person:ali al-saadi

#sistani calls on Iraqi civilians to fight #ISIS
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sistani-calls-iraqi-civilians-fight-isis

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Iraqi men who volunteered to join the fight against a major offensive by jihadists in northern #Iraq stand on army trucks as they leave a recruiting center in the capital Baghdad on June 13, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) Iraqi men who volunteered to join the fight against a major offensive by jihadists in northern Iraq stand on army trucks as they leave a recruiting center in the capital Baghdad on June 13, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called Friday for Iraqis to take up arms against “terrorists” who have overrun swathes of the country in a major offensive. "Citizens who are able to bear arms and fight terrorists, defending their country and their people and their (...)

Death toll from Wednesday’s #Iraq #attacks rises to 74
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/death-toll-wednesdays-iraq-attacks-rises-74

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An Iraqi man on May 29, 2014 inspects destruction in the street following an explosion the previous day in Baghdad’s Sadr City. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) An Iraqi man on May 29, 2014 inspects destruction in the street following an explosion the previous day in Baghdad’s Sadr City. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

A wave of attacks across Iraq Wednesday, including car bombings in Baghdad and a northern city, killed at least 74 people, officials said Thursday. The compiled death toll for Wednesday, with the number rising to 74 after late-night attacks, made it the bloodiest single day in Iraq in more than seven months. The wave of #violence could further destabilize Iraq as political leaders jostle to build alliances and form (...)

#maliki expected winner of #Iraq vote
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/maliki-expected-winner-iraq-vote

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A file picture taken on April 30, 2014, shows Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki casting his vote. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) A file picture taken on April 30, 2014, shows Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki casting his vote. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Election results due Monday are expected to put Nouri al-Maliki in the driver’s seat to remain Iraq’s prime minister for a third term despite vocal opposition and markedly worsening security. The tallies from the April 30 general election, delayed for weeks due to a litany of complaints according to the electoral commission, are likely to show Maliki’s bloc won the most seats in parliament but fell short of a majority. Many have refused to countenance another term for (...)

#Elections

Thirteen #car_bombs rip through #Iraq
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19360

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Iraqis react near the remains of a vehicle at the site of an explosion in #Baghdad on April 9, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) Iraqis react near the remains of a vehicle at the site of an explosion in Baghdad on April 9, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Attacks across Iraq, including 13 car bombs, killed at least 18 people Wednesday, highlighting the persistent danger from militants 11 years after American forces took Baghdad. The latest violence is part of a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed that has killed more than 2,400 people so far this year. Eight car bombs struck seven separate areas of Baghdad around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), killing at least 11 people and wounding at least 49, security and medical officials (...)

#Top_News

Iraqi newspaper bombed for Khamenei portrait
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iraqi-newspaper-bombed-khamenei-portrait

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An Iraqi woman buys a Valentine’s day gift at Baghdad’s Karrada commercial district on February 14, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) An Iraqi woman buys a Valentine’s day gift at Baghdad’s Karrada commercial district on February 14, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

The staff at #Iraq’s al-Sabah al-Jadeed newspaper have either stayed home, fled to Kurdistan, or left Iraq altogether to escape threats that surfaced after they published a cartoon of #Iran’s supreme leader, #Ali_Khamenei. The newspaper’s offices in Baghdad were targeted and anonymous threats against the newspaper flooded social networking sites.

Bassem al-Rubayi

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#Culture_&_Society #Articles

UN: More than 140,000 have fled #Iraq's Anbar province
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/un-more-140000-have-fled-iraqs-anbar-province

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An Iraqi soldier monitors a checkpoint east of Baghdad on January 24, 2014, as deadly clashes continue between security forces and anti-government fighters in Anbar province, east of the capital in what the United National said is Iraq’s worst displacement in years.(Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Violence in parts of Anbar province held by anti-government fighters killed three people as the United Nations warned Friday of Iraq’s worst displacement since its brutal 2006-08 conflict. More than 140,000 people have fled their homes in the mostly-desert province since unrest erupted in late December, as security forces and their tribal allies have been locked in a deadly standoff with militants, including those affiliated with the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq (...)

