Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• EU edges to economic sanctions on Russia but narrows scope
• U.N. rights inquiry says more Syrians joining Islamic State
• Oil rises just above $102 a barrel
• Exclusive: Sen. John Walsh responds to revelations that he plagiarized Army War College paper
• Islamic State kills Syrian soldiers, captures parts of base: group
• AP ANALYSIS: Old story, new twists in Gaza war
• Global tensions don't dent enthusiasm for stocks
• Iraq's top cleric sends subtle message to Maliki: step aside
• Iraq's top cleric calls on political leaders to break deadlock
• Syria becoming home to two competing Islamic states
• Tribute flag found at flea market to be given to fallen soldier's mother
• Ex-FBI director warns that Gaza violence will fuel al-Qaida threat
• House to Obama: No troops to Iraq without our OK
• Vatican sends emergency aid to persecuted Christians in Iraq
• Erdogan to be 'active' Turkish president: deputy PM
• U.S. House votes overwhelmingly for say on Obama's Iraq decisions
• Putin's Daughter May Have Fled the Netherlands Amid Outcry
• Jordan shoots down 'aerial target' near Syria
• Chamber to Obama: No troops to Iraq without our OK
• FIFA Will Not Move 2018 World Cup from Russia
• Pope Francis Mulls A 2015 US Visit
• Video Shows ISIS Blowing Up Iraq's Tomb of Jonah
• Russia takes aim at McDonald's burgers as U.S. ties worsen
• Iraqi cleric urges leaders not to 'cling' to power
• Five Best Friday Columns
• Iraqi chaos seen slowing, not scuppering Turkish export drive
• Congress Tees It Up For Wounded Warriors
• Blasts targeting Shiites in Iraq's Kirkuk kill four
• Iraqi Kurdish oil nears US port despite concern in Washington
• Gaza faces daunting reconstruction when elusive truce struck
• Oil price slips below $102 a barrel
• Iraq Sunni militias pinched by jihadis, corruption
• German business confidence hit by Ukraine, Middle East woes
• Norway says Islamist militants planning attack in West have left Syria
• How the U.S. Allowed ISIS to Form a Terrorist Army
• Sudanese Salafi group endorses Islamic State's new caliphate
• German business confidence drops again
• Rise of Islamic State tests Syrian army strategy
• Army War College probes plagiarism claims against Montana senator
• US congratulates Iraq on electing new president

EU edges to economic sanctions on Russia but narrows scope Posted: 25 Jul 2014 04:25 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union reached outline agreement on Friday to impose the first economic sanctions on Russia over its behaviour in Ukraine but scaled back their scope to exclude technology for the crucial gas sector. The sanctions on access to capital markets, arms and hi-tech goods are also likely to apply only to future contracts, leaving France free to go ahead with the controversial delivery of Mistral helicopter carriers being built for Russia. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy wrote to EU leaders asking them to authorise their ambassadors to complete an agreement by Tuesday. Van Rompuy said the proposed sanctions package "strikes the right balance" in terms of costs and benefits to the EU and in its flexibility to ramp up sanctions or reverse them over time.

U.N. rights inquiry says more Syrians joining Islamic State Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:31 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More and more Syrian rebels are defecting to join the ultra-hardline Islamic State insurgency, said U.N. human rights investigators on Friday, in what they described as a "Syrian-ization" of the al Qaeda offshoot. Members of the independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council in September 2011, informally briefed the United Nations Security Council on Friday ahead of submitting their latest report next week. Brazilian chief investigator Paulo Pinheiro said the Islamic State - formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, ISIL or ISIS - was undergoing a "Syrian-ization." "What began with a lot of foreign fighters, now you have authentic Syrian citizens," Pinheiro told reporters. Karen Koning AbuZayd, a member of the commission, said most of the Syrians joining Islamic State were defecting from other armed opposition groups fighting in the country's civil war, now in its fourth year.

Oil rises just above $102 a barrel Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:01 PM PDT The price of oil traded around $102 a barrel on Friday, nearly unchanged, as worries over supplies and geopolitical tensions eased.

Exclusive: Sen. John Walsh responds to revelations that he plagiarized Army War College paper Posted: 25 Jul 2014 02:53 PM PDT A doctor prescribed Montana Democratic Sen. John Walsh medication for symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder after he returned from an Army deployment in Iraq, but he was not formally diagnosed with PTSD, the senator confirmed to Yahoo News following revelations this week that he had plagiarized a paper to receive his masters degree at the Army War College in 2007.

