The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia movement has resumed seminary studies toward attaining the title of ayatollah - a goal that could make Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq. ...more

December 14, 2007

Iraq's defense minister promised Sunday to wage a new crackdown northeast of Baghdad in a volatile province where militants have been driven by the influx of U.S. troops to the capital. ...more

December 10, 2007

A suicide truck bomber attacked a police station in one of Iraq's major oil hubs Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring 13 in a neighborhood home to many refinery workers and engineers, police said. ...more

December 9, 2007

The U.S. military on Saturday blamed the deadly bombing of a pet market in Baghdad on Iranian-backed Shiite militants, raising concerns that escalating activity by Shiite extremists could jeopardize a relative calm that has offered new hopes for Iraqis after years of turmoil. ...more

November 25, 2007

An Iraqi government spokesman said Saturday that Iran has shown increasing restraint in its support for militants, echoing recent assertions by U.S. officials and urging both sides to take advantage of the situation to hold a new round of talks on stabilizing his country. ...more

November 18, 2007

In a dramatic turnaround, more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped, the government said Saturday. ...more

November 4, 2007

The monthly toll of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq is on track to be the lowest in nearly two years, with at least 36 troop deaths recorded as of Tuesday, but the military cautioned it's too early to declare a long-term trend. ...more

October 31, 2007

Two of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders agreed Saturday to end a bitter rivalry in a bid to end months of armed clashes and assassinations in the oil-rich south that have threatened to spread into a wider conflict. ...more

October 7, 2007

The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. ...more

September 19, 2007