Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Gunman kills 39 at Tunisian beachside hotel, Islamic State claims attack
• Iraqi military pilot found dead at F-16 crash site in Arizona
• U.N. council told sound of helicopters has Syrians 'watching for death'
• Dozens killed in grisly attacks during Ramadan
• Tunisia beach resort massacre kills 39
• It's Do-or-Die Time in the Greek Debt Crisis
• IS affiliate hits Shiite mosque in Kuwait, killing 27 people
• Coordinated or not, attacks show Islamic State's growing reach
• What Ramadan has to do with trio of terrorist attacks
• Delivery man beheads boss in suspected Islamist attack on French gas site
• Amid new IS offensive, scores die in Syrian town
• US owners of factory in French attack boost security worldwide
• Growing Alarm Over Obama’s Iran Deal
• One decapitated in 'terrorist' attack on France gas factory
• Why Islamic State bombing in Kuwait was an attack on tolerance
• Islamic State kills at least 145 civilians in Syria's Kobani
• O'Malley: Islamic State a result of 'mindless rush to war'
• Iraq confirms its pilot died in Arizona military plane crash
• U.S. allies target Islamic State with 28 air strikes in Syria, Iraq
• Primakov, ex-PM 'who turned around Russia,' dies aged 85
• Look at Shiite mosque attacks claimed by upstart IS branch
• Iraq Kurds expel some suspected Islamic State supporters from villages
• Russian spymaster-statesman Primakov dies at 85
• France points to Islamist terrorism in deadly attack on gas factory
• Gun attack kills at least 27 at Tunisian beachside hotel
• Vatican signs first treaty with 'State of Palestine', Israel angered
• Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov dies at 85
• Friend or foe? US lines up with Shiite militias and former Sunni rebels in Iraq
• Saudi seeks nuclear deals, alliances to counter Iran
• Iraqi F-16 pilot killed in crash on US training mission
• Football: UAE rubber-stamped as Asian Cup hosts
• Islamic State attack in northeast Syria reported to displace 60,000: U.N.
• Australian striker Josh Kennedy quits over injuries
• Anthropologist reveals FGM practised in western, southern Iran
• UAE rubber-stamped as 2019 Asian Cup hosts

Gunman kills 39 at Tunisian beachside hotel, Islamic State claims attack Posted: 26 Jun 2015 04:50 PM PDT By Tarek Amara SOUSSE, Tunisia (Reuters) - A gunman disguised as a tourist opened fire at a Tunisian hotel on Friday with a rifle he had hidden in an umbrella, killing 39 people including Britons, Germans and Belgians as they lounged at the beach in an attack claimed by Islamic State. Terrified tourists ran for cover after the gunfire and an explosion erupted at the Imperial Marhaba in Sousse, 140 km (90 miles) south of the capital Tunis, before police shot the gunman dead, witnesses and security officials said. "He started on the beach and went to the lobby, killing in cold blood." The attack took place during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, on a day in which a decapitated body daubed with Arabic writing was found in France, a suicide bomber killed two dozen people at a mosque in Kuwait and at least 145 civilians were reported killed by Islamic State militants in northern Syria.

Iraqi military pilot found dead at F-16 crash site in Arizona Posted: 26 Jun 2015 04:10 PM PDT The body of an Iraqi general killed when his military fighter jet crashed into the Arizona desert during a night training mission has been found near the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. officials said on Friday. Search crews recovered the body of Brigadier General Rasid Mohammed Sadiq Hasan from the crash site about five miles (eight km) east of Douglas Municipal Airport, U.S. and Iraqi government officials said. Hasan was part of a Tucson-based training program for pilots from nine nations that is run by the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing.

U.N. council told sound of helicopters has Syrians 'watching for death' Posted: 26 Jun 2015 03:59 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The sound of whirring helicopter blades fills Syrians with fear that "hell and fire" is about fall in a barrel bomb, a rescue worker told the United Nations Security Council on Friday as pressure mounts for the body to take action to stop civilian killings in Syria. "This sound means watching for death," said Raed Saleh, head of the Syrian Civil Defence, an organization of rescue workers known as white helmets who rush to the site of bomb and mortar attacks to dig through rubble for survivors. In the past week U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, 71 U.N. states and some 80 aid and human rights groups have urged the Security Council to act on the killing of civilians.

