Salem-News.com Iraq Isis articles

Iraqi Forces, ISIS Battle for Control of Baiji Oil Refinery

If the Baiji refinery falls, ISIL and its allies will have access to a large supply of fuel to add to the weaponry.

(TIKRIT, Iraq) - Iraqi government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country's biggest refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waited for a U.S. response to an appeal for air strikes.

Arab Foreign Ministers to Meet to Discuss Iraq, ISIL

Oil prices have risen to the highest level this year over fears of the violence disrupting exports from OPEC member Iraq.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country on Sunday, when Sunni militants launched a dawn raid on a town close to the Syrian border, clashing with police and government forces.

As the rapid advance south by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) towards Baghdad appeared to slow over the weekend, fierce fighting erupted in the town of Tal Afar 40 miles west of Mosul near the Syrian border.

Iraq on The Brink of Bloody Civil War; No Word Yet on U.S. Airstrikes

Any push by the ISIS south towards Baghdad, however, is likely to face significant resistance as it has a much larger Shia population.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Leading Shi’ite cleric Grand ­Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on Iraqis to take up arms against Sunni extremists as thousands volunteered to bolster the capital’s defenses.

The deteriorating situation in the key global oil supplier reverberated through financial markets yesterday, sending oil prices sharply higher, pushing US stocks lower and igniting the latest rally in safe-haven bonds.

Iraq Now Open to U.S Airstrikes Against ISIS Jihadists

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which wants to establish an Islamic caliphate, or state, in the region.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - As radical Islamist militants surged through Iraq -- and threatened its capital -- U.S. President Barack Obama conceded the turbulent situation demanded significant assistance immediately and over the long-term for the Baghdad-based central government.

"It's going to need more help from us, and it's going to need more help from the international community," Obama said Thursday.