Duped Workers Build Baghdad Embassy

Second blast, violent jewelry store robbery follow

(AP) - Suicide bombers detonated two explosives-packed cars outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone today, killing at least nine and wounding 23, officials said. The blasts marked the start of a violent day in the Iraqi capital, where another bombing and a jewelry heist left three more dead and 13 wounded. The cars blew up just outside a security checkpoint on a heavily traveled road leading into the Green Zone from Baghdad's international airport. More»

Concerns persist despite Nouri Maliki's promises of reform

(NEWSER) - Beatings, sexual violence, cells that stink of human waste, prisoners jammed six to a cell and suffering from skin rashes: These are the stories coming out of an Iraqi detention center where detainees are said to be held for months without a trial—despite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s promises of reform. The Green Zone jail, known as Camp Honor, is run by a unit that Maliki’s office oversees, and sources say the unit restricts prisoners’ access to lawyers and family—and some have been held for as long as two years. More»

Fast-expanding chain symbolizes changing balance of power

(NEWSER) - An Iranian ice cream parlor being built yards from the US Embassy in Baghdad's "Green Zone" symbolizes the shifting balance of power in Iraq, the Washington Post finds. Ice Pack—an Iranian chain that says it wants to challenge American fast food's worldwide dominance—already has other branches in Baghdad and plans more elsewhere in Iraq, while American chains like Starbucks and McDonald's are nowhere to be seen. More»

Explosions hit popular district bordering Green Zone

(AP) - Three large blasts have struck a hotel and restaurant district popular with Western journalists and businessmen along the Tigris River in Baghdad. At least 31 people have been killed and scores more wounded. The first blast struck at about 3:40pm, near the Sheraton Hotel, just across the Tigris River from the Green Zone, destroying concrete blast walls protecting the site. Two others struck near the Babylon Hotel and al-Hamra Hotel. More»

(NEWSER) - Scores of people are dead after seven coordinated bombings rocked Baghdad this morning, targeting both government ministries and poor Shia neighborhoods, the New York Times reports. Two huge bombs and three smaller blasts, probably from mortars, went off at the entrance to the fortified Green Zone, while other explosions hit the slum area of Sadr City. At least 95 people were reported killed and more than 500 injured. More»