Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Robinson, Chast among winners of book critics prizes
• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• An attack wounded three army members in Egypt's Sinai: sources
• Major piece of Obama anti-IS strategy is stalled
• Bad weather keeps helicopter wreckage 25 feet under water
• Syria war criminals will face justice, U.N. rights boss vows
• Dr. Nancy Snyderman leaves NBC News after breaking Ebola quarantine
• Islamic State leader accepts allegiance of Nigeria's Boko Haram
• Arkansas lawmakers clearing 2020 path for Sen. Tom Cotton
• IS readies for Tikrit last stand but 'expands' to Nigeria
• IS accepts Boko Haram allegiance pledge
• U.S. watching Tikrit blazes with concern as Iraqi fighters advance
• IS welcomes Boko Haram allegiance: tape
• Uncertain future for Sikorsky no surprise to Connecticut
• UN Security Council nears text endorsing Boko Haram fight
• Syria as Vietnam? Why the war could be making Hezbollah stronger.
• Iraq vows Tikrit victory, but avoiding sectarian reprisals may be the real test
• Military: 2 soldiers' bodies recovered from helicopter wreck
• On two fronts, Iraqi forces battle Islamic State for Tikrit
• British girls were helped into Syria by spy from U.S.-led coalition
• In coalition of many, US air power does the heavy lifting
• EU ministers beef up anti-terror measures
• Iraqi forces slowed by snipers and bombs in Tikrit
• 14 million children pay price for Syria, Iraq conflicts: UNICEF
• SYRIA REFUGEES
• Iraq troops killed in Anbar blast, U.S. says wasn't coalition strike
• FBI chief warns of Islamic State recruits, lone wolf attacks
• Iraq's first Christian brigade formed to battle IS
• Left alone against Syrian army, U.S-trained rebels cannot beat Islamic State: opposition
• Ambassador John Bolton Endorses Three GOP Candidates
• U.S.-led forces conduct 13 air strikes in Iraq: U.S. military
• Islamic State militants claim bomb attack in Libyan capital
• France opens probe into IS execution featuring French speaker
• Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT
• They want to be Greek - but Greece doesn't want them
• Iraqi Forces Have ISIS on the Run in Tikrit
• Syria's Assad tightens grip after four years of war
• Australia probes claim teenager was Iraq suicide bomber
• Quotations in the News

Robinson, Chast among winners of book critics prizes Posted: 12 Mar 2015 05:06 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Novelist Marilynne Robinson and cartoonist Roz Chast were among the winners Thursday night of National Book Critics Circle prizes.

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 12 Mar 2015 05:02 PM PDT DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The roof of a five-story cement factory under construction in Bangladesh collapsed Thursday, killing at least four workers and trapping many others, an official said. About 150 workers were on duty when the collapse occurred in Mongla in Bagerhat district, fire official Mizanur Rahman said.

An attack wounded three army members in Egypt's Sinai: sources Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:57 PM PDT An attack on a checkpoint with rocket-propelled grenades wounded one army officer and two other soldiers in the Egyptian city of al-Arish on Thursday, security sources said, the latest in a string of attacks in the Sinai peninsula. The attack came at the eve of an investment conference in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, 340 km (210 miles) south of al-Arish, that Egypt hopes will project an image of stability and attract billions of dollars. The attacks were concentrated in North Sinai, epicenter of an insurgency by militants seeking to topple the Cairo government. On Tuesday, A suicide bomber killed a civilian and wounded 30 policemen when he tried to ram a water tanker into a police barracks in al-Arish, security sources said.

Major piece of Obama anti-IS strategy is stalled Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:28 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military and intelligence officials are increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for political reconciliation in Iraq, a key tenet of the Obama administration's strategy to dislodge the Islamic State group and stabilize the country.

Bad weather keeps helicopter wreckage 25 feet under water Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:08 PM PDT NAVARRE, Fla. (AP) — Divers have found the wreckage of a military helicopter in just 25 feet of water after it crashed in dense fog during a Florida training mission, killing seven elite Marines and four experienced soldiers. But more bad weather Thursday delayed the recovery of bodies and the flight recorder.

