Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Obama approves 450 more troops for Iraq training mission
• New US military team to focus on recapturing Ramadi
• American fighting with Kurds killed in Islamic State battle
• Europe’s migrant crisis: Is the answer for UN to authorize use of force?
• Italy gives Putin stage to make case against sanctions
• Suicide bomber strikes near ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt
• France probes Russian lead in TV5Monde hacking: sources
• Aviation security endangered by spread of missiles: study
• Correction: Waco Shooting story
• Pope tells Putin: 'Sincere' peace efforts needed for Ukraine
• US orders more troops to Iraq, but no overhaul of strategy
• Obama sending more troops to Iraq. But is Iraq really ready for them?
• More US troops to Iraq: How it will work
• President Obama Sending 450 More Troops to Iraq
• American killed in Syria, may have fought IS with Kurds
• US sending up to 450 more troops to Iraq, White House says
• Congress has gone loco over war-fighting account
• Obama has not ruled out other steps against Islamic State: officials
• Expanded U.S. force in Iraq will boost efforts to retake Ramadi: Pentagon
• New U.S. mission in Iraq aims to integrate troops, Sunni tribes
• Senate 2016: the 10 hottest races
• 2 suicide car bombings targeting police kill 18 in Iraq
• Mosul Under ISIS: Clean Streets and Horror
• Hezbollah announces battle with IS on Syria-Lebanon border
• Al-Qaida-linked militants attack IS affiliate in Libya
• EU leaders push Libya's warring factions over peace deal
• Iraq still in disarray 1 year after Islamic State took Mosul
• Obama approves up to 450 additional military personnel for Iraq
• Caught in the Crossfire With ISIS: One Family’s War Without End
• Obama authorizes sending up to 450 more troops to Iraq to train Iraqi troops in Anbar province
• Thousands flee into Turkey from Syria as Kurds fight Islamic state
• US blacklists 'key Hezbollah support network'
• French army chief urges more strikes on IS command centres
• Islamic State clashes with rivals in eastern Libya, 20 dead
• History of the Islamic State group 1 year after Mosul seized
• U.S., allies target Islamic State in Iraq with 16 air strikes: military
• Suicide bomber attacks tourist site in Luxor, four Egyptians wounded
• Boehner: U.S. plan for more trainers in Iraq a step in 'right direction'
• Bombs kill eight people around Baghdad, coalition targets Islamic State

Obama approves 450 more troops for Iraq training mission Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:58 PM PDT US President Barack Obama on Wednesday approved the deployment of 450 more US military trainers to Iraq, a cautious bid to reverse gains by the Islamic State group. The White House said the forces will join an already 3,100-strong mission to "train, advise and assist" the Iraqi army as well as Sunni tribal fighters. Islamic State seized the predominately Sunni city near Baghdad in May, punching a giant hole in Obama's strategy to "defeat and degrade" the jihadist group.

New US military team to focus on recapturing Ramadi Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:54 PM PDT President Barack Obama is sending 450 additional US troops to help Iraqi forces seize back control of the western city of Ramadi from Islamic State jihadists. Of the 450 troops heading to Anbar province within six to eight weeks, less than 100 will be advisers who will assist Iraqi commanders for an eventual counter-attack in Ramadi, officials said. The American advisers will be working with various Iraqi units including the army's 8th Division, elements of which retreated in defeat when Ramadi fell to the IS group last month.

American fighting with Kurds killed in Islamic State battle Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:43 PM PDT IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — An American fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in Syria has been killed in battle, authorities said Wednesday, making him likely the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside them against the extremists.

Europe’s migrant crisis: Is the answer for UN to authorize use of force? Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:29 PM PDT When the world was confronted with a sudden uptick in piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia seven years ago, the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force to take on the bandits. With crucial international-trade shipping lanes threatened, NATO countries and regional partners sent warships to patrol and to confront the pirates. Now the European Union, faced with an unprecedented crisis of migrant smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea, is considering similar extraordinary measures to address its migrant problem.

Italy gives Putin stage to make case against sanctions Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:25 PM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin used a trip to Italy on Wednesday to press his case against international sanctions and was urged by Pope Francis to make a "sincere effort" for peace in Ukraine. After telling Italian premier Matteo Renzi that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine would cost Italian companies a billion euros, Putin spent 50 minutes chatting to the pope at the Vatican. A Vatican statement said the pontiff had urged the Russian leader, and other parties to the Ukraine conflict, to make a "sincere effort" for peace.

Suicide bomber strikes near ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:25 PM PDT LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — Militants tried to attack the ancient temple of Karnak in southern Egypt on Wednesday, with a suicide bomber blowing himself up and two gunmen battling police. No sightseers were hurt in the thwarted assault, but it suggested that Islamic extremists are shifting targets from security forces to the country's vital tourism industry.

