Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq’s second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. (Reuters/Social Media Website via Reuters TV)

Debate: ISIS has succeeded thanks to the sectarian policies of its opponents

by Hassan Abu Haniyeh | Jul 7, 2014 | Debate

Claims of a relationship between Iran and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) form one of the most prominent lines of conflict and dispute in the heated strategic game currently taking place in the Arab East—one that has reached a level of crude and brutal...

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The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani, arrives for a session of the Kurdistan parliament on July 3, 2014 in Erbil, the Kurdish region’s capital in northern Iraq. (AFP Photo/Safin Hamed)

Iraqi Kurdistan will press ahead with independence referendum, says official

by Ma'ad Fayad | Jul 6, 2014 | Middle East

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will press ahead with a referendum on declaring independence from Iraq, the autonomous region’s top diplomat said on Saturday, as fears continue to grow of the break-up of the country. Speaking...

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An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on June 12, 2014, allegedly shows Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants taking part in a military parade in Mosul, Iraq. (AFP Photo)

Iraqi Sunni tribal rebels advancing on Baghdad, says spokesman

by Ma'ad Fayad | Jul 6, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Anti-government Iraqi Sunni tribes are marching on Baghdad with the objective of toppling Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and forming a national “salvation” government, a tribal spokesman told Asharq Al-Awsat. Abu Abed Al-Naimi, spokesman for...

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In this still taken from an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) video, an Islamist fighter, center, identified as Abu Muthana Al-Yemeni from Britain, speaks from an unknown location. (Reuters/Reuters TV)

Debate: ISIS’s advance is opportunistic

by Mohamed Al-Zulfa | Jul 5, 2014 | Debate

Al-Qaeda emerged on the scene in Iraq to fight against the US occupation of 2003, and it collaborated with the country’s tribes, but when Shi’ite prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki came to power in 2006, Al-Qaeda found its position weakened. Maliki, for his part, was...

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Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Osama Al-Nujaifi speaks to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 25, 2013. (AP)

Iraq: Nujaifi says won’t seek new term as speaker if Maliki drops premiership bid

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jul 4, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Prominent Iraqi Sunni figure and Mutahidoun coalition leader Osama Al-Nujaifi has said that he will not seek another term as speaker of parliament if Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki abandons his attempts to secure a controversial third term in...