Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Paul, Graham clash on foreign-policy on U.S. campaign trail
• Ohio officer praised for restraint, refused to shoot suspect
• GOP White House hopefuls bicker over America's role in world
• Islamic State blamed for Afghan suicide bombing killing 35
• IS claims deadly Afghan suicide attack: President Ghani
• Assailant opens fire on pro-Kurdish party office in Turkey
• Replica retraces voyage of French warship sent to help American rebels
• Iraqi forces retake most of Baiji refinery from Islamic State
• Afghan blast kills 33; president blames Islamic State
• U.S., allies target Islamic State with 20 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: military
• Iraqi soldiers enter refinery amid Islamic State attacks
• IS claims deadly US consulate blast in Iraq
• Australia arrests 5 for alleged IS-inspired terror plot
• Australia FM hails Iran effort to defeat IS
• Rouhani says Saudis will harvest hatred in Yemen
• Australia foils alleged terror attack for Gallipoli centenary
• Terror arrests in Australia over planned Anzac Day attack
• Australia arrests 5 on charges of plotting ANZAC Day attack
• Teenagers planned Australian terror attack for ANZAC centenary: police
• Iraq PM's spokesman resigns over pro-Saddam song

Paul, Graham clash on foreign-policy on U.S. campaign trail Posted: 18 Apr 2015 04:13 PM PDT By Andy Sullivan NASHUA, N.H. (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopefuls Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham took their debate over America's role in the world from the U.S. Senate floor to the campaign trail on Saturday in an early sign that foreign policy is likely to be a flash point in the 2016 election. At a gathering of 18 potential and actual White House contenders, Paul accused fellow Republicans of being too willing to commit U.S. troops to foreign conflicts without a clear idea of how to get them out. There's a group of folks in our party who would have troops in six countries right now, maybe more." That drew a rebuke from Graham, a South Carolina senator and Air Force reservist who frequently criticizes Democratic President Barack Obama for not being aggressive enough with adversaries like Iran and the Islamic State.

Ohio officer praised for restraint, refused to shoot suspect Posted: 18 Apr 2015 02:58 PM PDT NEW RICHMOND, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer is being praised for holding his fire even as a slaying suspect charged him, saying repeatedly, "shoot me."

GOP White House hopefuls bicker over America's role in world Posted: 18 Apr 2015 02:09 PM PDT NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Rand Paul lashed out Saturday at military hawks in the Republican Party in a clash over foreign policy dividing the packed GOP presidential field.

Islamic State blamed for Afghan suicide bombing killing 35 Posted: 18 Apr 2015 12:36 PM PDT FAIZABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — A motorcycle-riding suicide bomber attacked a line of people waiting outside a bank Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 35 and wounding 125 in an assault the country's president blamed on the Islamic State group.

IS claims deadly Afghan suicide attack: President Ghani Posted: 18 Apr 2015 11:11 AM PDT The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Afghanistan Saturday that killed 33 people and wounded more than 100 others, President Ashraf Ghani said, in what appears to be the first major attack by the jihadists in the country. Ghani's government has repeatedly raised the ominous prospect of IS making inroads into Afghanistan, though the group that has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq has never formally acknowledged having a presence in the country. The Taliban have seen defections to the group in recent months, with some self-styled IS insurgents voicing their disaffection with their one-eyed supreme leader Mullah Omar, who has not been seen since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan. On Saturday a suicide bomber killed 33 people and wounded 115 others outside the state-run Kabul Bank in the eastern city of Jalalabad as government officials were drawing their salaries, in the deadliest attack since November.

Assailant opens fire on pro-Kurdish party office in Turkey Posted: 18 Apr 2015 09:42 AM PDT An unidentified gunman fired shots at the headquarters of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party on Saturday, but there were no casualties in an attack the party and the government described as a provocation ahead of a June parliamentary election. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said two people had been detained in connection with the attack but no further details were immediately available. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement the attacker had opened fire with a pump-action shotgun from a passing vehicle on its headquarters in the capital Ankara, damaging the building and the flags hung outside it. "Those who think they can stop or intimidate us with such provocations will see they are mistaken," the HDP said in a written statement.

Replica retraces voyage of French warship sent to help American rebels Posted: 18 Apr 2015 09:36 AM PDT By Anca Ulea ROCHEFORT, France (Reuters) - A replica of the warship that carried France's Marquis de Lafayette to help American colonists in their war of independence sets sail for the United States on Saturday, symbolic of a historic moment that binds the two nations. Lafayette crossed the Atlantic on the original Hermione in 1780 to tell his friend George Washington, commander of the American insurgents against British imperial rule, that France was sending a strong military force to help them.

Iraqi forces retake most of Baiji refinery from Islamic State Posted: 18 Apr 2015 09:34 AM PDT Iraqi forces retook most of the country's largest refinery from Islamic State on Saturday, officials said, reversing gains by the militants who seized parts of the sprawling complex in northern Iraq this week. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said troops had recaptured all of Baiji refinery at 11:30 GMT (7.30 a.m. EDT), but officials in Salahuddin, the province where it is located, said there was still fighting around some facilities. The Baiji refinery produced around 175,000 barrels per day before it shut in June when Islamic State fighters seized it at the same time as the city of Mosul. Iraqi forces retook it from militants in November but subsequently lost control again.

