Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Kurds hold off Islamic State in Kobani; fighters strike in Iraq
• War reporters lament news 'black holes' in IS-held zones
• US says Turkey OKs use of bases against militants
• Iraqis will have to fight IS to win back country: Kerry
• U.S. concerned over Kobani, will take time to confront Islamic State: Kerry
• Trinidadian mother confirms her son with ISIL: newspaper
• Kerry pushes for Mideast peace, donors pledge $5 billion for Palestinians
• Kurds thwart IS in Syria town but Iraq on back foot
• Triple bomb attack kills 40 in Iraq town
• Turkey urges military support for Syria's 'moderate opposition'
• Islamic State magazine says group enslaved Yazidis
• Triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills 58 people
• Islamic State suicide bombers kill 28 Kurds; police chief assassinated
• Future ground role for US military advisors in Iraq likely: Dempsey
• U.S. general sees bigger role 'advising and assisting' Iraqi forces
• Dempsey: US used attack helicopters near Baghdad
• Measuring MLK's peace prophecy, 50 years later
• Large mosaic in ancient tomb uncovered in Greece
• Turkish foreign minister says Kobani corridor for weapons, fighters unrealistic: France 24
• Crime-fighting London Jews claim model for Muslim cooperation
• Algerian troops kill 8 in search for group behind tourist beheading -state media
• Algerian troops kill eight in search for group behind tourist beheading: state media
• Germany regrets 'mistakes' in Afghanistan mission
• Kurdish woman leading Kobane battle against IS: activists
• Britain sends army trainers to Iraq to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters
• Bomb kills police chief of Iraq's troubled Anbar
• GOP Campaign Tactic: Fear-Mongering Over Ebola and ISIS
• Libya's overstretched border police struggle to secure border
• U.S. military faces new kind of threat with Ebola
• In Arkansas, conservative Harvard war vet eyes US Senate
• Bombings kill 45 in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad and outskirts: police
• U.S. Defense Secretary sees long-term fight against Islamic State
• Kurds urge more air strikes in Kobani; monitor warns of defeat

Kurds hold off Islamic State in Kobani; fighters strike in Iraq Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:12 PM PDT By Ayla Jean Yackley and Saif Sameer MURSITPINAR Turkey/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kurdish defenders held off Islamic State militants in Syria's border town of Kobani on Sunday, but the fighters struck with deadly bombings in Iraq, killing dozens of Kurds in the north and assassinating a provincial police commander in the west. The top U.S. military officer suggested that Washington, which has ruled out joining ground combat in either Iraq or Syria, could nevertheless increase its role "advising and assisting" Iraqi troops on the ground in the future. U.S. ...

War reporters lament news 'black holes' in IS-held zones Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:08 PM PDT Bayeux (France) (AFP) - Kidnappings, beheadings, a hatred of journalists: the areas controlled by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria have become "black holes" of news where even war-hardened reporters dare not venture.

US says Turkey OKs use of bases against militants Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:49 PM PDT AREQUIPA, Peru (AP) — Turkey will let U.S. and coalition forces use its bases, including a key installation within 100 miles of the Syrian border, for operations against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, American defense officials said Sunday.

Iraqis will have to fight IS to win back country: Kerry Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:20 PM PDT Cairo (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday it was ultimately up to Iraqis to fight back against the Islamic State group advancing in Iraq despite US-led airstrikes.

U.S. concerned over Kobani, will take time to confront Islamic State: Kerry Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:20 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday the United States was deeply concerned about what he called the "tragedy" in the Syrian town of Kobani, where Islamic State fighters have been tightening their grip. Speaking at a conference in Cairo on the rebuilding of Gaza, Kerry said it would take time to bring a coalition fully together to confront the militants and said the focus must first be on Iraq while degrading Islamic State in Syria. "Obviously we are all very concerned about the reports of gains in Kobani and we're closely monitoring the situation. ...

Trinidadian mother confirms her son with ISIL: newspaper Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:20 PM PDT By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - After weeks of speculation about the involvement of Trinidad and Tobago nationals joining the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a mother confirmed her 29-year-old son left the Caribbean country a year ago to join the militant group, according to a local media report. Shane Crawford, also known as Asadullah, sold his valuables including a van and a big-screen TV to purchase airfare, the Sunday Express reported in an interview with the mother. ...

Kerry pushes for Mideast peace, donors pledge $5 billion for Palestinians Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:02 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Stephen Kalin CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Sunday for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbors was possible. But prospects for a renewed peace process appeared dim as Kerry offered no specifics on how to restart negotiations in his speech to a Gaza reconstruction conference that raised more than $5 billion in aid for the Palestinians after a devastating war in the tiny coastal territory. The last round of U.S. ...

Kurds thwart IS in Syria town but Iraq on back foot Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:56 PM PDT Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - Attacking Islamic State jihadists met firm Kurdish resistance Sunday in the Syrian battleground town of Kobane, but in Iraq they put government forces under strong pressure.