France probes Russian lead in TV5Monde hacking: sources Posted: 10 Jun 2015 03:08 PM PDT By Joseph Menn and Leigh Thomas SAN FRANCISCO/PARIS (Reuters) - Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin could be behind one of the biggest attacks to date on televised communications, which knocked French station TV5Monde off air in April, sources familiar with France's inquiry said. A French judicial source told Reuters that the investigators are "leaning towards the lead of Russian hackers," confirming a report in French magazine L'Express. Hackers claiming to be supporters of Islamic State caused the public station's 11 channels to temporarily go off air and posted material on its social media feeds to protest against French military action in Iraq.

Aviation security endangered by spread of missiles: study Posted: 10 Jun 2015 02:43 PM PDT The spread of portable anti-aircraft missiles in the Middle East and North Africa could pose a threat to aviation security if the weapons fall into the hands of Islamic extremists, a report said on Wednesday. The easy-to-use, lightweight weapons, or man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), are proliferating due to looted stockpiles in Libya, arms trafficking and weapons sales to Iraq and other states, said the report from the Small Arms Survey, a research center based in Geneva. "The risks associated with international trafficking of advanced MANPADS are heightened by the rise of IS (Islamic State group) in the Middle East and North Africa," the report said.

Correction: Waco Shooting story Posted: 10 Jun 2015 02:27 PM PDT WACO, Texas (AP) — In a story June 6 about a shootout involving bikers in Waco, The Associated Press reported erroneously that witnesses said the sound of semi-automatic gunfire dominated the shootout. They said the shootout was dominated by what sounded like short bursts of automatic gunfire. The AP also erroneously reported that a semi-automatic weapon can shoot more bullets in less time than a small-caliber weapon. The story should have said that an automatic weapon can fire multiple rounds more quickly than a semi-automatic weapon.

Pope tells Putin: 'Sincere' peace efforts needed for Ukraine Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:56 PM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in "sincere" international efforts aimed at bringing peace to Ukraine as the two men met privately at the Vatican Wednesday.

US orders more troops to Iraq, but no overhaul of strategy Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:30 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of up to 450 more American troops to Iraq on Wednesday in an effort to reverse major battlefield losses to the Islamic State, an escalation but not a significant shift in the struggling U.S. strategy to defeat the extremist group.

Obama sending more troops to Iraq. But is Iraq really ready for them? Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:30 PM PDT After months of consideration the White House and Pentagon have come up with a new plan for Iraq – and it looks a lot like the old one. In a statement released this afternoon, the White House said President Obama authorized up to 450 additional troops to be sent to Iraq to "train, advise and assist Iraqi security forces at Taqqadum military base in eastern Anbar province." The US training and assistance mission, which the administration says precludes "serving in a combat role," already has 3,100 troops spread among four other training sites. Anbar's provincial capital of Ramadi, which lies about 70 miles west of Baghdad, fell to the self-described Islamic State (IS) last month.

More US troops to Iraq: How it will work Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:28 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest expansion of the U.S. mission in Iraq centers on bringing Sunni tribes into the fight, a critical goal in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State group.

President Obama Sending 450 More Troops to Iraq Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:15 PM PDT President Obama is sending up to 450 additional military advisers to Iraq. The announcement comes after the militant group that calls itself the Islamic State has made several battleground gains in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks. The Islamic State is also known as ISIS or ISIL.

American killed in Syria, may have fought IS with Kurds Posted: 10 Jun 2015 01:08 PM PDT An American man has been killed in Syria, the State Department said Wednesday, without confirming a report that he died fighting alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group. Spokesman Jeff Rathke confirmed the death of Keith Broomfield, but refused to offer further details about the circumstances or when it occurred. NBC News earlier reported on the death of the 36-year-old Broomfield, citing a Kurdish official in Kobane as saying the US citizen died in a battle with IS jihadists in the area.

US sending up to 450 more troops to Iraq, White House says Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:38 PM PDT President Obama on Wednesday ordered the deployment to Iraq of up to 450 military personnel to help train Iraqi forces in their fight against Islamic State. "To improve the capabilities and effectiveness of partners on the ground, the President authorized the deployment of up to 450 additional US military personnel to train, advise, and assist Iraqi Security Forces at Taqaddum military base in eastern Anbar province," the White House said in a statement. The decision to deploy more troops is in response to a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the White House statement adds.

Congress has gone loco over war-fighting account Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:36 PM PDT Congress has gone loco over OCO, America's war-fighting spending account. Formally known as the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, OCO has become a political pressure point that is threatening to stall ...

