2015年12月26日星期六

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Obama admits to feeling 'small' alongside Marines

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 01:43 PM PST

First lady Michelle Obama stands near President Barack Obama as he speaks during an event to thank service members and their families at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — President Barack Obama may be one of the most powerful men in the world but he admits to feeling "small" when working out alongside Marines at their gym on base in Hawaii.


U.S. reports 17 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 11:40 AM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 17 air strikes on Christmas Day against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement on Saturday. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five air strikes using attack and remotely piloted aircraft, targeting Islamic State militants near Ar Raqqah, Manbij and Mar'a. In Iraq, air strikes focused on Islamic State fighting positions near five cities, including Ramadi, where several vehicles were destroyed and two fighting militants wounded. ...

IS leader says 'caliphate' well, mocks Saudi-led alliance

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 11:37 AM PST

FILE - This file image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. The Islamic State group has released a new message purportedly from its reclusive leader, claiming his self-styled BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group on Saturday released a new message purportedly from its reclusive leader, claiming that his self-styled "caliphate" is doing well despite an unprecedented alliance against it and criticizing the recently announced Saudi-led Islamic military coalition against terrorism.


Czech leader calls migrant wave in Europe an 'organised invasion'

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 11:30 AM PST

Czech President Milos Zeman, pictured speaking at an anti-Islam rally on November 17, 2015 in Prague, again stirred controversy on December 26 in a Christmas message describing Europe's migrant crisis as "an organized invasion"Czech President Milos Zeman, known for his anti-migrant comments, on Saturday called the current wave of refugees to Europe "an organised invasion", and that young men from Syria and Iraq should instead "take up arms" against the Islamic State (IS) group. "I am profoundly convinced that we are facing an organised invasion and not a spontaneous movement of refugees," said Zeman in his Christmas message to the Czech Republic released Saturday.


Iraqi forces in fierce battles with IS in Ramadi

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 11:24 AM PST

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces are seen in Ramadi's Dhubbat neighberhood, adjacent to Hoz, on December 25, 2015, as fighting to reclaim territory from Islamic State jihadists continuedDie-hard jihadists made a desperate last stand Saturday in Ramadi's former government complex, the main remaining target of Iraqi forces reconquering the city they lost in May. After a push on Tuesday that broke the Islamic State group's defences around the city centre, government forces were slowed by snipers, booby traps, roadside bombs and suicide attackers. Initial hopes of a quick victory faded, but Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) and the army have advanced steadily through the devastated capital of Anbar province.


Iraqi Kurdish forces in anti-IS commando raid: officials

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 11:01 AM PST

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters pose on September 11, 2015Iraqi Kurdish forces carried out a commando operation near Hawijah in which several senior members of the Islamic State group were captured or killed, local and security sources said Saturday. The operation involved helicopters and bore similarities with a joint raid elite Kurdish troops conducted in October with US special forces also near Hawijah, the sources said. Local Iraqi security officials said the raid took place overnight in the town of Riyadh, south east of IS-held Hawijah and south-west of Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk.


Evacuation of Damascus militants delayed after rebel leader killed

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 10:02 AM PST

Zahran Alloush, commander of Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) Syrian opposition faction, pictured during a press conference in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta on June 25, 2014By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.N.-brokered deal to evacuate more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters and other militants from rebel-held suburbs of Damascus on Saturday has been delayed after the killing of an insurgent leader, an organization that monitors the Syrian war said. The United Nations said it aimed to convene peace talks in Geneva on Jan. 25 to try to end nearly five years of civil war and it appealed to the warring parties not to allow events on the ground to derail the process. The evacuation from Damascus had been expected to take place early on Saturday but was delayed as there was now no secure territory for the militants to pass through, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent British-based monitoring group that tracks violence across Syria.


