Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Iraq crisis offers hint of vindication for Biden
• Sunni fighters expand offensive in western Iraq
• Iraq, Syria conflicts merge, feed off each other
• Syrian jets bomb eastern rebel towns near Iraq, at least 16 dead
• ISIS Captures Control of Key Town on Syria/Iraq Border
• Father of UK man in ISIL recruitment video tells of distress
• Iraq militants take Syria border post in drive for caliphate
• Saudi, Russia focus on crises in Syria and Iraq
• Turkey to fill Kurdish oil shortage: minister
• US, Iran, longtime enemies, now potential partners
• Maliki's Iraq: Kerry's new diplomatic mission impossible
• Syria air raids kill 16 in area seized by jihadists: NGO
• Orchestrated tales in ex-Blackwater guards' trial?
• Syrian warplanes hit town seized by militants
• A Winning Strategy for Iraq and Syria
• Americans agree with Obama on Iraq, yet score him low on foreign policy
• IRAQ BLACKWATER
• Iraq militia parades as insurgents seize crossing
• How Sally Ride’s Flying Lessons Help Women Reach for the Stars
• A life of trouble, a moment of immortality
• Baghdad condemns Kurds for oil exports
• Iraq's Arbil Citadel granted World Heritage status
• 5 International Stories You'll Care About Next Week
• Hundreds of Troops Remain Surrounded in Iraq's Key Refinery, Says US Official
• Sunni militants seize a second Iraqi town in Anbar
• Russia Obsesses Over State Department Spokeswoman
• US vets anguished as militants advance in Iraq
• Jihadists execute three Syria rebel officers: monitor
• Father of British jihadist 'wants to cry' over online video
• Iraq's Shiite militiamen parade in show of force
• Sunni militants take control of Iraq-Syria border point
• Shiite fighters make show of force in Baghdad
• Sunni militant infighting kills 17 in Iraq's Kirkuk
• Iraqi militants take border post with Syria
• Saudi king stops in Cairo to visit Egypt's Sisi
• US readies diplomatic push as Iraq PM pressured
• Militants seize Iraq border post, kill 30 troops
• For Biden, Iraq crisis offers timely vindication
• Iraqi PM under pressure from Shiite cleric, US

Iraq crisis offers hint of vindication for Biden Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:54 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — As Iraq edges toward chaos, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is having a quiet moment of vindication for a grim forecast that was dismissed by the Bush administration.

Sunni fighters expand offensive in western Iraq Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni insurgents led by an al-Qaida breakaway group expanded their offensive in a volatile western province on Saturday, capturing three strategic towns and the first border crossing with Syria to fall on the Iraqi side.

Iraq, Syria conflicts merge, feed off each other Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:17 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — In a reflection of how intertwined the Syria and Iraq conflicts have become, thousands of Shiite Iraqi militiamen helping President Bashar Assad crush the Sunni-led uprising against him are returning home, putting a strain on the overstretched Syrian military as it struggles to retain territory recaptured in recent months from rebels.

Syrian jets bomb eastern rebel towns near Iraq, at least 16 dead Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:11 PM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed on Saturday rebel-held eastern areas close to the border with Iraq under the control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, killing and injuring dozens in stepped up raids against the militant group since its Iraqi offshoot made stunning gains in northern Iraq. Five raids killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more when bombs hit residential areas in the town of Muhassan just over 100 km (60 miles) from Iraq, a day after tribal elders in the town along the Euphrates River, pledged allegiance to ISIL. The Syrian branch of the hardline Islamists, whose stated aim is to create a strict Islamic state straddling national borders, took over the town of Muhassan along with the Albulil and Albuomar, in the latest advance in eastern Syria adjoining territory the al-Qaeda splinter has seized in Iraq.[ID:nL6N0P13CV] Syrian fighter jets were seen taking off from the rebel besieged Deir al-Zor military airport to bomb several areas under the control of ISIL and witnesses and activists said areas near the border with Iraq close to the city of Abu Kamal were bombed.

