Iraq

World News

Hagel Says Rescue Mission At Iraq's Mt. Sinjar Is No Longer Needed

10:32pm August 13, 2014

Fewer Yazidis were on the mountain and they were in better condition than expected, Hagel says. The area has been under siege by militants. Robert Seigel discusses the decision with NPR's David Welna.

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U.S. Response In Iraq: From Emergency Solution To Slate Of Paths Forward

9:45pm August 12, 2014

by Robert Siegel

The U.S. has begun sending humanitarian aid and conducting limited airstrikes in the attempt to protect Iraq's refugee populations. Going forward, the U.S. is facing several possible approaches there.

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Politicians Battle For Control Of Iraq's Central Government

7:42am August 12, 2014

Iraq's president on Monday named a new prime minister to replace Nouri al Maliki, but Maliki refuses to leave. David Greene gets the latest from Tim Arango of The New York Times.

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Religious Refugees Flee ISIS; Head To Kurdistan Border

7:42am August 12, 2014

Steve Inskeep talks to Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani of the Kurdistan Regional Government, for the latest news on the conflict with the Islamic State Of Iraq.

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Kurdish Forces Reclaim 2 Iraqi Cities Taken By Sunni Extremists

8:04am August 11, 2014

For the latest news out of Iraq, Steve Inskeep talks to Washington Post reporter Loveday Morris and Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a correspondent for the news website Al-Monitor.

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As U.S. Strikes Targets In Iraq, A Sense Of Deja Vu

5:13pm August 09, 2014

On Thursday, President Obama became the fourth U.S. president in a row to initiate military strikes in Iraq. NPR's Arun Rath reflects on 23 years of on and off airstrikes in the country.

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Militias Around Baghdad Defend Against Islamic State Militants

5:13pm August 09, 2014

Fears that the militant Sunni group would advance on the capital have receded, but communities close to the city remain nervous and armed. NPR's Arun Rath talks to The Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who was recently embedded with Iraqi Shiite militias around Baghdad.

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Islamic Militants Surge Across Nothern Iraq

11:15am August 08, 2014

David Greene gets the latest on the advance of the Islamic State and the humanitarian crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan from Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a reporter for the website Al-Monitor in Erbil.

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Islamic State Bolsters Its Control Over Northwestern Iraq

7:09pm August 04, 2014

The militant group known as the Islamic State has reportedly captured Iraq's largest dam, just another instance in its successful offensive in northwestern Iraq. Melissa Block talks with reporter Jane Arraf about the group's gains.

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Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Mughdeed talks to the men he commands to protect the Mosul dam, a critical piece of infrastructure that supplies water and electricity. The dam is now close to the front line with the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq.

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Militants In Iraq Seek Control Of Precious Weapon: Dams, Waterways

9:19pm August 03, 2014

by Alice Fordham

There is fierce fighting at several dams in Iraq. The extremists of the Islamic State have already deliberately flooded some areas, displacing people, destroying crops and polluting the water supply.

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