Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• After G7, Pope and World Cup, Munich takes on refugee crisis
• Austria to revoke measures that let migrants cross from Hungary
• Iraq mounts air operation with F-16s
• Several Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack
• Refugees get hero's welcome in Germany as UN raps Europe
• Islamic State targeted in 21 air strikes by U.S.-led forces
• Iraq puts new F-16s into action against IS jihadists
• Several Turkish soldiers killed in major PKK attack
• Migrants flow west on Hungarian trains; 13,000 reach Austria
• Kurdish militants claim deadly ambush, Turkish jets retaliate
• Thousands of Swedes rally in support of refugees
• Turkish PM slams refugee policy of 'Christian fortress Europe'
• Migrants in the Balkans: Everyone wants to be Syrian
• Outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey Reflects on His Toughest Day on the Job
• Merkel splits conservative bloc with green light to refugees
• Tajik leader says attacks on police staged by Islamic State sympathizers: media
• Tunisia warns of car bomb plot in Tunis, imposes traffic bans: state news
• In rich Gulf Arab states, some feel shamed by refugee response
• French oppose softer rules on refugee status, favor Syria strikes
• Australia to take more Syrian refugees, wants 'security response'
• 60-something socialist is Britain's unlikely political star
• Australia firm on refugee quota, but will admit more Syrians
• Failure of Syria diplomacy exposes enduring divisions over Assad
• The outlook of British Labour favourite Jeremy Corbyn
• Corbyn vs the rest: four-way race to lead UK's Labour Party
• U.S. voices concern to Russia over latest military moves in Syria
• After Humvee, US Army to unleash latest beast

After G7, Pope and World Cup, Munich takes on refugee crisis Posted: 06 Sep 2015 04:55 PM PDT By Georgina Prodhan and Irene Preisinger MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Munich has cranked up a formidable administrative machine to meet a tidal wave of refugees, taking in 18,000 exhausted human souls at its central station and getting most of them to shelter this weekend while still keeping the trains running on time. "It's getting tight," Christoph Hillenbrand, president of the government of Upper Bavaria, told reporters at the station, where almost 11,000 new migrants arrived on Sunday on top of 6,800 who came on Saturday.

Austria to revoke measures that let migrants cross from Hungary Posted: 06 Sep 2015 04:55 PM PDT By Michael Shields and Irene Preisinger VIENNA/MUNICH (Reuters) - Austria said on Sunday it planned to end emergency measures that have allowed thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary into Austria and Germany since Saturday morning. Austria had suspended its random border checks after photographs of a Syrian toddler lying dead on a Turkish beach showed Europeans the horror faced by those desperate enough to travel illegally into the heart of Europe, which is deeply divided over how to cope. After 71 people suffocated in the back of a truck abandoned on an Austrian highway en route from Hungary, and as thousands headed from Budapest toward Austria on foot, Vienna had agreed with Germany to waive rules requiring refugees to register an asylum claim in the first EU country they reach.

Iraq mounts air operation with F-16s Posted: 06 Sep 2015 04:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Iraq's air force has gone after the Islamic State group for the first time using F-16 fighter planes bought from the U.S.

Several Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack Posted: 06 Sep 2015 04:14 PM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Kurdish rebels attacked two military vehicles in southeast Turkey, the president said Sunday and suggested that several Turkish soldiers were killed in the assault. The prime minister returned to the capital to chair an emergency security meeting.

Refugees get hero's welcome in Germany as UN raps Europe Posted: 06 Sep 2015 03:47 PM PDT Thousands of exhausted migrants received a hero's welcome as they streamed into Germany on Sunday as the UN criticised the huge disparity in European efforts to help them. As well-wishers turned out en masse at train stations in Munich, Frankfurt and other German cities, the UN's refugee chief said the crisis could be "manageable" if European countries all pulled their weight and agreed on a common approach. Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II has sparked a flurry of diplomatic wrangling, with Turkey reacting furiously to what it called the closed-doors response of "Christian fortress Europe".

Islamic State targeted in 21 air strikes by U.S.-led forces Posted: 06 Sep 2015 03:35 PM PDT The United States and its allies carried out 21 air strikes on Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the Command Joint Task Force said in a statement on Sunday. Iraq also conducted its first air operation against Islamic State using F-16 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said in a separate statement. Iraq took delivery of four of the fighter jets from the United States in July after much delay, as Iraqi authorities announced the start of a military operation to drive Islamic State forces from Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Iraq puts new F-16s into action against IS jihadists Posted: 06 Sep 2015 03:20 PM PDT Iraq has put F-16 warplanes acquired from the United States into action against the Islamic State group for the first time, the commander of the air force said Sunday. "Fifteen air strikes were carried out in the past four days," Staff Lieutenant General Anwar Hama Amin told AFP following a news conference in Baghdad. Amin told the news conference that the F-16 strikes had taken place in Salaheddin and Kirkuk provinces, north of Baghdad.

