Yahoo! News: Iraq

NYC man gets 13 years in terror training case
AP Analysis: US-Russia Syria deal props up Assad
Iraqi leader denies holding 7 Iranian dissidents
Syrian opposition condemns al-Qaida militants
Iraq Sunni mosque blasts kill 18
Syria submits chemical data to watchdog
Syria's rebels: Lots of Islamists, but what does that mean?
Attack points to al-Qaida surge in Yemen
Bombs inside Sunni mosque in Iraq kill 15: police, medics
Iran-US 'constructive engagement'? 5 things to watch for
Syria details part of chemical arsenal, more to come
Fragmented opposition, Syrian government both hamper aid: agencies
Syria jihadist, rebel tensions explode
Explosion hits Sunni mosque in Iraq, killing 18
Iraqi Kurd leader's absence emboldens opponents
Hundreds of Syria rebels pledge loyalty to Qaeda groups: activists
Christian hostel helped by Syria rebels
Syrian opposition slams al-Qaida-linked militants
Explosion hits Sunni mosque in Iraq, killing 11
Iran leader offers to broker Syria talks
Syrian rebels and al Qaeda group end battle near Turkish border
Tunisian women 'waging sex jihad in Syria'
Away from DC, Obama regroups for fiscal showdowns
Is the Sun Peeking Through the War Clouds?
Syria's next civil war
Today in History
Hackers offered cash, booze to crack iPhone fingerprint security
Iran president offers to broker Syria talks

NYC man gets 13 years in terror training case

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:13 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — An American citizen was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Friday for lying to the FBI about his attempts to wage violent jihad against U.S. forces by joining the Taliban or al-Qaida.

AP Analysis: US-Russia Syria deal props up Assad

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 01:48 PM PDT

BEIRUT (AP) — For Syria's divided and beleaguered rebels, the creeping realization that there will not be a decisive Western military intervention on their behalf is a huge psychological blow.

Iraqi leader denies holding 7 Iranian dissidents

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 01:31 PM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq denied Friday that it is holding seven missing members of an Iranian dissident group following a deadly attack on its compound north of Baghdad earlier this month.

Syrian opposition condemns al-Qaida militants

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 01:17 PM PDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's main Western-backed opposition group warned on Friday that the expanding influence of al-Qaida-linked militants in the rebel movement is undermining its struggle for a free Syria.

Iraq Sunni mosque blasts kill 18

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:27 PM PDT

SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - Two bombs tore through worshippers gathering for prayers at a Sunni mosque in Iraq on Friday, killing 18 people, while seven died in other attacks, officials said.Militants have carried out numerous attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques this year, raising fears of a return to the all-out sectarian conflict that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people.The bombs, which hit the Musab bin Omair mosque near Samarra, north of Baghdad, also wounded 21 people, police and a doctor said. ...

Syria submits chemical data to watchdog

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:26 PM PDT

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syria has begun supplying details of its chemical arsenal, the world's chemical weapons watchdog said on Friday, as rebels agreed a truce with jihadists in a key border town.A senior Syrian official, meanwhile, said Damascus wanted a ceasefire in the 30-month war, which has reportedly killed more than 110,000 people and forced more than two million to flee.Ahead of Saturday's deadline for President Bashar al-Assad's regime to provide details on its arsenal, the Hague-based group tasked with dismantling the arms said it has received an initial report. ...

Syria's rebels: Lots of Islamists, but what does that mean?

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:55 AM PDT

On Wednesday, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an evolution of Al Qaeda in Iraq, seized control of the Syrian town of Azaz from the Free Syrian Army, a rebel umbrella group favored by the United States.

Attack points to al-Qaida surge in Yemen

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:34 AM PDT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Under a heavy fog, al-Qaida militants disguised in military uniforms launched car bomb attacks on three different security and military posts in southern Yemen on Friday, killing 38 soldiers in the group's biggest attack in the country since last year.

Bombs inside Sunni mosque in Iraq kill 15: police, medics

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:52 AM PDT

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Two bombs concealed in air conditioning units inside a Sunni mosque south of the Iraqi city of Samarra exploded during Friday prayers, killing at least 15 people, police and hospital sources said. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which took place in al-Mafraq, around 10 km (6 miles) south of Samarra. "During the Friday prayer suddenly a huge explosion took place. Black smoke filled the mosque, we could not see each other. I tried to stand, but I couldn't as I had some injuries in my legs," said 35-year-old Saleh al-Shamani. ...

Iran-US 'constructive engagement'? 5 things to watch for

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT

Never before in the 34-year history of Iran's Islamic Republic have its officials sent more signals in less time about a desire to reengage with the US and the outside world.

