Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• New counterterrorism units at Australian airports
• U.S. judge signals he may order more Abu Ghraib photos released
• Another 'red line'? Obama again considers airstrikes in Syria
• A mother's plea to Islamic State: 'Please release my child'
• Mom: captured son 'honorable' US journalist
• Report: FBI official used 'poor judgment' in suit
• Blackwater four 'shot dead Iraqi civilians'
• Photos show gruesome Islamic State seizure of base
• Mom pleads for release of captive U.S. journalist
• Shooting by 9-year-old girl stirs debate over guns
• Q-and-A on Westerners who join the fight in Syria
• U.S., Blackwater defense clash on jury summary of shooting
• Obama again faces Congress question on Syria
• U.S. probes possible 2nd American jihadist killed in Syria
• Lebanese army shells militant positions in Syria border zone
• One Midwest High School, Two American Terrorists
• US weighs mission to help besieged Turkmen in Iraq
• IRAQ
• A mother's appeal as fears mount for Syria hostages
• How the US has justified overseas military action
• Saudi Arabia jails 23 more men for militancy in security crackdown
• Douglas McAuthur McCain: What was lure of Islamic State for him – and others?
• Saudi princes visit Qatar as Gulf states try to end rift
• Jihadists anti-Islamic: exiled Brotherhood spiritual guide
• UN scales up food supplies for Iraqis fleeing conflict
• Israel believes it's developing regional support for hurting Hamas
• Iraq forces ready bid to break jihadist siege of Shiite town
• California terrorism suspect denies US attack plot
• Soldier who shot self at base had earned medals
• Sources: US considering new relief mission in Iraq
• Germany to decide on military aid for Iraq on Sunday: minister
• Executions a 'common spectacle' in jihadist-held Syria: UN
• EU to beef up border agency to deal with migrants
• Rep. Paul Ryan on ISIS, James Foley & Ferguson
• Islamist fighters seize Syria crossing near Israel: Syrian Observatory
• U.S. mother pleads to Islamic State leader for her son's release
• US journalist thankful for work to secure freedom
• Journalist held captive in Syria arrives in U.S.
• Army identifies shooter at Virginia base as Iraq war veteran
• American Police Departments Are Losing Tons Of Military Grade Weaponry

New counterterrorism units at Australian airports Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:44 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — New counterterrorism units have been working at Australia's two largest airports since last week and had already prevented two suspected jihadists from leaving the country, officials said.

U.S. judge signals he may order more Abu Ghraib photos released Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:37 PM PDT By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge signaled on Wednesday he may order the U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in New York ruled the U.S. Department of Defense had failed to show why releasing the photographs would endanger the lives of American soldiers and workers abroad. He also said former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta apparently had not considered each individual photograph before determining in late 2012 that all of them should remain secret.

Another 'red line'? Obama again considers airstrikes in Syria Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:28 PM PDT A year after President Obama contemplated and then called off airstrikes in Syria, he's weighing the military option in that country once again. This time around, as administration officials work up plans and build a potential international coalition to strike at the base of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the reluctant interventionist in the White House seems more likely to give military action the nod. The basic reason is this: Mr. Obama views the IS Islamist extremist organization as a direct threat to Americans and to US national security interests. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime would have been the target of airstrikes last year, was not seen to rise to the same order and level of threat.

A mother's plea to Islamic State: 'Please release my child' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:01 PM PDT The mother of an American journalist held captive by Islamic militants issued a calm but passionate plea for the release of her son Wednesday. Shirley Sotloff appealed directly to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State (IS) in a video aired Wednesday on the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television network. As a mother, I ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over," she said in the video. Steven Sotloff was last heard from in August 2013 while he was reporting from the Middle East as a freelance reporter.

Mom: captured son 'honorable' US journalist Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:01 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — An American freelance journalist held hostage and threatened with death by Islamic militants wanted to tell the world through his writing about oppressed people in the Middle East, his mother said in a video released Wednesday.

Report: FBI official used 'poor judgment' in suit Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:58 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A former leader of the FBI's Milwaukee field office used "extremely poor judgment" in trying to influence the testimony of a subordinate in a disability discrimination lawsuit, according to a Justice Department inspector general report issued Wednesday.

Blackwater four 'shot dead Iraqi civilians' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:54 PM PDT Four guards with the Blackwater private security firm shot dead unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, who were desperately trying to flee for their lives, a prosector said Wednesday. At the close of a two-and-a-half-month trial in a federal court in Washington, US Attorney Anthony Asuncion asked simply what had motivated the men to open fire on the 14 Iraqis on September 16, 2007 in Baghdad. Why shoot women and children who are unarmed?" he asked. Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slatten sat quietly dressed in suits and ties.

