Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• NBC to investigate anchor Williams' Iraq war reporting
• NBC launches internal probe on Brian Williams' Iraq claims
• Egyptian military kills 47 militants in the Sinai
• UN Security Council aims to dry up IS group financing
• New sanctions proposed for Islamic State group oil trading
• US can't confirm IS hostage claim, family urges caution
• Nigeria's Boko Haram has up to 6,000 hardcore militants: U.S. officials
• How Obama's latest national security strategy is more forest, less trees
• Gulf Arab states urge bigger international role in Yemen crisis
• Fracking puts California governor, environmentalists at odds
• Egyptian military kills 27 militants in the Sinai
• Islamic State says U.S. hostage killed in air strike in Syria
• Accusations mount against US anchor over war 'lie'
• Judge rejects 3rd defense bid to move marathon bombing trial
• NBC News President Addresses Brian Williams Internal Inquiry in Staff Memo
• Jordan says planes bomb Islamic State targets for second day running
• Contractor tries again to get Abu Ghraib lawsuit tossed out
• U.N. sets sights on Syria antiquities, Islamic State oil, ransoms
• Shiite rebels take power in Yemen, fan fears of civil war
• Can Radicals Be Rehabilitated? Teen Terror Suspect May Be America’s Test Case
• Obama wants US to show 'strategic patience'
• Jordan’s Revenge and the Arab World’s ISIS Awakening
• Jordan's king thrusts country to center of Islamic State war
• President Obama Names 8 'Strategic Risks' to US Security
• Obama’s Muted Response to the ISIS and Ukraine Crises
• Director: 'Queen of the Desert' no history lesson
• Syria's bloody civil war taking back seat to IS horrors
• U.S.-led strikes kill 30 Islamic State fighters in Syria: monitors
• In unison, Muslim clerics lash out against Islamic State
• Jordan's Abdullah II: the king who vowed to crush IS
• CNN says pilot backtracking from Williams story
• Brian Williams' Alleged Helicopter Pilot Withdraws Account: "I Am Questioning My Memories"
• EU announces new funds, measures for anti-IS drive
• ISIS Expands Into Libya While Bedeviling World With Latest Hostage Drama
• Second Yazidi mass grave unearthed in Iraq this week
• Philanthropist Lois Pope And American Humane Association To Celebrate Valor And Courage Of Military Dogs And Their Handlers At Special "K-9 Battle Buddies" Luncheon In Palm Beach
• Lawmakers expect resistance to granting Obama war powers
• World can't rely on U.S. to carry economy forever -Canada
• UAE sees no defeat of Islamic State without Iraq's Sunnis: Etihad paper

NBC to investigate anchor Williams' Iraq war reporting Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:42 PM PST By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - NBC launched an internal probe on Friday into top-rated "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams' debunked claim that he was aboard a helicopter that was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. In an internal memo, NBC News President Deborah Turness told staffers that a team would gather the facts about the incident in which Williams, 55, falsely said he was in a U.S. Army helicopter that was hit and forced down by an RPG. "This has been a difficult few days for all of us at NBC News," she said. We all landed after the ground fire incident and spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert," Williams said in his apology.

NBC launches internal probe on Brian Williams' Iraq claims Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:30 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News has assigned the head of its investigative unit to look into statements anchor Brian Williams made about his reporting in Iraq a dozen years ago, an episode that's ballooned into a full-blown credibility crisis for the network.

Egyptian military kills 47 militants in the Sinai Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:23 PM PST Egyptian security forces killed 47 Islamic militants in the country's Northern Sinai on Friday in one of the biggest operations in the region in months, security sources said. Apache helicopters killed 27 militants from the Sinai Province group, which pledges allegiance to Islamic State, the ultra-hardline militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, the sources said. Sinai Province, fighting to topple the Cairo government, has claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks that killed more than 30 members of the security forces in late January. After that bloodshed, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Egyptians the country faced a long, tough battle against militants.

UN Security Council aims to dry up IS group financing Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:04 PM PST The UN Security Council plans to adopt a resolution next week aimed at halting funding to Islamic State militants from oil, antique trafficking and ransoms, a diplomat said Friday. The resolution, completed after dialogue with the United States and Europe, draws largely on previous UN sanctions on organizations and individuals affiliated with al-Qaeda, particularly the freezing of assets and an arms embargo. The council in August adopted a resolution to cut off sources of financing and the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria, warning countries that do trade in oil with the Islamists they could face sanctions.

