Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• UN Official: ISIS Destruction of Ancient City of Nimrud, Artifacts a ‘War Crime’
• ISIS' Attack on Ancient History Called a 'War Crime'
• Islamic State militants bulldoze ancient Nimrud city
• Police raid Arizona homeless protest camp, make drug arrests
• UN Sudan humanitarian chief urges Darfur conflict solution
• CIA director announces sweeping reorganization of spy agency
• IS DESTROYED HERITAGE
• Canada gunman says Parliament attack was retaliation
• Gunman's video says Parliament attack spurred by Canada military action
• Islamic State expelled from Iraq town Al-Baghdadi: US
• Iraqi forces retake western town of al-Baghdadi
• Outrage: Extremists take ancient statues, damage Iraqi site
• UNESCO calls destruction of ancient Iraq site 'war crime'
• Iraqi forces clear Islamic State fighters from town near key base
• Oil in biggest weekly drop since January on dollar, rate-hike fear
• U.S. Air Force eyes Textron plane, others for future air support
• White House: destruction of Nimrud 'incomprehensible'
• AJC Provides Support to IsraAID to Assist Israeli Trauma Experts in Jordan
• Iran-backed advance in southern Syria rattles Israel
• Police release video made by gunman before Ottawa attack
• Accused Boston bomber's lawyers gamble with guilt admission: experts
• Attack on Canada parliament revenge: shooter says in video
• Destruction of Iraq heritage by IS jihadists
• Caller Shares Details of ISIS Kidnapping of Family Members on Immaculate Heart Radio
• IS group erasing history, culture in Syria, Iraq
• Unemployment rate for US teenagers plunged in February
• Iraqi forces battle IS for strategic town
• UN shrinks food aid to Syria refugees in Turkey as cash low
• 'Hell awaits' Tajiks fighting in Syria: leader
• NBC brings back former news president
• Advancing Iraq troops enter strategic town on edge of Tikrit
• Andy Lack named head of NBC news division: memo
• Traumatized Vets Are Finding Hope in Special Courts
• 'Eurabia' fears rise after terror strikes: Myth or reality?
• German court gives man 6-year sentence over PKK role
• 46,000 Twitter accounts linked to Islamic State: study
• Kerry promotes Jon Finer to be his chief of staff
• Al-Qaida's Syria branch confirms death of field commander
• 'Jihadi John' link deepens security unease in Kuwait

UN Official: ISIS Destruction of Ancient City of Nimrud, Artifacts a ‘War Crime’ Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:05 PM PST "I condemn in the strongest possible manner the destruction of the archaeological site of Nimrud site in Iraq. This is yet another attack against the Iraqi people, reminding us that nothing is safe from the cultural cleansing underway in the country: It targets human lives, minorities, and is marked by the systematic destruction of humanity's ancient heritage," Irina Bokova, Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said today. The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a war crime. Bokova's statement came a day after Iraqi television reported that ISIS militants had "bulldozed" Nimrud, the second capital of the Assyrian Empire founded during the 13th century B.C., which lies approximately 20 miles south of Mosul, according to the UN.

ISIS' Attack on Ancient History Called a 'War Crime' Posted: 06 Mar 2015 03:38 PM PST Last week, ISIS released a video of the group ransacking the Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. Yesterday (March 5), Iraq's Ministry of Culture announced that ISIS had razed one of the famous capitals of the Assyrian empire, the 3,300-year-old city of Nimrud, near the banks of the Tigris River. "The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a war crime," UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement today. The bulldozing of Nimrud was especially shocking because it is one of the most important archaeological sites not just in Mesopotamia, but the world, said Ihsan Fethi, director of the Iraqi Architects Society.

Islamic State militants bulldoze ancient Nimrud city Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:51 PM PST By Dominic Evans and Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters have looted and bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, the Iraqi government said, in their latest assault on some of the world's greatest archaeological and cultural treasures. A tribal source from the nearby city of Mosul told Reuters the radical Sunni Islamists, who dismiss Iraq's pre-Islamic heritage as idolatrous, had pillaged the 3,000-year-old site on the banks of the Tigris River. The assault against Nimrud came just a week after the release of a video showing Islamic State forces smashing museum statues and carvings in Mosul, the city they seized along with much of northern Iraq last June. "Daesh terrorist gangs continue to defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity," Iraq's tourism and antiquities ministry said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym.

