Category: Iraq

Personnel from the Iraqi security forces detain suspected militants of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, during a raid operation in Jurf al-Sakhar, May 27, 2014. The operation led to the arrest of wanted figures in Jurf al-Sakhar south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to an Iraqi security forces officer. (MUSHTAQ MUHAMMED/Reuters) At least four Iranian technicians building a gas pipeline in Diyala province were killed in a bombing Saturday morning – the latest in a series of attacks affecting the energy sector in northern Iraq. The pipeline, which is slated to send Iranian natural gas to the Mansuriya power plant and then down to Baghdad’s Sadr and Quds power plants, is behind schedule in part because of deteriorating security along its path. As workers were traveling by bus at 8:30 a.m. on May 24, a roadside bomb… This content is for registered users. […]

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The Iraq Red Crescent Society has announced the displacement of 65,000 families since the beginning of the ongoing military battles in Anbar province in western Iraq. Mohammad Al-khozai, Assistant Secretary-General of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society said in a press statement that number of families displaced since the beginning of the crisis in Anbar province was now 65,000 families, the majority from Fallujah. He pointed out that the Iraqi Red Crescent is the only humanitarian organisation in the field since the beginning of the crisis and was able to provide assistance for up to 50,000 families. He added that the majority of those displaced families were focused within the borders of the province in areas far from the conflict; the rest of the families were distributed within provinces adjacent to Anbar in addition to the cities of the provinces of northern Iraq. WAM

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A suicide bomber has killed at least 19 people at a Shia mosque in central Baghdad, officials have said, while violence elsewhere in Iraq left four dead, the latest in a protracted surge in bloodshed. The bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the mosque in Baghdad’s Shorja district on Tuesday as worshippers were preparing for midday prayers. Another 26 people were wounded in the blast, security and medical officials said. Elsewhere in the capital, roadside bombs in the Sadr City and Dura districts left two people dead. Bombings in the main northern city of Mosul killed another two people. The attacks came as Iraq’s Shia-led government struggles to contain the worst surge in sectarian violence since the country was pushed to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. The UN says violence killed 8,868 people last year. Violence has surged in the past year to […]

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Nuri al-Maliki may be in pole position to remain Iraq’s prime minister, but allegations of malpractice during last month’s polls are clouding the prospect of forming a government anytime soon. Key rivals of the premier, from inside and outside his Shiite community, allege irregularities at the polling stations, as well as problems with the transport of ballot boxes and vote counting, potentially delaying the certification of results, or even changing final tallies. Maliki’s bloc emerged from the April 30 vote with by far the most seats in parliament, nearly three times as many as his nearest opponent, though his State of Law alliance fell short of an absolute majority on its own. That means he will need to court support from rival blocs, many of whom have publicly said they will not countenance a third term for a prime minister they allege has consolidated power and […]

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Nuri al-Maliki may be in pole position to remain Iraq’s prime minister, but allegations of malpractice during last month’s polls are clouding the prospect of forming a government anytime soon. Key rivals of the premier, from inside and outside his Shiite community, allege irregularities at the polling stations, as well as problems with the transport of ballot boxes and vote counting, potentially delaying the certification of results, or even changing final tallies. Maliki’s bloc emerged from the April 30 vote with by far the most seats in parliament, nearly three times as many as his nearest opponent, though his State of Law alliance fell short of an absolute majority on its own. That means he will need to court support from rival blocs, many of whom have publicly said they will not countenance a third term for a prime minister they allege has consolidated power and […]

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Iraq on Friday took legal action against Turkey for facilitating autonomous oil exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) without Baghdad’s approval. In a statement given to Iraq Oil Report on Friday, the ministry claims Turkey’s transportation, storing and loading of Kurdish crude oil over the past five months violates the treaty that governs the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP). The ministry has filed a request for arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris against Tur… 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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More than one million barrels of Kurdish oil were shipped from Turkey to Europe yesterday, Turkey’s energy minister and the Iraqi Kurdish administration said, prompting Iraq to try and block the transaction. The oil was despatched from the Turkish Mediterranean oil terminal at Ceyhan at 10 p.m. yesterday, and was probably destined for Italy or Germany, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said today. Iraq called the sale of the oil without the consent of its oil ministry “illegitimate.” Iraq began arbitration against the government of Turkey and a terminal operator in Ceyhan to prevent the transport, storage and loading of crude pumped directly by the Kurdistan Regional Government to Turkey, according to an e-mailed statement from Iraq’s Oil Ministry. The ministry and its official marketing company , SOMO, said yesterday that they “reserve the right” to embark on legal proceedings against companies loading Kurdish oil from Ceyhan without approval […]

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A tanker full of crude oil from the Kurdish region of Iraq left a Turkish port bound for European markets, the Kurdistan Regional Government said Friday. "A tanker loaded with over one million barrels of crude oil departed last night from Ceyhan towards Europe," the semiautonomous KRG said in a statement . "This is the first of many such sales of oil exported through the newly constructed pipeline in the Kurdistan region." A pipeline from the Kurdish north is sending oil to storage tanks in Ceyhan, a Turkish sea port. Exports of Kurdish oil, however, had been on hold because of the lingering stalemate between the Kurdish and central governments over who controls what in the Iraqi energy sector. KRG said it was operating according to rules spelled out in the Iraqi Constitution and invited outsiders to observe the sales in an effort to […]

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An oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of crude from Iraqi Kurdistan across the Mediterranean Sea on Friday signaled a shift in Iraq’s political and economic landscape. The ship bears the first load of oil that was recently piped from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region into neighboring Turkey, where it was loaded at a port and is being shipped to world markets. Its voyage represents an act of defiance of Iraq’s newly elected central government by Turkish and Kurdish authorities. The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday called the shipment an "illegitimate deed" and said it would file a complaint against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration for abetting the sales. Mr. Maliki, whose party won the most seats in parliamentary elections last month, maintains that the Kurds must market the crude through Iraq’s oil-sales system, which would then pass a portion of the […]

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An oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of crude from Iraqi Kurdistan across the Mediterranean Sea on Friday signaled a shift in Iraq’s political and economic landscape. The ship bears the first load of oil that was recently piped from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region into neighboring Turkey, where it was loaded at a port and is being shipped to world markets. Its voyage represents an act of defiance of Iraq’s newly elected central government by Turkish and Kurdish authorities. The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday called the shipment an "illegitimate deed" and said it would file a complaint against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration for abetting the sales. Mr. Maliki, whose party won the most seats in parliamentary elections last month, maintains that the Kurds must market the crude through Iraq’s oil-sales system, which would then pass a portion of the […]

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