Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• U.S. hostage rescuers dropped from night sky, Syria activist says
• Shi'ite militia kill dozens of Iraqi Sunnis in mosque shooting
• U.S. considering taking fight against Islamic State into Syria
• US won't let borders hamper fight vs. extremists
• IS OBAMA TOO THOUGHTFUL TO BE PRESIDENT?
• Sunnis pull out of Iraq talks after mosque attack
• Homeland Warns of ISIS Retaliation in US by Sympathizers
• James Foley Among Many Young, Close-Knit Freelance War Reporters
• UN Council condemns 'heinous and cowardly' Foley murder
• Economic data, earnings lift US stocks
• FRC's Tony Perkins Wraps up Visit to Israel as a part of 'Christians in Solidarity with Israel' Trip
• Friends: Jeffords took Vermont roots to Washington
• Obama may seek new funds to battle Islamic State: Senate aide
• Hamas leader: Don't compare us to ISIL
• White House defends Obama's golf outings during crises
• Foley murder 'terrorist attack' against US: White House
• Shiite militiamen kill 70 at Iraq Sunni mosque
• Morocco says it has arrested two IS jihadists
• 2 French girls investigated as would-be jihadi
• Obama taking less vacation, but too much for some
• Islamic State backers under scrutiny in US
• Morocco arrests suspected Islamic State members
• Israel deletes Foley beheading tweet from government accounts
• US slaps sanctions on Al-Qaeda-linked duo
• Fleeing Iraqi Christians reveal horror of Islamic State
• Boko Haram sees huge advances but can be checked
• 'Just a few strikes': Iraq militia wants help from old US foe
• White House Calls Foley Killing 'A Terrorist Attack Against Our Country'
• FBI: No credible threats to US from Islamic State
• The ISIS Dilemma Confronting Obama
• UN warns its food aid program in NKorea at risk
• Terrorist or ally? A Kurdish militia joins the fight against the Islamic State
• Syria war toll tops 191,000 says UN
• Report on Obama's Law-Breaking Prisoner Swap Gives Boehner Schadenfreude
• Boehner Hits Obama For ‘Serious Lapse In Judgment’ On Bergdahl Swap
• Iraq Sunni lawmakers suspend talks on new government to protest mosque attack
• Pope's Iraq envoy: Minorities need to be defended
• ISIL Press Officer Abu Mosa Killed By Syrian Army
• Pressure mounts on Europeans to take more action against Islamic State
• Drone Pilots Suffer PTSD Just Like Those in Combat

U.S. hostage rescuers dropped from night sky, Syria activist says Posted: 22 Aug 2014 04:39 PM PDT Before they landed to search for American hostages including journalist James Foley, they destroyed a crucial target: anti-aircraft weapons at a jihadist base about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the city, a stronghold of Islamic State militants seeking to build a monolithic Islamic state. The above account and other details of the raid have emerged from witnesses who spoke with a member of a Syrian opposition activist group, who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim al Raqaoui. Raqaoui told the information to Reuters in an interview via Skype from inside Syria. The White House publicized details of the raid on Wednesday, a day after Islamic State jihadists posted a video showing Foley being beheaded.

Shi'ite militia kill dozens of Iraqi Sunnis in mosque shooting Posted: 22 Aug 2014 04:27 PM PDT By Raheem Salman and Alexander Dziadosz BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen machine gunned minority Sunni Muslims in a village mosque on Friday, killing dozens just as Baghdad was trying to build a cross-community government to fight Sunni militants whose rise has alarmed Western powers. A morgue official in Diyala province north of Baghdad said 68 people had been killed in the sectarian attack staged on the Muslim day of prayer. Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq, where violence has returned to the levels of 2006-2007, the peak of a sectarian civil war.

