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iraq 0 av iraq 1 4 1 2015
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By: RASLAN SALIM

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iraq 0 av iraq 1 4 1 2015 - Video

In Iraqs western Anbar province, more than 300 U.S. troops are posted at a base in the thick of a pitched battle between Iraqi forces, backed by tribal fighters, and well-armed Islamic State militants.

The militants, positioned at a nearby town, have repeatedly hit the base with artillery and rocket fire in recent weeks. Since the middle of December, the U.S.-led military coalition has launched 13 airstrikes around the facility.

U.S. troops have suffered no casualties in the attacks. But the violence has underlined the risks to American personnel as they fan out across Iraq as part of the expanding U.S. mission against the Islamic State, even as President Obama has pledged that U.S. operations will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.

In a sign of the risks, military officials said American soldiers have been transported to the Ayn al-Asad base under the cover of night by helicopter partly to maintain a low profile for the renewed U.S. operation in Iraq but also to protect U.S. personnel amid fierce fighting west of the capital, Baghdad.

Under Obamas plan to aid the Iraqi government, the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is expected to grow to about 3,000 from just under 2,000 now. Not only have they been deployed in Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil, but in recent weeks they also have been sent to Anbar and to training sites flanking the capital.

Iraqi government forces took back an area in the Sunni heartland of Anbar province after launching a large-scale attack on Islamic State militants. (Reuters)

Overall, they are a tiny force compared with the more than 160,000 U.S. troops who were stationed in Iraq at the height of the 2003-2011 war. But American military officials recognize that Iraq remains a dangerous neighborhood in places, as a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command put it.

We are aware of those risks, and we are taking appropriate measures to mitigate them, said the spokesman, Col. Patrick Ryder.

While U.S. commanders have suggested that U.S. ground activities might expand, troops are limited to advising local commanders and retraining elements of Iraqs army. The Americans are confined to military headquarters or training bases at four sites.

Those sites include al-Asad in Anbar, a largely Sunni province that has been particularly volatile and provided a foothold for Islamic State forces in Iraq. Militants now control much of the province, including the city of Fallujah and the town of Hit.

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Iraq asks Australia for more military aid

Iraqs oil exports reached their highest level in decades in December, the oil ministrys spokesman said on Saturday, but vital revenues were being hit by the plummeting prices of crude.

As reported by AFP, Iraq exported 91.141 million barrels of oil in December for an average of 2.94 million barrels per day, the highest daily average since 1980, Assem Jihad told AFP, citing initial figures.

December exports were far and away the highest in 2014, eclipsing the previous best month by more than 11 million barrels, according to ministry figures.

But revenues were $5.247bn, only up slightly on November and much lower than the early months of 2014 because of sharply declining oil prices.

Jihad said prices averaged $57 a barrel in December, down from $100 or more during the first half of the year.

The average December price was even lower than the $60 per barrel used to calculate Iraqs 2015 budget, which already includes a more than $19bn deficit.

Oil producing cartel OPEC must move to address this issue, Jihad said.

Prices are falling now to abnormal levels, and it is up to the organisation to move instead of watching prices collapse to illogical levels, he said, adding that this was his personal opinion rather than that of the ministry.

The dramatic decline in oil prices poses a major problem for Iraq, which depends on oil revenues for the vast majority of government funds.

The oil ministry said in November that Baghdad lost more than 27 per cent of its projected revenues for 2014 because of the fall in prices.

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Iraq oil exports highest since 1980

2014 deadliest for Iraq and Syria
Official data from Iraq shows that last year was the deadliest for Iraqis in seven years. According to figures, more than 15000 people were killed in violence across the country. 22000 people...

By: PressTV News Videos

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2014 deadliest for Iraq and Syria - Video