Iraq

Ramadi, Iraq, Offensive Delays Efforts To Take Back Mosul

12:45pm June 16, 2015

by Alice Fordham

A year after the Iraqi city of Mosul was captured by self-declared Islamic State militants, there's no indication the Iraqi government and its U.S. ally are ready to try to take it back.

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Karim Wasfi, conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, at his home in Baghdad, has been playing his cello at the sites of explosive attacks in Baghdad.

Amid Violence In Baghdad, A Musician Creates A One-Man Vigil

5:11pm June 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Karim Wasfi, conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, has been playing his cello at the sites of deadly attacks across the capital.

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Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are separated from Islamic State extremists by only short distances in some places around Mosul in northern Iraq, but there has not been heavy fighting recently or any changes in the front lines.

World News

ISIS Rule In Mosul: Few Come And Go As Extremists Dig In

5:11pm June 15, 2015

by Alice Fordham

The Islamic State remains in full control a year after capturing the city. Relatively few ISIS fighters are visible, but they have imposed strict rules on all aspects of life.

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An Iraqi soldier takes position in Iraq's Anbar province. The U.S. will send 450 military advisers to Iraq to help in the fight against ISIS, but they will have a another challenge to gain the trust of Sunni leaders, as they did in 2007.

Will The U.S. Win A Second Chance At A Sunni Awakening?

2:20pm June 15, 2015

by Rachel Martin

In 2007, Sunni sheikhs, fed up with al-Qaida, started fighting alongside the U.S. in Iraq. The U.S. needs help again, this time against ISIS militants. But can they win Sunni trust a second time?

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World News

A Glimpse Of Life In Mosul

6:21pm June 13, 2015

BBC reporter Ghadi Sary speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about secretly filmed videos obtained of harrowing conditions in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is controlled by the self-declared Islamic State.

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World News

U.S. To Deploy 450 More Troops To Iraq

7:03pm June 11, 2015

by Tom Bowman

They'll speed up training and equipping of Sunni soldiers in Anbar province. The aim is to get more Sunnis working with the Shiite government to defeat the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

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Obama Orders 450 Troops To Help Iraq Fight Self-Declared Islamic State

2:04pm June 11, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The United States will send an additional 450 troops to Iraq to act as trainers. The move comes not as a change in policy, but to speed up training and equipping of Sunni soldiers in Anbar province.

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Former Ambassador Ryan Crocker: Partitioned Iraq Is An Iranian Strategy

6:30pm June 10, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, dean at the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, about the idea of a partitioned Iraq.

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Obama Authorizes Deploying Up To 450 More Troops To Iraq

1:43pm June 10, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The troops would beef up the effort to train more Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State. Some 3,000 American troops are already in Iraq to provide security or to train and advise Iraqi forces.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is expected to announce his GOP presidential campaign on June 15, embarks on a five-day trip to Germany, Poland and Estonia on Tuesday.

Jeb Bush Faces His Own Foreign Policy Test With Europe Trip

1:47pm June 09, 2015

by Jessica Taylor

The likely 2016 presidential candidate hopes to avoid the mistakes that have haunted his rivals while separating himself from his brother.