Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• The Latest: UN experts say force won't stop migrants
• IS claims blast that wounded 4 near Egypt pyramids
• Pentagon chief expects more anti-IS raids after captives freed
• Carter: Soldier heroically entered Kurdish-IS firefight
• Soldier killed in IS operation 'hard not to be friends with'
• Juncker backs Merkel on refugees ahead of EU mini-summit
• At least 16 dead in blast targeting Shiites in Pakistan: officials
• Can Germany’s EU refugee quotas ease the European migration crisis?
• Report: Pilots in deadly Black Hawk crash disobeyed orders
• U.S. soldier killed in Iraq raid rushed into firefight: Carter
• Kurds say joint raid with U.S. in Iraq aimed to free their fighters
• Soldier Killed in Iraq Raid Belonged to Delta Force
• Pentagon chief expects more raids similar to Iraq rescue
• Defense chief: US soldier killed in Iraq a hero
• Carter: US soldier killed in Iraq went beyond call of duty
• Germany speeds up new measures to deal with refugee influx
• Kerry sees new Syria talks next week, does not rule out Iran role
• US, Russia, Saudi, Turkey mull new Syria transition ideas
• Suicide bomber kills 16 at procession for Shi'ite holiday in Pakistan
• Pentagon identifies US soldier killed in anti-IS raid
• On sacred mourning day, Hezbollah rallies support for Syria fight
• How to Save the Persian Gulf’s Dying Coral Reefs
• Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride Cycles Through the Aloha State
• Obama names new envoy for troubled anti-IS campaign
• Sweden sword attack was 'racist', say police
• UN raises concerns about abuse of women and child migrants
• Obama names new envoy to oversee US-led coalition against IS
• Obama names Brett McGurk as envoy to coalition fighting Islamic State
• National Cycling Event for Injured Service Members Returns to Jacksonville
• Britain says Cyprus military base will not become new migrant route
• Chafee ends his presidential campaign
• Coalition identifies US commando killed in raid in northern Iraq as Joshua L. Wheeler
• Russia, Jordan agree on military coordination on Syria
• Surge in anti-American hostility in Iran is setback for jailed US reporter
• Rotary gives US$40.4 million to end polio worldwide
• Small group of Somali al Shabaab swear allegiance to Islamic State
• U.S. reports 16 more strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria
• Plenty of diplomacy but slim hope for new Middle East peace push
• Lebanese navy stops second migrant boat in a week
• 10 Things to Know for Today

The Latest: UN experts say force won't stop migrants Posted: 23 Oct 2015 04:59 PM PDT BERKASOVO, Serbia (AP) — The latest news as asylum-seekers make their way across Europe by the tens of thousands, fleeing war or seeking a better life. All times local:

IS claims blast that wounded 4 near Egypt pyramids Posted: 23 Oct 2015 04:07 PM PDT Four people were wounded on Friday by a bomb planted at a Cairo intersection near the Pyramids, the interior ministry said, and the Islamic State (IS) group claimed it had planted the device. Separately in Sinai, where the IS group is waging an insurgency, a roadside bombing killed a police officer and wounded three others in the town of El-Arish, the ministry said. The Cairo bomb went off at the Rimaya intersection, close to several hotels and 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile) from the Pyramids, it said.

Pentagon chief expects more anti-IS raids after captives freed Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:55 PM PDT US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday he expected more raids targeting the Islamic State group similar to the mission that freed dozens of captives but left an American commando dead in Iraq. Carter's comments came as President Barack Obama tapped veteran Iraq expert Brett McGurk to coordinate the troubled US-led campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State group, replacing General John Allen, who served in the post for a year. On Thursday, US Special Operations Forces and Kurdish forces stormed an IS-run prison near Hawijah in northern Iraq, freeing some 70 captives who were facing imminent execution.

Carter: Soldier heroically entered Kurdish-IS firefight Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. soldier fatally wounded in a hostage rescue mission in Iraq heroically inserted himself into a firefight to defend Kurdish soldiers, even though the plan called for the Kurds to do the fighting, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday.

