Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance
• Republicans eye US Senate, but result may wait
• Egypt's Ansar militants swear allegiance to Islamic State: statement
• Body found in Irish bog identified as IRA victim
• Chicago-area teen tried to take siblings to join Islamic State
• Iraq on 'high alert' amid IS attacks, mass killings
• France, Canada stand side by side in terror fight: Hollande
• Islamic State group massacres more families
• Saudi jails protesters, jihadists for up to 10 years
• Peshmerga, Syrian rebels battle Islamic State in besieged Kobani
• Al-Qaida fighters push offensive in northern Syria
• Hollande says Iraq army must do more; bombing won't end ISIS crisis
• With eyes on EU, Albania hopes to draw line under Serbia drone row
• U.S. enhances security screening for travelers from Europe, Asia
• Press Club welcomes statements urging end to impunity in the murder of journalists
• Islamic State kills 36 more members of embattled Iraqi tribe
• Life under Islamic State in Iraq's Falluja: danger, rage and profit
• IS group executes at least 36 more tribesmen in Iraq
• America To Salute Four-Legged Military Heroes During 2014 Veterans Day Parade
• Greece to step up screening for Islamic militants
• U.S. targets Islamic State in 14 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: U.S. military
• Israel jails Arab citizen who fought for Islamic State
• Tragic Setbacks for U.S. Allies in Iraq and Syria
• IS group claims Baghdad attacks against Shiites
• Review: Richard Ford brings back Frank Bascombe
• Top Turkish generals say knew of no coup plot as retrial begins
• Afghan attacks kill 5, including a deputy governor
• Saudi Arabia mobilizes clergy and media against jihadi recruitment
• IS beheads 8 Syria rebels who surrendered: monitor
• Senate elections 101: N.H. shapes up as carpetbagger vs. rubber stamp
• Kurdish rebel leader says U.S. could mediate in Turkey talks
• Qatar pares support for Islamists but careful to preserve ties
• Islamic State says seizes second gas field in Syria

Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance Posted: 03 Nov 2014 03:21 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamic militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East, The Associated Press has learned.

Republicans eye US Senate, but result may wait Posted: 03 Nov 2014 03:11 PM PST Republicans are confident they will take control of the US Senate in Tuesday's elections, but Americans may still have to wait until December or even 2015 to learn who controls the chamber. Recent polls show Republicans pulling ahead of President Barack Obama's Democrats in the battle for power in Washington, despite the races in Alaska and North Carolina remaining very close. Republican leaders expressed confidence in the home stretch of one of the most consequential midterm elections in years. Democrats currently hold a 10-seat Senate advantage, with 55 members to 45.

Egypt's Ansar militants swear allegiance to Islamic State: statement Posted: 03 Nov 2014 02:17 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's most active militant group, has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, a statement from Ansar said Monday night. Ansar had previously told Reuters that it sought inspiration and advice from Islamic State, the radical al-Qaeda offshoot that has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria, drawing U.S.-led airstrikes as it tries to remake the map of the Middle East. "After entrusting God we decided to swear allegiance to the emir of the faithful Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, caliph of the Muslims in Syria and Iraq and in other countries," the statement said. ...

Body found in Irish bog identified as IRA victim Posted: 03 Nov 2014 01:44 PM PST Dublin (AFP) - A body discovered in remote bogland in Ireland is an IRA victim murdered and secretly buried 36 years ago during conflict in Northern Ireland, investigators said on Monday.

Chicago-area teen tried to take siblings to join Islamic State Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:47 PM PST By Fiona Ortiz CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday ordered pre-trial detention for a Chicago-area 19-year-old accused of trying to fly with his two younger siblings to the Middle East to join the militant group Islamic State. Mohammed Hamzah Khan of suburban Bolingbrook was arrested a month ago at O'Hare International Airport as he tried to board a plane to Turkey, and later charged with attempting to provide material support to a group the United States has designated a terrorist organization. ...

