Iraqi Armed Scout Bell IA-407 Helicopter

Iraqi Army Aviation Command has purchased 24 Bell Armed Scout IA-407 single-engine utility helicopters under a foreign military sales (FMS) deal.

IA-407 will be used for surveillance and anti-terrorism operations.

April Was The Deadliest Month In Iraq Since 2008

April was Iraq's deadliest month in nearly five years, according to the United Nations, with more than 700 people killed Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen

April The Deadliest Month In Iraq In 5 Years -- CNN

(CNN) -- More people died violently in Iraq in April than in any other month in nearly five years, the United Nations said Thursday.

A total of 712 people died and 1,633 more sustained injuries "in acts of terrorism and acts of violence," the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq said.

Civilians made up most of the victims, 595 in total. 1,438 civilians were injured. Baghdad saw the most deaths with a total of 697 civilian fatalities.

April's total was the deadliest since June 2008, UNAMI said.

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More News On April Being The Deadliest Month In Iraq Since 2008

United Nations says last month was Iraq’s deadliest from violent attacks since June 2008 -- Washington Post/AP
April Iraq's deadliest month in almost five years -- The Telegraph
April deadliest month for Iraq since June 2008: UN -- AFP
UN: April Deadliest Month in Iraq Since 2008 -- Voice of America
UN: April casualty numbers in Iraq highest since 2008 -- Deutsche Welle
April deadliest month for Iraq since June 2008, says U.N. -- Al Arabiya

Is Iraq About To Capture The "King Of Clubs'?

Troops were searching for Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, head of Saddam’s now-outlawed Baath party, in Dour on Thursday. (Reuters)

Iraqi Troops Close In On Saddam Ally Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri -- The Guardian

Head of now outlawed Ba'ath party is most senior member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle still on the run

Iraqi special forces are closing in on the most senior member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle still on the run, security sources have said.

Troops backed by helicopters are searching for Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, head of Saddam's now outlawed Ba'ath party, in villages around the former ruler's home town of Tikrit.

Capturing the most prominent Ba'ath leader would be a boost for the Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, before provincial elections that will measure his political muscle for the 2014 parliamentary ballot.

"We have solid information that he is in Dour since last night. Now we have closed the area, announced a curfew and are searching house by house," said a senior security officer involved in the operation.

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Update: Iraqi forces hunt Saddam's former deputy. -- Reuters

My Comment: Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri has been on the run for almost 10 years .... it will be a victory for the Iraqi government if he is finally captured.

Violence In Iraq Is Escalating

Violence In Iraq Goes Up Despite US Pull Out, As Freed Prisoners Rejoin Militias -- The Telegraph

Violence in Iraq has increased since the US troop withdrawal, as thousands of ex-prisoners held by American forces rejoin insurgent groups such as Al Qaeda.

In a blow to hopes that the pull-out would remove the key catalyst for bloodshed, figures show that death rates have actually gone up since the last American soldier left Iraqi soil in December 2011.

Last year, some 4,570 civilians were killed, compared to 4,147 in 2011, according to the Iraq Body Count, the independent organisation that has analysed death rates in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.

While the figures are far lower than during the height of Iraq's sectarian war in 2006, when more than 29,000 people died, analysts said they still presented a worrying picture of the country's direction a decade after the US-led invasion.

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My Comment: The chaos in Syria is only inflaming the sectarian tensions in Iraq .... and elsewhere. The Sunni-Shiite conflict has been ongoing for centuries, and with the U.S. no longer in the picture, there is no way to stop these historical animosities and hatreds coming to the forefront.

Iraqi Premier Warns That If Syria's Assad Should Fall, It Would Spark A Civil War In Iraq

Prime Minister of Iraq Nuri al-Maliki listens to an opening speech during the Sarafiya bridge opening in Kadhimiya, Iraq. 27 May 2008. Wikipedia

Iraq PM Warns Of Syria Crisis Spillover -- Al Jazeera

Nouri AL-Maliki says most dangerous outcome for Syria is an opposition victory as it will lead to sectarian war in Iraq.

Iraq's prime minister has warned that a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war will create a new extremist haven and destabilise the wider Middle East, sparking a sectarian war in his own country, a civil war in Lebanon and a division in Jordan.

Nouri al-Maliki stopped short of voicing outright support for Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime.

But his comments in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday marked one of his strongest warnings yet about the turmoil that the collapse of the Syrian government could create.

"If the world does not agree to support a peaceful solution through dialogue ... then I see no light at the end of the tunnel,'' al-Maliki said.