Soldier killed in IS operation 'hard not to be friends with' Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:43 PM PDT MULDROW, Okla. (AP) — When Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler was in town, his younger brother would take vacation time to spend with him. Zack Wheeler was absent from work Friday, this time preparing to travel to the East Coast for the return of his brother's body from Iraq.

Juncker backs Merkel on refugees ahead of EU mini-summit Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:38 PM PDT European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker backed Angela Merkel's welcoming stance towards migrants on Friday ahead of a mini-summit of leaders this weekend aimed at tackling record arrivals. Juncker's comments came as Slovenia warned it may build Europe's latest border fence to stem the migration crisis unless it gets more help from the summit. Hostility towards migrants streaming into Europe is mounting, with Germany on Thursday foiling an extremist plot to torch migrant shelters and Swedish police saying a sword attack on a school with many immigrant pupils was motivated by racism.

At least 16 dead in blast targeting Shiites in Pakistan: officials Posted: 23 Oct 2015 02:54 PM PDT At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured in a suspected suicide blast targeting Shiites in the southern Pakistani city of Jacobabad Friday, the top local official said. The attack came with Pakistan on high alert for the mourning days of Ashura, during the holy month of Moharram, a flashpoint for sectarian violence in previous years. "Many injured and bodies were brought to the Civil Hospital," senior police officer Zafar Iqbal told AFP, initially describing the blast as a suicide attack but later saying authorities were still investigating.

Can Germany’s EU refugee quotas ease the European migration crisis? Posted: 23 Oct 2015 02:35 PM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ambitious plans for helping hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees and the Middle Eastern countries hosting them, the Guardian reports. Ms. Merkel is calling on the European Union (EU) to adopt "compulsory and permanent quotas for sharing the distribution" of asylum-seekers. Over half of EU countries are opposed to the plan.

Report: Pilots in deadly Black Hawk crash disobeyed orders Posted: 23 Oct 2015 02:24 PM PDT NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The pilots of a Black Hawk military helicopter that crashed last March, killing all 11 service members aboard, had disobeyed direct orders by flying into worsening weather, according to an investigation report.

U.S. soldier killed in Iraq raid rushed into firefight: Carter Posted: 23 Oct 2015 02:08 PM PDT By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. commando killed in a special operations raid on Thursday in Iraq against Islamic State rushed into a firefight to rescue Kurdish forces, the U.S. defense chief said on Friday. Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, was killed during an overnight mission to rescue hostages held by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, becoming the first American to die in combat in Iraq since 2011.

Kurds say joint raid with U.S. in Iraq aimed to free their fighters Posted: 23 Oct 2015 02:08 PM PDT By Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin ERBIL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Kurdish special forces who raided a compound in northern Iraq were acting on intelligence that Kurdish fighters were being imprisoned there by Islamic State, a source in the Kurdistan Region Security Council said on Friday. Kurdish counter-terrorism forces planned and led the raid which rescued 69 people early on Thursday, supported by U.S. forces, Iraqi Kurdistan's U.S. representative said. One U.S. commando was killed, the first American to die in ground combat with Islamic State militants.

Soldier Killed in Iraq Raid Belonged to Delta Force Posted: 23 Oct 2015 01:25 PM PDT The U.S. Army soldier killed in the raid that freed 70 hostages from an ISIS prison in northern Iraq was a highly-decorated, veteran member of the elite Delta Force, U.S. military sources told ABC News. Master Sergeant Joshua L. Wheeler is the first American combat death in Iraq since American troops returned in mid-2014 to train, advise and assist the Iraqi military to fight ISIS, military officials said. Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, "died Oct. 22, in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, from wounds received by enemy small-arms fire during an operation," the Defense Department said in a statement, which also noted that he was assigned to "Headquarters U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina." He is survived by his wife and four sons, the Army said.