U.S. considering taking fight against Islamic State into Syria Posted: 22 Aug 2014 04:27 PM PDT By Steve Holland EDGARTOWN Mass. (Reuters) - The United States is considering taking the fight against Islamic State militants into Syria after days of airstrikes against the group in Iraq and the beheading of an American journalist, the White House signaled on Friday. President Barack Obama, soon to end a two-week working vacation on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, has not yet been presented with military options for attacking Islamic State targets beyond two important areas in Iraq, said White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

US won't let borders hamper fight vs. extremists Posted: 22 Aug 2014 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior White House official raised the possibility Friday of a broader American military campaign that targets an Islamic extremist group's bases in Syria, saying the U.S would take whatever action is necessary to protect national security.

IS OBAMA TOO THOUGHTFUL TO BE PRESIDENT? Posted: 22 Aug 2014 03:30 PM PDT I personally think Barack Obama has been a very good president in terrible times, often just trying to clean up the mess left by predecessors. In one 48-hour period that month, the televised admission of two black students to the segregated University of Alabama challenged a changing America, a Buddhist monk burned himself to death in front of a camera in Saigon and the world was never the same, and Kennedy tried to change the world by giving the greatest speech of his life at American University in an attempt to break the planet's nuclear siege.

Sunnis pull out of Iraq talks after mosque attack Posted: 22 Aug 2014 03:30 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni lawmakers pulled out of talks on forming a new Iraqi government after militants attacked a Sunni mosque in a volatile province outside Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing at least 64 people.

Homeland Warns of ISIS Retaliation in US by Sympathizers Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:54 PM PDT US Fears That a Radicalized Sympathizer Could Attack Homeland

James Foley Among Many Young, Close-Knit Freelance War Reporters Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:54 PM PDT Freelancer Sarah Topol Explains How They Cover Conflicts Abroad

UN Council condemns 'heinous and cowardly' Foley murder Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:28 PM PDT The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" murder of journalist James Foley by Islamic State militants and called for the immediate release of all hostages. In a unanimous statement, the 15-member council said the murder "demonstrates the brutality of ISIL," the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has renamed itself Islamic State. A video of Foley's beheading was posted online on Tuesday by IS, a jihadist group operating in Iraq and Syria, prompting global condemnation. The council said those responsible should be brought to justice and called on all countries to cooperate with the United States to that end.

Economic data, earnings lift US stocks Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:27 PM PDT US stocks enjoyed a week of solid gains following a batch of good economic data and mostly strong corporate earnings as concerns about geopolitical hotspots ebbed somewhat. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 338.31 points (2.03 percent) to 17,001.22. Worries over Ukraine geopolitics returned to markets Friday, when Russia sent a convoy of trucks into Ukraine without authorization. "The upward trend for the market has resumed," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

FRC's Tony Perkins Wraps up Visit to Israel as a part of 'Christians in Solidarity with Israel' Trip Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:20 PM PDT JERUSALEM, Aug. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council President Tony Perkins is wrapping up a visit to Israel this week as a part of the "Christians in Solidarity with Israel" trip, hosted by the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB).  He met with several high level Israeli officials including Nir Barkat, Jerusalem's mayor and advisors to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Perkins' national radio show, Washington Watch, broadcast live from Jerusalem during Perkins' trip.

Friends: Jeffords took Vermont roots to Washington Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:17 PM PDT RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — Sen. Jim Jeffords left his mark on the state and the nation during more than 30 years in Washington, but family and friends said he never lost his affinity for the Vermont countryside or let his position eclipse his love for his family and the simple things in life.

Obama may seek new funds to battle Islamic State: Senate aide Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:12 PM PDT By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama could ask the U.S. Congress in coming weeks to approve new funds for airstrikes against Islamic State targets, according to a congressional aide, following the militants' beheading of an American journalist and activities in Iraq. A Senate Democratic aide on Friday said the Obama administration could detail by early to mid-September the amount of additional money it wants for the military operations, although the aide did not estimate the size of the possible funding request. The administration has indicated it does not want to put combat troops into the region, although it has said it is evaluating all options on how to deal with Syria.

Hamas leader: Don't compare us to ISIL Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:09 PM PDT As much of the world expressed revulsion over the beheading of American journalist James Foley by an ISIL executioner, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal took pains to disassociate his organization from the Islamist militant group that has conducted a murderous rampage across a large swath of Syria and Iraq.

