Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• IS seizes dozens in northern Iraq
• Gunmen kill three Sunni clerics near Iraq's Basra
• Saudi King Abdullah has pneumonia: royal court
• Islamic State targeted in 23 air strikes by U.S., allies
• Iraqi general warns of military woes in fighting extremists
• 10 Things to Know for Today
• Newest challenge for Europe's refugee crisis: crewless migrant ships
• Though a hoax, Madrid train bomb threat deepens jitters about 'lone wolf' attacks
• Italy rescues another abandoned migrant ship
• The 6 Power Players Who Will Shape the 2015 Political Agenda
• 2014 deadliest year in Iraq for civilians since 2006-7 bloodshed: U.N.
• Russia oil output hits post-Soviet high, small firms help
• Gunmen kill 3 Sunni clerics in Iraqi city of Basra
• Soccer-Profile on Palestine team for 2015 Asian Cup
• Iraq's birds of mercy take flight from din of war
• Gunmen kill three Sunni clerics in south Iraq
• Basketball: Street basketball presses for Olympic place

IS seizes dozens in northern Iraq Posted: 02 Jan 2015 01:49 PM PST The Islamic State jihadist group seized dozens of men from two villages in northern Iraq on Friday while searching for people who burned its flag, officials and residents said. An intelligence officer said that a total of 170 men were taken from the villages of Al-Shajara and Gharib in Kirkuk province, after two IS flags were burned in the area, an account confirmed by other officials from the province. It is not the first time IS has turned to mass detentions as it seeks to quell resistence in the swathes of territory in Iraq that it has overrun since June. It seized 50 people in Kirkuk province after residents burned one of their positions and flag in September, and 20 more the following week for allegedly forming a resistance group.

Gunmen kill three Sunni clerics near Iraq's Basra Posted: 02 Jan 2015 09:36 AM PST BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an urgent investigation on Friday into the fatal shooting of three Sunni clerics and the wounding of two others near the southern city of Basra. The attack late on Thursday was carried out by four gunmen who opened fire from a speeding car on the clerics' vehicle, police sources said. Previous attacks on Sunni and Shi'ite clerics have sometimes unleashed cycles of revenge killings in Iraq, where sectarian violence is at its worst since the height of the civil war some eight years ago. ...

Saudi King Abdullah has pneumonia: royal court Posted: 02 Jan 2015 08:18 AM PST Saudi King Abdullah, hospitalised earlier this week, is suffering from pneumonia and breathing with the aid of a tube, but is in stable condition, the royal court said on Friday. The long-ailing king, who is believed to be around 90 years old, was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh on Wednesday for checks. He was named crown prince in June 2012 following the death of Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz. The king's latest hospitalisation comes as Saudi Arabia holds a high-profile position in the US-led fight against the Islamic State group, which has seized swathes of neighbouring Iraq and Syria.

Islamic State targeted in 23 air strikes by U.S., allies Posted: 02 Jan 2015 08:06 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and allies staged 23 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq on Thursday, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Friday. A dozen strikes near the Syrian cities of Kobani, Ar Raqqah and Al Hasakah destroyed Islamic State vehicles, buildings and fighting positions and also hit a large Islamic State unit. Eleven strikes in Iraq targeted Islamic State units, buildings, vehicles, equipment, a shipping container and a weapons cache near the cities of Taji, Al Asad, Fallujah, Baiji, Al Qaim and Mosul. ...

Iraqi general warns of military woes in fighting extremists Posted: 02 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi had 225 fighters, a single Abrams tank, a pair of mortars, two artillery pieces and about 40 armored Humvees when he set out to retake a strategic city in northern Iraq captured by Islamic State militants over the summer.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 02 Jan 2015 06:06 AM PST Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

Newest challenge for Europe's refugee crisis: crewless migrant ships Posted: 02 Jan 2015 05:53 AM PST The fate of hundreds of migrants abandoned in the Mediterranean this week could foreshadow a treacherous year ahead as Europe struggles to address one of its worst refugee crises since World War II.

