Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• U.S. may expand training role of Iraq military advisers
• Islamic State onslaught on Yazidis may be attempted genocide: U.N.
• Personal woes plagued Canadian who killed soldier: records, lawyer
• Canada police talked to militant suspect, couldn't stop attack
• UN: Assault on Yazidis may be genocide attempt
• Iraq's Yazidis facing 'attempted genocide'
• Terrorist ideology blamed in Canada car attack
• Canada fears new Islamist threat after soldier killed
• Khamenei says Iraq can beat IS without foreigners
• Russia blames 'negligent' airport bosses for Total CEO's crash
• PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ IS UNTOLD STORY
• Egypt sentences 7 jihadists to death for attacks on troops
• Israeli minister airs Iran nuclear concerns at Pentagon
• US plans sale of tank rounds to embattled Iraqi army
• Australian runaway teenager reportedly in IS video
• IS fighters seize weapons cache meant for Kurds
• Pentagon: Counter-IS campaign costs $424 million
• U.S. considering Iraqi request for more military advisers
• Assad pursues withering campaign against rebels
• Turkey says Kurdish peshmerga fighters yet to cross to Syria
• Court orders mental health evaluation for White House fence jumper
• Iraqi PM Abadi says the US is not to be trusted. Really?
• Kurds hold majority of Syrian town, IS stalled: US
• Purely military action in Syria could fuel extremism: U.N.
• Pentagon says Islamic State fight has cost $424 million since Aug. 8
• U.S. involved in seven air strikes on Islamic State targets
• Syria Kurds weather IS assault as they await reinforcements
• In US, Ebola fears rise but most confident in response
• PenFed Credit Union Contributes $100,000 to Help USO Bring Platinum Recording Artist Trace Adkins to Fort Hood
• Canada police say they were tracking man who killed a soldier
• Iran president pledges to back Iraq amid attacks
• Iran supreme leader blames West for Islamic State rise, wants regional solution
• Consumed by Islamic State, Iraq's Anbar province a key battleground again
• Egypt sentences to death seven suspected members of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
• Islamic State advances against Yazidis on Iraq's Sinjar mountain
• British jets and drones to operate in Syrian skies, David Cameron says
• Why Iran views Islamic State fight through a conspiracy lens
• Total CEO de Margerie killed in Moscow as jet hits snow plow
• The Pakistani Taliban Feels Jilted After Spokesman Defects to ISIS
• Jordan's King Abdullah says world faces fight against extremism

U.S. may expand training role of Iraq military advisers Posted: 21 Oct 2014 05:27 PM PDT By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any Iraqi request for more American military advisers or trainers to help the country's security forces fight Islamic State militants would be considered, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday. The issue was discussed in meetings that deputy White House national security adviser Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials had with top Iraqi officials last week on a trip to Baghdad and other parts of the country. The United States has about 1,400 military advisers and diplomatic security personnel in Iraq. ...

Islamic State onslaught on Yazidis may be attempted genocide: U.N. Posted: 21 Oct 2014 05:04 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The campaign of Islamic State militants against Iraq's Yazidi minority may be attempted genocide, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for human rights Ivan Simonovic said on Tuesday. "Facts are indicating that actions against Yazidis may amount to attempted genocide," he told a small group of reporters at the United Nations after returning from a recent visit to Iraq. ...

Personal woes plagued Canadian who killed soldier: records, lawyer Posted: 21 Oct 2014 05:02 PM PDT By Allison Lampert SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU Quebec (Reuters) - A Canadian convert to Islam shot dead by police in Quebec after running over and killing a soldier with his car had launched a custody case for his young son only three days earlier, court records show. In his final Facebook post that day the 25-year-old convert, Martin Rouleau-Couture, changed his profile picture to an image of two doors, one opening to a sunlit heaven and the other to a fiery hell. "Martin was petitioning the court to be able to visit his child," his lawyer Patricia Gauthier told Reuters on Tuesday. ...

