Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq is amassing forces for a counter-offensive against Al Qaida with assistance from the United States and Iran. Officials said the Iraq Army and security forces have mobilized tens of thousands of troops for a counter-offensive against Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The officials said the […]
UNITED NATIONS — Set to the tempo of escalating violence, widespread human rights violations, and spreading regional conflict, Syria’s civil war continues into its fourth year. Beyond the increasingly grisly statistics, a UN panel has concluded the crisis has reached a “tipping point” threatening the entire region. Tellingly, both sides to the conflict, the Assad […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Iraq has requested U.S. military intervention. The administration of President Barack Obama has confirmed an Iraqi request for U.S. military operations to stop the advance of Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Officials said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki relayed an urgent request for U.S. air strikes. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has neutralized Iraq’s U.S.-trained and -equipped military, a report said. The Brookings Institution said Al Maliki purged the Iraqi military of commanders suspected of disloyalty. In a report, the institution said those forced out by the Shi’ite Al Maliki included some of the most professional […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Remember the great “surge” of U.S.forces in Iraq that Gen. David Petraeus believed would finish off the bad guys before the U.S. scaled down and then withdrew its forces? It was as though the U.S. wanted to declare a victory and go home. Anyone would have known that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Al Qaida-linked jihadists, despite threats by Iran and the United States, have continued their advance toward the Iraqi capital. Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has moved closer to Baghdad amid air and ground operations by the Iraqi military. At the same time, Iraqi sources said the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The U.S. government fears its nationals could be abducted in the Al Qaida offensive in Iraq. Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama was mulling an evacuation of up to 20,000 Americans in Iraq. They said many of them were advising the Iraqi military, including in central Iraq. The […]
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 […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Iran has sent troops to bolster the Shi’ite regime of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Iran pledged to defend the Al Maliki regime in an effort to head off an Al Qaida onslaught on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Diplomatic sources said Teheran has deployed thousands of troops and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Al Qaida, in a stunning defeat for the U.S.-trained military, has captured a leading city in Iraq. On June 10, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant raided and captured Iraq’s second largest city. The Baghdad government acknowledged that nearly 1,000 ISIL fighters, armed with surface-to-air as well as […]