Though a hoax, Madrid train bomb threat deepens jitters about 'lone wolf' attacks Posted: 02 Jan 2015 05:35 AM PST Spanish officials say a suicide bomb threat at Madrid's Atocha train station, site of the March 2004 bombing that left almost 200 people dead, is false, and that a suspect has been taken into custody.

Italy rescues another abandoned migrant ship Posted: 02 Jan 2015 04:07 AM PST By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - A ship carrying hundreds of migrants has been abandoned by its crew in rough seas in the Mediterranean off Italy's south coast in the second such incident in three days, the Italian coastguard said on Friday. Coastguards managed to take control of the vessel, the Sierra Leone-flagged Ezadeen, after landing on it by helicopter, a statement said. Facing difficult weather conditions, they are trying to take the vessel to an Italian port. ...

The 6 Power Players Who Will Shape the 2015 Political Agenda Posted: 02 Jan 2015 03:30 AM PST Who wields real power in Washington is a highly subjective matter.  It is one often determined by the outcome of an election or a change in seniority on Capitol Hill or simply the accident of someone being ...

2014 deadliest year in Iraq for civilians since 2006-7 bloodshed: U.N. Posted: 02 Jan 2015 03:24 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq in 2014 killed at least 12,282 civilians, making it the deadliest year since the sectarian bloodshed of 2006-07, the United Nations said in a statement. The majority of the deaths - nearly 8,500 - occurred during the second half of the year following the expansion of the Sunni Muslim Islamic State insurgency in June out of Anbar province leading to widespread clashes with security forces.     "Yet again, the Iraqi ordinary citizen continues to suffer from violence and terrorism ... This is a very sad state of affairs," said Nickolay Mladenov, head of the U. ...

Russia oil output hits post-Soviet high, small firms help Posted: 02 Jan 2015 02:06 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's 2014 oil output hit a post-Soviet record high average of 10.58 million barrels per day (bpd), rising by 0.7 percent helped by small non-state producers, Energy Ministry data showed on Friday.

Gunmen kill 3 Sunni clerics in Iraqi city of Basra Posted: 02 Jan 2015 01:27 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen killed three Sunni clerics near the mostly Shiite city of Basra in southern Iraq, a government spokesman said Friday, an apparent sectarian attack that drew immediate calls for calm.

Soccer-Profile on Palestine team for 2015 Asian Cup Posted: 02 Jan 2015 12:00 AM PST Jan 2 (Reuters) - Factbox on Asian Cup qualifiers Palestine. Asian Cup record: Previous appearances in finals: 0 Drawn in Group D with Iraq, Japan and Jordan. - - - Coach: Ahmed Al Hassan Former national team goalkeeper who stepped up from assistant coach when Jamal Mahmoud quit in September for personal reasons. Previously coached the Palestine women's team in 2012 after starting out with stints with youth sides in Iraq. - - - Key player: Ashraf Nu'man. Age: 28. Striker. ...

Iraq's birds of mercy take flight from din of war Posted: 01 Jan 2015 11:00 PM PST SAEBERAN, Iraq (AP) — Khalil Ibrahim watches from his tent as the orange light of dusk is darkened by a flock of European starlings arriving on their annual migration to northern Iraq. He prepares to trigger his nets as they circle the field, but at the last minute a child throws a stone in the distance and the birds vanish over the dimly lit horizon.

Gunmen kill three Sunni clerics in south Iraq Posted: 01 Jan 2015 04:11 PM PST Gunmen shot dead three Sunni clerics in the Shiite-majority southern province of Basra, Iraqi officials said on Friday. Raikan Mahdi, the head of the security committee for the province's Al-Zubair district, said the shooting by "unknown gunmen" also wounded two more clerics. Mahdi said the attack took place as the clerics headed from provincial capital Basra to Al-Zubair after attending a meeting on preparations for celebrating the Prophet Mohammed's birthday. Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban ordered an investigation into the attack, the ministry said in a statement.

Basketball: Street basketball presses for Olympic place Posted: 01 Jan 2015 12:09 PM PST Basketball has become the latest sport wanting an extra event in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while at the same time battling to keep Japan in the Olympic tournament.

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