Yahoo! News: Iraq

---

• Jordan military jets pound Islamic State as king comforts pilot's family
• Police raid Bosnian village that displayed IS flag
• Americans Stopped Trusting TV News Anchors Long Before Brian Williams
• Boehner sees call for military authorization vs Islamic State soon
• Obama poised to ask Congress for new war authorization
• CPTV4U to Help Mark 5 Years Since Haitian Earthquake With Story of Triumph
• US moves pilot-rescue aircraft closer to battlefields
• Jordan frees ex-mentor of killed Iraq Qaeda chief
• US moves pilot rescue aircraft to northern Iraq: official
• Lawsuit claiming needles in Burger King food heads to trial
• Pentagon study claimed Putin has Asperger's syndrome
• Jordan launches new airstrikes after vowing harsh war on IS
• Q&A: Jordan, already attacking IS in Syria, joins Iraq fight
• U.S. moves rescue assets to Iraq in fight against Islamic State
• Screening for jurors in 'American Sniper' slaying starts
• Obama condemns those who seek to 'hijack religion'
• Japan won't give in to terrorism _ but no troops
• Ashton Carter: Americans Are Disgusted with Government Waste
• NBC's Williams fighting for his reputation
• IS growing in Libya, warns Libyan official
• Jordan warplanes strike IS after pilot murder
• Jury selection starts in 'American Sniper' Texas murder trial
• Jordanian jets pound Islamic State as king comforts pilot's family
• Veteran charged with threatening to shoot wife at US Capitol
• Poverty a threat to stability in Jordan, fueling militancy
• Tunisia parliament approves historic coalition cabinet
• How badly has Brian Williams besmirched NBC News?
• U.N. chief names Bulgarian as new Mideast peace coordinator
• U.S.-led forces target Islamic State with 12 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: U.S. military
• Why People Tell War Stories
• Why People, Brian Williams Included, Tell War Stories
• Army veteran charged with threatening U.S. Capitol shooting
• Bulgaria's Nikolay Mladenov appointed UN's top Mideast envoy
• Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor: security source
• Video shows French attacker deported from Turkey
• To fight jihadi lure, France takes the battle online
• ISIS leader Baghdadi cementing reputation as the new Hulagu Khan
• Obama, Dalai Lama at US prayer breakfast but not together
• As public cries for vengeance, Jordan talks of wider intervention in Syria
• US anchor Brian Williams recants on coming under fire in Iraq

Jordan military jets pound Islamic State as king comforts pilot's family Posted: 05 Feb 2015 04:44 PM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian fighter jets pounded Islamic State targets in Syria on Thursday, before roaring over the hometown of the pilot killed by the militants while King Abdullah consoled the victim's family. A statement from the Jordanian armed forces said tens of jets were deployed in the attacks, which destroyed ammunition depots and training camps run by the Islamic State. Witnesses overheard the monarch telling the pilot's father the planes were returning from the militant-held city of Raqqa. The show of force came two days after the ultra-hardline Islamic State released a video showing captured Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh being burned alive in a cage as masked militants in camouflage uniforms looked on.

Police raid Bosnian village that displayed IS flag Posted: 05 Feb 2015 04:39 PM PST Police special forces carried out a raid Thursday in a Bosnian village home to Muslim fundamentalists, after media published photos of local houses displaying the flag of the Islamic State group. By the time forces arrived "the flags were no longer hanging" in the northeastern village of Gornja Maoca, said Kristina Jozic, a spokeswoman for state police agency SIPA. Local television station FTV had on Wednesday broadcast photos showing the black and white flags of the IS jihadists hanging from the roof of a house, saying the images were taken in Gornja Maoca. Bosnian officials also carried out several raids at the end of 2014 against local Wahhabis, leading to the arrest of 26 people suspected of being members of IS or other jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, or of having recruited fighters in Bosnia.

Americans Stopped Trusting TV News Anchors Long Before Brian Williams Posted: 05 Feb 2015 03:21 PM PST Brian Williams took a huge blow to his credibility on Wednesday when he admitted his Iraq War story of being shot down in a helicopter was completely fabricated. America's trust in TV anchors has steadily declined in the half-century since Walter Cronkite set a golden standard for TV reporting in the 1960s with his intimate accounts of the first moon landing, the Vietnam War, and President John F. Kennedy's assasination.

Boehner sees call for military authorization vs Islamic State soon Posted: 05 Feb 2015 03:09 PM PST U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he expected President Barack Obama to seek congressional authorization soon for using military force against Islamic State and also called for speeding up assistance to Jordan. "I'm expecting that there will be an authorization for the use of military force sent up here in the coming days. "It is also going to be incumbent upon the president to go out there and make the case to the American people," as well as help push Congress to pass the authorization, he added.

Obama poised to ask Congress for new war authorization Posted: 05 Feb 2015 03:07 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is poised in coming days to ask Congress for new authority to use U.S. military force against Islamic State militants, the White House said Thursday. But the top Republican in Congress warned it won't be easy to pass the measure and that it will be up to Obama to rally support from lawmakers and the public.

CPTV4U to Help Mark 5 Years Since Haitian Earthquake With Story of Triumph Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:53 PM PST NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An award-winning documentary about hope and healing in the midst of horrific tragedy will air on CPTV4U, a Connecticut PBS station and affiliate of Connecticut Public Television (CPTV), on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 p.m. The showing commemorates the fifth anniversary of Haiti's historic earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. Winner of the Most Inspirational Documentary Award at the DocMiami International Film Festival in September, "Unbreakable: A Story of Hope and Healing in Haiti"  tells the story of the thousands of children who underwent emergency amputations and their involvement as part of "Healing Haiti's Children," a program that offered free prosthetics and rehabilitation to every child injured in the earthquake. The program was a partnership in which the University of Miami-affiliated Project Medishare provided medical expertise and treatment while the Knights of Columbus offered funding of nearly $1.7 million. "Unbreakable" will be preceded at 9 p.m. by "Father McGivney," a documentary on the life of the young Connecticut priest who founded the Knights of Columbus.

US moves pilot-rescue aircraft closer to battlefields Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:42 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The gruesome killing of a Jordanian pilot who had crashed in Islamic State territory laid bare a problem of the U.S.-led coalition — there is no sure way to rescue an airman who is down behind enemy lines. Now, in response, the U.S. has moved search-and-rescue aircraft closer to the battlefield, defense officials said Thursday.

Jordan frees ex-mentor of killed Iraq Qaeda chief Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:36 PM PST Jordan on Thursday released from jail a key Salafist figure and former Al-Qaeda mentor arrested in October for allegedly propagating "terrorist" ideas, a judicial source said. The decision to free Issam Barqawi, who was once mentor to slain Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was taken by the head of the state security court, a military tribunal. He ruled against a decision by the state prosecutor to put Barqawi on trial and ordered "his immediate release", the source said. When Barqawi was arrested, the prosecutor general accused him of "using the Internet to propagate the ideas of the terrorist group Al-Nusra Front", Al-Qaeda's Syria branch.

US moves pilot rescue aircraft to northern Iraq: official Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:25 PM PST The US military has deployed aircraft and troops to northern Iraq to boost its ability to rescue downed coalition pilots, after a Jordanian airman was captured and killed by jihadists in Syria, a defense official said Thursday. "We are repositioning some assets into northern Iraq," a US defense official told AFP. The move is designed to shorten the response time needed to reach pilots who end up in territory held by the Islamic State group, officials said. The redeployment came as US aircraft on Thursday escorted Jordanian warplanes over Syria for dozens of retaliatory air strikes against the IS group.

Lawsuit claiming needles in Burger King food heads to trial Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:23 PM PST HONOLULU (AP) — A lawsuit filed by a retired soldier who says he swallowed needles in a Burger King sandwich is headed for trial after another attempt at a settlement failed.

