Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• U.S. crude crashes below $60 as 6-month rout pushes on
• Jurors convict man of killing girl found in dryer
• CIA letter shows pre-war concern about Iraq 9/11 link
• Obama administration mobilizes to save faltering spending bill
• In 2003, U.S. experts doubted key Iraq war claim: cable
• Food insecurity rising despite record cereal output
• Jihadist Killings Equal to a 9/11 Pentagon Attack Every Day for a Month
• Oil closes below $60, 1st time since July 2009
• 'Leviathan' Wins Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards
• Seven dead in Kabul after two suicide attacks
• UN warns of Sahel spillover from Libya turmoil
• Senator: Bush misled nation in run-up to Iraq war
• Futuristic Laser Weapon Ready for Action, US Navy Says
• Iraq says record 17 million Shiite pilgrims in Karbala
• No edge for F-35 on most missions: report
• Senate Democrats back new use of force agreement against IS
• ISIS leader: "If there was no American prison in Iraq, there would be no ISIS"
• Senate committee votes for new war powers
• Congress losing last WWII vets, a tea party fave
• Military Families Besieged By Door-to-Door Alarm Salespeople
• State Dept deputy approved by panel, full Senate next
• Islamic State orders wifi cut during prayers: Syria monitor
• Massive defense bill clears Senate hurdle
• NATO reviewing Iraq request to help build up military
• Panel advances Obama's pick for No. 2 US diplomat
• Saudi police say arrests made in shooting of Dane
• Saudi Arabia links Dane's shooting to Islamic State, arrests three
• Algeria: Another kidnapper of French hiker killed
• Saudi arrests three IS 'supporters' for shooting Dane
• Iraq's Sadr readies militia to fight for Samarra
• The Best Book I Read This Year
• Algerian troops kill militant involved in Frenchman's beheading
• NATO chief hails Gulf role in fighting extremists
• Germany planning to train Kurdish fighters in Iraq
• Jihadist cases stretch German justice to the limit: prosecutor
• 'Stronger than ever' jihadists kill 5,042 in a month
• UN: No sign of Islamic State group militants in Philippines
• U.N. says rich nations pledge to take 100,000 Syrian refugees
• U.S. closes Bagram prison, says no more detainees held in Afghanistan
• Taliban suicide blast kills six Afghan soldiers in Kabul

U.S. crude crashes below $60 as 6-month rout pushes on Posted: 11 Dec 2014 04:59 PM PST By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude fell below $60 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in five years, breaking through a key psychological support level that triggered fresh selling as some traders said they saw no reason for a rebound any time soon. While better U.S. economic data supported the market earlier in the day, those gains could not be sustained toward the close. In the absence of any news that could temper the bearish mood, traders said pent-up pressure led to a late-selloff that carried on after the close, pushing prices as low as $58.96. ...

Jurors convict man of killing girl found in dryer Posted: 11 Dec 2014 04:50 PM PST TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Jurors convicted a man Thursday of snatching an 8-year-old girl from a Topeka apartment, raping her, killing her and stashing her body in a dryer.

CIA letter shows pre-war concern about Iraq 9/11 link Posted: 11 Dec 2014 04:23 PM PST The CIA declassified a letter Thursday that suggests US intelligence had grave doubts about part of the case made by former president George W. Bush's White House to justify the war in Iraq. In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion, US officials including then vice president Dick Cheney alleged that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had met an Iraqi spy in Prague before the attacks. The alleged meeting was cited as evidence of a possible link between Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Obama administration mobilizes to save faltering spending bill Posted: 11 Dec 2014 04:12 PM PST By David Lawder and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration made a last-ditch attempt on Thursday to drum up Democratic support to salvage a faltering $1.1 trillion spending bill, just hours ahead of a midnight U.S. government shutdown deadline. Administration officials from President Barack Obama down to staff at the Department of Education were phoning Democrats in the House of Representatives to ask them to set aside objections to a financial provision and pass the measure to fund most of the government through September. ...

In 2003, U.S. experts doubted key Iraq war claim: cable Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:31 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A CIA cable disclosed on Thursday showed that U.S. counter terrorism officials in 2003 discounted reports that a leader of the Sept. 11 attacks met an Iraqi intelligence official in Prague just before the attacks, further undermining a Bush administration argument for the invasion of Iraq. Senator Carl Levin released a newly declassified section of a March 11, 2003 cable that undercut administration statements that Mohammed Atta and Iraqi agent Ahmad al-Anian had met in the Czech capital in April 2001. "here is not one or FBI expert that ... ...