Obama has not ruled out other steps against Islamic State: officials Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has not ruled out taking additional steps to fight Islamic State after deciding to increase U.S. trainers in Iraq by 450 troops, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The troops in Iraq's Anbar province will help with mission command, intelligence, and protection at the site, officials told reporters on a conference call, adding that their presence will improve U.S. ability to turn around air strikes. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Expanded U.S. force in Iraq will boost efforts to retake Ramadi: Pentagon Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:03 PM PDT The Pentagon said on Wednesday a decision to send 450 additional U.S. troops to Iraq would help speed up the training and equipping of Sunni tribes in Anbar province and support efforts by Iraqi security forces to retake the Ramadi-Falluja corridor. The U.S. Defense Department said in a statement that the decision to add 450 troops at al Taqaddum air base in eastern Anbar province was not a change in the U.S. mission in Iraq but would enable an expansion of the overall training mission.

New U.S. mission in Iraq aims to integrate troops, Sunni tribes Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:03 PM PDT The new U.S. military effort in Iraq's Anbar province, expected to be announced in detail later on Wednesday, aims to help integrate Iraqi forces and Sunni tribes, a U.S. official told Reuters. The official said additional U.S. forces sent to Iraq would be more focused on advisory roles than training.

Senate 2016: the 10 hottest races Posted: 10 Jun 2015 11:40 AM PDT It's not too soon to talk Senate 2016 – where control is up for grabs. Republicans control the Senate 54 to 46, but the 2016 playing field favors the Democrats. They're defending only 10 seats, versus 24 for the Republicans.

2 suicide car bombings targeting police kill 18 in Iraq Posted: 10 Jun 2015 11:36 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Two suicide car bombings targeting police in Iraq killed 18 people Wednesday amid the country's war against the Islamic State group, authorities said.

Mosul Under ISIS: Clean Streets and Horror Posted: 10 Jun 2015 11:21 AM PDT On Wednesday, the United States announced that it would send up to 450 additional troops to Iraq to train Iraqi fighters as they aim to retake the city of Ramadi from ISIS. It was almost exactly a year ago that ISIS achieved its shocking takeover Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. The picture of life in Mosul after a year of Islamic State rule is similarly uncertain.

Hezbollah announces battle with IS on Syria-Lebanon border Posted: 10 Jun 2015 10:39 AM PDT The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement announced Wednesday that the powerful Shiite militia had begun to fight the Islamic State jihadist group along the rugged Syrian-Lebanese border. "The battle with Daesh in Qalamun has begun, in the eastern (mountain) chain and on the Syrian-Lebanese border," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. "They (IS) began the fighting, but we will continue the battle," Nasrallah said.

Al-Qaida-linked militants attack IS affiliate in Libya Posted: 10 Jun 2015 10:32 AM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked militants in eastern Libya declared holy war — or jihad — on the local Islamic State affiliate after one of their senior leaders was killed Wednesday by masked gunmen, which set off clashes between the rival groups that left 11 people dead on both sides, including a top militant commander.

EU leaders push Libya's warring factions over peace deal Posted: 10 Jun 2015 10:09 AM PDT By Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - European powers on Wednesday urged Libya's warring factions to accept a peace deal within days, warning them that without an accord the only winners would be Islamist militants who have used the country's chaos to gain ground. Delegations from Libya's two rival governments, who are battling for control of the OPEC state, met with European leaders in Berlin to discuss a U.N.-sponsored peace and power-sharing proposal despite splits among some of the parties. The talks were the latest push by the international community to get Libya's rival factions to end a crisis that threatens to turn the North African country into a failed state just across the Mediterranean sea from Europe.

Iraq still in disarray 1 year after Islamic State took Mosul Posted: 10 Jun 2015 10:02 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic State group gave only three options for the soldiers and police officers guarding Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, when they neared it a year ago: Repent, run or die.

Obama approves up to 450 additional military personnel for Iraq Posted: 10 Jun 2015 09:31 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has approved a plan to deploy up to 450 additional military personnel to a base in Iraq's Anbar province to train and advise Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants, the White House said on Wednesday. Obama also ordered "the expedited delivery of essential equipment and materiel" to Iraqi forces, including Peshmerga and tribal fighters operating under Iraqi command, the White House said in a statement. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Caught in the Crossfire With ISIS: One Family’s War Without End Posted: 10 Jun 2015 09:30 AM PDT On the night of April 22, 2015, the Hadid family was preparing for another ordinary night in war-torn Iraq. For the U.S. and its allies, retaking Mosul, considered Iraq's "second city," is essential to the well-being of more than 500,000 residents who could be killed if ISIS breached the Mosul Dam and flooded areas along the Tigris River. President Obama told reporters in August of 2014, "If that dam was breached, it could have proven catastrophic." The American assessment went so far as to say that the capture of the area put ISIS in control of a weapon of mass destruction.

