Abe: Japan in 'Race Against Time' to Free Hostages Held by IS

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his country is in a "race against time" to free two hostages being held by the Islamic State group for a $200 million ransom.

Peshmerga fighters to deploy to Kobane with heavy weapons: Kurdish officials

An agreement regarding the route for the deployment of Peshmerga fighters to the besieged Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane has been reached and troops are on the verge of departing, officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) told Anadolu Agency on Oct. 28.

The spokesman of the KRG’s Peshmerga Ministry said discussions had dragged on because of negotiations regarding the heavy weaponry that the troops from Arbil will bring to assist Kurdish fighters in Kobane in their struggle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Kerry Says US Concerned About Reports on IS Chlorine Usage in Iraq

WASHINGTON, October 24 – The United States takes the reports about chlorine attacks against Iraqi police officers by the Islamic State (IS) extremists very seriously, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday.

"I'm not in a position to confirm it, but we take these allegations very, very seriously. In particularly, the most recent allegations about the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon," Kerry said at a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

Blackwater guards convicted in Iraq killings

Four former employees of the US security company Blackwater have been convicted of almost every charge related to the shootings of more than 30 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad seven years ago.
The jury in Washington found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder, and the three other ex-security guards - Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard - were convicted on Wednesday of committing multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007.

Turkish government gets OK for military operations in Syria, Iraq. The mandate to begin tomorrow will last for one year.

A comprehensive motion authorizing the government to deploy the Turkish army into Iraq and Syria and to allow the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish soil was approved Oct. 2 in Parliament, providing the necessary legality for Turkey’s potential contribution to the international coalition’s efforts to destroy jihadists.

The motion, based on Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, received 298 votes in favor and 98 against.

Turkey’s ISIL mandate includes 'military action abroad, opening bases to foreign troops'

The mandate the Turkish government is seeking from the Parliament to authorize the army to send troops into Iraq and Syria to deal with growing threat of extremist jihadists does also include opening its bases to foreign troops, a senior government official has said, signalling about potential Turkish contribution to the international military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The motion we are about to send the Parliament is going to be comprehensive and to deal today’s and tomorrow’s threats,” deputy Prime Minister and spokesperson of the government, Bülent Arınç told reporters Sept. 30 following weekly cabinet meeting.

US to strike ISIL 'sanctuaries' in Syria

US plans to carry out air strikes against Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria and will target the group's sanctuaries, command centres and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel has told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Committee on Tuesday.
But the US military's top-ranking officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing that the bombing would not resemble the large-scale raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Pope backs action to protect Iraq minorities if U.N. OKs

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamist militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community — and not just one country — should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.

UN declares Iraq emergency amid clashes

Declaration of emergency will bring in more funds and aid for those displaced by fighting in the country....

The United Nations has declared its highest level of emergency in Iraq as fresh clashes between government troops and Sunni rebels killed four children west of Baghdad.
Fighting erupted early on Thursday in the rebel-held city of Fallujah, about 65km west of Baghdad.
The clashes on the city's northern outskirts killed four children, along with a woman and at least 10 fighters, said Fallujah hospital director Ahmed Shami.

Iraq's new PM backed by US, Iran

Iraq's new prime minister-designate won swift endorsements from uneasy mutual allies the United States and Iran today as he called on political leaders to end crippling feuds that have let jihadists seize a third of the country.
Haider al-Abadi still faces opposition closer to home, where his Shi'ite party colleague Nuri al-Maliki has refused to step aside after eight years as premier that have alienated Iraq's once dominant Sunni minority and irked Washington and Tehran.

Obama warns Iraq operation could take time

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday U.S. airstrikes have destroyed arms and equipment that Islamic State insurgents could have used to attack Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, but warned the current operation in Iraq could take some time.

“I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to take some time,” Obama told reporters.
“This is going to be a long-term project,” he said during a brief news conference before leaving Washington for a two-week vacation in Massachusetts.

Kurdish President: Conditions Favorable for Independence. (The Kurds tried to help build “a new Iraq.”)

As Iraq’s attempts at building a new government failed on Tuesday, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said he would push for a referendum on independence for Kurdistan.

Barzani spoke with VOA's Persian service on Tuesday in Irbil, the largest city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The Iraqi army has struggled against offensives by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic militant group that has captured large sections of Iraq’s north and west.

ISIS positions in Iraq bombed by unknown planes (a new reality and a new Iraq)

The positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, ISIL) in the northern Iraqi city of al-Qaim were bombed by unknown fighter planes on Tuesday.