White House defends Obama's golf outings during crises Posted: 22 Aug 2014 01:53 PM PDT By Steve Holland EDGARTOWN Mass. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama delivered a somber statement on the death of American journalist James Foley after a video emerged showing Foley's grisly execution by Islamic State militants. Then Obama proceeded directly to a golf course to play 18 holes. "Bam's Golf War," blared the cover of the New York Daily News, showing a picture of the smiling president behind the wheel of a golf cart, while Foley's parents grieved over their son in a smaller photo lower on the page. Criticism of Obama was not universal but emerged on both sides of the political spectrum, with former Vice President Dick Cheney attacking the president and left-leaning blogger Ezra Klein saying in a tweet that it was in bad taste.

Foley murder 'terrorist attack' against US: White House Posted: 22 Aug 2014 01:40 PM PDT The murder of American journalist James Foley by jihadist militants in Syria was a "terrorist attack" against the United States, the White House said Friday. "When you see somebody killed in such a horrific way, that represents a terrorist attack -- that represents a terrorist attack against our country and against an American citizen," Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said. Washington "will not provide funds for terrorist organisms," Rhodes said, confirming a long-standing Washington policy amid claims from Islamic State jihadists that other countries had paid to have their nationals freed.

Shiite militiamen kill 70 at Iraq Sunni mosque Posted: 22 Aug 2014 01:18 PM PDT Shiite militiamen gunned down 70 people in an apparent revenge attack at an Iraqi Sunni mosque Friday, as Washington declared the beheading of an American journalist a "terrorist attack." The shooting in Diyala province will increase already significant anger among Iraq's Sunni Arab minority with the Shiite-led government, undermining an anti-militant drive that requires Sunni cooperation to succeed. Army and police officers said the attack on the Musab bin Omair Mosque came after Shiite militiamen were killed in clashes, while other sources said it followed a roadside bomb near one of their patrols.

Morocco says it has arrested two IS jihadists Posted: 22 Aug 2014 01:13 PM PDT Morocco said on Friday it had arrested two Islamic State jihadists who had been planning to leave for IS training camps in Syria and Iraq to prepare attacks at home. The two, whose identities were not disclosed, "planned to receive military training" before taking action in Morocco, "under the Islamic State's plans to expand its field of operations," an interior ministry statement said. Morocco has announced the dismantling of around 20 "terrorist cells" in recent years, the most recent in mid-August, in cooperation with Spain.

2 French girls investigated as would-be jihadi Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:57 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Two French girls, aged 15 and 17, have been captured by a security net that authorities are using to ferret out citizens who are considering traveling to other countries to join jihads.

Obama taking less vacation, but too much for some Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:55 PM PDT CHILMARK, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama has spent less time away from the White House than his predecessors. But his two-week break on the resort island of Martha's Vineyard and hours on the golf course have his detractors teeing up as they highlight the slew of foreign policy crises currently facing the United States.

Islamic State backers under scrutiny in US Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:50 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Officially, the FBI agents who swarmed Donald Ray Morgan at Kennedy Airport this month were there to arrest him on a mundane gun charge. But they whisked him away to their Manhattan office and grilled him for two hours on an entirely different topic: Islamic State extremists.

Morocco arrests suspected Islamic State members Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:36 PM PDT RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco announced on Friday the arrest of two suspected militants seeking to join the Islamic State group as the country is in a heightened state of alert over fears of a terrorist attack.

Israel deletes Foley beheading tweet from government accounts Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:35 PM PDT Israel on Friday removed from two government Twitter accounts a harrowing image of US journalist James Foley about to be beheaded, after the tweets sparked widespread controversy online. The still, taken from a video of the killing of the freelance reporter in Iraq by a masked Islamic State jihadist, was posted on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official account on Thursday. Below the image of Foley kneeling in an orange boiler suit was a photo of Hamas militants on a motorcycle dragging the body of a person executed for collaborating with Israel through the streets of Gaza. The combined image was posted a day after Twitter began removing from the micro-blog service the five-minute-long video of Foley's killing entitled "A Message to America", which had been uploaded to social media sites by jihadists, and images from it.

