Category: Iraq

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Sunday that “several” Arab nations had offered to join in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but any sustained military campaign does not appear imminent, and is likely to require an even more significant commitment from other nations and fighting forces in the region. In interviews and public statements, administration and military officials described a battle plan that would not accelerate in earnest until disparate groups of Iraqi forces, Kurds and Syrian rebels stepped up to provide the fighting forces on the ground. Equipping, training and coordinating that effort is a lengthy process, officials cautioned. American officials have made it clear they do not want the airstrikes to get ahead of the ground action against ISIS, which they said would take time to mass. “This isn’t going to be ‘shock and awe’ with hundreds of airstrikes,” one official said, referring […]

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Cairo Saturday. Associated Press WASHINGTON—International support for the U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State gathered strength with the U.K. vowing to destroy the group after it killed a British aid worker, Arab states agreeing to participate in airstrikes and Australia pledging forces. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday his country will do whatever is needed to combat the threat posed by the extremist group operating in Iraq and Syria, reacting to a video released on Saturday that showed the beheading of Briton David Haines. Leading Middle East countries are prepared to join the U.S. in conducting airstrikes on militant targets in Iraq and Syria, according to senior U.S. and Arab officials. Though pledges of support are rolling in, the plan of action is still short on specifics, particularly on the next steps […]

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WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – Washington said countries in the Middle East had offered to join air strikes against Islamic State militants and Australia said it would send troops, but Britain held back even after the group beheaded a British hostage and threatened to kill another. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East to try to secure backing for U.S. efforts to build a coalition to fight the Islamic State militants who have grabbed territory in Syria and Iraq. The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West. The addition of Arab fighter jets would greatly strengthen the credibility of what is a risky and complicated campaign. "We have countries in this region, […]

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ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday it was "not appropriate" for Iran to join talks on confronting Islamic State militants, as he appeared to play down how fast countries can commit to force or other steps in an emerging coalition. Kerry met Turkish leaders to try to secure backing for U.S.-led action against Islamic State militants, but Ankara’s reluctance to play a frontline role highlighted the difficulty of building a willing coalition for a complex military campaign in the heart of the Middle East. As he tours the region to gather support for President Barack Obama’s plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier to defeat Islamic State Sunni fighters, Kerry said Shi’ite Iran should have no role in talks on how to go about it. Accusing Iran of being "a state sponsor of terror” and backing Syria’s brutal regime, Kerry said […]

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Oil Minister Adil Abdulmahdi tours the besieged Baiji refinery on Sept. 11, 2014. On his first full day as minister, following a handover ceremony at the Oil Ministry Wednesday in Baghdad, Adil Abdulmahdi toured the besieged Baiji refinery, which is still surrounded by anti-government militants.The visit to the refinery, which has been offline for three months, was a show of support for the security forces and an attempt to boost morale at the start his new administration.Eyewitnesses in Baiji said that a helicopter landing at the refinery Thursday came under fire, al… 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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Bawamurad: “The Shiites did their best to make sure the Kurds wouldn’t participate in the government.” Bawamurad: “The Shiites did their best to make sure the Kurds wouldn’t participate in the government.” The Kurds signed up to the new government in Baghdad this week under great US pressure, confessed Mawlud Bawamurad, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) minister for parliamentary affairs. He said the US had made its stepped-up military support in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) conditional on there being a government in Baghdad. In an interview with Rudaw, Bawamurad said that, although the agreement signed in Baghdad is not perfect for the Kurds, it is enough for now: “What is important is that our participation in it is conditional and the witness to our conditions is America.” An edited transcript of his interview follows:   Rudaw : Do you think the Kurds did the right thing […]

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BEIRUT, Lebanon — Many Arab governments grumbled quietly in 2011 as the United States left Iraq, fearful it might fall deeper into chaos or Iranian influence. Now, the United States is back and getting a less than enthusiastic welcome, with leading allies like Egypt, Jordan and Turkey all finding ways on Thursday to avoid specific commitments to President Obama’s expanded military campaign against Sunni extremists. As the prospect of the first American strikes inside Syria crackled through the region, the mixed reactions underscored the challenges of a new military intervention in the Middle East, where 13 years of chaos, from Sept. 11 through the Arab Spring revolts, have deepened political and sectarian divisions and increased mistrust of the United States on all sides. “As a student of terrorism for the last 30 years, I am afraid of that formula of ‘supporting the American effort,’ ” said Diaa Rashwan, a scholar […]

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| License Photo WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) — A U.S. peace advocacy group said cutting off weapons and oil funding streams for the Islamic State were better options than the use of military force. President Barack Obama laid out his plans to contain the threat posed by the Islamic State, known variably as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in an address to the nation Wednesday evening. "We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy," the president said. His agenda called for airstrikes against terrorist targets in Iraq in a broad-based strategy that may include support from U.S. allies in Europe and in the Middle East. Kevin Martin , executive director for U.S. advocacy group Peace Action, argued for a non-military solution to the problem. "It’s time to stop the bombing […]

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KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 10 (UPI) — Kuwait Energy and its Emirati counterpart Dragon Oil announced Wednesday they’ve made their first discovery of oil at a license area in southern Iraq. "This is the first well drilled in our planned high-impact exploration campaign on Block 9, so we are delighted to have made a discovery so quickly," Kuwait Energy Chief Executive Officer Sara Akbar said in a statement. Kuwait Energy holds a 70 percent stake in the Block 9 area in Basra. The company said it produced 2,000 barrels of oil per day during a production test and will continue to appraise the discovery through the end of the year. Dragon Oil CEO Abdul Jaleel al-Khalifa said in a separate statement the discovery in Basra represent the "first significant success" in the company’s portfolio . Iraq is struggling to contain a threat from the Islamic State, a Sunni-led insurgent group […]

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BAGHDAD — A group of Iraqi Sunni refugees had found shelter in an abandoned school, two families to a room, after fleeing fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria . They were gathered in the school’s courtyard last week when the Iraqi Air Force bombed them. The bombing, in Alam District near Tikrit, may well have been a mistake. But some of the survivors believe adamantly that the pilot had to know he was bombing civilians, landing the airstrike “in the middle of all the people,” said Nimr Ghalib, whose wife, three children, sister and nephew were among at least 38 people killed, according to witnesses interviewed last week, as well as human rights workers who detailed the attack on Wednesday. The attack fit a pattern of often indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes on Sunni areas by the armed forces of the Shiite-led Iraqi government. The strikes have […]

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