Syria war criminals will face justice, U.N. rights boss vows Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:07 PM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Suspected war criminals in Syria will face justice for gross violations against civilians someday as the evidence against all sides grows, the U.N. human rights chief said on Thursday. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, speaking on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the start of the conflict, denounced the "bloodlust" of Islamic State forces controlling large parts of Syria and Iraq who have beheaded Western hostages and burned alive a Jordanian pilot. "We have a massive amount of evidence, there are lists with people's names on them," Zeid told a Geneva audience in a joint interview with U.N. refugee boss Antonio Guterres by CNN's Christiane Amanpour. A U.N. commission of inquiry led by Paulo Pinheiro has gathered testimony and evidence, compiling five secret lists of suspects whom it says include Syrian government military and security officials and rebel commanders.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman leaves NBC News after breaking Ebola quarantine Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:03 PM PDT (Reuters) - NBC News said on Thursday that its chief medical correspondent, Nancy Snyderman, is leaving the network months after the doctor made a controversial decision to break an Ebola quarantine to get take-out soup from a restaurant. Snyderman, who has been with NBC for 9 years, said in a statement that she will return to academic medicine. "Covering the Ebola epidemic last fall in Liberia, and then becoming part of the story upon my return to the U.S., contributed to my decision," she said. Snyderman went to Africa to report on Ebola with a news team.

Islamic State leader accepts allegiance of Nigeria's Boko Haram Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:59 PM PDT The leader of the Islamic State militant group that controls tracts of Syria and Iraq has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Nigerian Islamists Boko Haram, his spokesman said, calling on supporters to fight in Africa. Boko Haram, which has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds during a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, pledged its allegiance last week, highlighting increased coordination between jihadi movements across north Africa and the Middle East. "Our caliph, God save him, has accepted the pledge of loyalty of our brothers of Boko Haram so we congratulate Muslims and our jihadi brothers in West Africa," Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio message, referring to his group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Islamic State, an ultra-hardline offshoot of al Qaeda, has declared a caliphate in captured territory in Iraq and Syria and has gained global notoriety for killing or kidnapping members of ethnic and religious minorities and posting videos of its members killing Arab and Western hostages.

Arkansas lawmakers clearing 2020 path for Sen. Tom Cotton Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:48 PM PDT LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Lawmakers in U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton's home state of Arkansas are clearing the path for a 2020 White House bid that the freshman Republican hasn't even floated as a possibility.

IS readies for Tikrit last stand but 'expands' to Nigeria Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:33 PM PDT Thousands of Iraqi forces laid siege to jihadists holed up in Tikrit Thursday but the Islamic State group shrugged off setbacks by welcoming Nigeria's Boko Haram group into its "caliphate". After making major gains in and around the city Wednesday, commanders were confident that Baghdad's biggest victory yet against IS was only a matter of time. "Now we are moving to the second phase of our plan," Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told reporters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital. No one involved has provided casualty figures since the start of this latest and largest operation to retake Tikrit, which has been in IS hands since June.

IS accepts Boko Haram allegiance pledge Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:32 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The spokesman for Islamic State militants said Thursday that the extremist group has accepted the pledge of allegiance by West Africa's Boko Haram group.

U.S. watching Tikrit blazes with concern as Iraqi fighters advance Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:29 PM PDT The United States is concerned over reports that Shi'ite militia have set fire to homes as they advance on the Iraqi city of Tikrit, say U.S. officials, but they have not confirmed cases of abuse during the major offensive against Islamic State militants. Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia fought Sunni militants in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. U.S. officials said they were closely monitoring accounts from Tikrit, including video posted on social media, showing buildings being set ablaze.

IS welcomes Boko Haram allegiance: tape Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:22 PM PDT The Islamic State group welcomed a pledge of allegiance made to it by Boko Haram and vowed to press with its expansion, according to an audiotape Thursday purportedly from its spokesman. "We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph... has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad," IS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani said in the message, using the Arabic name for Nigeria's Boko Haram extremist group. In the tape of some 30 minutes, Adnani urges Muslims to join militants in West Africa and played down "victories" by the US-led coalition and Iraqi forces against his group.

Uncertain future for Sikorsky no surprise to Connecticut Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:07 PM PDT An uncertain future for Sikorsky Aircraft is nothing new to Connecticut officials. The announcement Wednesday that aerospace and building systems giant United Technologies Corp. is considering options ...

UN Security Council nears text endorsing Boko Haram fight Posted: 12 Mar 2015 01:04 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Members of the U.N. Security Council are proposing that the international community supply money, equipment, troops and intelligence to a five-nation African force fighting Boko Haram.

Syria as Vietnam? Why the war could be making Hezbollah stronger. Posted: 12 Mar 2015 12:52 PM PDT When Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah publicly confirmed in May 2013 that Hezbollah had intervened in Syria's bloody civil war, the Iran-backed Shiite militant group was locked in a battle that resulted in its highest-ever casualty rate. Hezbollah's assault on the rebel-held town of Qusayr, near Homs, its first serious engagement of the Syria conflict, saw dozens of fighters killed in just 17 days of grueling street-to-street fighting. The high casualties and the impact of multiple funerals across Shiite regions of Lebanon led some to predict that in coming to the aid of its ally, embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah had entered its "Vietnam" – an exhausting conflict with no clear exit strategy that would erode its popular standing across the Middle East as a powerful foe of Israel. "The battle in Qusayr will act as Hezbollah's Vietnam and it will have repercussions on the whole of Lebanon," Michel Mouawad, a Lebanese Christian politician who opposes Hezbollah, said at the time.

Iraq vows Tikrit victory, but avoiding sectarian reprisals may be the real test Posted: 12 Mar 2015 12:23 PM PDT Iraqi security forces and allied militias pressed deeper into the Tigris River city of Tikrit on Thursday, part of what is shaping up to be a larger push to take back northern Iraqi towns and cities from the self-described Islamic State. Military officials said they were confident of victory within a few days, which would make it the largest city retaken from the so-called Islamic State, and that it would provide momentum to the next stage of the campaign: retaking Mosul, the city that is the commercial heart of the north.

Military: 2 soldiers' bodies recovered from helicopter wreck Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:50 AM PDT NAVARRE, Fla. (AP) — Divers have found the military helicopter that crashed in dense fog during a Florida training mission, killing seven elite Marines and four experienced soldiers. More bad weather Thursday delayed the recovery of bodies and the flight recorder from wreckage 25 feet deep.

On two fronts, Iraqi forces battle Islamic State for Tikrit Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:26 AM PDT TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi troops clashed along two fronts with Islamic State militants in Tikrit on Thursday as rockets and mortars echoed across Saddam Hussein's hometown a day after soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen swept into this Sunni city north of Baghdad.

British girls were helped into Syria by spy from U.S.-led coalition Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:24 AM PDT By Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA (Reuters) - A spy who worked for a country in the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting Islamic State had helped three British girls to cross into Syria to join the militants and has been caught, the Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday. The minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told broadcaster A Haber in an interview: "He was caught. It turned out to be someone who works for the intelligence of a country from the coalition." He didn't say which country the spy was working for, but said it was not the European Union or the United States. A European security source familiar with the case of the three girls said the person in question had a connection with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spy agency.

In coalition of many, US air power does the heavy lifting Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:13 AM PDT AL-UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AP) — American refueling planes rumble into the air from this desert air base around the clock to top up coalition aircraft bombing Islamic State militants, whether they're Arab fighters flying out of regional bases or French warplanes catapulted off an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

EU ministers beef up anti-terror measures Posted: 12 Mar 2015 10:59 AM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — European countries agreed Thursday to begin giving extra scrutiny this summer to travelers who meet criteria indicating they could be terrorists or Muslim foreign fighters.

Iraqi forces slowed by snipers and bombs in Tikrit Posted: 12 Mar 2015 10:40 AM PDT By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia fought Islamic State fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. Three Islamic State insurgents were killed but the army and militias struggled to advance from parts of the city which they took 24 hours earlier. Islamic State fighters stormed into Tikrit last June during a lightning offensive that was halted just outside Baghdad. They have since used the complex of palaces built in Tikrit under Saddam, the executed former president, as their headquarters.

14 million children pay price for Syria, Iraq conflicts: UNICEF Posted: 12 Mar 2015 10:06 AM PDT The United Nations children's fund said Thursday that 14 million children are paying the price for warfare in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, with violence and hardship shaping their future. "With the conflict in Syria now entering its fifth year, the situation of more than 5.6 million children inside the country remains the most desperate," UNICEF said in a statement. The agency said up to two million children were living in areas of Syria largely cut off from humanitarian aid, and around 2.6 million children were out of school. Almost two million Syrian children are living as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and other countries, "in addition to the 3.6 million children from vulnerable communities" in the host countries, UNICEF said.

