Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Vermont's Sanders kicks off 2016 bid from Clinton's left
• Firm linked to Australian IS fighter transferred up to A$20 million: U.N.
• Yemen man pleads guilty to al Qaeda scheme to kill U.S. military
• Canada federal police raid suspected jihadists' homes
• Yemeni pleads guilty in New York to Al-Qaeda conspiracy
• Pentagon chief's take on Iraqis undercuts Obama's strategy
• Syria says carries out deadly air raid on Islamic State stronghold
• Bernie Sanders 2016: Can he raise a liberal army?
• Couple celebrates homey joys of Middle Eastern cuisine
• The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet
• Iraq forces in Anbar push, stir over operation codename
• Oxford University unveils new Hadid-designed Middle East wing
• Iraq displaced forced back into war zones: aid group
• Iraq begins operation to oust Islamic State from Anbar
• Iraq Shi'ite militia take lead in campaign to reverse Islamic State gains
• Obama: US must examine how assets are being used in IS fight
• Pentagon slams 'unhelpful' Shi'ite code name for Ramadi offensive
• Shiite name of Iraqi operation 'not helpful': US
• For an IS fighter, a paid honeymoon in caliphate's heart
• U.S. top court backs contractor KBR in Iraq whistleblower case
• Does Iraq's military have the 'will to fight?' Its sectarian militias certainly do.
• FIRST MAZON Amicus Brief In Support of Veterans Facing Hunger
• The Latest on IS: Militia name for Anbar fight draws ire
• Erdogan opens 'Saladin' airport in Turkey's restive southeast
• PacSun's flag T-shirt: Patriotism turned on its head
• U.S., coalition forces stage 12 strikes on Islamic State in Iraq: U.S. statement
• Turkey says training of moderate Syrian rebels begins with US
• Coalition fighting Islamic State must be reinforced: France
• Exclusive: Captured video appears to show foreign fighters in Nigeria's Boko Haram
• Captured video appears to show foreign fighters in Nigeria's Boko Haram
• Supreme Court sides with KBR in false claims dispute
• Accidental shot fired by Hollande's bodyguard raises security doubts: Le Monde
• 10 Things to Know for Today
• Litany of problems keep Iraqi army weak
• Bombing exposes Saudi failure to curb sectarian strains
• Ancient Mourners May Have Left Flowers on 'Red Lady Grave'
• Joint Chiefs Chairman says U.S. blindsided by fall of Mosul
• Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT
• Coptic Solidarity Conference - 100 Years Later: Middle Eastern Christians Face Another Genocide
• Austria tries 14-year-old 'terror' suspect

Vermont's Sanders kicks off 2016 bid from Clinton's left Posted: 26 May 2015 04:30 PM PDT BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Challenging Hillary Rodham Clinton from the left, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential bid Tuesday with a pitch to liberals to join him in a "political revolution" to transform the nation's economy and politics.

Firm linked to Australian IS fighter transferred up to A$20 million: U.N. Posted: 26 May 2015 03:53 PM PDT A money transfer firm linked to an Australian national believed to have been photographed while holding severed heads of Syrian soldiers is suspected of transferring up to A$20 million ($15.47 million) to finance Islamist militants, a U.N. report said. The figure was included in a report on foreign fighters prepared by a team of experts that monitors compliance with the United Nations Security Council's al Qaeda sanctions regime. "A money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of an Australian foreign terrorist fighter, Khaled Sharrouf, was shut down," the group said in its report "It is suspected that the business was sending up to A$20 million to countries neighboring the conflict zone to finance terrorism," it added, without providing details on the neighboring countries.

Yemen man pleads guilty to al Qaeda scheme to kill U.S. military Posted: 26 May 2015 03:38 PM PDT By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Yemeni man who prosecutors said was a member of al Qaeda and engaged in attacks against U.S. military forces stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to kill Americans overseas.     Saddiq al-Abbadi, 40, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to four counts including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals abroad and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Al-Abbadi, who appeared in court with a black beard and wearing blue jail clothes said that during the period in question, "I and others agreed to provide material support to al Qaeda." The plea came after prosecutors in January unveiled charges against al-Abbadi and another Yemeni man, Ali Alvi al-Hamidi.