Police raid Arizona homeless protest camp, make drug arrests Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:49 PM PST By Brad Poole TUCSON, Ariz. (Reuters) - Police have raided a sprawling protest camp of homeless people in Tucson, Arizona, and arrested six people, including the leader of the demonstration, on charges including possession and sale of drugs, authorities said on Friday. The raid late on Thursday followed a weeks-long operation during which undercover officers purchased narcotics 20 times from a dozen people in the city's Veinte de Agosto Park, the original site of Tucson's Occupy protest. More than 70 live on sidewalks in coffin-like "pods" in what organizers say is a protest against views among members of the public that homeless people are criminals. The Tucson Police Department said its Street Narcotics Unit launched an investigation after receiving many complaints about the use and sale of marijuana and other drugs in the area.

UN Sudan humanitarian chief urges Darfur conflict solution Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:46 PM PST The acting United Nations humanitarian chief in Sudan urged the government and rebels in Darfur Friday to negotiate a political solution to the conflict, as troops press an offensive in the region. Darfur has been mired in conflict since 2003 when mostly black insurgents rebelled against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, complaining of their marginalisation. "It is now nearly 11 years that this has been going on and we still don't see an end in sight," said Geert Cappelaere, the head of UNICEF in Sudan and the acting UN humanitarian coordinator in the country. In November, the government launched a fresh offensive in Darfur, as well as in the southern Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas.

CIA director announces sweeping reorganization of spy agency Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:26 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Director John Brennan has ordered a sweeping reorganization of the CIA, an overhaul designed to make its leaders more accountable and close espionage gaps amid widespread concerns about the spy agency's limited insights into a series of major global developments.

IS DESTROYED HERITAGE Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:13 PM PST Map shows selected sites across Iraq and Syria of destroyed antiquities.; 2c x 6 inches; 96.3 mm x 152 mm;

Canada gunman says Parliament attack was retaliation Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:09 PM PST Following is a partial transcript of a video statement made by gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau before he killed a soldier in Ottawa on Oct. 22 and then stormed Parliament, where he was shot dead. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police released the transcript on Friday.

Gunman's video says Parliament attack spurred by Canada military action Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:09 PM PST By Mike De Souza OTTAWA (Reuters) - The gunman who shot and killed a soldier in Canada's capital and then stormed Parliament last year said he was retaliating against Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a video recording released on Friday. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau made the short video on his mobile phone just before launching his attacks on Oct. 22. A Canadian convert to Islam, he died in a gun battle with police and security guards shortly after entering the Parliament building in Ottawa. "‎To those who are involved and listen to this movie, this is in retaliation for Afghanistan and because (Canadian Prime Minister Stephen) Harper wants to send his troops to Iraq," Zehaf-Bibeau said in a calm voice on the video, which police played to a committee of legislators.

Islamic State expelled from Iraq town Al-Baghdadi: US Posted: 06 Mar 2015 02:07 PM PST Iraqi government forces and allied tribal militia have retaken the town of Al-Baghdadi, from where jihadists had threatened to attack an airbase housing US troops, the US military said Friday. Fighters from the Islamic State group had taken Al-Baghdadi, a small town on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, in February, posing a threat to a nearby base where American forces train their Iraqi counterparts. A statement from the headquarters of the US-led coalition conducting air strikes in Iraq and Syria against jihadist targets said it had ordered 26 air strikes around the town since February 22. "Iraqi security forces and tribal fighters from the Anbar region have successfully cleared Al-Baghdadi of ISIL (IS), retaking both the police station and three Euphrates River bridges," it said.

Iraqi forces retake western town of al-Baghdadi Posted: 06 Mar 2015 01:46 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says Iraqi forces have retaken the town of al-Baghdadi from Islamic State fighters after months of battles.

Outrage: Extremists take ancient statues, damage Iraqi site Posted: 06 Mar 2015 01:20 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic State extremists trucked away statues as they damaged the irreplaceable remains of an ancient Assyrian capital, a local resident and a top UN official told The Associated Press Friday.

UNESCO calls destruction of ancient Iraq site 'war crime' Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:51 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Islamic State group's rampage through the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq is an act of "cultural cleansing" that amounts to a war crime, and some of the site's large statues have already been trucked away for possible illicit trafficking, the head of the U.N.'s cultural agency said Friday.

