Baghdad

Iraq: Wave of attacks kills at least 86 in Shiite and Sunni areas

Baghdad: A wave of attacks killed at least 86 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 230 and extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years. The bloodshed is still far shy of the pace, scale and brutality of the dark days of 2006-2007, when Sunni and Shiite militias carried out retaliatory attacks against each other in a cycle of violence that left the country awash in blood.

Still, Monday's attacks, some of which hit markets and crowded bus stops during the morning rush hour, have heightened fears that the country could be turning back down the path toward civil war. Sectarian tensions have been worsening since Iraq's minority Sunnis began protesting what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government.

The mass demonstrations, which began in December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23. Iraq's Shiite majority, which was oppressed under the late dictator Saddam Hussein, now holds the levers of power in the country.

Wishing to rebuild the nation rather than revert to open warfare, they have largely restrained their militias over the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al Qaida have targeted them with occasional large-scale attacks. But the renewed violence in 

Iraq: Two blasts outside Sunni Muslim mosque kill 76

Baghdad: Bombs struck Sunni areas in Baghdad and surrounding areas on Friday, killing at least 76 people in the deadliest day in Iraq in more than eight months, officials said, as a spike in violence has raised fears the country could be on the path to a new round of sectarian bloodshed. The attacks in Baghdad and surrounding areas pushed the three-day Iraqi death toll to 130, including Shiites at...  

Suicide bomber hits Shiite mosque in north Iraq, 8 dead

Kirkuk: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a Shiite mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday, killing at least eight people as they attended a mourning ceremony, police said. The bombing followed a series of blasts on Shiite neighbourhoods in Baghdad hours earlier, part of a surge in violence over the last four weeks stirring worries Iraq may slide back into widespread sectarian confrontation. ...  

Iraq suspends Al-Jazeera and 9 Iraqi TV channels

Baghdad: Iraqi authorities suspended the operating licenses of pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera and nine Iraqi TV channels on Sunday after accusing them of escalating sectarian tension. The move signaled the Shiite-led government's mounting worries over deteriorating security amid Sunni unrest and clashes that have left more than 180 people dead in less than a week. The suspensions, which took effect immediately, appeared to target mainly Sunni channels known for criticizing Prime...  

Iraq: Series of blasts kill at least 20 across Baghdad

Baghdad: Bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least 20 more people on Friday at the end of a week of bloodshed that prompted a United Nations envoy to warn Iraq was "at a crossroads". More than 160 people have been killed since Tuesday, when troops stormed a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk, triggering clashes that quickly spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern provinces. Although well below the...  

Iraq: Suicide bomber kills at least 27 in Baghdad cafe

Baghdad: At least 27 people were killed and dozens more wounded on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Baghdad cafe popular with teenagers using the Internet, police and hospital officials said. Police and witnesses said emergency workers were still pulling out victims trapped when the blast collapsed part of the building in the west of the Iraqi capital. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing,...  

Explosions kill 4 in northwest Iraq: Officials

Baghdad: A trio of bombs exploded on Sunday in the northwest Iraqi city of Mosul, killing four security officers and wounding seven other people, officials said. The violence began with a car bomb that killed two soldiers and wounded another five, police officials said. A second bomb, which was placed under a vehicle, exploded, wounding two people. Later, a roadside bomb killed a police officer and a soldier. A health...  

Iraq: 18 killed in five car bombings incidents

At least 18 people were killed and over 100 injured in five car bombing incidents in Iraq Friday, Xinhua reported. ...  

Iraq: Car bombs, blasts kill at least 25

A series of coordinated car bombs and blasts hit Shi'ite districts across Baghdad and south of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people on the tenth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion. ...  

Iraq War 10th anniversary: Watch the iconic moments of the conflict

Sunday, March 17, marks 10 years since the beginning of the Iraq war, during which the NATO forces overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein after a brutal conflict. ...

Iraq: At least 24 killed in serial blasts in central Baghdad

A string of explosions tore through central Baghdad within minutes of each other on Thursday, followed by a coordinated assault by gunmen who raided a government building and battled security forces in the streets. The attack left at least 24 people dead and scores wounded. ...  

WikiLeaks case: US soldier pleads guilty to misusing data

The US Army private accused of providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website pleaded guilty on Thursday to misusing classified material he felt "should become public," but denied the top charge of aiding the enemy. Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, entered the pleas prior to his court martial, which is set to begin on June 3, in a case that centers on the biggest leak of government secrets in...  

Iraq: Series of explosions kill 22, injure dozens

A series of bombings struck Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 22 and wounding dozens in areas that are home to mostly Muslim Shiites - the latest evidence of rising sectarian discord in Iraq. The attackers struck a day before tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims are expected to take to the streets in what have become weekly protests against the Shiite-led government...  

Blasts hit Shiite districts in Baghdad, killing 28

Eight car bombs exploded in Shiite Muslim neighbourhoods across Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least 28 people in blasts that tore into shops, restaurants and busy commercial streets. ...  

Gaddafi son's trial will be in February, says Libya

Libya has said that Saif al-Islam, the son of late leader Muammar Gaddafi whose regime was overthrown in 2011 by opposition forces with NATO's assistance, will go on trial in February. ...  

Blast kills 5 in disputed area in Northern Iraq

Iraqi authorities say a car bomb has killed five people and wounded eleven others in the country's north, the second day in a row in which blasts have targeted disputed regions there. ...  

String of Iraq blasts kills at least 32

Baghdad: Coordinated bomb attacks killed more than 32 people across Iraq on Sunday, the latest violence in an insurgency the government has failed to quell more than nine months after the last US troops withdrew. Violence in Iraq has eased since the carnage of 2006-2007, but Sunni Islamists still launch frequent attacks to undermine the Shi'ite-led government's claim to provide security and prove they remain a potent threat. No group...  

Iraq's fugitive VP gets death, blasts kill 100

Baghdad: A series of bombs ripped through mainly Shi'ite Baghdad districts on Sunday after Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was sentenced to death, ending one of the bloodiest days of the year with more than 100 killed across the country. The violence and the sentence for Hashemi, a senior Sunni politician, threatened to stoke sectarian tensions in Iraq where a Shi'ite-led government is battling political instability and a Sunni...  

Bombings across Iraq kill at least 80

Baghdad: Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was sentenced to death for murder charges on Sunday in a ruling likely to further stoke sectarian tensions after a bloody day of bombings that killed at least 80 across the country. Hashemi, a senior Sunni Muslim politician, fled Iraq after the authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in December, a move that threatened to collapse a fragile power-sharing deal among Shi'ite,...  

Bombs kill 20 and wound 80 across Iraq

Baghdad: Car bombs in two towns south of Baghdad and in the Iraqi city of Najaf killed a total of 20 people on Sunday and wounded 80, police and hospital sources said, in one of the most violent days of the past two weeks. Three car bombs killed 11 people and wounded 38 in Mahmudiya, a town 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, according to police. The first detonated...