Yahoo! News: Iraq

---

• Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT
• Despite failures, U.S. likely to continue raids to free hostages
• Canada urges vigilance after online video calls for attacks
• Afghan students find inspiration in Islamic State's success
• Purple Heart medal likely for Ft. Hood victims. Right decision?
• Thirteen killed in failed U.S. hostage rescue bid in Yemen
• Kerry cites progress, urges patience in Iran talks
• Four years on, something of an Arab Winter
• Hagel: Afghan training is key in war's final act
• Afghan official says Western troops leaving prematurely
• UAE: Stabbing of US teacher a 'lone terrorist act'
• US defends failed Yemen rescue operation
• Widow of beheaded IS hostage Haines brands killers 'monsters'
• Killer of US teacher in Abu Dhabi 'acted alone'
• The Arab Spring, 4 years on
• Woman who stabbed U.S. teacher in UAE was 'lone terrorist': agency
• UK embassy in Cairo closes to the public over security concerns
• Islamic State executes Shi'ite militia fighters north of Baghdad
• AJC Delegation Concludes Visit to Paris
• UK embassy in Cairo suspends public services for security reasons
• Three arrested by UK anti-terror police
• Attack on police station in Iraq kills 9 people
• EU to seek more Turkish help in Islamic State fight
• Rand Paul: Ophthalmologist turned US Constitution guardian

Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 07 Dec 2014 04:32 PM PST LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Hagupit knocked out power, left at least three people dead and sent nearly 900,000 into shelters before it weakened Sunday, sparing the central Philippines the type of massive devastation that a monster storm brought to the region last year. Shallow floods, damaged shanties and ripped off store signs and tin roofs were a common sight across the region, but there was no major destruction after Hagupit slammed into Eastern Samar and other island provinces. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour and gusts of 170 kph (106 mph) on Sunday, considerably weaker from its peak power but still a potentially deadly storm, according to forecasters.

Despite failures, U.S. likely to continue raids to free hostages Posted: 07 Dec 2014 03:09 PM PST By Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON/KUWAIT CITY (Reuters) - Despite three failed raids to free U.S. hostages held by militants, the United States will continue to conduct such operations, officials indicated on Sunday, as President Barack Obama grapples with a spate of kidnappings and killings of American citizens. The latest setback came in a remote area of Yemen early on Saturday, when al Qaeda militants shot American photo journalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie during a rescue attempt led by U.S. Special Forces. ...

Canada urges vigilance after online video calls for attacks Posted: 07 Dec 2014 02:46 PM PST TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's public safety minister on Sunday urged the country be vigilant after the release of an online video in which a man believed to be a Canadian fighting for the Islamic State called on Canadian Muslims to carry out lone wolf attacks. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online, said the Islamic State released the video from the Canadian fighter identified as "Abu Anwar al-Canadi". The National Post newspaper identified the man, who spoke in clear English, as John Maguire, a Muslim convert from the Ottawa area. ...

Afghan students find inspiration in Islamic State's success Posted: 07 Dec 2014 02:13 PM PST By Hamid Shalizi Kabul (Reuters) - A quiet student at Kabul University, 25-year-old Abdul Rahim has a dream: to join Islamic State in Syria and fight for the establishment of a global caliphate - a new, alarming form of radicalism in war-weary Afghanistan. "When hundreds of foreigners, both men and women, leave their comfortable lives and embrace Daish, then why not us?" he asked, using a word for Islamic State common in the region. ...

Purple Heart medal likely for Ft. Hood victims. Right decision? Posted: 07 Dec 2014 01:39 PM PST The official reasons for awarding the Purple Heart to members of the US military are straight-forward: "Being wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces."

