2014年1月2日星期四

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


START THE NEW YEAR WITH HESITANT STEPS TOWARD HOPE

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST

More money for Wall Street, in the mistaken Republican idea that the money moguls might just bow to investing in the country that gave them everything? So Happy New Year! Let us fervently hope for an America that will set that example.

Qaeda leader held in Lebanon raised funds for anti-Assad militants -experts

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:59 PM PST

By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Saudi leader of an al-Qaeda spinoff group arrested in Lebanon this week was a key fundraiser in the Gulf for militants fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, official and private experts say. The Lebanese army arrested Muhammad al-Majid, who leads the Lebanon-based Abdullah Azzam Brigades which claimed a double suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut last November. That attack was part of a spiral of sectarian violence in Lebanon that appears to be a spillover from Syria's civil war. Laith Alkhouri of Flashpoint Partners, a private group which monitors militant websites for business and government clients, said Majid had "been behind a great deal of financing to the jihadists fighting in Syria." U.S. and European officials say that the most militant Sunni factions fighting Assad's forces, including the Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, both aligned with al-Qaeda, are being financed largely by wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.

Iraqis battle militant uprising in 2 Sunni cities

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:17 PM PST

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Iraqi government has tightened its security measures after security forces have arrested, Wathiq al-Batat, a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia called Mukhtar Army. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces and allied tribesmen battled on Thursday to put down al-Qaida-linked gunmen who, in a coordinated surge, ran rampant in two of the country's main Sunni cities, overrunning police stations and sweeping through the streets, emboldened by mounting sectarian tensions between minority Sunnis and the Shiite-led government.


Iraq forces battle jihadists in western cities

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:37 PM PST

Armed tribesmen stand guard in a street as clashes rage in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on January 2, 2014Ramadi (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen battled jihadists on Thursday after they seized parts of two Sunni-majority cities following days of violence triggered by the demolition of a year-old protest camp. Militants from the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized half of the city of Fallujah, outside Baghdad, and parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi farther west. But security forces backed by loyalists among the province's powerful tribes launched a counter-attack, sparking fierce fighting. "We entered Fallujah with heavy clashes," special forces commander Major General Fadhel al-Barwari said in a statement.


Peter King Calls The New York Times 'A Disgrace,' Which Is Actually Pretty Nice for Him

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:35 PM PST

Peter King Calls The New York Times 'A Disgrace,' Which Is Actually Pretty Nice for HimNew York Rep. Peter King told Fox News that The New York Times is "a disgrace" that doesn't "care about American lives being lost" in the wake of the newspaper's editorial supporting Edward Snowden. It's the meanest thing King's said about the paper since he asked the Attorney General to prosecute its editors for treason in 2006 — after it reported on NSA surveillance.


Uighurs' release from Guantànamo brings tragic ordeal to an end

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:58 AM PST

Tuesday's announcement of the release of the final three Uighur detainees at Guantànamo brings to a close the tragic ordeal of a group of Muslims from China held at the controversial terror detention camp for years without any evidence of involvement in terrorism. US law prevents the government from sending them back to China or any other country where they might face brutal treatment. At one time, there were 22 Uighurs at Guantànamo. The following year, they were moved to Guantànamo as suspected terrorists.

Iraq oil pipeline bombed, pumping halted

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:54 AM PST

A view of the Tawke oil field and plant that is linked with the Jihan Turkish pipeline in Zakho, 400 km north of Baghdad on May 18, 2009Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Militants bombed a major oil pipeline in northern Iraq on Thursday, causing a fire and forcing pumping to be suspended, an official from the North Oil Company said. Militants frequently attack the pipeline, which ferries a significant portion of Iraq's oil exports to international markets. Iraq is heavily dependent on oil exports, and the government is seeking to dramatically ramp up its sales in the coming years to fund the reconstruction of its battered infrastructure.


Sunni fighters repel army in western Iraqi cities

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:12 AM PST

A Sunni Muslim fighter looks at a burning police vehicle during clashes in RamadiBy Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sunni Muslim fighters clashed on Thursday with Iraqi troops trying to regain control of two western cities, in a serious escalation of their confrontation with the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Tension has been running high in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar since Iraqi police broke up a Sunni protest camp on Monday, leaving at least 13 people dead. Thousands of anti-government tribal fighters took over local government buildings in the two main cities, Falluja and Ramadi, on Wednesday after the army pulled back in an attempt to calm the situation. Fighting broke out on Thursday, tribal leaders and security officials said, when the army tried to re-enter the cities.


US-Afghan ties hit rocks again over freeing of Taliban

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:11 AM PST

Afghan children play outside their homes near Bagram Prison facilities outside Kabul on March 25, 2012A decision to release jailed Taliban militants further aggravated US-Afghan relations on Thursday as pressure mounts for the two countries to sign a deal allowing some American soldiers to stay after 2014. The plan to free 88 suspected insurgents from Bagram jail has outraged US military officials and senators as final negotiations are underway on the long-delayed Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential voice on US military issues, tore into the proposed release of militants who he said had "blood on their hands". "If this release goes forward, it... would have an unbelievably negative impact on the future relationship between the American people and the Afghan government," Graham said on a visit to Kabul.


