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Revived security forces advance on Ramadi

A fighter from the Popular Mobilization units run to take position on the front line during a military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on the road leading to Saqlawiya, north of Fallujah, in Iraq’s Anbar province on Aug. 19, 2015. (HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images) Pro-government security forces have launched a multi-pronged attack to retake Ramadi, tightening the military blockade around the city and setting the stage for a deeper assault. Iraqi leaders have been talking of an imminent operation to liberate Ramadi ever since it fell to the Islamic State (IS) militant group five months ago, without significant results . But for more than a month, the military dynamic has been shifting: Shia militias have been ordered to withdraw from the area, the Iraqi government has brought more Sunni tribal fighters into the al-Hashid al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization) program, and the U.S. military has provided extensive help […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shiites in Iraq Hailing Putin for Syria Push

Photo Karim Nihaya, an artist in Baghdad, wrapped a painting of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week. Mr. Putin’s popularity is soaring in Iraq’s Shiite heartland for his military raids in Syria. Credit Sabah Arar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images NAJAF, Iraq — One of the most popular Facebook posts in Iraq ’s Shiite heartland is a Photoshopped image of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia dressed in the robe of a southern tribal sheikh. It was the American-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein and empowered Iraq ’s long-repressed Shiite majority. The United States also took the lead more than a year ago to assemble a coalition to conduct airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the Sunni militants of the Islamic State. But with the struggle against the Islamic State largely stalemated, it is the naked display of Russian military power in neighboring Syria, as well […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Revived security forces advance on Ramadi

A fighter from the Popular Mobilization units run to take position on the front line during a military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on the road leading to Saqlawiya, north of Fallujah, in Iraq’s Anbar province on Aug. 19, 2015. (HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images) Pro-government security forces have launched a multi-pronged attack to retake Ramadi, tightening the military blockade around the city and setting the stage for a deeper assault. Iraqi leaders have been talking of an imminent operation to liberate Ramadi ever since it fell to the Islamic State (IS) militant group five months ago, without significant results . But for more than a month, the military dynamic has been shifting: Shia militias have been ordered to withdraw from the area, the Iraqi government has brought more Sunni tribal fighters into the al-Hashid al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization) program, and the U.S. military has provided extensive help […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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An Evil Plot? Iraq’s Most Industry-Savvy Province Refuses to Impose Baghdad’s New Customs Tax

A new customs tax came into effect in August. But in Basra, one of Iraq’s busiest provinces for imports, officials refuse to impose Baghdad’s tax, saying its unfair use is damaging business there. There are over a thousand cars parked in a Kuwaiti port on the Iraqi-Kuwait border. There are another thousand or more parked in the Umm Qasr port on the Iraqi side of the border. And apparently they are all sitting there because the importers and exporters refuse to pay the newly-imposed Iraqi customs duty, that has come into effect as part of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s package of financial and administrative reforms . “We have suffered serious financial damages because of the delay in shipping our products from Kuwait,” local businessman, Saleh al-Sharifi, complained to NIQASH. “And we are paying for the costs of these delays.” Local importers see the duty as unfair. “The new customs […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pressure mounts on Kurdistan’s oil minister

KRG Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami speaks during a press conference on May 20, 2012. (THAIER AL-SUDANI/Reuters) Kurdistan’s powerful minister of natural resources, Ashti Hawrami, is facing internal political opposition and a legal investigation that threaten to weaken his hold on the region’s oil sector.Rival politicians are accusing Hawrami of mismanagement and corruption, including botching up the region’s gas development and electricity feedstock, mishandling oil revenue, and improperly allocating refined fuel.Most recently, two members of the regional Parliament, Sherko Jawdat and Soran Omar… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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North oil facilities face ongoing IS attacks

Fighters from the so-called Islamic State group set wells on fire after they attacked the Khabbaz oil field on Feb. 3, 2015. (KAMARAN AL-NAJAR/Iraq Oil Report) In the week after a Peshmerga offensive designed to insulate key oil infrastructure from IS threats, North Gas Company and the Khabbaz oil field have come under attack. Polarized by the dispute over President Barzani’s tenure, rivals factions in Kurdistan are targeting Ashti Hawrami with political attacks and a legal investigation. Public-sector employees are losing patience with a government hobbled by a financial crisis and internal political squabbling over the presidency.

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Hungary imports oil from Iraq’s Kurdistan at expense of Russian crude: sources

A flame rises from a chimney at Taq Taq oil field in Arbil, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, August 16, 2014. Picture taken August 16, 2014. Hungary has increased oil imports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region at the expense of Russian crude in a sign that Middle East producers could be gaining ground in a battle with Moscow for global market share, according to trading sources. This would also be the first confirmation of large Kurdish oil shipments to Europe as autonomous Kurdistan is locked in a standoff with Baghdad over lucrative exports and faces repeated sabotage of the pipeline carrying crude to Turkey’s Ceyhan port. Hungarian oil group MOL receives the bulk of its oil imports from Russia. But it has stepped up imports of oil from Kurdistan since the summer, the sources told Reuters without giving specific volumes, part of a wider increase in seaborne crude purchases for the […]

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Iraqis Urge Russia to Strike Islamic State

BAGHDAD—Iraqi Shiite lawmakers and militia leaders are urging Russia to launch airstrikes on Islamic State militants in their country, a sharp reproach to the U.S.-led air campaign targeting the extremist group. Since Moscow began bombing opponents of the regime in Syria last week, the lawmakers and militia leaders have pressed Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to invite Russia to intervene in Iraq. Mr. Abadi said last week that he would welcome Russian airstrikes in Iraq as long as they were coordinated with the U.S.-led coalition. Iraq’s Shiite politicians, who dominate the government, were largely united in their praise of Russia’s intervention and calls for Russian airstrikes. “We welcome Russian airstrikes in Iraq to help hit Islamic State headquarters, target Islamic State supply lines from Syria and target the oil smuggling lines,” said Moeen al-Kadhimi, a spokesman for the Badr Corps, an Iranian-backed militia and political party that plays a front-line […]

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Strikes spreading over KRG salary delays

Civil servants in Erbil protest delayed salary payments on Oct. 5, 2015. (RAWAZ TAHIR/Iraq Oil Report) Public-sector workers have gone on strike across Sulaimaniya province in the last three days, protesting long delays in salary payments that have resulted from the Kurdistan region’s financial crisis.Many hundreds of government employees have left their posts and taken to the streets to picket in Sulaimaniya city and surrounding areas, including Halabja, Said Sadq, Darbandikhan, Penjwin, Ranya, Chamchamal, and Kalar.Strikes also spilled over into neighboring Erbil province on Monday, a… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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September exports flat as Baghdad loses oil to KRG sales

A tanker loads Kirkuk crude at the Turkish port of Ceyhan. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report) Exports by Iraq’s federal government dipped slightly in September, despite an increase from southern Iraq, as more federal crude in the north was used by the autonomous Kurdistan region for its own growing independent oil sales.The Oil Ministry reported selling 3.052 million barrels per day (bpd) in September – a slight decrease from the 3.079 million bpd sold in August, 3.105 million bpd in July, and 3.187 million bpd in June.Total federal revenue also dropped on the back of falling o… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple