Iraq Shiite Government

Twelve protesters were killed Monday after supporters of cleric Moqtada Sadr stormed the government palace in Baghdad's Green Zone as the powerful Shiite leader said he was quitting politics.

Thousands of supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr answered his call to demonstrate in Baghdad on Tuesday to pressure the Iraqi government to carry out stalled reforms.

With a new Iraqi government finally in place and a growing Mideast consensus on defeating insurgent threats, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq's Shiite leader on Wednesday to quickly deliver more power to wary Sunnis - or jeopardize any hope of defeating the Islamic State group.

Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people in attacks that appeared to be revenge for an assault on a Sunni mosque that has deepened sectarian conflict.

The United Nations warned on Saturday that Shiite Turkmen residents of an Iraqi town besieged by jihadists since June risk "massacre" if urgent action is not taken to rescue them.

President Barack Obama ordered US warplanes back into the skies over Iraq on Thursday to drop food to refugees and, if necessary, launch air strikes to halt what he said was a potential "genocide."

Iraqi Sunni leaders in exile said on Wednesday that last month's flare-up of violence was the result of a "popular revolt" against the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Iraq's parliament will meet next week to work on forming a new government, an official said on Tuesday, reversing a decision to adjourn until August despite a sweeping offensive by militants,

The inability of Iraq's parliament to agree on a new government in its first session was a "regrettable failure", Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said in a Friday sermon delivered by his aide.

Iraq's government once battled entrenched Shiite militiamen but is now making common cause with them against a jihadist-led onslaught that Baghdad's forces are struggling to contain on their own.

Iraq's leadership was under increased pressure Wednesday to form a new government to deal with a Sunni militant onslaught that has threatened to tear the country apart, after parliament's first session ended in disarray.

Iraq's Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the majority sect's most influential cleric, called for Iraq's political blocs to agree on the next government's prime minister, parliament speaker and president before parliament meets Tuesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday ruled out forming a national emergency government to confront a Sunni militant offensive that has overrun large parts of the country.

France on Friday called for the formation of a unity government in Iraq with or without Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to fight Sunni jihadists advancing towards Baghdad.

Iraq Police say two bombs have exploded in a Baghdad suburb, killing at least eight people. It is the latest attack in a particularly bloody month as the Iraqi government struggles to provide security. A police official says the first blast went off early Wednesday morning outside a house belonging to a Shiite family in Wahda, a suburban neighbourh...

Twelve protesters were killed Monday after supporters of cleric Moqtada Sadr stormed the government palace in Baghdad's Green Zone as the powerful Shiite leader said he was quitting politics.

Thousands of supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr answered his call to demonstrate in Baghdad on Tuesday to pressure the Iraqi government to carry out stalled reforms.

With a new Iraqi government finally in place and a growing Mideast consensus on defeating insurgent threats, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq's Shiite leader on Wednesday to quickly deliver more power to wary Sunnis - or jeopardize any hope of defeating the Islamic State group.

Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people in attacks that appeared to be revenge for an assault on a Sunni mosque that has deepened sectarian conflict.

The United Nations warned on Saturday that Shiite Turkmen residents of an Iraqi town besieged by jihadists since June risk "massacre" if urgent action is not taken to rescue them.

President Barack Obama ordered US warplanes back into the skies over Iraq on Thursday to drop food to refugees and, if necessary, launch air strikes to halt what he said was a potential "genocide."

Iraqi Sunni leaders in exile said on Wednesday that last month's flare-up of violence was the result of a "popular revolt" against the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Iraq's parliament will meet next week to work on forming a new government, an official said on Tuesday, reversing a decision to adjourn until August despite a sweeping offensive by militants,

The inability of Iraq's parliament to agree on a new government in its first session was a "regrettable failure", Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said in a Friday sermon delivered by his aide.

Iraq's government once battled entrenched Shiite militiamen but is now making common cause with them against a jihadist-led onslaught that Baghdad's forces are struggling to contain on their own.

Iraq's leadership was under increased pressure Wednesday to form a new government to deal with a Sunni militant onslaught that has threatened to tear the country apart, after parliament's first session ended in disarray.

Iraq's Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the majority sect's most influential cleric, called for Iraq's political blocs to agree on the next government's prime minister, parliament speaker and president before parliament meets Tuesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday ruled out forming a national emergency government to confront a Sunni militant offensive that has overrun large parts of the country.

France on Friday called for the formation of a unity government in Iraq with or without Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to fight Sunni jihadists advancing towards Baghdad.

Iraq Police say two bombs have exploded in a Baghdad suburb, killing at least eight people. It is the latest attack in a particularly bloody month as the Iraqi government struggles to provide security. A police official says the first blast went off early Wednesday morning outside a house belonging to a Shiite family in Wahda, a suburban neighbourh...