Thirteen killed in failed U.S. hostage rescue bid in Yemen Posted: 07 Dec 2014 12:29 PM PST By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) - A woman, a 10-year-old boy and a local al Qaeda leader were among at least 11 people killed alongside two Western hostages when U.S.-led forces fought Islamist militants in a failed rescue mission in Yemen, residents said on Sunday. U.S. special forces raided the village of Dafaar in Shabwa province, a militant stronghold in southern Yemen, shortly after midnight on Saturday, killing several members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). ...

Kerry cites progress, urges patience in Iran talks Posted: 07 Dec 2014 11:14 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday an extension of nuclear talks with Iran should be used to further increase pressure on the country to give up its atomic weapons ambitions and capabilities. His comments came as Secretary of State John Kerry cited movement in the negotiations and urged patience while vowing that the process would not continue without "tangible progress."

Four years on, something of an Arab Winter Posted: 07 Dec 2014 11:05 AM PST You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire,

Hagel: Afghan training is key in war's final act Posted: 07 Dec 2014 11:05 AM PST TACTICAL BASE GAMBERI, Afghanistan (AP) — It's only a slight stretch to say America's longest war stops here.

Afghan official says Western troops leaving prematurely Posted: 07 Dec 2014 11:02 AM PST Western forces are leaving Afghanistan too early, the country's new chief executive told The Sunday Times newspaper, saying continued air support is still needed. Abdullah Abdullah, the number two in the Afghan government, said NATO-led troops were pulling out too soon, with all combat forces due to have left the country by the end of the month. He told the British weekly that a lot of time had been lost this year amid hostility between former president Hamid Karzai and Western leaders. "Two years ago we had 150,000 international troops and lots of jets and helicopters.

UAE: Stabbing of US teacher a 'lone terrorist act' Posted: 07 Dec 2014 10:18 AM PST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The woman accused of stabbing to death an American teacher in a public restroom at an Abu Dhabi mall last week was carrying out a "lone terrorist act," a security official in the United Arab Emirates said Sunday.

US defends failed Yemen rescue operation Posted: 07 Dec 2014 08:48 AM PST US officials Sunday defended President Barack Obama's decision to launch a special forces rescue operation in Yemen that ended with Al-Qaeda killing an American photojournalist and a South African teacher. Saturday's US commando raid to free 33-year-old American Luke Somers came two days after the kidnappers had issued a video in which they threatened to kill him within 72 hours. "The United States will spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence, and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely, wherever they are located," he said. The South African government said Sunday it was "deeply saddened" by the killing of Korkie.

Widow of beheaded IS hostage Haines brands killers 'monsters' Posted: 07 Dec 2014 08:25 AM PST London (AFP) - The widow of British aid worker David Haines, who was taken hostage and beheaded by Islamic State militants, branded his killers inhuman monsters in her first television interview broadcast Sunday.

Killer of US teacher in Abu Dhabi 'acted alone' Posted: 07 Dec 2014 08:00 AM PST A woman from the United Arab Emirates who stabbed a US teacher to death at an Abu Dhabi shopping mall acted alone and targeted her victim randomly, a security source said Sunday. The woman, who was arrested following last Monday's lone wolf attack and the planting of a makeshift bomb outside the home of an American doctor, had no links to "terrorist" organisations, the source told the official WAM news agency. "Nothing so far suggests that the accused has links with terrorist organisations or political parties that could be blamed for having incited her to commit the crime," WAM reported. Police said last week that the American woman, who worked at an Abu Dhabi kindergarten, was stabbed by a person wearing a black robe, black gloves and a niqab -- a Muslim veil that conceals the face except for the eyes.

The Arab Spring, 4 years on Posted: 07 Dec 2014 07:18 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — Here's a look at how the countries of the Arab Spring have fared four years after pro-democracy uprisings swept the region:

Woman who stabbed U.S. teacher in UAE was 'lone terrorist': agency Posted: 07 Dec 2014 06:49 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - A United Arab Emirates woman who killed an American teacher last week has been inspired by "terrorist ideology" acquired through the Internet but investigators have found no links to militant groups, the state news agency WAM reported on Sunday. Attacks on Westerners are rare in the UAE, a wealthy western allied oil exporter and tourism hub, but concern has been rising following a spate of attacks in neighboring Saudi Arabia and after a warning in October about a jihadist web forum calling for attacks on American teachers in the region. ...