Triple bomb attack kills 40 in Iraq town Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:41 PM PDT Baquba (Iraq) (AFP) - Three suicide attacks against offices in a Kurdish-controlled Iraqi town killed at least 40 people on Sunday, many of them Kurdish forces veterans volunteering to re-enlist, officials said.

Turkey urges military support for Syria's 'moderate opposition' Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:36 PM PDT Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday called for military backing for Syria's "moderate opposition" to create a "third force" in the war-torn country to take on the Damascus regime as well as Islamic State militants.

Islamic State magazine says group enslaved Yazidis Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:03 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic State group militants captured, enslaved and sold Yazidi women and children, the latest issue of a magazine purportedly published by the extremists claimed Sunday, the group's first public confirmation of the allegations.

Triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills 58 people Posted: 12 Oct 2014 11:35 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A triple suicide bombing Sunday killed at least 58 people in Iraq as a roadside bomb killed the police chief of the western Anbar province, authorities said, attacks that dealt major blows to Iraqi security forces struggling to combat the Islamic State extremist group.

Islamic State suicide bombers kill 28 Kurds; police chief assassinated Posted: 12 Oct 2014 10:58 AM PDT By Saif Sameer BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suspected Islamic State bombers assassinated an Iraqi provincial police chief and killed 28 people in an attack on a Kurdish security headquarters on Sunday, a second straight day of mass attacks that killed scores. The two attacks, in the north of the country and the west, showed the jihadist group's ability to inflict damage on both the forces of the autonomous Kurdish region and the central government, despite U.S.-led air strikes. ...

Future ground role for US military advisors in Iraq likely: Dempsey Posted: 12 Oct 2014 10:48 AM PDT Washington (AFP) - US military advisors are likely to take a more direct role in the ground campaign against jihadists in Iraq once Iraqi forces are ready to go on the offensive, the top US officer said in comments aired Sunday.

U.S. general sees bigger role 'advising and assisting' Iraqi forces Posted: 12 Oct 2014 10:25 AM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops will probably need to play a bigger role "advising and assisting" Iraqi forces on the ground in the future, the highest ranking U.S. military officer said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. U.S. forces have been bombing Islamic State fighters in Iraq since August and expanded the air campaign to Syria last month. The White House has repeatedly said it will not send ground troops back to Iraq, where President Barack Obama withdrew U.S. forces in 2011. ...

Dempsey: US used attack helicopters near Baghdad Posted: 12 Oct 2014 10:16 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. military officer says the U.S. called in Apache attack helicopters to prevent Iraqi forces from being overrun by Islamic State militants in a recent fight near Baghdad's airport.

Measuring MLK's peace prophecy, 50 years later Posted: 12 Oct 2014 09:49 AM PDT The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to much more than achieving racial equality. That goal, he said again and again, was inseparable from alleviating poverty and stopping war. And he reiterated this theme after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 50 years ago this week.

Large mosaic in ancient tomb uncovered in Greece Posted: 12 Oct 2014 09:17 AM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Archaeologists digging through a vast ancient tomb in Amphipolis in northern Greece have uncovered a floor mosaic that covers the whole area of a room seen as the antechamber to the main burial ground.

Turkish foreign minister says Kobani corridor for weapons, fighters unrealistic: France 24 Posted: 12 Oct 2014 09:06 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister said on Sunday that a corridor allowing weapons and volunteer fighters from Turkey to reach Kobani, the Syrian border town under attack from Islamic State fighters, was unrealistic. Speaking to France 24, Mevlut Cavusoglu said a more comprehensive approach was needed to defeat Islamic State, which now control large parts of Iraq and Syria and have been targeted by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition. ...

Crime-fighting London Jews claim model for Muslim cooperation Posted: 12 Oct 2014 08:07 AM PDT London (AFP) - The unusual sight of crime-fighting Orthodox Jews pounding the streets of a tough London neighbourhood after dark has captured the attention of grateful locals, but their ongoing protection of local Muslims has seen their profile go global.

Algerian troops kill 8 in search for group behind tourist beheading -state media Posted: 12 Oct 2014 06:35 AM PDT ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian troops killed eight suspected militants in the eastern Bouira region where they have been tracking an al Qaeda splinter group that killed a French tourist, state news agency APS reported. Three suspected militants were killed on Friday and another five were killed on Saturday in Bouira, east of the capital Algiers, APS said, citing an unnamed security source. ...

Algerian troops kill eight in search for group behind tourist beheading: state media Posted: 12 Oct 2014 06:33 AM PDT ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian troops killed eight suspected militants in the eastern Bouira region where they have been tracking an al Qaeda splinter group that killed a French tourist, state news agency APS reported. Three suspected militants were killed on Friday and another five were killed on Saturday in Bouira, east of the capital Algiers, APS said, citing an unnamed security source. ...

Germany regrets 'mistakes' in Afghanistan mission Posted: 12 Oct 2014 06:21 AM PDT Germany's foreign minister said Sunday that Berlin had made serious mistakes in its military engagement in Afghanistan since 2001 and warned against a hasty withdrawal.

