Information Age an Uneasy Time in Baghdad

Brit firm founder an ex-soldier who removed section of toppled Baghdad statue

(NEWSER) - A British company official has been arrested after auctioning a buttock section of the massive Saddam Hussein bronze statue toppled when US forces stormed Baghdad in 2003. The arrest was made after the Iraqi government issued a complaint to British police following an auction in Derby, where the two-foot hunk of metal failed to fetch the minimum price of $375,000 set for the sale. Under a 2003 British law , all cultural property seized in Iraq must be handed over to police, reports the BBC . The bronze butt was offered for sale by Trebletap, a company that specializes in turning war memorabilia into art. Company director Jim Thorpe was busted and has been released on bail. More»

Victims were members of anti-Qaeda Awakening Councils

(AP) - Gunmen wearing Iraqi military uniforms raided homes in a Sunni village south of Baghdad, killing at least 24 people, including five women, in execution-style attacks. Many of the dead were members of local Sahwa, or Awakening Councils—one of several names for the Sunni fighters who changed the course of the war when they revolted against al-Qaeda in Iraq and joined the Americans in late 2006 and 2007. More»

Twin explosions detonate near key ministries during rush hour

(AP) - Two powerful car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad today, killing at least 136 people and wounding nearly 600 in an apparent attempt to target the fragile city's government offices, Iraqi authorities said. The blasts went off less than a minute apart near two prominent government institutions—the Ministry of Justice and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration's headquarters—during the morning rush hour. More»

(NEWSER) - A series of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Mosul killed at least 41 people today and raised fears of a new upsurge in sectarian violence, the BBC reports. In Mosul, where an attack on a Shia mosque killed 40 people Friday, a double truck bomb killed 25 people in a Shia community. In Baghdad, construction workers were targeted with a pair of bombs that killed at least seven. Iraqis are reportedly losing faith in the government's ability to protect them under the new security deal. More»

(NEWSER) - The recent spate of violence in Iraq may pale in comparison to the relentless suicide bombings of 2006, but Baghdad is beginning to hunker down in fear again, the Los Angeles Times reports. Residents are curtailing their public activities, checking in with each other more often to make sure family members are okay, and worrying about the imminent withdrawal of US troops. More»