Several Turkish soldiers killed in major PKK attack Posted: 06 Sep 2015 03:18 PM PDT Several Turkish soldiers were killed and others wounded on Sunday in a major attack in southeastern Hakkari province carried out by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, official media said. There was no immediate official casualty toll but the military immediately scrambled warplanes to strike PKK targets in southeast Turkey, marking a further intensification in the latest flare-up of the decades-long conflict. In a sign of the gravity of the attack, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu broke off a trip to Konya to watch a national football game and summoned an emergency security meeting in Ankara, the official Anatolia agency said.

Migrants flow west on Hungarian trains; 13,000 reach Austria Posted: 06 Sep 2015 01:44 PM PDT HEGYESHALOM, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian police stood by as thousands of migrants hopped cross-border trains Sunday into Austria, taking advantage of Hungary's surprise decision to stop screening international train travelers for travel visas, a get-tough measure that the country had launched only days before to block their path to asylum in Western Europe.

Kurdish militants claim deadly ambush, Turkish jets retaliate Posted: 06 Sep 2015 01:43 PM PDT By Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay ANKARA (Reuters) - Kurdish militants said on Sunday they had killed 15 soldiers in an attack on an army convoy in southeast Turkey, and a security source said the military responded with air strikes. In a statement posted online, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said its guerrillas had ambushed the convoy of armored vehicles in Yuksekova district, in what could be the bloodiest assault since the collapse of a ceasefire in July. "An attack from several sides left 15 soldiers dead, and a large number of weapons were seized in the action," the statement read.

Thousands of Swedes rally in support of refugees Posted: 06 Sep 2015 11:47 AM PDT Thousands of Swedes rallied in support of refugees on a square in the capital on Sunday, and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told them it was time for other countries to do more to help tackle Europe's migration crisis. Sweden has a decades-long record of welcoming refugees from Chile in the 70s, the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s and the Yugoslav wars in the 90s. In the current crisis, it has received more asylum seekers per capita than any other nation in Europe.

Turkish PM slams refugee policy of 'Christian fortress Europe' Posted: 06 Sep 2015 11:13 AM PDT Turkey had taken more than two million people alone from war-torn Syria and Iraq, creating "a buffer zone between the chaos and Europe," Davutoglu wrote for Monday's edition of Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. There seemed to be the "convenient reflex" to load the refugee problems on the shoulders of Turkey and to build a "Christian fortress Europe," he wrote. Such an approach contradicted European values, and Turkey as an EU candidate nation could not imagine it had the support of majority of Europeans, wrote the prime minister.

Migrants in the Balkans: Everyone wants to be Syrian Posted: 06 Sep 2015 10:26 AM PDT HAJDUKOVO, Serbia (AP) — A Pakistani identity card in the bushes, a Bangladeshi one in a cornfield. A torn Iraqi driver's license bearing the photo of a man with a Saddam-style mustache, another one with a scarfed woman displaying a shy smile.

Outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey Reflects on His Toughest Day on the Job Posted: 06 Sep 2015 10:25 AM PDT Gen. Martin Dempsey has seen it all in his four years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from the devastation in Iraq and Syria to today's refugee crisis in Europe. But he said the toughest day in his military career was when he stood at Dover Air Force Base and met the body of one of his son's West Point classmates who had been killed while serving in Afghanistan. "A young man named Tom Kennedy.

Merkel splits conservative bloc with green light to refugees Posted: 06 Sep 2015 09:55 AM PDT By Michael Nienaber BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary to enter Germany caused a rift in her conservative bloc on Sunday when her Bavarian allies accused her of sending a "totally wrong signal" to the rest of Europe. The dispute broke out after Austria and Germany agreed to temporarily open their borders to thousands of mostly Syrian refugees in Hungary, whose right-wing government was unwilling and unable to cope with the influx. Germany expects a record influx of 800,000 migrants and refugees this year, by far the most in the European Union.

Tajik leader says attacks on police staged by Islamic State sympathizers: media Posted: 06 Sep 2015 09:29 AM PDT Tajikistan's leader said on Sunday attacks on police had been staged by militants sharing the views of Islamic State and aiming to undermine his rule of the Muslim nation, local media reported. Nine policemen were killed in gun attacks in the capital Dushanbe and the nearby city of Vahdat on Friday, police said. According to police, the insurgents, led by a sacked deputy defense minister, General Abdukhalim Nazarzoda, then fled to a gorge, where they were surrounded by security forces.

Tunisia warns of car bomb plot in Tunis, imposes traffic bans: state news Posted: 06 Sep 2015 08:43 AM PDT Armed Islamists also often carry out attacks on the armed forces in remote areas in Tunisia but have not previously attempted mass killings with car bombs. An Interior Ministry source told TAP that a potential assault involving car bombs and attackers with bomb belts had meant to target strategic points in the capital, without giving further details. "Orders have been given to intensify patrols and searches by the police and the army in certain parts of the capital and the suburban neighborhoods," TAP said, citing the Interior Ministry source.