Dozens killed in grisly attacks during Ramadan Posted: 26 Jun 2015 03:56 PM PDT From a mass shooting at a Tunisian beach resort to a severed head displayed in a French town, a wave of grisly attacks Friday shocked the world days after the Islamic State group urged supporters to carry out Ramadan attacks. There was no apparent link between the attacks, but IS claimed a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait in which 25 people were killed, and Islamist flags were found at the site of the French attack. The IS jihadists were also accused by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of killing 146 civilians in an offensive on the Kurdish town of Kobane.

Tunisia beach resort massacre kills 39 Posted: 26 Jun 2015 03:40 PM PDT A man pulled a gun hidden inside a beach umbrella and opened fire at a packed holiday resort Friday, massacring 39 people in Tunisia's worst attack in recent history. The carnage at the popular Mediterranean resort of Port el Kantaoui came the same day a suicide bomber killed 27 people at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait and a suspected Islamist attacked a factory in France. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Tunisia attack, but the Islamic State group, which Monday marks the first anniversary of its "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria, said it bombed the Kuwait mosque.

It's Do-or-Die Time in the Greek Debt Crisis Posted: 26 Jun 2015 02:58 PM PDT Mercifully, the long simmering crisis in Greece — which first started in early 2010 as Athens revealed the full extent of its indebtedness — is finally nearing what appears to be a conclusion. Threats are being passed around now, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that a deal needs to be done by the time markets open on Monday. Officials at the European Central Bank said they are revaluating their support of beleaguered Greek banks.

IS affiliate hits Shiite mosque in Kuwait, killing 27 people Posted: 26 Jun 2015 02:07 PM PDT KUWAIT CITY (AP) — A suicide bomber purportedly from an Islamic State affiliate unleashed the first terrorist attack in Kuwait in more than two decades on Friday, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores more in a bombing that targeted Shiite worshippers after midday prayers.

Coordinated or not, attacks show Islamic State's growing reach Posted: 26 Jun 2015 02:02 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball and Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) - The attacks came one after the other in the space of a few hours. In France, a decapitated body covered in Arabic writing was found after an attacker rammed his car into a gas container, triggering an explosion. In Kuwait, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a packed Shi'ite mosque during Friday prayers, killing more than two dozen.

What Ramadan has to do with trio of terrorist attacks Posted: 26 Jun 2015 01:55 PM PDT The deadly jihadist attacks Friday from Europe to North Africa and the Middle East may not have been coordinated acts – but they very likely were all timed to have maximum impact during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. While most Muslims observe Ramadan as a period of fasting and reflection, radical Islamists and the Islamic State in particular have focused on Ramadan as a period of intensified jihad, or holy war, when Sunni Muslims should lash out at both nonbelievers and Shiite Muslims. Recommended: Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference?

Delivery man beheads boss in suspected Islamist attack on French gas site Posted: 26 Jun 2015 01:23 PM PDT By Catherine Lagrange and Michel Rose SAINT-QUENTIN FALLAVIER, France (Reuters) - A delivery man with known Islamist connections beheaded his boss and left the body, daubed with Arabic writing, at the site of a U.S.-owned gas factory in southeast France before trying to blow up the complex. "The head was discovered hanging on the factory's wire fence, framed by two flags that included references to the shahada, or (Muslim) profession of faith," Paris public prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference. France is still coming to terms with attacks by Islamist gunmen who killed 17 people in January at a satirical weekly newspaper and a Jewish food store.

Amid new IS offensive, scores die in Syrian town Posted: 26 Jun 2015 01:17 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting raged into the night Friday between Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants in the Syrian border town of Kobani, as reports mounted that at least 120 civilians, including women and children, have been killed by the extremist group since it launched a new offensive on the strategic town the previous day.