Food insecurity rising despite record cereal output Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:07 PM PST World cereal output is expected to hit record highs this year but food insecurity is worsening across the globe thanks to Ebola and civil conflicts, the UN's food agency said Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organization said 2014 was heading to be a bumper year for cereals, with "an all-time record of more than 2.5 billion tonnes". The record harvest "will outpace projected world cereal utilisation in 2014/15 allowing stocks to rise to their highest level since 2000".

Jihadist Killings Equal to a 9/11 Pentagon Attack Every Day for a Month Posted: 11 Dec 2014 02:54 PM PST Five thousand killed.In one month.Five thousand.That is the toll jihadist violence took around the world in just 30 days, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, 2014.There were 664 jihadist attacks in 14 countries across the world last month, according to a detailed study done by King's College London in collaboration with the BBC.And 5,042 people were killed in them.Extreme Jihadists in Iraq Hundreds of Westerners Join Middle East Jihadists Militants Take Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery That's roughly the equivalent of an MH17 flight crashing in Ukraine every 36 hours. ...

Oil closes below $60, 1st time since July 2009 Posted: 11 Dec 2014 02:06 PM PST The price of oil fell below $60 for the first time since July 2009 on Thursday and ended trading in New York at $59.95.

'Leviathan' Wins Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:57 PM PST Emile Sherman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Lu Zhong were also winners

Seven dead in Kabul after two suicide attacks Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:39 PM PST Two suicide attacks in Kabul, one targeting a play at a French-financed school, killed at least seven people on Thursday, the latest in a wave of violence assaulting the city as NATO forces pull out.

UN warns of Sahel spillover from Libya turmoil Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:26 PM PST The chaos in Libya, where Islamic State fighters are said to be gaining a foothold, threatens to engulf Sahel countries and must be quickly brought under control, a UN envoy warned Thursday. Ethiopian diplomat Hiroute Guebre Sellassie told the Security Council that the humanitarian and security crises in the band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara desert were worsening, pointing to turmoil in Libya as a key factor. "If the situation in Libya is not quickly brought under control, many states in the region could be destabilized in the near future," said the UN envoy for the Sahel. Libya has been sliding deeper into crisis, torn by rival governments and parliaments battling powerful militias, despite UN efforts to broker talks on ending the violence.

Senator: Bush misled nation in run-up to Iraq war Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee released new information on Thursday that he claims is evidence that the Bush administration misled the nation in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Futuristic Laser Weapon Ready for Action, US Navy Says Posted: 11 Dec 2014 12:40 PM PST The U.S. Navy announced that its high-tech laser weapon is ready to disable and destroy enemy drones and small boats, should the need arise. The 30-kilowatt laser weapon system (LaWS) is housed aboard the USS Ponce, a naval vessel stationed in the Arabian Gulf— a body of water located south of Iraq that separates the Saudi Arabian peninsula from Iran. "On USS Ponce, LaWS has been in test and development mode since August 2014 in the Gulf. We are now beyond testing – it's operational and the laser weapon is not in a box waiting for a special occasion,"Klunder told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday (Dec. 10) in Washington, D.C.

Iraq says record 17 million Shiite pilgrims in Karbala Posted: 11 Dec 2014 12:35 PM PST Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said Thursday that the number of pilgrims in the city of Karbala for the annual Arbaeen commemoration had reached a record 17.5 million this year. Arbaeen, which marks the end of the 40-day period of mourning after the anniversary of Imam Hussein's death, is considered one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. The Arbaeen commemoration is on Saturday December 13, but millions of Shiite faithful have been walking to Karbala from all over Iraq, and large numbers from across the Iranian border, for days. The Iraqi authorities had reported already last week that at least one million Iranians, the largest number on record, had come to Iraq for Arbaeen this year.

No edge for F-35 on most missions: report Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:46 AM PST Ottawa (AFP) - The F-35 has no clear edge over three other fighter jets Canada is considering to replace its aging fleet, a declassified government-commissioned report says.

Senate Democrats back new use of force agreement against IS Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:30 AM PST Democrats on a Senate panel on Thursday unanimously supported a new authorization for military force against Islamic State jihadists without US ground troops, signaling their willingness to tie President Barack Obama's hands on war policy. In a party-line vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a three-year authorization for use of military force that would supercede the open-ended AUMF's passed in 2001 and 2002 in the aftermath of Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the United States. The US-led coalition has already carried out some 1,100 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq since September targeting IS extremists in a bid to defeat the group, which has seized large swathes of territory, executed opponents and imposed harsh Islamic law.