Canada federal police raid suspected jihadists' homes Posted: 26 May 2015 03:31 PM PDT Canadian federal police on Tuesday raided homes in the Montreal area linked by local media to suspected jihadists who had been detained for allegedly seeking to join Islamic State militants. Searches were conducted around the city and had concluded by late afternoon, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Erique Gasse told AFP. Local television showed officers hauling boxes out of the suspects' homes in three Montreal suburbs.

Yemeni pleads guilty in New York to Al-Qaeda conspiracy Posted: 26 May 2015 02:57 PM PDT A 40-year-old Yemeni, who fought US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, pleaded guilty in New York Tuesday to conspiring to murder Americans and to supporting Al-Qaeda, prosecutors said. Saddiq al-Abbadi, who was arrested with an alleged co-conspirator in Saudi Arabia on a US warrant, now faces a maximum life sentence in an American jail. According to court papers, Abbadi left Yemen for Iraq to fight against US troops from late 2005 to early 2007.

Pentagon chief's take on Iraqis undercuts Obama's strategy Posted: 26 May 2015 02:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter's blunt assessment that Iraqi forces lack the "will to fight" undermines a central premise of President Barack Obama's strategy for defeating the Islamic State: that Iraq's military can effectively handle ground operations so Americans don't have to.

Syria says carries out deadly air raid on Islamic State stronghold Posted: 26 May 2015 02:40 PM PDT By Tom Perry and Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian air force hit an Islamic State-controlled air base in Raqqa province on Tuesday, killing more than 140 militants, state media said, striking the jihadist group in its Syrian stronghold a week after it seized Palmyra from the government. The city of Raqqa is seen as the de facto capital of the "caliphate" Islamic State has declared in Syria and Iraq. The group has made notable gains in both countries this month, capturing both Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria.

Bernie Sanders 2016: Can he raise a liberal army? Posted: 26 May 2015 01:41 PM PDT Self-described "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders kicks off his campaign for president on Tuesday in his hometown of Burlington, Vt. He's hoping to attract an army of left-leaning Democrats who aren't happy about Hillary Clinton's past coziness with Wall Street and her Senate vote to authorize the Iraq War. "I know what I believe," said Senator Sanders in a fundraising e-mail issued prior to the event. How many liberals are there in America, and is their number on the increase?

Couple celebrates homey joys of Middle Eastern cuisine Posted: 26 May 2015 01:29 PM PDT By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Traditional Middle Eastern home cooking is the shared passion of Israeli-born chefs Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, the husband and wife team behind "Honey & Co.: The Cookbook." All 107 recipes stem from the couple's restaurant Honey & Co in London, which was named Best New Restaurant of 2013 by the Guardian newspaper. Srulovich, 36, and Packer, 38, spoke to Reuters about their training, their culinary courtship and making the exotic accessible to customers. Q: Why did you name your restaurant Honey & Co. ...

The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet Posted: 26 May 2015 01:07 PM PDT Specifically, Bernie style: There will be free Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a Vermont zydeco band. On the Republican side, a large crop of expected candidates are near to finally making their decisions—spurred, perhaps, by the desire to make the cut for the GOP debates, which start this fall and are only going to take the 10 highest-polling candidates.

Iraq forces in Anbar push, stir over operation codename Posted: 26 May 2015 01:04 PM PDT Iraqi forces launched a broad operation on Tuesday to tighten the noose on jihadists controlling Anbar, but Shiite militias gave it a name that risked raising sectarian tensions. Ten days after the Islamic State group's shock capture of the capital of Iraq's largest province, a spokesman said an offensive to cut off Anbar and prepare for a bid to retake Ramadi had begun. "The operation's goal is to liberate those regions between Salaheddin and Anbar and try to isolate the province of Anbar," said Hashed al-Shaabi spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi.