Iraqi forces clear Islamic State fighters from town near key base Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:47 PM PST Iraqi forces have cleared Islamic State fighters from the town of al-Baghdadi near a key base where U.S. Marines are training Iraqi military troops, recapturing the police station and three bridges over the Euphrates, the U.S. military said on Friday. Iraqi Security Forces and tribal militia from the Anbar region also pushed the Islamic State fighters from seven villages northwest of al-Baghdadi on the road to Haditha, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. Al-Baghdadi is located about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Ain al-Asad air base, where U.S. Marines are training Iraqi military forces to help them confront Islamic State militants who overran part of northwestern Iraq last year. Islamic State militants seized the bridges around al-Baghdadi in September.

Oil in biggest weekly drop since January on dollar, rate-hike fear Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:39 PM PST By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices closed down on Friday, with benchmark Brent losing its most in a week since January, as a resurgent dollar and fear of a U.S. rate hike diverted attention from the shrinking number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States. Many U.S. Federal Reserve officials consider that to be full employment, and the central bank could decide on an interest rate hike in June. Benchmark Brent oil settled down 75 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $59.73 a barrel. "Today's focus is on the absolute strength of the dollar and what that could mean for near-term interest rates in the United States," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

U.S. Air Force eyes Textron plane, others for future air support Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:34 PM PST By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is looking at Textron Inc's Scorpion and other aircraft to address future needs for low-end air support missions given its plans to retire the aging fleet of A-10 Warthog planes in coming years, a top general said Friday. Later versions of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet would be the primary warplane used for close air support in future conflicts with higher-end adversaries, General Herbert Carlisle, who heads Air Combat Command, told reporters. He said no decisions had been made on a possible acquisition program, but the Air Force had looked at the Scorpion plane developed by Textron using its own funds and others to address lower-end threats instead of using stealthy and costly F-35s. We're just keeping our opportunities open." Carlisle spoke to reporters after a weeklong "summit" involving the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Commands and other Pentagon officials as they reviewed current close air support missions and future needs.

White House: destruction of Nimrud 'incomprehensible' Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PST Washington (AFP) - The White House expressed outrage Friday at the bulldozing of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud by the Islamic State jihadist group in northern Iraq.

AJC Provides Support to IsraAID to Assist Israeli Trauma Experts in Jordan Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:22 PM PST NEW YORK, March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC has announced a grant to support IsraAID in assisting Israeli trauma specialists working with their Jordanian counterparts aiding refugees from Syria. Jordan is housing more than one million Syrians who have crossed the border seeking safety from the four year old civil war. "We are delighted to support Israelis and Jordanians cooperating to provide much-needed medical relief to refugees from the horrendous conflict," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. The AJC funds will cover expenses associated with the training of Jordanian trauma workers aiding Syrian refugees.

Iran-backed advance in southern Syria rattles Israel Posted: 06 Mar 2015 12:18 PM PST The Golan Heights, one of Israel's quietest frontiers, is showing signs of becoming an active front that could soon bring the forces of arch-enemies Iran and Israel into direct contact for the first time. For nearly a month, Lebanon's militant Hezbollah organization and other Shiite forces under Iranian command have been inching their way across a belt of southern Syria in a bid to drive out rebel forces fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an important Iranian ally. "The Iranians through Hezbollah really do wish to complete this encirclement from the north [of Israel] now that they have access to the Golan.… I think that is a key strategic move for them," says Phillip Smyth, a researcher at the University of Maryland and author of the Hizballah Cavalcade blog, which focuses on Shiite militarism in the Middle East. Israel is eyeing with increasing concern the Iranian moves on the Golan, which was occupied by the Jewish state in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Police release video made by gunman before Ottawa attack Posted: 06 Mar 2015 11:47 AM PST TORONTO (AP) — In a video recorded before his death, the gunman who killed a Canadian soldier and then stormed Parliament said he did it because of Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Accused Boston bomber's lawyers gamble with guilt admission: experts Posted: 06 Mar 2015 11:22 AM PST By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - When they admitted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's role in the Boston Marathon bombing, his lawyers acknowledged that he will almost certainly spend the rest of his life behind bars. Tsarnaev's defense team opened his trial this week by bluntly admitting that the 21-year-old defendant and his older brother planted the twin bombs that killed three people and injured 264 on April 15, 2013, and three days later fatally shot a police officer as they tried to flee the city.