ISIS Captures Control of Key Town on Syria/Iraq Border Posted: 21 Jun 2014 02:23 PM PDT After a fierce battle with Iraqi forces, the Sunni militant group ISIS took control of a crossing on the border between Iraq and Syria, making it easier for the group to shuttle weapons and supplies between the two countries.  By the day's end, a number of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters and Iraqi troops had died in clashes, mainly over the strategic town of Al-Qaim, near the border with Syria. Syria and Iraq comprise the basis for the area that ISIS aims to use to establish a new Islamist state in the Middle East. In recent days, ISIS has captured Iraq's largest oil refinery as well as Saddam Hussein's old chemical weapons plant.

Father of UK man in ISIL recruitment video tells of distress Posted: 21 Jun 2014 12:26 PM PDT The father of a British man who appears in an online video urging Muslims to join the militant group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) spoke on Saturday of his family's distress at his son's actions. Ahmed Muthana told BBC TV his son Nasser, 20, from the Welsh capital Cardiff, was one of five Islamist fighters who appeared in the video released this week encouraging others to join ISIL and fight for it in Syria and Iraq. Who led them to go there?" said Muthana of his medical student son, who appears in the online footage identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain. "Is he going to kill or is he going to do anything?" The BBC said Muthana, who told them his 17-year-old son Aseel had also gone to Syria, had been radicalized in Cardiff.

Iraq militants take Syria border post in drive for caliphate Posted: 21 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT By Kamal Namaa ANBAR, IRAQ(Reuters) - Sunni fighters have seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier, security sources said, smashing a line drawn by colonial powers a century ago in a campaign to create an Islamic Caliphate from the Mediterranean Sea to Iran. The militants, led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), first moved into the nearby town of al-Qaim on Friday, pushing out security forces, the sources said on Saturday. Sameer al-Shwiali, media adviser to the commander of Iraq's anti-terrorist squad, told Reuters the Iraqi army was still in control of al-Qaim. A three-year-old civil war in Syria has left most of eastern Syria in the hands of Sunni militants, now including the Albukamal-Qaim crossing.

Saudi, Russia focus on crises in Syria and Iraq Posted: 21 Jun 2014 11:57 AM PDT Russia and Saudi Arabia Saturday stressed the importance of preserving Syrian and Iraqi territorial integrity after talks in the Western city of Jeddah. Riyadh and Moscow have opposing positions on the conflict in Syria, with Russia backing President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia supporting the rebels seeking to topple him for more than three years.

Turkey to fill Kurdish oil shortage: minister Posted: 21 Jun 2014 11:43 AM PDT Turkey said Saturday it will provide fuel to Iraq's Kurdistan region to make up for a shortage caused by a militant offensive that has shut down the country's biggest oil refinery. Militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have seized a vast swathe of territory in northern Iraq since overrunning the city of Mosul on June 10. As a result of the fighting, the Baiji refinery in Salaheddin province has been shut down and the supply route to Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region cut off. The fuel shortage has caused long queues to form at gas stations in Kurdish cities.

US, Iran, longtime enemies, now potential partners Posted: 21 Jun 2014 11:18 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the fog of diplomacy.

Maliki's Iraq: Kerry's new diplomatic mission impossible Posted: 21 Jun 2014 10:58 AM PDT Secretary of State John Kerry this weekend plunges back into the tumultuous Middle East seeking to overcome sectarian divisions in Iraq, amid US frustration with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. While American leaders have stopped short of calling for Maliki to step down -- arguing that it is up to the Iraqis to choose their own leaders -- they have left little doubt that they feel the Shiite premier has squandered the opportunity to rebuild his country since US troops withdrew in 2011. "We gave Iraq the chance to have an inclusive democracy. To work across sectarian lines, to provide a better future for their children," President Barack Obama told CNN Friday.

