sectarian violence

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Iraqi Police Force Should Be 'Scrapped'

Infighting, corruption force recommendation that US 'start over'

(Newser) - Corruption and sectarian biases are so deeply entrenched in the Iraqi police ranks that the force's structure must be “scrapped,” an independent panel will report to Congress next week. The recommendation stems from an examination of the 26,000-member police force that concludes “we should start over,...

Iraq Blasts Toll Rises to 500
Iraq Blasts Toll Rises to 500
Aug 16, 2007 12:35 AM CDT

Iraq Blasts Toll Rises to 500

Deadliest terror attack since fall of Hussein

(Newser) - The death toll from Tuesday's series of suicide truck bombings in northern Iraq may exceed 500, with scores more lying injured in hospitals, CNN reports. The attacks were reportedly launched by al-Qaeda against the Yazidi, a pre-Islamic sect, spotlighting the religious warfare that US troop surge sought to quell.

Toll Rises to 250 in Iraq Blasts
Toll Rises
to 250 in
Iraq Blasts
Aug 15, 2007 3:24 PM CDT

Toll Rises to 250 in Iraq Blasts

Massive attacks against Kurds suggest spreading insurgency

(Newser) - Officials pushed the death toll of attacks on two Iraqi towns up to 250 today, as rescuers located more victims amid rubble. “It looks like a nuclear bomb hit the villages,” an officer told the New York Times of yesterday's blasts in an area populated by a Kurdish...

Lebanese Hopes Pinned to Reluctant Billionaire

Can a $2.3B fortune keep Saad Hariri alive long enough to become PM?

(Newser) - Portfolio profiles Saad Hariri, the billionaire who now leads Lebanon's pro-Western majority party and America's last, best Middle Eastern hope. Hariri, pulled into politics when his former-PM father was assassinated in 2005, spends most of his days barricaded inside his Beirut mansion, trying to avoid being murdered by Hezbollah guerrillas.

UN to Increase Iraq Presence
UN to Increase Iraq Presence
Aug 10, 2007 1:20 PM CDT

UN to Increase Iraq Presence

US praises decision, but adds it too will continue to be involved

(Newser) - The UN will expand its role in Iraq and try to help quell the sectarian violence that has hobbled the country, after a Security Council vote today. Iraq's government says it'll help peacekeepers mediate disputes between the feuding sectarian groups and among Iraq’s neighbors in the region; the blue...

Extremists, Militias Target Gays in Iraq

Officials, human rights groups dispute extent of escalating violence

(Newser) - Gays in Iraq are the targets of increasing violence by militias, police, and religious extremists, a largely unreported consequence of the 2003 US invasion. A fatwa is in place, reports the Chicago Tribune, and gays are fighting to emigrate to Sweden, Germany, and other countries. Recent reports by the...

Third of Iraqis Need Critical Aid
Third of Iraqis Need Critical Aid
Jul 30, 2007 7:36 AM CDT

Third of Iraqis Need Critical Aid

Government of violence-riddled nation can't provide basics

(Newser) - A third of Iraq's population—some 8 million people—are in critical need of emergency aid because they have no food, water or shelter, according to an OXFAM report detailed in the BBC. Trapped in a maelstrom of sectarian violence, the Iraqi government is unable to provide basic needs. Some...

Saudi King Backs Iraq's Sunni Rebels

Ally undermining Bush strategy and fledgling government

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is working at cross purposes with the Bush administration in Iraq by backing Sunni tribes engaged in sectarian violence there, the New York Times reports. King Abdullah has funded the Sunnis and is allowing insurgents to enter the country, US officials charge. Of up to 80 foreign fighters...

US Goes on Move Against Qaeda
US Goes on Move Against Qaeda
Jun 16, 2007 5:42 PM CDT

US Goes on Move Against Qaeda

New strategy will refocus troops away from Baghdad

(Newser) - In a major tactical shift, the US is set to launch a large-scale offensive against Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, General David Petraeus said today. The new campaign moves attention away from Baghdad's sectarian violence to the outskirts of the capital, where the military will target Al-Qaeda strongholds and aim to destroy...