Iraq on 'high alert' amid IS attacks, mass killings Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:37 PM PST Iraq boosted security Monday amid fears of the Islamic State group launching major attacks on Shiite pilgrims flocking to the shrine city of Karbala as further reports emerged of mass killings. The pilgrims are prime targets for the IS jihadists, who have carried out a series of mass executions in recent days, killing scores of members of a tribe in Iraq's western Anbar province. A police officer and an official gave figures of more than 200 to 258 people killed, while Iraq's human rights ministry put the toll at 322 and a tribal leader said 381 were executed. The mass killings appear aimed at discouraging resistance from powerful tribes in Anbar, where IS overran large areas in June as pro-government forces suffered a string of setbacks.

France, Canada stand side by side in terror fight: Hollande Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:23 PM PST Visiting French President Francois Hollande brought a message of solidarity in the global fight against terrorism to Canada's parliament Monday, less than two weeks after a lone gunman stormed its halls. "In the face of terrorism, there is no room for backing down, for concession, for weakness, because terrorism threatens the values on which both of our countries are based," Hollande said in a speech to Canadian lawmakers. Both nations, he added, "are acting together to discharge their responsibilities in terms of security in the world," alluding to Canadian and French warplanes joining US-led airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. Both France and Canada coincidentally had refused to join an earlier US-led war in Iraq about a decade ago to oust Saddam Hussein.

Islamic State group massacres more families Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:23 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic State group militants shot and killed 36 Sunni tribesmen, women and children in public Monday, an Iraqi official and a tribal leader said, pushing the total number of members slain by the extremists in recent days to more than 200.

Saudi jails protesters, jihadists for up to 10 years Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:01 PM PST A Riyadh court sentenced five Saudis to jail for five to 10 years on Monday for anti-regime activities in its restive Eastern Province and supporting jihadists in Iraq and Syria. It gave another defendant an eight-year prison term for having travelled to war-torn Syria and pledging allegiance to the head of the Sunni jihadist Islamic State group. Another was sentenced to seven years in jail for going to Iraq to fight alongside jihadists after receiving combat training at a camp in Yemen, where Al-Qaeda is highly active. Scores of Saudis are believed to be in the ranks of radical Islamist groups in areas of unrest across the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria.

Peshmerga, Syrian rebels battle Islamic State in besieged Kobani Posted: 03 Nov 2014 11:30 AM PST By Omer Berberoglu MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and moderate Syrian rebels bombarded Islamic State positions in Kobani on Monday, but it was unclear if their arrival would turn the tide in the battle for the besieged Syrian border town. Kobani has become a symbolic test of the U.S.-led coalition's ability to halt the advance of Islamic State, which has poured weapons and fighters into its assault of the town that has lasted more than a month. ...

Al-Qaida fighters push offensive in northern Syria Posted: 03 Nov 2014 11:20 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked militants pressed an offensive Monday against Western-backed rebels in northern Syria, closing in on a vital border crossing with Turkey and exposing the weakness of mainstream opposition groups that the U.S. hopes to forge into a fighting force to take on Islamic extremists.

Hollande says Iraq army must do more; bombing won't end ISIS crisis Posted: 03 Nov 2014 11:16 AM PST By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Iraqi army must do more to show it can fight Islamic State militants who have taken over a third of the country, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday. The Iraqi army, riven by sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, put up little resistance earlier this year as the Islamic State fighters mounted a major offensive. ...

With eyes on EU, Albania hopes to draw line under Serbia drone row Posted: 03 Nov 2014 11:10 AM PST By Marc Jones and Karin Strohecker LONDON (Reuters) - Albania hopes next week's meeting with Serbia can draw a line under an on-pitch brawl between their national soccer teams and put efforts to heal fragile Balkan relations back on the right track, its foreign minister said on Monday. Speaking to Reuters, Ditmir Bushati also said he thought Albania would be ready to join the European Union in 10 years but voiced concern at the anti-enlargement rhetoric now coming from some EU leaders. Bushati further said that Albania was open to further opportunities to assist a U.S. ...

U.S. enhances security screening for travelers from Europe, Asia Posted: 03 Nov 2014 10:33 AM PST By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Concerned about foreign fighters from Syria and Iraq, Washington imposed extra security measures on Monday for travelers from countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, whose citizens do not need a visa to get into the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said people from countries in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program will have to provide additional information on an electronic application they need to file to be eligible to enter. ...

