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BAGHDAD -- When Nuri Kamal al-Maliki began his bid for re-election as prime minister -- exactly a year ago on Saturday -- he pledged to unite a population splintered and suspicious after years of war. He has not, and while he is hardly alone in blame, the consequences could haunt Iraq for years to come. The purging of ballot lists before the election, the contentious and inconclusive challenges to the results, and the protracted delay in forming a new government since then have all deepened the ethnic, sectarian and societal cracks in a newly democratic state as fragile as an ancient Babylonian vase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAGHDAD -- Two American soldiers were killed and nine were wounded on Tuesday when a firefight erupted inside an Iraqi Army base north of Baghdad, American and Iraqi officials said. They were the first American casualties since President Obama declared an official end to the United States combat mission in Iraq a week ago. The attack took place during a meeting between an American company commander, with his retinue of security guards, and Iraqi soldiers at a small base described as a commando compound near the city of Tuz Khurmato in Salahuddin Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one, the stony faces broke into a free-for-all of kisses, hugs and tears on Monday as the 50 women who called themselves the Lioness group became the first female graduates of Iraq's police officer training academy. On a vast concrete parade ground, the women joined 1,050 male classmates in what American military officers, who provided advice on the training, called a step forward for the country and its women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that the Iraqi government carried out a military assault to curb the independence drive by Iraq's Kurdish minority.

The article discusses Iraq's offensive against the militant group Islamic State (ISIS) in West Mosul, Iraq. Topics include concerns regarding social conditions for civilians in Mosul, support of Iraq's mission from U.S. armed forces, and damage of the Mosul airport by ISIS in anticipation of the offensive.

The article discusses the efforts of the U.S. forces in clearing Falluja, Iraq after defeating the militant group Islamic State (ISIS), and mentions topics including the level of destruction in Falluja, Iraq, humanitarian crisis in Iraq, and the reported experiences of Iraqis under the ISIS rule.

The article examines U.S. government reports suggesting that the extremist organization the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has been severely weakened and lost territory in Iraq and Syria. It compares efforts to defeat ISIS to those that targeted Al Qaeda, noting that bombings continued even after the war was declared over by President Barack Obama in 2011. Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq during May 2016 are also covered.

The article focuses on battle gains in Iraq by American airstrikes against the Islamic State which do not result in political and economic stability in Anbar, Iraq. Topics include the peace and order situation in Falluja, a city in Sunni-dominated Anbar, American involvement with Iraq since 1991, and need for political reconciliation between the Sunni and Shiite Arabs and efforts to rebuild cities. The moves by Iran proxies against uniting the civilian population in Anbar are discussed.

The article looks at political and military conditions in Iraq, discussing ongoing problems despite the military successes of the anti-Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) campaign as aided by the intervention of the U.S. Topics include the political rift between Iraqi Sunnis and the country's Shiite-led government and military actions in and around the cities of Ramadi and Falluja.

The article discusses how thousands of Iraqi immigrants are leaving Europe and returning to their homeland in the wake of the Paris, France terrorist attacks and a wave of suspicion regarding refugees from Iraq and other nations. According to the article, many of the returning Iraqis had unrealistic hopes and visions about what their lives would be like in Europe. The Islamic State terrorist group, a lack of job opportunities for refugees, and social media are also assessed.

The article reports that the rising anxiety in Baghdad, Iraq has tempered gains against the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq's Provinces. Topics include the terrorist attack in Ramadi province tempered by a fear of the re-emergence of guerrilla tactics that paralyzed the city for so long, and residents forced to left their homes on the outskirts of Ramadi as Iraqi security forces worked to clear the area.

The article discusses the possibility that the Mosul Dam in Mosul, Iraq, would collapse due to insufficient maintenance despite its being reclaimed from the militant group Islamic State (ISIS) by Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

An obituary for Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi is presented.

The article discusses U.S. financing of American-trained foreign security forces in areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. According to U.S. officials, many of these forces are failing in their missions because of poor leadership and a lack of local political support. Topics discussed include American efforts to combat the terrorist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and U.S. relations with the Shiite and Sunni Muslim populations in Iraq.

The article discusses the relations between the U.S. and Iran in regard to their policies in the Middle East, including their mutual fight against the terrorist organization Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq. An overview of the 2015 nuclear agreement reached between the P5+1 countries and Iran is provided. An overview of Iran and the U.S.'s support for opposing different sides in Yemen's Civil War is also provided.

