Sunni Muslim Insurgency

A suicide bomber killed seven people, including two police, in an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim procession on Monday in a northern Baghdad neighbourhood, police and medical sources said.

Russian war planes pounded Syrian rebels unaffiliated with Islamic State today, insurgents said, helping Moscow's ally creclaim territory and dealing a fresh setback to the strategy of Washington and its allies.

At least 16 Sunni Muslim insurgents from al Qaeda's Syrian wing were killed in clashes with fighters from the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on Sunday, a source close to Hezbollah said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday began a two-day visit to Iraq, which is fighting a Sunni Muslim insurgency led by Islamic State jihadists, state news agency IRNA reported.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his security officials are to blame for the rise of Sunni Muslim insurgents who have seized parts of Iraq, the country's foreign minister said.

Iraq's parliament, which had been due to elect the country's president on Wednesday, postponed the vote by a day, delaying the formation of a power-sharing government urgently needed to confront a Sunni Muslim insurgency.

At least 27 people were killed in a wave of bombings in mostly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Saturday, police and medics said, in the deadliest day of attacks in the capital since a Sunni insurgency overran large parts of Iraq's north last month.

Ruthless jihadists spearheading a Sunni militant offensive in Iraq have declared an "Islamic caliphate" and ordered Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief, in a spectacular bid to extend their authority.

Muslims in India are signing up to defend Iraq's holy shrines and, if need be, fight Sunni Islamist militants in the country where the civilian death toll from the Sunni insurgents' advance is estimated at least 1,300.

Iran will not hesitate to defend Shi'ite Muslim holy sites in neighbouring Iraq against "killers and terrorists", Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, following rapid advances by Sunni militants there over the past week.

Iran stands ready to help Iraq's government in its fight against Sunni Muslim insurgents within the framework of international law, although Baghdad has so far not requested assistance, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.

Shi'te Muslim Iran is so alarmed by Sunni insurgent gains in Iraq that it may be willing to cooperate with Washington in helping Baghdad fight back, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran will combat terrorism by Sunni extremists in neighbouring Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani warned on Thursday.

A suicide bomber killed seven people, including two police, in an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim procession on Monday in a northern Baghdad neighbourhood, police and medical sources said.

Russian war planes pounded Syrian rebels unaffiliated with Islamic State today, insurgents said, helping Moscow's ally creclaim territory and dealing a fresh setback to the strategy of Washington and its allies.

At least 16 Sunni Muslim insurgents from al Qaeda's Syrian wing were killed in clashes with fighters from the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on Sunday, a source close to Hezbollah said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday began a two-day visit to Iraq, which is fighting a Sunni Muslim insurgency led by Islamic State jihadists, state news agency IRNA reported.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his security officials are to blame for the rise of Sunni Muslim insurgents who have seized parts of Iraq, the country's foreign minister said.

Iraq's parliament, which had been due to elect the country's president on Wednesday, postponed the vote by a day, delaying the formation of a power-sharing government urgently needed to confront a Sunni Muslim insurgency.

At least 27 people were killed in a wave of bombings in mostly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Saturday, police and medics said, in the deadliest day of attacks in the capital since a Sunni insurgency overran large parts of Iraq's north last month.

Ruthless jihadists spearheading a Sunni militant offensive in Iraq have declared an "Islamic caliphate" and ordered Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief, in a spectacular bid to extend their authority.

Muslims in India are signing up to defend Iraq's holy shrines and, if need be, fight Sunni Islamist militants in the country where the civilian death toll from the Sunni insurgents' advance is estimated at least 1,300.

Iran will not hesitate to defend Shi'ite Muslim holy sites in neighbouring Iraq against "killers and terrorists", Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, following rapid advances by Sunni militants there over the past week.

Iran stands ready to help Iraq's government in its fight against Sunni Muslim insurgents within the framework of international law, although Baghdad has so far not requested assistance, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.

Shi'te Muslim Iran is so alarmed by Sunni insurgent gains in Iraq that it may be willing to cooperate with Washington in helping Baghdad fight back, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran will combat terrorism by Sunni extremists in neighbouring Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani warned on Thursday.