Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Saudi Arabia announces 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism
• UN officials sickened by public hatred against Muslims
• US must do more to counter IS propaganda: top general
• Obama warns Islamic State leaders: 'You are next'
• Bergdahl to face desertion charge in general court-martial
• US soldier pleads guilty in plot to attack Chicago base
• US to raise military and diplomatic pressure on ISIS
• Obama vows to hit IS harder, says commandos now in Syria
• Obama ramps up bid to explain how US will fight ex
• Americans want to get tougher with the Islamic State
• Maryland man charged with trying to support Islamic State
• AP-GfK Poll: Growing support for military action against IS
• The 2016 GOP Presidential Contest Just Became a Brand New Race
• What Saudi women voting says of the Mideast
• The For-Profit Refugee Camp
• One Street in Minnesota Separates Radically Different Policing Strategies
• Obama’s New Speech on Destroying ISIS Is Long on Promises, Short on Strategy
• New NASA Satellite Maps Show Human Fingerprint on Global Air Quality
• UN, EU launch scheme to house 20,000 asylum seekers in Greece
• Obama: faster progress needed against Islamic State
• In schools, on streets and TV, children feel Muslim backlash
• Turkish troops withdrawn from camp near Iraq's Mosul
• Germany launches plan to protect migrant women, children from attacks
• French teacher 'invented' story about Islamist attack
• Putin’s Campaign Against Turkey Hits the High Seas
• Clashes in southeast Turkey kill seven, new curfews declared
• Turkish troops leave Iraqi camp after Baghdad orders them out: sources
• Biden, in call with Turkey PM, urges cooperation with Iraq - White House
• Swedish court sentences two to life over 'cruel' murders in Syria
• Obama’s Climate Win Won’t Stop His Downward Slide
• Why Washington ignored torture by Iraqi militias
• Greece: EU gives $88 million for housing stranded migrants
• The Latest: Germany offers funds to improve migrant safety
• Turkey withdraws some troops from camp in Iraq
• Two Swedes get life sentences for 'terrorist crimes' in Syria
• Kathryn Bigelow is returning to HBO with a series on jihadi recruitment
• U.S., allies conduct 16 strikes against Islamic State - U.S. military
• With region in turmoil, West pushes for Yemen peace
• The Navy’s New $362 Million Ship Needs a Tow to Get Home
• Iraqi state oil firm official shot dead in Kirkuk city: police

Saudi Arabia announces 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:24 PM PST By Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement published on state news agency SPA. "The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations," the statement said. A long list of Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states were mentioned.

UN officials sickened by public hatred against Muslims Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:35 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Two senior U.N. officials said Monday they are "sickened by blatant manifestations of hatred and intolerance" by public figures and others, particularly against Muslims, in response to recent extremist attacks.

US must do more to counter IS propaganda: top general Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:08 PM PST America is coming up far short in its efforts to counter Islamic State propaganda, and the jihadists' messages often resonate with younger people, the US military's top general warned Monday. "I think we probably do get a C-minus or D in terms of doing it right now," General Joe Dunford told a national security forum in Washington. Dunford, whose official title is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said people in the West tend to overlook the power of IS on social media -- even as the jihadists' propaganda captures the imagination of some.

Obama warns Islamic State leaders: 'You are next' Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:46 PM PST US President Barack Obama voiced fresh determination to destroy the Islamic State on Monday, vowing to kill the group's leaders and win back territory in the Middle East. Sounding a notably more strident tone, Obama said that the United States and its allies were taking the fight to Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria, but admitted that progress needed to come faster. "We are hitting ISIL harder than ever," said Obama, in a second address following the seemingly Islamic State-influenced attack in San Bernardino, California that has raised questions about his strategy.

Bergdahl to face desertion charge in general court-martial Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:32 PM PST Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years and freed in exchange for five detainees in Guantanamo Bay, will face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy in ...

US soldier pleads guilty in plot to attack Chicago base Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:00 PM PST A US soldier pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring with his cousin to attack a suburban Chicago military base with the aim of killing over 100 people, prosecutors said. Hasan Edmonds, 23, was a soldier in the US Army National Guard when he began communicating online in January with an FBI agent pretending to be an Islamic State fighter in Libya. Edmonds admitted to giving the purported militant advice on "how to fight and defeat the US military," the plea agreement said.

US to raise military and diplomatic pressure on ISIS Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:38 PM PST After a series of Islamic State-linked attacks struck locations around the world over the last several months, President Obama said on Monday the United States has already begun an uptick in counter-strikes against the group. The approach includes disrupting IS's financing and propaganda networks, training Iraq and Syrian ground forces, doubling down on diplomatic efforts between the Assad regime and rebel fighters to end the Syrian civil war, and "hunting down terrorists," Mr. Obama said. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State?

