Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Iraq Catholic leader says Islamic State worse than Genghis Khan
• World dangers test US resolve, including Obama’s
• 60 Syria soldiers among dead in battle with jihadists
• Mortar fire south of Baghdad kills nine, police, hospital sources say
• Iraqi PM condemns jihadis' targeting of Christians
• Iraq vet cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks
• Jihadists claim Baghdad blasts as Iraq rallies behind Christians
• Inside The Secret CIA Museum
• How to honor those on MH17
• Iraq vet in Ohio cited for therapeutic pet ducks
• Top Asian News at 1:00 p.m. GMT
• Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT
• Pope expresses concern for Iraqi Christians
• Pope speaks out for 'persecuted' Iraqi Christians
• Islamic State group claims Baghdad bombings
• Top Kurdish security official warns West of Iraq blowback
• Islamic State claims wave of Baghdad bombings
• Today in History
• Top Asian News at 3:00 a.m. GMT

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 20 Jul 2014 05:02 PM PDT TOREZ, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Moscow rebels piled nearly 200 bodies from the downed Malaysian jetliner into four refrigerated boxcars Sunday in eastern Ukraine, and cranes at the crash scene moved big chunks of the Boeing 777, drawing condemnation from Western leaders that the rebels were tampering with the site. The United States, meanwhile, presented what it called "powerful" evidence that the rebels shot down the plane with a Russian surface-to-air missile and training. Although other governments have stopped short of accusing Russia of actually causing the crash, the U.S. was ahead of most in pointing blame on Moscow for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that killed all 298 people aboard.

Iraq Catholic leader says Islamic State worse than Genghis Khan Posted: 20 Jul 2014 02:16 PM PDT By Dominic Evans and Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of Iraq's largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword. At the Vatican, Pope Francis decried what he said was the persecution of Christians in the birthplace of their faith, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Islamic State's actions could constitute a crime against humanity. Hundreds of Christian families left Mosul ahead of Saturday's ultimatum, many of them stripped of their possessions as they fled for safety.

World dangers test US resolve, including Obama’s Posted: 20 Jul 2014 02:08 PM PDT Politically speaking, the low point in how President Obama's approach to foreign policy is perceived may have been in 2011 when an advisor described his actions in Libya, where a coalition was trying to oust dictator Muammar Qaddafi, as "leading from behind."  Today, Obama faces two immediate and potentially very dangerous situations abroad: the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over rebellious territory in eastern Ukraine that is supplied and apparently directed by a Russian leader – Vladimir Putin – who never got over the breakup of the Soviet Union;

60 Syria soldiers among dead in battle with jihadists Posted: 20 Jul 2014 12:53 PM PDT At least 60 soldiers and pro-regime fighters were among the 270 killed in a bloody jihadist attack on a gas field in central Syria, a pro-regime newspaper reported on Sunday. With the Syrian counter-attack to try to recapture the Shaar field in Homs province in its third day, Al-Watan, citing a military source, give a toll of "60 martyrs" among regime forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported it had documented "the deaths of 270 people killed in fighting or executed" by Islamic State (IS) militants. "A large majority of the men killed were executed at gunpoint after being taken prisoner" in the seizure of the field, said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

Mortar fire south of Baghdad kills nine, police, hospital sources say Posted: 20 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT Nine people were killed in a mainly Shi'ite town south of Baghdad late on Sunday by mortar fire that hit near a Shi'ite religious site, police and hospital sources said. The sources in the town of Mahmoudiya said eight mortar rounds landed near a "husseiniya," a religious site devoted to Hussein, a martyr in Shi'ite tradition. Two roadside bombs also exploded in the Abu Ghraib area west of Baghdad, killing five Shi'ite volunteer fighters, police and hospital sources said. At least 27 people were killed in a wave of bombings in mostly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad.

Iraqi PM condemns jihadis' targeting of Christians Posted: 20 Jul 2014 12:34 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister on Sunday condemned the Islamic State extremist group's actions targeting Christians in territory it controls, saying they reveal the threat the jihadists pose to the minority community's "centuries-old heritage."

Iraq vet cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks Posted: 20 Jul 2014 12:02 PM PDT WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio (AP) — An Army veteran who hurt his back during the Iraq War is worried a citation will result in him losing his 14 pet ducks, which he says are therapeutic.

Jihadists claim Baghdad blasts as Iraq rallies behind Christians Posted: 20 Jul 2014 11:57 AM PDT The Islamic State on Sunday claimed responsibility for deadly Baghdad bombings, as the Christians they drove out of Mosul grieved for their lost homes and uncertain future in Iraq. The flight of the centuries-old Christian community from Iraq's jihadist-held second city drew messages of solidarity and pledges of aid, both from former Sunni neighbours and Shiite leaders. In a statement posted on jihadist websites, the Islamic State (IS) praised two of its fighters -- a German and a Syrian -- for two of a spate of blasts that killed 24 people in Baghdad on Saturday. The near-simultaneous blasts were among the deadliest attacks in Baghdad since IS launched an offensive on June 9 and proclaimed a caliphate last month, exacerbating sectarian tension and pushing Iraq to the brink of breakup.