US owners of factory in French attack boost security worldwide Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:32 PM PDT The US owners of the industrial gas factory attacked Friday in France said they had boosted security at their locations around the world as a precaution. A suspected Islamist launched a daylight raid on the facility, pinning a severed head to the gates in what French President Francois Hollande called a "terrorist" attack. "Security has been increased at locations around the world as a precautionary measure," Air Products said in a statement.

Growing Alarm Over Obama’s Iran Deal Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:16 PM PDT As Secretary of State John F. Kerry hobbles off to Vienna on crutches this weekend for a final round of talks with Iran over a pact to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, the administration is coming under growing pressure to pull back from the deal. With a June 30 deadline looming for a final agreement requiring Iran to shelve development of a nuclear weapon for more than a decade in return for the U.S. and other nations lifting economic sanctions against it, the negotiators are close to an historic agreement. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are among politicians so eager to scuttle the talks that they recently proposed legislation that would extend by 10 years a 1996 Iran sanctions law that includes nuclear-related provisions.

One decapitated in 'terrorist' attack on France gas factory Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:11 PM PDT Saint-Quentin-Fallavier (France) (AFP) - A suspected Islamist pinned the severed head of his boss to the gates of a US-owned gas factory in France Friday in what President Francois Hollande called a "terrorist" attack. The alleged assailant, identified as 35-year-old married father-of-three Yassin Salhi, also smashed his vehicle into the Air Products factory, causing an explosion. The grisly attack near France's second city of Lyon came on an especially bloody day worldwide, with at least 37 gunned down at a beach resort in Tunisia and 25 killed in a suicide bombing in Kuwait claimed by Islamic State extremists.

Why Islamic State bombing in Kuwait was an attack on tolerance Posted: 26 Jun 2015 11:44 AM PDT As of Friday afternoon, the Islamic State had claimed responsibility for only one of the three terrorist attacks that struck the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe nearly simultaneously. While it is possible – perhaps even likely – that the Islamic State inspired the terrorists who carried out a massacre of dozens of tourists on a Tunisian beach and beheaded a worker outside Lyon, France, the organization itself says it directly planned the suicide bombing that killed at least 25 in a Shiite mosque in Kuwait. In the past, Kuwait has been held up as a model for how to manage the sectarian Sunni-Shiite tensions that are seen as the primary fault line of violence in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia on the Sunni side and Iran on the Shiite side.

Islamic State kills at least 145 civilians in Syria's Kobani Posted: 26 Jun 2015 09:46 AM PDT By Sylvia Westall and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters killed at least 145 civilians in an attack on the Syrian town of Kobani and a nearby village, in what a monitoring group described on Friday as one of the worst massacres carried out by the hardline group in Syria. Islamic State pressed a separate assault to capture government-held parts of the northeastern city of Hasaka, blowing up a security building and triggering a government appeal for all residents to take up arms. The United Nations said 60,000 people were reported to have fled the attack.

O'Malley: Islamic State a result of 'mindless rush to war' Posted: 26 Jun 2015 09:32 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley said Friday the rise of the Islamic State group was an unintended consequence of a "mindless rush to war" in Iraq and the U.S. must avoid "mission creep" there now.

Iraq confirms its pilot died in Arizona military plane crash Posted: 26 Jun 2015 09:31 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The body of an Iraqi pilot whose military plane crashed during a training mission in the United States has been found at the crash site, Iraq's Defense Ministry said on Friday, as violence continues to strike around the capital, Baghdad.

U.S. allies target Islamic State with 28 air strikes in Syria, Iraq Posted: 26 Jun 2015 09:22 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 28 air strikes targeting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on Thursday, including 10 near the Syrian border town of Kobani, the U.S. military said. The strikes near Kobani along the border with Turkey hit eight units of Islamic State fighters as well as several vehicles, fighting positions and staging areas used by the militant group, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Friday. ...

