Obama stands by Iraqi troop pullout, envisions “enormous opportunities” for bilateral commerce

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama renewed his vow Tuesday to have all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by next August, while nudging Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to see that his parliament quickly passes a critical election law essential to a nationwide vote in January.

Iraqi police: Roadside bomb in Baghdad targets Iraqi security forces, kills 1 soldier

BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol Thursday in Baghdad, the latest in a string of attacks that have raised questions about the ability of the country’s security forces to maintain hard-won stability.

Iraqi police: 8 killed, 7 wounded in market blast north of Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber killed the leader of a U.S.-backed Sunni paramilitary group and seven others north of Baghdad Tuesday, the third attack in as many days in a heavily populated Sunni area, a police official said.

Hundreds take to the streets in Iraq to protest poor services, demand open elections

BAGHDAD — Hundreds took to the streets Saturday throughout Iraq to demand open elections and improved public services, revealing a growing discontent among Iraqis that is overshadowing concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to take over from withdrawing American troops.

US forces in Afghanistan withdraw from Kamdesh base after deadly attack

KABUL — U.S. forces have withdrawn from an isolated base in eastern Afghanistan after a fierce insurgent attack last week that marked one of the deadliest battles of the war for U.S. troops, the NATO-led coalition said Friday.

US speeding up Iraq withdrawal; 4,000 more headed home next month as war winds down

WASHINGTON — The United States is speeding up its military withdrawal from Iraq, sending 4,000 more troops home next month, the top American commander there says.

Pentagon chief rejects Afghan withdrawal timelines, says defeat would be ‘huge setback’ to US

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pushing back against liberal calls for withdrawal timelines from Afghanistan, saying it’s a mistake to set a deadline to end U.S. military action and a defeat would be disastrous for the U.S.

Biden says US will abide by Iraqi wishes for American troop withdrawal dates

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden pledged Thursday to follow Iraq’s wishes should Baghdad decide to speed up the timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from the country.

Biden confident Iraq won’t alter withdrawal timetable for US troops

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden says he is confident that Iraq will not alter the timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

Biden says terrorist violence won’t destabilize Iraq as more rockets fired at Green Zone

BAGHDAD — Insurgents fired at least two rockets at the Baghdad’s Green Zone Wednesday, just minutes after Vice President Joe Biden wrapped up meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressing confidence that attempts to destabilize Iraq through violence will fail.

Biden says terrorist violence won’t destabilize Iraq

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden expressed confidence Wednesday that attempts to destabilize Iraq through violence will fail, and said the country’s future depended on its ability to resolve its lingering political and sectarian differences.

Green Zne hit by mortars as Biden in Baghdad for 3rd visit

BAGHDAD — Insurgents fired four mortar shells at Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Tuesday, killing two civilians, on the same day Vice President Joe Biden arrived in the Iraqi capital on an unannounced visit to help resolve political differences among Iraqis.

US envoy says that despite recent rise in violence in Iraq, withdrawal timetable is holding

WASHINGTON — The U.S. ambassador to Iraq told Congress on Thursday that despite a recent rash of insurgent attacks, the U.S. is on track to removing all its combat forces by next August. “We are holding to this timetable,” Christopher Hill told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in his first congressional testimony since taking over the top U.S. diplomatic post in Baghdad in April.

Iraq’s prime minister accuses Syria of harboring armed groups responsible for attacks

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister said Thursday that Syria was sheltering armed groups wanted for cross-border attacks, forcing him to appeal to the United Nations for help in stopping what he called a hostile act.

US commander: American combat exit from Iraq under way a year before deadline

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military is packing up to leave Iraq in what has been deemed the largest movement of manpower and equipment in modern military history — shipping out more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment from tanks to antennas along with a force the size of a small city.

Top US Army general says too early to tell whether Iraq violence will alter troop drawdown

SHUAIBA PORT, Kuwait — The U.S. Army’s top general said Friday that it was too early to tell whether a recent spike in violence in Iraq that has killed hundreds will have an impact on the pace that Washington withdraws its troops from the country.

Iraq’s foreign minister says security forces may have aided bombers

BAGHDAD — The suicide bombers who blew up explosives-laden trucks outside government buildings in Baghdad may have been aided by members of Iraq’s security forces, the foreign minister said Saturday, even as the government insisted Iraqi forces could still protect the nation.

Iraqi foreign minister says bigger, more powerful attacks likely after deadly Baghdad strike

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s foreign minister said Saturday that Iraqis should be prepared for bigger, more powerful attacks to strike the capital in the coming days and urged the government to immediately fix security shortcomings among its forces.

Iraqi PM blames Sunni insurgents for Baghdad bombs, says government must re-evaluate security

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has blamed Sunni insurgents for a wave of deadly bombings in Baghdad and says the Iraqi government must re-evaluate security to confront the challenge.

‘Coalition of the willing’ comes to end in Iraq, leaving just one _ the US

BAGHDAD — The war in Iraq was truly an American-only effort Saturday after Britain and Australia, the last of its international partners, pulled out.

Bombings target 3 Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing 19, Iraqi police say

BAGHDAD — Iraqi police say multiple car bombs have exploded near three Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing 19 people.

US hopeful about withdrawal after a quiet July in Iraq, one of the war’s least deadly months

BAGHDAD — July is on track to be the least deadly month for American troops and one of the quietest for Iraqis since the war started, a decline in violence that has led the U.S. to consider stepping up its withdrawal plans just a month after pulling its combat forces back from Baghdad and other cities.

2 people killed in Iraq bombings targeting police in Baghdad, Fallujah and Mosul

BAGHDAD — Two people were killed Monday in bombings across Iraq targeting police officers, considered the weakest link among the Iraqi security forces that have taken the lead from withdrawing American forces.