Obama authorizes sending up to 450 more troops to Iraq to train Iraqi troops in Anbar province Posted: 10 Jun 2015 09:19 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama authorizes sending up to 450 more troops to Iraq to train Iraqi troops in Anbar province.

Thousands flee into Turkey from Syria as Kurds fight Islamic state Posted: 10 Jun 2015 09:08 AM PDT By Osman Orsal and Dasha Afanasieva AKCAKALE, Turkey/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Thousands of people fled from Syria into Turkey on Wednesday as moderate rebels and Kurdish forces fought Islamic State insurgents holding the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad. A Reuters photographer at the scene said the refugees had entered Turkey through a makeshift border crossing overseen by Turkish gendarmerie officers, and that many of them were women and children. The northeastern corner of Syria is important to the radical Islamist group because it links areas under Islamic State control in Syria and Iraq.

US blacklists 'key Hezbollah support network' Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:58 AM PDT The Treasury placed asset freezes and restrictions for doing business on real estate businessman Adham Tabaja and his Al-Inmaa group of companies, Kassem Hejeij and Husayn Ali Faour, and the company he manages, Car Care Center. It said Tabaja is a member of Hezbollah, which is officially labeled a terrorist organization by Washington, and that Al-Inmaa is used by Hezbollah for investment and holding properties.

French army chief urges more strikes on IS command centres Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:53 AM PDT The US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State group needs to target the jihadists' command centres, but this is easier said than done, French army chief Denis Mercier said Wednesday. "It is exactly the same problem in Iraq today. France has ruled out joining air strikes against IS in Syria until a credible political transition has taken place in Damascus.

Islamic State clashes with rivals in eastern Libya, 20 dead Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:25 AM PDT At least 20 fighters were killed in clashes in eastern Libya between Islamic State and another Islamist force that later declared jihad against its hardline rival, residents and medical sources said on Wednesday. Forces loyal to the official government later sent an air strike against suspected Islamic State positions in Derna, said Nasser al-Hassi, spokesman for Benghazi's air base. Fighting erupted in the city of Derna after a leader in the Islamist umbrella group Majlis al-Shura was killed, apparently for refusing to swear allegiance to Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to residents.

History of the Islamic State group 1 year after Mosul seized Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:24 AM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Iraq on Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Islamic State group taking control of Mosul, its second-largest city, amid a lightning offensive that saw the militants seize a third of the country.

U.S., allies target Islamic State in Iraq with 16 air strikes: military Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:23 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and allied forces targeted Islamic State militants in Iraq with 16 air strikes since Tuesday, the U.S. military said, including five near Baiji, site of the country's biggest oil refinery. The strikes near Baiji hit four Islamic State tactical units, destroyed three vehicles, a building and an improvised explosive device (IED), the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Wednesday. Other air strikes in Iraq hit near Tal Afar, Mosul, Kirkuk, Baghdadi, Sinjar and Makhmur, it said. ...

Suicide bomber attacks tourist site in Luxor, four Egyptians wounded Posted: 10 Jun 2015 08:00 AM PDT By Ahmed Tolba and Stephen Kalin CAIRO (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up near Egypt's ancient Karnak temple in the southern city of Luxor on Wednesday, security sources and witnesses said, the second attack in just over one week targeting Egypt's vital tourism industry. Islamist militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers over the past two years in a campaign to topple the Egyptian government, but there have recently been attacks on softer tourist and economic targets. Gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of Egypt's tourism and antiquities police force on a road near the Giza pyramids last week.

Boehner: U.S. plan for more trainers in Iraq a step in 'right direction' Posted: 10 Jun 2015 07:49 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday a new U.S. plan to send additional personnel to train Iraqi forces was a "step in the right direction" but not a sufficient strategy to defeat Islamic State militants. "It's clear that our training mission alone has not been enough," Boehner said. The plan would expand the 3,100-person U.S. contingent of trainers and advisers in Iraq and would involve opening a new military base there. (Reporting by David Lawder; Writing by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Bombs kill eight people around Baghdad, coalition targets Islamic State Posted: 10 Jun 2015 07:45 AM PDT Bomb attacks killed eight people in and around Baghdad on Wednesday as U.S.-led coalition warplanes targeted Islamic State insurgents west of the capital, police and medics said. Iraq is facing multiple security challenges, including Islamic State militants who have seized large parts of the north and west of the country, an oil producer and OPEC member. The country is also gripped by a sectarian conflict mostly between Shi'ites and Sunnis that has been exacerbated by the rise of the ultra-hardline Sunni militants of Islamic State.

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