Primakov, ex-PM 'who turned around Russia,' dies aged 85 Posted: 26 Jun 2015 08:49 AM PDT Russia's former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, famed for turning around his US-bound plane over the Atlantic upon learning of NATO's bombing of Serbia in 1999, has died aged 85, the Kremlin said on Friday. A former prime minister, foreign minister and intelligence chief, he forcefully stood up for Russia's interests, opposed NATO's eastward expansion and locked horns with Washington during the Kosovo crisis in 1999. Along with Mikhail Gorbachev, Primakov was considered one of the last of the Soviet-era political titans, and his mid-flight turnaround is seen as a watershed moment in Russia's foreign policy after Moscow's rapprochement with Washington following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Look at Shiite mosque attacks claimed by upstart IS branch Posted: 26 Jun 2015 08:16 AM PDT An Islamic State affiliate that calls itself Najd Province said it was behind a deadly bombing at a Shiite mosque on Friday in Kuwait City, the third in a string of attacks that the previously unknown group has claimed responsibility for in wealthy Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Iraq Kurds expel some suspected Islamic State supporters from villages Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:31 AM PDT By Isabel Coles ERBIL (Reuters) - The four men helped each other clamber up the far side of a trench into the no-man's land between frontlines in northern Iraq, fearing what lay ahead but unable to turn back.   Moving forward under a pounding sun, they carefully navigated around landmines until reaching the border of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate hours later, according to an account of the journey related by one of the men, Abu Muhannad.They are among dozens - some Arabs in the area say hundreds - of mainly Arab Sunnis who have been banished from areas under Kurdish control in recent months as suspected Islamic State sympathizers, a measure some Arabs say is creating dangerous ethnic polarization in areas recaptured from the insurgents. "They (the Kurds) drove us to the frontline and said go to Daesh," Abu Muhannad said by telephone, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, also known in English as ISIS or ISIL.

Russian spymaster-statesman Primakov dies at 85 Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:29 AM PDT By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who helped restore stability after an economic crash in 1998 and shifted the focus of foreign policy away from the West, has died at the age of 85 after a long illness. A former Soviet Communist apparatchik, Primakov went on to become a spymaster and foreign minister who was seen abroad as a hawk but was revered in Russia as a statesman and crisis manager. For many Russians, the incident came to symbolize Primakov's refusal to kow-tow to the West.

France points to Islamist terrorism in deadly attack on gas factory Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:15 AM PDT French officials have launched a terrorism investigation after an attack on a gas factory in southeastern France this morning left one dead and several wounded. The assault comes nearly six months after Islamist gunmen shot their way into the offices of a satirical newspaper in Paris, increasing concerns over terrorism on French soil. Friday's incident occurred around 10 a.m., when reports indicate that two suspects allegedly rammed their way into the US-owned Air Products gas factory outside of Lyon, in southeastern France, reports Agence France-Presse.

Gun attack kills at least 27 at Tunisian beachside hotel Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:10 AM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - At least 27 people, including foreign tourists, were killed when at least one gunman opened fire on a Tunisian beachside hotel in the popular resort of Sousse on Friday, an interior ministry spokesman said. Police were still clearing the area around the Imperial Marhaba hotel and the body of one gunman lay at the scene with a Kalashnikov assault rifle after he was shot in an exchange of gunfire, a security source at the scene said. It was the second major attack in the North African country this year, and took place during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Vatican signs first treaty with 'State of Palestine', Israel angered Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:51 AM PDT By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican signed its first treaty with the "State of Palestine" on Friday, calling for "courageous decisions" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and backing a two-state solution. The treaty, which made official the Vatican's de facto recognition of Palestine since 2012, angered Israel, which called it "a hasty step (that) damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement". Israel also said it could have implications on its future diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov dies at 85 Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:11 AM PDT MOSCOW (AP) — Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, whose career included desperate but unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to avert wars in Iraq and NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, has died. He was 85.

