top news - "iraq"

As U.S. warplanes attacked targets in Basra yesterday, Bush administration officials acknowledged that their hands-off strategy toward southern iraq in recent years has left them with little knowledge of the conflicts among competing Shiite groups there and few ways of influencing them.

US Military Says 16 Gunmen killed in Airstrikes Supporting Iraqi Troops in Basra

Turkey uses shelling and air raids to target rebel positions in iraq, killing at least 15, the Turkish military says.

U.S. forces, backing up Iraqi troops battling Shiite militants, bombed Basra today as about 40 Iraqi police commandos based in Baghdad deserted to join a militia.

A group of militants have reportedly been killed in Kabala as Iraqi troops clashed with Shi'a fighters.

The so-called Iraqi Army fighting in the south right now is mainly the Badr Corps, a rival Shiite militia to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

The Iraqi government's offensive has turned into a full-fledged fight against the Mahdi Army - whose ceasefire appears on the brink of collapse

Iraq: US Widens Bombing in Basra; Some 40 Iraqi Police Officers Surrender Guns to Militants

The southern Iraqi city of Basra came under fire from U.S. warplanes on Saturday as Iraqi security forces struggle in their battle against militiamen loyal to anti-american cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The airstrikes, which killed at least eight civilians, were the second in as many days in Basra.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr discusses the top stories of the week, including the Iraqi security forces' battle with Shiite militiamen in Basra, the Democrats' fight for the presidential nomination and the Federal Reserve's struggle to turn around the economy.