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Update #1: Iraqi premier warns Syrian rebel victory would spark wars in Iraq and Lebanon -- Washington Post/AP
Update #2: Iraq PM Nouri al-Maliki warns Syrian rebel victory could destabilize region in AP interview -- Global Post

My Comment: Iraq is not helping the situation by doing this.

Third Batch BTR-4E Armoured Personnel Carriers For Iraqi Army

Third batch of batch of Ukrainian BTR-4armoured personnel carrier (APC) ready at Kharkiv facilities which will be exported to Iraq under a deal worth over $550 million.

The 1st batch of 26 BTR-4E armored personnel carriers, 2x maintenance vehicles, and 2x BTR crew-training simulators were delivered to the Iraq in 2011 and second batch of 62 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers was delivered in May 2012.

The Never Ending Violence Continues In Iraq

Dozens Die In Attack On Police In Iraqi City -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber attacked a provincial police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday morning, the police and the city’s civil defense director said, killing at least 36 people and wounding 105. Three other suicide attackers who tried to enter the police headquarters after the blast were killed by the police.

Security forces cordoned off the site and closed government buildings and the main roads in Kirkuk as ambulances took the wounded to a hospital. The commander of the Kirkuk police was among those wounded and was taken to Erbil for treatment.

Nauzad Mohamed, a police officer who was wounded in the attack, said the bomber was “driving a police car and wearing a police uniform.”

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More News On The Violence In Iraq

Al Qaeda in Iraq launches suicide assault in Kirkuk -- Long War Journal
Iraqi officials raise death toll in suicide attack north of Baghdad to 18 -- Washington Post/AP
Death toll from Iraq suicide bombing rises to 19: police -- Reuters
Suicide bomber kills four Iraq anti-Qaeda fighters -- Global Post/AFP

My Comment: I am so glad that we are out of that horrid mess.

Sunni - Shiite Tensions Rising In Iraq After Protestors Are Killed By The Army

Protesters threw stones at Iraqi security forces during an antigovernment demonstration in Falluja, Iraq, on Friday. Mohanned Faisal/Reuters

At Least 9 Killed As Iraqi Protesters Confront Army -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — At least seven protesters and two soldiers were killed on Friday in clashes that started after Iraqi Army forces opened fire on demonstrators who had pelted them with rocks on the outskirts of Falluja, west of Baghdad. It was the first deadly confrontation in more than a month of antigovernment protests by mostly Sunni opponents of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

As a result, a curfew was imposed on Falluja in the evening of Friday.

A security official said one clash started when protesters began throwing rocks at government forces at a checkpoint near a main highway. The forces opened fire, and demonstrators responded by burning army vehicles and two cars, one belonging to a lawmaker from the mainly Sunni Iraqiya bloc and the other to a local politician from the province, Anbar. Seven civilians were killed and 44 people were wounded, according to medical sources.

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More News On Today's Violence Between Sunni Demonstrators And Iraqi Soldiers Today  

Army kills six as Iraq demos call for PM to quit -- AFP
Several killed in clashes in Iraq's Fallujah -- Al Jazeera
Violence Erupts at Iraq Rally; 5 Protesters Killed -- ABC News/AP
Officials: Iraqi soldiers fire on anti-government protesters -- CNN
Iraqi army pulls out from Falluja after deadly clashes with protesters -- Al Arabiya
United In Hate -- Strategy Page In Iraq, ‘No Retreat’ Protests Turn Deadly (Videos) -- New York Times

Anti-Maliki Demonstrations Spread In Iraq

Anti-Government Protests Rage Across Iraq -- Al Jazeera

Minority Sunnis continue widespread protests to demand end to allegedly sectarian policies of Shia-led government.

Thousands of Sunni Iraqis have continued to protest in Fallujah and other in Iraqi cities against the Shia-led government in Baghdad.

Protesters after Friday prayers in the province of al-Anbar, the heartland of Iraq’s Sunni population, demanded the release of prisoners and the end to allegedly sectarian policies.

The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki released fourteen female prisoners a day earlier, but the measure did not seem to have defused tension.

