Middle Orient

GENEVA – About 151,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the three years following the U.S.-led invasion of their country, according to World Health Organization (WHO) research published on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD – Six U.S. soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a house rigged with explosives blew up north of Baghdad during a new U.S.-Iraqi offensive targeting al Qaeda guerrillas in Iraq, the U.S. military said.

KIRKUK, Iraq – Two car bombs exploded outside two churches in the volatile northern city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of attacks on Christian targets in Iraq this week.

ISLAMABAD – Plagued by mounting attacks by Islamist militants loyal to al Qaeda, Pakistan now faces a second wave of violence as its minority Shi’ite Muslims prepare for their annual mourning period.

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces have arrested a retired army major suspected of being the mastermind behind a suicide attack on an air force bus which killed eight people, an intelligence official said on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (FNA) The United States’ hue and cry about the incident in the Strait of Hormuz serves as a part of Washington’s psychological warfare against Iran, Iranian parliament speaker said in the wake of a wave of western media reports about an alleged confrontation between Iranian and US navy vessels …

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran played down an incident between Iranian forces and US naval ships in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the event as an “ordinary occurrence” that ended without any disturbance.

TEHRAN (FNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday he was seeking a 17 percent spending increase in the budget for the next Iranian year.

TEHRAN (FNA) At least 21 people have been killed and 88 others injured in Iran in accidents related to heavy snowfall and strong winds during the last few days.

TEHRAN (FNA) Five Iranian speedboats warned three US navy ships to keep away from the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, US media quoted a Pentagon official as saying on Monday.