'Months' before Iraq government, says US general

2010-03-09T18:15:46Z

<div><p>The commander of US forces in Iraq has predicted it would take "a couple of months" for leaders to form a post-election government but downplayed fears of instability.</p><p>General Ray Odierno told US public television on Tuesday it was too soon to give exact predictions on Iraq's transition as final resul...

US general eyes 'months' before Iraq government

2010-03-09T17:15:36Z

<div><p>The commander of US forces in Iraq on Tuesday predicted it would take "a couple of months" for leaders to form a post-election government but downplayed fears of instability.</p><p>General Ray Odierno told US public television it was too soon to give exact predictions on Iraq's transition as final results h...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,382

2010-03-09T14:15:28Z

<div id="subtitle">US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,382 Tuesday, according to Associated Press count</div><div><p>As of Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at least 4,382 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.</p><...

Iraq Election

2010-03-08T12:00:53Z

An Iraqi Army soldier carries a box of ballot tally sheets from Ninevah province for the national election onto an Iraqi military cargo plane bound for Baghdad in Mosul, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Obama keeps U.S. troop withdrawal plan after Iraq poll

2010-03-07T18:30:21Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called Iraq's election an "important milestone" on Sunday despite deadly violence, praising Iraqi security forces and repeating his end-2011 goal for removing all U.S. troops from the country.</p><p>Scores of mortar rounds, rockets and roadside bombs exploded ...

Mideast Iraq

2010-03-07T13:45:49Z

An Iraqi soldier stands guard at a polling station in Ramadi, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Insurgents bombed a polling station and lobbed grenades at voters Sunday, killing 26 people in attacks aimed at intimidating Iraqis participating in an election that will determine whether the country can overcome jagged sectarian divisions that have plagued it since the 2003 Iraq's parliamentary election</div><div><p>A timeline of key events in Iraq, beginning with the U.S.-led invasion to the March 7 parliamentary elections:</p><p>2003</p><p>March 20: The U.S.-led invasion is launched.</p><p>April 9: American Marines help Iraqis pull down statue of

APTOPIX Mideast Iraq

2010-03-07T09:00:36Z

Iraqi security forces patrol the streets as voters walk on foot to polling stations in Ramadi, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people across Iraq, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohamme...

APTOPIX Mideast Iran Iraq Election

2010-03-06T21:30:56Z

Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 6, 2010. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in a surprise news conference on the eve of the Iraqi election, has urged his followers to turn out and vote. (AP Photo/Far...

Mideast Iran Iraq Election

2010-03-06T20:45:48Z

Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, attends a news conference in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 6, 2010. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in a surprise news conference on the eve of the Iraqi election, has urged his followers to turn out and vote. (AP Photo/Fars News ...

Attacks kill 12 as Iraqi troops and police vote

2010-03-04T18:00:11Z

<div><p>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed in Baghdad on Thursday, including seven soldiers and police blown up by suicide bombers, days before a poll that will test Iraq's prospects for stability as U.S. troops prepare to leave.</p><p>Thirty-five soldiers and police were also wounded when two attackers with exp...

Iraq inquiry urged to challenge Brown

2010-03-03T22:15:48Z

<div><p>A lawyer for relatives of troops killed in Iraq in lightly armoured trucks Thursday urged an inquiry into the war to challenge Gordon Brown on his funding of forces, a newspaper reported.</p><p>The appeal on the use of the vehicles, which critics say were vulnerable to roadside bombs used by Iraqi insurgents, came a day ahead of Brown's appearance before the probe into ...

Pentagon insists US drawdown in Iraq on track

2010-03-03T13:15:56Z

<div><p>The Pentagon insisted on Wednesday plans for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq were on track, despite a report that the US commander there wants to slow the pace of the drawdown.</p><p>The Pentagon has faced questions about its withdrawal plans after a prominent defense blog last week reported that

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,380

2010-03-02T13:45:50Z

<div><p>As of Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at least 4,380 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.</p><p>The figure includes nine military civilians killed in action. At least 3,478 military personnel died as a result of...

Petraeus: Iraq violence down but threats remain

2010-03-01T17:15:10Z

<div id="subtitle">Gen. David Petraeus says violence in Iraq is down on eve of elections, but threats remain</div><div><p>Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he expects there will be a threat from extremists to disrupt the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq, but adequate securit...

Rival groups see Iraqi vote as way to claim Kirkuk

2010-03-01T11:45:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Rival ethnic groups see Iraqi election as way to stake their claim to oil-rich city of Kirkuk</div><div><p>Young men hurtle down dusty streets in cars, waving flags and blaring campaign slogans in a fervor that highlights this city's dangerous ethnic divisions. Arabs, Turkomen and Kurds each see Iraq's parliamentary elections as a chance to prove one thing: Kirkuk is our...

Iraqi death toll rises markedly in February

2010-03-01T08:16:32Z

<div><p>The number of Iraqis killed in violence last month was nearly double the toll for January, authorities said Monday, just days before voters go to the polls in nationwide parliamentary elections.</p><p>The figures compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed that 352 Iraqis -- 211 civilians, 96 police and 45 soldiers -- died as a result of attacks in February. The figure represents an 80 percent increase over January's toll of 196 dead.</p>&...

Americans, Kurds, Arabs join forces on north Iraq frontline

2010-02-28T14:15:33Z

<div><p>A US commander strides down a street in a Kurdish village in northern Iraq, heading a mixed squad of American troops, Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters.</p><p>Every man who patrols alongside Captain Nick Loudon is at the forefront of a bold new combined security force that has emerged in northern...

Fate of key Iraqi force up in air ahead of election

2010-02-28T14:15:30Z

<div><p>The fate of a US-backed security force comprising Arabs and Kurds in Iraq's tense north is to be decided after next Sunday's elections, only two months after it was set up to avert a civil war.</p><p>American and Iraqi officers in Kirkuk, 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad

Iraq Election Security

2010-02-26T13:55:13Z

An Iraqi Army officer looks at a map of an area of Maysan province during an emergency response planning meeting for the March 7 elections between Iraqi Security Forces, Iraqi Police and U.S. forces in Maysan province, south of

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