Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Ramped-up air strikes stall Islamic State advance on Syrian town
• U.S. holds direct talks with embattled Syrian Kurds
• Britain warns of 'exceptionally high' level of anti-terrorism activity
• Syrian Ambassador Calls ISIS An ‘American Myth’
• Accused White House fence jumper faces more charges
• Calling the Enemy of Our Enemy an Enemy
• Egypt's foray into Libya underlines its concerns
• Obama authorizes military reservists for Ebola mission in Africa
• Venezuela, New Zealand win UN seats but Turkey rebuffed
• McCain appears with Tillis in eastern NC
• After an early slide, US stocks end mostly higher
• White House intruder facing more charges
• US still searching for credible allies in Syria
• US says Baghdad is not under 'imminent threat' from IS
• German foreign minister denies arming PKK is an option
• Kurds hold out in Syria's Kobane one month into IS assault
• What would an actual battle for Baghdad look like?
• US meets with Syrian Kurds linked to terror group
• Falling oil prices shake up global economies
• What does an ISIS sex slave auction look like?
• White House condemns wave of attacks in Iraq
• Syrian Kurdish official calls for arms for Kobani
• Iraq bombings kill at least 26
• Attacks in Baghdad kill at least 50 people
• At least 47 killed in attacks in and around Baghdad
• Canada to boost powers of spy agency to address terrorist threat
• With Syria at war, can Turkey and Ocalan still bring Kurds peace?
• U.S. seeks more from China, Asian Muslim nations, on Islamic State
• In Jordan, slashed UN food aid has even 'well off' Syrians feeling the pinch
• Hamas leader urges Muslims to defend Jerusalem shrine from 'Israeli seizure'
• Were jihadists training in a French park?
• Denmark wants answers on wanted man missing in Turkish custody: foreign minister
• Russia denies agreed with US to share intel on IS militants 
• U.S. says it conducts 14 air strikes against Islamic State near Kobani
• Russia plays down cooperation with U.S. against Islamic State militants
• Former Soviet leader Gorbachev warns against new Cold War
• Red Cross president: 'The Ebola crisis will grow'
• The Daily Fix: U.S. Fighting to Contain Ebola, Feminist Receives Bomb Threats, and Hong Kong Protesters Clash With Officials
• Britain to re-deploy drones from Afghanistan to Iraq
• Iraq, Syria refugees from Islamic State get winter aid kits: agency

Ramped-up air strikes stall Islamic State advance on Syrian town Posted: 16 Oct 2014 04:41 PM PDT By Humeyra Pamuk MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) - Two days of heavy air strikes by U.S. warplanes have slowed an advance by Islamic State militants against Kurdish forces defending the Syrian border town of Kobani. Turkish and U.S. officials said last week that Islamic State was on the verge of taking Kobani from its heavily outgunned Kurdish defenders, after seizing strategic points deep inside the town. The tempo of coalition air strikes has increased dramatically, with U.S. ...

U.S. holds direct talks with embattled Syrian Kurds Posted: 16 Oct 2014 04:41 PM PDT By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. State Department official held direct talks for the first time last weekend with a Syrian Kurdish group involved in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, including the besieged town of Kobani, the State Department said on Thursday. Following the talks, the last three days saw an upsurge in U.S. air strikes on Islamic State forces besieging the town, and Kurdish spokesmen said their forces were giving coordinates of the militants' positions to the United States. ...

Britain warns of 'exceptionally high' level of anti-terrorism activity Posted: 16 Oct 2014 04:08 PM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - British police are carrying out security investigations at an "exceptionally high" pace not seen in years to disrupt potentially deadly plots directed from abroad, notably Syria, the country's top counter-terrorism officer said on Friday. Mark Rowley, Britain's national policing spokesman for counter-terrorism, said the police had made 218 arrests so far this year while dozens of vulnerable people were also being referred to de-radicalisation programs. ...

