Iraqi Islamic Party

A U.S. military drone crashed Saturday in northern Iraq, hitting a regional office of Iraq's largest Sunni political party in an area that remains an insurgent stronghold, an American military official said. The unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the local office of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Mosul. The U.S. military identified the crashed drone as a Shadow model, which does not carry weapons and is routinely used in areas like Mosul to track insurgents planting explosives.

A suicide bomber who hid among the Sunni Muslim congregation in a northern Iraqi mosque sprayed gunfire at worshipers Friday and then blew himself up, killing at least 15 people, including the imam leading prayers, officials said. The brazen attack is the latest against Sunni clerics who have increasingly spoken out against the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq since U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June. The clerics and others fear that militants could take advantage of the transition to step up the kind of sectarian attacks that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war two years ago. The man who opened fire in the mosque in Tall Afar, about 245 miles northwest of Baghdad, first shot the imam, Abdul-Satar Hassan, before turning his AK-47 assault rifle on worshipers, witnesses said.

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab party said Saturday that it has suspended official contacts with American military personnel and civilians after the killing of a man near Fallouja. The Iraqi Islamic Party alleged there was a "hidden political motive" behind the raid, an indication of rising tensions in Anbar province ahead of provincial elections, due to be held by the end of January. The U.S. military said U.S.

A U.S. military drone crashed Saturday in northern Iraq, hitting a regional office of Iraq's largest Sunni political party in an area that remains an insurgent stronghold, an American military official said. The unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the local office of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Mosul. The U.S. military identified the crashed drone as a Shadow model, which does not carry weapons and is routinely used in areas like Mosul to track insurgents planting explosives.

Iraq's parliament ended four months of legislative paralysis Sunday by electing a new speaker who supporters hope will bring both muscle and discipline to the notoriously disorderly body. Iyad Samarrai, a leading figure in the Iraqi Islamic Party, was chosen to replace Mahmoud Mashadani, who resigned as speaker in December amid universal complaints about his erratic and abrasive style.

Hachim Hassani engages in shuttle diplomacy, Iraq-style. Here's what that means: Hop into a Toyota Land Cruiser and speed toward the besieged city of Fallouja, hoping that the U.S. Marines don't shoot you as you head toward their positions, and that the rocket and mortar fire from insurgents doesn't get you either. Then spend eight hours in a mosque full of angry city elders as American bombs thunder outside.

Iraqis walked by the millions to vote today as Shiite Muslim leaders mobilized followers for a massive show of support for a draft constitution, despite continued opposition among angry but increasingly divided Sunnis. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., hours after insurgents sabotaged power lines in the northern part of the country, plunging the capital into darkness and cutting off water supplies.

The quaking woman in the abaya had tears in her eyes and spoke English -- the first sign to a startled receptionist that this visitor was different from the usual grieving widow or mother so common in this violent country. When she finally managed to explain, in broken Arabic, that she was Jill Carroll, it was not sympathy but a rare outburst of joy she sparked.

In an event touted by President Bush as a sign of U.S. success in Iraq but tinged with evidence of political friction and security threats bubbling below the surface, U.S. forces on Monday handed control of security in Anbar province to the Iraqis. The U.S. military also said Iraq's government on Oct. 1 plans to assume authority over more than 50,000 mainly Sunni Arab fighters known as the Sons of Iraq and allied with U.S. forces in Baghdad. Taken together, the developments represent a major shift that will test the Shiite Muslim-led government's willingness to support Sunni-led efforts considered key to sustaining relative calm in Iraq and fostering reconciliation.

On their first date, Michael Hastings and Andrea Parhamovich met for milkshakes. Fifteen months later, she followed him to Iraq. Hastings hoped they would spend their lives together. But on Wednesday, Parhamovich died in a hail of bullets, ambushed outside a Sunni Arab political office in Baghdad. Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility Thursday for the attack that took the lives of the 28-year-old and three bodyguards -- a Hungarian, a Croat and an Iraqi.

Iraq's parliament ended four months of legislative paralysis Sunday by electing a new speaker who supporters hope will bring both muscle and discipline to the notoriously disorderly body. Iyad Samarrai, a leading figure in the Iraqi Islamic Party, was chosen to replace Mahmoud Mashadani, who resigned as speaker in December amid universal complaints about his erratic and abrasive style.

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab party said Saturday that it has suspended official contacts with American military personnel and civilians after the killing of a man near Fallouja. The Iraqi Islamic Party alleged there was a "hidden political motive" behind the raid, an indication of rising tensions in Anbar province ahead of provincial elections, due to be held by the end of January. The U.S. military said U.S.

In an event touted by President Bush as a sign of U.S. success in Iraq but tinged with evidence of political friction and security threats bubbling below the surface, U.S. forces on Monday handed control of security in Anbar province to the Iraqis. The U.S. military also said Iraq's government on Oct. 1 plans to assume authority over more than 50,000 mainly Sunni Arab fighters known as the Sons of Iraq and allied with U.S. forces in Baghdad. Taken together, the developments represent a major shift that will test the Shiite Muslim-led government's willingness to support Sunni-led efforts considered key to sustaining relative calm in Iraq and fostering reconciliation.

On their first date, Michael Hastings and Andrea Parhamovich met for milkshakes. Fifteen months later, she followed him to Iraq. Hastings hoped they would spend their lives together. But on Wednesday, Parhamovich died in a hail of bullets, ambushed outside a Sunni Arab political office in Baghdad. Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility Thursday for the attack that took the lives of the 28-year-old and three bodyguards -- a Hungarian, a Croat and an Iraqi.

The quaking woman in the abaya had tears in her eyes and spoke English -- the first sign to a startled receptionist that this visitor was different from the usual grieving widow or mother so common in this violent country. When she finally managed to explain, in broken Arabic, that she was Jill Carroll, it was not sympathy but a rare outburst of joy she sparked.

Iraqis walked by the millions to vote today as Shiite Muslim leaders mobilized followers for a massive show of support for a draft constitution, despite continued opposition among angry but increasingly divided Sunnis. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., hours after insurgents sabotaged power lines in the northern part of the country, plunging the capital into darkness and cutting off water supplies.

A suicide bomber who hid among the Sunni Muslim congregation in a northern Iraqi mosque sprayed gunfire at worshipers Friday and then blew himself up, killing at least 15 people, including the imam leading prayers, officials said. The brazen attack is the latest against Sunni clerics who have increasingly spoken out against the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq since U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June. The clerics and others fear that militants could take advantage of the transition to step up the kind of sectarian attacks that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war two years ago. The man who opened fire in the mosque in Tall Afar, about 245 miles northwest of Baghdad, first shot the imam, Abdul-Satar Hassan, before turning his AK-47 assault rifle on worshipers, witnesses said.

Iraq's parliament on Sunday convened for the first time since the holidays and picked up where it left off: fighting over the resignation of its volatile speaker, Mahmoud Mashadani. The latest disagreement over who should replace Mashadani prompted four more lawmakers to pull out of the main Sunni Arab bloc, Tawafiq, deepening the divide among the Sunni groups. The defection came just two weeks after five members of Mashadani's party, the National Dialogue Council, withdrew.

Hachim Hassani engages in shuttle diplomacy, Iraq-style. Here's what that means: Hop into a Toyota Land Cruiser and speed toward the besieged city of Fallouja, hoping that the U.S. Marines don't shoot you as you head toward their positions, and that the rocket and mortar fire from insurgents doesn't get you either. Then spend eight hours in a mosque full of angry city elders as American bombs thunder outside.