Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• US seeks more security at some foreign airports
• Obama discusses Iraq threats with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah
• FBI: US woman wanted to go to Syria for jihad
• FBI: Denver woman wanted to go to Syria for jihad
• U.S. increases security at overseas airports amid bomb concerns
• Colorado woman accused of supporting Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria
• ‘Facebook Rape’ or ‘Frape’ Can Get You 10 Years In Ireland
• US reaches out to Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Kurd leaders in Iraq
• Militants try to tighten their grip in Iraq, Syria
• US asks for more security at some foreign airports
• US man pleads guilty to terror charges
• Central Texas man pleads guilty to terror charges
• India seeks assurances from U.S. over spying reports
• Murder of Palestinian teen ratchets up tension in Jerusalem
• Oil declines, despite bullish oil inventory data
• US reaches out to Sunni, Kurd leaders in Iraq
• A self-declared Iraqi 'caliph' wants to rule the world. Can he?
• Iraqi leader says Islamic state threatens region
• Passing the torch of peaceful protests
• Car bomb kills at least 5 in Iraqi capital
• Jihadist thinker says Islamic caliphate will cause Islamist infighting
• Up to 45 killed in clashes in Iraqi holy city of Karbala: sources
• Obama Worst President Since World War II: Poll
• The Iraqi army the US spent billions building is a disaster
• Iraq's new jets likely from Iran
• Hillary To Sit Down For Interview With Brits — ON INDEPENDENCE DAY!
• Malaysia police hunt 5 terror suspects amid crackdown
• Top Jordan jihadist denounces IS caliphate
• Oil prices lower after US data
• U.S. military to face growing crises, falling budgets
• Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group
• Five Best Wednesday Columns
• Iraq's Maliki hopes for government deal by next week
• New VA secretary nominee not a health care expert
• Three things this market should be worried about
• Growing concern in Muslim world about Islamist militancy: survey
• Pennsylvania Physicians To Parents: Please Immunize Your Kids!
• Review: 'Evil' mostly delivers
• Iraq PM offers amnesty to turn tide of offensive
• Iraq PM says hopes for deal on new government in next parliament session

US seeks more security at some foreign airports Posted: 02 Jul 2014 04:53 PM PDT Intelligence officials are concerned about a new al-Qaida effort to create a bomb that would go undetected through airport security, according to a counterterrorism official, prompting the U.S. to call ...

Obama discusses Iraq threats with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Posted: 02 Jul 2014 04:24 PM PDT By Annika McGinnis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama discussed Iraq and the violent rise of a Sunni insurgent group there in a telephone call on Wednesday with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, the White House said. Obama thanked the Saudi king for his $500 million pledge to help Iraqis displaced by an upsurge in violence as militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized provinces in the north and west of Iraq, it said in a statement. Abdullah, leader of the world's top oil exporter, vowed last week to act against potential "terrorist threats" that have torn Iraq apart in recent weeks. Three days after ISIL declared itself a caliphate encompassing the entire Muslim world, Obama and Abdullah agreed to consult closely on regional developments, the White House said.

FBI: US woman wanted to go to Syria for jihad Posted: 02 Jul 2014 04:18 PM PDT DENVER (AP) — Newly unsealed court documents show the FBI thwarted a U.S. woman's attempt to help a terrorist organization by arresting her before she boarded a flight in April.

FBI: Denver woman wanted to go to Syria for jihad Posted: 02 Jul 2014 04:10 PM PDT DENVER (AP) — Newly unsealed court documents show the FBI thwarted a Denver woman's attempt to help a terrorist organization by arresting her before she boarded a flight in April.

U.S. increases security at overseas airports amid bomb concerns Posted: 02 Jul 2014 03:40 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it would increase security at overseas airports with nonstop flights to the country and U.S. officials cited concerns al Qaeda operatives in Syria and Yemen were developing bombs that could be smuggled onto planes. The new security measures would be required at airports in Europe, Africa and the Middle East that have direct flights, the U.S. officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The Department of Homeland Security said "enhanced security measures" would be implemented in the next few days at "certain overseas airports with direct flights into the United States." It did not specify which airports or what countries would be affected, nor did it say what triggered the extra precautions.

