Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Pan-Muslim group concerned over 'rising US 'Islamophobia'
• Iraq's Sunni blocs halt parliament activities after sheikh's killing
• Nigerian president calls for US help as Boko Haram invade city
• US brigade of 4,000 soldiers headed to Kuwait
• Libyan oil pipeline sabotaged, gunmen storm Sirte offices
• Brigade headed to Kuwait one of largest US forces in region
• Bahrain police fire tear gas as protests mark uprising
• Iraqi Sunni tribal leader assassinated in Baghdad
• Islamic State targeted in 13 airstrikes in Iraq, Syria: joint task force
• Nigerian president seeks more US help to fight Boko Haram: WSJ
• What does Yemen turmoil mean for US partnership?
• Rafik Hariri: In Lebanon, assassination reverberates 10 years later
• Kurds regain Syrian villages from Islamic State: monitor
• Sen. Graham's possible 2016 bid keeps others on hold in SC
• 'American Sniper' murder trial centers on competency
• Will war powers vote haunt senators weighing higher office?
• In battle for Kobane, US crews recount heavy bombing
• G4S denies abuse of South African prisoners
• U.S. moving to resupply Jordan's military with munitions: officials

Pan-Muslim group concerned over 'rising US 'Islamophobia' Posted: 14 Feb 2015 03:28 PM PST A pan-Muslim body condemned Saturday the murders of three Muslim students in the United States by a neighbour who espoused anti-religious views, voicing concerns over what it said was increased "Islamophobia" in the country. Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister Razan, 19, were shot dead on Tuesday in the North Carolina university town of Chapel Hill. A 46-year-old neighbour, Craig Stephen Hicks, has been charged with three counts of murder over the killings, which sparked outrage among Muslims worldwide. "This gruesome crime has left Muslims worldwide in a state of shock and has raised concerns of the growing feelings of hatred towards Muslims and the increase of acts linked to Islamophobia in the United States," said Iyad Madani, secretary general of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic cooperation.

Iraq's Sunni blocs halt parliament activities after sheikh's killing Posted: 14 Feb 2015 01:45 PM PST By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's two main parliamentary lists including Sunni lawmakers suspended their activities on Saturday in protest at the killing of a prominent Sunni tribal leader and the kidnapping of a Sunni member of parliament the night before. Sheikh Qassem al-Janabi and his son were shot dead along with at least six guards after gunmen stopped their convoy in south Baghdad. The Interior Ministry said it would investigate the incident, which raised questions about the government's control over security in the capital, where safety measures were eased last week despite the proliferation of rival armed groups. The attack also threatened to exacerbate the sectarian tensions that have undermined Iraq's response to Islamic State insurgents who seized large swathes of territory in the country's north and west last year.

Nigerian president calls for US help as Boko Haram invade city Posted: 14 Feb 2015 01:15 PM PST Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan appealed for more US help in fighting Boko Haram, as the Islamists struck again on Saturday and called for a boycott of upcoming general elections. The head of state for the first time claimed direct links between the Sunni radicals who have been waging a six-year insurgency in Nigeria and the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. He told the Wall Street Journal in an interview: "Are they (the United States) not fighting ISIS? Why can't they come to Nigeria?

US brigade of 4,000 soldiers headed to Kuwait Posted: 14 Feb 2015 01:01 PM PST FORT CARSON, Colorado (AP) — More than 4,000 U.S. soldiers based at Fort Carson, Colorado, are heading to Kuwait, where they will take over as one of America's largest ground forces in the region after President Barack Obama asked Congress to authorize military action against Islamic State militants.