Syria air raids kill 16 in area seized by jihadists: NGO Posted: 21 Jun 2014 10:47 AM PDT Air raids killed 16 people in Syria's Deir Ezzor province Saturday, most of them people gathered at a mourning tent for rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) officers murdered by jihadists, an NGO said. Warplanes "bombed the locality of Muhassen six times, killing 16 people, including three women," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Observatory director Rami Abdul Rahman said one of the targets had been the tent and that "most of the victims died in that raid." The Britain-based Observatory said the bodies of the FSA's deputy commander for the area and two other rebel officers had been found Friday on the banks of the nearby Euphrates River near Muhassen.

Orchestrated tales in ex-Blackwater guards' trial? Posted: 21 Jun 2014 10:29 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense lawyers for the ex-Blackwater security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqis in Baghdad nearly seven years ago are raising the possibility that prosecution witnesses, with direction from Iraqi law enforcement investigators, have orchestrated their stories.

Syrian warplanes hit town seized by militants Posted: 21 Jun 2014 09:28 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian army has carried out a series of airstrikes against a town in eastern Syria that was captured by fighters from an al-Qaida breakaway group a day earlier, killing 16 people, activists said Saturday.

A Winning Strategy for Iraq and Syria Posted: 21 Jun 2014 08:56 AM PDT It's time for the U.S. to form an alliance between Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran, and Moscow—and divide Iraq and Syria into semi-autonomous ethnic regions.

Americans agree with Obama on Iraq, yet score him low on foreign policy Posted: 21 Jun 2014 08:52 AM PDT President Obama and most Americans are in agreement on Iraq: The United States shouldn't have invaded and occupied that country in the first place, and it shouldn't send a bunch of US troops back into that fight. To the extent that Americans concern themselves with foreign policy – just 19 percent tell Gallup they're following the Benghazi affair "very closely," despite congressional Republican efforts to portray that episode as a major administration failing – that would seem to play politically in Obama's favor. Yet, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, "just 37 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy, which is an all-time low in the survey, while 57 percent disapprove, an all-time high," as NBC reported.

IRAQ BLACKWATER Posted: 21 Jun 2014 08:38 AM PDT Graphic shows sequence of events in 2007 Iraq Blackwater shooting incident; 2c x 6 inches; 96.3 mm x 152 mm;

Iraq militia parades as insurgents seize crossing Posted: 21 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of heavily-armed Shiite militiamen paraded through several Iraqi cities Saturday as Sunni militants seized two strategically located towns in what appeared to be a new offensive in western Anbar province.

How Sally Ride’s Flying Lessons Help Women Reach for the Stars Posted: 21 Jun 2014 07:00 AM PDT Sally Ride died young, at age 61 – but we're still reaping the benefits of her dedication to U.S. space exploration as a physicist and NASA astronaut – and later, as the founder of Sally Ride Science, a still-thriving business that develops educational programs and materials for students in STEM fields.      Author and broadcast journalist Lynn Sherr thought she knew Ride well: The two shared a 30-year friendship that began in the early 1980s when Sherr covered NASA's space shuttle program for ABC News and Sally Ride flew twice on Challenger, the first American woman in space at age 32.

A life of trouble, a moment of immortality Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:42 AM PDT COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Ruediger Richter barely recognizes himself in the yellowed military photograph hanging in his den — one of the best-known images of the Vietnam War.

Baghdad condemns Kurds for oil exports Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:34 AM PDT Baghdad's oil ministry condemned Iraqi Kurdistan Saturday for further exports of crude from wells in the autonomous northern region, part of a long-running row over the country's vast hydrocarbon reserves. The federal government alleged that a shipment of oil, the second to be pumped in the three-province Kurdish region and shipped internationally in the past month, had been sent to Israel. "The oil ministry strongly condemns the Kurdistan region government's continued export of Iraqi oil from the region's fields... in flagrant violation of the values and principles" of the country, the statement said. It said it had taken a series of measures to deter buyers, including "warning all companies and oil markets against dealing with these shipments, which have been taken out (of Iraq) illegally."