Press Club welcomes statements urging end to impunity in the murder of journalists Posted: 03 Nov 2014 09:53 AM PST WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Press Club on Nov. 3 warmly welcomed recent calls by the White House and the United Nations to end the widespread impunity that has been the response to the murder of hundreds of journalists around the world.Since 1992, 632 journalists have been murdered with complete impunity, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Murder constitutes nearly 70 percent of work-related deaths for journalists, with local reporters making up 96 percent of those deaths, CPJ said.Nov. ...

Islamic State kills 36 more members of embattled Iraqi tribe Posted: 03 Nov 2014 09:06 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have executed 36 more members of an Iraqi tribe that had resisted the Sunni militant group's advances in western Anbar Province for weeks, a member of the tribe said on Monday. "They were shot dead in Ramadi," said Hamdan al-Nimrawi of the Albu Nimr tribe, which had already lost 322 people last week in some of the worst bloodshed since the Sunni militants swept through northern Iraq last June. ...

Life under Islamic State in Iraq's Falluja: danger, rage and profit Posted: 03 Nov 2014 08:27 AM PST By Ahmed Rasheed and Michael Georgy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - After Islamic State seized Falluja in January it persuaded a man making covers for cars to sell suicide vests instead, one of many changes in the Iraqi city as it adapts to life under the ultra-hardline Sunni militants. Islamic State is notorious for beheading or executing anyone who stands in its way when seizing cities and towns in Iraq and Syria that form its self-proclaimed caliphate, often using suicide bombers to make advances. ...

IS group executes at least 36 more tribesmen in Iraq Posted: 03 Nov 2014 07:39 AM PST The Islamic State jihadist group killed at least 36 more people in its execution campaign targeting a tribe that fought against it, an Iraqi tribal leader and an officer said Monday. The militants "executed 36 people, including four women and three children" on Sunday in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, Albu Nimr tribal leader Sheikh Naim al-Kuoud al-Nimrawi told AFP. Police Colonel Shaaban al-Obaidi put the number of dead at 50. "They issued a fatwa (religious ruling) for executing even infants from the Albu Nimr tribe," he said.

America To Salute Four-Legged Military Heroes During 2014 Veterans Day Parade Posted: 03 Nov 2014 07:33 AM PST NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Veterans Day, the 21,000 patriotic participants in the annual, nationally televised parade honoring our troops will be joined by a number of four-legged heroes – our nation's military dogs – along with their two-legged hero handlers and some of the country's top celebrities and veterans advocates. ...

Greece to step up screening for Islamic militants Posted: 03 Nov 2014 07:15 AM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's top security official says his government has accepted a request from the United States to step up screening at the country's ports and airports for suspected volunteers traveling from Europe to fight with Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

U.S. targets Islamic State in 14 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: U.S. military Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:59 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States targeted Islamic State militants on Sunday and Monday with five air strikes in Syria and nine in Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes in Syria hit militants' fighting positions and buildings and struck a small group of fighters near the key town of Kobani along the border with Turkey, while one strike hit near Dayr Az Zawr, it said in a statement on Monday. In Iraq, the U.S.-led strikes destroyed vehicles and equipment and struck a small unit of fighters and a fighting position. ...

Israel jails Arab citizen who fought for Islamic State Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:48 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli court handed a relatively light prison sentence on Monday to an Arab citizen who spent three months fighting with Islamic State in Syria before quitting the group and returning home to face prosecution. Ahmed Shurbaji is the first Israeli convicted for ties to Islamic State, which has drawn foreign Muslim volunteers as it seized swathes of Syria and Iraq this year. Several Israeli Arabs have been tried for joining other Syrian insurgent groups. ...

Tragic Setbacks for U.S. Allies in Iraq and Syria Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:27 AM PST Western Iraq saw more brutal bloodshed this weekend after the Islamic State massacred 322 people of the Albu Nimr tribe, a Sunni group, including women and children. The Iraqi government confirmed the attack in the Anbar region, which began on Saturday and continued into Sunday, and was described as "systematic killings."