Photos show gruesome Islamic State seizure of base Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:49 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The mother of a hostage American journalist pleaded for his release Wednesday in a video directed at the Islamic State group, while new images emerged of mass killings, including masked militants shooting kneeling men after the capture of a strategic air base in Syria.

Mom pleads for release of captive U.S. journalist Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:22 PM PDT The mother of an American freelance journalist held hostage and threatened with death by Islamic militants pleaded for his release Wednesday in a video message aimed directly at his captors.

Shooting by 9-year-old girl stirs debate over guns Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:21 PM PDT PHOENIX (AP) — The accidental shooting death of a firing-range instructor by a 9-year-old girl with an Uzi has set off a powerful debate over youngsters and guns, with many people wondering what sort of parents would let a child handle a submachine gun.

Q-and-A on Westerners who join the fight in Syria Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:08 PM PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Douglas McAuthur McCain, an American killed in Syria while fighting with the Islamic State group, was part of a growing number of Americans and other foreigners recruited by terror groups to help them wage war in the Mideast.

U.S., Blackwater defense clash on jury summary of shooting Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:30 PM PDT The guards "took something that didn't belong to them, the lives of 14 human beings," prosecutor Anthony Asuncion told the jury. There were "no insurgents, no AK-47s, just people seeking shelter from these men," Asuncion said, pointing to the defendants who sat in the courtroom. Later, a lawyer for Paul Slough, one of the guards, told the same jury that he "didn't recognize" the prosecutor's summary of the trial, saying that "witness after witness" had testified about incoming gunfire and pervasive threats to the Blackwater convoy. Asuncion said a different guard, Nicholas Slatten, fired the first shots.

Obama again faces Congress question on Syria Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — One year ago, President Barack Obama was barreling toward airstrikes in Syria when he abruptly announced that he first wanted approval from congressional lawmakers. The move threw his policy into confusion and the strikes were eventually scrapped.

U.S. probes possible 2nd American jihadist killed in Syria Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:09 PM PDT The United States was investigating Wednesday news reports that a second American was killed recently fighting for an Islamist extremist group in Syria. We're looking into it but we don't have any independent confirmation at this point in time," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. US officials on Tuesday confirmed that American Douglas McCain, 33, was killed in Syria fighting for the Islamic State, which aims to establish a Muslim caliphate in the Middle East. The American jihadist traveled to war-torn Syria to join the group, which has marauded across swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months and beheaded US journalist James Foley more than a week ago.

Lebanese army shells militant positions in Syria border zone Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:06 PM PDT (Reuters) - BEIRUT, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Lebanese army shelled militant positions in the border zone with Syria on Wednesday near a town that was seized by Islamist insurgents earlier this month, a security source said. It was the first such engagement since the radical Sunni Muslim militants including fighters affiliated to Islamic State withdrew from the town of Arsal three weeks ago following five days of deadly battles with the army. The insurgents including members of the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's official affiliate in the Syrian war, and Islamic State, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

One Midwest High School, Two American Terrorists Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:04 PM PDT Douglas McCain, Recently Killed in Syria, Was Friends With Troy Kastigar, Killed in Somalia in 2009

US weighs mission to help besieged Turkmen in Iraq Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:04 PM PDT The United States is weighing a possible humanitarian mission as well as air strikes to help Shiite Turkmen encircled by Islamic State jihadists in northern Iraq, US officials said Wednesday. If approved, the operation in Amerli could resemble US military action taken earlier this month to aid thousands of vulnerable Yazidis at Mount Sinjar, also in Iraq's north, officials said. In that case, American cargo aircraft dropped food and water to the Yazidis while warplanes bombed Islamic State (IS) militants nearby. UN officials have warned of growing shortages of food and water in Amerli and that the Shiite Turkmen face a "possible massacre" if the town is overrun by Islamic State fighters.

IRAQ Posted: 27 Aug 2014 02:01 PM PDT Graphic shows recent events in Northern Iraq.; 2c x 5 inches; 96.3 mm x 127 mm;

A mother's appeal as fears mount for Syria hostages Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:48 PM PDT The mother of a US hostage who has been threatened with death by jihadist militants pleaded for his life on Wednesday amid mounting fears for Americans captured in Syria. Last week's murder of journalist James Foley by the so-called Islamic State has focused attention on other American hostages, including 31-year-old freelancer Steven Sotloff. Another journalist, Peter Theo Curtis, returned home Tuesday after nearly two years in captivity, but US media reported the Islamic State is still holding a 26-year-old female aid worker. The masked militant seen beheading Foley in a video released by the group also threatened to kill Sotloff unless US President Barack Obama orders a halt to air strikes against the group.