Canada police talked to militant suspect, couldn't stop attack Posted: 21 Oct 2014 05:02 PM PDT By Allison Lampert SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU Quebec (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Tuesday they had arrested a suspected militant as he was leaving the country, took away his passport and talked to him several times but had no chance of preventing him from killing a soldier. Martin Rouleau, a 25-year-old who converted to Islam last year, rammed his car into two soldiers in the Quebec town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on Monday and was shot dead by police. A 53-year-old adjutant died in the attack. ...

UN: Assault on Yazidis may be genocide attempt Posted: 21 Oct 2014 04:36 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A United Nations official says evidence strongly indicates that the Islamic State group's assault on Iraq's Yazidi religious minority is "an attempt to commit genocide."

Iraq's Yazidis facing 'attempted genocide' Posted: 21 Oct 2014 04:33 PM PDT United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Iraq's Yazidi minority is facing what may amount to an "attempted genocide" at the hands of Islamist fighters, a senior UN rights official said Tuesday after visiting northern Iraq.

Terrorist ideology blamed in Canada car attack Posted: 21 Oct 2014 04:07 PM PDT SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, Quebec (AP) — A young convert to Islam who killed a Canadian soldier in a hit-and-run had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey, authorities said Tuesday.

Canada fears new Islamist threat after soldier killed Posted: 21 Oct 2014 03:52 PM PDT Ottawa (AFP) - Canada was faced with the spectre of Islamist violence Tuesday after a soldier run over by a suspected jihadist died in hospital, as its warplanes headed to bomb Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Khamenei says Iraq can beat IS without foreigners Posted: 21 Oct 2014 03:37 PM PDT Tehran (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday told Iraq's visiting premier that the Baghdad government is capable of defeating Islamic State jihadists without foreign troops being deployed.

Russia blames 'negligent' airport bosses for Total CEO's crash Posted: 21 Oct 2014 03:03 PM PDT Moscow (AFP) - Russian investigators on Tuesday accused senior airport officials of criminal negligence over a plane crash at a Moscow airport that killed the head of French oil giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, whose private jet hit a snowplough on takeoff.

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ IS UNTOLD STORY Posted: 21 Oct 2014 03:00 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- Avidly reading and watching the news, from ISIS to Ebola recently, I have been repeatedly surprised by the absence of one rather important word: Christian. In all the innumerable words and pictures that have told the misery-ridden stories of these two sagas, almost none have attempted to tell the story of Christianity being wiped out, usually viciously, in the very sands in which Christ and the Bible were born. And this is strange, indeed, for Christianity remains the world's largest religion, with 2.18 billion adherents, or a third of the global population. ...

Egypt sentences 7 jihadists to death for attacks on troops Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:48 PM PDT Cairo (AFP) - An Egyptian military court sentenced to death seven members of an Al-Qaeda inspired jihadist group Tuesday for carrying out deadly attacks on the army, army officials said.

Israeli minister airs Iran nuclear concerns at Pentagon Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:42 PM PDT Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday he shared with his US counterpart his country's concerns about the direction of talks between world powers and Iran on its nuclear programme.

US plans sale of tank rounds to embattled Iraqi army Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:37 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - The United States plans to sell $600 million worth of armor-piercing tank rounds to Iraq, officials said Tuesday, part of a push to shore up Baghdad's embattled army against advancing Islamic State jihadists.

Australian runaway teenager reportedly in IS video Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:27 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian teenage runaway has reportedly appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video, warning that the movement won't stop fighting until the extremists' notorious black flag is flying above every nation.

IS fighters seize weapons cache meant for Kurds Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:06 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State group fighters seized at least one cache of weapons airdropped by U.S.-led coalition forces that were meant to supply Kurdish militiamen battling the extremist group in a border town, activists said Tuesday.

Pentagon: Counter-IS campaign costs $424 million Posted: 21 Oct 2014 02:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has spent $424 million so far in its military campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

U.S. considering Iraqi request for more military advisers Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:57 PM PDT By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. officials are considering an Iraqi request for more American military advisers to help Iraqi security forces in their campaign against Islamic State militants, a senior Obama administration official said on Tuesday. The request came up in meetings that deputy White House national security adviser Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials had with top Iraqi officials last week on a trip to Baghdad and other parts of the country. The United States has about 1,400 military advisers and diplomatic security personnel in Iraq. ...