Iraq's Arbil Citadel granted World Heritage status Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:27 AM PDT The Arbil Citadel that dominates the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan was granted World Heritage Site status Saturday in a move praised as a rare "note of optimism" amid the country's violence. Delegates at UNESCO's World Heritage Committee voted to grant the coveted status at a gathering in Doha, where they are considering some 40 cultural and natural wonders for inclusion on the UN list. The Arbil Citadel is a formerly fortified occupied mound in the centre of Erbil that is among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world, dating back at least 6,000 years. Arbil has been largely insulated from the latest unrest in Iraq, where Sunni insurgents have overrun swathes of territory north of Baghdad, displacing hundreds of thousands and threatening the country's very existence.

5 International Stories You'll Care About Next Week Posted: 21 Jun 2014 05:20 AM PDT Ramadan, Jailed Al-Jazeera Correspondents, World Cup, Summer Solstice and Wimbledon

Hundreds of Troops Remain Surrounded in Iraq's Key Refinery, Says US Official Posted: 21 Jun 2014 05:20 AM PDT Loss of Baiji Refinery Would Be a Serious Blow to Iraqi Government

Sunni militants seize a second Iraqi town in Anbar Posted: 21 Jun 2014 05:09 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The mayor of a town northwest of Baghdad says it has fallen into the hands of Sunni militants, the second to be captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the mainly Sunni Anbar province.

Russia Obsesses Over State Department Spokeswoman Posted: 21 Jun 2014 04:42 AM PDT MOSCOW – Russia is somewhat obsessed with Jen Psaki. The State Department spokeswoman has turned into Russia's boogeyman (boogey-woman?) and favorite punching bag as relations with the United States have deteriorated over the crisis in Ukraine. She is demonized on television. Her gaffes are celebrated...

US vets anguished as militants advance in Iraq Posted: 21 Jun 2014 04:05 AM PDT American veterans have watched the lightning advance of Sunni extremists in Iraq with anguish, prompting them to wonder if their sacrifices in combat were for nothing as the country plunges into sectarian bloodshed. Until recently, US military officers have pointed to the outcome of a troop "surge" in Iraq in 2007 as a relative success, believing American forces had bolstered security in the country and weakened militants linked to Al-Qaeda. Nagl blames the result on President Barack Obama's administration for failing to push to keep US troops in Iraq after 2011, and the Shiite-led Iraqi government for alienating Sunni citizens. "A bunch of my friends and Iraqis died to give Iraq a chance to be free and stable and multiethnic," he told AFP.

Jihadists execute three Syria rebel officers: monitor Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:25 AM PDT Jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have executed three officers of the Western and Arab-backed rebel Free Syrian Army, a monitor said Saturday. The bullet-riddled bodies of the three were found on Friday, two days after suspected Islamist militants kidnapped them in the oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. ISIL, which grew from the ranks of Al-Qaeda before splitting with the global terror network, is active in both Syria and neighbouring Iraq and seeks to set up an Islamic state that straddles both countries. The FSA this month called for help from "friendly and brotherly Arab nations" to fight ISIL in Deir Ezzor.

Father of British jihadist 'wants to cry' over online video Posted: 21 Jun 2014 03:03 AM PDT The father of a British man who left to fight in Syria said on Saturday he "wants to cry" after his son appeared in an online video aimed at recruiting jihadists. Ahmed Muthana identified the man in the 13-minute video, entitled "There is No Life Without Jihad", as his 20-year-old son, Nasser Muthana, from Cardiff. Speaking to BBC Wales, Ahmed Muthana said seeing the video made him "want to cry" and asked his son "why did you do this?" Nasser, who had received four university offers to study medicine, appears in the YouTube video -- dressed in a white turban -- using the name Abu Muthanna al-Yemen and is flanked by five other men, three of whom appear to be British.

Iraq's Shiite militiamen parade in show of force Posted: 21 Jun 2014 02:54 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of Shiite militiamen have paraded in Baghdad and several other cities in southern Iraq with heavy weaponry, signaling their readiness to take on Sunni militants who seized much of the country's north.

