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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Basra

Basra stories: 43 news summaries

1 - 20 of 43 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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(Newser) - British troops called Iraqi detainees "apes," beat them so that their moans of pain sounded like an "orchestrated choir," and forced them to dance like Michael Jackson, a public inquiry into the death of one of the detainees heard yesterday. The inquiry panel was told... More »

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Iraq • Basra • detainee • British Army • British military • inquiry • Iraq war • Baha Mousa

 Britain Ends Iraq Mission 


Apr 30, 09 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Britain officially ended its combat operations in Iraq today, lowering the flags of its armored brigade and turning over control of its Basra base to US troops, the Guardian reports. “The role of British ground forces is finished,” a defense official confirmed. “Today, Iraq is a... More »

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Iraq • Basra • Britain • Iraq exit strategy

Maliki's Allies Win Big
in Provincial Vote

Maliki's party wins 38% of Baghdad vote, 37% in Basra

Feb 5, 09 9:51 AM CST
(AP) - Allies of Iraq's prime minister finished first in races for ruling councils in Baghdad and eight other provinces, official results from last weekend's election show. Nouri al-Maliki's party won 38% of the vote in Baghdad, the election commission said. His party was followed by allies of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr... More »

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Iraq • Baghdad • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • Muqtada al-Sadr • Iraq war • Iraqi elections • provincial elections • Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq

 Brown Announces 
 July Withdrawal 
 in Baghdad 

Brown says troops home by July in surprise Baghdad visit

Dec 17, 08 5:47 AM CST
(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Baghdad today and announced that all but a handful of British troops will leave Iraq by July 2009. About 4,000 British service members remain in Iraq, mostly around Basra, though at the height of the war 100,000 were... More »

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Iraq • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Basra • British troops • British Army • Britain • Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - British troops will begin withdrawing their 4,000 troops from Iraq in March and will have all but a few hundred out by the end of June, the Guardian reports. They will be replaced at their base in Basra not by Iraqis but by Americans, who are worried about keeping... More »

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Iraq • Basra • coalition forces • British troops • Britain • Iraq war

Honor Killing Dad: 'Daughter Deserved Death'

Iraqi proudly murdered 17-year-old over her crush on British solider

May 11, 08 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Iraqi father who suffocated and stabbed his 17-year-old daughter has only one regret over her honor killing: That he didn't murder her "the instant her mother delivered her." "Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman," Abdel-Qader... More »

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Iraq • murder • Basra • British military • Iraq police • honor killings

Rice Visits Iraq, Looks to Bolster PM Maliki

Sec says assault on Basra pushed fractious country toward unity

Apr 20, 08 9:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to highlight recent political gains brought about by PM Nouri al-Maliki's government. While the Maliki-ordered assault on Basra last month exposed some weaknesses in the Iraqi army, it also brought different groups in Iraq together, she said. "This is, I... More »

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Iraq • Baghdad • Nouri al-Maliki • Condoleezza Rice • Basra • Iraq security

Al-Sadr Threatens
'Open War'

Radical cleric urges Baghdad to take
'road of peace'

Apr 19, 08 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Moqtada al-Sadr today threatened today to “declare a war” against Iraq unless it curbs attacks on his Mahdi Army, CNN reports. “I’m giving the last warning to the Iraqi government,” he said. “If the government does not stop the militias infiltrated with them, then we... More »

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Iraq • Mahdi Army • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • Shiite militia • Muqtada al-Sadr

Iraqi Troops Seize
Sadr Stronghold

Fighting in Baghad kills 12, wounds 130

Apr 19, 08 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a major new clash, Iraqi troops backed by American and British firepower today captured a stronghold of fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said Iraqi officials. In a show of force, American planes and British artillery attacked a deserted area outside the Sadr-controlled section of Hayaniya... More »

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Sadr City • Baghdad • Basra • US military • British military • Iraq Army • Muqtada al-Sadr • Iraq war

Brits Will Pay $4M to Iraqi
Boy Paralyzed by Bullet

Record compensation for teen shot by dropped rifle

Apr 15, 08 5:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Britain's Ministry of Defense has agreed to pay $4 million in compensation to an Iraqi boy accidentally shot by a British soldier, the Guardian reports. The boy, now 17, is paralyzed from severe spinal injuries inflicted when the soldier dropped his rifle at a Basra base in 2003. He is... More »

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Iraq • Basra • British Army • British military • Ministry of Defence • negligence • compensation

 Iraqi Army Rescues 
 British Journalist 

Photographer had been held in Basra for two months

Apr 14, 08 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iraqi troops rescued British photojournalist Richard Butler during a raid in Basra today, the Daily Telegraph reports. Storming a suburban house, soldiers found Butler with a hood over his head, but apparently unharmed. Butler had been working in Basra for CBS when he was abducted—by what were thought... More »

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Iraq • Basra • Iraq Army • Iraqi militias • photojournalist • Richard Butler