ISIS leader: "If there was no American prison in Iraq, there would be no ISIS" Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:10 AM PST In an incredible scoop, the Guardian's Martin Chulov interviewed a senior leader of ISIS— one who came up through the ranks with the group's top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The single most interesting quote from the ISIS leader, whom Chulov refers to as Abu Ahmed, is quite disturbing: he credits the group's rise, in large part, to American prison camps during the Iraq war, which he says gave him and other jihadist leaders an invaluable forum to meet one another and to plan their later rise. Abu Ahmed was imprisoned in a US-run detention center in southern Iraq called Camp Bucca in 2004.

Senate committee votes for new war powers Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday voted to authorize President Barack Obama's war against the Islamic State group — the first vote in Congress to explicitly grant him war powers in the U.S. battle against the militant extremists.

Congress losing last WWII vets, a tea party fave Posted: 11 Dec 2014 10:59 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is saying farewell to its last two veterans of World War II, the member whose lodgings inspired Amazon's "Alpha House" show, a founding firebrand of the tea party, the senator dubbed "Dr. No" and a few dozen other lawmakers this week as another session of bickering winds down.

Military Families Besieged By Door-to-Door Alarm Salespeople Posted: 11 Dec 2014 09:47 AM PST A Utah-based home alarm company, once praised by Mitt Romney, is aggressively marketing to military families, and its door-to-door sales force is accused by some of using sales tactics that have earned the company an "F" grade from the Better Business Bureau.Some salespeople from Vivint Security of Provo, Utah have been accused of misleading the families of U.S. troops and exploiting the concerns of deployed U.S. soldiers for the safety of their families back home. ...

State Dept deputy approved by panel, full Senate next Posted: 11 Dec 2014 09:35 AM PST A US Senate panel on Thursday approved Tony Blinken as deputy secretary of state, setting up a potential full confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's nominee before Congress adjourns this week. If confirmed, Obama's deputy national security advisor Blinken would be the State Department's number two to top diplomat John Kerry, capping a fierce behind-the-scenes tussle over who would rise to the post. Obama named veteran diplomat Wendy Sherman, who is leading the US team in nuclear negotiations with Iran, to step in temporarily. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Blinken as part of a bloc of nominees.

Islamic State orders wifi cut during prayers: Syria monitor Posted: 11 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have ordered shopkeepers to shut down their wireless Internet during prayer times in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, a group monitoring the Syrian conflict said on Thursday. It was a further example of Islamic State imposing controls on public life as it seeks to build what it describes as a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East. The ultra-radical insurgents hold large tracts of territory in Syria and Iraq and are the target of a U.S.-led bombing campaign in both countries. ...

Massive defense bill clears Senate hurdle Posted: 11 Dec 2014 08:31 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping defense policy bill that would give President Barack Obama authority to expand the campaign against Islamic militants cleared a major hurdle on Thursday.

NATO reviewing Iraq request to help build up military Posted: 11 Dec 2014 07:59 AM PST NATO is reviewing an Iraqi request for help building up its military as the government struggles to beat back extremist Islamic State (IS) jihadists, the alliance said Thursday. "Iraq has now requested NATO support in defence capacity building," alliance head Jens Stoltenberg told regional partners at the NATO and Gulf Security conference in Qatar on Thursday. IS made huge gains earlier this year, advancing to Baghdad's doorstep and stoking fears the militants might seize control of the country from the hapless Iraqi government.

Panel advances Obama's pick for No. 2 US diplomat Posted: 11 Dec 2014 07:33 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has advanced the president's nominee to be America's No. 2 diplomat over the objections of Sen. John McCain and other Republicans.

Saudi police say arrests made in shooting of Dane Posted: 11 Dec 2014 07:11 AM PST RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Three Saudis with suspected ties to the Islamic State extremist group are under arrest for opening fire and wounding a Danish citizen last month, the kingdom's interior ministry said in a statement Thursday.

Saudi Arabia links Dane's shooting to Islamic State, arrests three Posted: 11 Dec 2014 07:08 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has arrested three suspects in connection with the shooting of a Danish man in Riyadh last month, and investigations show it was carried out on behalf of Islamic State, an interior ministry spokesman said on Thursday. The spokesman, Major General Mansour Turki, said security forces recovered the handgun and a vehicle used in the Nov. 22 attack, which the victim survived. "The confessions and the results of the initial investigations showed that they carried out the crime in support and sympathy with Islamic State," he said. ...

Algeria: Another kidnapper of French hiker killed Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:29 AM PST ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria's justice minister says a second member of the group that kidnapped and beheaded a French hiker last September has been identified and killed by the army.