Pentagon study claimed Putin has Asperger's syndrome Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:20 PM PST A Pentagon study from 2008 claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has Asperger's syndrome, giving him a need to exert "extreme control" when faced with crises, according to the report released Thursday. Experts studying his movements and facial expressions in video footage theorized Putin's neurological development was disrupted in infancy, giving him a sense of physical imbalance and a discomfort with social interaction, according to the report by the Pentagon's internal think tank, the Office of Net Assessment. "This profound behavioral challenge has been identified by leading neuroscientists as Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic disorder which affects all of his decisions," wrote the study's author, Brenda Connors, a senior fellow at the US Naval War College.

Jordan launches new airstrikes after vowing harsh war on IS Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:11 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets bombed Islamic State training centers and weapons storage sites Thursday, intensifying attacks after the militants burned to death a captured Jordanian pilot.

Q&A: Jordan, already attacking IS in Syria, joins Iraq fight Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:10 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — The horrific slaying of a Jordanian fighter pilot by the Islamic State group has prompted Jordan to expand its fight against the Sunni militant group with military operations in IS-held parts of Iraq.

U.S. moves rescue assets to Iraq in fight against Islamic State Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:07 PM PST The United States has sent search and rescue assets to northern Iraq in recent days, bolstering its ability to recover coalition personnel in the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The deployments follow a decision by the United Arab Emirates to suspend its participation in coalition air strikes in December over pilot safety concerns after a Jordanian pilot was captured by the group in Syria. The United Arab Emirates had called on the United States to establish better search-and-rescue capability. A source familiar with the views of governments in the region said the Emirates were keen on re-engaging in combat operations against Islamic State and likely to resume flights once an enhanced rescue capability is operational.

Screening for jurors in 'American Sniper' slaying starts Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:07 PM PST DALLAS (AP) — A judge Thursday told would-be jurors for a trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a former Navy SEAL who's the subject of the blockbuster film "American Sniper" that they won't be dismissed simply for having seen the movie or read the book on which it was based.

Obama condemns those who seek to 'hijack religion' Posted: 05 Feb 2015 02:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday condemned those who seek to use religion as a rationale for carrying out violence around the world. "No god condones terror," he said.

Japan won't give in to terrorism _ but no troops Posted: 05 Feb 2015 01:56 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Japan told the world's nations Thursday it will never give in to terrorism and will continue providing non-military assistance for the fight against the Islamic State and other extremist groups — but not military troops or equipment "at this point."

Ashton Carter: Americans Are Disgusted with Government Waste Posted: 05 Feb 2015 01:45 PM PST "The taxpayer cannot comprehend it, let alone support the defense budget [given] cost overruns, lack of accounting and accountability, needless overhead and the like," he said. The budget that Obama submitted to Congress would breach the Pentagon's legal spending caps by $35 billion and provide for a total of $585 billion of defense spending in the new fiscal year.

NBC's Williams fighting for his reputation Posted: 05 Feb 2015 01:29 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News anchor Brian Williams found himself the story Thursday, his credibility seriously threatened because he claimed — falsely — that he had been in a helicopter hit by a grenade during the Iraq war.

IS growing in Libya, warns Libyan official Posted: 05 Feb 2015 01:27 PM PST The Islamic State group is gaining ground in Libya and a new international approach is needed to address the growing threat, a senior Libyan official said Thursday. Aref Ali Nayed, Libya's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and an adviser to Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, was in Washington and New York this week to discuss the new challenges on Libya's security front. "ISIS is growing in Libya, exponentially.

Jordan warplanes strike IS after pilot murder Posted: 05 Feb 2015 01:02 PM PST Jordan said its warplanes launched dozens of new strikes Thursday against the Islamic State group, after vowing a harsh response to the burning alive of a pilot captured in Syria. The news came as scores of people were killed when rebels unleashed rocket fire on Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad's forces retaliated. It did not say where the targets were located -- IS holds swathes of Syria and Iraq -- but said they were destroyed and the aircraft returned home safely. Jordan's military pledged to "destroy this terrorist group and kill the evil in its own place", saying it would punish IS "for the heinous act" of burning the pilot alive.

