Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq has acknowledged that its Army collapsed amid the Al Qaida offensive. Officials said the Iraqi military, with one million members, failed to stop Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant advance toward Baghdad. They said tens of thousands of Iraqi troops fled ISIL fighters around such cities as […]
UNITED NATIONS — Like a swirling and malevolent desert sandstorm, an Islamic jihadi terrorist movement is sweeping across northern Iraq. With decisive speed, lightning gains, and sickening brutality the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has seized key cities and destabilized an ineffective government in Baghdad. Washington has been jarred by these events […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States has ruled out sending troops to stop Al Qaida’s advance in Iraq. The administration of President Barack Obama said the United States was prepared to increase military aid to Iraq to stop the offensive of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But officials said this would […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Al Qaida has resumed mass-casualty attacks on Shi’ite pilgrims in Iraq. At least 72 people were killed in a wave of bombings and attacks during a Shi’ite festival in Iraq on June 13. The Al Qaida targets focused on Shi’ite pilgrims from neighboring Iran, who have been visiting Baghdad and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Sunni majority has become a leading contributor to the revolt in neighboring Syria. Diplomats and officials agreed that Sunni tribal leaders were helping organize a massive flow of weapons and fighters from Iraq to Syria. They said the flow stemmed from several Iraqi cities, including Qaim in the west […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — New militias have emerged in wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Security sources said a spate of militias were formed in western and northern Iraq in late 2011 amid the last stage of the U.S. pullout. They said the militias were mostly comprised of Sunni Arabs and believed supported […]