Suicide bomber kills seven in Shiite area of Baghdad

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded dozens at a market in the a north Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah on Thursday, security and medical officials said.

The blast struck at about 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) in the Bab al-Darwaza market in Kadhimiyah, which is home to the shrine of a revered Muslim figure.

 

Suicide bomber kills seven in Shiite area of Baghdad

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded dozens at a market in the a north Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah on Thursday, security and medical officials said.

The blast struck at about 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) in the Bab al-Darwaza market in Kadhimiyah, which is home to the shrine of a revered Muslim figure.

US mulls air strikes as Iraq militants advance on Baghdad

KIRKUK: Militants have seized the Iraqi city of Tikrit as a jihadist offensive sweeps closer to Baghdad, prompting the UN Security Council to convene crisis talks Thursday while the US mulls air strikes on the rebels.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized the second city of Mosul on Tuesday and has since captured a large swathe of northern and north-central Iraq including Tikrit -- the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani promised the battle would "rage" on the capital Baghdad and Karbala, a city southwest of the capital that is considered one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

The UN Security Council swiftly convened a meeting to discuss the crisis in a sign of growing international alarm at the fast-moving situation.

Diplomats said the closed consultations would begin at 11:30 am (1530 GMT) and will include a briefing by video link from the UN special representative to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov.

Washington is considering several options for offering military assistance to Baghdad, including drone strikes, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Resorting to such aircraft -- used in Afghanistan and Pakistan in a highly controversial programme -- would mark a dramatic shift in the US engagement in Iraq, after the last American troops pulled out in late 2011.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was committed to "working with the Iraqi government and leaders across Iraq to support a unified approach against ISIL´s continued aggression.

"But there is no current plan to send US troops back into Iraq, where around 4,500 American soldiers died in the bitter conflict.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Washington "strongly condemns" the ISIL attacks and "will stand with Iraqi leaders".

And UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to unite behind Iraq, warning that "terrorism must not be allowed to succeed in undoing the path toward democracy in Iraq."

Militants plan to march on Baghdad: SITE monitors

WASHINGTON: Militants who have seized a large swathe of northern and north-central Iraq now plan to march on the capital Baghdad, a US-based monitoring group said Wednesday.

In a lightning offensive, militants seized Tikrit earlier, its latest success following a spectacular assault late Monday on Mosul, a city of two million.

The militants´ advances have forced as many as half a million people to flee their homes.

ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani promised that the battle would "rage" on Baghdad and Karbala, a city southwest of the capital, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

"Do not relent against your enemy... The battle is not yet raging, but it will rage in Baghdad and Karbala," Adnani said, according to a SITE translation of an audio statement released on the militants´ Twitter feed. "Put on your belts and get ready."

Adnani also dismissed President Nuri al-Maliki as woefully incompetent. "What have you done to your people, O foolish one. No one is more foolish than you but those who accept you as the president and commander," Adnani said in the translated statement.

"What do you know about policy, leadership, and military command? You lost a historic opportunity for your people to control Iraq, and the people will always curse you for as long as they live. Indeed, there is between us and you a balance to be made even." (AFP)

10 killed in northeast of Baghdad twin bombing; officials

BAQUBA: Twin bombings at a market in a town northeast of Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 20 others on Tuesday, security and medical officials said.

The 10:00 am (0700 GMT) blasts in Saadiyah came a day after a suicide bomb in the nearby town of Khanaqin killed 30 people, with Iraq due to hold its first parliamentary elections since 2010 on Wednesday.

Saadiyah lies in eastern Iraq, along a tract of disputed territory that the country´s autonomous Kurdish region wants to incorporate despite Baghdad´s objections. Militants frequently capitalise on poor communication between Kurdish and Arab security forces in the disputed areas to launch attacks.

Iraq is embroiled in its worst protracted period of bloodshed in years, with nearly 3,000 people killed already this year.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who hails from Iraq´s Shiite Arab majority and is accused by critics of monopolising power and targeting minority groups, is seeking a third term in Wednesday´s election.

Iraqi troops kill 40 gunmen near Baghdad

Fighting between government troops and al-Qaeda—inspired militants has killed 40 gunmen and an army officer near the capital, Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.

In a statement posted on the Interior Ministry’s website, spokesman Saad Maan Ibrahim said Thursday that members of security forces foiled an assault by the militants on a military base in Youssifiyah, killing 40 “terrorist attackers.”

Maan said that one army officer was killed during the clashes. Youssifiyah is about 20 km south of Baghdad

Police officials said the attack started late Wednesday and lasted a few hours.

They confirmed the military’s account and said the attackers withdrew after the arrival of security enforcements to the area.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalist