Yahoo! News: Iraq

Maliki, pressed over bombings, offers up interior minister (McClatchy Newspapers)
Iraq closes in on big oil deals but short of power (Reuters)
US defence secretary vows support on post-bombing Iraq visit (AFP)
Iraq seeks to shift Iranian group to desert camp (AP)
Iraq to auction oilfields in bid to boost output (AFP)
U.S. affirms Iraq withdrawal plan, PM answers for attacks (Reuters)
Iraq's March vote won't affect troop plan, U.S. says (Reuters)
Defense Secretary Gates arrives in Iraq (AP)
Iraq to transfer Iran ex-rebels (AFP)
US commander says Iran still arming Iraq militias (AFP)
On Syria border: No sign of Saddam loyalists (AP)
Iraqi PM faces grilling over spate of bombings (AFP)
Embattled Iraq insurgency shifts tactics, eyes poll (Reuters)
US: American soldier dies in Iraq (AP)
(AP)
Qaeda-linked militants say behind Baghdad bombings (Reuters)
Afghanistan no worse than Iraq in 2007: US general (AFP)

Maliki, pressed over bombings, offers up interior minister (McClatchy Newspapers)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 03:11 PM PST

McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, challenged by parliament Thursday to explain the lapses that led to a recent series of devastating car bombings, distanced himself from his interior minister and blamed the security gaps on "political infighting."

Iraq closes in on big oil deals but short of power (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 01:42 PM PST

Reuters - Awash with oil, Iraq is poised to ink several mega oil deals that will vault it into the top ranks of world oil producers, but the war-shattered country is back to grappling massive power shortages after a brief respite.

US defence secretary vows support on post-bombing Iraq visit (AFP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 11:24 AM PST

AFP - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates assured Iraq of continued support during a surprise visit to Baghdad on Thursday, as the Pentagon insisted its troop pullout was on track despite a surge in violence.

Iraq seeks to shift Iranian group to desert camp (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 10:57 AM PST

AP - Iraq announced plans Thursday to move members of an Iranian opposition group to a former desert detention camp in a sharp escalation of pressure on a faction that poses complications for both Baghdad and Washington.

Iraq to auction oilfields in bid to boost output (AFP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 10:50 AM PST

AFP - Major foreign oil firms will converge on Baghdad on Friday for an auction of 10 oilfields as Iraq bids to ramp up output dramatically and become one of the world's biggest crude producers.

U.S. affirms Iraq withdrawal plan, PM answers for attacks (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 10:40 AM PST

Reuters - Delayed elections in Iraq and a bloody attack this week will not derail U.S. troop withdrawal plans, U.S. officials said as Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew into Baghdad to meet Iraqi leaders.

Iraq's March vote won't affect troop plan, U.S. says (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 08:52 AM PST

Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Iraqi leaders on Thursday as U.S. commanders said plans to reduce troop levels sharply by next summer were on track despite delayed elections and a major al Qaeda attack. President Barack Obama has pledged to end combat operations in Iraq by August 31, 2010, before a full pullout by the end of 2011. The U.S. force in Iraq is supposed to be reduced to 50,000 by end of August from around 115,000 now.

Defense Secretary Gates arrives in Iraq (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 08:43 AM PST

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Iraq Thursday to meet with Iraqi officials amid a wave of bombings that have claimed 127 lives and rattled the country's government. U.S. military leaders who greeted Gates defended the Iraqi security forces' response to the attacks.

Iraq to transfer Iran ex-rebels (AFP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 08:37 AM PST

AFP - Baghdad is to move disarmed Iranian rebels from a camp close to the border to southern Iraq before deporting them, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in remarks released on Thursday.

US commander says Iran still arming Iraq militias (AFP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 07:05 AM PST

AFP - The number two US commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Charles Jacoby, charged on Thursday that neighbouring Iran was still providing weapons and funds to militia groups undermining stability.

On Syria border: No sign of Saddam loyalists (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 06:13 AM PST

AP - Iraq's border with Syria runs for hundreds of miles through barren land patrolled by a relative scattering of security forces. But despite claims about exiled Saddam Hussein loyalists sneaking across to disrupt Iraq's upcoming elections, the only evidence around one key outpost is faded slogans of Saddam's banned Baath Party painted on the wall of a decaying grain elevator.

Iraqi PM faces grilling over spate of bombings (AFP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 04:13 AM PST

AFP - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, grilled by furious MPs Thursday over bombings that rocked Baghdad, intimated that a row over who should be intelligence chief was endangering the country's security.

Embattled Iraq insurgency shifts tactics, eyes poll (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 04:08 AM PST

Reuters - Local security forces helped tame much of the violence that has plagued Iraq since 2003, but the political maneuvering ahead of the March 7 parliamentary poll magnifies festering sectarian divisions and gives insurgents a chance to make an impact.

US: American soldier dies in Iraq (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 03:20 AM PST

AP - The U.S. military says an American soldier in Iraq has died of injuries unrelated to combat.

(AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 02:53 AM PST

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrives in Baghdad for meetings with troops, Iraqi leaders.

Qaeda-linked militants say behind Baghdad bombings (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 01:11 AM PST

Reuters - Iraqi insurgents linked with al Qaeda claimed responsibility for bombings that killed 112 people this week and said their campaign of violence would continue, according to an Islamist website.