Iraq News

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - Iraq's Al-Qaeda branch have claimed responsibility for attacks that killed 69-people during Eid on Saturday. Although, the authenticity of the statement couldn't be independently confirmed, the group said on a website commonly used by militants that the bombings were in retaliation for the arrests of hundreds of Muslims by Iraqi security-forces.

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient city called Idu, which thrived under the Assyrian Empire almost 3,300-2,900 years ago, hidden beneath a mound in a village called Sau Qala, in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. An ancient relic with the city's name engraved on it, a cylinder seal dating almost 2,600 years back are among many artifacts discovered in the area.

42 prisoners including a woman, who were convicted of terrorism-related charges, were hanged in Iraq. With violence on rise, more than 5000 people have been killed over the past six months in terrorist acts and Iraq has executed 132 people this year, so far. Later Thursday, a bomb exploded in a street in western Baghdad, killing 3-people and wounding 8-others.

Gunmen and suicide bombers driving explosives-rigged vehicles launched a wave of attacks in Iraq's Anbar province killing 25 policemen and three civilians. With the latest attacks, over 520 people have been killed so far this month. According to a recent study, nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003.

A series of car bombings targeting Baghdad's Shiite neighbourhood killed at least 41 people Sunday, while 14 died in suicide assault in Mosul, officials said. The recent onslaughts are suspected to be al-Qaida's plan but no claim has been established yet. The attacks are latest in a surge in Iraq's violence amounting over 545 deaths so far this month.

Iraq police have reported that two journalists were killed on Monday, after four suicide bombers attacked a television station headquarters in Baghdad. Some journalists managed to escape the headquarter's building, while others were still trapped inside. With the latest violence, nine Iraqi journalists have been killed in attacks in less than three months.