Obama vows to hit IS harder, says commandos now in Syria Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:31 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday vowed to accelerate the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq, implicitly acknowledging that progress has been too slow as the extremist group expands its reach with deadly attacks beyond the Middle East.

Obama ramps up bid to explain how US will fight ex Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:24 PM PST Working to ease public jitters ahead of the holidays, President Barack Obama opened a rare meeting of his National Security Council at the Pentagon on Monday, part of a weeklong push to explain his strategy ...

Americans want to get tougher with the Islamic State Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — After terrorist attacks at home and abroad, more Americans than ever — but still less than half — support sending U.S. ground troops to fight the Islamic State, according to a new Associated Press-GfK Poll. A large majority also want a clearer explanation from President Barack Obama about his strategy to defeat the group.

Maryland man charged with trying to support Islamic State Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:13 PM PST Mohamed Elshinawy, 30, of Edgewood, Maryland, was arrested on Friday, the Justice Department said. According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday, Elshinawy pledged allegiance to Islamic State in February and later told his brother he wanted to die as a martyr.

AP-GfK Poll: Growing support for military action against IS Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:11 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — An increasing number of Americans favor a more aggressive military stance against the Islamic State group amid increasing fear about threats against the United States, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

The 2016 GOP Presidential Contest Just Became a Brand New Race Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:09 PM PST Tuesday night's fifth GOP debate in Las Vegas will be the last chance the presidential candidates will have to make a strong impression on voters before the 2016 campaign is formally launched next month. With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary looming, the stakes are high in a race that so far has been dominated by the outrageously bombastic Donald Trump. A new Monmouth University poll of voters identifying themselves as Republican or independents leaning toward the GOP shows Trump received 41 percent, nearly tripling the support of his closest rival.

What Saudi women voting says of the Mideast Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:49 PM PST Historians of the Middle East may look back on 2015 as the year when Islamic State burst on the world scene and Iran struck a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. To be sure, this new right of Saudi women to participate in elected local councils was granted merely by a decree of the late King Abdullah, and perhaps only to shore up the monarchy's legitimacy. The Middle East is beset by at least four violent conflicts (in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya) yet the same social trends that led to the 2011 democratic revolts in Arab countries and to the 2009 Green Movement in Iran are still bubbling below the surface.

The For-Profit Refugee Camp Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:34 PM PST To enter the world's biggest Syrian refugee camp, a place named Zaatari out in the desert of northern Jordan, you need to pass through not one but two checkpoints. The gendarmes at the first casually waved my car through, but their comrades at the second stopped me to inspect my passport and government permission to visit the camp. Just ahead, a pickup truck sagging under the weight of at least 10 people crept through a scrum of foot traffic. Young boys in flip-flops leaned on battered wheelbarrows, hoping to make a dinar or two hauling whatever might be entering the camp. ...

One Street in Minnesota Separates Radically Different Policing Strategies Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:31 PM PST When Minneapolis police shot and killed Jamar Clark on November 15, he was the 1,001st person and the 29th unarmed black man in the U.S. to die at the hands of police in 2015. Clark's was one of those. A year after a Missouri grand jury declined to charge the officer who killed Michael Brown, sending Ferguson and much of the nation into a fresh round of public demonstrations, protesters in Minneapolis blocked a major freeway, marched on City Hall, and braved pepper spray—as well as the bullets of apparent counter-demonstrators—to express anger and frustration over police misconduct and abuse.

Obama’s New Speech on Destroying ISIS Is Long on Promises, Short on Strategy Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:28 PM PST President Obama spoke more forcefully about ISIS Monday than he did in his primetime address from the Oval Office last week. "As we squeeze its heart we'll make it harder for ISIL to sell its propaganda to the world," he said following a meeting at the Pentagon with his national security council, using an alternative name for the terror group. "ISIL leaders cannot hide and our message to them is 'you are next,'" Obama later added.

New NASA Satellite Maps Show Human Fingerprint on Global Air Quality Posted: 14 Dec 2015 11:11 AM PST WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to recent NASA research findings, the United States, Europe and Japan have improved air quality thanks to emission control regulations, while China, India and the Middle East, with their fast-growing economies and expanding industry, have seen more air pollution. Using new, high-resolution global satellite maps of air quality indicators, NASA scientists tracked air pollution trends over the last decade in various regions and 195 cities around the globe. The findings were presented Monday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

UN, EU launch scheme to house 20,000 asylum seekers in Greece Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:49 AM PST The European Union and the UN refugee agency on Monday launched a joint programme in Athens to create 20,000 places for asylum seekers eligible for relocation in the bloc and in Greece. "Today we stand in solidarity with Greece and with children, women and men seeking refuge in Europe. The scheme we are launching offers EU budgetary support for families, notably providing them with adequate shelter," said EU's vice-president for budget and human resources Kristalina Georgieva.