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More News On The Growing Violence And Unrest In Iraq

Iraqi Forces Fire Into Air as Anti-Maliki Demonstrations Spread -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iraq anti-govt rallies draw thousands -- The Australian
Thousands rally for Iraqi prisoners' release -- AFP
Iraqi Shiite cleric al-Sadr visits church, Sunni mosque as anti-government protests rage -- Washington Post/AP
Car bomb targeting Shiite pilgrims reflects Iraq tensions -- Washington Post
Bombings kill an estimated 32 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq -- Foreign Policy
32 Pilgrims Are Killed by Bombings in Central Iraq -- New York Times
Iraqi Parties to Seek Revenge In Provincial Elections -- Al-Monitor
Sadr and Maliki Battle Over Iraqi Oil -- Al-Monitor
Don’t Let Anti-Shi’ite Bias Play into Al-Qaeda’s Hands -- Michael Rubin, Commentary
Iraq: Playing the Sectarian Crisis Card -- Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Middle East Forum
The Mess in Iraq -- Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation

Iraq's Sectarian Tensions Rise As A 'Low-Level War' Continues

Iraq Is Officially Fighting In A 'Low-Level War' A Year After US Withdrawal -- Business Insider/AFP

Violence in Iraq dropped in 2012, data released Tuesday showed, but insurgents proved they were still capable of mounting waves of attacks and a watchdog warned the country was still in a "low-level war".

The warnings, which come after the first full year since American forces completed their withdrawal in December 2011, were punctuated by a series of nationwide shootings and bombings on New Year's Eve in which 28 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded.

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More News On The Rise Of Sectarian Tensions And Violence In Iraq

Iraqi civilian deaths rise in "low-level war": study -- Reuters
Nearly 4,500 civilians died in 2012 in 'low-level war' with insurgents -- Irish Times
Iraq PM warns Sunni protesters to end rallies -- Al Jazeera
Iraq PM warns Sunni protesters, makes small concession -- Reuters
Iraq PM offers prisoner release as demos continue -- AFP
Firebrand Shiite cleric al-Sadr voices support for Sunni protesters angry at Iraq’s government -- Washington Post/AP
Iraq’s Sadr Encourages Antigovernment Demonstrations -- New York Times

Another Wave Of Bomb Attacks In Iraq

Bombs Kill 23 Across Iraq As Sectarian Strife Grows -- Reuters

(Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and 87 wounded in attacks across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left.

Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants strike almost daily and have staged at least one big attack a month.

The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community.

No group claimed responsibility for any of Monday's attacks, which targeted government officials, police patrols and members of both the Sunni and Shi'ite communities.

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More News On Today's Attacks In Iraq

23 Killed as Iraq Bombings Target Pilgrims -- Voice of America
Attacks kill 16 across Iraq as sectarian tensions grow -- CNN
Iraq cities hit by wave of deadly explosions -- BBC
Explosions across Iraq kill at least 22, wound 76 -- Global Post
Wave of Iraq attacks kills 23 -- AFP

Sunni - Shiite Tensions Growing In Iraq

Iraqi Sunnis Hold Protest Against Shi'ite-Led Government -- Voice of America

ens of thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets in a Sunni-dominated western province, the latest in a series of demonstrations against the country's Shi'ite-led government.

The protesters blockaded a main highway Friday in Anbar province west of the capital, Baghdad, holding placards and chanting slogans against the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Protests were also reported in the northern Sunni towns of Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra.

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More News On Growing Sunni - Shiite tensions In Iraq

Iraqi Sunnis stage big anti-government rallies -- Reuters
Tens of thousands of Iraqi Sunnis rally, intensifying pressure on Shiite-led government -- Washington Post/AP
Iraq Sunni protests in Anbar against Nouri al-Maliki -- BBC
Maliki angry as protesters block Iraq highway -- AFP
Wave Of Sunni Demonstrations Sweeps Iraq -- Radio Free Europe
Iraq mass protests mount pressure on Maliki -- Al Jazeera
Mass anti-government protests in Iraq -- Deutsche Welle
Protests Flare in Iraq's Anbar Province -- Wall Street Journal
Iraq protests signal growing tension between Sunni and Shia communities -- The Guardian
Patience wearing thin among Iraq's Sunnis -- Irish Times

Iraq's Sectarian Divisions Widening

Sunni residents of Falluja protested the arrest of 10 bodyguards to Iraq’s finance minister, Rafe al-Essawi, on terrorism charges. Reuters

Iraqis Protest Against 'Sectarian Policies' -- Al Jazeera

Thousands demonstrate in cities of Ramadi and Falluja against what they call sectarian policies of PM Nouri al-Maliki.

Tens of thousands of people have staged protests in western Iraq, blocking a highway leading to Syria and Jordan, against what they have termed the "sectarian" policies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The protesters, including local officials, religious and tribal leaders, turned out on Sunday to demonstrate against the arrest of nine guards of Finance Minister Rafa al-Essawi.

Their arrest on terrorism charges has sparked a call from Essawi for Maliki to quit or be removed.

