Basra news stories on Newser

Insurgents Storm Iraqi Cop Compound

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:55:00 CST

Iraqi insurgents stormed a police station in Ramadi yesterday, triggering a firefight that killed at least seven people. The attack followed several car bombings throughout the city. The compound houses an anti-terrorism unit and a prison, reports the BBC. Attackers moved in after two suicide bombers who had infiltrated the...

Another Iraq Suicide Blast Kills 53 Shiites in Basra

John Johnson — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:27:49 CST

Iraq's Sunni-Shiite tensions worsened yet again today when a suicide bomber killed at least 53 Shiite pilgrims marking a holy day, reports Reuters . The bomber, dressed as a police officer, struck at a checkpoint in Basra. No claims of responsibility yet, but it bears the hallmarks of Sunni-dominated al-Qaeda, which...

Sadistic Brit Soldiers 'Made Iraqis Dance Like Jacko'

Rob Quinn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:54:31 CDT

British troops called Iraqi detainees "apes," beat them so that their moans of pain sounded like an "orchestrated choir," and forced them to dance like Michael Jackson, a public inquiry into the death of one of the detainees heard yesterday. The inquiry panel was told that Baha Mousa, a hotel...

Britain Ends Iraq Mission

Kevin Spak — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:43:28 CDT

Britain officially ended its combat operations in Iraq today, lowering the flags of its armored brigade and turning over control of its Basra base to US troops, the Guardian reports. “The role of British ground forces is finished,” a defense official confirmed. “Today, Iraq is a success story,” added Gordon...

Maliki's Allies Win Big in Provincial Vote

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:51:49 CST

Allies of Iraq's prime minister finished first in races for ruling councils in Baghdad and eight other provinces, official results from last weekend's election show. Nouri al-Maliki's party won 38% of the vote in Baghdad, the election commission said. His party was followed by allies of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr...

Brown Announces July Withdrawal in Baghdad

Jason Farago — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:47:59 CST

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Baghdad today and announced that all but a handful of British troops will leave Iraq by July 2009. About 4,000 British service members remain in Iraq, mostly around Basra, though at the height of the war 100,000 were...

Britain to Withdraw Troops From Iraq by June

John Johnson — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:53:00 CST

British troops will begin withdrawing their 4,000 troops from Iraq in March and will have all but a few hundred out by the end of June, the Guardian reports. They will be replaced at their base in Basra not by Iraqis but by Americans, who are worried about keeping...

Honor Killing Dad: 'Daughter Deserved Death'

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:11:42 CDT

The Iraqi father who suffocated and stabbed his 17-year-old daughter has only one regret over her honor killing: That he didn't murder her "the instant her mother delivered her." "Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman," Abdel-Qader Ali tells the Guardian...

Rice Visits Iraq, Looks to Bolster PM Maliki

Sam Gale Rosen — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:51:05 CDT

Condoleezza Rice paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to highlight recent political gains brought about by PM Nouri al-Maliki's government. While the Maliki-ordered assault on Basra last month exposed some weaknesses in the Iraqi army, it also brought different groups in Iraq together, she said. "This is, I think,...