US slaps sanctions on Al-Qaeda-linked duo Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:29 PM PDT The United States imposed sanctions Friday on two Islamic extremists it accuses of ties to Al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front, alleging they financed and acted on behalf of the terror groups. Under a designation issued by the US Treasury, any assets the men -- Saudi and Kuwaiti nationals -- hold under US jurisdiction are frozen and Americans are "generally prohibited from doing business with them." Abdul Mohsen Abdallah Ibrahim al Sharekh, allegedly the head of Al-Qaeda operations in Syria, and Hamid Hamad Hamid al-Ali were also both placed on a sanctions list by the United Nations Security Council on August 15.

Fleeing Iraqi Christians reveal horror of Islamic State Posted: 22 Aug 2014 12:16 PM PDT From the rescue plane which took them on a one-way journey to France, two Iraqi refugees revealed tales of rape and fear at the hands of Islamic State that forced them to flee their homeland with nothing. Rene, who did not want to give his last name, said the Islamic extremists currently rampaging through Syria and Iraq were as terrifying as they were sophisticated in their communication methods. He was one of 40 refugees who landed Thursday in Paris after being flown out of Arbil along with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who indicated that France was prepared to take in more people in "extreme cases."

Boko Haram sees huge advances but can be checked Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:53 AM PDT Boko Haram may be closer than ever to achieving its goal of creating a caliphate in northern Nigeria but comparisons to the Iraq crisis are premature and the military can reverse the group's gains, analysts say.

'Just a few strikes': Iraq militia wants help from old US foe Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:39 AM PDT Jurf al-Sakhr (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraq's Mahdi Army fought US troops to the death in past years, but now some members of the rebranded Shiite militia say they could do with a little help from their old foe. Jurf al-Sakhr is a sprawling patchwork of orchards and palm groves south of Baghdad irrigated by the Euphrates River, but the beauty of the scenery belies the deadliness of one of Iraq's most relentless battlefields. Positions are hard to hold and weeks of military yo-yo between Islamic State (IS) jihadists and pro-government forces, including the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), which counts many Mahdi Army members among its fighters, have killed hundreds and produced no victor. "I fought the American occupation in 2004 and up to 2006," Saad Thijil, 30, said near a bombed-out building in Jurf al-Sakhr, his rifle strapped behind his back.

White House Calls Foley Killing 'A Terrorist Attack Against Our Country' Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:36 AM PDT The White House on Friday called the execution of U.S. Speaking to reporters in Martha's Vineyard, deputy national security adviser Benjamin Rhodes used some of the White House's strongest language to date in describing efforts to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Asked if Foley's videotaped beheading by ISIS represented a terrorist attack, Rhodes was unequivocal. "Absolutely that represents a terrorist attack against our country and against an American citizen," he said.

FBI: No credible threats to US from Islamic State Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:32 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and Homeland Security Department say there are no specific or credible terror threats to the U.S. homeland from the Islamic State militant group.

The ISIS Dilemma Confronting Obama Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:30 AM PDT The brutal beheading of American journalist James Foley by a member of the so-called Islamic State this week generated outrage and calls for action against the radical group that has surged across the ...

UN warns its food aid program in NKorea at risk Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:26 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Food Program may have to shut down its operations in North Korea by early next year unless it gets more funding from international donors by this autumn, the U.N. agency's director for Asia said Friday.

Terrorist or ally? A Kurdish militia joins the fight against the Islamic State Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:10 AM PDT Its fighters are now fighting the self-declared Islamic State (IS) in Iraq's valleys and plains, posing a dilemma for the same Western powers.  At the first checkpoint, a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK founder jailed in Turkey, looms above a quartet of khaki-clad men armed with AK-47s.  "The Islamic State only has a war experience of two years but we have thirty years of experience in fighting," says Sabri Ok, a senior PKK leader, in a rare interview. Last year, the PKK agreed a ceasefire with Turkey.