Pentagon chief expects more raids similar to Iraq rescue Posted: 23 Oct 2015 01:12 PM PDT By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed military operation that freed 70 hostages who had been held by Islamic State in Iraq produced a cache of intelligence, and U.S. forces supporting Iraqi troops are likely to undertake more raids in the future, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday. Carter said he decided on the rescue mission after intelligence showed that executions were imminent and mass graves had been dug. "When we find opportunities to do things that will effectively prosecute the campaign we're going to do that ... raids is one of those categories and I suspect that we'll have further opportunities in the future and we're going to avail ourselves of them," Carter said.

Defense chief: US soldier killed in Iraq a hero Posted: 23 Oct 2015 01:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the American soldier killed in the mission that rescued 70 hostages from an Islamic State prison in Iraq was a hero for rushing into a firefight to defend his Kurdish partners — even though the plan called for the Kurds to do the fighting on their own.

Carter: US soldier killed in Iraq went beyond call of duty Posted: 23 Oct 2015 12:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the American soldier killed in the mission that rescued 70 hostages from an Islamic State prison in Iraq was a hero for rushing into a firefight to defend his Kurdish partners — even though the plan called for the Kurds to do the fighting on their own.

Germany speeds up new measures to deal with refugee influx Posted: 23 Oct 2015 12:07 PM PDT Germany is speeding up measures to tackle its refugee crisis, a top government official said on Friday, allowing accelerated deportations to begin as early as next week. The tighter rules aim to speed up asylum and extradition procedures for migrants from southeastern Europe, in order to focus on refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Germany expects a record influx of more than 800,000 migrants this year, by far the most in the European Union.

Kerry sees new Syria talks next week, does not rule out Iran role Posted: 23 Oct 2015 11:49 AM PDT By Arshad Mohammed and Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he expects new talks on Syria to begin as soon as next week, and did not rule out participation by Iran, President Bashar al-Assad's closest ally, which has been kept away from past peace conferences. Along with counterparts from allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Kerry met for two hours on Friday in Vienna with Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of Russia, which has transformed momentum in the 4-year-old Syrian civil war by bombing Assad's enemies.

US, Russia, Saudi, Turkey mull new Syria transition ideas Posted: 23 Oct 2015 11:11 AM PDT VIENNA (AP) — The United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey put forward new ideas Friday to revive a failed push for a political transition in Syria that could end the country's civil war, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday. But they remained deeply divided over the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Suicide bomber kills 16 at procession for Shi'ite holiday in Pakistan Posted: 23 Oct 2015 10:44 AM PDT A suicide bomber killed 16 people in Pakistan on Friday at a procession in Sindh province for the Shi'ite Muslim holiday of Ashura, police said. No one immediately took responsibility for Friday's bombing, but a Sunni Muslim militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, had claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack and threatened more violence against Shi'ites. Fears of sectarian violence have been heightened this year since Taliban splinter groups pledged allegiance to Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant group based in Syria and Iraq that has repeatedly attacked Shi'ites.

Pentagon identifies US soldier killed in anti-IS raid Posted: 23 Oct 2015 10:19 AM PDT The Pentagon on Friday identified the US serviceman killed during a hostage rescue mission in Iraq as Joshua Wheeler, the first American soldier to die there since 2011. Wheeler, 39, a master sergeant from Oklahoma, was killed Thursday during an anti-Islamic State military raid near Hawijah, Iraq. The Pentagon said Wheeler lost his life during an operation involving US special forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters raid that freed some 70 hostages.

On sacred mourning day, Hezbollah rallies support for Syria fight Posted: 23 Oct 2015 10:11 AM PDT By John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) - In a large hangar in southern Beirut, giant banners of Hezbollah leaders killed over the years watch over a packed crowd of black-clad supporters who listen to speeches by clerics marking Ashura, the sacred day of mourning for Shi'ite Muslims. Earlier this month, Hezbollah lost a senior commander in Syria, the highest-profile battle death for the group since Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite armed movement joined the war next door, fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. This year, the movement has used the emotionally-charged Ashura, which commemorates the death in battle of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein, to rally support for its involvement in Syria, where intensified fighting has seen it and Shi'ite backer Iran pay in blood.