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More News On Iraq's Growing Sectarian Divisions

Sunni demonstrators challenge Iraq’s Shiite-led government, denounce bodyguards’ arrest -- Washington Post/AP
Protest against Iraq PM blocks highway to Syria -- AFP
Arrest of a Sunni Minister’s Bodyguards Prompts Protests in Iraq -- New York Times
Report: Bodyguards for Iraqi finance minister arrested -- CNN
Protestors in Iraq block highway, call for PM to step down -- Al Bawaba
Iraq in 2012 scrambles for hope amid political spats, violence -- Al Arabiya

Iraq`s President In Hospital After Suffering Stroke

Iraqi President In Hospital After Suffering Stroke -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has mediated among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish parties, was in hospital on Tuesday after suffering a stroke that left him in "critical but stable condition", government officials and lawmakers said.

Without Talabani, Iraq would lose an influential peace-maker who often eased tensions in the fragile power-sharing government and negotiated in the growing rift over oil between Baghdad and the OPEC member country's autonomous Kurdistan region.

Reports on his medical condition varied. Three government sources said he was in critical condition, but his office said the 79-year-old president was stable under intensive medical supervision after receiving treatment for blocked arteries.

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More News On Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Being Admitted Into A Hospital After Suffering A Stroke

Iraqi president in hospital after suffering stroke -- Reuters
Iraq President Talabani stable after stroke -- Al Jazeera
Iraq President Talabani 'stable' after stroke -- NBC
Iraq president Jalal Talabani suffers a stroke -- The Guardian
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani 'in coma after stroke' -- BBC
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Hospitalized Due to Stroke -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iraq president in hospital after 'stroke' -- AFP
Iraqi President Talabani in intensive care following stroke, said to be in stable condition -- Washington Post/AP
Who would succeed Talabani? -- Michael Rubin, Special to CNN
Timeline: A look at Iraqi president Talabani -- Reuters

Iraq Hit By Multiple Bombings (Again)

Multiple Bombings In Northern Iraq Claim Dozens -- Voice of America

Iraqi authorities say bombings and shootings across the country have killed at least 26 people, about half of them in northern regions whose territory is disputed between autonomous Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad's central government.

In Monday's deadliest attack, a car bomb killed seven people in a village near the northern city of Mosul in Iraq's Nineveh province. The village is inhabited by the Shabak ethnic minority.

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More News On Today's Wave Of Bombings In Iraq

Wave of Iraq attacks kills at least 47: officials -- Daily Star/AFP
Iraqi officials: String of blasts in areas disputed between Arabs and Kurds kill at least 8 -- Washington Post/AP
Bombers, gunmen attack disputed Iraqi-Kurd areas -- Reuters
Wave of Iraq attacks kills 35 people -- Times of India/AFP
Wave of bomb attacks in Iraq kill 32, injure over 100 -- Xinhuanet
Wave of bombings kills 25 across Iraq -- FOX News/AP
Bomb attacks in Iraq kill at least 25 -- BBC
Iraq attacks kill 25 people -- The Australian

Tensions Continue Between Baghdad And Iraq's Kurdish North

For Iraq, Year Ends the Way It Began, With Guns Drawn -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — It was just the sort of episode that observers have long worried could provoke a serious conflict: when federal police agents sought to arrest a Kurdish man last month in the city of Tuz Khurmato in the Kurdish north of the country, a gunfight ensued with security men loyal to the Kurdish regional government.

When the bullets stopped flying, a civilian bystander was dead and at least eight others were wounded.

In response, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, rushed troop reinforcements to the area, and Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region, dispatched his own soldiers, known as the Peshmerga, and the forces remain there in a tense standoff.

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More News On The Iraq - Kurd Conflict

Talabani Returns to Baghdad To Mediate Crisis With Erbil -- Al-Monitor
Baghdad-Kurdistan Talks Stall over Military Command -- Naharnet
Kurdish-Iraqi government talks collapse amid fear of civil war -- MinnPost/Christian Science Monitor
Barzani Not Intimidated By Maliki's Troop Deployments -- Al-Monitor
Barzani: Maliki’s Actions 'Illegal, Unconstitutional and Provocative’ -- Al-Monitor
Iraqi Kurds spell out oil ambitions -- UPI

Iraq To Buy 30 Mi-28NE Attack Helicopters and Pantsir-S1 Air Defense System

Russia and Iraq have signed a set of contracts that will see Russian fighter jets, helicopters and other military hardware exported to the transitioning country as part of a tighter military cooperation plan. The contracts are being finalized as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is on a visit to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev before later discussions with President Vladimir Putin. 

