al-Qaeda in Iraq – News Stories About al-Qaeda in Iraq - Page 4

Shiite Militants Agree to
Sadr City Cease-Fire

May 10, 2008 8:06 AM CDT

Shiite Militants Agree to Sadr City Cease-Fire

But truce may not end weeks of violence there

(Newser) - Shiite militants have agreed to a cease-fire in Baghdad’s Sadr City, said an aide to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militia is concentrated there, the AP reports. Sadrists “will stop fighting in Sadr City and will stop displaying arms in public,” the aide said. “In return, the...

False Alarm:
Al-Qaeda Boss Still Loose
in Iraq

May 9, 2008 11:40 AM CDT

False Alarm: Al-Qaeda Boss Still Loose in Iraq

Iraqis got the wrong guy, military says

(Newser) - Iraqi officials jumped the gun yesterday when they announced the capture of the top commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the US military said today. It turns out the man they captured isn’t Abu Ayyub al-Masri; he just has a similar name. The hunt for the real al-Masri, who has...

Iraqi Army
Nabs Key Militant Leader

May 8, 2008 4:55 PM CDT

Iraqi Army Nabs Key Militant Leader

Soldiers in Mosul arrest chief of Al-Qaeda in Iraq

(Newser) - The Iraqi army has arrested the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the AP reports today. Defense officials said they took Abu Ayyub al-Masri into custody in Mosul. He has led the group—which last month called for stepped-up attacks against US forces—since 2006. Masri helped set...

Iran Is Now
a Bigger Threat
in Iraq Than al-Qaeda: US Officials

Apr 12, 2008 3:06 PM CDT

Iran Is Now a Bigger Threat in Iraq Than al-Qaeda: US Officials

(Newser) - Recent battles in Basra prove that Iran is crippling Iraqi stability while al-Qaeda's influence there wanes, US officials say. David Petraeus pointed to Iran's influence in testimony this week, and now Shiite militias are said to have benefited from Iranian weapons, training, and guidance in Basra fighting—prompting a Washington...

Security Comes to Fallujah With Saddam-Like Iron Fist

Mar 24, 2008 2:49 PM CDT

Security Comes to Fallujah With Saddam-Like Iron Fist

US hails progress, but top cop relies on brutal tactics, says democracy not for Iraq

(Newser) - Fallujah, a hotbed of violence that has shown signs of stability, is trumpeted by the US as a success story of the Iraq war effort. But the security achieved there, largely the work of Faial Ismail al-Zobaie, the city’s police chief and a former insurgent, is the result of...

Easter Bombings in
Iraq Kill at Least 57

updated

Mar 23, 2008 6:49 PM CDT

Easter Bombings in Iraq Kill at Least 57

Al-Qaeda bomber kills 13 in Mosul, while rockets hit Green Zone

(Newser) - Despite a yearlong decline in violence in Iraq, a series of attacks on Easter Sunday killed at least 57, reports the AP. In the most severe, a suicide car bomber killed at least 13 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 42 people at a military base in Mosul, an al-Qaeda holdout. A...

Obama Blasts Both Rivals Over Iraq Positions

Mar 19, 2008 6:17 PM CDT

Obama Blasts Both Rivals Over Iraq Positions

He notes McCain's gaffe confusing Sunni and Shiite groups

(Newser) - Barack Obama laid into both presidential rivals on the Iraq war today, chiding John McCain for misspeaking about terror groups there and criticizing Hillary Clinton for voting to authorize the conflict. "We heard Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shi'ite, Iran and al-Qaeda," Obama said, pouncing on McCain for...

McCain Mixes Up
Militants on
Mideast Tour

Mar 18, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

McCain Mixes Up Militants on Mideast Tour

Candidate says Teheran's helping al-Qaeda

(Newser) - John McCain mixed up his militants today during a stop on his Mideast tour. He told reporters in Jordan that Tehran is “taking al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.” A whisper from Sen. Joseph Lieberman prompted him to add, "I'm sorry, the Iranians...

Portrait of
the Suicide
Bomber as
a Young Man

Mar 17, 2008 11:03 AM CDT

Portrait of the Suicide Bomber as a Young Man

US military's profile reveals alienation, anger

(Newser) - The people carrying out suicide bombings in Iraq are overwhelmingly young men from other countries who grew up in large, poor families, the LA Times reports. After interrogating four dozen men taken into custody over 4 months, the American military has drafted a profile of the typical suicide bomber, who...

Iraq Pullout Would
Spur Genocide: Mac

Mar 14, 2008 2:45 AM CDT

Iraq Pullout Would Spur Genocide: Mac

He's off to sell world view on international tour

(Newser) - John McCain charged yesterday that early withdrawal from Iraq proposed by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would trigger "genocide" across the region. He launched his latest attack on his Democratic rivals on the eve of his planned international tour to Britain, France, Israel, Jordan and possibly Iraq to...