The article discusses the effectiveness of the political strategy used by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) Islamic extremist organization to advance its agenda and gain territory in Iraq and Syria. The authors highlight the mix of violence and persuasion used by ISIS to establish their reputation and ideology with citizens in seized areas, and the possible impact of U.S. aerial strikes against ISIS in leading Sunni Muslims to sympathize with ISIS is discussed.

The article reports on the remarks of Iraqi commanders and some U.S. officers claiming that American caution with its airstrikes against terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) is a major reason the ISIS has been able to seize vast territories in Iraq and Syria. The caution follows fears that the attacks will accidentally kill civilians. The caution, coupled with President Barack Obama's reluctance to commit significant American firepower, have led to persistent complaints from Iraqi officials.

The article discusses the implications of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) extremist organization's victories in Ramadi, Iraq and Palmyra, Syria in terms of the difficulties in defeating ISIS. Topics addressed include ISIS' strategy aimed at depleting Iraq's security forces, as well as ISIS' adherence to its core ideology and strategic philosophy.

The article discusses the begining of U.S. airstrikes against the ISlamic State (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist organization at positions in the city of Tikrit, Iraq as part of efforts to aid an offensive by a coalition of SHiite Muslim militias and Iraqi security forces. Topics addressed include U.S. concerns regarding the growing influence of Iran in Iraq, as well as Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi's role in requesting the attacks.

The article offers the insights of several archaeologists and historian in Iraq including Paul Collins of the Ancient Near East at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford University, on the destruction of sculptures, statues and reliefs in Mosul, Iraq by the Islamic State.

The article talks about violence erupting between Kurdish fighters, also known as peshmerga and Iraqi soldiers; it talks of both the sides blaming each other for the attacks and details the situation in Baghdad, Iraq following the attacks.

The article reports on the land border disputes at the Kurds, Iraq, along with the details on the plans of Iraq government, the foreign relations between Iraq and U.S., and the ban on international flights.

The article focuses on the deal between Iraq and private security firm Olive Group secured by the U.S. inorder to promote economic development in Iraq by establishing the first toll highway which was met by opposition from Iran, geopolitics and Iraqi militia leaders.

The article reports that Iraqi armed forces have seized most of Mosul's airport in Iraq from the terrorist organization Islamic State, and mentions it as a milestone in the broader offensive to retake the western half of the country's second-largest city from the terrorist group.

The article reports that residents in Rashidiya, an eastern part of Mosul, Iraq, still fear attacks from the militant group Islamic State despite of the declaration that the site was liberated.

The article reports on the deal between the Aza tribe in Baghdad, Iraq and the local police and military officials which supplies the tribal regiments with weapons to help the government security forces fight the Islamic State.

The article discusses the management structure of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist organization, highlighting the training of ISIS leaders. Topics addressed include ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, former Iraqi military officers in leadership positions within ISIS, and the radicalization of ISIS members beginning in 2003.

The article discusses a lack of support for Iraqi prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's attempts to remain in power despite Iraqi president Fuad Masum's nomination of politician Haider al-Abadi as Iraq's next prime minister. Topics addressed include a decline in support for Maliki from the Iranian government, Iraqi military and the Shiite Islamist Dawa Party political party, as well as Abadi's comments on Maliki.

The article discusses the role of United States intervention in Iraq in elevating the power and influence of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badry), the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist organization, within Iraq. Topics addressed include a lack of biographical information known about Baghdadi, his prior connections to Islamic extremist organization Al Qaeda, and his capture of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The article discusses shift of base camps of terrorist organization Islamic State fighters from Iraq's Mosul to Tal Afar, due to increasing struggle between Turkey and Iran for influence in northern Iraq and growing efforts of Iraqi armed forces to reoccupy Mosul from Islamic State.

The article reports that the grief of Iraqis over a car bombing at Karada neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq turned to anger at the country's political leaders, with topics mentioned including terrorist group Islamic State, Shiite lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, and bombing victims.

The article reports on the announcement by Iraq Prime Minister Haideral-Abadi on May 23, 2016 that Iraqi forces have begun an assault on the city of Falluja to free it from the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS).

The article reports on a protest conducted in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, which demands for a change in the country's political system by partitioning into three economic zones such as Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish zones.

The article reports on two allied airstrikes at a site where the chemical weapons of the militant group Islamic State (ISIS) are being stored and produced, in which the seized ISIS chemical weapons expert Sleiman Daoud al-Afari served as information provider.