Surge Fizzles in Iraq
Surge Fizzles in Iraq
Jun 14, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

Surge Fizzles in Iraq

Troop buildup fails to curb violence

(Newser) - A new report shows no overall drop in bloodshed in Iraq despite the three-month-old troop surge. Violence has fallen slightly in Baghdad and Anbar province, where troops are concentrated, but a corresponding rise everywhere else more than compensates. And while sectarian killings have dropped slightly, civilian casualties are up, and...

Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine
Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine
Jun 13, 2007 7:49 AM CDT

Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine

Suspected al-Qaeda strike at Askariya shrine whose bombing last year touched off sectarian violence

(Newser) -  The Askariya mosque, a Shiite shrine whose bombing ignited sectarian violence last year, was attacked again this morning, destroying the minarets left standing after its Golden Dome was shattered earlier. Iraq now braces for a bloody response; US troops rushed to Samarra, and a curfew was called on group...

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
May 30, 2007 4:41 AM CDT

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad

Gunmen wearing Iraqi uniforms stormed finance ministry

(Newser) - Five Britons—four members of a private security detail and a financial consultant—were kidnapped in Baghdad yesterday by gunmen wearing Iraqi police uniforms. The kidnappers are said to have barged into the finance ministry around noon, demanding, "Where are the foreigners?"  After rounding up the British civilians,...

Morgue Stats Show Surge in Iraqi Killings

321 corpses found in Baghdad in first three weeks of May alone

(Newser) - Statistics from Iraqi morgues show that three months into the surge, sectarian killings are rising, the Washington Post reports. In the first three weeks of May, 321 unidentified corpses, many showing signs of exectution and torture, were found in Baghdad. The number equals those found in all of January, the...

Shiite al-Sadr Reaches Out to Sunni Rivals

Switch in tactics aims at hastening US withdrawal

(Newser) - In a dramatic shift in tacttics, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is reaching out to rival Sunni leaders in Iraq, and purging radical elements of his own militia, the Washington Post reports. With Sunni insurgents making moves to distance themselves from al-Qaeda, Sadr sees an opportunity for a cross-sectarian political alliance,...

US Engages Iran on Iraqi Security
US Engages Iran on Iraqi Security
May 14, 2007 7:33 AM CDT

US Engages Iran on Iraqi Security

Ambassadors to meet in Baghdad; nuclear program won't be on the table

(Newser) - The US will sit down with Iran to enlist its aid in quelling violence in Iraq as early as next week, reports the Washington Post. US ambassador Ryan Crocker will meet with his Iranian counterparts in Baghdad to encourage the country, frequently accused of sponsoring sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq,...

Baghdad Merchants Beg to Differ With McCain

Say sunny security assessment is phony

(Newser) - Of course John McCain found Baghdad's central market perfectly safe during his weekend visit: He came with 100 soldiers in armored Humvees, backed by attack helicopters and sharpshooters. In a follow-up visit, Kirk Semple of the New York Times found merchants  incredulous at the Congressional delegation's sunny description of the...

Bill Would Put Ba'athists Back in Power

Aim is to woo Sunnis into Shiite-dominated government

(Newser) - Ba'athists will be allowed back in government posts if a bill proposed yesterday, aimed at  reconciling dissident Sunnis with the Shiite-dominated government, passes the Iraqi parliament.  The U.S has been pushing for the law to law to woo the former Saddam loyalists —mostly Sunnis— into the political...

Sunni Baghdad Lies in Ruins as Shiites Rebuild

Insurgents target efforts to provide food, fuel, services

(Newser) - Baghdad's Sunni neighborhoods are in collapse, lacking food, fuel,  electricity and health care even as their Shiite neighbors have regained basic services, Alissa Rubin reports. In Shiite areas, the Mahdi Army fills in for the government by keeping order and organizing resources, but Sunnis now find themselves under attack...

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