Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Assad sends air force to prevent rebel advances in home province
• Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 69
• Iraqi Kurdish leader vows to defend Kurds in Syria
• Obama administration whittles away at veterans benefits backlog
• Obama to Veterans: VA Backlog Is Easing
• Car bombs kill nearly 80 in Iraq, target Eid festivities
• Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 64
• Obama pledges speedier service for veterans in Florida stop
• Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 52
• Obama wants to ensure all resources for veterans
• Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 40
• Officials: Wave of bombings in Iraq kills 33
• Iraqi Kurd president says ready to defend Kurds in Syria
• Bomb near park in central Iraq kills 4
• New Al-Qaida Branch Could be Coalescing in Syria

Assad sends air force to prevent rebel advances in home province Posted: 10 Aug 2013 04:30 PM PDT By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Warplanes bombed a village in Syria's north overnight in an apparent effort by President Bashar al-Assad to prevent rebels fighting him from advancing on communities in the stronghold region of his Alawite sect. Assad's forces are on the defensive in his family's home province of Latakia, and recent rebel gains across northern Syria, including a military air base captured last week in Aleppo province, have further loosened his grip on the country. ...

Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 69 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 01:12 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings targeting those celebrating the end of Ramadan across Iraq killed 69 people Saturday, a bloody reminder of the inability of Iraqi authorities to stop violence threatening to spiral out of control.

Iraqi Kurdish leader vows to defend Kurds in Syria Posted: 10 Aug 2013 12:43 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The president of Iraqi Kurdistan vowed Saturday to defend the large Kurdish population in neighboring Syria from al-Qaida-linked rebel fighters, highlighting the potential for Syria's civil war to morph into a full-blown regional, ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Obama administration whittles away at veterans benefits backlog Posted: 10 Aug 2013 12:26 PM PDT Before beginning a week's vacation on Martha's Vineyard, President Obama addressed a longstanding problem for thousands of military veterans returned from US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and seeking government help: lengthy waits for medical treatment, disability benefits, and other services due them.

Obama to Veterans: VA Backlog Is Easing Posted: 10 Aug 2013 12:02 PM PDT President Obama will head to Martha's Vineyard this afternoon, spending the upcoming week there with his family and a few aides. But before going on vacation, Obama addressed wounded veterans at the Disabled American Veterans National Convention in Orlando, Fla., Saturday afternoon, pledging improvement in...

Car bombs kill nearly 80 in Iraq, target Eid festivities Posted: 10 Aug 2013 11:41 AM PDT By Kareem Raheem and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of car bombs in mainly Shi'ite areas of Baghdad killed 57 people and wounded more than 150 on Saturday, in what appeared to be coordinated attacks on people celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The 12 separate blasts targeting markets, busy shopping streets and parks where families like to mark Eid were part of a surge in sectarian violence in Iraq since the start of the year. ...

Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 64 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 10:59 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings, mainly targeting cafes and markets around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killed 64 people Saturday out celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said.

Obama pledges speedier service for veterans in Florida stop Posted: 10 Aug 2013 10:45 AM PDT By Jeff Mason ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama promised faster attention to a backlog of veterans' disability claims and announced a new mental health initiative on Saturday during a stop in Florida before beginning a week-long vacation. Traveling to Orlando with his wife, Michelle, Obama addressed a gathering of the Disabled American Veterans group. He highlighted progress in reducing a huge number of outstanding veterans' disability claims; the backlog has decreased by 20 percent from its high of 611,000 claims at the end of March. ...

Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 52 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 10:31 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings, mainly targeting cafes and markets around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killed 52 people Saturday out celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said.

Obama wants to ensure all resources for veterans Posted: 10 Aug 2013 09:42 AM PDT ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — President Barack Obama is pledging to make sure the government has all the resources needed to assist U.S. veterans, and he notes their ranks are growing as wars end in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wave of bombings in Iraq during holiday kills 40 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 09:32 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings targeting cafes and markets around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad killed 40 people Saturday out celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said.

Officials: Wave of bombings in Iraq kills 33 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 09:10 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say a wave of bombings around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad have killed 33 people celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Iraqi Kurd president says ready to defend Kurds in Syria Posted: 10 Aug 2013 07:30 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdistan is ready to defend Kurds living in Syria if it is found that they are being threatened by al Qaeda-linked fighters involved in the Syrian civil war, the president of the well-armed autonomous region said. In a letter posted online on Saturday, Masoud Barzani said he had directed Kurdish representatives to go to neighboring Syria to investigate news reports that the "terrorists of al Qaeda are attacking the civilian population and slaughtering innocent Kurdish women and children. ...

Bomb near park in central Iraq kills 4 Posted: 10 Aug 2013 06:10 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say a bomb near a park south of Baghdad has killed four people, including two children, who were celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

New Al-Qaida Branch Could be Coalescing in Syria Posted: 09 Aug 2013 07:02 AM PDT Militant opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government might be banding together into an al-Qaida faction more radical in its views than the al-Nusra Front, another group tied to the terror organization, U.S. and Western intelligence insiders said in comments quoted by the New York Times on Friday.

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