Colorado woman accused of supporting Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria Posted: 02 Jul 2014 03:40 PM PDT Federal authorities in Denver have arrested a woman accused of providing material support to Islamist insurgents fighting the governments of Syria and Iraq, and of conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, officials said on Wednesday. According to a criminal complaint filed with U.S. District Court in Colorado, Shannon Maureen Conley knew the group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, was designated as a foreign terrorist organization. It said Conley planned to travel to Syria via Turkey to meet Y.M., and first attended military tactics and firearms training with the U.S. Army Explorers in Texas in February of this year.

‘Facebook Rape’ or ‘Frape’ Can Get You 10 Years In Ireland Posted: 02 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT An Irish court has fined a man $2,731 (€2,000) in the country's first convicted "Facebook rape" or "Frape" case after he took a woman's phone and used it to post sexually abusive status updates on her Facebook page. Prosecutors based their case on Ireland's Criminal Damage Act of 1991, which is punishable up to a maximum 10-year prison sentence according to the Independent. After reading text messages confirming the woman's new relationship, the man logged into the woman's Facebook account on her phone and posted a status update saying that she was a "whore" who would take "any offers."

US reaches out to Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Kurd leaders in Iraq Posted: 02 Jul 2014 02:45 PM PDT Top US officials Wednesday upped pressure on key Iraqi leaders as political chaos in Baghdad clouded American hopes for a unity government to tackle the country's sectarian breakdown. President Barack Obama, meanwhile widened the US effort to convince key regional powers to prevail on Iraqi factions for a political settlement, calling Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Vice President Joe Biden, who frequently burns up the phone lines to Baghdad, talked to the speaker of Iraq's previous parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, a prominent Sunni leader.

Militants try to tighten their grip in Iraq, Syria Posted: 02 Jul 2014 02:43 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Fresh from success in Iraq, a Sunni extremist group tried to tighten its hold Wednesday on territory in Syria and crush pockets of resistance on land straddling the border where it has declared the foundation of an Islamic state.

US asks for more security at some foreign airports Posted: 02 Jul 2014 02:22 PM PDT The U.S. is calling for tighter security measures at some foreign airports, as intelligence officials are concerned about a new al-Qaida effort to create a bomb that would go undetected through airport ...

US man pleads guilty to terror charges Posted: 02 Jul 2014 02:05 PM PDT AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Bangladesh-born American citizen pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of attempting to recruit and support terrorists to fight a holy war overseas.

Central Texas man pleads guilty to terror charges Posted: 02 Jul 2014 01:51 PM PDT AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Central Texas man pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of attempting to recruit and support terrorists to fight a holy war overseas.

India seeks assurances from U.S. over spying reports Posted: 02 Jul 2014 01:34 PM PDT By Sruthi Gottipati and David Brunnstrom NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on Wednesday to explain reports that the U.S. National Security Agency was authorized to spy on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party before he took office, and to seek assurances this would not happen in future. The U.S. State Department said it would not comment "on every specific alleged intelligence activity," but a spokeswoman said she hoped that relations with the new Indian government, which Washington is keen to develop, would not be harmed. According to a 2010 classified document leaked by former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden and published this week by the Washington Post, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was among a handful of political organizations a U.S. court allowed the intelligence agency to spy on. The others included Lebanon's Hezbollah-allied group Amal, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, the leaked legal certification approved by U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court showed.

Murder of Palestinian teen ratchets up tension in Jerusalem Posted: 02 Jul 2014 01:18 PM PDT Israeli police have yet to declare a motive in the disappearance and murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khudair early this morning, but for those in his East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat it was an obvious revenge killing. "I'm afraid that someone will kill me, especially on days like today," she says, pointing to a recent SMS on her smartphone about an attempted stabbing of a Jew in downtown Jerusalem.

Oil declines, despite bullish oil inventory data Posted: 02 Jul 2014 01:15 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil slipped Wednesday despite a report from the U.S. Department of Energy that showed stockpiles of crude fell more than expected last week.