Obama: faster progress needed against Islamic State Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:42 AM PST U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday progress needs to speed up against Islamic State militants, calling on allies to increase their military contributions to coalition efforts to destroy the group in Iraq and Syria. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Obama said he was sending Defense Secretary Ash Carter to the Middle East to secure more military help from partner nations in the fight against the group. "This continues to be a difficult fight," Obama said.

In schools, on streets and TV, children feel Muslim backlash Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:39 AM PST A backlash against American Muslims is leaving a mark on some of the nation's youngest minds.

Turkish troops withdrawn from camp near Iraq's Mosul Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:14 AM PST Turkey withdrew forces Monday from a north Iraq camp where Baghdad said they were deployed without its permission, a move that may help defuse a bitter diplomatic row with Ankara. It was not immediately clear how many soldiers were removed from the camp, where Ankara sent troops and tanks on a deployment last week it has defended as routine and necessary to protect Turkish trainers working with Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State jihadist group. Baghdad has sharply criticised the deployment, terming it an "incursion" that violated the country's sovereignty, repeatedly demanding the forces be withdrawn and complaining to the United Nations Security Council.

Germany launches plan to protect migrant women, children from attacks Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:02 AM PST Germany launched a program on Monday to improve the safety of asylum-seeking women and the roughly 300,000 refugee children who have arrived here this year, saying these vulnerable groups were not being given sufficient protection in refugee homes. Almost a million refugees fleeing war, violence and poverty in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan flocked to Germany in the first 11 months of this year and the authorities have had difficulty finding sufficient accommodation for them all. In assessing the situation, the German government and United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) agreed that children living in refugee shelters were at risk of becoming victims of violence, misuse and exploitation, especially in temporary accommodation and reception centers.

French teacher 'invented' story about Islamist attack Posted: 14 Dec 2015 09:44 AM PST A report from a French schoolteacher that he had been assaulted by a self-styled Islamist militant on Monday, causing classes to be canceled and an anti-terrorism investigation, turned out to be "invented", investigators said. The incident occurred with the nation still on edge a month after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris in an attack claimed by Islamic State, the jihadist group that has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq and is now the target of air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition including France. "(The teacher) is being interviewed with a view to establishing the reasons for this invented story," said an official from the Paris prosecutor's office.

Putin’s Campaign Against Turkey Hits the High Seas Posted: 14 Dec 2015 09:42 AM PST The nearly month-long feud between Russia and Turkey reached a new battlefield over the weekend: the sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said the boat came within 1,600 feet of the Smetlivy destroyer, one of the ships bolstering the Kremlin's military foray into Syria meant to prop up the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Moscow summoned a Turkish military attaché over the incident, telling the official of "potentially disastrous consequences from Ankara's reckless actions toward Russia's military continent fighting against international terrorism in Syria," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Clashes in southeast Turkey kill seven, new curfews declared Posted: 14 Dec 2015 09:10 AM PST By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Seven people were killed in clashes with security forces in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, officials said on Monday, as authorities declared curfews across the restive region. The clashes are the latest in months of violence following the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in July. Since then, Ankara has imposed round-the-clock curfews in many areas.

Turkish troops leave Iraqi camp after Baghdad orders them out: sources Posted: 14 Dec 2015 08:37 AM PST Some Turkish troops started leaving their camp in Iraq and moving north on Monday, a Turkish military source and a senior official said, days after Baghdad protested to the United Nations and ordered them out. Any move northwards would take them back closer to Iraq's border with Turkey, but the officials did not say where they were going and it was unclear how far Ankara was bowing to pressure to bring its soldiers home. Iraq said in early December hundreds of Turkish troops had arrived in its territory without its knowledge, calling it a hostile act.

Biden, in call with Turkey PM, urges cooperation with Iraq - White House Posted: 14 Dec 2015 08:36 AM PST U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday welcomed the reported withdrawal of Turkish troops from a camp in northern Iraq and urged Turkey to continue trying to cooperate with Baghdad, the White House said on Monday. In a call with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Biden said the move of Turkish troops from Camp Bashiqa was "an important step to de-escalate recent tensions," the White House said in a statement.

Swedish court sentences two to life over 'cruel' murders in Syria Posted: 14 Dec 2015 07:39 AM PST A Swedish court on Monday sentenced two men to life in prison on terrorism charges over their role in two "cruel and brutal" murders in Syria in 2013. Hassan al-Mandlawi, 32, and Al-Amin Sultan, 30, both Swedish nationals, were convicted after graphic videos showed them taking part in the killing of two men in the northern city of Aleppo which has been ravaged by the more than four-year war in Syria. The footage, discovered on a USB stick in Sultan's home, shows two men speaking in Swedish and giving directions before one prisoner is beheaded and another has his throat slashed with a knife.