SYRIA REFUGEES Posted: 12 Mar 2015 09:49 AM PDT Graphic shows number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm;

Iraq troops killed in Anbar blast, U.S. says wasn't coalition strike Posted: 12 Mar 2015 09:29 AM PDT Soldiers from an Iraqi army unit in the western province of Anbar have been killed in what seemed to be a 'friendly fire' incident, an Iraqi military officer and a police source said on Thursday. The military source said 22 soldiers were killed on Wednesday when an aircraft bombed the headquarters of an army company on the edge of Ramadi city, Anbar's provincial capital. The source said he believed the bomb was launched from a U.S.-led coalition aircraft, but coalition spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gilleran said the only strike it carried out in the province did not result in any "friendly casualties".

FBI chief warns of Islamic State recruits, lone wolf attacks Posted: 12 Mar 2015 09:20 AM PDT By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The radicalization of Americans by Islamic State and other groups, particularly through sophisticated use of social media, is a top concern for the FBI as it grapples with evolving terrorism threats, Director James Comey said on Thursday. Like other militant groups, Islamic State, also known as ISIL, has called for lone wolf attacks in Western countries and has specifically encouraged attacks on soldiers, law enforcement officers and the intelligence community, Comey said at an appropriations subcommittee budget hearing. Comey referred to the group's efforts to recruit Americans to join Islamic State fighting in Syria and Iraq, then have them return to the United States to commit acts of terrorism. "ISIL's widespread reach through the Internet and social media is most concerning as the group has proven dangerously competent at employing such tools for its nefarious strategy," Comey told the panel as he presented his $8.48 billion budget request for fiscal year 2016.

Iraq's first Christian brigade formed to battle IS Posted: 12 Mar 2015 08:47 AM PDT Iraq's first Christian-only brigade of regular forces graduated Thursday to help retake the community's towns and villages from the Islamic State group. The new brigade will answer to the government of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, whose peshmerga fighters are playing a leading role in the war against the jihadists. Most of Iraq's Christians lived in the Nineveh plain, an area between the main IS hub of Mosul and the Kurdish capital of Arbil, before IS fighters swept in seven months ago. "Around 600 peshmerga from our Christian brothers in the Nineveh plain joined this course, which focused on physical training, military lectures and shooting exercises," said Abu Bakr Ismail, the commander of the training academy.

Left alone against Syrian army, U.S-trained rebels cannot beat Islamic State: opposition Posted: 12 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PDT U.S.-trained rebels due to fight Islamic State will fail if they are not also protected from the Syrian army, the main Western-backed political opposition said on Thursday, after Washington said it might lack the legal authority to defend them from Syrian troops. A fledgling U.S. military-led training program starting in coming weeks aims to train upwards of 5,000 fighters a year to battle the hardline militant group, also known as ISIS, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq. Monzer Akbik, a representative for the National Coalition, based outside Syria, said mainstream rebels had repeatedly found themselves attacked by Syrian forces while confronting Islamic State, and that the same would happen to U.S.-trained rebels.

Ambassador John Bolton Endorses Three GOP Candidates Posted: 12 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PDT WASHINGTON, March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ambassador John Bolton endorses Sen. David Vitter, U.S. Senator from the state of Louisiana running for Governor, Rep. Ron DeSantis, the incumbent Congressman from Florida's 6th district, and Dr. Paul Chabot, candidate for Congress in California's 31st district. The Bolton PAC will donate $10,000 to DeSantis' campaign and Chabot will receive $5,000, while Sen. David Vitter's campaign will receive a contribution for $10,000. These are the first endorsements in primary elections by Ambassador Bolton, and his first endorsements of 2015. Bolton is committed to supporting candidates for elected office who believe in protecting the United States' vital freedoms at home by securing American interests in a challenging world.

