Shiite news stories on Newser

Islamist Website: Kill This Rapper, and We'll Pay $100K

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:47:58 CDT

Most rappers hope their songs will be a hit—not make them the target of one. That's the situation facing Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper living in Germany who's accused of having "grossly insulted" an important Shi'ite Muslim religious figure in one of his songs. He now has a $100,...

Iraq's 'King of Clubs' Appears Online

Mark Russell — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:58:25 CDT

He was the king of clubs. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking member of Saddam Hussein's government still at large, appears to have turned up in an online video posted yesterday, railing against Iraq's government, reports the AP . In the hour-long video, which appears on a website linked to the Baath...

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...

Wave of Bombings Targets Iraq's Shiites, Killing 72

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:00:19 CST

A wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Iraq killed 72 people today, deepening sectarian tensions that exploded just after the last American troops left the country in mid-December. The bombings began early in the morning when explosions struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people. A few...

Despite Maliki Crackdown, US Still Selling Arms to Iraq

Kevin Spak — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:19:43 CST

The US is charging ahead with an $11 billion arms deal with Iraq, and has even delivered some of the promised fighter jets, tanks, and weapons—even though Nouri al-Maliki has blatantly failed to follow through on an agreement intended to ensure he would not marginalize his Sunni rivals. Indeed,...

VP: Maliki Pushing Iraq Toward Sectarian War

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:48:43 CST

Sunni VP Tariq al-Hashemi today openly accused Nouri al-Maliki of trying to eliminate his political rivals and run Iraq like a "one-man-show," a move that Hashemi says is pushing the country toward sectarian war. The comments came during an interview with the AP, which notes that the escalating tension between...

Iraqi VP: I'm No Terrorist

Kevin Spak — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:40:05 CST

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi vigorously denied the terrorism charges leveled against him yesterday , saying that Shiite-led security personnel had forced false confessions out of his personal guards. "I swear by God I didn’t do this disobedience against Iraqi blood, and I would never do this," he said in a...

Political Crisis Flares in Iraq

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:09:00 CST

Iraq's political structure already seems to be unraveling. Before the last US troops have left , Sunni politicians are walking out of parliament and threatening to quit altogether, the Washington Post reports. Ministers in the Sunni Iraqiya bloc are demanding more political power and greater control of Iraq's Shiite-dominated militia—especially...

Karzai: Pakistan Behind Kabul Attack

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:41:45 CST

Hamid Karzai vowed today to confront the government in Islamabad over a devastating suicide bombing against a Shiite shrine in Kabul that he said originated on Pakistani soil. At least 56 people were killed in yesterday's bombing at the shrine, and four more when a second bomb hit a Shiite...