New sanctions proposed for Islamic State group oil trading Posted: 06 Feb 2015 03:47 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A proposed U.N. resolution to crack down on the financing of terrorist groups calls for sanctions on individuals and companies trading oil produced by the Islamic State and other al-Qaida-linked groups.

US can't confirm IS hostage claim, family urges caution Posted: 06 Feb 2015 03:27 PM PST The United States said Friday that it has not yet seen any proof to confirm a claim by the Islamic State group that a female American hostage has been killed in an air strike in Syria by a Jordanian plane. The family of Kayla Mueller, 26, meanwhile urged media to be restrained in their reporting of the IS claim about the aid worker. "The family... request that media cautiously report on her background, work and current situation and limit speculation on her situation, and consider the implications for her security before publishing," said a statement by her parents, Marsha and Carl Mueller. Mueller was taken captive in August 2013 in the Syrian city of Aleppo, after leaving a Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) hospital, according to the family statement, released via Arizona senator John McCain.

Nigeria's Boko Haram has up to 6,000 hardcore militants: U.S. officials Posted: 06 Feb 2015 03:27 PM PST By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, which is fighting a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria, has about 4,000-6,000 "hardcore" fighters, U.S. intelligence officials said on Friday. In an assessment of the group, whose five-year uprising has included massacres and kidnappings and spread from Nigeria into neighboring states, the officials said they did not believe it posed a major threat to Nigeria's oilfields in the south. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the militants were believed to be still holding about 300 schoolgirls they kidnapped early last year and had dispersed them to multiple locations. Around 10,000 people were killed in Boko Haram attacks last year.

How Obama's latest national security strategy is more forest, less trees Posted: 06 Feb 2015 03:19 PM PST The national security strategy that the White House released Friday might be summed up as the "more forest, less trees" blueprint for how President Obama envisions conducting his foreign policy for his final two years in office. Those larger threats, which will require a toolbox supplied with more than the US military and a major dose of "strategic patience," range from nuclear proliferation and cybersecurity to climate change, energy security, and the weakening of an international order based on universally accepted norms. A national security strategy that refuses to allow the challenges of the day to obscure the larger global issues that will determine America's long-term security and prosperity was laid out in a speech by National Security Adviser Susan Rice at Washington's Brookings Institution Friday afternoon.

Gulf Arab states urge bigger international role in Yemen crisis Posted: 06 Feb 2015 03:13 PM PST Gulf Arab states have called on the international community to take a stronger position on Yemen and expressed concern about Iranian influence amid the political instability there, a senior State Department official said on Friday after meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. "There was a feeling that the international community needed to take a stronger position, either through the U.N. or another multilateral organization," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Fracking puts California governor, environmentalists at odds Posted: 06 Feb 2015 02:14 PM PST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In the 1970s, the environmental movement had no bigger political hero than California Gov. Jerry Brown. He cracked down on polluters, ended tax breaks for oil companies and promoted solar energy.

Egyptian military kills 27 militants in the Sinai Posted: 06 Feb 2015 02:10 PM PST Military air strikes killed 27 Islamic militants in Egypt's Northern Sinai on Friday in one of the biggest security operations in the region in months, security sources said. Apache helicopters targeted militants from the Sinai Province group, which pledges allegiance to Islamic State, the ultra-hardline militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, the sources said. Sinai Province, fighting to topple the Cairo government, has claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks that killed more than 30 members of the security forces in late January. After that bloodshed, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Egyptians the country faced a long, tough battle against militants.

Islamic State says U.S. hostage killed in air strike in Syria Posted: 06 Feb 2015 02:08 PM PST By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State said on Friday that an American woman hostage it was holding in Syria was killed when Jordanian fighter jets bombed a building where she was being held, but Jordan expressed doubt about the Islamist militant group's account of her death. In Washington, U.S. officials said they could not confirm that the woman, 26-year-old humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller of Prescott, Arizona, had been killed. Mueller was the last-known American hostage held by Islamic State, which controls wide areas of Syria and Iraq. Jordan's King Abdullah, who was in Washington discussing how to deal with Islamic State militants when the video was made public, vowed to avenge the pilot's death and ordered a stepped-up military role in the U.S.-led coalition against the group.