IS group claims Baghdad attacks against Shiites Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:19 AM PST The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility for two car bomb attacks against Shiites in Baghdad, with Iraq under tight security Monday ahead of the annual Ashura commemorations. A statement by IS posted on jihadist websites said "the heroes of Islam" detonated one car bomb in central Baghdad targeting Shiite security personnel and the other in the Shiite-majority Sadr City ara in the capital's north. A third blast struck near a tent in Al-Ilam where Shiites were distributing refreshments, killing at least 13 people, but the IS statement did not mention that attack. "God permitted his servants the mujahedeen to break all of the alleged (security) plans of the Safavid government that they brag about in their media," the statement said, using a pejorative term for Shiites.

Review: Richard Ford brings back Frank Bascombe Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:18 AM PST "Let Me Be Frank With You" (Ecco), by Richard Ford

Top Turkish generals say knew of no coup plot as retrial begins Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:15 AM PST By Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two retired generals who led Turkey's armed forces at the time of an alleged 2003 coup plot told a retrial of hundreds of officers on Monday that they knew of no plans to topple then-Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The officers were convicted in 2012 for plotting a coup against Erdogan, now president. The constitutional court quashed their convictions in June, ruling the case against them flawed. The 2010-2012 "Sledgehammer" trial was a high point in Erdogan's drive to tame an army that for decades had dominated politics. ...

Afghan attacks kill 5, including a deputy governor Posted: 03 Nov 2014 05:48 AM PST KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Attacks across Afghanistan, including the fatal shooting of a provincial deputy governor, killed five people as the country marked a major Shiite holiday, authorities said Monday.

Saudi Arabia mobilizes clergy and media against jihadi recruitment Posted: 03 Nov 2014 05:19 AM PST By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - For Saudi Arabia, the war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a vital struggle for the future of the Middle East that must be fought – but not by its own young men. Alarmed by how jihadi veterans back home from Afghanistan and Iraq joined an al Qaeda uprising a decade ago, Riyadh is now trying to halt recruitment of Saudis to the militant cause, even as it funds and arms rebels in Syria. ...

IS beheads 8 Syria rebels who surrendered: monitor Posted: 03 Nov 2014 05:04 AM PST Islamic State group jihadists beheaded eight Syrian rebels who had surrendered in a town on the border with Iraq last week despite pledges of an amnesty, a monitor said Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the men were executed and their bodies hung on makeshift crucifixes in Albu Kamal in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. "The men surrendered in Albu Kamal because the Islamic State had offered amnesty to people who fought them if they turned themselves in," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. The monitor, which relies on a large network of sources on the ground in Syria, said the men had belonged to a group that had fought against both the Syrian regime and the Islamic State.

Senate elections 101: N.H. shapes up as carpetbagger vs. rubber stamp Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:00 AM PST The Monitor's "Senate elections 101" series looks at the specific issues that will be driving voters in each of the 10 tossup races.

Kurdish rebel leader says U.S. could mediate in Turkey talks Posted: 03 Nov 2014 12:28 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Kurdish separatist fighters want an international mediator, possibly the United States, to help get peace talks with Turkey back on track and avert an escalation of their insurgency, the head of the group's political wing told an Austrian newspaper. Cemil Bayik, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its most senior figure at liberty, also reiterated accusations that Turkey was waging a proxy war against the Kurds in neighboring Syria by backing Islamist rebels fighting them in the north of that country. ...

Qatar pares support for Islamists but careful to preserve ties Posted: 02 Nov 2014 11:30 PM PST By Amena Bakr DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar has joined the American-led coalition to fight Islamic State, yet the emirate is a haven for anti-Western groups and foreign diplomats have reported seeing cars with Islamic State logos in an affluent bay district. When the United States sought allies against Islamic State in Sept, Qatar was among the Gulf Arab states that sent its warplanes into action. In fact, a security source close to the government said, its planes did attack Islamic State targets in Syria later in the campaign, although that has not been officially confirmed.

Islamic State says seizes second gas field in Syria Posted: 02 Nov 2014 11:25 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters in Syria said on Monday they had taken control of a gas field in the central province of Homs, the second gas field seized in a week after battles with government forces. The hardline Sunni Islamist group posted 18 photos on social media showing the Islamic State flag raised in the Jahar gas field as well as seized vehicles and weaponry, according to the SITE jihadist website monitoring service. Reuters could not independently confirm the events due to security restrictions. ...

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