Iraq

World News

Islamic State Bolsters Its Control Over Northwestern Iraq

7:09pm August 04, 2014

The militant group known as the Islamic State has reportedly captured Iraq's largest dam, just another instance in its successful offensive in northwestern Iraq. Melissa Block talks with reporter Jane Arraf about the group's gains.

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Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Mughdeed talks to the men he commands to protect the Mosul dam, a critical piece of infrastructure that supplies water and electricity. The dam is now close to the front line with the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq.

World News

Militants In Iraq Seek Control Of Precious Weapon: Dams, Waterways

9:19pm August 03, 2014

by Alice Fordham

There is fierce fighting at several dams in Iraq. The extremists of the Islamic State have already deliberately flooded some areas, displacing people, destroying crops and polluting the water supply.

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A volunteer at a Christian church in Qosh, Iraq, loads aid onto a handcart Monday for delivery to displaced Shiites who are sheltering there.

For Iraqis In Crisis, Dividing The Country Seems A Poor Solution

7:35am July 29, 2014

by Alice Fordham

For centuries, Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds had coexisted in Mosul, but some fear ruptures there may be harbingers of the partition of Iraq. If that happens, Ahmed Ali may never see his farm again.

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World News

Human Rights Watch Researcher Reports ISIS Abuses In Iraq

10:17am July 28, 2014

Letta Tayler recently returned from Iraq, where she documented stories about the militant Islamist group ISIS and abuses by the Iraqi government. She tells Fresh Air what she learned.

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The radical Islamic State has ordered shop owners to cover the faces of mannequins in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, shop owners say. The Islamic State has begun enforcing its strict interpretation of Islamic law in the city and other places it control

World News

Common Ground Between Iraq's Rebels May Be Crumbling

10:36pm July 23, 2014

by Leila Fadel

The radical Islamic State and former associates of Saddam Hussein have fought together against Iraq's government. But the fault lines between the unlikely partners are beginning to show.

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Thousands of Iraqis fleeing Sunni extremists fled to the Kurdish city of Erbil, where they lined up here on June 12 at a checkpoint before entering.

World News

Extremists Leave A Violent Message In A Small Iraqi Town

10:49am July 21, 2014

by Leila Fadel

The Sunni town fought back when Sunni Muslim extremists from the Islamic State tried to impose their rule. The extremists leveled the town as a warning to Sunnis who won't accept their brutal rule.

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Bryan McDonel and his father, Mike, both served multiple tours in Iraq with the National Guard. Bryan was first prescribed painkillers before his deployment, and his dependence on medication prompted a downward spiral.

A Growing Number Of Veterans Struggles To Quit Powerful Painkillers

3:31pm July 16, 2014

by Quil Lawrence

Service members are prescribed narcotic painkillers three times as often as civilians. For some vets, dependence on those pills becomes a bigger problem than their original ailment.

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Economy

Chocolatier Lindt To Buy Russell Stover

7:53am July 15, 2014

by Frank Morris

Russell Stover has a long history, a large distribution network and loyal U.S. customers — the world's largest chocolate market. Lindt specializes in higher-end brands like Ghirardelli and Lindor.

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World News

Kurdish Authorities Plan Referendum On Independence From Iraq

9:33pm July 13, 2014

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Middle East correspondent Leila Fadel about the rift between Iraqi Kurds and Iraq's central government in Baghdad.

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Many servicemen and women are prescribed a mountain of pills for PTSD, pain and other conditions. But some don't want to be on those meds, so they stop taking them — against doctors' orders.

Veterans Kick The Prescription Pill Habit, Against Doctors' Orders

6:28am July 13, 2014

by Quil Lawrence

There's overmedicating and self-medicating, but some vets are "de-medicating." Prescribed multiple drugs to deal with PTSD and pain, they've stopped taking them — without authorization.

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