Accusations mount against US anchor over war 'lie' Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:57 PM PST One of America's most prominent TV anchors, Brian Williams, faced calls for his resignation Friday for embellishing an Iraq war story from 2003. Williams, 55, who reportedly earns $10 million a year and is watched by an estimated nine million Americans a night, admitted that a story he often repeated on air about coming under fire was not true. "I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," Williams said in an apology broadcast live Wednesday on the "NBC Nightly News" program he hosts each evening. He apologized to colleagues again on Friday morning, according to a leaked memo purportedly from NBC News president Deborah Turness.

Judge rejects 3rd defense bid to move marathon bombing trial Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:53 PM PST BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected a third request from lawyers for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect to move his trial outside Massachusetts, saying jury selection has shown people are capable of being fair and impartial in the place most affected by the deadly attack.

NBC News President Addresses Brian Williams Internal Inquiry in Staff Memo Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:20 PM PST "As you would expect, we have a team dedicated to gathering the facts to help us make sense of all that has transpired," writes Deborah Turness.

Jordan says planes bomb Islamic State targets for second day running Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:15 PM PST Jordan said on Friday it had carried out a second straight day of air strikes on Islamic State militants to avenge a captive Jordanian pilot burnt to death by the group. "Sorties of air force fighters executed several air strikes against select targets of the Daesh gang," state television said in a bulletin, using a derogatory Arabic name for the militants, adding that the army would announce details later. Jordan earlier said it had sent tens of fighter jets to pound Islamic State targets in Syria on Thursday, including ammunition depots and training camps. On Friday, Islamic State said an American female hostage it was holding in Syria had been killed when Jordanian fighter jets hit a building where she was being held, according to the SITE monitoring group.

Contractor tries again to get Abu Ghraib lawsuit tossed out Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:12 PM PST ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A defense contractor that supplied interrogators to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq argued Friday that it can't be sued for abuses that occurred there because its employees were working in tandem with military personnel whose judgment about conducting wartime operations shouldn't be questioned by a federal judge.

U.N. sets sights on Syria antiquities, Islamic State oil, ransoms Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:08 PM PST By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council appears set to ban all trade in antiquities from war-torn Syria, threaten sanctions on anyone buying oil from Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants and condemn paying kidnap ransoms to the groups. Russia initially suggested the council ratchet up pressure on Islamic State, also known by one acronym as ISIL, diplomats said. It would ban all trade in antiquities from Syria and reaffirms a similar ban imposed by the council on Iraqi artifacts about a decade ago. The draft expresses concern that Islamic State, al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and other groups are generating income from the illicit antiquities trade "which is being used to support their recruitment efforts and strengthen their operational capability to organize and carry out terrorist attacks." The resolution is under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which makes it legally binding and gives the council authority to enforce decisions with economic sanctions or force.

Shiite rebels take power in Yemen, fan fears of civil war Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:08 PM PST SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's Shiite rebels proclaimed a formal takeover of the Arab nation Friday, dissolving parliament in a dramatic move that completes their power grab in the region's poorest nation where an al-Qaida terrorist offshoot flourishes.

Can Radicals Be Rehabilitated? Teen Terror Suspect May Be America’s Test Case Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:07 PM PST When Abdullahi Yusuf applied for an expedited U.S. passport in April 2014, he showed up with the required three forms of identification—in his case a junior high school ID, his high school ID, and a certificate of citizenship. The 18-year-old charter high school student, who lived with his parents and little brother in the Minnesota suburbs, needed the passport for a trip to Istanbul that he'd been saving up for with money from tutoring.

Obama wants US to show 'strategic patience' Posted: 06 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST President Barack Obama believes the United States must resist the temptation to "over-reach" in its foreign policy and have "strategic patience" when it comes to tough international problems. In a strategy document released Friday, Obama made the case for a more deliberative, cautious and restrained US foreign policy. "The challenges we face require strategic patience and persistence," he said -- comments likely to be painted as vacillation or obfuscation by his political rivals. Obama is facing calls for the United States to use its vast military and economic power to decisively intervene in Syria and Ukraine.

Jordan’s Revenge and the Arab World’s ISIS Awakening Posted: 06 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST This is the moment the Pentagon has been waiting for. Almost immediately after ISIS released their gruesome video of his death, Jordan's Army spokesman promised a "earth-shaking and decisive" retaliatory response. Jordan's military, with a $1.5 billion budget, has over 1,300 tanks and nearly 250 aircraft, according to one recent accounting, ready to fight the next great land war that has never come. More notable, perhaps, are Jordan's special operations capabilities, designed specifically for this kind of fight.