Evacuation of Islamic State fighters from Damascus delayed

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 10:02 AM PST

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.N.-sponsored deal to evacuate more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters and other militants from rebel-held parts of south Damascus has been delayed, a body that monitors the war said on Saturday, a day after a rebel leader was killed. Buses were due to transport the fighters to Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State in northern Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah's Manar TV station said. The arrangement was the first of its kind between the Syrian authorities and Islamic State.

IS leader urges uprising in Saudi, attacks in Israel: recording

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 09:55 AM PST

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, pictured in a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014, has released an audio recording pledging to attack IsraelAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the secretive leader of the Islamic State group, called for an uprising in Saudi Arabia and pledged to attack Israel, in an audio recording released Saturday and attributed to him. The 24-minute recording would be Baghdadi's first in seven months, during which IS has been dealt several blows in Iraq and Syria. There was no way for AFP to authenticate that it was Baghdadi speaking, but the voice appeared to match previous recordings of him.


Islamic State 'gets tougher' in face of air strikes: audio message

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 09:11 AM PST

Still image taken from video of a man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi making what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in MosulA new message purporting to come from the leader of Islamic State said air strikes by Russia and a U.S.-led coalition had failed to weaken the group. The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets," said the audio recording, described as by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The authenticity of the message, posted on Saturday on Twitter accounts that have published Islamic State statements in the past, could not be verified.


Kurds, Arabs seize key Syria dam from IS: group

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 08:59 AM PST

The Euphrates River is seen from the window of a SyrianAir passenger plane as it flies over the Raqa dam in northern Syria on May 15, 2013An alliance of Kurdish and Arab rebels seized a key dam on the Euphrates River from Islamic State group jihadists in northern Syria on Saturday, the group said. The Syrian Democratic Forces captured Tishreen Dam after intense clashes with IS, as well as seven villages along the river's eastern bank, spokesman Talal Sello told AFP. Backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition, the SDF launched its assault on IS-held towns along the eastern bank of the Euphrates late Wednesday.


U.N. Syria mediator aims to convene peace talks on January 25

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 08:05 AM PST

United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura talks during a joint news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni in RomeBy Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Saturday it aims to bring together Syria's warring parties on Jan. 25 in Geneva to begin talks to try to end nearly five years of civil war. U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura plans to convene representatives of the Syrian government and "the broadest possible spectrum of the Syrian opposition and others," his spokesman said in a statement. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Dec. 18 endorsing an international road map for a Syria peace process, in a rare show of unity among major powers.


Iraqi troops close in on Islamic State redoubt in Ramadi

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 06:27 AM PST

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces are seen in Ramadi's Dhubbat neighberhood, adjacent to Hoz, on December 25, 2015, as fighting to reclaim territory from Islamic State jihadists continuedBy Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi troops have pushed deeper into the heart of the last remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi, despite being slowed by bombs and booby traps, army spokesmen said on Saturday. Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014. Soldiers advanced overnight in the Hoz neighborhood that houses the provincial government compound, the target of an attack that started on Tuesday, joint operations command spokesman Brigadier Yahya Rasool said.


14 killed in Muslim rebel attacks in southern Philippines

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 05:42 AM PST

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Christmas attacks by Muslim rebels in Christian villages in the southern Philippines left at least 14 people dead and may have been partly influenced by the notoriety of the Islamic State group, officials said Saturday.

Turkish civilians stuck in urban war zone in southeast

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 03:03 AM PST

A man wheels a sick person in a wheelbarrow through the barricades set up by the militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Nusaybin, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. Security forces have killed 183 Kurdish rebels in a week in southeast Turkey, news agencies reported. The government imposed curfews in the mainly Kurdish towns of Cizre, Silopi, Nusaybin and Sur district of Diyarbakir as the security forces battle militants linked to the PKK who have moved their fight for autonomy to some towns and city neighborhoods in southeastern Turkey.(AP Photo/Cagdas Erdogan)ISTANBUL (AP) — Tens of thousands of civilians in southeast Turkey have been caught in the middle as government forces and Kurdish militants battle it out in urban areas — violence that has shattered hopes of reviving peace talks.