Syrian Ambassador Calls ISIS An ‘American Myth’ Posted: 16 Oct 2014 04:04 PM PDT The Syrian Ambassador to India claimed that ISIS was an American invention on Wednesday, among other controversial remarks.

Accused White House fence jumper faces more charges Posted: 16 Oct 2014 04:01 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iraq war veteran accused of running inside the White House armed with a knife faces more charges under a federal grand jury indictment returned on Thursday. Omar Gonzalez, 42, is alleged to have climbed over the White House fence on Sept. 29, burst through the front door and made it to the executive mansion's East Room before he was stopped. Gonzalez, formerly of Copperas Cove, Texas, was initially charged with unlawful entry while carrying a weapon, a federal offense. ...

Calling the Enemy of Our Enemy an Enemy Posted: 16 Oct 2014 03:27 PM PDT On Tuesday, Turkey finally launched its first airstrikes since the United States formally announced its campaign against Islamic State forces in Syria and Iraq. The only catch was that Turkish planes targeted the Kurdistan Workers' Party (best known as the P.K.K.) in southeastern Turkey rather than Islamic State forces in Syria.

Egypt's foray into Libya underlines its concerns Posted: 16 Oct 2014 03:24 PM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Egypt's military involvement in Libya underlines Cairo's concerns about the threat posed by Islamic militant groups operating near the two nations' porous border, as well as home-grown jihadis who rely on their Libyan comrades for weapons. Above all, Egypt aims to prevent these groups from linking up.

Obama authorizes military reservists for Ebola mission in Africa Posted: 16 Oct 2014 03:04 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama authorized the use of American military reservists on Thursday to support humanitarian aid efforts against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In a letter to leaders of the U.S. Congress, Obama said he had determined it was necessary to augment the active duty military with an unspecified number of reservists to help support the fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa. ...

Venezuela, New Zealand win UN seats but Turkey rebuffed Posted: 16 Oct 2014 02:42 PM PDT United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela won coveted seats on the UN Security Council Thursday, but Turkey suffered a humbling defeat in its bid to join the world's "top table."

McCain appears with Tillis in eastern NC Posted: 16 Oct 2014 02:25 PM PDT GOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The U.S. Senate needs Thom Tillis because of leadership skills he exhibited as North Carolina House speaker, John McCain said Thursday while later criticizing colleague Kay Hagan for missing key Armed Service Committee meetings as national security issues grew.

After an early slide, US stocks end mostly higher Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:58 PM PDT After several days surfing Wall Street's gut-wrenching swells and troughs, investors got a smoother ride on Thursday.

White House intruder facing more charges Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:48 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - Three additional charges were filed Thursday against a US army veteran accused of jumping an iron fence and running into the White House in mid-September with a folding knife.

US still searching for credible allies in Syria Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:26 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite years of diplomacy and a CIA operation to vet and train moderate rebels, the U.S. finds itself without a credible partner on the ground in Syria as it bombs the Islamic State group. That's a potentially serious flaw in its strategy to ultimately defeat the militants.

US says Baghdad is not under 'imminent threat' from IS Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:24 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - The Iraqi capital Baghdad is not facing immediate danger from Islamic State jihadists despite battlefield gains by the group in the country's west and recent car bombings in the city, the US military said Thursday.

German foreign minister denies arming PKK is an option Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:07 PM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister ruled out the possibility of arming the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Thursday, after a senior ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested this could help efforts to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants. "There is no question of that as long as the PKK threatens Turkey with fresh violence," said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during an interview broadcast on Twitter. ...

Kurds hold out in Syria's Kobane one month into IS assault Posted: 16 Oct 2014 12:58 PM PDT Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - Kurdish fighters backed by a flurry of US-led air strikes were still holding out Thursday against jihadists in Kobane, as an Islamic State offensive on the Syrian border town entered its second month.

What would an actual battle for Baghdad look like? Posted: 16 Oct 2014 12:48 PM PDT There's been a lot of hand-wringing and armchair quarterbacking lately over whether Baghdad is in imminent danger from the forces of the so-called Islamic State. The short answer? The city appears mostly safe for now. But that doesn't mean circumstances won't change. And if they do, the tactical situation could evolve with lightning speed.

