Baghdad – News Stories About Baghdad - Page 14

Aug 26, 2007 7:52 AM CDT

Post-Surge, Iraq Death Toll Mounts

Troop buildup makes some headway, doesn't quash insurgents

(Newser) - The average daily war-related death toll in Iraq has soared to 62 this year, up from 33 in 2006, and Baghdad is less perilous now than it was before the troop surge—but about as dangerous as it was a year ago. In a foreshadowing of next month's progress report,...

Iraq Electric Grid Seized
by Militias

Aug 23, 2007 11:31 AM CDT

Iraq Electric Grid Seized by Militias

Baghdad increasingly in darkness as armed bands horde power

(Newser) - Large swaths of Iraq's power grid have fallen under the control of armed militias, the New York Times reports. The balkanization of power stations worsens an already fragile situation in which insurgents blow up power lines and leave Baghdad without power at the height of a 110-degree summer.

General to Call for Pullbacks —But Troops Will Stick in Iraq

Aug 15, 2007 3:05 AM CDT

General to Call for Pullbacks —But Troops Will Stick in Iraq

Iraqis could prove their mettle in safer areas

(Newser) - Iraq's US military commander Gen. David Petraeus is expected next month to recommend a pullback of US troops from safer areas—but likely won't bring any troops home, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move is intended to demonstrate Iraqi capabilities to secure less volatile areas without US combat support.

UN to Increase Iraq Presence

Aug 10, 2007 1:20 PM CDT

UN to Increase Iraq Presence

US praises decision, but adds it too will continue to be involved

(Newser) - The UN will expand its role in Iraq and try to help quell the sectarian violence that has hobbled the country, after a Security Council vote today. Iraq's government says it'll help peacekeepers mediate disputes between the feuding sectarian groups and among Iraq’s neighbors in the region; the blue...

US Kills 30 in Baghdad

Aug 8, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

US Kills 30 in Baghdad

Women and children may counted among the dead

(Newser) - The US killed 30 militants and detained another dozen in an overnight air strike on a military stronghold in a Shiite district of Baghdad. Witnesses counted women and children among the slain, though the US claims all 30 were insurgents linked to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

UN Offers to Boost Iraq Presence

Aug 8, 2007 8:56 AM CDT

UN Offers to Boost Iraq Presence

New Baghdad compound and mediation aid also on the table

(Newser) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has offered to increase personnel in Iraq for the first time in more than 3 years and is seeking $130 million to build a reinforced compound in Baghdad for the growing UN mission. Ban faces a backlash from member states afraid of inheriting a...

Iraqis Play With Heavy Hearts

Jul 27, 2007 9:44 AM CDT

Iraqis Play With Heavy Hearts

Asia Cup final berth bittersweet in wake of suicide bombings that killed 50

(Newser) - An undertrained, cobbled-together Iraq squad upset favored South Korea in Wednesday's Asian Cup semifinals, and the Iraqis now head into Sunday's final bearing a heavy burden: Car bombs exploded in crowds of fans celebrating in Baghdad, killing at least 50. Iraq's coach, who is Brazilian, dedicated the win to "...

Bombers Target Baghdad Soccer Celebration

Jul 25, 2007 3:54 PM CDT

Bombers Target Baghdad Soccer Celebration

Moment of national triumph thwarted by twin attacks; 50 dead

(Newser) - Car bombings killed at least 50 and injured 135, as Iraqis celebrated their soccer victory over South Korea today. The two separate blasts, one in Baghdad's Mansour district, the other at an army checkpoint, came as cheering throngs crossed sectarian lines in a rare moment of national pride and unity,...

Fear Rules Iraq, Briefers Tell Congress

Jul 20, 2007 7:20 AM CDT

Fear Rules Iraq, Briefers Tell Congress

Benchmarks not likely to be met, say Crocker, Petraeus

(Newser) - Iraq is gripped by widespread fear and is unlikely to fulfill political and security goals by the pivotal September assessment, US officials told lawmakers yesterday in a briefing from Baghdad. "One word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq is 'fear,' " said ambassador Ryan...

Times Staffer Slain in Baghdad

Jul 13, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Times Staffer Slain in Baghdad

Reporter-interpreter becomes 110th journalist killed since 2003 US invasion

(Newser) - An Iraqi reporter in the New York Times Baghdad bureau was shot and killed today on his way to work. Khalid Hassan, 23, is the second Iraqi Times employee and the 110th journalist killed in Iraq since 2003. Bureau chief John F. Burns described Hassan, a 4-year Times veteran, as...