In rich Gulf Arab states, some feel shamed by refugee response Posted: 06 Sep 2015 07:02 AM PDT By Noah Browning and Yara Bayoumy DUBAI (Reuters) - When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, fellow Gulf states raced to shelter thousands of displaced Kuwaitis. Fast forward 25 years, and the homeless from Syria's nearby war have found scant refuge in the Arab world's richest states. For critics of the Gulf's affluent monarchies the contrast is profoundly unflattering, especially as several are backers of the combatants in Syria's conflict, so must, they argue, shoulder a special responsibility for its consequences.

French oppose softer rules on refugee status, favor Syria strikes Posted: 06 Sep 2015 06:19 AM PDT A majority of French people are against softening rules to access refugee status, a poll showed on Sunday even as thousands poured to the streets to show their solidarity with migrants seeking asylum in Europe. Thirty-three percent thought France was less hospitable to war refugees than Germany, which opened its door to several hundred thousands of migrants in the last months, while 44 percent thought they are on the same line. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition is expected to agree on a series of measures on Sunday, including cutting red tape to facilitate the construction of asylum shelters, increasing funds for federal states and towns, and speeding up asylum procedures.

Australia to take more Syrian refugees, wants 'security response' Posted: 06 Sep 2015 04:32 AM PDT By Morag MacKinnon PERTH (Reuters) - Australia will accept more refugees from camps bordering Syria and Iraq and "is open" to providing more financial assistance, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Sunday, while adding that a "strong security response" was needed for the region. The Australian government is due to make a decision within the week on whether to join air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria, having been part of the operation in Iraq since last year. "It is important that there be a humanitarian response, but it's important that there be a strong security response as well," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

60-something socialist is Britain's unlikely political star Posted: 06 Sep 2015 02:48 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — Britain's surprising new political star is a rumpled 66-year-old with a set of socialist ideas many thought had faded with the Cold War.

Australia firm on refugee quota, but will admit more Syrians Posted: 06 Sep 2015 02:42 AM PDT Australian leader Tony Abbott said Sunday the government would welcome a higher portion of Syrian refugees amid Europe's humanitarian crisis, but would not increase its annual refugee intake. Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of people seeking safe-havens, many from war-torn Syria, with the human cost of the crisis reflected in images of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi whose body washed up on a Turkish beach. Canberra takes a hardline stance against asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat, with Abbott saying Friday that tough policies were needed to stop drownings at sea.

Failure of Syria diplomacy exposes enduring divisions over Assad Posted: 06 Sep 2015 01:09 AM PDT As a consequence, Syria looks set for ever greater fragmentation into a patchwork of territories, one of them the diminishing Damascus-based state where Assad appears confident of survival with backing from his Russian and Iranian allies. While some Western officials say even Assad's allies now recognize he cannot win back and stabilize Syria, Moscow is setting out its case for supporting him in ever more forthright terms. Russia's foreign minister in recent days reiterated the Russian view that Assad is a legitimate leader, slammed the U.S. position to the contrary as "counterproductive", and likened the west's approach to Syria to its failures in Iraq and Libya.

The outlook of British Labour favourite Jeremy Corbyn Posted: 06 Sep 2015 12:19 AM PDT The most left-wing of all the candidates, Jeremy Corbyn is odds on to become the next leader of Britain's Labour Party, causing concern about ideological divisions to come. Corbyn is steadfastly opposed to the austerity programme of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, being more aligned with Greece's radical left-wing Syriza party. Leadership rivals Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper both criticised his proposals to print money in order to pay for his economic plans, dubbed "Corbynomics" by the press, saying they were "lacking credibility" and would cause inflation.

Corbyn vs the rest: four-way race to lead UK's Labour Party Posted: 06 Sep 2015 12:18 AM PDT From the leftist favourite Jeremy Corbyn to the more centrist Liz Kendall, four candidates are vying for the top spot in the race to lead Britain's main opposition Labour Party. Corbyn's improbable rise has overshadowed two early favourites, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, although both have performed well in television debates. -- JEREMY CORBYN: The 66-year-old bearded socialist has championed human rights and policies to help the poor, often voting against his party's leadership in a parliamentary career dating back to 1983.

U.S. voices concern to Russia over latest military moves in Syria Posted: 05 Sep 2015 07:38 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart on Saturday the United States was deeply concerned about reports that Moscow was moving toward a major military build-up in Syria widely seen as aimed at bolstering President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. authorities have detected "worrisome preparatory steps," including transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to a Syrian airfield, that could signal that Russia is readying deployment of heavy military assets there, a senior U.S. official told Reuters. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow's exact intentions remained unclear but that Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to leave no doubt of the U.S. position.

After Humvee, US Army to unleash latest beast Posted: 05 Sep 2015 07:18 PM PDT First there was the Jeep, then came the Humvee. Now the US military has a new all-purpose vehicle that's destined to become another emblem of American fighting power: the JLTV. Granted, the name is not as catchy as its predecessors, but the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle signals a technological leap forward that the military hopes will protect troops for decades to come.

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