Syria details part of chemical arsenal, more to come

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT

By Anthony Deutsch and Oliver Holmes THE HAGUE/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria gave details of some of its chemical weapons to the OPCW arms watchdog at The Hague on Friday but needs to fill in gaps by next week to launch a rapid disarmament operation that may avert U.S. air strikes. At the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the U.N.-backed agency which is to oversee the removal of President Bashar al-Assad's arsenal, a spokeswoman said: "We have received part of the verification and we expect more." She did not say what was missing from a document one U.N. ...

Fragmented opposition, Syrian government both hamper aid: agencies

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Aid workers are having to negotiate with an increasing number of rebel sub-factions to organize delivery of aid to Syrian civilians, while the government continues to deny access to many areas, severely hampering their work, agencies said on Friday. Bringing supplies from the capital to the divided northern city of Aleppo - a distance of 355 kms - is slow and fraught, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operations worldwide. ...

Syria jihadist, rebel tensions explode

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 08:45 AM PDT

A new front is emerging in Syria's war, as mainstream rebels come to blows with jihadists, endangering their common goal of ousting Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Explosion hits Sunni mosque in Iraq, killing 18

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 07:14 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Two bombs hidden inside air conditioners exploded Friday in a Sunni mosque packed with worshippers north of Baghdad, killing at least 18 people in the latest in a string of attacks on the sect's holy sites in Iraq.

Iraqi Kurd leader's absence emboldens opponents

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 07:04 AM PDT

As Iraq's president recovers in Germany from a stroke, his political party at home faces a stiff challenge from an emboldened opposition in upcoming Kurdish elections, with some forecasting a disastrous showing.

Hundreds of Syria rebels pledge loyalty to Qaeda groups: activists

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 05:17 AM PDT

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of rebels have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda-affiliated forces in northern and eastern Syria, activists and Islamist sources said on Friday, strengthening the group's control in the region. Not only individual fighters, but entire units have joined the small but powerful al Qaeda-linked groups - the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - in recent days, according to the sources inside Syria. "This is a sign the radical groups are still growing in power. ...

Christian hostel helped by Syria rebels

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:44 AM PDT

As social media abound with horror stories of jihadists murdering minorities in Syria, a group of elderly Christians in Aleppo and the rebels who care for them portray a different reality.

Syrian opposition slams al-Qaida-linked militants

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:46 AM PDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's main Western-backed opposition group on Friday slammed al-Qaida-linked gunmen and their expanding influence in the country, saying the jihadis' push to establish an Islamic state undermines the rebels' struggle for a free Syria.

Explosion hits Sunni mosque in Iraq, killing 11

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:43 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi official says an explosion has struck inside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people in the latest outburst of violence to hit the country.

Iran leader offers to broker Syria talks

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:12 AM PDT

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani offered to broker talks between the Syrian government and the opposition Thursday, as the United States called for a binding UN resolution on the regime's chemical weapons.

Syrian rebels and al Qaeda group end battle near Turkish border

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:07 AM PDT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked fighters and a rival Syrian rebel group declared a truce on Friday after two days of clashes near the Turkish frontier in which the militant Islamists overran a border town, rebels said. Fighters from an al Qaeda affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), on Wednesday killed at least five members of the Northern Storm Brigade, a rebel group that controls the border. Clashes continued on Thursday, highlighting deep divisions in the opposition that is fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's 2-1/2-year-old civil war. ...

Tunisian women 'waging sex jihad in Syria'

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 01:47 AM PDT

Tunisian women have travelled to Syria to wage "sex jihad" by comforting Islamist fighters battling the regime there, Interior Minister Lotfi ben Jeddou has told MPs.

Away from DC, Obama regroups for fiscal showdowns

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:47 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Locked in a tug of war with lawmakers over spending and borrowing, President Barack Obama is pressing his case in America's heartland that Congress mustn't jeopardize fragile economic progress with threats of a government shutdown.

Is the Sun Peeking Through the War Clouds?

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:00 AM PDT

Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck is sometimes credited with the proverb, "God has a special providence for fools, drunks and the United States of America."

Syria's next civil war

Posted: 19 Sep 2013 11:04 PM PDT

There could soon be a civil war within a civil war in Syria.

Today in History

Posted: 19 Sep 2013 09:01 PM PDT

Today is Friday, Sept. 20, the 263rd day of 2013. There are 102 days left in the year.

Hackers offered cash, booze to crack iPhone fingerprint security

Posted: 19 Sep 2013 08:40 PM PDT

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Hackers are gearing up for Friday's iPhone 5S release with a contest to crack the device's first-ever fingerprint scanner, a high-tech feature that Apple Inc says makes users' data more secure. A micro venture capital firm joined a group of security researchers to offer more than $13,000 in cash along with bottles of booze, Bitcoin currency, books and other goodies to the first hacker who breaks the device in a contest promoted on the website http://istouchidhackedyet.com/. ...