Middle East
British hostage 'killed himself'
One of the five British hostages seized in Baghdad in 2007 has committed suicide, according to videotaped statement
Categories: Middle East
Report: UK hostage in Iraq is dead (AP)
AP - A Shiite militia that has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq more than a year ago said one of the hostages committed suicide, a British newspaper reported.
Categories: Middle East
Obama arrives in Afghanistan
Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, opening his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee by meeting with U.S. commanders there before heading to Iraq to receive an on-the-ground assessment of military operations in the two major U.S. war zones.
Categories: Middle East
Bush agrees to principle of timeline to cut Iraq troops
The United States and Iraq have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for the "further reduction of U.S. combat forces in Iraq" following the improvement in security conditions in the country, the White House said Friday.
Categories: Middle East
Using bombs to stave off war
Should a conventional assault by Israel fail to stall the Iranian nuclear program, a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level will most likely follow.
Categories: Middle East
Home from the war, many veterans battle substance abuse
A growing body of evidence suggests that the abuse of alcohol is rising among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, many of them trying to deaden the repercussions of war and disorientation of home.
Categories: Middle East
Palestinian groups clash in Lebanon
Two killed as argument between factions turns violent in Ain el-Helweh refugee camp.
Categories: Middle East
Iraqi militants claim British hostage kidnapped in Baghdad has committed suicide
Claim comes in a video message passed from a group purporting to have seized five Britons in 2007
Categories: Middle East
Kidnappers of Britons in Iraq release video: reports (AFP)
AFP - The group that kidnapped five Britons in Iraq in May 2007 has released a video to the Sunday Times newspaper and claims that one of the victims has committed suicide, the weekly reported.
Categories: Middle East
Iraqi Sunni bloc rejoins government (AP)
AP - Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc returned to the government fold Saturday after calling off a nearly one-year boycott of the Shiite-dominated leadership another critical stride toward healing sectarian rifts.
Categories: Middle East
Al-Qaida may be easing effort in Iraq, Petraeus says (AP)
AP - After intense U.S. assaults, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Saturday.
Categories: Middle East
Iraqi refugees duped by smugglers promising Europe (AP)
AP - In the depths of despair, Suzan doused herself and her 14-year-old daughter with gasoline and prepared to set them both on fire.
Categories: Middle East
Brown wants to cut troops in Iraq but no timetable (AFP)
AFP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on a visit to Iraq on Saturday, said he wanted to cut the number of Britain's troop in the violence-wracked country but ruled out a timetable for their withdrawal.
Categories: Middle East
Electrical risks at U.S. bases in Iraq worse than reported
Shoddy work by private contractors is causing more deaths and injuries on U.S. military bases in Iraq than previously acknowledged, according to U.S Army documents.
Categories: Middle East
Sunnis rejoin Iraqi cabinet
Hopes for reconciliation as Accordance Front members are appointed to government.
Categories: Middle East
Israel didn't know of cluster bomb use (AP)
AP - A former Israeli defense official says the Israeli military used cluster bombs for two weeks during the 2006 Lebanon war without telling the Israeli government.
Categories: Middle East
Brown makes unannounced Iraq trip
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Saturday and held talks with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
Categories: Middle East
Gordon Brown hints at troop withdrawal during trip to Iraq
Prime minister praises progress made in Basra but refuses to set fixed timetable for bringing troops home
Categories: Middle East
Obama arrives in Afghanistan
Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, opening his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee by meeting with U.S. commanders there before heading to Iraq to receive an on-the-ground assessment of military operations in the two major U.S. war zones.
Categories: Middle East
British leader Brown in Baghdad; troops on agenda (AP)
AP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is holding meetings with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad.
Categories: Middle East
