Category: Iraq

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Photo Shiite fighters during an operation to retake the remaining areas of the Baiji oil refinery from the Islamic State on Monday in Salahuddin Province in Iraq. Credit Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said Tuesday that a combined force of Iraqi soldiers and allied Shiite militias had started moving to retake the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, from Islamic State fighters. The officials billed the operation that began Tuesday as the start of a major offensive to liberate all of Anbar Province. But most of the action reported on Tuesday involved pro-government forces maneuvering in the desert areas north and east of Ramadi, and it was unclear when an assault there might begin. The loss of Ramadi more than a week ago was a major setback for the Iraqi government and the United States-led air campaign to contain the Islamic State, also […]

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Iraqi army tanks get into position on the outskirts of the Baiji refinery during a joint operation between the army and popular mobilization units to retake the remaining area of the refinery from Islamic State (IS) militants, on May 24, 2015. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) Recommend 4 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. The Baiji refinery, which was once Iraq’s single largest source of fuel, appears to have been almost entirely destroyed.Militants from the so-called Islamic State (IS) group have detonated explosives and set fire to key infrastructure, including control rooms and processing units, as pro-government forces launched a fresh offensive over the weekend to regain control of the facility, Iraqi security and oil officials said."The damage to the refinery is huge," said a senior engineer who use… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, […]

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Iraq is taking OPEC’s strategy to defend its share of the global oil market to a new level. The nation plans to boost crude exports by about 26 percent to a record 3.75 million barrels a day next month, according to shipping programs, signaling an escalation of OPEC strategy to undercut U.S. shale drillers in the current market rout. The additional Iraqi oil is equal to about 800,000 barrels a day, or more than comes from OPEC member Qatar. The rest of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to rubber stamp its policy to maintain output levels at a meeting on June 5. While shipping schedules aren’t a promise of future production, they are indicative of what may come. The following chart graphs planned tanker loadings (in red) against exports. As in previous months, Iraq might not hit its June target – export capacity is currently capped […]

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BAGHDAD/BEIRUT Islamic State poured more fighters into Ramadi as security forces and Shi’ite paramilitaries prepared to retake the Iraqi city that fell to the Islamists a week ago in a major setback for the government. In Palmyra, the Syrian air force struck at buildings captured by the Sunni militant group, whose arrival has raised fears that the city’s famed Roman ruins will be destroyed. The air force leveled Islamic State "hideouts" and killed a large number of its members around Palmyra’s military air base, Syrian state media said. Islamic State has killed at least 217 people execution-style, including children, since it moved into the Palmyra area 10 days ago, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Another 300 soldiers were killed before the Syrian city was captured, the monitoring group said. The insurgents reinforced Ramadi on Monday, deploying fighters in preparation for battle against security forces and […]

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ENLARGE Islamic State identified six men, including a man it named as Abu Adam al-Lubnani, of Lebanon, as among the suicide bombers who helped the group’s victorious battle surge in Ramadi. Photo: no credit In late April, a commander for Islamic State said his forces were ready to launch an offensive to take Ramadi, and the group called for fighters to redeploy to Iraq from Syria. Three weeks later, the jihadist group seized the capital of Anbar province after relentless waves of suicide bombings. U.S. defense chief Ash Carter has blamed Ramadi’s fall mainly on Iraqi forces’ lack of will to fight. But Islamic State’s battlefield performance suggests the terrorist group’s tactical sophistication is growing—a development the Iraqis and the U.S.-led coalition have so far failed to counter, said Iraqi officials, former U.S. officials and military analysts studying the organization. An examination of how Ramadi fell indicates that Islamic […]

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ENLARGE Iraqi security forces and tribal fighters in Ramadi in April, before the city was seized by Islamic State last week. U.S. Defense Secretary signaled the possibility of a shift in the country’s strategy in Iraq on Sunday. Photo: Associated Press Defense Secretary Ash Carter held open the possibility of a strategy shift by the White House on Iraq, a few days after recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria revived sharp criticism of the Obama administration’s approach in combating extremist groups there. Islamic State forces last week captured the key Iraqi city of Ramadi and also expanded their reach in Syria. Critics and even allies of the administration took to Sunday television talk shows to call for a strategy change by the administration to stem the advance of Islamic State forces. Among the calls: More aggressively arming Sunni tribes and Peshmerga forces who oppose Islamic State, also known as […]

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