Sunni militants take control of Iraq-Syria border point Posted: 21 Jun 2014 02:41 AM PDT Sunni militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of an Iraq-Syria border crossing after Syrian rebels withdrew overnight, security officers and witnesses said. The sources said insurgents took control of the Al-Qaim border crossing, one of three official border points between Iraq and Syria, after gunmen linked to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front left.

Shiite fighters make show of force in Baghdad Posted: 21 Jun 2014 02:34 AM PDT Thousands of fighters loyal to powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr paraded with weapons in the Sadr City area of north Baghdad Saturday, vowing to fight against a major militant offensive. The offensive, led by Sunni Arab militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group but involving other organisations as well, has overrun swathes of northern and central Iraq this month.

Sunni militant infighting kills 17 in Iraq's Kirkuk Posted: 21 Jun 2014 01:25 AM PDT Sunni militants who fought together to capture swathes of Iraqi territory have turned their weapons on each other during clashes in Kirkuk province that cost 17 lives, sources said Saturday. The fighting erupted on Friday evening between the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN) in Hawija, in Kirkuk province, said the sources. There were differing accounts as to what sparked the firefight, which is a potential sign of the fraying of the Sunni insurgent alliance that has overrun vast stretches of territory north of Baghdad in less than two weeks. Analysts have noted that while the Sunni insurgents, who are led by ISIL but also include a litany of other groups including loyalists of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, have formed a wide alliance, it is unclear if the broader grouping can hold together given their disparate ideologies.

Iraqi militants take border post with Syria Posted: 21 Jun 2014 01:15 AM PDT ANBAR Iraq (Reuters) - Sunni fighters seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier overnight, security sources at the border said on Saturday, a strategic gain which will allow them to move heavy weapons between territory they control in both countries. The militants, led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, first moved into the nearby town of al-Qaim on Friday, pushing out security forces, the sources said. Once border guards heard that al-Qaim had fallen, they left their posts and militants moved in, the sources said. ...

Saudi king stops in Cairo to visit Egypt's Sisi Posted: 21 Jun 2014 01:13 AM PDT Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah stopped in Cairo late on Friday to meet with Egypt's new president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to show his strong support through a symbolic but brief visit. Sisi and his delegation were on board for just over 30 minutes. Egypt's official news agency reported that the talks covered the importance of the two nations working together to address regional challenges, a sign of how the Gulf monarchy sees Cairo as a crucial partner against the rapid rise of Islamism. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and its wealthy Gulf Arab partners Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have given more than $20 billion to help Egypt since Sisi ousted Islamist President Moahmed Mursi last July, and are likely to pledge more.

US readies diplomatic push as Iraq PM pressured Posted: 21 Jun 2014 12:49 AM PDT Washington readied a new diplomatic push to unite Iraq's fractious leaders Saturday and repel a Sunni insurgent offensive that has put Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki under growing pressure domestically and overseas. US President Barack Obama has offered hundreds of military advisers but his refusal so far to approve air strikes against militants, led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has prompted Baghdad's powerful Shiite neighbour Iran to charge that Washington lacked the "will" to fight terror. The swift militant onslaught, which has been carried out by ISIL as well as a litany of other groups including loyalists of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, has overrun swathes of territory north of Baghdad, displacing hundreds of thousands and threatening Iraq's very existence.

Militants seize Iraq border post, kill 30 troops Posted: 21 Jun 2014 12:43 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said Saturday.

For Biden, Iraq crisis offers timely vindication Posted: 21 Jun 2014 12:33 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — As Iraq edges toward chaos, Joe Biden is having a quiet I-told-you-so moment.

Iraqi PM under pressure from Shiite cleric, US Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:25 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces mounting pressure to form an inclusive government or step aside following the loss of large swaths of territory to Sunni militants, with both a top Shiite cleric and the White House strongly hinting he is in part to blame for the crisis.

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