Iraqis Urged to Take Up Arms

Jul 9, 2007 5:20 AM CDT

Iraqis Urged to Take Up Arms

Weekend of widespread bloodshed prompts both Shiite and Sunni leaders to despair of security situation

(Newser) - After a weekend of horrific violence that claimed more than 220 lives in Iraq, both Shiite and Sunni leaders called on civilians to arm themselves. "People have a right to expect protection for their lives," said Iraq's Sunni vice president. Given the failure of security forces, he said,...

Construction Woes Threaten Workers at Iraq Embassy

Jul 5, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

Construction Woes Threaten Workers at Iraq Embassy

Mistakes add up, causing officials to question their safety

(Newser) - Foul-ups and delays in the construction of the US embassy in Baghdad are not only an ongoing embarrassment—now they have workers there worried about their own safety. The Journal intercepted a stern cable the embassy sent to the State Department a month ago highlighting several serious hazards in the...

14 Troops Killed in 2 Days

Jun 21, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

14 Troops Killed in 2 Days

5 soldiers dead after roadside bomb explosion; death toll hits 3,545

(Newser) - Fourteen American troops have been killed in Iraq over the past 2 days, bringing the US death toll to 3,545, with 68 fatalities in June. In the deadliest recent attack, five troops died today after a roadside bomb detonated under their vehicle in northeastern Iraq. Commanders attribute the worsening...

Dozens Dead in Baghdad
Mosque Blast

Jun 19, 2007 11:39 AM CDT

Dozens Dead in Baghdad Mosque Blast

More than 200 hurt as violence against Shia holy sites continues

(Newser) - A car bomb exploded near a Shia mosque in Baghdad today just as afternoon prayers were ending, killing at least 75. More than 200 people were injured in the blast, which sent smoke billowing over the central city. The explosion came 2 days after officials lifted a curfew imposed following...

Bomb Blast at Baghdad Mosque Kills 75

Jun 19, 2007 10:35 AM CDT

Bomb Blast at Baghdad Mosque Kills 75

Strike at Shiite mosque, just as worshippers were leaving afternoon prayers, wounded hundreds

(Newser) - A truck bomb exploded at a central Baghdad mosque today, killing at least 75 people and wounding at least 200, the AP reports. The blast came as worshipers were leaving afternoon prayers. Developing ...

Surge Fizzles in Iraq

Jun 14, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

Surge Fizzles in Iraq

Troop buildup fails to curb violence

(Newser) - A new report shows no overall drop in bloodshed in Iraq despite the three-month-old troop surge. Violence has fallen slightly in Baghdad and Anbar province, where troops are concentrated, but a corresponding rise everywhere else more than compensates. And while sectarian killings have dropped slightly, civilian casualties are up, and...

US Joins Sunni Militants to Smash Qaeda

Jun 9, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

US Joins Sunni Militants to Smash Qaeda

Officer on alliance: 'We have made a deal with the devil'

(Newser) - American soldiers in Baghdad's violent Amiriyah district of have formed an unlikely alliance in an effort to root out al-Qaeda In Iraq. US troops are giving guns, and even the power of arrest, to a Sunni paramilitary group—and a week into the partnership, they’ve helped kill or capture...

Duped Workers Build Baghdad Embassy

Jun 7, 2007 10:56 AM CDT

Duped Workers Build Baghdad Embassy

Kuwaiti firm lures poor laborers to Iraq; enslaves them on massive US project

(Newser) - The Kuwaiti company building the $592 million US embassy in Baghdad is under scrutiny for allegedly tricking workers into coming to Iraq. The Justice Department says Kuwaiti First promised poor workers from Bangladesh and Pakistan it would send them to Dubai, but instead brought them to the Green Zone, seized...

Surge Fails to Quell Baghdad

Jun 4, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Surge Fails to Quell Baghdad

US forces control only a third of Iraqi capital, new report says

(Newser) - U.S. and Iraqi forces control only a fraction of Baghdad, despite the three-month-old troop surge. An internal assessment leaked to the Times found two thirds of the city's neighborhoods are still in open rebellion, although surge architects planned to have Baghdad under control by July. “We were way...

Attacks on
US Troops
Get Deadlier

Jun 4, 2007 5:07 AM CDT

Attacks on US Troops Get Deadlier

Bigger IEDs and more complex ambushes lead to more US deaths in Iraq

(Newser) - Iraqi insurgents are using bigger bombs and more sophisticated tactics to kill US troops, reports the Washington Post. While Iraq civilian deaths have dropped 50 percent since the new counterinsurgency strategy was launched in Baghdad, American fatalities compared to the number of wounded have nearly doubled.