Today the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), an al-Qaeda splinter group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seized control of Tikrit, marking the militant group’s continued territorial advancement from Aleppo, Syria through Iraq’s al-Anbar province and into northern and eastern Iraq. Yesterday, ISIS seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city with a population […]
Category: Updates
EPIC’s Latest 2014 Updates
With only two months passing into the new year, there have been many remarkable developments at EPIC. For all of us on EPIC’s team, it has been a very exciting time and we would like to share a few of these developments with you. First, we are pleased to welcome EPIC’s new Program Associate, Taif […]
On the Congressional Agenda: Al Qaeda’s Resurgence in Iraq
On Wednesday, February 5th, the House Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing, moderated by Chairman Ed Royce, to discuss Al Qaeda’s resurgence in Iraq with Brett McGurk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran. Many of the hearing’s statements and questions centered around ISIL, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, an Al Qaeda […]
Humanitarian Update: Violence in Anbar adds to Iraqi IDP’s
One of the most underreported stories by the news media is the displacement of 13,000 inhabitants of Fallujah and Ramadi amidst fighting between Iraqi Security Forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who now control much of the Anbar province. This is the first time since 2004 that militants have […]
An EPIC Update on the Obama administration & PHOTOVOICE
Greetings dear friends, I am writing to you from Arbat refugee camp outside Sulaimani in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, and I have some very important news to share with you. President Barack Obama has just announced that he will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House on November 1, marking the first such […]
Sunday’s Terrorist Attack in Erbil and the US-Iraqi Strategic Framework Agreement
On Sunday, September 29, 2013, I woke up to some horrible news. At 1:24pm Erbil time, the Directorate of Security building in Erbil was the target of terrorist attacks. The more I poured over news reports, the more I found myself shocked and dismayed. The attack was limited in size and scope due to the […]
Campaign Update: Put Iraq Back on the Agenda
In his recent speech to the UN General Assemly, President Obama said, “Iraq shows us that democracy cannot be imposed by force. Rather, these objectives are best achieved when we partner with the international community and with the countries and people of the region.” While we are happy to hear this sentiment, it is urgent […]
Snapshots of an Escalating Crisis
April and May were the two deadliest months in Iraq since 2008, and that escalation has continued into June. On Monday, a wave of car-bombs across central and northern Iraq claimed at least 57 lives, prompting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to issue a statement expressing concern over “the escalating political tensions and the appalling upsurge […]