US reaches out to Sunni, Kurd leaders in Iraq Posted: 02 Jul 2014 01:10 PM PDT Top US officials Wednesday upped pressure on key Iraqi leaders as political chaos in Baghdad clouded American hopes for a unity government to tackle the country's sectarian breakdown. Vice President Joe Biden, who frequently burns up the phone lines to Baghdad, talked to the speaker of Iraq's previous parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, a prominent Sunni leader. Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile met a Kurdish delegation in Washington and also spoke to Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani by phone.

A self-declared Iraqi 'caliph' wants to rule the world. Can he? Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:34 PM PDT Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a big job cut out for him. Over the weekend, the Iraqi militant declared himself the supreme authority for all the world's 1.5 billion Muslims and changed his name – not that al-Baghdadi is his real name – to Caliph Ibrahim. There is much discussion of the historic caliphate and the unlikelihood of its revival in the hands of a jihadi group that now goes the name of Islamic State (its previous iterations include Al Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers, the Mujahideen Shura Council, the Islamic State in Iraq.) Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said today that the group's unilateral declaration of a caliphate is a threat to the entire region. "No one in Iraq or any neighboring country will be safe from these plans," he said.

Iraqi leader says Islamic state threatens region Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:26 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — An extremist group's declaration of an Islamic state in territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria poses a threat to the entire region, Iraq's prime minister warned Wednesday, saying that "no one in Iraq or any neighboring country will be safe from these plans."

Passing the torch of peaceful protests Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:23 PM PDT On July 2, Americans celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act. The 1964 law was a milestone for democratic freedom in the United States. Equally worthy for celebration, however, were the years of nonviolent protests across the South that led up to the landmark law. Those peaceful tactics still serve as a model today for democracy activists around the world.

Car bomb kills at least 5 in Iraqi capital Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:17 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say a car bomb on a busy commercial street in the Iraqi capital has killed at least five people.

Jihadist thinker says Islamic caliphate will cause Islamist infighting Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:04 PM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, a Jordanian scholar who is one of the most influential voices in jihadist thought, warned on Wednesday that a radical Islamist group's declaration of a caliphate in Iraq and Syria would deepen already bloody infighting among jihadists. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Sunday renamed itself the Islamic State and declared its leader "caliph" - the historical title of successors of the Prophet Mohammad who ruled the whole Muslim world - after its forces captured swathes of territory in a lightning drive across northern Iraq. "Will this caliphate be a sanctuary for every oppressed one and a refuge for every Muslim?" Maqdisi asked in a posting on his website.

Up to 45 killed in clashes in Iraqi holy city of Karbala: sources Posted: 02 Jul 2014 11:38 AM PDT Up to 45 people were killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and followers of a radical cleric in the holy Shi'ite city of Karbala on Wednesday, security sources said, signaling divisions among Shi'ite factions as a Sunni insurgency rages. The clashes erupted when police and army personnel tried to arrest Shi'ite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi around midnight on Tuesday in the southern city of Karbala, an Interior Ministry intelligence officer and a police witness told Reuters. Sarkhi and his armed followers have clashed in the past with U.S. forces, Iraqi security forces and supporters of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shi'ite cleric in Iraq. Security forces said they went to arrest Sarkhi after his supporters started blocking roads and manning checkpoints around his neighborhood in the Shi'ite shrine city, home to the tomb of Imam Hussein, which millions of Shi'ite pilgrims flock to annually.

Obama Worst President Since World War II: Poll Posted: 02 Jul 2014 11:29 AM PDT A third of all Americans believe that President Obama is "the worst" chief executive since World War II – while more than half say his administration is not competent to run the federal government, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll that may offer one of the most stinging voter assessments yet of the beleaguered president. Obama's approval rating has hovered around 40 percent for months and it showed no improvement in this latest survey. On issues from foreign policy and anti-terrorism to health care and the economy, voters across the country gave Obama a failing grade. Obama also received mixed grades for his character, according to the Quinnipiac survey, with voters evenly divided – 48 percent to 48 percent – over whether he is honest and trustworthy.

The Iraqi army the US spent billions building is a disaster Posted: 02 Jul 2014 11:13 AM PDT "American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," President Obama said last month. He also spoke of assessing "how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces going forward." Iraqi soldiers collapsed in the face of the insurgent surge in the north and west of Iraq, which is threatening to permanently remake the map of the country and has pushed the civilian death toll over the past month to grim heights not seen since 2008. When the fight came, the Iraqi military was woefully unprepared for it.