The article reports that a Swedish girl named Marilyn Nevalainen was rescued by the Kurdish special forces from a territory controlled by the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) near Mosul, Iraq on February 23, 2016.

The article reports on a negotiation between the Iraqi government and a Shiite militias in Iraq for release of three Americans who were reportedly kidnapped from a Baghdad, Iraq, as of February 2016, and mentions that according to Iraqi officials the Americans were sent the U.S. following release.

The article reports on the 25th anniversary of the destruction of the Amiriya bomb shelter by U.S. military bombings during the Persian Gulf war in February 1991, as of February 2016, and mentions that the shelter now occupied by Iraqi Army used to be memorial.

The article reports that three Americans who have been missing in Iraq were kidnapped from a apartment in Baghdad, Iraq according to Iraqi security officials and militant group Islamic State had not came forward to took responsibility for abducting them.

The article reports that Iraq has sent battalions of reinforcement to secure neighborhoods in Ramadi, Iraq recaptured from the Islamic State and also mentions views of Steven H. Warren, a U.S military spokesman.

The article reports on the claims of Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi that the country's security forces have captured Tikrit which was under the extremists of the Islamic State.

The article reports on the firm grip of the extremist group Islamic State at Tikrit, Iraq, as opposed to the what the Iraqi officials acknowledged that they are all exterminated.

The article discusses the Ashura event on November 4, 2014 in Baghdad, Iraq which commemorated the death of Shiite leader Hussein in 680, wherein many Iraqi Shiites deemed the event as drawing historical parallels with the threat against their community from the Islamic State extremists.

The article reports on the collaboration of several Mideast rivals, including the U.S. and Iran, to confront the increasing threat of violence from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The article reports on the criticisms by Kurdish regional government for Iraq Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, with particular focus on their demand for the Prime Minister to step down from the government.

The article reports on American and American-trained Iraqi forces' exposure to leftover chemical weapons from the forces of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein between 2004 to 2011, noting that the U.S. Defense Department did not reveal the existence of the chemical weapons. Topics addressed include the chemical weapons' development during the 1980s, as well as secrecy regarding the treatment of U.S. personnel after their exposure to sarin shells and other chemical weapons while dismantling explosives.

BAGHDAD -- One has a designated prayer room. Another frisks patrons at the entrance, requiring them to check their pistols, like coats in a fancy restaurant. They are good places to escape the desert heat, and in a conservative Islamic culture, they are one of the few places where young couples openly flirt or women smoke cigarettes in public. American-style malls, fixtures in most of Iraq's wealthy Persian Gulf neighbors, have come late to war-torn Baghdad, but Iraqis are taking to them now like Valley Girls, as a consumer society fueled by the country's booming oil profits begins to flourish here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAGHDAD -- A string of deadly explosions and other attacks shook Iraq on Thursday, with bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk resulting in the most fatalities. Over all, nearly three dozen people were killed and more than 100 were wounded, according to security officials. By the standards of Iraq -- where attacks occur daily, although at a much diminished rate compared with the height of the war -- the wave of violence on Thursday was not extraordinary. But it was a reminder, after weeks of relative calm, that an organized insurgency remained active. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BAGHDAD -- Since the United States military withdrew from Iraq in the middle of last month, 434 Iraqis have been killed in attacks across the country, according to security officials, one of the highest tolls for that amount of time in the past few years. The latest attack occurred Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a car filled with explosives near a funeral procession in a Shiite neighborhood. The procession was for a man who had been fatally shot, along with his wife and son, a day earlier by insurgents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAGHDAD -- Beyond the final withdrawal of troops that President Obama announced Friday, America's fiscal troubles are dictating a drastic scaling back of plans for diplomatic, economic and cultural programs once deemed vital to steadying Iraq, building a long-term alliance and prying the country from Iran's tightening embrace. As recently as this summer, the State Department had planned to establish a 700-person consulate in the still-restive northern city of Mosul. And as recently as the spring, the United States was moving ahead with plans for a consulate in the ethnically divided and potentially explosive city of Kirkuk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BAGHDAD -- President Obama's announcement on Friday that all American troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year was an occasion for celebration for many, but some top American military officials were dismayed by the announcement, seeing it as the president's putting the best face on a breakdown in tortured negotiations with the Iraqis. And for the negotiators who labored all year to avoid that outcome, it represented the triumph of politics over the reality of Iraq's fragile security's requiring some troops to stay, a fact everyone had assumed would prevail. But officials also held out hope that after the withdrawal, the two countries could restart negotiations more productively, as two sovereign nations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]