

ISIS Grabs Saddam's Old Chemical Weapons Site

US officials say it's useless by now

(Newser) - The facility outside Baghdad where Saddam Hussein cooked up his chemical weapons is now in the hands of extremists trying to take over the country, reports the Wall Street Journal . The good news is that the al-Muthanna facility has been mothballed for so long that US officials don't think...

US Sending 300 'Military Advisers' to Iraq

Obama says team will help Baghdad fend off insurgents

(Newser) - President Obama said today he's sending 300 US "military advisers" to Iraq as Islamic extremists threaten to overtake Baghdad , reports the AP . Obama reiterated that he will not send regular ground troops and dismissed a concern about "mission creep" in response to a question: "American combat...

Iraq Wants US Airstrikes, but US Wants Maliki Out

Battle for biggest refinery still raging

(Newser) - Did somebody say "regime change?" American lawmakers have stepped up their criticism of Nouri al-Maliki even as his government pleads for US help against the insurgency threatening to rip Iraq apart. Administration officials have made it clear that they want the country to have a new government that doesn'...

On to the Oil: ISIS Invades Iraq's Biggest Refinery

Official reports militants occupy 75% of refinery, government denies

(Newser) - The situation at Iraq's largest oil refinery is a murky, smoky one: A refinery official on the scene earlier told Reuters that militants have "managed to break in" and occupy 75% of the Baiji refinery. Though the Iraqi army now says it has beaten them back and killed...

Militants Strike Town Just 37 Miles From Baghdad

Meanwhile, Sunnis killed inside the capital

(Newser) - The battle for Iraq is getting uncomfortably close to its capital city. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants briefly took over parts of the city of Baquba, which is just 37 miles from Baghdad, the BBC reports. The Iraqi military and allied Shiite militias eventually drove them off—and...

ISIS Kills Shiite Volunteers Outside Holy City

Meanwhile, the White House says it may cooperate military with Iran

(Newser) - Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria killed over two dozen volunteer Shiite fighters today outside the holy city of Samarra—the first such attack since Shiites began signing up against ISIS, the New York Times reports. The volunteers, aiming to reinforce Iraqi defenses in Samarra, were traveling...

ISIS: We Just Slaughtered 1,700 People

US considering talks with Iran on dire situation

(Newser) - Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria say they've slaughtered 1,700 Iraqi soldiers in Tikrit, a massacre that, if confirmed, would be by far the largest atrocity in the country in more than a decade. The militants released photos late Saturday showing the soldiers being led...

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