Saudi arrests three IS 'supporters' for shooting Dane Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:12 AM PST Three supporters of the Islamic State group in Saudi Arabia have been arrested for shooting and wounding a Danish citizen last month, the interior ministry said on Thursday. "The perpetrators of this vile attack, three Saudis, have been arrested," ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Denmark has confirmed that one of its nationals was shot and wounded in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 22. Last week an IS-linked media group released a video claiming to show the shooting of a Danish citizen by its "supporters" in Saudi Arabia, US-based monitoring group SITE said.

Iraq's Sadr readies militia to fight for Samarra Posted: 11 Dec 2014 05:45 AM PST By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has put his militia on alert to battle Islamic State militants for the city of Samarra, home to a Shi'ite mosque whose destruction eight years ago plunged the country into sectarian war. Sadr's office said the announcement was a response to the "exceptional conditions and imminent danger to the sacred city of Samarra from the legions of terrorists," a reference to the Sunni Muslim Islamic State fighters who surround Samarra. ...

The Best Book I Read This Year Posted: 11 Dec 2014 05:31 AM PST The Atlantic's editors and writers share their favorite titles—new, classic, or somewhere in between—from a year of reading. Random House

Algerian troops kill militant involved in Frenchman's beheading Posted: 11 Dec 2014 05:21 AM PST ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian security forces have killed a second militant involved in the kidnapping and beheading of a French tourist in September, the Algerian justice minister said on Thursday. Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State militants fighting in Iraq and Syria killed Herve Gourdel in the mountains east of Algiers, where the Frenchman had been planning a trekking trip before he was kidnapped in September. ...

NATO chief hails Gulf role in fighting extremists Posted: 11 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST DOHA, Qatar (AP) — NATO's secretary-general on Thursday praised Gulf nations for their role in fighting extremists in Syria and Iraq, and said tackling the threat the militants pose will require long-term multinational efforts.

Germany planning to train Kurdish fighters in Iraq Posted: 11 Dec 2014 05:01 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — Germany plans to participate in an international military mission aimed at training Kurdish fighters battling Islamic extremists in Iraq.

Jihadist cases stretch German justice to the limit: prosecutor Posted: 11 Dec 2014 04:43 AM PST KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's justice system is struggling to cope with waves of suspected jihadists returning from Syria and the speed at which young Muslims are being radicalized, the top public prosecutor said on Thursday. Federal Prosecutor General Harald Range said his office was investigating 46 of the most serious cases, involving 83 people suspected of offences like belonging to Islamic State or al Qaeda. Regional prosecutors were investigating 100 more. That is a huge increase on the five investigations of eight suspects that prosecutors had to deal with in 2013. ...

'Stronger than ever' jihadists kill 5,042 in a month Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:49 AM PST Jihadist attacks around the world in November killed a total of 5,042 people, showing Islamist extremism is "stronger than ever" despite Al-Qaeda's declining role, a new study published on Thursday said. There were 664 attacks in 14 countries during the month, according to the joint report by the BBC World Service and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London. The research found Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria were responsible for around half of the violence -- 308 attacks responsible for 2,206 deaths. "The data makes it clear that jihadists and Al-Qaeda are no longer one and the same," the report said.

UN: No sign of Islamic State group militants in Philippines Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:47 AM PST MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A U.N. counterterrorism official said Thursday there was no evidence that Islamic State militants have gained a foothold in the Philippines, where Muslim rebels are active, but added that the country can take more steps to help fight a group that has vowed to expand its reach.

U.N. says rich nations pledge to take 100,000 Syrian refugees Posted: 11 Dec 2014 02:07 AM PST By Katie Nguyen GENEVA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday that Western governments had heeded a call to take in more Syrian refugees from neighboring countries and estimated that, in all, more than 100,000 places would be offered in the coming months. UNHCR, which wants to resettle 130,000 Syrians outside the region by the end of 2016, said the figure includes 62,000 places that have already been pledged by countries such as Germany and Sweden. The outcome was criticized by aid agency Oxfam, which said Western states could have done more. ...

U.S. closes Bagram prison, says no more detainees held in Afghanistan Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:13 AM PST By Frank Jack Daniel KABUL (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it had shut its last detention facility in Afghanistan and no longer had custody of detainees there, closing a much-criticized chapter in Washington's fight against Islamic extremism. The U.S. Defense Department said it had recently transferred the last detainees from Bagram Airfield north of the capital, Kabul. It closed the prison there on Dec. 10, a day after a Senate report detailed abuse at a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan. The U.S. ...

Taliban suicide blast kills six Afghan soldiers in Kabul Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:39 PM PST A suicide bomber killed at least six Afghan soldiers in the suburbs of Kabul Thursday morning, officials said, the latest in a spate of Taliban attacks in the capital.

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