Attack on Canada parliament revenge: shooter says in video Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:50 AM PST A Muslim convert who stormed Canada's parliament last October said he carried out the attack in retaliation for the West's military deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a video released on Friday. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who killed a ceremonial guard at Ottawa's war memorial before bursting into parliament where he was shot dead, made the video message on a phone found in his abandoned car. "This is in retaliation for Afghanistan and because (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper wants to send his troops to Iraq," Zehaf-Bibeau says in the grainy video released by police.

Destruction of Iraq heritage by IS jihadists Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:48 AM PST The bulldozing of the ancient Assyrian archaeological site of Nimrud is only the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic State group on heritage in Iraq. An ancient Assyrian city south of Mosul on UNESCO's tentative world heritage list, founded in the 13th century BC and originally called Kalhu. Iraq's most important museum after Baghdad's, it has four main halls.

Caller Shares Details of ISIS Kidnapping of Family Members on Immaculate Heart Radio Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:39 AM PST LOOMIS, Calif., March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Listeners to Immaculate Heart Radio's The Patrick Madrid Show  heard first hand details of the latest ISIS abduction of Assyrian Christians Feb. 26th, when an Arizona listener, of Assyrian descent, and a direct relative of four abducted Assyrian Christians, called the show. The caller, who is a protected source of Immaculate Heart Radio, shared details of the kidnapping of four family members who are among the estimated 220 Assyrian Christians taken hostage by Islamic radicals in Syria this week.

IS group erasing history, culture in Syria, Iraq Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:19 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group's destruction of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq is part of a systematic campaign to destroy archaeological sites it says promote apostasy.

Unemployment rate for US teenagers plunged in February Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:10 AM PST U.S. teenagers got back to work in February. Teens typically have one of the country's highest unemployment rates. Many of them are busy attending school and have limited hours available for work or must ...

Iraqi forces battle IS for strategic town Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:00 AM PST Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State group in the strategic town of Dawr on Friday as they pressed a major offensive aimed at retaking Tikrit from the jihadists, officials said. The town lies along one of the main roads that Iraqi security forces and allied fighters are taking to reach the city of Tikrit, and needs to be captured for the anti-IS offensive to move forward. Salaheddin province Governor Raad al-Juburi said the main street in Dawr had been retaken, while an army major general said periodic clashes were taking place in the town after security forces entered on Friday afternoon. Ex-president Saddam Hussein was arrested by US forces in 2003 near Dawr, which is also the hometown of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the most senior member of his regime still at large.

UN shrinks food aid to Syria refugees in Turkey as cash low Posted: 06 Mar 2015 09:03 AM PST The United Nations food agency said Friday it had been forced to withdraw aid from nine Syrian refugee camps in Turkey due to a lack of funds, calling on donors to step up. "Unfortunately, in February, we were forced to ask the Turkish government to take over assistance in nine camps where we could not continue providing aid because we lack funds," said World Food Programme spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Byrs said WFP was facing a $71-million (65-million-euro) shortfall for its aid programme in Turkey this year. The UN agency needs $9 million each month to provide hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the country with food aid, she said.

'Hell awaits' Tajiks fighting in Syria: leader Posted: 06 Mar 2015 08:57 AM PST Post-Soviet Tajikistan's authoritarian President Emomali Rakhmon said Friday that Tajiks fighting in the ranks of ISIS and other extremist organisations in Iraq and Syria would burn in hell. Rakhmon, whose secular government is frequently accused of cracking down on religious believers, spoke in the capital Dushanbe ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, which Tajikistan renamed the Day of the Mother in 2009. Do they not know that Syria and Iraq are Muslim countries and that every day there are Muslims dying there?" Rakhmon said at a public gathering.

NBC brings back former news president Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — NBC has changed the leadership of its troubled news division by bringing back the executive who led the network out of a dark period two decades ago.

Advancing Iraq troops enter strategic town on edge of Tikrit Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:46 AM PST By Saif Hameed and Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces and Iran-backed militiamen entered a town on the southern outskirts of Saddam Hussein's home city Tikrit on Friday, pressing on with the biggest offensive yet against Islamic State militants that seized the north last year. Military commanders said the army and mostly Shi'ite militia forces had retaken the town of al-Dour on Tikrit's outskirts, known outside Iraq as the area where executed former dictator Saddam was found hiding in a pit near a farm house in 2003. Some officials said the troops were still only in the south and east of the town, which had been rigged with bombs by retreating Islamic State fighters. The army, joined by thousands of Shi'ite militiamen backed and advised by Iran, is five days into an advance on Saddam's home city of Tikrit, by far the biggest target yet in a campaign to roll back last year's advance by Islamic State fighters.

