top news - "iraq"

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor fought dozens of battles in the streets of Ramadi, shouldering his MK48 machine gun without complaint in the 130-degree heat of iraq's violent Anbar province.

The Iraqi official in charge of security improvements in iraq talks to TIME following his abduction by the Mahdi Army

Britain has postponed a plan to withdraw around 1,500 troops from iraq after a surge in violence swept the southern city of Basra and other Shiite areas, Britain's defense secretary said Tuesday.

There are no current plans to withdraw British troops from iraq, despite earlier pledges, a minister says.

The Iraqi prime minister said Tuesday that a weeklong crackdown against militia violence in the southern city of Basra had been a 'success,' despite the violent backlash among followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

U.S. military officials in iraq say Basra is a disaster, but the Pentagon describes the Iraqi military operation in Basra as a successful byproduct of the surge.

The Iraqi prime minister has said that the latest military operation in Basra was not in vain.

The number of Iraqis killed in March rose by 50% compared with the figure for February, according to official counts.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Fighting between security forces and Shi'ite militiamen last month has driven civilian deaths in iraq to their highest level in more than six months, government figures showed on Tuesday.

MANHEIM, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama took aim on Monday at potential White House opponent john mccain on iraq, saying the republican senator could not offer a clear definition of success in the conflict and might leave U.S. combat troops there for decades.