Bombing in northern Iraq city kills 19

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 10:11 AM PST

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Iraqi government has tightened its security measures after security forces have arrested, Wathiq al-Batat, a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia called Mukhtar Army. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)BAGHDAD (AP) — A truck packed with explosives blew up in a city north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 19 people, as security forces and allied tribesman battled to put down an uprising by al-Qaida-linked militants who overran police stations in several Sunni cities.


Suicide car bomber kills at least 12 in Iraq

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 09:22 AM PST

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Iraqi government has tightened its security measures after security forces have arrested, Wathiq al-Batat, a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia called Mukhtar Army. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives killed at least 12 people who had gathered to buy and sell cars in Iraq on Thursday, local officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place near the car markets in the town of Balad Ruz, in northeastern Iraq, injuring another 25 people. However, suicide bombings are the hallmark of al Qaeda, whose Iraq affiliate has re-emerged, invigorated by the civil war in Syria and growing resentment among the country's Sunni Muslim minority towards the Shi'ite-led government. Two years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, violence is at its highest levels since the sectarian bloodshed of 2006-7, when tens of thousands of people were killed.


Bombing in northern Iraq city kills 16

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 09:08 AM PST

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Iraqi government has tightened its security measures after security forces have arrested, Wathiq al-Batat, a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia called Mukhtar Army. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)BAGHDAD (AP) — Authorities in Iraq say a vehicle bomb targeting a street full of shoppers in a city north of Baghdad has killed 16 people and wounded 31 others.


Suicide bomber kills 13 near Baquba: Iraq police

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 08:08 AM PST

Iraqi security forces stand guard at the police headquarters in the western city of Fallujah on October 21, 2013Baquba (Iraq) (AFP) - A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle on Thursday near car dealerships in Baladruz, close to the Iraqi city of Baquba, killing 13 people, police and a doctor said. The blast in Baladruz, north of Baghdad, also wounded 25 people, the sources said. The bombing comes as security forces and tribesmen battled Al-Qaeda-linked militants who took control of parts of two cities in Anbar province, west of the capital. Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of sectarian killings.


Iraqi security forces arrest Shiite militia leader

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 07:09 AM PST

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Iraqi government has tightened its security measures after security forces have arrested, Wathiq al-Batat, a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia called Mukhtar Army. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces arrested a controversial Shiite cleric who leads an Iranian-backed militia, a move apparently aimed at bolstering Sunni support as the Shiite-led government and allied tribes on Thursday battled Islamic militants who rose up in multiple Sunni-dominated cities.


McCain warns Karzai, but confident on Afghan deal

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 06:51 AM PST

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Arizona Republican John McCain and several other U.S. senators said Thursday they've warned the Afghan president that a failure to sign a key Afghan-U.S. security deal would pose a threat to the country and the region.

America's first marijuana stores open in Colorado

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 05:53 AM PST

America's first marijuana stores open in ColoradoMarijuana users celebrated Wednesday as Colorado became the first US state to allow retail cannabis sales, putting it in the vanguard of efforts across the country to legalize the drug. Washington state on the Pacific Coast will follow Colorado several months from now, when it also allows stores to begin selling cannabis. Iraq war veteran Sean Azzariti was the first person to legally purchase cannabis for recreational use in the United States. Azzariti, who has campaigned to legalize weed, said marijuana helps alleviate his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.


Iraq arrests Shi'ite militia commander: police sources

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 04:04 AM PST

Iraq has arrested an Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia leader whose group claimed responsibility for a mortar bomb attack near a border post in Saudi Arabia in November, police sources said on Thursday. Wathiq al-Batat, commander of Iraq's al-Mukhtar Army militia, was arrested at a check point in northeastern Baghdad, a police source told Reuters. The Al-Mukhtar Army is a relatively new Shi'ite militia, which has said it is supported and funded by Iran. Batat is a former leader of Iraq's better known Kata'ib Hezbollah militia.

Brent edges over $111, but weak China data drags

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 10:44 PM PST

A worker holds a cup of heavy oil before it is shipped to the market at the Cenovus Energy Christina Lake SAGD project south of Fort McMurrayBy Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude rose past $111 a barrel on Thursday on a drop in U.S. inventories and output cuts in Libya and South Sudan, but slowing economic expansion in China may hold back further gains. Growth in factory activity in second largest oil consumer China slowed in late 2013, according to purchasing managers' indexes published by the government and HSBC, weighed down by shrinking export orders. China's factory activity expanded at its slowest in three months in December, according to the HSBC survey, consistent with views that the economy's growth rate has moderated. "The Chinese PMI data were not exactly bullish," IHS oil consultant Victor Shum said.


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