Airstrike on Turkey-Iraq border kills 35 people, report

A Turkish airstrike on the border with Iraq killed 35 people who are now thought to have been smuggling cigarettes, a senior Turkish lawmaker said Thursday. (more…)

Al-Sadr’s bloc calls for dissolution of Iraqi parliament

A political crisis that threatens more sectarian strife in Iraq took another twist Monday as the bloc loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections. (more…)

Suicide bomber kills 6 outside Iraq ministry of Interior

A suicide car bomber killed at least six people and wounded 31 when he detonated explosives in an attack on Iraq’s interior ministry in Baghdad, police and hospital sources said on Monday. (more…)

Iraq’s Shiite cleric proposes ‘peace code’ as way out of crisis

Iraq’s anti-American Shiite cleric launched Saturday an initiative calling for peaceful coexistence among all Iraqis after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militiamen were blamed for sectarian killings during the worst years of Iraq’s violence, is seeking to assert his political weight in post-U.S. troops Iraq. (more…)

Analysis: Obstacles abound for peace in Syria

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed an Arab League peace initiative this week, admitting outside observers to his country even as his forces killed as many as 200 people in two of the deadliest days

Political turmoil flares in Iraq as U.S. pulls out

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is asking lawmakers to withdraw confidence from his deputy after Saleh al-Mutlaq made controversial comments this week over American forces withdrawing from Iraq, state media reported late Saturday. (more…)

Iraq mediation team held talks with Syria’s Assad

An Iraqi team held “positive” talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday in a bid to end the deadlock over an Arab League plan to stop nine months of bloodshed, its leader told AFP.

“I am on my way to Cairo for a meeting with the Arab League after holding positive talks with President Assad,” National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh ( see photo ) said.
(more…)

U.S. transfers its last prisoner a Hezbollah operative to Iraq

The Obama administration turned over the last remaining prisoner in American custody in Iraq to the Iraqi government on Friday, a move expected to unleash a political backlash inside the United States even as the American military draws closer to completing its exit.

The prisoner, Ali Musa Daqduq, from Lebanon, is suspected of being a Hezbollah (more…)

Iraq’s Shiites in no mood to embrace Iran

NAJAF, Iraq — When a senior Iranian cleric announced last month that he was planning to move to this holy Shiite city to open an office, the furor that erupted offered a glimpse into the future of a complicated relationship.

As American troops leave Iraq, Iran certainly ranks high among the beneficiaries of their nearly nine-year presence (more…)

Maliki urges U.S. firms to help rebuild Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday called on U.S. companies to help rebuild his war-battered country, which is facing a new challenge as U.S. troops withdraw by the end of the year.

“As much as we committed to defeat terrorism, we are now committed to grow the private sector,” Maliki said in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (more…)