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At least 47 Sunni Arab insurgents were killed Saturday during long gun battles with Iraqi security forces in and around Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, a police spokesman in […]

Gunmen riding in two minibuses drove into a parking lot in a Shiite neighborhood in northern Baghdad on Tuesday, shot dead five militiamen working as guards, and then left behind […]

American F-14 warplanes killed nine members of an Iraqi family, including women and young children, during a bombing and cannon strike on Monday night that obliterated a home near the […]

The authors report that repercussions of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks about Islam continue to threaten the already shrinking Christian population in Iraq. They have long been a tiny minority, but since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, their status is increasingly uncertain and they have been subjected to church bombings and assassinations. Estimates of their resulting exodus ranges in the tens of thousands to over 100,000.

The authors report that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki asked that U.S. checkpoints be removed from the streets of Baghdad, Iraq in what appeared to be his latest maneuver in a struggle for increased independence from the U.S. U.S. troops abandoned the checkpoints that had been set up to search for a missing U.S. soldier. Tensions between al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush are said to have been building for months.

The article discusses citizen watch groups in Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad, Iraq which have recently begun to stand guard in order to protect residents from potential Shiite raids. There is increasing evidence which suggests that Shiite police commandos are secretly raiding neighborhoods and killing residents. The increase in violent deaths in Iraq as compared to last year is analyzed.

The article focuses on sectarian violence in Iraq, reporting that the bodies of more than 85 executed men have surfaced across Baghdad in the past two days, in Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods. Many bore marks of torture, though it is unclear who is responsible. The wave of killings comes at a time as the U.S. looks to Iraq forces to stem the violence. Less than a month after an assault on a Shiite shrine nearly plunged the country into civil war, the violence continues. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hinted at a temporary increase in troop levels.

The article reports on the flight of Shiite families from sectarian violence to Baghdad, Iraq.

The article reports on the decision of Shiites to reclaim the Mosque No. 5-833 of Sector 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, and call it the Imam Ali Mosque, after the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad whose murder catalyzed the epochal Sunni-Shiite split.

Reports on the suicide attack that killed seven police recruits in Baquba, Iraq.

The authors report that gunmen dressed as Iraqi police commandos in vehicles with Iraqi Interior Ministry markings kidnapped 55 people from the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad, Iraq. Orders for the arrest of police commanders from the Karada area near the Ministry were given. The actions intensify pressures on Iraqi prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The government's swift response broke with a pattern of inaction in earlier mass kidnapping apparently linked to Shiite death squads.

This article discusses the general lack of trust that much of the Shiite population in Iraq has in the government's ability to protect them. Many Shiites believe the Mahdi army of cleric Moktada al-Sadr should not be disarmed until the Iraqi government can provide security against the Sunni militias. The author mentions that a rogue fringe of the Mahdi Army may be responsible for much of the crime in the country.

The article focuses on recent events involving the ongoing war in Iraq, with particular focus on clashes between the Iraqi Army and the militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. Details related to recent military action are reviewed. It is suggested that recent conflict may force Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to take political or military action to reign in al-Sadr's militia. According to the author, U.S. generals are now saying that various militia are the single biggest threat to stability in Iraq.

The article reports that an analysis of voting results from the December 2005 parliamentary election suggests that Sunni Arabs have little representation in the Iraqi security forces. Sunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population. Sunni Arabs have participated in the political development of Iraq. The government is largely dominated by Shiites and Kurds. Sunni Arabs fear the security forces will be used against them. It is important to build an Iraqi Army that is representative of Iraq's ethnicity.

The article reports on the concern raised on the resignation of judge Rizgar Muhammad Amin who presides over the trial of Saddam Hussein by the tribunal in Baghdad, Iraq.

The article reports on the deployment of an international monitoring group by the Jordan-based International Mission for Iraqi Elections to investigate allegations concerning the December 15, 2005 election in Iraq. An investigator from Canada and one from Europe will be dispatched.

Reports that several gunmen have attacked worshipers at two Sunni mosques in southern Iraq.