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BAGHDAD -- Insurgents unleashed a wave of coordinated attacks across Iraq on Wednesday in a demonstration of their ability to strike at will, offering their counterpoint to American aspirations of bringing the war in Iraq ''to a responsible end.'' In attacks in 13 towns and cities, from southernmost Basra to restive Mosul in the north, insurgents deployed their full arsenal: hit-and-run shootings, roadside mines and more than a dozen car bombs. The toll was in the dozens, but the symbolism underscored a theme of America's experience here: its deadlines, including the Aug. 31 date to end combat operations, have rarely reflected the tumultuous reality on the ground and have often been accompanied by a wave of insurgent attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the explosion at the Ashrah al-Mubashra mosque in Basra, Iraq, on June 16, 2007. Some gunmen blew up the Sunni mosque after ordering the police at the mosque to flee. This was done despite the curfew imposed by the central government and calls for restraint by leaders. The attack seems to have been carried out in retaliation to the attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra, on June 13, 2007.

Reports the death of Fahker Haider, an Iraqi journalist and photographer working for The New York Times, after being abducted from his home by a group of armed men in Basra.

This article focuses on the circumstances surrounding the U.S. disengagement of Bechtel, the American construction company, from a project to build a children's hospital in Basra, Iraq. The project was almost a year behind schedule and exceeded expected costs by as much as 150%. The building of the Basra Children's Hospital had been championed by U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. Management of the project will be transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

What's going right? And can it last? Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004. The two largest cities, Baghdad and Basra, are calmer than they have been for years. The third largest, Mosul, is in the midst of a major security operation. On Thursday, Iraqi forces swept unopposed through the southern city of Amara, which has been controlled by Shiite militias. There is a sense that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's government has more political traction than any of its predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, making an unannounced stop in Baghdad on Sunday, praised the Iraqi government's decision to take on Shiite militia members in Basra and in Baghdad and painted an upbeat picture of the Iraqi government's progress toward unifying the country. Ms. Rice, who visited the Iraqi capital on her way to a conference in Kuwait of Iraq's neighbors, said that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's government ''has made a choice to pursue militias and is willing to bear the consequences.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Iraqi security forces fanned out into the suburbs and ports of Basra on Wednesday, as life in that southern city slowly began to return to normal, with government offices reopening and residents venturing more confidently into the streets. Witnesses said that Iraqi forces now controlled central Basra and its northern border, and that they had begun moving into militia strongholds north of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that the control of Basra in Iraq was handed over to the Iraqi government by the British forces. The region was under their military supervision since four and a half years. Basra is stated to be a politically vital province and so officials in the U.S. are wondering if the transfer will prove to be Iraq's test of political and military leadership ability. Political analysts are seeing whether the step will prevent Shiite militia from gaining too much influence.

The article discusses the outcomes of the British troop withdrawal from Basra, Iraq. Some military commanders and government officials have expressed concerns that the pull-out will put them and a supply route to Baghdad at risk. The rout, through which fuel, food, ammunition and equipment are supplied to Baghdad, crosses a territory that is under the control of rival militias and criminal gangs.

Reports on the protest of Iraqis, demanding an apology from the British government for a raid on a police station in Basra, Iraq.

The American military conducted airstrikes Thursday and Friday to back up stalled Iraqi forces in Basra and battle Shiite militias in Baghdad as continued violence and political infighting worsened the prospects for any timely reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions. Although American officials have emphasized that the campaign in the southern port city of Basra is directed by Iraqi forces, the Iraqis have failed so far to wrest control of neighborhoods in Basra from Shiite militias and asked the Americans and British to step in. The Iraqi military does not have jet fighters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Heavy fighting broke out Tuesday in two of Iraq's largest cities, as Iraqi ground forces and helicopters mounted a huge operation to break the grip of the Shiite militias controlling Basra, and Iraqi forces clashed with militias in Baghdad. The fighting threatened to destabilize a long-term truce that had helped reduce the level of violence in the five-year-old Iraq war. The battles, along with indications in recent weeks that militia and insurgent attacks had already been creeping up, raised fears across Iraq that Moktada al-Sadr, the renegade Shiite cleric, could pull out of a cease-fire he declared last summer. If his Mahdi Army militia does step up attacks, that could in turn slow American troop withdrawals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the Iraq visit of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on December 9, 2007. He made an unannounced visit to Basra to address there the British troops who are scheduled to hand over the region to Iraqi forces in mid-December. After British troop withdrawal from Basra, the number of British troops in Iraq will drop to 2,500 from 4,500. The day continued witnessing violent attacks including the killing of a police chief in Baghdad.