Jordan's king thrusts country to center of Islamic State war Posted: 06 Feb 2015 12:05 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — King Abdullah II has thrust Jordan to the center of the war against the Islamic State group with his pledge of relentless retaliation for the killing of one of his pilots.

President Obama Names 8 'Strategic Risks' to US Security Posted: 06 Feb 2015 11:58 AM PST For the first time since the rise of ISIS, the Ukraine crisis, the end of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a massive North Korean cyberattack, President Obama is putting his global strategy in writing. It's the first update to the policy since 2010, addressing a dramatically different international landscape than when Obama first took office. While the new foreign policy blueprint does not signal a significant change in course, it does attempt to reconcile and explain the approach Obama has taken over the past five years and articulate guiding principles for his final two. In essence, it's the so-called Obama Doctrine put into print.

Obama’s Muted Response to the ISIS and Ukraine Crises Posted: 06 Feb 2015 11:47 AM PST Congress is still waiting for President Obama to spell out the new war powers he needs to defeat ISIS in the Middle East. Anxious lawmakers, however, must settle for a far more general overview of his national security strategy – one containing more platitudes than military prescriptions. The White House plans to release its second and final blueprint of American global leadership Friday in what one official described as a "compass" for how Obama will lead in a volatile world. The report's release coincides with ISIS's claim today that the Jordanian bombing in northern Syria intended to avenge the death of a captured Jordanian pilot had killed an American woman held hostage by the group.

Director: 'Queen of the Desert' no history lesson Posted: 06 Feb 2015 10:55 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — After opening with an Arctic adventure, the Berlin International Film Festival heated up Friday with "Queen of the Desert," a film about British diplomat and spy Gertrude Bell starring Nicole Kidman and James Franco.

Syria's bloody civil war taking back seat to IS horrors Posted: 06 Feb 2015 10:40 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The world may be gripped by the horrors perpetrated by the Islamic State group, but a wider bloodbath provoked by Syria's civil war is continuing unabated, with several hundred people killed in the past week alone.

U.S.-led strikes kill 30 Islamic State fighters in Syria: monitors Posted: 06 Feb 2015 10:33 AM PST At least 30 Islamic State fighters were killed on Friday in U.S.-led coalition air strikes around the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman said the attacks targeted depots of military vehicles and tanks, training camps and a prison used by the group east and west of Raqqa, the largest Syrian city under Islamic State control. Islamic State seized large areas in Syria and Iraq and declared a self-imposed Islamic caliphate last year but has come under strain after a series of defeats in Syria brought about in part by air strikes on its forces and infrastructure.

In unison, Muslim clerics lash out against Islamic State Posted: 06 Feb 2015 10:12 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — The immolation of a Jordanian pilot by the Islamic State group has brought a unified outcry Friday from top religious clerics across the Muslim world — including a prominent jihadi preacher — who insisted the militants have gone too far.

Jordan's Abdullah II: the king who vowed to crush IS Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:51 AM PST King Abdullah II of Jordan, a member of the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group, faces the toughest challenge of his 16-year reign after IS murdered a downed pilot. One of Washington's closest allies in the region, Abdullah was catapulted into the forefront of the conflict with the jihadists after IS burned the captured Jordanian airman alive. The British- and US-educated Abdullah became king in 1999 following the death of his father Hussein, a seasoned statesman who had weathered many challenges of his own. On Wednesday, the day after IS released a video purporting to show F-16 pilot Maaz Kassasbeh being burned alive, Jordan executed two Iraqi jihadists, including would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi.

CNN says pilot backtracking from Williams story Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:39 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — CNN says that a former pilot who says he flew with NBC anchor Brian Williams in Iraq is questioning his own account of the mission that he outlined to the network on Thursday.

Brian Williams' Alleged Helicopter Pilot Withdraws Account: "I Am Questioning My Memories" Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:20 AM PST The man who claimed to have piloted the helicopter Brian Williams was on in Iraq in 2003 is now recanting his version of the incident. During an interview with David Letterman last year, Williams claimed to have been on a helicopter in Iraq that was shot down on March 23, 2003 -- a story he ... Read More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Brian Williams

EU announces new funds, measures for anti-IS drive Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:03 AM PST The European Union will channel an extra 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) into tackling the threat posed by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. The EU said Friday that the funds for the two countries ...

