Iraq

World News

Iraqi Sheikh's Murder Sparks Outrage From Sunnis

7:08pm February 17, 2015

Kelly McEvers talks to Loveday Morris, who has been covering the murder of Iraqi Sheikh al-Janabi for the Washington Post. His death has increased tensions with the Shiites in Iraq.

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Egyptians protest on Friday what they characterize as Government inaction in reaction to the kidnapping of Copts in Libya, Cairo, on Friday.

ISIS Video Purports To Show Mass Beheading Of Coptic Christians

11:08pm February 15, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The footage is supposed to show militants from the self-declared Islamic State executing 21 Coptic Christians captured by the extremist group last week.

Before ISIS attacked it, the northern Iraqi town of Snuny had a population of nearly 150,000 — a mix of Kurdish Muslims and Yazidis, who belong to a religious ethnic minority in this region. Only about 10,000 have returned after Kurdish fighters reclaim

World News

ISIS May Be Gone, But Life Has Yet To Return To Normal In Northern Iraq

12:49pm February 15, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

The remote town of Snuny was recently liberated from ISIS. But aside from Kurdish and Yazidi militia men, very few people have ventured back. There are no services, and the ISIS threat is still real.

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The temple of Sharfadin in Northern Iraq is 800 years old, and followers of the Yazidi religion consider it one of the most sacred sites in the world. Though ISIS tried to destroy it, a small group of Yazidi fighters kept the shrine standing.

World News

Outmanned And Outgunned, Fighters Defend Yazidi Shrine Against ISIS

9:08pm February 13, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

Led by a celebrated Yazidi fighter, a small band of Kurdish peshmerga survived a months-long ISIS onslaught. Unlike others in Syria and Iraq, this sacred place still stands, nearly unscathed.

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Iraqi Sunni fighters from the Jubur tribe hold a flag in front of a house damaged during clashes with the Islamic State in the village of Sharween, northeast of Baghdad, on Jan. 27. The U.S. is trying to get more Sunni tribes to drop their support for ISI

World News

The Other Battle In Iraq: Winning Over Sunni Muslims

2:34pm February 11, 2015

by Alice Fordham

Nearly a decade ago, the U.S. persuaded Sunni tribes to drop al-Qaida and fight alongside the Americans. The U.S. and the Iraq are now engaged in a similar effort to peel away support from ISIS.

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President George W. Bush addressed a joint session of Congress shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, vowing to tap "every resource" to fight terrorism. Two days before the speech, he had signed an Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress.

In White House Memory, A-U-M-F Translates To B-U-S-H

9:26am February 11, 2015

by Ron Elving

Surely it is not a welcome thought for the current White House that it is going to Congress for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force " ... just like President Bush."

National

NBC's Brian Williams To Temporarily Step Away From Anchor Desk

4:44pm February 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The anchor, who apologized for misremembering that a helicopter he was traveling during the 2003 invasion of Iraq had been fired on, said he would return to hosting the Nightly News "in a few days."

UAE To Resume Anti-ISIS Airstrikes 'In Solidarity With Jordan'

3:32pm February 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The United Arab Emirates had suspended sorties against the self-declared Islamic State over concerns that its pilots wouldn't be rescued if shot down.

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admits that his story of being on a helicopter hit by enemy fire in Iraq in 2003 was untrue and has apologized to troops and viewers.

National

Brian Williams' Self-Inflicted War Wounds

6:09pm February 06, 2015

by David Folkenflik

The NBC News anchor admits his story of being on a helicopter hit by enemy fire in Iraq was untrue. The question is why the veteran newsman's tale took on new — and false — elements in recent years.

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Smoke rises behind an Islamic State flag after a Nov. 24, 2014, battle with Iraqi security forces in Diyala province.

World News

All-Female Jihadi Group Delivers Guide To Life Under Islamic State

4:37pm February 05, 2015

by Jackie Northam

A manifesto posted online by the al-Khanssaa Brigade paints an idyllic picture of life for women and says "there is no greater responsibility for a woman than being a wife to her husband."