Islamic State kills Syrian soldiers, captures parts of base: group Posted: 25 Jul 2014 02:28 PM PDT Fighters from al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State killed at least 50 Syrian army soldiers and took over parts of their base on Friday outside the northern city of Raqqa, as the radicals escalated their attacks on government forces, a monitoring group said. Fighters from the ultra-hardline group captured and killed at least 50 members of the army's 17th Division after ambushing them outside Raqqa when they withdrew from the area where they were based, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Raqqa is already a stronghold of Islamic State, which has advanced in Syria and taken over swaths of territory in neighboring Iraq in what it has described as a bid to establish an Islamic caliphate.

AP ANALYSIS: Old story, new twists in Gaza war Posted: 25 Jul 2014 02:04 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — The third Gaza war is playing out much like the first one more than five years ago: The harrowing civilian toll in Gaza is now at the center of the discourse, eclipsing the rocket attacks by Hamas militants that were the stated reason for the Israeli assault.

Global tensions don't dent enthusiasm for stocks Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:47 PM PDT A war breaks out between Israel and Hamas. An airliner is shot out of the sky in Ukraine. A Portuguese bank's finances look shaky.

Iraq's top cleric sends subtle message to Maliki: step aside Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:16 PM PDT By Raheem Salman and Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric urged political leaders on Friday to refrain from clinging to their posts - an apparent reference to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has defied demands that he step aside. Speaking through an aide who delivered a sermon after Friday prayers in the holy city of Kerbala, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said leaders should show flexibility so that political deadlocks could be broken and Iraq could confront an insurgency. Maliki has come under mounting pressure since Sunni militants led by the hardline Islamic State swept across northern Iraq last month and seized vast swathes of territory, posing the biggest challenge to Maliki's Shi'ite-led government since U.S. forces withdrew in 2011. Critics say Maliki is a divisive figure whose alienation of Sunnis has fueled sectarian hatred and played into the hands of the insurgents, who have reached to within 70 km (45 miles) of the capital Baghdad.

Iraq's top cleric calls on political leaders to break deadlock Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:16 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on political leaders on Friday to refrain from clinging to their posts, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has defied demands that he step aside. Speaking through an aide who delivered a sermon after Friday prayers, Sistani said leaders should be flexible so that political deadlocks can be broken and Iraq can confront dangers and terrorism. (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Larry King)

Syria becoming home to two competing Islamic states Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:09 PM PDT A new power struggle has emerged within the Syrian rebellion after Al-Qaeda announced it aims to create an Islamic "emirate" to compete with rival jihadist group, the Islamic State (IS). As with IS in its early days, when it was still known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front is spreading its zone of influence, taking over strategically located villages, and competing with other rebel groups. On July 11, an audio recording attributed to Al-Nusra's chief Abu Mohammad al-Jolani was distributed via YouTube, in which he announced the group's intention to establish an Islamic "emirate". "The time has come, O loved ones, to create an emirate in the Levant," Jolani said, adding that its borders will be with "the regime, those who exaggerate (the Islamic State), the corrupt ones (the rebels)," and the Kurds.

Tribute flag found at flea market to be given to fallen soldier's mother Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT A $5 flea market find surprises a mother whose son was killed in Iraq nine years ago.

Ex-FBI director warns that Gaza violence will fuel al-Qaida threat Posted: 25 Jul 2014 12:06 PM PDT Former FBI Director Robert Mueller warned that the current violence in Gaza will inflame anti-U.S. sentiment in the region and exacerbate an increasingly dangerous terror threat to the U.S.

House to Obama: No troops to Iraq without our OK Posted: 25 Jul 2014 11:31 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday that would bar President Barack Obama from sending forces to Iraq in a "sustained combat role" without congressional approval. The bill is likely to have greater symbolic than legal effect.

Vatican sends emergency aid to persecuted Christians in Iraq Posted: 25 Jul 2014 11:20 AM PDT The Vatican has given $40,000 (30,000 euros) in emergency aid to Christians in Iraq displaced by a jihadist onslaught, religious news agency imedia said Friday. Most of the money will go to help those from the northern city of Mosul, where Islamic State insurgents last week ordered the hundreds of Christian families to convert to Islam, pay tribute, or leave the city, prompting thousands to flee. Christians and other minorities who failed to comply were threatened with execution, while the property of those who left the city was forfeited to the Islamic State. The Islamic State, which last month declared a "caliphate" comprising large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, has threatened a Christian presence in the region spanning close to two millennia.