UK embassy in Cairo closes to the public over security concerns Posted: 07 Dec 2014 06:46 AM PST By Lin Noueihed CAIRO (Reuters) - The British Embassy in Cairo closed to the public on Sunday due to security concerns, an embassy spokesperson said. The embassy declined to give details due to the sensitive nature of the matter but said it was working with Egyptian authorities to reopen as soon as possible. "The decision to suspend public services at the embassy has been taken for security reasons and is in the best interests of our staff," the spokesperson said. "The decision is independent of our wider travel advice for Egypt. ...

Islamic State executes Shi'ite militia fighters north of Baghdad Posted: 07 Dec 2014 06:45 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters executed 12 Shi'ite militiamen north of Baghdad after heavy fighting for control of a rural village, security sources said on Sunday. Army and police officials said Iraqi security forces and the Shi'ite militia fighters launched an attack on Friday against Islamic State militants on Tal al-Thahab, near the town of Balad, 80km (50 miles) north of the Iraqi capital. ...

AJC Delegation Concludes Visit to Paris Posted: 07 Dec 2014 06:10 AM PST PARIS, Dec. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An AJC delegation just concluded a two-day visit to the French capital. The visit followed two days of high-level meetings in Berlin.During the visit, the delegation met with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for the fourth time this year; Jacques Audibert, Diplomatic Adviser to President Francois Hollande; Gilles Clavreul, newly-appointed Inter-ministerial Delegate to Fight against Racism and anti-Semitism; former French President and newly elected President of the opposition party Nicolas Sarkozy; U.S. ...

UK embassy in Cairo suspends public services for security reasons Posted: 07 Dec 2014 05:28 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - The British embassy in Cairo suspended public services on Sunday for security reasons, an embassy spokesperson said. The embassy declined to give more details due to the sensitive nature of the matter but said it was working with the Egyptian authorities to reopen and resume full service as soon as possible. "The decision to suspend public services at the embassy has been taken for security reasons and is in the best interests of our staff," the spokesperson said. "The decision is independent of our wider travel advice for Egypt. ...

Three arrested by UK anti-terror police Posted: 07 Dec 2014 01:51 AM PST London (AFP) - Counter-terrorism police have arrested three men on suspicion of supplying forged documents, Scotland Yard said late Saturday.

Attack on police station in Iraq kills 9 people Posted: 07 Dec 2014 01:36 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Militants attacked a police station in an Iraqi village north of Baghdad, killing at least nine people Sunday, officials said.

EU to seek more Turkish help in Islamic State fight Posted: 06 Dec 2014 10:02 PM PST By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will press Turkey to cooperate more closely in the fight against Islamic State and urge it not to undermine EU sanctions on Russia on a visit this week intended to give new impetus to often fraught EU-Turkish relations. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides will travel to Turkey on Monday and Tuesday in one of the highest-profile EU visits in years. "The visit ... ...

Rand Paul: Ophthalmologist turned US Constitution guardian Posted: 06 Dec 2014 06:29 PM PST Instead of an American flag, Rand Paul wears a red penny in his lapel, symbolizing the core of the politician's philosophy: no more runaway debt, and relentless submission to the US Constitution. "We say they've taken all our money," Paul said in 2010 shortly after his stunning Senate election. The 51-year-old doctor was sent to Washington by voters furious with a system that kept swelling the national debt, and anxious over what Paul sees as government zeal for war and encroachment on American civil liberties. Five years ago barely a handful of Tea Party ultra-conservatives had heard of the ophthalmologist from Bowling Green, Kentucky who spoke truth to power and often challenged Republican Party orthodoxy.

You are subscribed to email updates from Iraq News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States