How to Save the Persian Gulf’s Dying Coral Reefs Posted: 23 Oct 2015 10:01 AM PDT If you want to see the rapid and disastrous effects of ignoring environmental science, it would be hard to find a more discouraging example than the Persian Gulf. Salt marshes, salt flats, sea grass beds, mangrove swamps, and rich coral reefs have rapidly vanished, along with the fisheries they supported. An estimated 70 percent of the coral reefs that once flourished across an area of almost 1,500 square miles are dead, and another 15 percent are in critical condition.

Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride Cycles Through the Aloha State Posted: 23 Oct 2015 10:00 AM PDT KAPOLEI, Hawaii, Oct. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride® presented by USAA® will arrive on the island of Oahu November 5 for a three-day cycling event that helps injured service members overcome physical, mental, and emotional wounds. Injured veterans from across the country will have the opportunity to see Oahu's world famous beaches and visit the historic site of Pearl Harbor. "We know that visiting the site of Pearl Harbor will impact the wounded veterans in an emotional way, but we are excited that the riders will be able to connect with such a historical site while overlooking the beauty of Hawaii," said Dan Schnock, director of Soldier Ride.

Obama names new envoy for troubled anti-IS campaign Posted: 23 Oct 2015 09:47 AM PDT President Barack Obama on Friday tapped veteran Iraq expert Brett McGurk to coordinate the troubled US campaign against the Islamic State group, the White House said. Allen played a key role in trying to hold together the disparate 65-member coalition who have vowed to roll back Islamic State's territorial gains. The bloc has sometimes struggled, with the White House reluctant to dramatically gear up US involvement and key members of the coalition holding divergent aims and differing degrees of commitment.

Sweden sword attack was 'racist', say police Posted: 23 Oct 2015 09:36 AM PDT Trollhättan (Sweden) (AFP) - A sword-wielding masked man who killed two people at a Swedish school with many immigrant pupils was motivated by racism, police said Friday, as hostility towards refugees mounts across Europe. "How can a young man plan such a horrific attack?

UN raises concerns about abuse of women and child migrants Posted: 23 Oct 2015 09:30 AM PDT GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency sounded the alarm Friday about vulnerable women and children who are among hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants pouring into southeast Europe, saying it has received reports that some are being forced into sex to pay their way onward.

Obama names new envoy to oversee US-led coalition against IS Posted: 23 Oct 2015 09:18 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has named Brett McGurk as the new official in charge of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

Obama names Brett McGurk as envoy to coalition fighting Islamic State Posted: 23 Oct 2015 08:48 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday appointed Brett McGurk as his new envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, the White House said. McGurk, a long-time White House adviser on Iraq, has been the deputy to General John Allen, who led the global coalition's campaign against Islamic State since its inception last year. Allen, who served in the U.S. Marines for more than 37 years, is retiring from public service next month, the White House said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Megan Cassella; Editing by Susan Heavey)

National Cycling Event for Injured Service Members Returns to Jacksonville Posted: 23 Oct 2015 08:00 AM PDT JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jacksonville-based Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride® presented by USAA® offers injured veterans from across the country a chance to maximize rehabilitation, reduce stress, and combat depression through cycling. This year, WWP not only added more than 10 new Soldier Ride locations, but also added a second ride in sunny Jacksonville, Fla. At WWP events, everyone has the same mentality.

Britain says Cyprus military base will not become new migrant route Posted: 23 Oct 2015 06:46 AM PDT A British military base in Cyprus will not become a new route into Britain for migrants, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said on Friday following the arrival of more than 100 people there earlier this week. On Wednesday, 115 migrants in fishing boats came ashore at Akrotiri base on the southern coast of the island - the first time in the migrant crisis that refugees have landed directly on British sovereign soil. "We're not going to allow this to become some kind of new route of migration into Britain," the spokesman said, stressing that any asylum claims would be processed by Cyprus.