Oxford University unveils new Hadid-designed Middle East wing Posted: 26 May 2015 12:43 PM PDT By Farah Nayeri OXFORD, England (Reuters) - Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born architect, has designed a futuristic addition to the Oxford University campus: a curvy bridge building for St. Antony's College's Middle East Centre that was inaugurated on Tuesday. The 11 million pound cost has been covered by Investcorp, an investment company which will give its name to the building and was founded in 1982 by Iraqi-born financier Nemir Kirdar. Hadid in 2004 became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Iraq displaced forced back into war zones: aid group Posted: 26 May 2015 11:36 AM PDT Restrictions on Iraqi people fleeing the fighting in Anbar province are forcing some of them to return straight into conflict areas, an aid group said Tuesday. "Thousands of people fleeing Ramadi are stuck at checkpoints or being denied entry to safe areas," said Mark Schnellbaecher of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). "For some people the situation has become so hopeless that they are returning to the conflict in Ramadi," he said in a statement.

Iraq begins operation to oust Islamic State from Anbar Posted: 26 May 2015 11:31 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq vowed Tuesday to retake Anbar province — now mostly held by the Islamic State — by launching a large-scale military operation less than two weeks after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the extremists in the provincial capital of Ramadi.

Iraq Shi'ite militia take lead in campaign to reverse Islamic State gains Posted: 26 May 2015 10:55 AM PDT Iraq's Shi'ite paramilitaries said on Tuesday they had taken charge of the campaign to drive Islamic State from the western province of Anbar, giving the operation an openly sectarian codename that could infuriate its Sunni Muslim population. The United States described the codename as "unhelpful" while France, which will host a meeting of nations fighting Islamic State next week, accused the Shi'ite-led government of failing to represent fully the interests of all Iraqis. The Iraqi government is scrambling to reverse the fall of Ramadi, its biggest military setback in nearly a year.

Obama: US must examine how assets are being used in IS fight Posted: 26 May 2015 10:48 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Looking to boost Iraqi fighting forces, President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies need to examine whether they are deploying military assets effectively against Islamic State militants as Iraq mounts a new offensive to recapture critical territory west of Baghdad.

Pentagon slams 'unhelpful' Shi'ite code name for Ramadi offensive Posted: 26 May 2015 10:41 AM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Tuesday said it was "unhelpful" for Iraq's Shi'ite militia to have announced an openly sectarian code name for the operation to retake the Sunni city of Ramadi and added that, in the U.S. view, the full-on offensive had yet to begin. A spokesman for the Shi'ite militias, known as Hashid Shaabi, said the code name for the new operation would be "Labaik ya Hussein", a slogan in honor of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed killed in the 7th Century battle that led to the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. The United States has been vocally advocating for Iraq to tread carefully in employing Shi'ite militias to help Iraqi forces retake the city, which fell to the Islamic State a week ago in Baghdad's biggest military setback in nearly a year.

Shiite name of Iraqi operation 'not helpful': US Posted: 26 May 2015 10:41 AM PDT The Pentagon expressed disappointment on Tuesday over a decision by Iraqi militias to impose an explicitly Shiite name for a military operation in Iraq's Sunni heartland, saying it could aggravate sectarian tensions. The name refers to one of the most revered imams in Shiite Islam. "I think it's unhelpful," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.

For an IS fighter, a paid honeymoon in caliphate's heart Posted: 26 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The honeymoon was a brief moment for love, away from the front lines of Syria's war. In the capital of the Islamic State group's self-proclaimed "caliphate," Syrian fighter Abu Bilal al-Homsi was united with his Tunisian bride for the first time after months chatting online. They married, then passed the days dining on grilled meats in Raqqa's restaurants, strolling along the Euphrates River and eating ice cream.

U.S. top court backs contractor KBR in Iraq whistleblower case Posted: 26 May 2015 10:32 AM PDT By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a victory to defense contractor KBR Inc in its legal fight with a former employee who filed a whistleblower suit accusing it of defrauding the U.S. government over water purification work in Iraq. The justices ruled 9-0 that a law that extends the time frame for fraud claims committed against the United States during wartime does not apply to civil claims, meaning former employee Benjamin Carter waited too long to bring his case. Carter, who worked in Iraq as a water purification operator, filed the lawsuit at issue in the case in 2011 under the federal False Claims Act, which allows individuals to sue on behalf of the government and claim a portion of the proceeds if the case is successful.

Does Iraq's military have the 'will to fight?' Its sectarian militias certainly do. Posted: 26 May 2015 10:29 AM PDT How badly is the civil war in Iraq spiraling out of control? The recent fall of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar and just 70 miles west of Baghdad, to the so-called Islamic State has clearly jolted the US government.