Assad pursues withering campaign against rebels Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:51 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad is taking advantage of the U.S.-led coalition's war against the Islamic State group to pursue a withering air and ground campaign against more mainstream rebels elsewhere in the country, trying to recapture areas considered more crucial to the survival of his government.

Turkey says Kurdish peshmerga fighters yet to cross to Syria Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:48 PM PDT Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey said Tuesday Kurdish peshmerga fighters based in Iraq have yet to cross into Syria from Turkish territory, a day after announcing it was assisting their transit to join the battle for the town of Kobane.

Court orders mental health evaluation for White House fence jumper Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:45 PM PDT By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday ordered a 30 day mental health evaluation for Omar Gonzalez, the Iraq war veteran charged with jumping the fence of the White House and entering the presidential mansion with a knife last month. Gonzalez was found "not competent" to stand trial in a one-hour screening performed while he was detained following the Sept. 19 incident. Gonzalez cannot be arraigned on charges returned last week by a federal grand jury unless he is found competent to stand trial. ...

Iraqi PM Abadi says the US is not to be trusted. Really? Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:37 PM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Monday he wouldn't allow any foreign troops into the country to help retake territory lost to a Sunni Arab uprising being led by the so-called Islamic State.

Kurds hold majority of Syrian town, IS stalled: US Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:29 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - Kurdish forces remain in control of most of the Syrian border town of Kobane and Islamic State jihadists have been unable to advance in the past several days, a US military spokesman said Tuesday.

Purely military action in Syria could fuel extremism: U.N. Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:23 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Tuesday that using only military means to fight the threat of Islamic State in Syria could radicalize more Sunni armed groups and spark greater violence. "Our long-term strategic objective in Syria remains a political solution," Ban told the U.N. Security Council. The United Nations is spearheading efforts to end a civil war sparked by President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protests more than three years ago. ...

Pentagon says Islamic State fight has cost $424 million since Aug. 8 Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the cost of fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria has cost about $424 million since air strikes began on Aug. 8. Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said the conflict was costing an average of about $7.6 million per day. (Reporting by David Alexander)

U.S. involved in seven air strikes on Islamic State targets Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military forces carried out four air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria on Monday and Tuesday and were joined by partner nations in three attacks in Iraq, the U.S. Central Command said. Fighter, bomber and attack aircraft were used in the raids and all returned safely, the Central Command statement said. The strikes near Kobani, Syria, destroyed Islamic State fighting positions, a building and an Islamic State unit. ...

Syria Kurds weather IS assault as they await reinforcements Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:07 PM PDT Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - Kurdish defenders of the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane awaited reinforcements Tuesday after weathering another onslaught by Islamic State jihadists.

In US, Ebola fears rise but most confident in response Posted: 21 Oct 2014 12:45 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - After two health care workers in Texas were infected with Ebola while caring for a Liberian patient, a poll Tuesday showed a rattled US public that nevertheless stayed confident in the government's response.

PenFed Credit Union Contributes $100,000 to Help USO Bring Platinum Recording Artist Trace Adkins to Fort Hood Posted: 21 Oct 2014 12:44 PM PDT ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) and the USO have partnered to present a family-friendly concert featuring platinum recording artist Trace Adkins at Fort Hood Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. The moment-filled, morale-boosting USO concert is designed to thank the members of the Fort Hood military community for their service, and help bring camaraderie, fun, and good times to troops and their families. Early last month, PenFed presented the USO with a generous donation of $100,000 to help fund the costs of the upcoming concert. ...

Canada police say they were tracking man who killed a soldier Posted: 21 Oct 2014 12:40 PM PDT By Allison Lampert SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU Quebec (Reuters) - A Canadian man who rammed two soldiers in Quebec with his car, killing one of them, converted to Islam last year and was among 90 people being tracked by Canadian police on suspicion of taking part in militant activities abroad or planning to do so. Monday's incident, the first fatal attack on Canadian soil tied to Islamic militants, occurred after Canada announced this month it was joining the battle against Islamic State fighters who have taken over parts of Iraq and Syria. ...