US meets with Syrian Kurds linked to terror group Posted: 16 Oct 2014 12:46 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Thursday that it has met directly with a Kurdish political party in Syria that is linked to a guerrilla group considered by the U.S. and Turkey as a terrorist organization.

Falling oil prices shake up global economies Posted: 16 Oct 2014 12:44 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — A sudden plunge in the price of oil is sending economic and political shockwaves around the world. Oil exporting countries are bracing for potentially crippling budget shortfalls and importing nations are benefiting from the lowest prices in four years.

What does an ISIS sex slave auction look like? Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:24 AM PDT Women in full niqab, chained together at the wrists, crying out as men push them to the ground.

White House condemns wave of attacks in Iraq Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:22 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is strongly condemning a wave of attacks in Iraq, including some in and around the capital of Baghdad.

Syrian Kurdish official calls for arms for Kobani Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:17 AM PDT MURSITPINAR, Turkey (AP) — In its battle for the Syrian town of Kobani, the Islamic State group enjoys a key advantage: a supply of weapons, ammunition and fighters shuttling between Syria and Iraq.

Iraq bombings kill at least 26 Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:07 AM PDT Baghdad (AFP) - Bombings in and around Baghdad, including a suicide attack, killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens Thursday, police and medical sources said.

Attacks in Baghdad kill at least 50 people Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:05 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Militants unleashed a wave of attacks in Iraq on Thursday, mainly targeting Shiite areas in and around the capital of Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens, authorities said.

At least 47 killed in attacks in and around Baghdad Posted: 16 Oct 2014 10:52 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombings and a mortar strike in Shi'ite Muslim parts of Baghdad and in the rural belt south of the capital killed at least 47 people on Thursday and wounded 123, police and medical officials said. An Iraqi Shi'ite political figure said the assaults, part of a surge of violence in Shi'ite neighbourhoods in recent weeks, were revenge attacks by the Sunni Muslim militant group Islamic State, which has seized control of much of northern Iraq. ...

Canada to boost powers of spy agency to address terrorist threat Posted: 16 Oct 2014 10:25 AM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government intends to boost the powers of its spy agency, CSIS, to investigate terrorist threats outside the country and to protect spy informants, Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney said on Thursday. "The events in recent months in Iraq and Syria have shown us that we cannot become complacent in the face of terrorism," Blaney told a news conference after informing his provincial counterparts of his legislative plans. ...

With Syria at war, can Turkey and Ocalan still bring Kurds peace? Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:58 AM PDT By Daren Butler and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL/SURUC Turkey (Reuters) - As southeast Turkey's Kurds rioted last week in fury at Ankara's refusal to rescue the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani from advancing Islamists, it was to Abdullah Ocalan that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu turned for help. Sitting in jail on the windswept island where he has spent the last 15 years, Ocalan wields more power as a peacemaker than he ever did as the guerrilla commander leading a Kurdish insurgency in which 40,000 people have died. ...

U.S. seeks more from China, Asian Muslim nations, on Islamic State Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:39 AM PDT By David Brunnstrom and Randy Fabi WASHINGTON/JAKARTA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will seek greater cooperation from China and Southeast Asia's main Muslim states, Indonesia and Malaysia, in the campaign against Islamic State and staunching the flow of foreign fighters to the militant group, U.S. and Asian officials said. China's most senior diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, is expected in Kerry's home city of Boston on Friday and Saturday, a Chinese diplomat said. ...

In Jordan, slashed UN food aid has even 'well off' Syrians feeling the pinch Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:28 AM PDT Ahmed, a father of four, was sentenced to death in 2012 after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime found rebel weapons in his home. With his connections he was able to get out of prison after eight months, and fled with his family to Jordan.