Jury selection starts in 'American Sniper' Texas murder trial Posted: 05 Feb 2015 12:28 PM PST By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - The first steps in jury selection began on Thursday in a Texas court for the trial of the man charged with murdering Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper." About 800 residents of largely rural Erath County have been called as potential jurors in the trial of Eddie Ray Routh, 27, charged with murdering Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range about 70 miles (112 km) southwest of Fort Worth on Feb. 2, 2013. Jury selection starts on Monday and opening arguments are planned for Feb. 11. Judge Jason Cashon told jurors they could still serve even if they saw the movie or read Kyle's book, the Dallas Morning News reported. Routh was arrested that day and has been jailed in Erath County on $3 million bond.

Jordanian jets pound Islamic State as king comforts pilot's family Posted: 05 Feb 2015 12:24 PM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian fighter jets pounded Islamic State hideouts in Syria on Thursday and then roared over the hometown of a pilot killed by the militants, while below them King Abdullah consoled the victim's family. An armed forces statement said tens of Jordanian fighter jets were deployed in the attacks, which destroyed ammunition depots and training camps run by the Islamic State. Witnesses overheard the monarch telling the pilot's father the planes were returning from the militant-held city of Raqqa. The show of force came two days after the ultra-hardline Islamic State released a video showing captured Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh being burned alive in a cage as masked militants in camouflage uniforms looked on.

Veteran charged with threatening to shoot wife at US Capitol Posted: 05 Feb 2015 12:22 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army veteran has been charged with threatening to shoot his wife and other people at the U.S. Capitol, where his wife works.

Poverty a threat to stability in Jordan, fueling militancy Posted: 05 Feb 2015 12:05 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — In Amman's Hussein slum, where jobs and hope are scarce, many were once drawn to the militant ideas of the Islamic State group as a way to a better life.

Tunisia parliament approves historic coalition cabinet Posted: 05 Feb 2015 12:04 PM PST Tunisia's parliament approved Thursday a coalition government led by the secular Nidaa Tounes party and including moderate Islamist rivals Ennahda, following landmark elections in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. "The motto of this government will be work, then work... and nothing other than work," pledged Prime Minister Habib Essid, an independent. It follows the ouster of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 in a revolution that spread to many parts of the Arab world. "It is a government of national unity," new Health Minister Said Aidi told AFP.

How badly has Brian Williams besmirched NBC News? Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:50 AM PST Mr. Williams admitted on Wednesday that in this incident he did not experience hostile fire. Personally, we're interested that so many people are concerned about the credibility of the network evening news.

U.N. chief names Bulgarian as new Mideast peace coordinator Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:35 AM PST U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria to replace Robert Serry as his special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday. Mladenov, currently the U.N. special representative to Iraq, has been Bulgaria's foreign minister and minister of defense and has worked at the World Bank, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters. It was not immediately clear who would replace Mladenov as the U.N. envoy to Iraq, U.N. officials and diplomats say.

U.S.-led forces target Islamic State with 12 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: U.S. military Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:21 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces have launched nine air strikes in Iraq and three in Syria against Islamic State militants since Wednesday, the American military said on Thursday. The Combined Joint Task Force said the strikes in Syria hit near Kobani, the border city recently recaptured by Kurdish forces fighting the Islamist militant group. The air strikes hit three tactical units around Kobani, it said in a statement. The strikes in Iraq were concentrated in the oil-producing north, targeting militants near seven cities including Kirkuk, Fallujah, Mosul and Baiji, the task force said. ...

Why People Tell War Stories Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:21 AM PST What was Brian Williams thinking? Maybe he didn't want to come back empty-handed: I went to Iraq and all I got was this Dateline segment. Whatever the reason, Williams has been telling people about a harrowing incident in Iraq for years now. Some of the soldiers who really were fired upon were upset about the embellishment and told Stars & Stripes, forcing Williams to recant his story and apologize.