The White House denied U.S. planes carried out the airstrikes after an Iraqi television station reported that U.S. jets were behind the bombings.

Tribal sources told Al Arabiya News that Syrian fighter planes carried out the raids.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s air force has bombed Baiji - about 200km north of Baghdad, where ISIS fighters seized an oil refinery, according to Al Arabiya's correspondent.

Pétrole: Téhéran prêt à compenser la baisse de la production en Irak

Téhéran est prêt à compenser la baisse de la production pétrolière en Irak due à l'aggravation de la situation dans ce pays, rapporte samedi l'agence IRNA, citant le ministre iranien du pétrole Bijan Namdar-Zangheneh.

D'après le ministre, suite aux opérations armées lancées par le groupe djihadiste Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), les prix du pétrole ont augmenté de 5%. Selon des informations publiées la semaine dernière, les islamistes ont attaqué une grande raffinerie de pétrole dans la ville de Baïdji (nord de l'Irak). Ils ont pénétré sur le territoire de l'entreprise et détruit plusieurs réservoirs de pétrole. 

Le chaos en Irak pousse les Kurdes vers l'indépendance

Alors que la majeure partie du nord et du centre de l'Irak est en proie au chaos, la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien fait figue d'îlot de stabilité. Reportage à Erbil, la capitale, où l'on parle désormais d'indépendance.

Sous les remparts de la forteresse d'Erbil, la vie suit son cours. Difficile d'imaginer que les avant-postes djihadistes se trouvent à moins de soixante kilomètres. Ces dix dernières années, la région autonome du Kurdistan a été largement épargnée par la violence qui gangrène l'Irak.

Obama: Iraq has to solve its own problems

President says US troops will not be sent back to Iraq, but his administration is reviewing options to assist Baghdad....

President Barack Obama has said that the United States will not be sending its troops back to Iraq, but is reviewing other options to assist the Iraqi government threatened by an advancing armed group.
"We will not be sending US troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces," Obama said on Friday.

Italian Catholic community warns Christians at risk in Iraq. - 400,000 Christians live in the Niniveh province

An Italian Catholic community warned Wednesday of violence against Christians in Iraq, where a jihadist takeover in Mosul has seen as many as half a million people flee their homes.

"From the sketchy information coming out of Mosul it appears Christians are once more the victims of terrorism and bloodshed," the Sant'Egidio community, which promotes dialogue between religions, said in a statement.

Irak: Londres rejette la demande d'enquête à la CPI pour crimes de guerre/Hague rejects call for prosecutions over alleged Iraq war crimes

Le ministère britannique de la Défense a qualifié d'"inutile" dimanche la demande d'enquête faite auprès de la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) sur de possibles crimes de guerre commis par des soldats britanniques en Irak entre 2003 et 2008.

Un cabinet britannique d'avocats et une organisation de défense des droits de l'Homme basée à Berlin ont annoncé vendredi avoir déposé une plainte commune auprès de la CPI. Ils ont demandé "l'ouverture d'une enquête contre des militaires britanniques de haut rang ainsi que contre les responsables civils, tout particulièrement l'ancien ministre de la Défense Geoffrey Hoon et le secrétaire d'Etat Adam Ingram, pour tortures systématiques et maltraitances sur des prisonniers en Irak entre 2003 et 2008".

Iraq Warns Turkey Over Kurdistan Oil Ties.

Iraq is warning Turkey not to follow through on an oil deal with the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is expected to start exporting oil to Turkey as early as next month.

Baghdad officials have voiced strong opposition to any energy deals between Ankara and the KRG, insisting that only they have authority to make energy deals, a claim disputed by both Ankara and the KRG.

According to Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar Carnegie Institute in Brussels, energy cooperation between Ankara and the KRG is deepening, and shipments could start soon.

Türkisches Parlament verlängert Mandat für Militäroperationen im Nordirak/Turkish Parliament approves northern Iraq motion despite opposition from BDP.

Das türkische Parlament hat das Mandat für Militäroperationen im Nordirak und für die Entsendung von Soldaten in die Krisenregion nach TV-Angaben um ein Jahr verlängert.

Im Rahmen des Kampfes gegen den Terrorismus hatte die Regierung in Ankara das Parlament zuvor ersucht, das am 17. Oktober auslaufende Mandat zu prolongieren, wie der türkische Fernsehsender NTV am Donnerstag berichtete. Die türkische Armee führt regelmäßig Operationen im Nordirak gegen die kurdischen Extremisten durch, die sich in der Region verschanzt haben. Es geht hauptsächlich um Luftangriffe auf die Positionen der Kurden.