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/ 4 December 2007
An armed group demanded that Britain leave Iraq in video footage aired by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel on Tuesday, which showed one of five Britons seized in May. ”I have been here, now held for 173 days, and I feel we have been forgotten,” a man identifying himself as Jason said in the video.
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/ 25 November 2007
The American troop surge in Iraq was effectively declared over on Saturday, when officials announced that 5 000 soldiers will this week begin pulling out in response to declining violence. A United States military spokesperson said the withdrawal of a brigade combat team comes after the fall in attacks across Iraq.
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/ 29 October 2007
A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 Iraqi police officers doing their morning exercises at a base north of Baghdad on Monday in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months. The attack was a reminder that despite a United States-led crackdown, groups such as al-Qaeda are determined to carry on fighting.
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/ 23 September 2007
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met ministers from world powers and neighbouring countries on Saturday after telling the United Nations secretary general he could guarantee security for a broader UN role in Iraq. Ministers from Iraq, its neighbours and world powers met at UN headquarters.
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/ 19 September 2007
Britain is poised to announce significant cuts in the number of troops in southern Iraq following an upbeat assessment by United States and British military officials in London on Tuesday. This was the message from defence officials following talks between ministers and General David Petraeus, the US military commander in Iraq.
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/ 16 September 2007
United States President George Bush on Sunday faced a new clash with congressional Democrats over the unpopular war in Iraq as Senate Democrats reportedly reached a deal that would allow soldiers to spend more time at home. ”If we were to be driven out of Iraq, extremists of all strains would be emboldened,” Bush said on Saturday.
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/ 14 September 2007
A Sunni Arab tribal leader instrumental in driving al-Qaeda out of Iraq’s Anbar province was killed by a bomb on Thursday, hours before United States President George Bush endorsed limited US troop cuts in Iraq. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha died in an attack on his car near his home in Ramadi, capital of Anbar.
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/ 14 September 2007
United States President George Bush on Thursday ordered gradual troop reductions in Iraq but defied calls for a dramatic change of course, telling war-weary Americans the US military role there will stretch beyond his presidency. Bush acknowledged Americans’ frustration with the war but insisted progress was being made.
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/ 14 September 2007
United States President George Bush on Thursday night called on Americans to support an ”enduring relationship” with Iraq, in a speech delivered hours after a key Sunni tribal ally, portrayed as symbolic of a potential turnaround for the US in the war, was killed by a roadside bomb.
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/ 13 September 2007
Al-Qaeda has revived, extended its influence, and has the capacity to carry out a spectacular strike similar to the September 11 attacks on the United States, one of the world’s leading security think tanks warned on Wednesday. There is increasing evidence ”that ‘core’ al-Qaeda is proving adaptable and resilient, and has retained an ability to plan and coordinate large-scale attacks.
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/ 11 September 2007
Anti-war Senate Democrats bluntly told Iraq commander General David Petraeus on Tuesday his troop surge strategy was an abject failure in its prime objective — forcing a political settlement. Several senior Senate Republicans also questioned the administration’s approach as the general endured a grilling on a second day of high-stakes testimony to Congress.
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/ 10 September 2007
The top United States commander in Iraq on Monday said the number of US troops in Iraq could be cut by next summer to roughly 130 000, its level before this year’s ”surge” of 30 000 forces. General David Petraeus also strongly endorsed US President George Bush’s decision to add forces this year.
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/ 10 September 2007
Iraq’s embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gave an upbeat assessment of the situation in his country on Monday, saying civil war had been prevented and boasting that violence had dropped 75% in the restive provinces of Baghdad and Anbar.
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/ 10 September 2007
The Bush administration’s most senior advisers on Iraq, the commander of US forces, General David Petraeus, and the ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, will launch a new drive today to defer any exit of troops until April 2008 amid growing doubts about their credibility in Congress and among the public.
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/ 9 September 2007
Iraq’s Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday his government had made progress on all fronts and urged neighbouring countries to work together to stop what he called ”evil” from destabilising the region. Senior Democrats in the United States have slammed Maliki’s performance, with some even calling for his replacement.
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/ 8 September 2007
General David Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in Iraq, admitted on Friday that sending 30 000 more troops into the war zone in January had failed to yield the desired results. ”It has not worked out as we had hoped,” the general said.
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/ 4 September 2007
United States President George Bush paid a surprise visit to a US military base in Iraq on Monday, in a piece of stagecraft intended to bolster support in Congress for the administration’s war strategy, only days before a crucial report on the success of the American troop ”surge”.
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/ 3 September 2007
United States President George Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday, just a week before his top officials in Baghdad present pivotal testimony to Congress that could influence future policy on the war. The White House said Bush had arrived at the al-Asad Air Force base, west of Baghdad in Anbar province.
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/ 3 September 2007
United States President George Bush hopes to spur momentum for a world trade pact and a global target on climate change at this week’s Asia-Pacific summit but the Iraq debate at home looms as a distraction. Bush will meet in Sydney with the leaders of Australia, China, Japan, Russia and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.
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/ 3 September 2007
British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra overnight in a move that will end the British presence in the oil hub for the first time since the United States-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. The pull-out is another step towards handing over Basra province to Iraqi control and paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of British forces from Iraq.
The Iraqi government has called on armed groups to follow the lead of the biggest Shi’ite militia and freeze their operations, even as the United States military on Friday reported the deaths of two more American service members in fighting against Sunni insurgents.
United States President George Bush on Tuesday ramped up the war of words between the US and Iran, accusing Tehran of threatening to place the Middle East under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust and revealing that he had authorised US military commanders in Iraq to ”confront Tehran’s murderous activities”.