FIRST MAZON Amicus Brief In Support of Veterans Facing Hunger Posted: 26 May 2015 10:15 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time in its 30-year history, MAZON: A Jewish Response To Hunger (MAZON), has filed an amicus brief seeking to overturn a Veterans Administration "Final Rule" which MAZON argues reduces veteran benefits and creates more bureaucratic barriers to nutritional benefits for veterans, especially disabled veterans, who must rely on Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The MAZON brief argues that the VA's decision to create "efficiency" in the benefits application process delays and impedes veterans' access to desperately needed food assistance. MAZON argues that the process which led to the "Final Rule" did not adequately consider the impact of the rule on existing veterans food benefits and failed to adequately consider the difficulties veterans already face when seeking those benefits.

The Latest on IS: Militia name for Anbar fight draws ire Posted: 26 May 2015 10:06 AM PDT 8:05 p.m. (1705 GMT)

Erdogan opens 'Saladin' airport in Turkey's restive southeast Posted: 26 May 2015 09:38 AM PDT President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday opened a new airport in a restive eastern province dogged by a Kurdish separatist insurgency, naming the facility for a celebrated Muslim medieval leader of Kurdish origin. Erdogan inaugurated the airport in Yuksekova in Hakkari province, close to the border with Iran and Iraq, alongside Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a joint appearance ahead of June 7 elections. Of Kurdish origin, he is known simply as Saladin and in Arabic as Salah ad-Din.

PacSun's flag T-shirt: Patriotism turned on its head Posted: 26 May 2015 09:34 AM PDT It may be OK for the Netflix television series "House of Cards" to show the American flag flipped upside down, a traditional S.O.S. symbol of distress, in the opening credits, but when retailer Pacific Sunwear offered a similar T-shirt on Memorial Day weekend, the result was public revolt. According to Section 8a of the United States Flag Code, which governs how the US flag should be treated, "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property." It is the interpretation of "distress" which has long been open to interpretation by artists, retailers and activists.

U.S., coalition forces stage 12 strikes on Islamic State in Iraq: U.S. statement Posted: 26 May 2015 09:32 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 19 air strikes on Islamic State targets in a 24-hour period ending Tuesday, a coalition statement said. Twelve of the strikes were near the Iraqi cities of Bayji, Fallujah, Hit, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar, hitting tactical units, vehicles, heavy machine guns and buildings. Seven air strikes near Al Hasakah, Syria, hit tactical units, an Islamic State headquarters, fighting positions and a natural gas production plant. (Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Turkey says training of moderate Syrian rebels begins with US Posted: 26 May 2015 08:57 AM PDT Turkey and the United States have started training moderate Syrian rebels on Turkish territory to prepare them to fight Islamic State (IS) militants, the Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday. The US-led programme to equip and train Syrian rebels on Turkish territory has started "with small groups" after months of delays, Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the official Anatolia news agency. "Both the Turkish and the American personnel who will carry out the mission have been dispatched," he said, adding that the rebels were being selected jointly by Turkey and the United States.

Coalition fighting Islamic State must be reinforced: France Posted: 26 May 2015 08:18 AM PDT Iraq and Syria risk further division if international efforts to tackle Islamic State militants there are not stepped up quickly, France warned on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speaking ahead of a June 2 meeting in Paris of nations fighting Islamic State, also said Iraq's government had not honored commitments to its partners to represent the interests of all sectors of its society.

Exclusive: Captured video appears to show foreign fighters in Nigeria's Boko Haram Posted: 26 May 2015 08:05 AM PDT By Julia Payne ABUJA (Reuters) - Video footage found in captured Boko Haram camps by Nigeria's military and seen by Reuters seems to give some of the clearest indication that foreign fighters hold positions of power within the Nigerian Islamist militant group. The distinctive Mandara mountain range can be seen in the background.

Captured video appears to show foreign fighters in Nigeria's Boko Haram Posted: 26 May 2015 08:05 AM PDT By Julia Payne ABUJA (Reuters) - Video footage found in captured Boko Haram camps by Nigeria's military and seen by Reuters seems to give some of the clearest indication that foreign fighters hold positions of power within the Nigerian Islamist militant group. The distinctive Mandara mountain range can be seen in the background.