Andy Lack named head of NBC news division: memo Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:37 AM PST (Reuters) - NBCUniversal named veteran news executive Andy Lack as chairman of its news division, according to a memo from Chief Executive Officer Steve Burke sent on Friday. Lack, who recently served as CEO and chairman of Bloomberg LP's Media Group and head of the independent U.S. agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, will oversee NBC News and cable news network MSNBC. The heads of NBC News and MSNBC, Deborah Turness and Phil Griffin, respectively, will report to Lack.

Traumatized Vets Are Finding Hope in Special Courts Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:17 AM PST The Orange County Combat Veterans Court, in Southern California, is not like other courts by design. If the panel reaches a consensus that the veteran committed a crime as a result of military service, and that he (they are almost all men) is unlikely to offend again, the vet then begins an 18-month program which, in lieu of a prison term, requires regular drug and alcohol testing as well as treatment for whatever substance abuse and mental health issues the convict might be saddled with (alcohol is the primary drug of choice for more than half of those in the Orange Country program, while nearly half of those who get kicked out are addicted to methamphetamines).

'Eurabia' fears rise after terror strikes: Myth or reality? Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:15 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — The headlines would suggest Europe is under siege: Thousands of Germans march against the continent's "Islamization." French readers flock to read a novel about a Muslim president who imposes Sharia law on their country. Commentators warn darkly about an encroaching age of "Eurabia" in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

German court gives man 6-year sentence over PKK role Posted: 06 Mar 2015 06:57 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted a man of terrorism charges and sentenced him to six years in prison after finding he ran the finances in Europe of the banned Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK.

46,000 Twitter accounts linked to Islamic State: study Posted: 06 Mar 2015 06:37 AM PST At least 46,000 Twitter accounts have been linked to supporters of the Islamic State in late 2014, a research report released in Washington showed. The study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution found that even though many accounts were suspended by the messaging platform, the numbers remained high. "From September through December 2014, the authors estimate that at least 46,000 Twitter accounts were used by ISIS supporters, although not all of them were active at the same time," the report said. Authors JM Berger and Jonathon Morgan said analysis of the social media efforts of the militant Islamic group also known as ISIS needs to go beyond the core leadership.

Kerry promotes Jon Finer to be his chief of staff Posted: 06 Mar 2015 06:26 AM PST U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry informed the State Department on Friday that he has promoted Jon Finer, a former foreign correspondent for the Washington Post, to be his new chief of staff. Finer, until now deputy chief of staff, travels with Kerry on his foreign trips and sits in on most of his meetings. He will replace David Wade, who is stepping down but will continue to accompany Kerry, a senior U.S. official said. "We have a lot to do over the next two years ... whether it is continuing the Iran nuclear talks, defining ​the path forward with India, our upcoming strategic dialogue with China (and) our efforts to normalize relations with Cuba," Kerry told the State Department in a letter obtained by Reuters.

Al-Qaida's Syria branch confirms death of field commander Posted: 06 Mar 2015 05:52 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate confirmed on Friday that its top field commander was killed in an airstrike that targeted a meeting of the group's senior leadership.

'Jihadi John' link deepens security unease in Kuwait Posted: 06 Mar 2015 05:23 AM PST By Noah Browning KUWAIT (Reuters) - Reports that Islamic State's most notorious executioner was born on their soil have stirred deep unease among Kuwaitis about the vulnerability of their country to wars in nearby Iraq and Syria in which some of their Arab allies have become combatants. People within the government and beyond are quick to point out that Mohammed Emwazi appears to have been radicalized in Britain, the country's former colonial protector where he grew up as a citizen. It tarnishes the reputation of the countries in which people like this were born," Sheikh Mohammed al-Mubarak al-Sabah, a Kuwaiti government minister, told Reuters. Security officials acknowledge that youths from Gulf Arab states have trekked in their hundreds to fight for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a sign of the potency of the militant group's declaration of a caliphate.

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