How the US has justified overseas military action Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:46 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at the domestic legal justifications the U.S. has used for military action around the world:

Saudi Arabia jails 23 more men for militancy in security crackdown Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:40 PM PDT A Saudi Arabian court sentenced 23 men to jail terms of up to 22 years for their role in militant attacks, state media said on Wednesday, part of a security crackdown in which scores of people have been imprisoned over the past week. Last week, 48 men were sentenced to prison terms of up to 30 years and one was condemned to death for militant crimes. Al Qaeda militants carried out a wave of attacks against foreign and government targets in Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2006. In February King Abdullah decreed long prison terms for anybody who goes abroad to fight or joins groups deemed extremist.

Douglas McAuthur McCain: What was lure of Islamic State for him – and others? Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:29 PM PDT Minnesota resident Douglas McAuthur McCain, who was killed while battling rebel forces in a Syrian suburb, posted Facebook entries and tweets making it clear that he found camaraderie and a sense of conviction in the Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS. Born in Illinois and raised in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, Mr. McCain is "absolutely the next iteration of the home-grown terrorist threat," says Matthew Levitt, director of the Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. In the case of McCain and others, they may "go over as disaffected young men and come back having forged networks and training – as well as battlefield experience," says Michael Singh, former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council, who is now also at the Washington Institute. An estimated 300 Americans have gone to fight – or attempted to go and fight – in the region, according US intelligence officials.

Saudi princes visit Qatar as Gulf states try to end rift Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:23 PM PDT Three Saudi princes including Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal visited Qatar on Wednesday, state media said, amid efforts to repair a rift within the U.S.-allied Gulf Cooperation Council. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors to Qatar in March, accusing Doha of failing to abide by an agreement not to interfere in one another's internal affairs. There is growing concern in the Gulf over an increasing threat from the Islamic State, a splinter group of al Qaeda. The Saudi SPA news agency said Prince Saud and the head of general intelligence, Prince Khaled bin Bandar, and Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef arrived in Doha on a "short brotherly visit".

Jihadists anti-Islamic: exiled Brotherhood spiritual guide Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:17 PM PDT The organisation of exiled Muslim Brotherhood spiritual guide Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said Wednesday that the actions of "deviant groups" like the jihadist Islamic State were in violation of Islamic law. Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars described as "criminal and unlawful" an offensive led by the group's fighters against non-Muslims in northern Iraq earlier this month. The Egyptian-born cleric wields huge influence with the Brotherhood's supporters across the Arab world through his frequent appearances on Al-Jazeera television from his base in exile in Qatar.

UN scales up food supplies for Iraqis fleeing conflict Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:58 PM PDT The UN food aid agency said Wednesday that a convoy of supplies had reached 2,000 desperate families, crammed into the Iraqi city of Karbala after fleeing jihadist attacks. It said the delivery brings to 700,000 the total number of Iraqis receiving World Food Programme assistance since June, when Sunni jihadists who already held part of Syria swept across swathes of Iraq. The WFP trucks travelled to the southern city from Arbil in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, whose fighters have battled to hold off the jihadists. The convoy used a corridor along the Iranian border, considered relatively safe compared with high risk routes deeper inside Iraq.

Israel believes it's developing regional support for hurting Hamas Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:55 PM PDT Mr. Netanyahu and his spokesmen have been pushing the line that Hamas is indistinguishable from groups like Al Qaeda or the self-styled Islamic State, a Sunni rebel group that now holds a long stretch of territory in Iraq and meaningful pockets in Syria. The Quneitra takeover serves as yet more fodder for Israel to argue that Al Qaeda-style groups are dedicated to ultimately upending all the Arab regimes as well as destroying Israel, and thus strengthens its alliance with those who see Hamas as part fo that threatening trend. While Netanyahu reached a cease-fire agreement with Hamas yesterday, his government insists that the group is a major regional security threat. "There is greater understanding of how dual-use items brought into Gaza can be used to rebuild the Hamas military machine."

Iraq forces ready bid to break jihadist siege of Shiite town Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:49 PM PDT Iraq was massing forces Wednesday for an operation to break a two-month jihadist siege of a Shiite Turkmen town north of Baghdad, amid growing fears for residents short of supplies. The planned counter-offensive around the Salaheddin province town of Amerli comes amid reports that US President Barack Obama is weighing a decision to authorise air strikes and aid drops in the area to help thousands of trapped civilians. According to a civilian volunteer commander, thousands of Shiite militiamen from groups including Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Badr Organisation are gathering in the Tuz Khurmatu area, north of Amerli, in preparation for a battle to break the siege. There is "no possibility of evacuating them so far", and only limited humanitarian assistance is reaching the town, said Eliana Nabaa, spokeswoman for the UN mission in Iraq.

California terrorism suspect denies US attack plot Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:39 PM PDT SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A terrorism suspect from California who was arrested near the Canadian border in Washington state and charged with attempting to travel to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists said in jailhouse interviews that he never intended to carry out attacks in the United States.