Chafee ends his presidential campaign Posted: 23 Oct 2015 06:38 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced Friday he would end his quixotic Democratic presidential campaign after failing to gain traction against Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Coalition identifies US commando killed in raid in northern Iraq as Joshua L. Wheeler Posted: 23 Oct 2015 06:30 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Coalition identifies US commando killed in raid in northern Iraq as Joshua L. Wheeler.

Russia, Jordan agree on military coordination on Syria Posted: 23 Oct 2015 06:28 AM PDT Russia and Jordan have agreed to coordinate their military actions on Syria by setting up a "special working mechanism" in the Jordanian capital Amman, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. Russia, which is bombing rebel targets in Syria in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad, has already forged close cooperation with the governments of Iraq, Syria and Iran, which are all part of a loose Shi'ite alliance pursuing different aims from those of the United States and its allies. Jordan, however, is Sunni-dominated and closely aligned with Washington, so Moscow's deal with Jordan could mark a shift in the alliances engaged in the Syria conflict.

Surge in anti-American hostility in Iran is setback for jailed US reporter Posted: 23 Oct 2015 05:57 AM PDT The key to unlocking decades of mutual US-Iran hostility – and to ending the 15-month imprisonment of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian – was once widely believed to be the historic nuclear deal agreed to last July. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has set the tone, referring since September to America as the "Great Satan" that used the nuclear negotiations only to "penetrate" and damage Iran, "open the way for imposition" of its influence, and "change" the calculations of Iranian officials. Recommended: How much do you know about Iran?

Rotary gives US$40.4 million to end polio worldwide Posted: 23 Oct 2015 05:00 AM PDT NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the heels of historic success against polio in Nigeria and across the continent of Africa, the global effort to end polio is receiving an additional US$40.4 million boost from Rotary to support immunization activities and surveillance spearheaded by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.Polio is on track to become the second human disease ever to be eliminated from the world (smallpox is the first). To date, Rotary has helped 194 countries stop the transmission of polio through the mass immunization of children. ...

Small group of Somali al Shabaab swear allegiance to Islamic State Posted: 23 Oct 2015 04:56 AM PDT By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A senior al Shabaab commander and about 20 of his followers have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, the first move of its kind to emerge in the Somali militant group. There was no immediate reaction from al Shabaab's overall leadership, which aligned itself in 2012 to al Qaeda, a group that has declared Islamic State's leader illegitimate. Experts have been watching to see if the rise of Islamic State in Syria, Iraq and other battlefields, would draw al Shabaab's public support, but said the impact of any such alliance would be largely symbolic given geographical distance would hinder an exchange of material supplies.

U.S. reports 16 more strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria Posted: 23 Oct 2015 04:48 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies carried out 16 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, a military statement said. Fifteen air raids hit Islamic State fighters, weapons, buildings and other targets near seven cities in Iraq, including Mosul and Ramadi, the coalition said in a statement on Friday. In Syria, a drone strike destroyed an Islamic State vehicle and mortar tube near Mar'a, it added. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Plenty of diplomacy but slim hope for new Middle East peace push Posted: 23 Oct 2015 04:13 AM PDT By Luke Baker and Arshad Mohammed JERUSALEM/VIENNA (Reuters) - Flare-ups in violence between Israel and the Palestinians have often accelerated peace efforts - the first intifada led into the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s and the second gave rise to the Arab and Geneva peace initiatives. After three weeks in which Palestinians have stabbed or shot dead nine Israelis, and Israeli security forces have killed 50 Palestinians - half of them attackers, many of them teenagers - international efforts to quell the violence have picked up. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to the region this week, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and held further talks with King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman on Thursday.

Lebanese navy stops second migrant boat in a week Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:59 AM PDT Lebanon's navy stopped a boat carrying 35 Palestinian refugees to Turkey on Friday, the second time this week it has moved in to stop people apparently trying to travel on to Europe. The boat, built for just 10 passengers, held 14 Palestinian refugees from Damascus, 21 from camps in Lebanon and a Lebanese citizen, the military said. The vessel was spotted was 2 miles (3 km) from the coast of southern Lebanon, it added.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 23 Oct 2015 03:01 AM PDT Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

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