Shiite militants

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'Blood Running Like a River' as Suicide Bombs Hit Yemen

Triple bombings hit Sanaa mosques during midday prayers

(Newser) - Triple suicide bombers hit a pair of mosques crowded with worshippers in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, today, causing heavy casualties, according to witnesses. The attackers targeted mosques frequented by Shiite rebels, who've controlled the capital since September. A report on the rebel-owned al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked...

Pentagon Accused of Organizing Shiite Torture Squads

Witnesses put key US military personnel at torture sites

(Newser) - The Pentagon directly oversaw the creation of a Shiite militia force that set up secret detention sites and tortured opponents during the US occupation of Iraq, as part of American attempts to put down the budding Sunni insurgency, according to a new report by the Guardian that is being called...

Shiite Militants Kidnap American Contractor in Iraq

Kidnappers' demands include prosecution of Blackwater guards

(Newser) - A Shiite extremist group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a Iraqi-American contractor who went missing in Baghdad Jan. 23. Shiite militiamen lured him into a trap by promising to help him find distant relatives, an Iraqi defense official said today. The militants posted a video online that shows...

Car Bomb Kills 15 in Iraq
 Car Bomb Kills 15 in Iraq 
Jun 10, 2009 5:31 AM CDT

Car Bomb Kills 15 in Iraq

Explosion in country's south ahead of US withdrawal

(Newser) - A car bomb exploded in the middle of a market district in a Shiite neighborhood of southern Iraq today, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others. The explosion occurred in the town of Bathaa, the scene of fierce battles between Shiite militia factions that had been relatively...

Pakistan Hospital Bomb Kills 23
 Pakistan Hospital Bomb Kills 23
Aug 19, 2008 7:20 AM CDT

Pakistan Hospital Bomb Kills 23

Shia mourners killed in volatile northwest province

(Newser) - Twenty-three people died today and another 20 were wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack in a Pakistani hospital. The blast took place in the North West Frontier Province, the highly volatile region bordering Afghanistan. The explosion took place as Shia Muslims were mourning the death of a leader, who...

Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon
 Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon
Aug 13, 2008 4:49 AM CDT

Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon

Explosion kills soldiers, civilians; dozens more wounded

(Newser) - A bomb that exploded on a bus in Lebanon's second-largest city killed at least 18 people and wounded 40. At least seven of the dead were soldiers, reports the Times of London. The attack took place in the port town of Tripoli, where a sect of Shiites associated with the...

UK Hostage in Iraq Kills Himself: Kidnappers

Captors blame Downing St. for ignoring negotiations

(Newser) - One of five British hostages seized in Baghdad last year has killed himself, according to a video made by his Shi'ite captors. Seeking the release of comrades in US captivity, they blame the British government for failing to negotiate: "Foot-dragging" has hastened the captives' "psychological deterioration, pushing one...

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...

Hezbollah Militants School Iraqi Fighters in Iran: US

Report contradicts Tehran's pledge not to meddle

(Newser) - Hezbollah is helping to train Iraqi militants in Iran, the US claims in a report to Iraq’s government. The information, obtained during US questioning of captured Shiite fighters, suggests Iran is quietly aiding the militia, despite repeated claims it’s not interfering in internal Iraqi matters, the New York ...

Iraq Fires 1,300 Cops, Troops After Basra

Baghdad says they ducked fight with Shiite militias

(Newser) - Iraq sacked 1,300 troopers and policemen today for fighting poorly or not at all in last month’s Basra battles. “Some of them were sympathetic with these lawbreakers,” said one official. “Some refused to battle for political, national, sectarian or religious reasons.” The firings are...

Sadr City Fight Kills 13; Insurgents Vow to Fight On

Authorities ease blockade in Iraqi slum

(Newser) - US and Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite insurgents in fierce fighting overnight near Baghdad’s Sadr City, Reuters reports, as authorities lifted a blockade in some areas that had been stifling the region. At least 13 militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were killed in the clashes in the Iraqi...

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause
 Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause 
Apr 10, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause

President warns Iran against arming Iraqi militants

(Newser) - Vowing that Gen. David Petraeus will have “all the time he needs” in Iraq, President Bush today announced a pause, from August until at least mid-September, in withdrawal of troops from Iraq, CNN reports. Citing the post-surge security gains, Bush said, “we have renewed and revived the prospect...

Iran Played Key Role in al-Sadr Ceasefire

Iraqi lawmakers met cleric in Iran before deal was struck

(Newser) - Iran played a key role in convincing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to call a ceasefire in Basra yesterday, CNN reports. Iraqi lawmakers from five Shiite parties traveled to Iran on Friday to meet with al-Sadr, and returned yesterday, right before al-Sadr's injunction to halt violence in Basra, an Iraqi official...

Criticism Dogs Basra Battle
Criticism Dogs Basra Battle
Mar 29, 2008 5:33 AM CDT

Criticism Dogs Basra Battle

US influence limited in potential quagmire, fight likely to drag on: military officials

(Newser) - As US troops are drawn deeper into the four-day-old Iraqi crackdown on militants in Basra,  critics see a long and difficult road ahead. While President Bush praised the operation as a "defining moment in the history of a free Iraq," military officials murmured that the battle "...

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