Erdogan to be 'active' Turkish president: deputy PM Posted: 25 Jul 2014 11:08 AM PDT Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be an "active" head of state if he wins presidential elections in August and will play a particularly strong role in foreign policy, one of his government's most senior ministers said. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc signalled that Erdogan would be a stronger president than previous holders of the hitherto ceremonial post but insisted he would always act within the framework of the law. Arinc said Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) wanted to change Turkey's constitution to potentially enshrine the presidency with more powers, describing the current version as a "no longer valid" relic of a military coup. Erdogan is the hot favourite to win the August 10 elections, the first time a Turkish president will be elected by popular vote, and continue his over-decade-long domination of Turkey which has already transformed the country.

U.S. House votes overwhelmingly for say on Obama's Iraq decisions Posted: 25 Jul 2014 10:50 AM PDT The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Friday for a resolution that would bar President Barack Obama from sending U.S. troops for any "sustained combat role" in Iraq without congressional authorization. The House adopted the resolution by a vote of 370-40, reflecting the strong desire by both Republicans and Democrats in the chamber that the White House not act in Iraq without Congress' backing, although it was a largely symbolic vote. To be enacted, the measure would require backing by the U.S. Senate, which is not expected, and even then it would not have the force of law. It was introduced by Massachusetts Democratic Representative Jim McGovern, California Democrat Barbara Lee and Republican Walter Jones of North Carolina.

Putin's Daughter May Have Fled the Netherlands Amid Outcry Posted: 25 Jul 2014 10:33 AM PDT Maria Putin, daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly lives in the small town of Voorschoten in the Netherlands. Earlier this week, the mayor of Hilversum, about 70 kilometers away, called for her deportation. Mayor Pieter Broertjes made his comments during a radio interview, while discussing the investigation of Flight MH17, on which the majority of passengers were Dutch. The 29-year-old daughter of Putin is thought to have lived with her Dutch partner, Jorrit Faassen, who works for a consulting firm. While Maria Putin and her sister have managed to mainly stay out of the public eye, in harsh contrast to their father, they are now being affected by media attention streaming from their father's actions.

Jordan shoots down 'aerial target' near Syria Posted: 25 Jul 2014 10:32 AM PDT AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan's air force shot down an "aerial target" near the Syrian border on Friday, a Jordanian military official said. Eyewitnesses said the object was a drone.

Chamber to Obama: No troops to Iraq without our OK Posted: 25 Jul 2014 10:25 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday that would bar President Barack Obama from sending forces to Iraq in a "sustained combat role" without congressional approval. The bill is likely to have greater symbolic than legal effect.

FIFA Will Not Move 2018 World Cup from Russia Posted: 25 Jul 2014 10:18 AM PDT Earlier this week, leaders in Germany and the Netherlands discussed moving the 2018 World Cup, which is set to be hosted by Russia. Peter Beuth, interior minister of the German state of Hesse, said, "If Putin doesn't actively cooperate on clearing up the plane crash, the soccer World Cup in Russia in 2018 is unimaginable." Others chimed in on discussions of moving the games, including the Netherlands Football Association. FIFA believes the World Cup in 2018 "can achieve positive change." "History has shown so far that boycotting sport events or a policy of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to solve problems," explained FIFA. They added, "[The World Cup] can be a powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments." FIFA has previously rejected calls to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, despite concerns about the weather, allegations of bribery, and the nation's reliance on cheap migrant labor.

Pope Francis Mulls A 2015 US Visit Posted: 25 Jul 2014 09:21 AM PDT Pope Francis might make his way to the United States in 2015, the Catholic News Service reported Friday. According to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, the pontiff will attend a Catholic gathering in Philadelphia called the World Meeting of Families in September 2015. "Pope Francis has told me that he is coming," Chaput told attendees at a conference in Fargo, N.D. "The pope will be with us the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of that week." There has been no official confirmation by the Vatican or The Holy See of Pope Francis' attendance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Video Shows ISIS Blowing Up Iraq's Tomb of Jonah Posted: 25 Jul 2014 09:11 AM PDT Militant group ISIS blew up Iraq's tomb of the Prophet Jonah in Mosul on Thursday, civil defense officials told CNN. ISIS, which has been claiming cities across Iraq and Syria, has threatened to destroy any shrine it deems un-Islamic. An amateur video of the explosion below has appeared on YouTube:

Russia takes aim at McDonald's burgers as U.S. ties worsen Posted: 25 Jul 2014 08:19 AM PDT By Maria Kiselyova and Olga Sichkar MOSCOW (Reuters) - McDonald's burgers and shakes may become the latest victims of worsening ties between Moscow and Washington after a Russian consumer watchdog agency accused the U.S. chain of sanitary violations. McDonald's Corp , which opened its first Russian restaurant in Moscow in 1990, became an iconic symbol of flourishing American capitalism during the fall of the Soviet Union.

