Baghdad

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US Expands Visa Program for Iraqis Tenfold

5,000 allies, plus families, can come to America annually

(Newser) - The US embassy in Baghdad announced a major expansion of its visa program for Iraqi employees of the American government, raising tenforld the number of work permits it currently offers. The move is the latest step by the Bush administration to answer criticism that it has neglected the Iraqis, particularly...

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...

Generation Kill On Target
 Generation Kill On Target 
TV Review
Jul 10, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Generation Kill On Target

HBO's miniseries captures soldiers in 'their unfettered, foul-mouthed glory'

(Newser) - From the mean streets of Baltimore to the meaner ones of Baghdad, the force behind The Wire scores a direct hit with HBO's new Generation Kill, writes Brian Lowry for Variety. Following a cast of Marines during the Iraqi invasion’s first 40 days, the 7-episode miniseries may make you...

Iraq Insurgents Gain Deadly New Weapon

Rocket-bomb attacks can kill dozens at a time

(Newser) - Shiite insurgents in Iraq have been attacking US forces with a new weapon the military fears could kill dozens of troops at a time, reports the Washington Post. Rocket-propelled bombs, made of propane tanks packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives, have killed at least 21 people this year, including...

Confidence Surges in Baghdad
Confidence Surges in Baghdad
Jul 3, 2008 6:00 AM CDT

Confidence Surges in Baghdad

Residents see 'astonishing,' if fragile, return to normal

(Newser) - Economic activity and confidence in the government are booming in Baghdad, Der Spiegel reports, in a look at the "astonishing" resurgence of normal life there—despite fear that progress could vanish as quickly as it appeared. For the first time in 4 years, a popular Baghdad supermarket is stocking...

Sadr City Bomb Kills 4 Americans
Sadr City
Bomb Kills
4 Americans
Jun 24, 2008 8:23 AM CDT

Sadr City Bomb Kills 4 Americans

Second attack in as many days targeting reconstruction efforts

(Newser) - Two US troops and two US government employees were killed today during a suicide bombing at a local council building in Baghdad's Sadr City, the LA Times reports. The blast, the second this week that targeted Americans meeting with local officials, also claimed the lives of two Iraqis and wounded...

Car Bomb Kills 51 at Baghdad Market
Car Bomb Kills 51
at Baghdad Market
Jun 17, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Car Bomb Kills 51 at Baghdad Market

It's the deadliest attack in 3 months

(Newser) - A car bomb tore through a market area in a mainly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad today, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens, officials said. It was the deadliest such attack in more than three months. Nobody claimed responsibility, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which...

How Buffy Saved a Baghdad Reporter
 How Buffy Saved
 a Baghdad
 Reporter 
OPINION
May 21, 2008 10:55 AM CDT

How Buffy Saved a Baghdad Reporter

Watching cult classic kept NPR correspondent calm in war zone

(Newser) - NPR correspondent Jamie Tarabay says that watching DVDs of the cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer series saved her life—psychologically—while reporting from Baghdad. “It can be a very lonesome gig,” Tarabay recalls, and watching the series’ vampire-fighting star “deal with her private war zone helped...

Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City
 Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City 
May 20, 2008 9:08 AM CDT

Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City

No bloodshed so far in peaceful takeover

(Newser) - Roughly 10,000 Iraqi troops peacefully marched deep into Sadr City today, the Baghdad ghetto that’s long been a stronghold for Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army. The incursion was part of a deal negotiated with Sadr last week, which allowed for inspections so long as the US wasn't...

Apology for Shooting Koran Doesn't Close Case

Used Muslim Holy text for target practice

(Newser) - The US military's swift disciplining of an Army sniper who used a Koran for target practice reflects growing awareness of the need to forge bonds with the Sunni Arabs, whose cooperation is crucial to peace in Iraq, the LA Times reports. But apologies and discipline aren't enough for an influential...

Pelosi Becomes a Believer on Baghdad Trip

Staunch war critic optimistic about upcoming election

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi visited Iraq today, and the staunch war critic said she liked what she heard. After meeting with several top Iraqi and US officials, including Nouri al-Maliki and David Petraeus, Pelosi emerged optimistic about the upcoming provincial elections. She also praised Baghdad for passing a budget and oil legislation,...

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...

Iraqis Charge Sex Abuse at British Embassy

Three say KBR contractors routinely harass, grope workers

(Newser) - Three staff at the British embassy in Baghdad are sexually harassed, bullied, and abused, say three Iraqi ex-employees. A female cleaner and two male cooks detail a brutal work culture overseen by American contractors, according to testimony taken by the embassy and obtained by the Times of London. The cleaner...

Iraq's First Lady Survives Attack on Motorcade

Road bomb injures 4 guards, capping an especially bloody week

(Newser) - The wife of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani escaped injury after a roadside bomb hit her motorcade in Baghdad this morning. Hiro Ahmed Ibrahim was on her way to a cultural festival when the blast hit, injuring four of the first lady's bodyguards. It is unclear whether the attack was random...

US Rocket Attack Damages Iraqi Hospital

28 wounded; fleet of ambulances destroyed in blast

(Newser) - At least 28 people were wounded when US rockets struck near a Sadr City hospital today, destroying a fleet of ambulances, Reuters reports. The US says the attack was targeting a nearby militia “command and control” center. Hospital windows were shattered, but no patients were injured. The attack came...

Green Zone Strike Kills 2 in Sandstorm

Violence comes after al-Sadr's plea to end fighting

(Newser) - Hidden in a sandstorm, militants struck the US-protected Green Zone in Baghdad today and killed at least two Iraqis, the Los Angeles Times reports. The mortar or rocket attack, which also wounded 25, came just 2 days after influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered members of his Mahdi Army to end...

Rice Visits Iraq, Looks to Bolster PM Maliki

Sec says assault on Basra pushed fractious country toward unity

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to highlight recent political gains brought about by PM Nouri al-Maliki's government. While the Maliki-ordered assault on Basra last month exposed some weaknesses in the Iraqi army, it also brought different groups in Iraq together, she said. "This is, I...

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold
Iraqi Troops Seize
Sadr Stronghold
Apr 19, 2008 9:11 AM CDT

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold

Fighting in Baghad kills 12, wounds 130

(Newser) - In a major new clash, Iraqi troops backed by American and British firepower today captured a stronghold of fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said Iraqi officials. In a show of force, American planes and British artillery attacked a deserted area outside the Sadr-controlled section of Hayaniya...

US Builds Giant Wall in Sadr City

Partition aims to keep insurgents from neighborhood

(Newser) - American forces have begun construction of an enormous concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhood. The structure is intended to make the southern section of Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold that borders the Green Zone, into a protected enclave, reports the New York Times....

Diplomat Corps May Be Forced Into Iraq Service

Yanks face orders to fill understaffed Bagdad embassy

(Newser) - American diplomats may be forced to serve in Iraq if enough qualified candidates don't come forward voluntarily, reports CNN. The US embassy in Baghdad is chronically short-staffed, and the State Department has threatened that no other diplomatic jobs will be filled until the Baghdad bureau is up to speed. A...

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