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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham continues its lightning advance southward after seizing control of Mosul, the country's second largest city, and the province of Ninewa and other areas of Salahaddin and Kirkuk provinces yesterday. ISIS has now captured the Salahaddin cities of Bayji, which has Iraq's largest oil refinery, and Tikrit, the provincial capital. ISIS units traveling in a convoy of more than 60 vehicles advanced into Bayji last night, and torched several government buildings, court houses, and police headquarters, according to ITAR-TASS and Reuters. ISIS fighters are said to have surrounded the refinery and sent a...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.fbi.gov/louisville/press-releases/2011/iraqi-national-pleads-guilty-to-23-count-terrorism-indictment-in-kentucky Iraqi National Pleads Guilty to 23-Count Terrorism Indictment in Kentucky Defendant Participated in Numerous Efforts to Kill U.S. Troops in Iraq with IEDs U.S. Department of Justice December 16, 2011 Office of Public Affairs BOWLING GREEN, KY—Iraqi citizen Waad Ramadan Alwan pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, announced Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; David J. Hale, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky; and Elizabeth A. Fries, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Louisville Division. Alwan,...

U.S. Army Capt. Tim Peterman, commander, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, (center), talks with a local farmer about security in the city of Bayji, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Amy A. Bishop 82nd Airborne Takes Over Operations in Bayji Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division officially took command and control of Forward Operating Base Summerall from the 101st Airborne Division Rakkasans. By U.S. Army Capt. Amy A. Bishop 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAYJI, Iraq, Sept. 18, 2006 -- The torch has been passed in the city of...

Members of the Bayji Security Council meet April 3, 2006, to discuss security issues and ways to use all available agencies to combat the problems. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Amy A. Bishop Bayji Council Coordinates Security Efforts Meetings of the newly formed Bayji Security Council and coalition forces serve as a forum to tackle security issues and convey news about community improvements. By U.S. Army Capt. Amy A. Bishop 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAYJI, Iraq, April 7, 2006 — The newly formed Bayji Security Council and coalition forces are conducting joint meetings to discuss ways to combat...

Tikrit, Iraq -- Iraqi police conducted a massive raid Aug. 21 in Bayji, Iraq, netting 10 detainees. The operation was planned and executed by the Iraqi police and was comprised of about 500 Iraqi policemen from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Emergency Police Battalions, who raided several houses in Bayji targeting people suspected of criminal activity in the area, said Capt. David Zickafoose, Iraqi Police Services officer-in-charge, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Liberty. He added that Soldiers from 1st BCT’s Company B, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, were on hand to help with security and that the mission was...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An explosion along the main oil pipeline from Iraq to Turkey triggered a large fire early Thursday near the northern Iraqi town of Bayji, witnesses said. The explosion occurred about dawn just north of Bayji, about 120 miles north of Baghdad, the witnesses said. The cause of the blast could not be immediately determined and the extent of damage was unclear. Witnesses said vehicles of the Iraqi oil ministry had rushed to the scene.

The United States is testing materials found in Iraq that may have been used in the manufacture of chemical weapons, the Pentagon has said. Officials say it will be several days before they have results. They would not say when or where the materials were found, but a US television station reported that 14 unmarked drums had been found near the Bayji, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Friday. The Pentagon announcement came as hospital workers in Baghdad said at least 12 people had been killed by explosions at an ammunition dump on the edge of the...