Obama’s Climate Win Won’t Stop His Downward Slide Posted: 14 Dec 2015 07:32 AM PST President Obama had reason to revel over the historic climate change agreement ratified by the U.S. and 194 other countries in Paris over the weekend. "This agreement represents the best chance we've had to save the one planet we've got," Obama said at the White House on Saturday following the unanimous vote.

Why Washington ignored torture by Iraqi militias Posted: 14 Dec 2015 07:16 AM PST By Ned Parker ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - It was one of the most shocking events in one of the most brutal periods in Iraq's history. In late 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers raided a police building in Baghdad and found 168 prisoners in horrific conditions. Behind these operations was an unofficial Interior Ministry organization called the Special Investigations Directorate, according to U.S. and Iraqi security officials at the time.

Greece: EU gives $88 million for housing stranded migrants Posted: 14 Dec 2015 07:12 AM PST The European Union pledged Monday to spend 80 million euros ($88 million) to house migrants in Greece even as it seeks tougher procedures for asylum-seekers traveling to the continent. Kristalina Georgieva, ...

The Latest: Germany offers funds to improve migrant safety Posted: 14 Dec 2015 07:03 AM PST ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — The latest developments in Europe's immigration crisis. All times local:

Turkey withdraws some troops from camp in Iraq Posted: 14 Dec 2015 06:48 AM PST ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Monday withdrew some of its soldiers from a camp in Iraq, its prime minister announced, days after Iraq had demanded that Turkish troops immediately leave its territory.

Two Swedes get life sentences for 'terrorist crimes' in Syria Posted: 14 Dec 2015 05:16 AM PST Two Swedish men were sentenced to life in prison on Monday for "terrorist crimes" in Syria in 2013, a Swedish district court said in a statement. The two men, aged 32 and 30, were convicted of assisting in executions in Syria. The court argued that since the killings and the video intended to seriously intimidate the population of Syria, the two men's actions should be considered a terrorist crime.

Kathryn Bigelow is returning to HBO with a series on jihadi recruitment Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:56 AM PST According to The Hollywood Reporter, the American director is teaming up with the prestigious cable channel to make "The Recruiters," a drama series about jihadi recruitment. Known for her films dealing with post-9/11 events, Kathryn Bigelow has once again opted for a terrorism-related news topic. This time, her idea is intended for the small screen and will take the form of a series which will attempt to "draw open an iron curtain behind which viewers will see the highly impenetrable world of Jihadi recruitment", according to The Hollywood Reporter website.

U.S., allies conduct 16 strikes against Islamic State - U.S. military Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:26 AM PST The United States and its allies conducted 16 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, according to the coalition leading the operations. In a statement on Monday, the Combined Joint Task Force said one air strike near Deir al-Zor in Syria hit a gas and oil separation plant used by the militant group, while two others hit two tactical units and other targets near Manbij and Mar'a. In Iraq, 13 strikes near six cities included one near Tikrit that destroyed two Islamic State oil tanks, the statement said.

With region in turmoil, West pushes for Yemen peace Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:43 AM PST By Mohammed Ghobari and Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Alarmed by the rise of Islamic State, under pressure from the West and with stalemate on the battlefield, Yemen's civil war foes are expected to launch their most serious peace efforts so far at U.N.-mediated talks in Geneva starting on Tuesday. The nine-month-old conflict between a Saudi-led Arab alliance and the Iranian-allied Houthis has outlasted two earlier U.N. attempts at peace making, caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and pushed Yemen towards total chaos. Fuelling the urgency behind Tuesday's talks is a perception in the West that the war, in part a proxy contest between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, is a dangerous distraction diverting regional attention from what should be the pre-eminent task of fighting IS on its home turf and ending Syria's larger war.

The Navy’s New $362 Million Ship Needs a Tow to Get Home Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:15 AM PST The USS Milwaukee, an advanced littoral combat ship and the most recent vessel launched by the U.S. Navy, lasted less than three weeks in the water before a problem involving metal filings in its lubrication oil caused it to suffer a "complete loss of propulsion." The $362 million ship had to be towed into port for repairs. The Milwaukee, a Freedom-class LCS, was commissioned in Milwaukee on November 21. According to Navy Times, the expensive vessel began suffering problems with its propulsion system as it began its lengthy journey to its eventual home port in San Diego.

Iraqi state oil firm official shot dead in Kirkuk city: police Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:10 AM PST Gunmen shot dead a senior employee of Iraq's state-run North Oil Company (NOC) on Monday, the third company official to be killed in the past four months, police and sources within the company said. Deputy inspector-general Hassan Salim and three other employees were driving to their office in the northern oil city of Kirkuk when assailants in a speeding car sprayed their minibus with bullets. Salim and another employee were killed instantly and the two other passengers were seriously wounded, police sources said.

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