Iraqi cleric urges leaders not to 'cling' to power Posted: 25 Jul 2014 08:11 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric made a thinly veiled appeal to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step down, calling upon political leaders Friday not to "cling" to their posts at the expense of political stability as lawmakers struggle to form a new government that can tackle rising violence in the country.

Five Best Friday Columns Posted: 25 Jul 2014 07:42 AM PDT It sounds like a block-grant program, the anathema of liberals because they distrust the states' ability (or will) to distribute grants fairly, and it comes with a big exception: States can opt in only if their plans pass federal-government muster." Bloomberg praises Ryan for doing what the Republican party hasn't done of late, toning down the aspects of its rhetoric and policies that explicitly take money from the poor. For too long, the Republican Party has paid too much attention to the latter at the expense of the former. Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post on why Israel is losing their moral high ground as civilian deaths continue to mount in Gaza. Robinson contends that the growing civilian death toll, which increased after a U.N. shelter in Gaza was bombed on Thursday, transcends the idea of casualties of war. They obviously do not have the option of escaping into Israel or sailing away across the Mediterranean Sea.

Iraqi chaos seen slowing, not scuppering Turkish export drive Posted: 25 Jul 2014 07:19 AM PDT By Nevzat Devranoglu ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The chaos in Iraq could cost Turkey some $2-2.5 billion in lost trade this year, slowing efforts to boost exports and rebalance the economy, but the long-term impact will be negligible unless the situation deteriorates sharply, economists said. Exports to Iraq, Turkey's second largest foreign market, fell 19.3 percent to $745 million in June, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute showed on Friday, a sharp decline but broadly in line with expectations. A lightning advance by the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State, which swept through north and west Iraq last month, raised fears of a collapse in demand for Turkish goods and a sharp rise in Turkey's energy import bill, with Iraq its biggest crude oil supplier. Oil is now trading back below $108 a barrel, easing Turkey's fears.

Congress Tees It Up For Wounded Warriors Posted: 25 Jul 2014 07:15 AM PDT WASHINGTON, July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Golf helped Bronze Star recipient and Army Staff Sergeant Charles Eggleston (Ret.) literally get back on his feet. Initially reported as killed in action after suffering devastating injuries following multiple IED blasts in Iraq in 2005, he spent more than three years recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As an avid golfer before the blast, Eggleston resumed playing golf and credits the sport as a key element of his recovery. ...

Blasts targeting Shiites in Iraq's Kirkuk kill four Posted: 25 Jul 2014 07:10 AM PDT A series of blasts outside Shiite prayer halls killed four people and wounded 19 others on Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police and medical sources said. Three roadside bombs near the Zahraa husseiniya in west Kirkuk wounded four people, while a roadside bomb near the Jaafar al-Sadeq husseiniya in the city's south caused no casualties. Islamic State jihadists who overran swathes of northern and western Iraq last month have not taken Kirkuk.

Iraqi Kurdish oil nears US port despite concern in Washington Posted: 25 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT By David Sheppard, Ahmed Rasheed and Timothy Gardner LONDON/BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is just two days away from arriving at a U.S. port, according to ship tracking satellites, despite Washington's long-standing concern over independent oil sales from the autonomous region.     The United Kalavrvta tanker, which left the Turkish port of Ceyhan in June carrying oil delivered via a new Kurdish pipeline, is due to dock in Galveston, Texas on Saturday, Reuters AIS Live ship tracking shows.      A sale of Kurdish crude oil to a U.S. ...

Gaza faces daunting reconstruction when elusive truce struck Posted: 25 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Noah Browning GAZA (Reuters) - As the United States and regional powers strive for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants, the impoverished enclave faces a daunting recovery, such is the scale of damage after almost three weeks of fighting. In 2012 the United Nations had already recommended urgent action to improve basic services for Gaza's mushrooming population or the place would be uninhabitable by 2020. The cost of rebuilding Gaza homes destroyed so far in Israeli bombing amounts to $800 million - the whole of Gaza's annual budget - the Palestinian housing minister told Reuters. "We cannot make a definite estimate under fire ... Once the war is over, the ministry plans to call on all the countries of the world to assist in the rebuilding of Gaza," he told Reuters.

Oil price slips below $102 a barrel Posted: 25 Jul 2014 05:35 AM PDT The price of oil slipped below $102 a barrel on Friday, falling for a second day after spiking on lower U.S. inventories and tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Iraq Sunni militias pinched by jihadis, corruption Posted: 25 Jul 2014 04:37 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Wisam al-Hardan's cellphone rang late into the night. He let it ring on and on. He couldn't bear to answer.

