A series of explosions in Shiite neighborhoods killed nine civilians and wounded dozens more on Tuesday.

Original post:
Deadly Explosions Rattle Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Iraqi special forces units raided the homes of two Sunni politicians north of Baghdad on Friday, according to security officials, heightening fears among Sunni leaders that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is targeting them along sectarian lines. Read full article > >

See the rest here:
Iraqi forces raid homes of Sunni politicians

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is pushing to form a Shiite-controlled government that risks tearing the country apart unless he changes course or is removed from office, a Sunni-backed politician said at a news conference Wednesday. Read full article > >

Read the rest here:
Sunni-backed Allawi says Maliki risks splitting Iraq

BAGHDAD — Violence appears to have increased sharply since U.S. troops left Iraq a month ago, as insurgents have unleashed a wave of furious bombings targeting Baghdad neighborhoods, Shiite pilgrims and police facilities in Sunni areas. Read full article > >

See the original post:
Iraq violence up sharply since U.S. troops’ exit

At least 17 people were killed after an explosion ripped through a crowd of Shiite Muslims.

See the original post:
Shiite Muslims Target of Bomb Blast in Southern Pakistan

Insurgents mounted another vicious attack against Iraq’s Shiites on Saturday, as a roadside bomb was detonated near a group of pilgrims near the city of Basra.

Read the original post:
Roadside Bomb Kills Dozens in Southern Iraq

When the United States invaded Iraq, it did so thinking that it could turn the country into an economic dynamo fueled on oil reserves that are among the largest in the world. “Iraq is open for business,” L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq at the time, said in 2003. But the fighting never really stopped, and the U.S. vision was never really realized. Now, with American troops gone, the question is: What can Iraq build on its own? So far — with the nation’s leaders locked in a political crisis and insurgents launching spectacular attacks — the signs are not good. Read full article > >

See the rest here:
Promise of Iraq’s economy remains unfulfilled

Target Shiite neighborhoods.

Visit link:
Bombs Kill Dozens in Iraq

Insurgents mounted a series of attacks on two of Baghdad’s largest Shiite neighborhoods on Thursday, killing 24 people and heightening sectarian tensions.

Read this article:
Explosions Across Baghdad Kill Dozens

TV stations aligned with Sunni and Shiite extremist groups, many of whom attacked U.S. troops, have dubbed it the “Day of Defeating the Occupier.”

More here:
Iraq marks deadline for U.S. withdrawal

BAGHDAD — An al-Qaeda-affiliated group has claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings in Baghdad on Thursday that killed at least 65, saying that it “knows where and when to strike.” The group, Islamic State of Iraq, issued a communique on jihadist forums Monday, providing details about one of the attacks, a suicide car bombing that targeted an anti-corruption agency headquarters, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a jihadist monitoring service. The group referred to the bombings as the “Thursday invasion” and said that it was acting against what it called Iraq’s Shiite-controlled government. Read full article > >

Continued here:
Al-Qaeda-allied group claims responsibility for Baghdad bombings

Years of anger and disenfranchisement are driving some largely Sunni provinces to try to wrest more autonomy from Iraq’s Shiite leaders.

More here:
Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites Clash Over Regional Power

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s political process was unraveling faster than had been anticipated Saturday, with Sunni politicians walking out of the nation’s parliament and threatening to resign from the government even before the last U.S. troops have left the country. The crisis was triggered by reports that security forces loyal to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, are planning to arrest the country’s Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, and charge him with terrorism. Read full article > >

Originally posted here:
Iraq political crisis erupts as last U.S. troops leave

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military on Friday handed over its last and most controversial prisoner to the Iraqi government ahead of the departure of the remaining few thousand U.S. troops, officials said. The prisoner, Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior member of the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement, is suspected in the killings of five U.S. soldiers in 2007. He was transferred to Iraqi custody after the Obama administration “sought and received assurances that he will be tried for his crimes,” according to Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council in Washington. Read full article > >

Excerpt from:
U.S. hands over Hezbollah prisoner to Iraq

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military on Friday handed over its last and most controversial prisoner to the Iraqi government ahead of the departure of the remaining few thousand U.S. troops, officials said. The prisoner, Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior member of the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement, is suspected in the killings of five U.S. soldiers in 2007. He was transferred to Iraqi custody after the Obama administration “sought and received assurances that he will be tried for his crimes,” according to Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council in Washington. Read full article > >

See the original post:
U.S. hands over Hezbollah prisoner to Iraq