Libyan oil pipeline sabotaged, gunmen storm Sirte offices Posted: 14 Feb 2015 12:38 PM PST Libya's National Oil Corporation urgently called on Saturday for more official protection for its installations after an oil pipeline from its El Sarir field was sabotaged, halting flow to Hariga port. In a separate incident, gunmen stormed government buildings in the coastal city of Sirte, forcing officials out at gunpoint and taking over administrative offices and television and radio stations, the state news agency said. No group claimed responsibility for Saturday's pipeline sabotage, but oil infrastructure, ports and pipelines in the North African OPEC member state are often targets of attack. Libya is riven by conflict, with two rival governments operating their own armed forces under separate parliaments, nearly four years after the civil war that led to the overthrow and death of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Brigade headed to Kuwait one of largest US forces in region Posted: 14 Feb 2015 10:11 AM PST FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — More than 4,000 Fort Carson soldiers are heading to Kuwait, where they will take over as one of America's largest ground forces in the region after President Barack Obama asked Congress to authorize military action against terrorists who are cutting a large swath across the Middle East.

Bahrain police fire tear gas as protests mark uprising Posted: 14 Feb 2015 09:58 AM PST Bahraini police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Shiite protesters who took to the streets for Saturday's fourth anniversary of an uprising that deeply divided the key US ally. Amnesty International urged Bahrain to "rein in" its security forces and "seize the opportunity of the fourth anniversary of the uprising to announce genuine and long overdue reforms". Police deployed heavily as men and women carrying Bahrain's red and white flag and portraits of detained activists chanted "Down Hamad", referring to the Sunni king. The police fired tear gas and sound bombs after boosting security around several villages and along major roads to prevent protesters advancing towards central Manama, witnesses said.

Iraqi Sunni tribal leader assassinated in Baghdad Posted: 14 Feb 2015 09:24 AM PST A Sunni tribal leader, his son and seven bodyguards were killed in Baghdad, a cousin told AFP Saturday, in an attack that could inflame sectarian tension in Iraq. Sheikh Qassem Sweidan al-Janabi and most of his bodyguards were shot in the head, while son was killed by a bullet to the chest, said Abu Qusay, speaking from the cemetery where they were buried. They were killed late Friday when unidentified gunmen attacked a three-vehicle convoy carrying Janabi and his nephew, lawmaker Zeid al-Janabi, late Friday, officials and security sources said earlier. Janabi was later released but the tribal leader, seen as a moderate Sunni, as well as his son and at least six other people, mostly bodyguards, were killed, they had said.

Islamic State targeted in 13 airstrikes in Iraq, Syria: joint task force Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:06 AM PST The United States and its allies staged nine airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and four in Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Saturday. The attacks in Iraq hit Islamic State tactical units, buildings, fighting positions, a rocket system and a facility where improvised explosive devices were made, the statement said. The strikes in Iraq were near the city of Al Raqqa and destroyed tanks and a bunker. The airstrikes were carried out from early Friday to early Saturday.

Nigerian president seeks more US help to fight Boko Haram: WSJ Posted: 14 Feb 2015 07:22 AM PST Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is appealing to the United States for greater military assistance in the fight against Boko Haram Islamists, according to the Wall Street Journal. Why can't they come to Nigeria?" Jonathan told the newspaper in an interview published Friday, referring to the Islamic State group. Jonathan said Boko Haram militants, who have taken over swathes of territory in northeastern Nigeria, have received "training and funds" from the Islamic State jihadists, based in Iraq and Syria.

What does Yemen turmoil mean for US partnership? Posted: 14 Feb 2015 06:00 AM PST Yemen went from crucial US partner to failed-state candidate in January when the US-backed president stepped down in the face of a surging insurgency by Houthi rebels. Since then the Houthis, a minority group following a sect of Shiite Islam, have taken control of the capital, Sanaa, but face growing resistance from Sunni Muslim tribes and militant groups including AQAP. AQAP was behind at least two foiled terrorist attacks in the United States, including the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner over Detroit. One of the attackers in the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris trained with AQAP in Yemen, and AQAP claimed it organized the Paris attack, though terrorism experts remain skeptical of that claim.