Iraq Fires 1,300 Cops, Troops After Basra

Baghdad says they ducked fight with
Shiite militias

Apr 13, 08 5:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iraq sacked 1,300 troopers and policemen today for fighting poorly or not at all in last month’s Basra battles. “Some of them were sympathetic with these lawbreakers,” said one official. “Some refused to battle for political, national, sectarian or religious reasons.” The firings are... More »

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Sadr City • Mahdi Army • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • Iraqi soldiers • Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council • Iraqi government • Muqtada al-Sadr • Shiite militants

(Newser) - Recent battles in Basra prove that Iran is crippling Iraqi stability while al-Qaeda's influence there wanes, US officials say. David Petraeus pointed to Iran's influence in testimony this week, and now Shiite militias are said to have benefited from Iranian weapons, training, and guidance in Basra fighting—prompting a Washington... More »

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Iraq • Iran • insurgents • Baghdad • David Petraeus • Ryan Crocker • Basra • Arabs • al-Qaeda in Iraq

 Death of Sadr Aide
 Sparks Battles
 in Baghdad 

Iraqi prez condemns attacks but meets al-Sadr MPs

Apr 11, 08 8:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - The murder of a Moqtada al-Sadr aide triggered heavy fighting in Baghdad today after al-Sadr’s men attacked US and Iraqi forces, Reuters reports. The cleric blamed “the hand of the occupier” for the death of Riyadh al-Nuri, a close relative, and vowed not to forget “this precious... More »

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Iraq • Sadr City • Baghdad • Mahdi Army • Basra • Najaf • assassination • US Army • Jalal Talabani • Iraq Army • Muqtada al-Sadr • Iraq war

Updated

 Senate
 Grills
 Petraeus
 on Basra 

McCain mixes up Sunnis, Shiites again

Apr 8, 08 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The campaign trail ran through a scheduled Senate Armed Service Committee appearance by David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker today, as John McCain and Hillary Clinton helped grill the general and ambassador on Iraq. McCain zeroed in on the the widespread Iraqi defections in Basra last week, saying, “It was... More »

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John McCain • David Petraeus • Ryan Crocker • Basra • Carl Levin • Senate Armed Services Committee • Iraq exit strategy

analysis

Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength

Nouri al-Maliki is now saying the assault wasn't political

Apr 4, 08 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Iraqi-led assault on Basra last week exposed the weaknesses of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the strength of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Washington Post concludes in its post-mortem of the unsuccessful foray. In not engaging parliament, political allies, or the Americans in planning the incursion, Maliki sought to demonstrate decisiveness,... More »

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Iran • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • US military • Muqtada al-Sadr

Iraqi PM Flips, Calls Off Raids on Militias

Maliki extends olive branch to Sadr after Basra battle

Apr 4, 08 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nouri al Maliki reversed course today, ordering a stop to raids against suspected Mahdi Army militants. The move is an apparent olive branch to Shiite rival Muqtada al Sadr, who had complained that raids against his militia fighters were continuing, even after he’d ordered them off the streets. Just... More »

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Iraq • Mahdi Army • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • Muqtada al-Sadr

 1,000 Iraqis 
 Deserted Basra Battle

Officers and men fled or balked as government battled militias

Apr 4, 08 5:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Desertions from Iraqi forces during last week's Basra battles have raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of the country's US-trained security forces, the New York Times reports. Over 1,000 soldiers and policemen—including dozens of officers—either deserted or refused to fight. The US has linked American troop withdrawals... More »

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Iraq • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • troop withdrawal • Shiite militia • Iraqi security forces • Iraq Army • Iraq police • Sadrists • desertion

 Iraqi Assault on Basra
 Was 'Thrown Together' 

Americans taken aback by Maliki's hasty,
improvised raid

Apr 3, 08 6:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - American officials were expecting a gradual, methodical operation when Nouri al-Maliki moved Iraqi troops into Basra to restore order in the city. What they witnessed instead was a rush job: an Iraqi raid that had little forethought and began even before the last of the soldiers had arrived. "He... More »

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Iraq • Nouri al-Maliki • David Petraeus • Ryan Crocker • Basra • Sadrists • Iraqi militias • Muqtada al-Sadr

Iran Played Key Role in al-Sadr Ceasefire

Iraqi lawmakers met cleric in Iran before deal was struck

Mar 31, 08 6:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iran played a key role in convincing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to call a ceasefire in Basra yesterday, CNN reports. Iraqi lawmakers from five Shiite parties traveled to Iran on Friday to meet with al-Sadr, and returned yesterday, right before al-Sadr's injunction to halt violence in Basra, an Iraqi official... More »

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Iraq • Iran • Shiite • Basra • Iraqi government • Shiite cleric • Iraqi militias • Muqtada al-Sadr • Shiite militants

1 - 20 of 43 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


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