#Top_News

#Iraq: Maliki’s Iran Visit Played Key Role in #Anbar Operation
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iraq-maliki%E2%80%99s-iran-visit-played-key-role-anbar-operation

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Iraqi soldiers monitor a checkpoint east of Baghdad on January 6, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali Al-Saadi). Iraqi soldiers monitor a checkpoint east of Baghdad on January 6, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Ali Al-Saadi).

The events in the Iraqi province of Anbar serve Iran’s interests, and its role there seems larger than originally thought. Meanwhile, #Saudi_Arabia’s role remains controversial, as some sources confirm the kingdom’s support for the #Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_Syria.

Elie Chalhoub

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#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #ISIS #Nouri_al-Maliki

Iraqi forces arrest MP after killing his brother, five guards
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iraqi-forces-arrest-mp-after-killing-his-brother-five-guards

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An member of the Sahwa, made up of former rebels who sided with US soldiers against al-Qaeda during #Iraq's brutal insurgency, stands guard at the entrance to a market close to the scene of a car bomb, in the Doura district of the capital Baghdad on December 25, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Iraqi security forces on Saturday raided the home of an MP who backed anti-government protesters, sparking clashes that killed his brother and five guards, and arresting him, police said. “Security forces attacked the residence of MP Ahmed al-Alwani in central Ramadi to arrest him this morning, sparking a battle with his guards with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades,” a police major told AFP, referring to a city west of Baghdad. read (...)

#Top_News

Iraqi forces need “massive” #Human_Rights training: UN official
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iraqi-forces-need-massive-human-rights-training-un-official

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Iraqi security forces patrol as Shia worshippers head to the holy shrine of Imam Abbas to attend Ashura celebrations in Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, on November 12, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

#Iraq's security forces require “massive amounts of re-training” in human rights to better conduct operations and combat the country’s deadliest violence since 2008, the UN’s new envoy to Baghdad said. Nickolay Mladenov, UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s special (...)

#Top_News

Shrines in #Iraq : ’Mako’ Imam, ’Mako’ #Najaf
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/shrines-iraq-mako-imam-mako-najaf

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Muslims run between the #Imam_Hussein (background) and Imam Abbas shrines as part of the ritual ceremony of Ashura in #Karbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, during the commemoration of Ashura, on November 14, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Ali al-Saadi) Muslims run between the Imam Hussein (background) and Imam Abbas shrines as part of the ritual ceremony of Ashura in Karbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, during the commemoration of Ashura, on (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #Hassan_Nasrallah #Imam_Ali #Muqtada_al-Sadr #Shia

Eight suicide bombers among 14 dead in #Iraq
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/eight-suicide-bombers-among-14-dead-iraq

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A worker sweeps the pavement, a day after a car bomb attack outside a restaurant in the Karrada district of Baghdad on October 18, 2013. (Photo; AFP - Ali al-Saadi)

Eight suicide bombers attacked security forces and a local government building northwest of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least six people other than themselves, and wounding 15, officials said. The dead were three members of the local council for the Rawa area of Anbar province, and three police (...)

#suicide_attack #Top_News

#syria : #Raqqa_Dance_Troupe Branded Apostates
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-raqqa-dance-troupe-branded-apostates

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Members of the Syrian dancing group “Gulanar” perform “The Syrian Stone” during the The Arab Syrian Culture festival in Baghdad on 24 June 2013. (Photo: AFP -Ali al-Saadi) Members of the Syrian dancing group “Gulanar” perform “The Syrian Stone” during the The Arab Syrian Culture festival in Baghdad on 24 June 2013. (Photo: AFP -Ali al-Saadi)

The Raqqa Popular Dance Troupe was established in 1968, the same year the Lebanese (...)

#Culture_&_Society #Articles