Supreme Court sides with KBR in false claims dispute Posted: 26 May 2015 07:47 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of defense contractor KBR Inc. in a whistleblower lawsuit over claims that the company overbilled the government for work in Iraq.

Accidental shot fired by Hollande's bodyguard raises security doubts: Le Monde Posted: 26 May 2015 07:33 AM PDT New questions surfaced about the personal security of French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday as Le Monde daily reported an incident in which a bodyguard accidentally fired a bullet in the Elysee Palace. France has long been watchful for militant attacks and January's killings by Islamist gunmen at a satirical weekly and Jewish foodstore has set the country even more on alert. Concerns over Hollande's own security were raised in 2014 after he was photographed making clandestine visits to a mistress on a scooter.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 26 May 2015 06:52 AM PDT Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

Litany of problems keep Iraqi army weak Posted: 26 May 2015 06:44 AM PDT Iraq's leadership was indignant after US accusations that its forces lack the will to fight but assessments of the army's ability suggest the rank-and-file have reasons to shy from battle. Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Sunday, a week after the loss of Ramadi to the Islamic State group, that there was "an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight". The fall of the capital of Iraq's largest province to the jihadists saw a chaotic retreat of security forces and dealt Baghdad its worst blow in almost a year.

Bombing exposes Saudi failure to curb sectarian strains Posted: 26 May 2015 06:33 AM PDT By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - A suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia as it presses on with its war against Shi'ite fighters in Yemen has exposed the Sunni kingdom's failure to curb sectarianism at home and prompted fears that such tensions can only get worse. Islamic State, which claimed Friday's attack on a Shi'ite mosque, is trying to stir up sectarian confrontation as a way of hastening the overthrow of the ruling Al Saud, and is keenly aware of the war's potential for pitting Sunni against Shi'ite. Saudi authorities have avoided using openly sectarian terms to describe the Houthis, allies of Iran who adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, but many journalists, clerics and social media users have shown no such restraint.

Ancient Mourners May Have Left Flowers on 'Red Lady Grave' Posted: 26 May 2015 06:08 AM PDT Ancient mourners may have left flowers on the grave of an Ice-Age woman known as the Red Lady of El Mirón, new research suggests. The woman, called the Red Lady because her body and bones had been smeared with a brilliant, sparkling pigment made from red ocher, lived about 18,700 years ago and was buried in a cave in what is now Spain. A large clump of pollen that was unearthed in the burial suggests people at the time placed flowers into the woman's grave, researchers said in a new study.

Joint Chiefs Chairman says U.S. blindsided by fall of Mosul Posted: 26 May 2015 05:36 AM PDT Gen. Martin Dempsey admits in a new documentary that the Pentagon did no contingency planning for the Islamic State advance.

Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 26 May 2015 05:32 AM PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — An international gathering about the plight of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslims boasts a star-studded cast, with three Nobel Peace laureates among those calling on the world to wake up to the unfolding tragedy. But fellow winner and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will not be among them. She wasn't invited.

Coptic Solidarity Conference - 100 Years Later: Middle Eastern Christians Face Another Genocide Posted: 26 May 2015 04:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the world commemorates the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Coptic Solidarity will host our 6th Annual Conference in Washington, DC – June 11-12th. The conference theme is 100 Year Later: Middle Eastern Christians Face Another Genocide, focusing on the fate of Christians and other minorities in the same region currently. The Conference is open by registration to media and the public.

Austria tries 14-year-old 'terror' suspect Posted: 26 May 2015 02:37 AM PDT SANKT-POELTEN (Austria) (AFP) - A 14-year-old Austrian schoolboy with alleged ties to Islamist extremists and accused of intending to bomb a Vienna train station went on trial Tuesday facing up to five years in prison. The defendant, named only as Mertkan G., was arrested in October 2014 and allegedly had contact with supporters of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda, the court in his hometown Sankt-Poelten said. "In addition he is suspected of obtaining instructions on how to make an explosive device from an Al-Qaeda website... in order to carry out an attack in Vienna," the court 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of the Austrian capital said.

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