Rafik Hariri: In Lebanon, assassination reverberates 10 years later Posted: 14 Feb 2015 05:00 AM PST While Lebanon has yet to fully heal from that trauma, some look around the war-ravaged Middle East and are thankful Lebanon has not been completely engulfed. Others, however, are concerned that the assassination contributed to Lebanon being one of several arenas today in which the region's rival powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, wage a proxy battle. "Before [2011], Lebanon was the scene of tension between these two regional actors," says Alain Aoun, a lawmaker with the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party politically allied with the militant Shiite Hezbollah organization and led by his uncle, Michel Aoun. They have Iraq, they have Yemen, they have Bahrain and they mainly have Syria, which is the most important scene of instability and war between the two axes.

Kurds regain Syrian villages from Islamic State: monitor Posted: 14 Feb 2015 04:20 AM PST Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led air strikes have regained control of at least 163 villages around the Syrian town of Kobani after driving back Islamic State militants in the past three weeks, a group monitoring the conflict said on Saturday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that although the Kurds had recaptured many villages since winning back Kobani in late January, their progress had been slowed by renewed clashes to the west and southwest of the town, where Islamic State had redirected its fighters. The battle for the predominately Kurdish town, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, became a focal point for the U.S.-led air campaign against the al Qaeda offshoot in Syria. The Syrian Kurds, who also received military support from Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, said they drove Islamic State from the town near the Turkish border on Jan 26.

Sen. Graham's possible 2016 bid keeps others on hold in SC Posted: 14 Feb 2015 12:47 AM PST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina voters often think of themselves as presidential tie-breakers, enjoying their prime role as the next to cast ballots after Iowa's caucuses and New Hampshire's primary.

'American Sniper' murder trial centers on competency Posted: 14 Feb 2015 12:44 AM PST STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — While defense attorneys mount an insanity defense for the former Marine on trial in the shooting deaths of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield, prosecutors have described Eddie Ray Routh as a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong. Criminal law experts say the case hinges on whether the defense can prove Routh did not know that the killings constituted a crime.

Will war powers vote haunt senators weighing higher office? Posted: 14 Feb 2015 12:13 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — In 2002, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cast a vote in favor of the Iraq war that would later come to haunt her presidential campaign.

In battle for Kobane, US crews recount heavy bombing Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:53 PM PST American pilots call it "going Winchester," when a warplane drops every bomb on board, and air crews for the B-1 bomber told AFP it was not uncommon in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobane, recaptured by Kurdish forces last month. The airmen, recently returned from a six-month stint flying combat missions over Syria and Iraq, recounted how American aircraft relentlessly pounded Islamic State jihadists fighting the Kurds in Kobane. The heavy bombing, not seen since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, helped the Kurds hold and eventually recapture the northern border town last month, a symbolic blow to the extremists who appeared on the verge of seizing Kobane in October. "When you went to Kobane, you could almost guarantee you were going to release a weapon that day," said Captain Todd Saksa, a B-1 weapons systems officer.

G4S denies abuse of South African prisoners Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:51 PM PST Security firm G4S Plc on Friday denied allegations by former prisoners in South Africa that members of the British group's staff had tortured them. A legal document seen by Reuters showed British law firm Leigh Day is representing 43 former inmates of a maximum security prison in Bloemfontein run by G4S in a civil damages claim. "G4S insists on the highest standards of care and we not tolerate the mistreatment of prisoners," spokesman Nigel Fairbass said. The claim letter, dated Feb. 12, 2015, is addressed to the chief executive of G4S, Ashley Almanza.

U.S. moving to resupply Jordan's military with munitions: officials Posted: 13 Feb 2015 05:45 PM PST By Phil Stewart and Suleiman Al-Khalidi WASHINGTON/AMMAN (Reuters) - The United States is readying plans to resupply Jordan with munitions in the coming weeks, possibly including precision-guided arms, expediting support for the kingdom as it expands its role in airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS), officials say. The State Department and Pentagon declined comment on any future moves to assist Jordan with requests for weapons. U.S. efforts to expedite delivery of munitions and other weapons follow a vocal appeal from Jordan's King Abdullah to American lawmakers last week for greater U.S. support.

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