Yahoo! News: Iraq

Air raids on rebel areas near Damascus, Kurds advance: NGO
Iraq oil pipeline bombed, pumping shut down
Iran criticizes Iraq for increasing crude exports
10 things you need to know today: November 2, 2013
Today in History
Four extra sites opened to search for U.S. troops missing in Vietnam
U.S. wants 'inclusive' Iraq: Obama
Al Qaeda's 'Great Escape' Plot? Hundreds of Terrorists Freed
Tales of Fried Chicken in the Middle East

Air raids on rebel areas near Damascus, Kurds advance: NGO

Posted: 02 Nov 2013 12:31 PM PDT

Syrian air and land forces pressed efforts to crush rebel-held pockets around Damascus on Saturday, as Kurdish fighters in the country's north drove home advances against jihadist groups, monitors said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air force carried out raids on Sbeineh, south of the capital, as regime troops shelled the town. "The strike was part of the regime's offensive against rebel areas in and around southern Damascus," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. There has been a marked escalation along Damascus' southern belt, which has been under a suffocating siege for months, giving rise to widespread malnutrition especially among children.

Iraq oil pipeline bombed, pumping shut down

Posted: 02 Nov 2013 06:38 AM PDT

Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Militants bombed a major oil pipeline in northern Iraq early on Saturday, disabling it and forcing pumping to be suspended, security officials said. Three blasts went off along the pipeline, in Nineveh province, which runs to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, according to two security officials. Iraq is heavily dependent on crude sales, which account for 95 percent of government revenues and an estimated two-thirds of gross domestic product, and is looking to dramatically boost them in the coming years.

Iran criticizes Iraq for increasing crude exports

Posted: 02 Nov 2013 01:57 AM PDT

Iran's Oil Minister says Iraq has increased its crude oil exports to compensate for a fall in Iranian exports as a result of sanctions over Tehran's suspected nuclear program, calling the policy "not ...

10 things you need to know today: November 2, 2013

Posted: 02 Nov 2013 01:15 AM PDT

1. Shooter terrorizes Los Angeles International AirportA gunman shot and killed a TSA agent on Friday morning at Los Angeles International Airport. Several other people were treated for injuries after a man reportedly fired a "high-powered rifle" inside LAX's Terminal 3, causing the terminal to be evacuated and flights to be grounded. Police say they believe the suspect, 23-year-old Paul Ciancia of New Jersey, acted alone. ...

Today in History

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 09:01 PM PDT

Today is Saturday, Nov. 2, the 306th day of 2013. There are 59 days left in the year.

Four extra sites opened to search for U.S. troops missing in Vietnam

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 05:26 PM PDT

By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vietnam advised the United States at the start of high-level talks this week it would open four additional sites to investigators seeking the remains of American military personnel missing since the Vietnam War, a senior U.S. defense official said. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Vikram Singh, who oversees U.S. military ties with South and Southeast Asia, said an eight-member delegation led by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh told U.S. defense officials about the decision at the outset of talks at the Pentagon this week. A U.S. official said on Friday the sites were in the southern part of Vietnam and were small areas where specific incidents are believed to have taken place. The Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office says 1,275 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

U.S. wants 'inclusive' Iraq: Obama

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 05:12 PM PDT

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday to build a more inclusive democracy in his country and said the United States would cooperate with Iraq as it tries to push back a resurgent al Qaeda. As Iraq experiences a rising spiral of sectarian violence two years after U.S. troops departed following eight years of war, Maliki came to Washington seeking U.S. help to counter a Sunni insurgency revived in part by Syria's civil war next door. Obama, in White House Oval Office remarks with Maliki at his side, made no mention of supplying the U.S.-made Apache helicopters the Iraqis are seeking from the United States.