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A cavern engineer inspects the connection to gas pipes of the new natural gas storage in Jemgum, Germany, 12 September 2013 (EPA/INGO WAGNER)
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An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on August 23, 2013 allegedly shows a member of Ussud Al-Anbar (Anbar Lions), a Jihadist group affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, holding up the trademark black and white Islamist flag at an undisclosed location in Iraq’s Anbar province. (AFP)
Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunnah square off in Kirkuk
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—A conflict over ransom money has erupted between Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunnah in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk region, high-level security sources have informed Asharq Al-Awsat. Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadar, commander of the Kirkuk police force, told Asharq...Caption:
In this 2007 file photo, Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban, File)
Iraq: Talabani’s continued absence stirs controversy
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—The secrecy surrounding the fate of the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has raised a storm of controversy among the upper echelons of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), with the party’s leaders questioning the validity of reports and...Caption:
Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, is seen sitting behind a Kurdish flag prior to speaking to supporters in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil on May 26, 2013. (AFP Photo / Safin Hamed)
Kurdistan’s Gorran seeks to challenge PUK, KDP
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kurdistan’s Gorran (Movement for Change) will seek to challenge the dominant Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in their heartland of Erbil at the forthcoming elections, according to a senior figure. Speaking...Caption:
Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Source: REUTERS/Umit Bektas