::: Iraq - News :::

US Army continues Iraq murder conspiracy hearing (AP)

AP - A military panel took evidence Wednesday in a hearing aimed at determining whether two U.S. soldiers should face a court-martial in the deaths of four Iraqi men last year.

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:20:50 GMT

Families of Nepalese workers killed in Iraq sue KBR (Reuters)

Reuters - KBR Inc and its Jordanian contractor are being sued for human trafficking by a Nepalese survivor and the families of 12 other employees who were killed while being transported, allegedly against their will, to work in a U.S. military base in Iraq.

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:51:43 GMT

SoCal jury gets case of ex-Marine in Iraq deaths (AP)

Former Marine Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario Jr., 28, from New York, speaks about his impending federal trial, at the office of one of his attorneys, Joseph M. Preis, in Irvine, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2008. Nazario faces charges of shooting detainees during the 2004 battle of Fallujah, in Iraq. The defense has rested without calling a single witness Wednesday Aug. 27, 2008, at the civilian trial  of Nazario, a former Marine charged with killing unarmed detainees in Iraq, in Riverside, Calif. (AP Photo/Sean Dufrene)AP - A federal jury on Wednesday began deliberating whether a former Marine squad leader committed manslaughter in Iraq, marking the first time in which civilians will decide whether the actions of a military service member during combat were criminal.



Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:10:34 GMT

Fewer Marines needed in Iraq's western province (AP)

Iraqi police officers, at left, and U.S. soldiers attend the scene of a parked car bomb which targeted a police patrol but missed, killing 3 civilians and wounding 8 others, in the al-Jadidah area, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)AP - Conditions in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, where a brutal insurgency once ruled, have improved so dramatically that the United States is handing over responsibility for security in the Sunni stronghold to Iraq within days. Troops freed up in Iraq could shift to Afghanistan.



Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:02:25 GMT

Thousands stage anti-war protest march (AP)

Members of the band Rage Against the Machine salute veterans during an anti-war concert at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. Seen from left to right, Tom  Morello, Brad Wilk, Zack de la Rocha and Tim Commerford.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)AP - A column of people three blocks long, led by members of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, streamed from the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday in an anti-war protest march to the Pepsi Center, where the Democratic National Convention is being staged.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:51:16 GMT

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,148 (AP)

File photo shows US Marines on patrol in the restive city of Fallujah. A California jury retired to consider its verdict in the landmark trial of a US Marine accused of shooting unarmed prisoners in Iraq four years ago.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)AP - As of Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008, at least 4,148 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:33:57 GMT

Top U.S. Marine sees shift from Iraq to Afghanistan (Reuters)

Marine Corps Commandant James Conway smiles while speaking at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington, July 20, 2007. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - The top U.S. Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former al Qaeda stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:27:29 GMT

US forces to transfer control of Anbar to Iraqis (AFP)

A US Marine stands guard in Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2007. US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)AFP - US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:21:47 GMT

Obama Aide Says U.S.-Iran Negotiations Necessary for Iraq Exit (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg - Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Talks with Iran would help Senator Barack Obama make good on a pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office as president, Obama's national security adviser said.

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:57:06 GMT

US military says Baghdad bombing suspect detained (AP)

AP - The U.S. military says it has captured a suspected senior Shiite militant believed to be behind a June bombing in Baghdad that killed four Americans and six Iraqis.

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:29:15 GMT

Iraq's holy city of Najaf witnessing a boom (AP)

An Iranian woman walks past gold shops in the Grand Souq of Najaf, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)AP - The city's first airport is weeks away from opening, but already a bigger one is talked about. Land prices are soaring. Merchants say they don't remember business ever being so good.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:03:07 GMT

Baghdad plans to build giant Ferris wheel (AP)

AP - Iraq is calling on companies to submit designs to build a giant Ferris wheel in Baghdad — the latest in a string of lavish proposals painting the capital as a leisure friendly city.

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:42:09 GMT

Three US soldiers killed Iraqi prisoners for vengeance: report (AFP)

US soldiers patrol Baghdad's southern suburb of Owerij in 2003. US soldiers shot and killed four Iraqi prisoners execution-style last year to avenge the deaths of two army comrades, according testimony cited Wednesday by the New York Times.(AFP/File/Patrick Baz)AFP - US soldiers shot and killed four Iraqi prisoners execution-style last year to avenge the deaths of two army comrades, according testimony cited Wednesday by the New York Times.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:35:45 GMT

Iraq says U.S. agreed troop pullout compromise (Reuters)

A U.S. soldier looks at Iraqi soldiers checking a resident in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, August 25, 2008. (Ibrahim Sultan/Reuters)Reuters - The United States asked Iraq for permission to keep troops there to 2015 but compromised with Iraqi negotiators on 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:33:03 GMT

U.S. soldiers say they executed Iraqis on riverbank: report (Reuters)

File photo shows US Marines on patrol in the restive city of Fallujah. A California jury retired to consider its verdict in the landmark trial of a US Marine accused of shooting unarmed prisoners in Iraq four years ago.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)Reuters - Three U.S. soldiers killed four handcuffed and blindfolded Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots on the bank of a Baghdad canal last year, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:25:38 GMT

Iraq says U.S. sought troop presence to 2015 (Reuters)

U.S. soldiers from the First Infantry Division, First Brigade Combat Team and Iraqi policemen patrol at Baghdad's Dora market August 27, 2008. (Andrea Comas/Reuters)Reuters - The United States asked Iraq for permission to maintain a troop presence there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorization to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:38:01 GMT

2 Iraqi officials accused of aiding al-Qaida (AP)

Iraqi firemen attend the scene of a parked car bomb which targeted a police patrol but missed, killing 3 civilians and wounding 8 others, in the Baghdad al-Jadidah area of eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)AP - A university president and a top local official in a restive province north of Baghdad are suspected of giving weapons and government cars to al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents, according to arrest reports obtained Wednesday.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:35:47 GMT

Top Shiite cleric urges Iraqis to register to vote (AFP)

An Iraqi policeman guards the entrance of the Electoral Commission in Baghdad earlier this month. Revered Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged Iraqis to register so they can vote in provincial elections planned to be held by early next year.(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)AFP - Revered Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Wednesday urged Iraqis to register so they can vote in provincial elections planned to be held by early next year.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:17:15 GMT

US soldier killed in Iraq (AFP)

Two Iraqi boys dressed for the Karrada festival walk past a US soldier in the Iraqi capital Baghdad last week. An American soldier has died of wounds received in a bomb attack in Baghdad, the US military in Iraq has said.(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)AFP - An American soldier has died of wounds received in a bomb attack in Baghdad, the US military in Iraq said on Wednesday.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:17:56 GMT

Iraq seeks loan from Japan for water projects (AFP)

Japanese soldiers at a ceremony to inaugurate a new water pumping station 250 kms south of Baghdad in 2006. Iraq is negotiating a multi-million-dollar loan from Japan to fund water and sewage projects in Baghdad and in the northern Kurdish region, the government has said.(AFP/File/Ahmad Abdel Razak)AFP - Iraq is negotiating a multi-million-dollar loan from Japan to fund water and sewage projects in Baghdad and in the northern Kurdish region, the government said on Wednesday.



Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:14:48 GMT