Baghdad

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Shoe-Tosser Released, Says 'I Was Tortured'

Reporter al-Zeidi leaves prison after tossing shoe at Bush last year

(Newser) - The Iraqi reporter who was locked up for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush says he was tortured in prison, the BBC reports. He was released today after nine months in a Baghdad jail, Reuters notes, and says he plans to identify those officials who tortured him. Relatives say...

Arab World Head-Over-Heels About Return of 'Hero' Shoe-Tosser

Zaidi hailed as Goliath-battling David

(Newser) - The Iraqi journalist who hurled both his shoes at George Bush during a speech in Baghdad last year will be released early from prison next week to a hero's welcome, a free house and offers of money, a wife, and a gold-saddled horse, reports the Guardian. Muntadar al-Zaidi "is...

Iraqi Bombing Suspect Paid $10K to Pass Checkpoints

(Newser) - Attackers paid $10,000 to get a bomb-laden truck past checkpoints and next to the Iraqi Finance Ministry in last week's attacks, one of the suspected masterminds said in a confession broadcast today. Seeking to fend off widespread criticism over security lapses, the Iraqi military released what it said was...

7 Bombs Batter Baghdad; 95 Dead, 500 Wounded

(Newser) - Scores of people are dead after seven coordinated bombings rocked Baghdad this morning, targeting both government ministries and poor Shia neighborhoods, the New York Times  reports. Two huge bombs and three smaller blasts, probably from mortars, went off at the entrance to the fortified Green Zone, while other explosions hit...

Dozens Killed in New Wave of Iraq Bombings

(Newser) - A series of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Mosul killed at least 41 people today and raised fears of a new upsurge in sectarian violence, the BBC reports. In Mosul, where an attack on a Shia mosque killed 40 people Friday, a double truck bomb killed 25 people in a...

UK Contractor Held in Green Zone Killing of 2 Co-Workers

Incident is second this summer of violence within protected Baghdad area

(Newser) - A security contractor working in Iraq has been charged with fatally shooting two of his co-workers in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the Washington Post reports. Danny Fitzsimmons, an employee of British firm ArmorGroup Iraq, has been arrested in the killing of fellow Briton Paul McGuigan and Australian Darren Hoare in...

Iraqi Tempers Ablaze Over Smoking Ban

(Newser) - Smoking is rampant across the Middle East, and in Iraq nicotine fuels everything from high-level government meetings to weddings and funerals. That's why a new anti-tobacco law making its way through parliament is causing huge public outcry, reports the Washington Post. "We all have to deal with anger issues...

29 Killed in Baghdad Mosque Bombings

(Newser) - Bombs exploded near five Shiite mosques in Baghdad today, killing at least 29 people, according to Iraqi police and hospital officials. The bombings, apparently part of a coordinated attack that targeted worshipers leaving Friday prayers, shattered a period of relative calm in the Iraqi capital. The deaths raised to at...

Top US Commander Wants Troops Out of Iraq Pronto

(Newser) - The US should get out of Iraq sooner rather than later, a top Army officer wrote in a recent memo obtained by the Washington Independent. Col. Timothy Reese, the chief of the Baghdad Operations Command Advisory Team, says American forces “smell bad to the Iraqi nose,” and their...

Baghdad Gunmen Kill 8, Grab $7M in Bank Heist

Theft may be to back insurgency: official

(Newser) - Gunmen killed eight security guards and made off with nearly $7 million today during an early morning robbery at a bank in central Baghdad that police say is the work of insurgents attempting to finance their operations. It’s the second deadly robbery in a week in Baghdad's commercial Karradah...

Iraqis Attempt to Arrest US Soldiers After Shooting

(Newser) - The rift between American and Iraqi forces got a lot wider after a shooting incident in Baghdad this week, the Washington Post reports. When insurgents attacked their convoy Tuesday, US forces pursued them through alleys, and raided several houses, killing two men and a boy. An Iraqi commander ordered the...

Angelina Tours Iraqi Camps
 Angelina Tours Iraqi Camps 
Jul 23, 2009 4:45 PM CDT

Angelina Tours Iraqi Camps

UN Goodwill Ambassador sees some improvement for displaced Iraqis

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie visited a refugee camp near Baghdad today, part of her duties as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, People reports. While visiting one displaced family, she asked if they wished to return to their home. "No way," said one daughter, in a reminder of...

Bloated Baghdad Embassy Needs 'Rightsizing': State

(Newser) - An internal State Department assessment has deemed the recently completed US embassy in Baghdad grievously overstaffed, McClatchy Newspapers report. “There is a clear consensus from the top to the bottom of the embassy,” State’s inspector general writes. “The time has come for a significant rightsizing.”...

US Commanders Chafe at Iraq's Tight New Restrictions

(Newser) - The Iraq government has tightly restricted the movements and activities of American troops remaining in cities, and some commanders blame the restrictions for a rise in attacks, the Washington Post. The day after Iraqis celebrated the pullback of US troops to outside cities, Iraq ordered the US military to cease...

Iraq Bombers Kill 41
 Iraq Bombers Kill 41 
Jul 9, 2009 6:50 AM CDT

Iraq Bombers Kill 41

70 injured as violent surge continues

(Newser) - Two suicide bombers killed at least 34 people and injured 70 in an attack on the home of an anti-terrorism officer in northern Iraq today, while three roadside bombs in Baghdad killed seven others, authorities said. The attacks continue a surge of violence in Iraq's troubled north following the withdrawal...

Biden Has Tricky Balancing Act on Iraq Visit

(Newser) - High-level officials of Joe Biden's caliber usually stay in places like Iraq for a few hours, max. Biden, however, is now gearing up for the second day of his surprise visit. No wonder: In his new role as a sort of unofficial envoy to the nation, Biden has no small...

Parade, Jubilation Follow US Pullout of Iraqi Cities

Maliki warns media not to question his forces' abilities

(Newser) - Iraq held its first full military parade since the fall of Saddam today—now known as Sovereignty Day—to celebrate the official withdrawal of US troops from cities and towns. The proceedings took place inside the Green Zone and were screened on television, but several media outlets, including the New ...

4 US Troops Killed During Iraqi City Pullout

(Newser) - Four US soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American military completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities last night. But prime minister Nouri al-Maliki assured Iraqis in a televised address today that government forces are in control: "Those who think that Iraqis are not able to protect their...

Iraqis Celebrate 'Sovereignty Day' as US Pulls Back

Maliki declares June 30 'National Sovereignty Day'

(Newser) - Iraqi forces have assumed formal control of security in Baghdad and other cities after US combat troops withdrew from urban areas. A countdown clock broadcast on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as the midnight deadline passed for combat troops to pull back. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared a public...

Iraq's Upbeat Mood Angers US Officials

(Newser) - Baghdad's festive mood this weekend has left some Washington officials and military leaders simmering, the Guardian reports. While Iraqis prepare to celebrate US troops' withdrawal from city streets tomorrow, American officials say that local forces have gone untrained, forcing US troops to sustain casualties. Worse, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said...

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