Afghan blast kills 33; president blames Islamic State Posted: 18 Apr 2015 08:49 AM PDT By Rafiq Sherzad JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in Afghanistan's eastern city of Jalalabad killed 33 people and injured more than 100 on Saturday, setting off a blast outside a bank where government workers collect salaries, the city's police chief said. President Ashraf Ghani blamed Islamic State militants, without giving further detail. If true, it would be the first such major attack carried out by the group in Afghanistan, marking a significant step in its expansion into South Asia. Up until now militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State in Afghanistan have been widely identified as former Taliban fighters disillusioned with their leadership.

U.S., allies target Islamic State with 20 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: military Posted: 18 Apr 2015 08:46 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies have launched 20 air strikes targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since early on Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said on Saturday. There were seven air strikes in Syria using attack and bomber aircraft near Kobani and Al Hasakah and 13 in Iraq using fighter and attack aircraft as well as drones near Bayji, Ramadi, Al Asad, Fallujah, Sinjar, Hit and Tal Afar, it said in a statement. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Iraqi soldiers enter refinery amid Islamic State attacks Posted: 18 Apr 2015 08:25 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi soldiers surrounded and entered the country's biggest oil refinery Saturday, which has been besieged for days by Islamic State militants, a senior official said.

IS claims deadly US consulate blast in Iraq Posted: 18 Apr 2015 06:13 AM PDT The Islamic State group claimed Saturday a bombing near the US consulate in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region a day earlier that killed two Turks. "Security detachments were able to... detonate a car bomb left at the American consulate building in the city that led to the killing and wounding of many of them," IS said in a daily audio message posted online. Saman Barzanchi, the head of the Arbil health department, said Saturday that two ethnically Kurdish Turks were killed and eight people wounded. An IS-spearheaded offensive overran large areas of Iraq last year, and forces from the Kurdistan region have battled the jihadists on multiple fronts in the north.

Australia arrests 5 for alleged IS-inspired terror plot Posted: 18 Apr 2015 04:27 AM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Five Australian teenagers were arrested Saturday on suspicion of plotting an Islamic State group-inspired terrorist attack at a Veterans' Day ceremony that included targeting police officers, officials said.

Australia FM hails Iran effort to defeat IS Posted: 18 Apr 2015 03:29 AM PDT Australia's foreign minister on Saturday hailed Iran's efforts to crush the jihadist Islamic State group in Iraq, saying on a rare trip to Tehran that the militants can be defeated. Julie Bishop is Australia's highest-ranking official to visit Iran in 12 years and she discussed the conflict in Iraq with her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. Australia is part of an international coalition in Iraq and has 500 troops deployed there.

Rouhani says Saudis will harvest hatred in Yemen Posted: 18 Apr 2015 03:25 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani harshly criticized Saudi Arabia Saturday, warning that the Saudi royal family in Riyadh will harvest the hatred it is sowing in Yemen through its airstrike campaign.

Australia foils alleged terror attack for Gallipoli centenary Posted: 18 Apr 2015 02:42 AM PDT By Christopher McCall and Matt Siegel MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hundreds of Australian police on Saturday arrested five teens planning an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack next week at an event to mark the centenary of the landings at Gallipoli during World War One, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. More than 200 police were involved in a series of raids in the southern city of Melbourne in the early hours of Saturday, police said, following a month-long sting operation. The run-up to this year's centenary - a major holiday in Australia and New Zealand - has been marked by numerous television programs and commemorations, sparking concerns that radicals may target the celebrations for a high-profile attack. Five people were arrested," Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters.

Terror arrests in Australia over planned Anzac Day attack Posted: 17 Apr 2015 11:41 PM PDT Two men were arrested in Melbourne on Saturday for allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired attack at Anzac Day commemorations honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia -- the country's most important national event. Seven search warrants were executed in the country's second largest city by a joint counter-terrorism team of 200 officers, two months after Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned the threat from home-grown extremists was worsening. "It is alleged both men were undertaking preparations for planning terrorist acts in Melbourne, which included targeting police officers," Victoria state and federal police said in a joint statement. The arrests come just days after Australia began deploying 330 more troops to Iraq for two years to train local soldiers fighting jihadists including the Islamic State group, joining an aerial and special forces contingent in the region.

Australia arrests 5 on charges of plotting ANZAC Day attack Posted: 17 Apr 2015 07:32 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Five Australian teenagers were arrested Saturday on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack at a Veterans' Day ceremony that included targeting police officers, officials said.

Teenagers planned Australian terror attack for ANZAC centenary: police Posted: 17 Apr 2015 06:26 PM PDT Teenagers inspired by the hardline Islamic State planned a major terrorism attack in the Australian city of Melbourne to mark the centenary next week of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli during World War One, police said on Saturday. Senior police officials said they were confident the threat had been contained. They gave few details of the plan, but said the initial target was police officers, referring to potential use of "edged weapons". It clearly took inspiration from the Islamic State movement, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, Acting Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan of the Australian Federal Police said.

Iraq PM's spokesman resigns over pro-Saddam song Posted: 17 Apr 2015 05:03 PM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's spokesman Rafid Jaboori has resigned over a video showing him singing the praises of dictator Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago, he said Saturday. Jaboori -- a former BBC journalist who became Abadi's spokesman less than six months ago -- confirmed to AFP that he had resigned.

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