Inside The Secret CIA Museum Posted: 20 Jul 2014 11:25 AM PDT Osama bin Laden's assault rifle. A singed al-Qaeda training manual. A desiccated rat corpse designed to pass secret messages. A letter from an American operative on a sheet of Adolf Hitler's personal stationery. A painting of the real story behind "Argo." And a remote-controlled robotic dragonfly that may be the ancestor of today's drones.

How to honor those on MH17 Posted: 20 Jul 2014 11:07 AM PDT The nine-month-old conflict in Ukraine finally touched the rest of the world last week with the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. If so, President Vladimir Putin has much to answer for, not least the arrogance of thinking he could control the violence in Ukraine.

Iraq vet in Ohio cited for therapeutic pet ducks Posted: 20 Jul 2014 09:10 AM PDT WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio (AP) — An Iraq War veteran in Ohio is facing a $150 fine or worse after getting a citation for his pet ducks, which he says are therapeutic.

Top Asian News at 1:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 20 Jul 2014 06:03 AM PDT TOREZ, Ukraine (AP) — Rebels have recovered the black boxes from downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and will hand them over to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a rebel leader said Sunday. Alexander Borodai also said the bodies recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine would remain in refrigerated train cars at a station in the rebel-held town of Torez, 15 kilometers (9 miles) away, until the arrival of an international aviation delegation.

Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 20 Jul 2014 05:32 AM PDT HRABOVE, Ukraine (AP) — A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine says rebels have recovered the black boxes for the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Alexander Borodai said Sunday that the devices would be handed over to the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Pope expresses concern for Iraqi Christians Posted: 20 Jul 2014 04:19 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has expressed concern for Christians forced to flee Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, where Christians have resided for centuries.

Pope speaks out for 'persecuted' Iraqi Christians Posted: 20 Jul 2014 03:50 AM PDT Pope Francis on Sunday said Iraqi Christians were being "persecuted" and "stripped of everything" as hundreds of Christian families fled Mosul after a jihadist ultimatum. "Our brothers are being persecuted, chased away, they are forced to leave their homes without being able to take anything with them," Francis said during his weekly Angelus prayer from a balcony overlooking St Peter's Square. The jihadists, who have run the city since a sweeping military offensive that began six weeks ago, have told the thousands of Christians in Mosul they can convert to Islam, pay a special tax or leave. An earlier statement by Mosul's new rulers had said there would be "nothing for them but the sword" if Christians did not abide by those conditions by 0900 GMT on July 19.

Islamic State group claims Baghdad bombings Posted: 20 Jul 2014 02:16 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for four bombings in Baghdad which were among a string of attacks Saturday that left at least 27 people dead.

Top Kurdish security official warns West of Iraq blowback Posted: 20 Jul 2014 01:53 AM PDT By Isabel Coles and Ned Parker ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) - Western countries will end up fighting insurgents who have overrun large parts of Iraq on their own doorstep unless they intervene to combat the threat at its source, a senior Kurdish security official said in an interview. Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdish region's National Security Council, said he doubted Iraq's army would be able to roll back militant gains without help from outside, but that the world did not appear serious about confronting the insurgency. Iraq's million-strong army, trained and equipped by the United States at a cost of around $25 billion, largely evaporated in the north after militants from the Islamic State overran the city of Mosul last month.

Islamic State claims wave of Baghdad bombings Posted: 20 Jul 2014 12:11 AM PDT The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a wave of car bombs in mostly Shi'ite areas of Baghdad which killed at least 27 people on Saturday. The hardline Sunni Islamist organization which has led an offensive across northern and western Iraq said two of the explosions were suicide missions by bombers it named as Abu al-Qaaqaa al-Almaani and Abu Abdul Rahman al-Shami - noms de guerre which suggested they were from Germany and Syria. Saturday's blasts were the deadliest in the Iraqi capital since the Sunni insurgency erupted in the northern city of Mosul and then swept through Sunni regions of Iraq towards Baghdad. The first suicide bombing took place at a checkpoint where soldiers, police and Shi'ite volunteer fighters were gathered, the Islamic State said in an Internet statement.

Today in History Posted: 19 Jul 2014 09:00 PM PDT Today is Sunday, July 20, the 201st day of 2014. There are 164 days left in the year.

Top Asian News at 3:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jul 2014 08:02 PM PDT HRABOVE, Ukraine (AP) — International monitors moved gingerly Saturday through fields reeking of the decomposing corpses that fell from a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, trying to secure the sprawling site in hopes that a credible investigation can be conducted. But before inspectors ever reach the scene, doubts arose about whether evidence was being compromised.

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