Iraq's new jets likely from Iran Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:42 AM PDT Three Sukhoi ground attack jets shown landing in Iraq in a video released by the defence ministry are likely from Iran, a think tank said Wednesday. Iraq has purchased more than a dozen Sukhoi jets from Russia in a bid to bolster its forces in their battle against a sweeping militant offensive that has overrun large areas of five provinces. On Tuesday, the defence ministry said a second group of five Sukhoi aircraft had arrived in the country, implicitly as part of the Russian deal. The online statement was accompanied by a video showing Su-25s landing in Iraq.

Hillary To Sit Down For Interview With Brits — ON INDEPENDENCE DAY! Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:36 AM PDT While folks across the country will be celebrating America's independence from Great Britain over the Fourth of July weekend, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be hanging out with our old foes from across the pond. "What's the one question we should ask Hillary Clinton?" the British pub asked in a posting online.

Malaysia police hunt 5 terror suspects amid crackdown Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:15 AM PDT Malaysian police said Wednesday they were looking for a university lecturer and four others allegedly involved in terror activities and now believed to be hiding in the Philippines as it cracks down on suspected militants. The announcement comes as authorities express concern about youths in the Muslim-majority country being radicalised and recruited to fight in hotspots such as Syria. Police said the five wanted men, believed to be in the southern Philippines, included an Islamic studies lecturer and a stationary shop owner at Universiti Malaya, one of the country's biggest universities. Three of the men are suspected to be involved in recruiting and sending militants to the group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria, police said in a statement.

Top Jordan jihadist denounces IS caliphate Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:14 AM PDT A leading Jordanian jihadist ideologist on Wednesday denounced the declaration of a "caliphate" by Sunni militants in Iraq and Syria, warning against more bloodshed. "Can every Muslim and weak person find refuge in this caliphate? Or would it be like a sharp sword against all opponents?" Issam Barqawi, known as Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi, wrote on Facebook and on jihadist websites. On Sunday, militants previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), declared a "caliphate", an Islamic form of government last seen under the Ottoman Empire, straddling parts of Iraq and Syria.

Oil prices lower after US data Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:03 AM PDT Oil prices fell on Wednesday, hit by the prospect of higher Libyan output but losses were capped by a bigger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories and Iraq unrest, analysts said. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August dropped 71 cents to stand at $111.58 a barrel in late London deals. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August slipped 43 cents to $104.91 a barrel compared with Tuesday's close. "Brent crude prices have set aside concerns about the situation in Iraq and chosen to focus on the fact that supplies from Libya appear to be on the verge of restarting," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at traders CMC Markets UK.

U.S. military to face growing crises, falling budgets Posted: 02 Jul 2014 10:00 AM PDT By Peter Apps WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First it was worries over the South China Sea, Afghanistan, Libya, Mali and Syria. Then it was Russia's annexation of Crimea and the hunt for Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Now the United States and its allies find themselves preparing once again for potential military action in Iraq. For U.S. defense planners already struggling to implement savage spending cuts, the last year has been one of the most demanding since the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:31 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — A young, red-bearded ethnic Chechen has rapidly become one of the most prominent commanders in the breakaway al-Qaida group that has overrun swaths of Iraq and Syria, illustrating the international nature of the movement.

Five Best Wednesday Columns Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:20 AM PDT Crispian Cuss at Al Jazeera English on why no one in the media saw the new Islamic Caliphate coming. The Syrian-Iraqi terror group known as ISIS has changed its name to Islamic State and declared the region to be a new caliphate. Similarly, the dangers inherent in reporting within such an organisation has meant that few commentators have ever really been close to the Islamic State and its operations." They aren't the only ones who missed the boat, however.