ISIS Expands Into Libya While Bedeviling World With Latest Hostage Drama Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:03 AM PST While the world has been riveted by the latest high-tension ISIS hostage drama, U.S. officials are expressing alarm over the less-publicized expansion by the terrorist group's "caliphate" from Syria and Iraq into neighboring regions. In particular, several counter-terrorism officials expressed deep concern about ISIS asserting itself in Libya, where the U.S. is still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a diplomatic post in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya. "I am becoming concerned with how quickly their new affiliates are getting organized," one counter-terrorism official closely watching ISIS developments told ABC News last week. "They pretty much own Libya," a second official involved in counter-terrorism operations said.

Second Yazidi mass grave unearthed in Iraq this week Posted: 06 Feb 2015 08:58 AM PST A mass grave containing the remains of at least 16 Yazidis was unearthed in northern Iraq on Friday as the atrocities committed by Islamic State against the religious minority gradually come to light. Yazidi member of parliament Vian Dakhil said preliminary analysis indicated six of the bodies in the grave belonged to infants and two were women, all of whom seem to have been killed in the early days of Islamic State's incursion last summer. The Yazidis, thought to number several hundred thousand in Iraq before they came under attack by Islamic State, are mostly Kurdish speakers whose ancient religion has elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. Islamic State militants say they are devil worshippers, an accusation Yazidis reject, and must convert to Islam or die.

Philanthropist Lois Pope And American Humane Association To Celebrate Valor And Courage Of Military Dogs And Their Handlers At Special "K-9 Battle Buddies" Luncheon In Palm Beach Posted: 06 Feb 2015 08:45 AM PST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- All Americans owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to military dogs and their hero handlers on the other end of the leash, and next month these brave two- and four-legged members of the military will be honored at a very special event in Palm Beach. Philanthropist Lois Pope and American Humane Association, the country's first national humane organization, will welcome four military dog teams to the "K-9 Battle Buddies Luncheon" at the Mar-a-Lago Club on Tuesday, March 17. Also appearing will be country music legend Naomi Judd, "America's Veterinarian" Dr. Marty Becker, and guests will enjoy special musical performances from "American Idol's" Stefano Langone, the Alex Donner Orchestra, and the widely acclaimed singing duo of Will and Anthony Nunziata. Guests at Mar-a-Lago will be treated to tales of courage and valor from military dog teams Sergeant Matt Hatala and MWD Chaney, Corporal Jeff DeYoung and MWD Cena, Corporal Jonathan Cavender and MWD Maxi, and Corporal Nick Caceres and MWD Fieldy.

Lawmakers expect resistance to granting Obama war powers Posted: 06 Feb 2015 07:43 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress will face some resistance to a vote to authorize President Barack Obama's war against Islamic State militants despite international outrage over video of militants beheading their captives and burning one alive.

World can't rely on U.S. to carry economy forever -Canada Posted: 06 Feb 2015 07:31 AM PST The United States is carrying the world economy at the moment but that is not sustainable, and other major nations must shoulder more of the load, Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Friday. Oliver said in a speech that the world economy is off to a rough start in 2015 and that "kick-starting global growth will be front and center" at a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Turkey next week. "Though America is carrying the world economy at the moment, that is simply not sustainable. We need key pillars of global growth to reassert themselves," Oliver told a meeting of mayors from the Toronto region.

UAE sees no defeat of Islamic State without Iraq's Sunnis: Etihad paper Posted: 06 Feb 2015 07:20 AM PST The United Arab Emirates pulled out of U.S.-led air strikes on Islamic State positions partly because it thought they could not succeed without a push to arm Sunni Muslim tribes in Iraq, a newspaper close to the government said on Friday. The UAE's decision to withdraw its planes, reported by U.S. officials after a Jordanian pilot was shot down over Iraq on Dec. 24, raised fears that regional support for the coalition air campaign might be slipping. The UAE has not commented on the reports of its decision but U.S. officials said it was concerned about pilots' safety -- Islamic State released a video this week purporting to show it burning Jordan's First Lieutenant Mouath al-Kasaesbeh to death. "The other important part behind the UAE's reservation ... was its discontent with the coalition which has not kept its promise in supporting the Sunnis in Anbar, not preparing them, equipping them and arming them to take part in the war against Daesh," the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Mohammed al-Hammadi, wrote in an editorial.

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