Baghdad Blast Kills 5 US Troops

Mar 10, 2008 1:55 PM CDT

Baghdad Blast Kills 5 US Troops

Leader of Sunni Awakening killed in separate suicide attack

(Newser) - Five American troops are dead after a suicide bomber struck today in the Mansour district of Baghdad, the BBC reports. The soldiers were patrolling a busy shopping center when a young man wearing an explosive vest engaged them in conversation shortly before detonating, said a military spokesman. Three other service...

Female Bomber Kills
Anti-Qaeda Sunni Sheik

Mar 10, 2008 7:17 AM CDT

Female Bomber Kills Anti-Qaeda Sunni Sheik

Diyala-area Awakening leader hit in attack

(Newser) - A female suicide bomber assassinated a Sunni Awakening leader in his Diyala province home today, the AP reports, killing the sheik’s bodyguard, cousin, and 5-year-old niece along with him. The woman had come to see the sheik yesterday, saying her husband had been kidnapped and was begging for help....

Baghdad Bombs Claim 54

Mar 6, 2008 2:31 PM CST

Baghdad Bombs Claim 54

Reversal in trend of increasing security, as US announce troop reduction

(Newser) - Twin bomb blasts claimed 54 lives and wounded 130 in a Baghdad shopping center today, BBC News reports. Two roadside bombs timed to detonate within minutes of each other exploded in a shopping center in Karada district, leaving survivors holding body parts and searching for loved ones. Violence in Iraq...

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader Killed in US Missile Attack

Mar 3, 2008 4:53 AM CST

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader Killed in US Missile Attack

He was responsible for bombing deaths of 5 Yank soldiers

(Newser) - A top al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, said to be responsible for the bombing deaths of five American soldiers, was killed last week when his car was struck by a missile fired by a US helicopter, officials revealed yesterday. Abu Yasir al-Saudi, from Saudi Arabia, was in charge of operations in...

Ahmadinejad
to Visit Iraq

Mar 1, 2008 7:48 PM CST

Ahmadinejad to Visit Iraq

First-ever trip by an Iranian prez upsets Sunnis, poses security risk to hosts

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will fly to Baghdad Sunday to meet with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, the first state visit ever by an Iranian president, the BBC reports. Sunni Iraqi leaders expressed outrage over the visit, which also comes a day after the US claimed further evidence of Iranian meddling in the...

Iraq Casualties Spike
After Massive Bombings

Mar 1, 2008 2:54 PM CST

Iraq Casualties Spike After Massive Bombings

Killings up sharply since January, but still down from previous year

(Newser) - Iraq’s civilian casualties rose 36% in February, with 633 suffering violent deaths and another 701 wounded, the Iraqi government reported today. That's up from 466 dead in January. The spike reflects three extraordinarily bloody bombings, including pet market bombings in early February that killed 99, and a suicide bombing...

Obama, McCain Trade Potshots Over Iraq War

Feb 27, 2008 6:17 PM CST

Obama, McCain Trade Potshots Over Iraq War

Each delivers 'news' to the other about al-Qaeda presence

(Newser) - John McCain and Barack Obama traded sharp words today, as the two presidential frontrunners bludgeoned each other over the Iraq war. McCain dug into Obama for saying, in the debate last night, that he wouldn't hesitate to act if al-Qaeda established bases in Iraq for targeting the US, Reuters reports....

Al-Qaeda Trains Boys to Fight

Feb 6, 2008 4:34 PM CST

Al-Qaeda Trains Boys to Fight

New video shows 'the next generation of mujahedeen"

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda is training young Iraqi boys to become gunmen and kidnappers, the US military alleges. The military released a video that shows boys in face masks brandishing grenade launchers and guns and harassing Iraqi citizens, CNN reports. In one scene, a boy wears a suicide vest. "Al-Qaeda wants to...

Huge Blast Kills 15, Wounds 132 in Northern Iraq

Jan 23, 2008 3:50 PM CST

Huge Blast Kills 15, Wounds 132 in Northern Iraq

Roadside bomb triggers explosion at arms dump in Mosul

(Newser) - A blast in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul claimed at least 15 lives and left 132 wounded today, Reuters reports. The explosion came after Iraqi troops detonated a roadside bomb near a building used as a munitions dump by militants, a US general said. At least 15 tons of...

US Bombs al-Qaeda Sites in Iraq

Jan 10, 2008 7:35 AM CST

US Bombs al-Qaeda Sites in Iraq

Strike was aimed at al-Qaeda safe havens north of Baghdad

(Newser) - US bombers and fighters dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives on al-Qaeda stronghold Arab Jabour, an agricultural area just north of Baghdad. The 10-minute strike flattened 40 targets ahead of ground troops as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a new offensive against al-Qaeda, the AP reports. Nine US troops have...