Iraq frees Hezbollah prisoner accused of killing US soldiers

An Iraqi court on Monday declared a Hezbollah commander accused of killing U.S. solders in Iraq in 2007 not guilty for lack of evidence and ruled that he be set free.

The case of Ali Mussa Daqduq has been a thorn in diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Washington (more…)

Iraqi vice president alleges political vendetta

Iraq’s fugitive vice president on Friday described a terror trial pending against him in Baghdad as part of a political vendetta that has wider repercussions for Iraqi unity and sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

The trial in absentia of Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, (more…)

Indispensable but invisible in the Syrian crisis

For a year, a chorus of pundits has been proclaiming that the Arab Spring has ushered in a new era in the Middle East in which the United States no longer is the “indispensable nation” Bill Clinton once described. Syria has proved them wrong.

Saudis urged to exercise caution when traveling in Lebanon

Lebanon Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Wednesday that Iraqi citizens abducted the two Saudi nationals Toufiq and Abdallah Shaqaqeeq in Lebanon.

“The main motive behind the abduction was robbery, and it does not target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Charbel told Future News television. (more…)

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia to form ‘ Arabian Gulf Union’ next month

Sources familiar with the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC, reported that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia may declare a union between them on the sidelines of the consultative summit of the GCC countries that will be hosted by Riyadh next month. (more…)

IRIN Analysis: Syria’s forgotten refugees

While the world focuses on the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the increasingly violent conflict, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in Syria , have been all but forgotten.

Syria’s rebels vow to keep fighting

After more than six months of fighting, Syria’s largest rebel group appears to have developed into a resilient guerrilla force, unable perhaps to hold large swaths of territory for very long but still capable of inflicting heavy casualties on the Syrian military and operating fluidly within supportive populations.
The story of the Katiba Farouq, or the Farouq Brigade, has been eclipsed over the past year by news coverage (more…)

UNHCR warns of funding shortfall for Syrian refugees

The UN refugee agency yesterday said that one month after the United Nations issued an appeal for $84 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, only 20 per cent of the funds had been received. (more…)

Iraqi PM says Turkey is becoming an enemy state

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said Turkey is becoming an enemy state in the region in a sign of growing tensions between Turkey and Iraq.

Maliki’s harshest remarks so far came at a time when Turkey was hosting two senior Iraqi politicians who are at odds with his government. (more…)

Sanctions halved Syria’s foreign reserves; France

Western sanctions have halved Syria’s foreign reserves and should be stepped up to force Damascus to comply with a U.N.-backed peace plan, France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. (more…)