Iraq is buying 30 Russian MI-28 attack helicopters, worth $2 billion, along with 42 Pantsir short-to-medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems, worth $2.3 billion. The country also reportedly intends to purchase Russian MiG fighter jets as well as armored vehicles. These are the first significant military deals between the two countries since 2008.

 Between 2008 and 2011, Russian military exports to Iraq amounted to just $246 million. The number one market for Russian military hardware is traditionally India, followed by Venezuela and Vietnam, according to forecasts for the period ending in 2015. Russia’s cooperation with Iraq previously included joint development of oil fields, including West Qurna, one of Iraq’s largest, but that contract was broken off on the eve of the NATO invasion of the country in 2003.

What If The Iraq Red Team's Recommendations Were Taken Seriously

U.S. Army Spc. Deonty Eastmon secures his sector during a patrol through Al Betra, Iraq, Nov. 26, 2007, as the rest of his squad asks local residents about recent insurgent activity. Eastmon is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz

The Iraq Red Team -- Michael R. Gordon, Foreign Policy

A year and a half before the surge, a secret review group in Baghdad recommended a drastic change in U.S. strategy. If that advice had been heeded, might the war have turned out differently? An exclusive excerpt from The Endgame, a new book on America's final days in Iraq.

Seventeen months before George W. Bush announced that he was sending five additional brigades to Iraq for the 2007 "surge," a team of officers and civilian analysts gathered in Baghdad to conduct a classified review of America's military strategy in Iraq.

In a June 2005 speech at Fort Bragg, President Bush had told the nation that the Iraq war was difficult, but winnable. "Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," Bush said. "We have made progress, but we have a lot more work to do."

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My Comment: Coulda ... woulda .... shoulda .... the debate on America's war in Iraq will continue for the next few decades. As to the Red Team's 2005 report, this is a fascinating look into what was the U.S. military's mindset during this time.

Iraq's Vice President Calls His Death Sentence ‘Unjust’

Top Iraqi Leader Calls His Death Sentence ‘Unjust’ -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — Tariq al-Hashimi, a vice president of Iraq and a prominent Sunni Muslim who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in a trial conducted in absentia, denounced the verdict on Monday as “false and unjust,” depicting the court’s finding as “an acquittal, confirming my innocence.”

The verdict on Sunday coincided with a wave of bombings and insurgent attacks that claimed at least 100 lives, making the day one of the bloodiest in Iraq since American troops withdrew last year.

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More News On The Death Conviction For Iraq's Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi

Iraqi fugitive VP Tariq al-Hashemi rejects terror conviction, calls terror trial sham -- CBS/AP
Top Sunni leader refuses to return to Iraq for retrial; says Shiite PM corrupts courts -- Washington Post/AP
Iraqi VP rejects 'unjust' verdict in terror trial -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Fugitive Iraqi vice president slams 'kangaroo court' -- L.A. Times
Rejecting death sentence, Iraqi VP Hashemi calls for Iraqis to resist -- Christian Science Monitor
Iraqi vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi attacks 'unjust' verdict in terror trial -- The Guardian
Iraqi vice president al-Hashemi rejects murder conviction -- The Telegraph
Fugitive Iraqi VP Says Death Sentence a Sham -- Voice of America

On A Day Of Bloodshed, Iraq's Vice President Is Convicted Of Murder And Sentenced To Death

Death Sentence For A Top Iraqi Leader In A Day Of Bloodshed -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — The vice president of Iraq, a prominent Sunni Muslim, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death on Sunday in a trial conducted in absentia. The verdict coincided with a wave of bombings and insurgent attacks that claimed at least 100 lives, making Sunday one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since American troops withdrew last year.

Together, the verdict and the violence threatened to deepen an already intractable political crisis among the country’s ruling factions.

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More News On Today's Bloodshed In Iraq, And The Sentencing Of Iraq's Vice President To Death

Iraq blasts kill 100 as fugitive VP gets death sentence -- Times of India/Reuters
Iraq's Fugitive VP Convicted as Attacks Kill 92 -- ABC News/AP
Iraq Attacks Kill At Least 92 as Sunni VP Sentenced to Death -- Voice of America
Iraq's exiled vice president sentenced to death as violence grows -- Christian Science Monitor
Iraq sentences vice president to death -- Al Jazeera
Iraq Court Sentences Sunni Leader to Death -- Wall Street Journal
Iraq VP Tariq al-Hashemi sentenced to death -- BBC
Wave of bombings strikes Iraq -- The Australian/AFP
Deadliest Attacks in Iraq Since US Troop Pullout -- ABC News/AP