Northern Iraq offensive

Former Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki on August 18 dismissed as "worthless" a parliamentary report blaming him and others for the jihadist takeover of second city Mosul last year.

Saudi Arabia arrests 431 people suspected of belonging to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) cells Saudi Arabia has arrested 431 people suspected of belonging to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) cells and thwarted attacks on mosques, security forces and a diplomatic mission, the interior ministry said on July 18. 

A year after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched a brutally effective offensive, Iraq is struggling to survive as a unified nation, gripped by seemingly endless violence, sectarianism and humanitarian tragedy.

Iraq has exhumed the remains of 470 people believed to have been executed by jihadists near Tikrit last year in what is known as the Speicher massacre, the health minister said May 28.

The Iraqi Turkmen Front has expressed concern over a U.S. House committee discussion on a bill which aims to arm Kurds and Sunni tribes in Iraq.

The U.S. House committee discussed on April 29 proposed legislation that would grant President Barack Obama's request for $715 million for security assistance to Iraqi forces fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Iraq will at long last be getting the first batch of F-16 fighter jets it ordered four years ago, its air force commander said April 23, a shipment that is expected to boost Iraq's capabilities in battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Two men were arrested in Melbourne on April 18 for allegedly planning an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-inspired attack at Anzac Day commemorations honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia -- the country's most important national event.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on April 13 that he will use a visit to the United States to seek increased air support and arms deliveries to aid Baghdad's battle against jihadists.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgents blew up an 80-year-old church in Syria's northeastern province of Hassaka on Easter Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA said. 

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad on March 30 for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials.
      
Ban first met President Fuad Masum and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and was also due to meet parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi before holding talks with Abadi.