Middle East News

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) meets visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad, August 21, 2008. (Handout/Iraqi Government/Reuters)

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,145

AP - 2 hours, 59 minutes ago

As of Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008, at least 4,145 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

  • A U.S. Army soldier from Hammer Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment stands guard near two suspected terrorists in Nahr al-Imam, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Twenty men were detained in the pre-dawn sweep. Nearly 50,000 Iraqi police and soldiers were involved in a U.S.-backed operation against al-Qaida in Iraq in one of its last major strongholds near the capital, a senior provincial official said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
    US, Iraq reach deal to pull US troops out by June AP - Thu Aug 21, 5:00 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - Iraq and the U.S. have reached preliminary agreement to withdraw American forces from Iraqi cities by next June, six years into the increasingly unpopular war, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Thursday after meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

  • Reuters journalist Ali al-Mashhadani (R), a television cameraman, embraces a colleague shortly after his release from Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad January 15, 2006. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani
    US military frees Iraqi journalist after 26 days AP - Thu Aug 21, 2:48 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - The U.S. military released an Iraqi television cameraman for the Reuters news agency and other news organizations without charges Thursday after 23 days in detention.

  • Ruwaida al-Habis, right, sits next to her two injured brothers Muhammad, center, and Al-Hassan at a Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. When Ruwaida al-Habis' father and two brothers were burned in a house fire, she had no choice but to break Saudi Arabia's ban on women drivers – getting behind the family car's wheel to get them to a clinic fast. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
    Saudi ban on woman drivers may be eroding AP - Thu Aug 21, 2:18 PM ET

    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - When Ruwaida al-Habis' father and two brothers were badly burned in a fire, she had no choice but to break Saudi Arabia's ban on women drivers to get them to a clinic.

  • Gaza travellers hit by passport shortage AP - Thu Aug 21, 8:09 AM ET

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza's 1.4 million Palestinians, already largely confined to their narrow strip of land by Israeli and Egyptian border closures, face a new travel restriction: The Hamas administration has run out of passports.

  • Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, speaks as Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni listens during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008. Israel has approved the release of about 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian government. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet overwhelmingly passed the proposal at a meeting Sunday. (AP Photo/ Jim Hollander, Pool)
    Top Israeli candidate wants unity government AP - Thu Aug 21, 7:09 AM ET

    JERUSALEM - The politician with perhaps the best chance to replace Israel's embattled prime minister on Thursday called for a unity government to pursue the creation of a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.

  • Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, listens as Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, speaks to the media at a joint press conference in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye, Pool)
    Iraq, China to ink Ahdab oil deal next week AP - Thu Aug 21, 7:00 AM ET

    BAGHDAD - Iraq and China will sign a deal next week to develop the Ahdab oil field, restoring an agreement that was canceled after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, an Iraqi spokesman said Thursday.

  • Mourners carry photos of the deceased at the funeral procession of U.S.-allied Sunni leader Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the local awakening council, in the Azamiyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008. Ten people were killed and at least 20 wounded Sunday night when a male suicide bomber disguised in a black Islamic robe traditionally worn by women detonated his explosives. Such attacks have become rare in the center of Azamiyah since the U.S. military built a concrete wall around the heart of the north Baghdad neighborhood. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
    Al-Qaida in Iraq says it killed US-allied Sunni AP - Thu Aug 21, 3:24 AM ET

    BAGHDAD - An al-Qaida in Iraq front organization is claiming responsibility for a suicide attack that killed a U.S.-allied Sunni leader in northern Baghdad on Sunday.

  • Miriam Ulloa, sister of U.S. Army 1st Class Sgt. Jose Enrique Ulloa, who was killed in Baghdad, reacts as she holds a U.S. flag during her brother's funeral service in Jima Arriba, north of Santo Domingo, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
    Iraq's Sunni politicians angry over arrests AP - Wed Aug 20, 6:12 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - Top Sunni politicians on Wednesday accused Iraq's Shiite-dominated security forces of carrying out political arrests, and warned that this could push Iraq into another round of sectarian fighting.

  • Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir addresses the media in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Al-Bashir denied that his regime is orchestrating genocide in the troubled western region of Darfur, during his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court in The Hague indicted him last month on genocide and war crimes charges. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)
    Sudan's president: Darfur genocide 'nonexistent' AP - Wed Aug 20, 3:30 PM ET

    ISTANBUL, Turkey - Sudan's indicted president denied Wednesday that his regime is orchestrating genocide in the troubled western region of Darfur — and offered hope for an end to the violence and the dawn of reconciliation by promising free and fair elections next year.

  • U.S. soldiers stand guard as a displaced Iraqi family return to their home in the Jihad area of west Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. Last week the Iraqi army launched a series of raids on the Jihad area, in which they arrested the head of a U.S.-funded Sunni group, aiming to clear the area of suspected insurgents for about 240 displaced families to return. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
    Officials say US, Iraq finish draft security deal AP - Wed Aug 20, 2:54 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - Iraqi and U.S. negotiators have finished work on a draft security agreement that would see all American troops leave Iraqi cities by June 30 and the rest of the country by the end of 2011, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

  • Turkey confirms suicide bombing wounds 13 AP - Wed Aug 20, 6:39 AM ET

    ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's interior minister on Wednesday confirmed that 13 policemen were wounded in a suicide bombing this week.

  • Iraqi troops detain son of prominent Sunni leader AP - Wed Aug 20, 3:57 AM ET

    BAGHDAD - The U.S. military says Iraqi troops have detained the son of a prominent Sunni leader during a raid in Baghdad.

  • Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank village of Kalil near Nablus, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Palestinian sources said two Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants were arrested during the operation. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)
    Israel shuts Gaza crossings after rocket attack AP - Wed Aug 20, 3:40 AM ET

    JERUSALEM - Israel has closed its cargo crossings with the Gaza Strip following a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel that violated a truce.

  • Flames and smoke rise from the Egyptian parliament building in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. A large fire erupted Tuesday in Egypt's parliament, and five people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
    Fire breaks out in Egypt's parliament AP - Tue Aug 19, 4:55 PM ET

    CAIRO, Egypt - Fire ravaged a 19th century palace used by the upper house of Egypt's parliament Tuesday, with flames bursting through windows as helicopters scooped water from the Nile River to douse the blaze.

  • Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is seen during a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey on the sidelines of a summit of African leaders in his first visit abroad since an international court indicted him on genocide charges last month. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal, pool)
    Turkey's Gul urges Sudan leader to end suffering AP - Tue Aug 19, 1:51 PM ET

    ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkey's president urged Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir during talks Tuesday to act responsibly and to end the suffering in the devasted Darfur region.

  • Saddam's luxury train to return to service AP - Tue Aug 19, 12:11 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - Iraqi railway officials say Saddam Hussein's personal luxury train will return to service next month.

  • IAEA deputy director Olli Heinonen (top C) speaks with Iranian officials Mohammad Saeedi, deputy of head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (bottom R) and Javad Vaeedi, Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator (bottom L), in Tehran, August 20, 2007. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters)
    Report: Iran to build more nuclear power plants AP - Tue Aug 19, 8:47 AM ET

    TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants.

  • Report: Israeli unmanned vehicle to evacuate hurt AP - Mon Aug 18, 4:09 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - An army magazine says Israel is working on an unmanned vehicle that would evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield.

  • U.S.-backed Awakening Council fighters provide security in a street in Tarmiyah, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. During a meeting of the Tarmiyah Awakening Council, one of several names given to Sunni tribesmen and insurgents who revolted against al-Qaida in Iraq last year, members pledged their commitment to fighting 'terrorism' and to close their ranks against al-Qaida militants. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
    Iraq moves against some US-backed Sunni fighters AP - Mon Aug 18, 12:58 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - The Shiite-led government is cracking down on U.S.-backed Sunni Arab fighters in one of Iraq's most turbulent regions, arresting some leaders, disarming dozens of men and banning them from manning checkpoints except alongside official security forces.

  • An image grab from the Arabic-language Iranian TV station Al-Alam shows the launching into space of Iran's Safir Omid rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, an undisclosed location in the Islamic republic. Iran said it had launched a rocket carrying a test-satellite into space on Sunday, in a move that could further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive.(AFP/AL-ALAM TV)
    Iran tests rocket for future launch of satellite AP - Sun Aug 17, 9:57 PM ET

    TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday.

  • Tourists admire Iranian products displayed at the Al Sabka Iranian market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Healthy competition that has helped transform Dubai and Abu Dhabi into two of the Middle East's most vibrant and bustling cities has soured as the tiny emirates grow increasingly divided over their relations with two other rivals: Iran and the United States. Dubai's soaring commercial growth, liberal Western outlook and massive trade with Iran are becoming a liability for the U.S.-friendly capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, which is under pressure from Washington to isolate the Islamic republic. (AP Photo/Aziz Shah)
    UAE cities at odds over lifestyle, ties to Iran AP - Sun Aug 17, 4:33 PM ET

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - At first, the differences between the United Arab Emirates two leading cities were merely cultural. Abu Dhabi built world-class museums as fast as Dubai put up extravagant shopping malls — one with a ski slope inside.

  • Maj. John Blankenhorn of the U.S. Army, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, indicates the route of a recent Shiite procession in Tal Afar, Iraq Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008. A string of bombings in this small but strategic city in northwest Iraq is stoking fears of a return to sectarian conflict and raising doubts about a strategy of handing security in urban areas to Iraqi police. (AP Photo/Phillip Robertson)
    US drawdown raises security fears in Iraqi city AP - Sun Aug 17, 1:36 PM ET

    TAL AFAR, Iraq - A series of bombings in this small but strategic northwestern Iraqi city is stoking fears of a return to sectarian conflict here and raising questions about a strategy of handing urban security to Iraqi police.

  • Egyptian nurses tend to newborn septuplets at the el-Shatbi hospital in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. The newborns, four boys and three girls, were delivered by caesarian section at the end of the eighth month of 27-year-old Ghazala Khamis' pregnancy. (AP Photo/Tarek Fawzy)
    Egyptian septuplets' mom hopes to hold them soon AP - Sun Aug 17, 10:30 AM ET

    CAIRO, Egypt - A day after giving birth to septuplets, a 27-year-old Egyptian woman said Sunday she's only seen her babies on television and hopes to hold them and name them soon.

  • A soldier of Afghan National Army stands near the damaged vehicle after an explosion in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. A bomb struck the convoy of Afghanistan's education minister on the outskirts of Kabul wounded one person after they were returning from distributing books to nomad children.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
    88 die in Afghan violence; police deploy in Kabul AP - Sun Aug 17, 10:20 AM ET

    KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan police commanders on Sunday ordered 7,000 officers onto the capital's streets, including the country's youngest cadets, to secure Kabul ahead of Independence Day celebrations.

  • Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish rebel target in Iraq AP - Sun Aug 17, 5:46 AM ET

    ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkish warplanes hit a suspected Kurdish rebel target in northern Iraq, Turkey's military said Sunday.