U.S.-led forces conduct 13 air strikes in Iraq: U.S. military Posted: 12 Mar 2015 07:13 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and coalition partners conducted 13 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq since early Wednesday, the U.S. military said. Five of the strikes in Iraq hit vehicles and Islamic State excavators near Kirkuk, and three air strikes struck tactical units and a vehicle near Fallujah, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Thursday. The coalition forces conducted no strikes in Syria during that time period, the statement said. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Bill Trott)

Islamic State militants claim bomb attack in Libyan capital Posted: 12 Mar 2015 07:07 AM PDT Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a police station in the Libyan capital on Thursday in a statement posted on Twitter along with photographs of the scene. A bomb placed under a police car close to the Foreign Ministry in central Tripoli caused damage, local security spokesman Essam Naas said, and one officer was slightly wounded. Militants loyal to Islamic State, the group that controls much of Syria and Iraq, have been exploiting the chaos in Libya where two governments allied to armed factions are vying for power four years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Groups of Islamist militants, who have declared loyalty to Islamic State over the last six months, have claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks in what appears to be an intensifying campaign.

France opens probe into IS execution featuring French speaker Posted: 12 Mar 2015 06:49 AM PDT French officials Thursday launched a formal investigation into a video released by the Islamic State group purporting to show the execution of an Arab Israeli, which featured a French-speaking man. According to sources close to the investigation, the man is probably Sabri Essid, who has close links to French jihadist gunman Mohamed Merah, the killer of three soldiers, three students and a teacher in southern France in 2012. In the video, a youth identifying himself as 19-year-old Mohammed Said Ismail Musallam is shown kneeling in front of a boy who appears to be no more than 12.

Top Asian News at 12:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 12 Mar 2015 05:32 AM PDT DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The roof of a five-story cement factory under construction in Bangladesh collapsed Thursday, killing at least four workers and trapping many others, an official said. About 150 workers were on duty when the collapse occurred at Mongla in Bagerhat district, fire official Mizanur Rahman said.

They want to be Greek - but Greece doesn't want them Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:31 AM PDT There are tears in their eyes and the last hugs are achingly long. Edlira had been giving up her Sundays to teach Greek to immigrants in a dusty Athens suburb until the country's crisis finally caught up with her. She is leaving the country she calls home, where she went to school and university, without a Greek passport. "But there is a moment in job interviews when they look at my name -- Edlira Xhezairaj -- and they say, 'So you are not Greek?' And then conversation drops.

Iraqi Forces Have ISIS on the Run in Tikrit Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:15 AM PDT As the US Congress debates a war authorization against ISIS, Iraqi government forces and their Shiite militias and Sunni tribal allies have forced their way into the provincial capital Tikrit after a brilliant and massive maneuver that took ISIS by surprise. While ISIS was expecting an advance from the south, the allies came from the north, the west and the south, liberating towns and villages on their way to Tikrit. "ISIS members were surprised by the fighting tactics the security forces employed by engaging them from multiple directions, encircling and surrounding them, leaving the main roads and opening paths through the farms," said Colonel Mohammed Ibrahim, the spokesperson for the Iraqi federal police. Colonel Ibrahim said that Iraqi government forces misled ISIS by circulating news about the supposed point of attack while the real one was carried out with a massive encirclement.

Syria's Assad tightens grip after four years of war Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:08 AM PDT Despite Western and Arab hopes he would be consigned to the dustbin of history, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enters his fifth year of war with an increasingly tight hold on power. Alarm over the sweeping expansion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Syria and Iraq means that international priorities have shifted away from Assad's removal. "Assad has improved his position internationally. The US, EU states and others are no longer demanding his immediate departure," said Volker Perthes, director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Australia probes claim teenager was Iraq suicide bomber Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:19 AM PDT By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities are investigating claims by Islamic State that an Australian teenage recruit died after blowing himself up in Iraq, and local media reported that bomb-making materials had been found at his family home in Melbourne. A blog post believed to be written by 18-year-old Jake Bilardi, written under his pseudonym Abu Abdullah al-Australi, revealed how he had considered carrying out attacks on home soil. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters on Thursday that security agencies were trying to verify reports that Bilardi had carried out a suicide attack in the Iraqi city of Ramadi. Islamic State released an image on Wednesday claiming to show him getting ready to carry out the attack, as well as images of what appeared to be an explosion.

Quotations in the News Posted: 12 Mar 2015 12:36 AM PDT "The chief is the kind of honorable man you don't have to go to. He comes to you when he knows that this is something we have to seriously discuss." — James Knowles III, mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, after Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned.

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