Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — On the day of his major policy address on the new terrorism crisis, President Barack Obama directed the State Department to transfer $25 million in military aid to Iraq to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. A presidential memorandum said the assistance would also be delivered to the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — NATO has determined that a Western-backed military coalition could take years to defeat Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Officials said the United States and its allies concluded that the war against ISIL would require a sustained military and counter-insurgency campaign. They said the Western alliance must also work with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Iran has deployed combat units in Iraq. Iraqi Kurdish sources said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has sent thousands of soldiers to northern Iraq to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The sources said IRGC infantry units have been supported by helicopters, main battle tanks and armored personnel […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — A leading commander of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is said to have been killed in the battle for Iraq’s Kurdistan. Kurdish sources have reported that a leading ISIL commander, who headed the movement’s Chechen wing, was killed in fighting near the Mosul dam northwest of the Iraqi […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has launched an offensive against Iraq’s northern autonomous region of Kurdistan. ISIL has been battling forces sponsored by the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. On Aug. 3, ISIL captured two Kurdish towns and a crude oil field in what was termed a […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Turkey’s energy supplies have not been affected by the war in neighboring Iraq. Officials said the advance by Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant did not suspend the flow of crude oil to Turkey. They said Ankara has tolerated a three-month suspension of operations of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Turkey has established a major presence in Kurdistan’s energy sector. Officials said Turkey’s state-owned companies were operating in the energy sector overseen by the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. They cited Turkish Petroleum and Botas, which share an interest in a new joint venture in Kurdistan in cooperation with the U.S. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The Kurdish Regional Government has overseen an increase in crude oil discoveries. A Canadian company has reported two oil-bearing zones in northern Iraq. ShaMaran Petroleum, which has already reported two other discoveries, said the latest deposits were located in the Pulkhana-9 appraisal well. ShaMaran said it conducted six tests after […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Kurdistan has urged the United States to halt its F-16 multi-role fighter project with Iraq. Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani warned that Iraq would use the F-16s against the autonomous region of Kurdistan. Barzani said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has already raised the prospect that Baghdad […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq has warned a Western energy major against working in the autonomous Kurdistan region. Iraq’s Oil Ministry has threatened France’s Total against accepting projects from the Kurdish Regional Government. The ministry said Total would require permission from the Baghdad government for any development program in Kurdistan or face a boycott […]