BAGHDAD - Skyrocketing sectarian violence and escalating political conflict in Iraq have some Middle East analysts concerned that Iraq may be on the brink of civil war. The latest upsurge in violence is the worst since the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops.
 With sectarian bombings and shootings escalating, April was the deadliest month in Iraq in […]

WASHINGTON - Iraqi officials say bombings and other attacks have killed at least 50 people and wounded 160 others in mainly Shi’ite areas of the capital, Baghdad.
 The violence Tuesday comes on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, and a month before Iraq is set to hold its first elections in three […]

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s prominent radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for the fair implementation of national security laws that have drawn weeks of protests from minority Sunnis who see them as biased against their community.
 In an interview with VOA’s sister television network, Alhurra, al-Sadr said he agreed with Sunni protesters that the government of […]

BAGHDAD - Thousands of Iraqi Sunnis again took to the streets on Friday, demanding an end to what they see as second-class treatment.
 
 At mass demonstrations in Fallujah, Tikrit, Ramadi and Mosul, protesters called on the government of Shi’ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to release fellow Sunnis being held as prisoners.
 
 Sunni protesters also gathered in Baghdad, […]

​​CAIRO - A spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki announced the suspension Saturday of a $4.2 billion arms deal between Baghdad and Moscow.  A spokesman for Maliki, Ali Moussawi, told Iraqi state TV that the prime minister had decided to re-examine the arms deal with Russia, after discovering apparent graft and corruption.
 
Moussawi says […]

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s fugitive Sunni vice president has denounced a murder conviction and death sentence against him as politically motivated, and said he would not return home from Turkey within 30 days as demanded.
 
Tariq al-Hashemi called the trial illegitimate and accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of orchestrating it as part of a political vendetta.
 
The vice […]

WASHINGTON - From its sprawling, $750 million embassy in Baghdad - the largest, most expensive American diplomatic mission in the world - Washington had hoped for a cozy relationship with the Iraqi government, forged after a U.S.-led military coalition ousted former president Saddam Hussein.
But in the seven months since the United States withdrew its combat […]

BAGHDAD - Several violent attacks ripped through Iraq, killing at least 103 people and wounding nearly 200 Monday in the deadliest day of attacks this year.
The shootings and bombings follow a warning last week by the head of the al-Qaida group in Iraq that he was stepping up operations in areas vacated by U.S. troops […]

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials say multiple bombs have exploded in Shi’ite areas of the capital, Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 60 others.
The blasts Thursday first hit the northern neighborhood of Sadr City.  Officials say a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded near a group of laborers who had gathered to […]

BAGHDAD - In the wake of the U.S. military pullout from Iraq, a political crisis threatens to ignite a fresh sectarian conflict. Regional tension between Shi’ite powerhouse Iran and Sunni archrival Saudi Arabia also threatens to worsen the sectarian divide in the Middle East.
In a region hit by multiple crises and growing instability, the latest […]

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi political bloc led by anti-American Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has issued a call to dissolve Iraq’s parliament and hold early elections, in a move that could escalate the country’s growing sectarian crisis.
The Sadrists said Monday that new elections are the only way to resolve Iraq’s deepening political problems because the current […]

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials say more than a dozen explosions have hit the capital, Baghdad, killing at least 63 people and wounding more than 180 others in the worst violence to hit the country in months.
The apparent coordinated blasts Thursday struck across the city, mainly in Shi’ite areas, days after the final withdrawal of U.S. […]

WASHINGTON - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers left Iraq and entered Kuwait Sunday.
The last of the vehicles filled with several hundred troops crossed the border at 7:38 a.m. - 0438 UTC - leaving behind just a couple hundred soldiers at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
The withdrawal of U.S. forces ends nearly nine years of […]

BAGHDAD - The base that once served as headquarters for the U.S. military in Iraq is now under Iraqi control.
A United States military spokesman said U.S. officials handed over Camp Victory to Iraq Friday, after officials from both countries signed the necessary paperwork.  There was no formal handover ceremony.
About 13,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has told Iraqi leaders in Baghdad that the two countries are embarking on a “new path” as the United States prepares to complete a troop pullout by the end of December.
Biden was speaking Wednesday in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The vice president said the […]

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration’s decision to pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of this year could tempt Iran to try extending its influence there, analysts say, triggering increased tensions with Saudi Arabia as well as the United States.
President Obama announced the troop withdrawal plan last month after his negotiators were […]

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is defending the announced total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, amid strong criticism from the president’s domestic political opponents. 
More than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the last American forces will soon be departing.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the […]

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his country’s refusal to grant immunity from prosecution to U.S. troops led to President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw the remainder of American forces by the end of the year.   Some in Iraq say they worry about continued fragile security, while many others say that nearly nine […]

WASHINGTON - Friday’s White House announcement of a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq raises many questions about the future of the country and the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf.
For months, the United States military awaited Iraq’s decision with some anxiety, as expressed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on a trip to […]

BAGHDAD - Senior Iraqi officials say they are considering several options for allowing U.S. troops to remain in the country beyond the end of the year.
In comments published Monday, the officials said they expect a limited number of troops will stay past the current deadline, as discussions with U.S. officials continue.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told […]

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has urged his followers to halt attacks on U.S. troops to ensure they leave Iraq by an end-of-year deadline.
In a statement issued late Saturday, al-Sadr warned that if U.S. forces remain in Iraq beyond the deadline, his movement will resume military operations against them with greater intensity.
The […]

BAGHDAD - The radical Iraqi Shi’ite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, is calling on U.S. troops to leave Iraq or face resistance. His warning comes as Iraqi leaders prepare to discuss a possible extension of the U.S. military presence in the country.
The anti-American cleric issued the warning to U.S. forces in a statement published on his website […]

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reached an agreement with parliament that calls for reducing the size of his national unity government.
The plan, which was announced Saturday, cuts the size of the Cabinet by at least 12 ministers.
Earlier, Maliki had outlined a proposal that called for reducing the size of the Cabinet from […]

BAGHDAD - Thousands of Iraqis are again demonstrating against the government, calling for better public services and measures to clean up government corruption.
This is the second Friday Iraqis have protested, joining a wave of anti-government protests across the Middle East and North Africa.
A government ban on vehicles in Baghdad and other cities, announced late Thursday, […]