Friend or foe? US lines up with Shiite militias and former Sunni rebels in Iraq Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:09 AM PDT On Monday, Bloomberg carried a story citing two unnamed Obama "administration officials" that asserts that US troops are sharing a base in Iraq's Anbar province with two Shiite militias. Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters this week that a US condition for sending 450 soldiers to Taqaddum Air Base in Anbar – midway between Islamic State-controlled Fallujah and Ramadi – was the removal of most of the Shiite militias and any Iranian officers or soldiers stationed there. Recommended: Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference?

Saudi seeks nuclear deals, alliances to counter Iran Posted: 26 Jun 2015 04:45 AM PDT Saudi Arabia is pursuing its own nuclear projects and building alliances to counter Iran, which is days away from a potential atomic deal Riyadh fears could further destabilise the region. The United States and other major powers will hold weekend talks with Iran in Vienna, aiming to finalise by Tuesday an agreement to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Sunni-dominated Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, have concerns that Shiite Iran, Riyadh's regional rival, could still be able to develop a weapon under the emerging deal to end 12 years of nuclear tensions.

Iraqi F-16 pilot killed in crash on US training mission Posted: 26 Jun 2015 04:17 AM PDT Iraqi pilot Rasid Mohammed Sadiq was killed when his F-16 fighter plane crashed during a training mission in the United States, the Iraqi defence ministry said Friday. Washington agreed to sell 36 F-16s to Iraq, but the purchase has been a source of contention, with Baghdad repeatedly complaining that they have not been delivered quickly enough. Insecurity in Iraq, where the Islamic State group overran major territory last June, has delayed the delivery of the jets, with the first batch being sent to Arizona, where Iraqi pilots have been training.

Football: UAE rubber-stamped as Asian Cup hosts Posted: 26 Jun 2015 02:34 AM PDT The United Arab Emirates were rubber-stamped as hosts for the expanded Asian Cup in 2019 after signing an official agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The UAE previously held the event in 1996 but they will be the first to host 24 teams, up from the 16 who competed in Australia in January. The change was made "in order to give teams from AFC's Member Associations more international exposure and matches, and to help them develop football in their country", an AFC statement said on Friday.

Islamic State attack in northeast Syria reported to displace 60,000: U.N. Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:54 AM PDT An Islamic State attack on the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka is reported to have displaced 60,000 people, the United Nations office in Syria said on Friday, warning that up to 200,000 people may eventually try to flee. Islamic State launched an assault on government-held areas of Hasaka on Thursday, capturing at least one district in the southwest of the city, which lies close to the borders with Turkey and Iraq. Hasaka is divided into zones run separately by the government of President Bashar al-Assad and a Kurdish administration.

Australian striker Josh Kennedy quits over injuries Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:46 AM PDT Towering Australia striker Josh Kennedy has retired from football citing the physical demands of his 15-year playing career, his club Melbourne City said Friday. The 1.94m (six feet four inches) target man scored 17 times in 33 international appearances for Australia, including the goal that took them to the 2014 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iraq. The 32-year-old Kennedy, previously based in Japan, thanked Melbourne City, which is owned by English giants Manchester City.

Anthropologist reveals FGM practised in western, southern Iran Posted: 26 Jun 2015 12:38 AM PDT By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When anthropologist Kameel Ahmady began investigating female genital mutilation in his native Iran he had no idea his own mother and sister had been cut – a reflection of just how shrouded in secrecy the practice is. Ahmady, who was born in Iranian Kurdistan but moved to Britain in his 20s, took global campaigners by surprise this month when he published a study suggesting tens of thousands of Iranian women have undergone FGM. Until now Iran has not been widely recognized as a country affected by FGM - an ancient ritual which is internationally condemned as a serious rights violation.

UAE rubber-stamped as 2019 Asian Cup hosts Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:34 PM PDT The United Arab Emirates were rubber-stamped as hosts for the expanded Asian Cup in 2019 after signing an official agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The UAE previously held the event in 1996 but they will be the first to host 24 teams, up from the 16 who competed in Australia in January. The change was made "in order to give teams from AFC's Member Associations more international exposure and matches, and to help them develop football in their country", an AFC statement said on Friday.

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