Soldier who shot self at base had earned medals Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:27 PM PDT RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A soldier who barricaded herself in a building at a Virginia base and then fatally shot herself in the head earlier this week was a 33-year-old human resources specialist who had earned Army commendation and good conduct medals in the past, the Army said Wednesday.

Sources: US considering new relief mission in Iraq Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:18 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is considering a humanitarian relief operation for Shiite Turkmen in northern Iraq who have been under siege for weeks by Islamic State militants, U.S. defense officials said Wednesday.

Germany to decide on military aid for Iraq on Sunday: minister Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:15 PM PDT Germany will decide on Sunday what specific military aid it will send to Kurdish forces in Iraq to help them fight Islamic State insurgents, with Chancellor Angela Merkel arguing Berlin had to act because hundreds of Germans had joined the insurgents. "The Islamic State has about 20,000 fighters according to our estimates, 2,000 of them from Europe ... of whom probably 400 are from Germany," Merkel said on Wednesday. "So we can't just say it has nothing to do with us - we are implicated." Other EU countries are also concerned about evidence of their citizens, usually those with an Islamic immigrant background, joining Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria and then returning home radicalized and posing a security threat. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said during a visit to Prague that his country should provide supplies to the Kurds "so they can fight and prevent ISIS from taking over the whole region and creating a caliphate.

Executions a 'common spectacle' in jihadist-held Syria: UN Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:07 PM PDT Public executions, amputations, lashings and mock crucifixion are a regular fixture in jihadist-controlled areas of Syria, a UN probe charged Wednesday, also accusing Damascus of repeatedly using chemical weapons against civilians. "Executions in public spaces have become a common spectacle on Fridays" -- the Muslim holy day -- in parts of Syria under control of the Islamic State (IS), the independent Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Syria said. In a 45-page report covering the period from January 20 to July 15, the commission also detailed a wide range of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Syrian government and other armed opposition groups.

EU to beef up border agency to deal with migrants Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:45 AM PDT ROME (AP) — The European Commission agreed Wednesday to Italian demands to replace Rome's politically unpopular emergency operation for rescuing would-be refugees crossing the Mediterranean with an EU-wide project.

Rep. Paul Ryan on ISIS, James Foley & Ferguson Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:39 AM PDT Rep. Paul Ryan speaks with Yahoo's Bianna Golodryga about ISIS, James Foley & Ferguson

Islamist fighters seize Syria crossing near Israel: Syrian Observatory Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:39 AM PDT Al Qaeda's Syria wing Nusra Front and other Islamist fighters have taken control of a border crossing on the line dividing Syria from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a group monitoring the Syrian conflict said on Wednesday. The fighters, who have vowed to "liberate" the area, captured the Quneitra post on the Syrian side from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad after fierce clashes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The crossing is monitored by the United Nations, which oversees traffic between the two enemy countries but the distance between the two warring adversaries' posts is some 200 meters(656 feet). During the fighting, two Israelis were wounded by stray bullets, a soldier and a civilian, both in the Golan Heights.

U.S. mother pleads to Islamic State leader for her son's release Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:26 AM PDT The mother of an American journalist held captive by militant group Islamic State released a video on Wednesday appealing directly to the group's leader for his release. "I am sending this message to you, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Quraishi al-Hussaini, the caliph of the Islamic State. I am Shirley Sotloff. She added that her son is an "honorable man and has always tried to help the weak." Sotloff, 31, went missing in Syria last year while covering the conflict there.

US journalist thankful for work to secure freedom Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:09 AM PDT CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) — A U.S. journalist speaking publicly for the first time since his release from a Syrian extremist group said Wednesday that he was overwhelmed to learn that so many "brave, determined and big-hearted" people were behind efforts to secure his release.

Journalist held captive in Syria arrives in U.S. Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:47 AM PDT American journalist Peter Theo Curtis has returned home to the United States, two days after being freed by a Syrian extremist group.

Army identifies shooter at Virginia base as Iraq war veteran Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:46 AM PDT Army on Wednesday identified the soldier who fatally shot herself at a Virginia base this week as Sergeant First Class Paula Walker, an Iraq war veteran. Walker, 33, brandished a pistol and barricaded herself inside an office at Fort Lee, in central Virginia, on Monday. Walker, from Yonkers, New York, was a human resources specialist, the base said in a statement. She enlisted in September 2000 and had served at Fort Lee since December 2011.

American Police Departments Are Losing Tons Of Military Grade Weaponry Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:46 AM PDT Police departments across the Unites States have been losing large amounts of military gear including assault rifles, shotguns, handguns and even Humvees provided under a controversial Pentagon program. The "1033 program," which is now under White House review in the wake of the police response to riots in Ferguson, Missouri, has provided surplus military gear to police departments across the country in the aftermath of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

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