Hamas leader urges Muslims to defend Jerusalem shrine from 'Israeli seizure' Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:15 AM PDT DOHA (Reuters) - The leader of the Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday called on Muslims to defend the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, saying Israel was trying to seize the site, revered in Islam and Judaism and focus of a Palestinian uprising in 2000. Khaled Meshaal, speaking in the Qatari capital Doha where he lives in exile, said: "We call on all our people inside the country to hurry up to al-Aqsa to defend it. ...

Were jihadists training in a French park? Posted: 16 Oct 2014 08:51 AM PDT Residents in the eastern French city of Strasbourg were alarmed this week when they saw a group of "apprentice jihadists" training in a park using fake weapons, according to police.

Denmark wants answers on wanted man missing in Turkish custody: foreign minister Posted: 16 Oct 2014 08:32 AM PDT COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish officials will travel to Turkey to establish the fate of a wanted Danish man whose family says is missing from Turkish custody, the foreign minister said, before criticising the Turkish authorities for being unresponsive on the case. The man, who is known in Denmark only by the initials BH, is wanted by Danish police for the attempted murder in Copenhagen in February 2013 of newspaper columnist and outspoken critic of Islam, Lars Hedegaard. ...

Russia denies agreed with US to share intel on IS militants  Posted: 16 Oct 2014 08:16 AM PDT Moscow (AFP) - Moscow on Thursday denied a US assertion that it had agreed to ramp up intelligence-sharing with Washington over the Islamic State group, saying it would provide no such help without UN Secuity Council approval.

U.S. says it conducts 14 air strikes against Islamic State near Kobani Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:38 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military fighter and bomber planes carried out 14 air strikes against Islamic State targets near the Syrian border town of Kobani on Wednesday and Thursday, the U.S. military's Central Command said. The air strikes appear to have slowed the militant group's advances, but "the security situation on the ground in Kobani remains tenuous," it said in a statement on Thursday. Targets hit included 19 buildings, two command posts, three fighting positions and three sniper positions, it added. Stepped-up air attacks by U.S. ...

Russia plays down cooperation with U.S. against Islamic State militants Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:38 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia played down comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday over sharing intelligence about Islamic State militants, saying Moscow refuses to be involved in coalitions that breach "international law". Without denying that cooperation existed, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said clarification was needed on reports that Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had agreed on intelligence sharing. ...

Former Soviet leader Gorbachev warns against new Cold War Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:33 AM PDT By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has warned Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin against dragging the world into a new version of the Cold War he helped to end a quarter of a century ago. Gorbachev, recently in hospital, voiced his disquiet in a newspaper interview at the current standoff over Ukraine, which has prompted the United States and European Union to impose sanctions on Russia, and Moscow to retaliate by banning most Western food imports. ...

Red Cross president: 'The Ebola crisis will grow' Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:25 AM PDT The head of the International Red Cross is warning that the Ebola crisis will grow and that the threat of a "global health catastrophe" is real.

The Daily Fix: U.S. Fighting to Contain Ebola, Feminist Receives Bomb Threats, and Hong Kong Protesters Clash With Officials Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:17 AM PDT On Monday, before nurse Amber Vinson boarded a flight from Cleveland to Dallas, she called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to say she that had an elevated temperature of 99.5 degrees. Vinson was being monitored for signs of the Ebola virus after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Presbyterian Hospital earlier in October. She has since tested positive.

Britain to re-deploy drones from Afghanistan to Iraq Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:05 AM PDT London (AFP) - Britain will shortly begin re-deploying its unmanned armed drones from Afghanistan to counter Islamic State jihadists in Iraq, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told parliament on Thursday.

Iraq, Syria refugees from Islamic State get winter aid kits: agency Posted: 16 Oct 2014 07:01 AM PDT By Kieran Guilbert LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thousands of refugees in Iraq and Syria, fleeing attacks by Islamic State, will be given emergency winter kits to help them cope with the approach of cold, rainy weather, an international aid agency said on Thursday. The number of civilians forced to leave their homes is still rising as a result of IS attacks on Iraq's Anbar province and the Syrian town of Kobani on the Turkish border, the International Rescue Committee said. ...

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