Syria war toll tops 191,000 says UN Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:49 AM PDT The death toll from the war in Syria has topped 191,000, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday, criticising "international paralysis" on the conflict where jihadists have established a foothold. Among the dead were 9,000 children, she said, with her spokesman stressing that up to 6,000 people were dying in Syria every month. Pillay's comments came as a monitoring group reported that at least 70 Islamic State jihadist fighters had been killed in 48 hours of clashes with Syrian army troops in the northern province of Raqa. IS military gains in Raqa and Aleppo provinces have prompted the Syrian government for the first time to launch intensive air strikes against the jihadists who have seized large swathes of territory straddling Syria and Iraq.

Report on Obama's Law-Breaking Prisoner Swap Gives Boehner Schadenfreude Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:45 AM PDT Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) broke out the sarcasm on Friday as he seized on a finding by the congressional watchdog that the Obama administration violated the law when he swapped five Taliban prisoners for the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Boehner has accused President Obama of overstepping his constitutional authority on a range of issues and is even leading the House in suing the president. So the report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional oversight agency, provided the Speaker with something of an 'I-told-you-so' moment. Yesterday, the nonpartisan, independent Government Accountability Office confirmed what everyone capable of reading the English language already knew: the White House ignored the law when it released five dangerous Taliban prisoners without proper Congressional notification.

Boehner Hits Obama For ‘Serious Lapse In Judgment’ On Bergdahl Swap Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:32 AM PDT Responding to a government report deeming the deal illegal, Speaker of the House John Boehner on Friday faulted the Obama administration for secretly ordering the swap of five Guantanamo Bay detainees in return for American prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl earlier this year. "At a time when we are grappling with the evil terror of the self-proclaimed 'Islamic State' in Syria and Iraq — a group whose leader was once an American detainee, before being released — it is difficult to imagine a more potentially serious lapse in judgment by the Obama administration," Boehner said. Government Accountability Office said the Obama administration broke the law with its Bergdahl deal by not giving a heads up to congressional committees 30 days in advance, as required by the law.

Iraq Sunni lawmakers suspend talks on new government to protest mosque attack Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:31 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq Sunni lawmakers suspend talks on new government to protest mosque attack .

Pope's Iraq envoy: Minorities need to be defended Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:22 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' envoy to Iraq says religious minorities being attacked by Islamic militants must be defended now and given international protection so they can return home, reinforcing the Vatican's position that military force is justified in this case.

ISIL Press Officer Abu Mosa Killed By Syrian Army Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:19 AM PDT Abu Mosa, the press officer of ISIL (ISIS), has been killed in an attack on a Syrian airbase. ISIL is currently fighting against Syrian government forces, in addition to its campaign in Iraq, that has been met by United States airstrikes. Department of State confirmed Mosa's death in a tweet: An #ISIS leader and press officer both killed in Tabqa Airbase attack in #Syria #thinkagainturnaway pic.twitter.com/hEyv6CJ2Fn — Think AgainTurn Away (@ThinkAgain_DOS) August 21, 2014

Pressure mounts on Europeans to take more action against Islamic State Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:16 AM PDT By William James and John Irish LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - European leaders face calls to take direct action against the Islamic State including in Syria after the beheading of U.S. The release of a video this week showing Foley's beheading by a black-clad Islamic State (IS) militant with a British accent has emerged as a possible game-changer in the fight against the jihadist group. Political leaders in Britain, France and Germany have so far ruled out joining military action in Iraq but reiterated their commitment to supporting Kurdish rebels fighting IS, which split from al Qaeda in a row over strategy.

Drone Pilots Suffer PTSD Just Like Those in Combat Posted: 22 Aug 2014 08:16 AM PDT Although drone operators may be far from the battlefield, they can still develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study shows. About 1,000 United States Air Force drone operators took part in the study, and researchers found that 4.3 percent of them experienced moderate to severe PTSD. In comparison, between 10 and 18 percent of military personnel returning from deployment typically are diagnosed with PTSD, the researchers wrote. "I would say that, even though the percentage is small, it is still a very important number, and something that we would want to take seriously so that we make sure that the folks that are performing their job are effectively screened for this condition and get the help that they [may] need," said study author Wayne Chappelle, a clinical psychologist who consults for the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

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