Iraq's Maliki hopes for government deal by next week Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:18 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed and Alexander Dziadosz BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is fighting for his political life as a Sunni insurgency fractures the country, said on Wednesday he hoped parliament could form a new government in its next session after the first collapsed in discord. Baghdad can ill afford a long delay. Yet the mounting concern and pressure from the United States, Iran, the United Nations and Iraq's own Shi'ite clerics have done little to end the paralyzing divisions between Iraq's main ethnic and sectarian blocs. Sunnis and Kurds walked out of parliament's first session on Tuesday, complaining that Shi'ites had failed to nominate a prime minister;

New VA secretary nominee not a health care expert Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:31 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A onetime Army Ranger and former CEO of a Fortune 500 consumer products company, Robert McDonald may face his toughest challenge yet in fixing the huge, scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs Department.

Three things this market should be worried about Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT Rising chance the market could hit "air pockets" in the second half of the year.

Growing concern in Muslim world about Islamist militancy: survey Posted: 02 Jul 2014 07:21 AM PDT Large majorities in Muslim countries are increasingly worried about Islamist militancy and oppose its best-known groups, such as the global al Qaeda movement, Nigeria's Boko Haram and Hamas, according to a new survey. Support for violent tactics such as suicide bombing has fallen in many countries over the past decade, although some states still have significant minorities approving it, the survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center said. Pew, which regularly tracks opinion on religious issues around the world, polled over 14,000 Muslims in 14 countries in April and May, before the radical Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group seized a large swathes of Iraq and Syria and announced a new Islamic "caliphate" there. "As well-publicized bouts of violence, from civil war to suicide bombings, plague the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, concern about Islamic extremism is high among countries with substantial Muslim populations," the survey said.

Pennsylvania Physicians To Parents: Please Immunize Your Kids! Posted: 02 Jul 2014 07:03 AM PDT HARRISBURG, Pa., July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It has become a ritual for Pennsylvania parents preparing their children for the first day of kindergarten - school-required immunizations. "Parents play a significant role in the long-term health of their children by making sure they are vaccinated," said Bruce A. MacLeod, MD, 2014 president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED). Dr. MacLeod explains that parents used to be afraid that diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough or pertussis, diphtheria, and chicken pox would spread quickly in a classroom and school. Now, thanks to immunizations, outbreaks of these diseases are not common in schools with high immunization rates.

Review: 'Evil' mostly delivers Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:48 AM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — A serial-killer mystery in which the culprit turns out to be one of Satan's minions, Scott Derrickson's "Deliver Us From Evil" adapts the detective genre to an exorcism tale that is very serious about the prospect of demonic possession. Though based on claims made by real-life NYPD officer-turned-paranormal investigator Ralph Sarchie (played here by Eric Bana), the picture is stolen by a fictional character — a composite religious figure played with a predictable level of smolder by "Carlos" star Edgar Ramirez.

Iraq PM offers amnesty to turn tide of offensive Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:04 AM PDT Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki offered a general amnesty Wednesday in a rare conciliatory move to undercut support for militants whose offensive has overrun swathes of territory and threatens to tear Iraq apart. The offer comes after a farcical opening to the new parliament, despite international leaders urging Iraq's fractious politicians to unite to help combat insurgents, as the military struggles to seize the initiative on the ground. International leaders have warned Iraq's politicians there was no time to waste, while the head of a powerful jihadist group that led the militant advance urged skilled professionals to flock to help its newly proclaimed pan-Islamic state. Maliki's surprise move, made in his weekly televised address, appeared to be a bid to split the broad alliance of jihadists, loyalists of executed dictator Saddam Hussein and anti-government tribes that has captured large chunks of five provinces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Iraq PM says hopes for deal on new government in next parliament session Posted: 02 Jul 2014 05:06 AM PDT Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday that he hoped to overcome the challenges blocking the formation of a new government, a day after the new parliament's first session ended without agreement on top government posts. "A state of weakness occurred but God willing in the next session (planned for next Tuesday) we will overcome it with cooperation and agreement and openness ...in choosing the individuals and the mechanisms that will result in a political process based on...democratic mechanisms," said Maliki in his weekly televised address. Maliki also offered an amnesty to tribes who fought the government, but excluded those who had "killed and shed blood." The United States, United Nations, Iran and Iraq's own Shi'ite clergy have pushed hard for politicians to come up with an inclusive government to save the country after Sunni insurgents seized large stretches of territory north and west of Baghdad.

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