Why People, Brian Williams Included, Tell War Stories Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:21 AM PST What was Brian Williams thinking? Maybe he didn't want to come back empty-handed: I went to Iraq and all I got was this Dateline segment. Whatever the reason, Williams has been telling people about a harrowing incident in Iraq for years now. Williams showed up some time after the fight.

Army veteran charged with threatening U.S. Capitol shooting Posted: 05 Feb 2015 11:07 AM PST A U.S. Army veteran from Maryland who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder has been charged with threatening to shoot his wife and others at the U.S. Capitol building, prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspect, Michael Bogoslavski, 33, of Cheverly, Maryland, was charged in U.S. District Court with using interstate commerce on Monday to make a threat, Maryland's U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Bogoslavski allegedly said in a text message to his wife, who works in the Capitol, that he would go to Washington to shoot her, a Capitol Police officer and others, according to an affidavit. "I'm going to die, suicide by cop," Bogoslavski said in a phone call to his wife overheard by a Capitol Police agent, the affidavit said.

Bulgaria's Nikolay Mladenov appointed UN's top Mideast envoy Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:59 AM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Seretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Nikolay Mladenov as the U.N.'s top Mideast envoy, succeeding Robert Serry who has held the job for more than seven years.

Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor: security source Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:58 AM PST Jordanian authorities released an imprisoned spiritual leader linked to al Qaeda, Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, on Thursday, a security source said. There was no immediate announcement of the reason for his release two days after the al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State issued a video showing a captive Jordanian pilot being burned alive. The self-taught intellectual was seen as the spiritual guide of al Qaeda's late leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but later disowned him for killing civilians indiscriminately.

Video shows French attacker deported from Turkey Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:41 AM PST ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish security camera footage shows a former criminal accused of attacking three soldiers outside a Jewish community center in France being deported from Turkey.

To fight jihadi lure, France takes the battle online Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:27 AM PST As terrorist groups becoming increasingly Web-savvy, the Internet is proving a key battlefront in the West's information war with jihadi radicals. According to a report by the EU Institute for Security Studies, 89 percent of a similarly aged group of "digital natives" are active online in the EU. The group estimates that 70 percent of these young people use social networks on a daily basis, and spend an average of more than 19 hours per week online.

ISIS leader Baghdadi cementing reputation as the new Hulagu Khan Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:21 AM PST It's an episode of relevance to the salafi jihadi ideology that drives Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-styled caliph of the Islamic State, whose men burned alive Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kassasbeh for all the world to see. The brutality of the Mongols, first led by Ghengis Khan, reached its apex under his grandson Hulagu Khan. He and his horde rode west out of the steppes, first headed for Persia and then on to the seat of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. Baghdad was one of the globe's only true cities of art and learning at the time.

Obama, Dalai Lama at US prayer breakfast but not together Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama praised the Dalai Lama Thursday at a high-profile Washington breakfast, but did not hold a formal meeting with him, avoiding further tensions with China.

As public cries for vengeance, Jordan talks of wider intervention in Syria Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:13 AM PST Grief here over the Islamic State's brutal killing of a Jordanian pilot has given way to calls for war, with Jordanian officials dropping hints of a wider Jordanian effort in Syria. A visit Thursday by King Abdullah II to the mourning tent of the fallen pilot, Lt. Muath Kassasbeh, quickly escalated into a pro-war rally, with young men pledging their "blood and soul" to wage war against the Islamic State (IS). The sentiments represented a dramatic reversal of what had been growing opposition to participation in the US-led air fight against IS, including among the pilot's family members, and Jordan has successfully turned rage over the pilot's graphic death into a rallying cry for even greater military commitment – and sacrifice.

US anchor Brian Williams recants on coming under fire in Iraq Posted: 05 Feb 2015 10:03 AM PST US news anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday that a story he has often repeated on air about coming under fire in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003 during the US invasion was not true. Williams, who anchors "NBC Nightly News" and is one of the biggest US news media stars, said that he was not in the aircraft that fell prey to an attack, but arrived at the scene later in a different helicopter. "I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," Williams said on the broadcast. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire.

You are subscribed to email updates from Iraq News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States