Kurdish woman leading Kobane battle against IS: activists Posted: 12 Oct 2014 06:05 AM PDT Beirut (AFP) - A Kurdish woman fighter is leading the battle against Islamic State jihadists in the Syrian battleground town of Kobane, a monitoring group and activists said Sunday.

Britain sends army trainers to Iraq to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:42 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Sunday it had deployed a team of army trainers to Iraq to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters maintain and use heavy machineguns against Islamic State (IS) militants. Britain announced the move as Kurdish fighters battling IS militants in the besieged Syrian town of Kobani called on Turkey to open up corridors to allow volunteer fighters and weapons to enter to reinforce their out-gunned forces. ...

Bomb kills police chief of Iraq's troubled Anbar Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:26 AM PDT Baghdad (AFP) - A roadside bomb killed the police chief of Iraq's battleground province of Anbar Sunday, officials said, after the Pentagon expressed concern about a renewed offensive by jihadists in the area.

GOP Campaign Tactic: Fear-Mongering Over Ebola and ISIS Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:45 AM PDT The threats, of course, are the Ebola virus, which is currently ravaging three countries in West Africa, and the terror group ISIS, which has taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria, murdering and torturing thousands of innocents in their wake. In campaign ads and speeches, Republican candidates are pounding home the idea – dismissed by public health experts – that illegal immigrants infected with Ebola are threatening to bring the frightening hemorrhagic fever to the U.S. Scott Brown, the former Senator from Massachusetts now trying to win a Senate seat in New Hampshire, recently attacked his Democratic opponent Sen. Jean Shaheen on the issue of border security, claiming that she has done too little to secure U.S. In Arkansas, Rep. Tom Cotton, who is threatening to unseat Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, said, "Groups like the Islamic State collaborate with drug cartels in Mexico who have clearly shown they're willing to expand outside the drug trade into human trafficking and potentially even terrorism," said "They could infiltrate our defenseless border and attack us right here in places like Arkansas."  On October 10, The Washington Post Fact Checker gave Cotton 4 Pinocchios for his statement.

Libya's overstretched border police struggle to secure border Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:36 AM PDT By Ulf Laessing MUSAID Libya (Reuters) - When the man in charge of Libya's main border crossing with Egypt checks his staff rota every morning, he can count on a maximum of just 30 officers. The tiny force polices the northern tip of a 1,115 km (700 mile) desert border, where Egypt and its Western allies hope to prevent Islamist militants infiltrating to join fellow fighters on Egyptian territory, or sneaking back into the lawless OPEC producer to find safe haven. ...

U.S. military faces new kind of threat with Ebola Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:30 AM PDT By Phil Stewart (Reuters) - At Fort Campbell in Kentucky, spouses of U.S. soldiers headed to Liberia seem to be lingering just a bit longer than usual after pre-deployment briefings, hungry for information about Ebola. For these families, the virus is raising a different kind of anxiety than the one they have weathered during 13 years of ground war in Afghanistan and Iraq. They want to know how the military can keep soldiers safe from the epidemic, a new addition to the Army's long list of threats. ...

In Arkansas, conservative Harvard war vet eyes US Senate Posted: 11 Oct 2014 06:53 PM PDT Dardanelle (United States) (AFP) - Senate candidate Tom Cotton has energy to burn, and why shouldn't he? The rising Republican star is a fit former US Army officer who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bombings kill 45 in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad and outskirts: police Posted: 11 Oct 2014 06:38 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 45 people were killed in bombings in Baghdad and its rural outskirts on Saturday as the government continued to defend the capital against jihadists who four months ago seized major cities in northern Iraq. Islamic State (IS) fighters, who took control of large sections of Iraq this year, regularly target Shi'ite districts in Baghdad and are penetrating surrounding farmland where Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militias try to push them back. ...

U.S. Defense Secretary sees long-term fight against Islamic State Posted: 11 Oct 2014 05:32 PM PDT SANTIAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday that the embattled Syrian city of Kobani was a very difficult problem but added that air strikes had made some progress in driving back Islamic State militants. Kurdish forces defending Kobani urged a U.S.-led coalition to escalate air strikes on Islamic State fighters who tightened their grip on the Syrian town at the border with Turkey on Saturday. "We are doing what we can do through our air strikes to help drive back ISIL. ...

Kurds urge more air strikes in Kobani; monitor warns of defeat Posted: 11 Oct 2014 05:14 PM PDT By Ayla Jean Yackley and Tom Perry MURSITPINAR Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kurdish forces defending Kobani urged a U.S.-led coalition to escalate air strikes on Islamic State fighters who tightened their grip on the Syrian town at the border with Turkey on Saturday. A group that monitors the Syrian civil war said the Kurdish forces faced inevitable defeat in Kobani if Turkey did not open its border to let through arms, something Ankara has appeared reluctant to do. The U.S.-led coalition escalated air strikes on Islamic State in and around Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, some four days ago. ...

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