Iraq

Iraq blasts, shootings kill 32, wound scores

Baghdad: A dozen bombings and shooting attacks killed at least 32 people across Iraq on Thursday, underscoring the country's struggle to stamp out a stubborn insurgency more than seven months after the US military withdrew. In the worst blast, at least 11 people were killed and more than 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded near an ice cream shop in Baghdad's Sadr City neighbourhood as Iraqis ended daily fasting...  

Attacks across Iraq kill 107, injure hundreds

Baghdad: At least 107 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq on Monday, a day after 20 died in explosions, in a coordinated surge of violence against mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets. The bloodshed, which coincided with an intensifying of the conflict in neighboring Syria, pointed up the deficiencies of the Iraqi security forces, which failed to prevent insurgents from striking in multiple locations across the country. As...  

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...  

Iraqi team has high hopes of good show at London 2012

An eight-member Iraqi contingent is hoping to give their countrymen a reason to smile with a good show at the upcoming Olympics. ...

Obama's nominee for Iraq ambassador withdraws

Washington: President Barack Obama's ambassadorial nominee for Iraq has withdrawn from running for the top diplomatic position in Baghdad mainly because of opposition from a group of Senators. In his resignation letter, Brett McGurk said that his withdrawal "is in the best interests of the country" because "Iraq urgently needs an ambassador." McGurk said the most difficult part of this process was watching my wife become a part of it....  

Iraq: Car bombs targeting Shi'ite pilgrims kill 70

Baghdad: Bombers struck at Shi'ite pilgrims celebrating a religious festival in Baghdad and across Iraq on Wednesday, killing more than 70 people in one of the bloodiest days since the last US troops left the country in December. The bombings appeared to be the work of Sunni insurgents who often hit Shi'ite targets to try to reignite the intercommunal violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. With...  

Coordinated bombs kill 56 during Iraq pilgrimage

Baghdad: Coordinated car bombs in four Iraqi cities targeting Shiite pilgrims killed at least 56 people and wounded dozens more early on Wednesday in Iraq's latest wave of sectarian-fueled violence, officials said. The death toll was expected to rise in the attacks, which included car bombs that tore into Shiite religious processions at four different locations across Baghdad. It was the third attack in the capital this week targeting the...  

Bomb hits Shi'ite site in Baghdad, 26 killed

Baghdad: A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed car outside a Shi'ite Muslim office in central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 190 in an attack bearing the hallmarks of Iraq's al Qaeda affiliate. The bombing on a Shi'ite religious office comes at a sensitive time, with the country's fractious Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs locked in a crisis that threatens to unravel their power-sharing...  

UK: Tony Blair heckled at phone-hacking inquiry

London: British leaders are forced to court powerful press barons such as Rupert Murdoch or risk savage media attacks which render them unable to govern effectively, former Prime Minister Tony Blair told an inquiry on Monday. Interrupted by a heckler who accused him of being a war criminal for supporting the US invasion of Iraq, Blair paused briefly before continuing to justify his ties to Murdoch with whom he said...  

Microsoft appoints first official Iraq distributor

Baghdad: Microsoft Corp. says it has appointed a local company to distribute its products in Iraq in what it says is a sign of growth for the war-plagued country. Manager of Business Development for Emerging Markets Rajai S. El-Khadem said Monday that the software giant had chosen the Baghdad-based Legend Lands Co. as its Iraqi partner. El-Khadem called on Iraq's government to approve laws protecting intellectual property and usage of...  

India looking at Saudi, Iraq to expand its oil sourcing

Washington: India is looking at Saudi Arabia and Iraq to diversify its global oil purchase while making efforts to reduce its dependence on Iranian oil, a top Obama Administration official has told US lawmakers. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on South Asia that India is working to cut down the import from Iran not because of the American...  

At least 36 killed in wave of Iraq blasts

Baghdad: More than 20 bombs hit cities and towns across Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 36 and wounding almost 150, police and hospital sources said, raising fears of sectarian strife in a country whose authorities are keen to show they can now maintain security. In Baghdad, three car bombs, two roadside bombs and one suicide car bomb hit mainly Shi'ite areas, killing 15 people and wounding 61, the sources...  

Woman who fled Iraq suffers brutal end in US

El Cajon: Shaima Alawadi and her family fled Iraq nearly two decades ago as Saddam Hussein crushed a Shiite uprising, settling in the US so they would no longer face persecution, a family friend said. Alawadi, 32, grew up in the country's largest Iraqi enclaves, wore the Muslim headscarf and volunteered at the mosque. Now, after her body was found severely beaten in her suburban San Diego home, police, the...  

46 killed in Iraq attacks ahead of Arab summit

Baghdad: Bombings across Iraq killed 46 people on Tuesday, striking at police and Shiite pilgrims in a torrent of violence that officials had dreaded in the run-up to a Baghdad meeting of the Arab world's top leaders, which the government hoped would showcase the nation's stability. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which also left nearly 200 people wounded. But authorities have feared al-Qaida or its...  

Iraq buys Indian basmati, US lawmakers upset

Houston, Texas: US Congress members from the largest rice-growing states are on warpath, asking Iraq to resume buying US long-grain rice, instead of from India. "We liberated their country for one thing," said Texas representative Ted Poe. "We would think they would consider the US in trade since we spent billions of dollars not only to liberate their country, but to rebuild their infrastructure." Twelve congressmen have fired off a...  

Iraq attacks kill 60, raise sectarian fears

Baghdad: Simultaneous early morning attacks on mostly Shi'ite targets across Iraq killed at least 60 people and wounded dozens on Thursday in one of the bloodiest days of violence since US troops pulled out in mid-December. The attacks that appeared to pitch al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim insurgents against Shi'ites raised fears of a return to the widespread sectarian carnage that tore Iraq apart and cost thousands of lives in 2006...  

Obama to host dinner to honour Iraq sacrifices

Washington: US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will host a dinner at the White House on February 29 to honour members of the armed services who served in Iraq. "This dinner is an expression of the nation's gratitude for the achievements and enormous sacrifices of the brave Americans who served in the Iraq war, and of the families who supported them," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told...  

Suicide bomber kills 32 at Baghdad funeral march

Baghdad: A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car near a funeral procession in southeastern Baghdad today, killing at least 32 people half of them policemen who were guarding the march in the latest brazen attack since the US troop withdrawal from Iraq. Police officials said the blast occurred at 11:00 am in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Zafaraniyah, where mourners had gathered for the funeral of a person killed the...  

UK chef buys jet to deliver Indian food

London: The owner of a popular Indian eatery joint in Kent has bought an unusual vehicle to ferry his curries around the world - an Iraqi fighter jet. Rob Abdul, who owns Cafe Taj in Gravesend, Kent has started taking flying lessons. Abdul came up with the idea with a pilot friend, has earmarked about 35,000 pounds for buying and restoring the plane, which Abdul says is needed because his...  

Obama calls for a fair shot economy, more jobs

Washington: US President Barack Obama during his last address before the Presidential elections on Tuesday night said for the first time in two decades Osama Bin Laden is not a threat to US. Obama said, "For the first time in last 9 years there is no American fighting in Iraq." While giving the State Union Address, Obama called for a fair shot economy, where everyone does their fair share. "Last...