Iran president pledges to back Iraq amid attacks Posted: 21 Oct 2014 12:13 PM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Shiite powerhouse Iran has pledged enduring support for the Shiite-led government of Iraq in its battle against an ascendant Sunni insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State group.

Iran supreme leader blames West for Islamic State rise, wants regional solution Posted: 21 Oct 2014 12:00 PM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Western powers on Tuesday for the rise of Islamic State (IS) insurgents in Iraq and Syria and said they had no business tampering with the region's geopolitics. Iran and the United States have been arch-foes for decades but now share a strategic interest in reversing the territorial gains of IS that threaten to remake the Middle East map. ...

Consumed by Islamic State, Iraq's Anbar province a key battleground again Posted: 21 Oct 2014 11:57 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed, Saif Hameed and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - In recent weeks, the world has watched the battle to save Syria's border town of Kobani from Islamic State. But the radical jihadists have for longer been engulfing another strategically more vital target - Iraq's western Anbar province and its road to Baghdad. The vast desert region - where Sunni tribes rose up in 2006 and 2007 to drive out al-Qaeda with the Americans - has throughout 2014 been parcelled up, city by military camp, before the Iraqi government and U.S. forces could act. ...

Egypt sentences to death seven suspected members of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis Posted: 21 Oct 2014 11:50 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced to death seven suspected members of Islamist militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis on Tuesday on charges related to attacks on the military in and around Cairo in March which killed nine soldiers, judicial sources said. The ruling was the first death sentence handed down against members of the Sinai-based faction, which is considered the country's deadliest jihadist group and has established contacts with Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria. ...

Islamic State advances against Yazidis on Iraq's Sinjar mountain Posted: 21 Oct 2014 11:15 AM PDT By Isabel Coles and Saif Sameer ARBIL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants advanced on Iraq's Sinjar mountain on Tuesday, tightening a siege of thousands of stranded Yazidis, who called on the United States and its allies to act to avert more bloodshed. The attack is the latest threat to minority Yazidis, thousands of whom have shot, buried alive or sold into slavery by IS militants, who regard them as devil-worshippers. The IS militants originally attacked the area around Sinjar, in northwestern Iraq, in August. ...

British jets and drones to operate in Syrian skies, David Cameron says Posted: 21 Oct 2014 11:11 AM PDT British military drones and spy planes will begin carrying out surveillance missions over Syria, Britain's defense secretary said Tuesday, deepening the UK's roll in the fight against the self-described Islamic State.

Why Iran views Islamic State fight through a conspiracy lens Posted: 21 Oct 2014 10:04 AM PDT The US and Iran may be following parallel tracks in their fight against jihadists of the so-called Islamic State, but decades of mutual hostility – and opposing aims in Syria – are shaping Iranian doubts and conspiracy theories about US motives.

Total CEO de Margerie killed in Moscow as jet hits snow plow Posted: 21 Oct 2014 09:44 AM PDT By Vladimir Soldatkin and James Regan MOSCOW/PARIS (Reuters) - Christophe de Margerie, the charismatic and outspoken chief executive of the French oil company Total , was killed when his private jet hit a snow plow as it was taking off from Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Monday night. His death leaves a void at the top of one of the world's biggest listed oil firms at a difficult time for the industry as oil prices fall and state-backed competitors keep them out of some of the best oil exploration territory. ...

The Pakistani Taliban Feels Jilted After Spokesman Defects to ISIS Posted: 21 Oct 2014 09:12 AM PDT The Taliban is having a tough month with its spokesmen. Just a few weeks ago, its popular Afghan spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid was accused of accidentally turning on Twitter's geolocation function while tweeting from southeast Pakistan, far from his normal office. Mujahid, to his credit, quickly denied that he'd given his location up and decried the geo-tag as part of "an enemy plot."

Jordan's King Abdullah says world faces fight against extremism Posted: 21 Oct 2014 08:49 AM PDT Amman (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah said Tuesday the world was engaged in a battle against extremism as his country takes part in US-led air strikes on Islamic State jihadists in Syria.

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