Obama says six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan attack were 'outstanding'

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 01:24 AM PST

Obama delivers remarks at a Christmas reception with service members at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, HawaiiBy Julia Edwards KANOEHE BAY, HAWAII (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called the six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan on Monday "outstanding" and "brave" as he thanked American service members on Friday during a Christmas Day visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kanoehe Bay. "Even though we have been able to reduce the number of folks we're deploying to places like Iraq and Afghanistan, there are still folks over there every single day and it's still dangerous as we saw this past week with the outstanding, brave men and women who were killed," Obama said. The Christmas Day remarks were the first time Obama had addressed the attack.


Democrats find an unlikely ally on Muslims: George W Bush

Posted: 26 Dec 2015 12:01 AM PST

FILE - In this Thursday, May 31, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush take part in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, to unveil the Bush portrait. Taunted by Republicans to declare war on WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are turning to an unlikely ally, George W. Bush, to respond to Republican pledges to declare war on "radical Islamic terrorism.


Breakaway Muslim rebels kill nine people in southern Philippines

Posted: 25 Dec 2015 10:10 PM PST

A breakaway Muslim rebel group killed nine civilians in the southern Philippines in a series of attacks on Christmas eve, officials said on Saturday, in a reminder that the region remains volatile despite recent gains in the peace process. Army troops killed four members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a faction opposed to a peace deal between government and the mainstream Muslim rebel group, after they attacked a farming town in Sultan Kudarat province on the southern island of Mindanao. Miriam Ferrer, the government's chief negotiator in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said seven farmers were shot at close range while working in their rice paddies and two other civilians were killed in a grenade attack on a chapel in nearby North Cotabato province.

Obama: 6 killed in Afghanistan were 'outstanding'

Posted: 25 Dec 2015 08:20 PM PST

First lady Michelle Obama looks on as President Barack Obama speaks during an event to thank service members and their families at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — President Barack Obama said the six U.S. service members killed this week in a suicide attack in Afghanistan were "outstanding, brave men and women" as he delivered a Christmas Day gesture of gratitude to U.S. troops for how much they sacrifice to keep Americans safe and free.


Iraqi forces consolidate position in Ramadi ahead of final push against Islamic State

Posted: 25 Dec 2015 05:24 PM PST

Iraqi security forces ride on military vehicles as they advance towards the center of Ramadi city, IraqIraqi troops who have fought their way deep into the Islamic State stronghold of Ramadi were consolidating their positions on Friday ahead of a planned final assault to capture the city.Soldiers were clearing bombs from roads and homes in districts of Ramadi they had already taken since launching their assault on the city on Tuesday, state TV said. Successfully recapturing Ramadi, a provincial capital in the fertile Euphrates River valley just two hours drive from Baghdad, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State militants swept across a third of the country in 2014. Shi'ite militia units backed by Iran, which have played a major part in other government offensives, have been kept away from the battlefield in Ramadi to avoid angering Sunni Muslim residents.


Pope urges Christmas prayers for Syria, Libya peace

Posted: 25 Dec 2015 04:27 PM PST

Pope Francis delivers his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the world) blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Pope Francis is praying that recent U.N.-backed peace agreements for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people while praising the generosity of those countries that have taken their refugees in. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace processes for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people, denouncing the "monstrous evil" and atrocities they have endured and praising countries that have taken in refugees.


Bosnia says arrests foiled Islamist attack in Sarajevo

Posted: 25 Dec 2015 04:05 PM PST

Bosnian military personnel and police are seen working in the Sarajevo suburb of Rajlovac after two members of Bosnia's armed forces were killed in a suspected terror attack in NovemberA Bosnian anti-terrorism prosecutor has said the recent arrests of 11 suspected jihadists prevented an attack that purportedly would have killed around 100 holiday revellers in Sarajevo, state television said Saturday. The arrests were carried out Tuesday in several parts of the Bosnian capital.


0 条评论:

发表评论

订阅 博文评论 [Atom]

<< 主页

bnzv