German business confidence hit by Ukraine, Middle East woes Posted: 25 Jul 2014 04:20 AM PDT The crises in Ukraine and the Middle East are eroding business confidence in Germany, a key indicator showed on Friday, amid signs that global turmoil could derail European recovery. Since the downing of a passenger plane over eastern Ukraine last week, however, calls have mounted for the European Union to take a firmer line against Russia for its support of insurgents in the crisis region.

Norway says Islamist militants planning attack in West have left Syria Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:03 AM PDT A group of militant Islamists planning to carry out attacks in the West is on its way from Syria, possibly heading towards Norway, police said on Friday. Norwegian armed police were deployed for a second day at high-risk locations including airports and train stations, after the police's intelligence unit said on Thursday it received credible information that an attack might take place in the country in coming days. "We have received information that a group of fighters have left Syria with the aim of carrying out terror attack in the West and Norway was specifically mentioned among their targets," Jon Fitje Hoffmann, the chief analyst for the Police Security Service told TV2 in an interview on Friday. Hoffmann would not say if the fighters had a specific connection to Norway or if they were part of the country's Muslim community.

How the U.S. Allowed ISIS to Form a Terrorist Army Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:00 AM PDT The United States has sent additional military advisers to Iraq and increased the number of drone flights to 50 per day, up from one flight a month. Yet so far this has done little to stop the rise of the jihadist terror group, the Islamic State, abbreviated as ISIS or ISIL, which has transformed itself from a loosely aligned band of militants to a full-blown army of terrorists, Brett McGurk, the deputy assistant defense secretary for Iraq and Iran, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. "ISIL is worse than al Qaeda," said McGurk. It is now a full-blown army seeking to establish a self-governing state through the Tigris and Euphrates valley in what is now Syria and Iraq."

Sudanese Salafi group endorses Islamic State's new caliphate Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:48 AM PDT A Sudanese Salafi group in a statement on Thursday endorsed the Islamic State militant group that declared a caliphate after it swept through northern Iraq last month. "Our Brothers in the Islamic State ... announcing an inclusive caliphate is a good job," said Sudan's Al-Attasam belKetab wa al-Sunna, which broke from Sudan's Muslim Brotherhood in 1991 to establish a stricter Islamist movement.

German business confidence drops again Posted: 25 Jul 2014 01:23 AM PDT BERLIN (AP) — German business confidence is down for a third month in a row amid ongoing concerns about the economic impact of the crises in Ukraine and Iraq.

Rise of Islamic State tests Syrian army strategy Posted: 24 Jul 2014 10:37 PM PDT By Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - The growing power of the ultra-hardline Islamic State means the Syrian army is now having to confront a group it has until now been reluctant to attack for political reasons. The emergence of the al Qaeda offshoot, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has so far allowed President Bashar al-Assad to present himself to the world as a bulwark against Sunni Islamist radicals. At the same time, the group's tendency to fight more moderate rebel forces also helped to divide the opposition, making it easier for Assad's forces to recapture territory lost in earlier periods of Syria's civil war. Now that Islamic State's fighters have gained momentum in Syria, boosted by equipment seized in a rapid offensive next door in Iraq, the army may need to become more confrontational with the group if it wants to avoid losing territory to it.

Army War College probes plagiarism claims against Montana senator Posted: 24 Jul 2014 09:46 PM PDT The U.S. Army War College has opened an inquiry into accusations that Senator John Walsh, a Montana Democrat now facing a tough election challenge, plagiarized parts of a research paper tied to a master's degree he earned from the school. Walsh's campaign has said he inadvertently misused citations in what was a research paper, rather than a thesis. A preliminary analysis of the paper in question led the college to determine that a more thorough examination was warranted by faculty members of an academic review board, which handles cases of suspected plagiarism or misconduct, the school said in a statement. The college has previously revoked the graduate status of eight former students since 1990, six for plagiarism and two for other types of misconduct, the college said.

US congratulates Iraq on electing new president Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:18 PM PDT The United States threw its weight behind the newly elected president of Iraq, Fuad Masum, and urged him to form a "cohesive government" to help fight Islamic militants. "By taking this crucial step, the Council of Representatives has demonstrated its commitment to uniting the country according to the constitution," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, offering Washington's congratulations on Masum's election. "Iraq's leaders now must take the next step in their democratic process by choosing a prime minister and forming a government," she said in a statement as Iraq seeks to quell an offensive by militants who have seized a swathe of territory in the north of the country. "Only with an inclusive, cohesive government that represents all Iraqis can Iraq most effectively and successfully confront the urgent security and humanitarian challenges it faces in the fight against" the Islamic State (IS), Harf added.

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