Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Islamic State says it has full control of Syria's Palmyra
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• Pentagon says US anti-armor weapons due in Iraq next week
• Europe migrant terror threat overblown: experts
• Walker promises pre-emptive strikes to prevent attacks on US
• Canadians have 'no legitimate reason' for joining extremists: Harper
• Despite Obama endorsement, U.S. concerns grow over Iraqi premier
• Jeb Bush shifts style, critiques brother's budget management
• In New Hampshire, Jeb Bush draws contrast with brother on spending
• London cabbie bombmaker 'murdered US soldier in Iraq'
• US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children
• US blacklists Iraqi firm helping Iran buy Airbus planes
• Islamic State seizes ancient Palmyra for strategic boost in eastern Syria
• U.S. admits two children killed in Islamic State campaign
• US says air raid in Syria killed two children
• Fears mount over Palmyra as IS expands territory in Syria
• Wall St. up as near-term rate-hike prospects fade; oil jumps
• Obama cites 'personal interest' in locking down Iran deal
• A look at Palmyra, the historic Syrian town captured by IS
• TSX rallies as oil prices boost energy; Shopify surges
• Islamic State seizes Syria's last border crossing with Iraq
• U.S.-led air strikes target Islamic State Syria, Iraq against Islamic State : U.S
• Islamic State takes over ancient Syrian cultural site. Destruction ahead?
• IS jihadists threaten ancient Palmyra ruins
• Will new rules make GOP debates more combative?
• IS takes last Syria regime-held crossing on Iraq border: monitor
• Oil surges as falling US stockpiles ease glut worries
• Mideast youth unemployment rises amid post-Arab Spring chaos
• Russia's Lavrov discusses Syria and Yemen with Kerry
• IS attacks Iraq forces east of Ramadi: officials
• 'Only remnants of terrorism' left in Algeria: minister
• Iraqis fleeing Ramadi assumed sandstorm precluded US strikes: official
• Mr. Trump Goes to Washington: What The Donald Is Saying About 2016
• 11 Questions for Lincoln Chafee: The Democrat Who Thinks Hillary Clinton Shouldn't Be President (and Might Run Against Her)
• U.S. to deliver 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Iraq, Pentagon says
• Islamic State fighters overrun Iraqi govt lines east of Ramadi
• Cultural heritage a victim of conflict
• Iraq's Sunni tribes feel deserted after Ramadi fall
• Exclusive: Turkish intelligence helped ship arms to Syrian Islamist rebel areas
• Facts on Iraq's largest province of Anbar

Islamic State says it has full control of Syria's Palmyra Posted: 21 May 2015 04:46 PM PDT By Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday and overran Iraqi government defenses east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier. The twin successes not only pile pressure on Damascus and Baghdad but throw doubt on a U.S. strategy of relying almost exclusively on air strikes to support the fight against Islamic State. U.S. and coalition forces had conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 21 May 2015 04:33 PM PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Four Malaysian navy ships began searching the seas for stranded boat people Thursday in the first official rescue operation since desperate migrants started washing onto Southeast Asia's shores, and the U.S. military gave the first indication it was ready to take a direct role in helping address the crisis. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis are believed to be trapped on boats with little food or water — some after being pushed back by the navies of at least three countries — and the international community has warned that time to save them is running out.

Pentagon says US anti-armor weapons due in Iraq next week Posted: 21 May 2015 04:13 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — An expedited shipment of 2,000 lightweight shoulder-fired weapons intended to help the Iraqi army stop the Islamic State group's increasingly effective use of car bombs should arrive in Iraq as soon as next week, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Europe migrant terror threat overblown: experts Posted: 21 May 2015 04:03 PM PDT The arrest in Italy of a terror suspect posing as a boat migrant has fuelled nightmare scenarios of jihadist infiltration of Europe, but experts say the threat is overblown and attacks by homegrown extremists are more likely. Right-wing parties have seized on the incident as proof that groups like Islamic State (IS) are taking advantage of Europe's migration crisis, in which thousands of refugees are making the risky Mediterranean crossing to flee war and poverty. NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg also warned this week that battle-hardened "foreign fighters" who have joined jihadist outfits in Iraq and Syria could smuggle themselves into Europe by hiding on asylum-seeker vessels.

Walker promises pre-emptive strikes to prevent attacks on US Posted: 21 May 2015 03:57 PM PDT OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is doubling down on his promises of pre-emptive strikes to prevent what he says are certain future attacks on American soil.

Canadians have 'no legitimate reason' for joining extremists: Harper Posted: 21 May 2015 03:55 PM PDT Prime Minister Stephen Harper blasted would-be Canadian jihadists Thursday, saying there is "no legitimate reason" in a liberal democracy to join any extremist group. Harper announced fresh funding for border and federal police agencies, during a visit to the Montreal airport where days earlier 10 teenagers who allegedly hoped to join the Islamic State group were arrested boarding a flight to the Middle East. "There is no legitimate reason of any kind in this country for someone to become a violent jihadist or become a terrorist or join any group that is involved and advocates that kind of activity.

Despite Obama endorsement, U.S. concerns grow over Iraqi premier Posted: 21 May 2015 03:55 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is publicly voicing confidence in Iraq's prime minister in the fight against surging Islamic State militants, but privately some U.S. officials question whether he is too weak to bridge the sectarian divide. Washington is still betting on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who stands at the center of President Barack Obama's strategy to roll back the latest conquests of Islamic State while keeping the United States from being pulled deeper into a conflict U.S. combat troops left in 2011.

Jeb Bush shifts style, critiques brother's budget management Posted: 21 May 2015 03:54 PM PDT CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Only a few days after saying he wouldn't "go out of my way" to point out what he saw as mistakes made by his brother, Jeb Bush did just that Thursday, criticizing former President George W. Bush's record on the federal budget.

In New Hampshire, Jeb Bush draws contrast with brother on spending Posted: 21 May 2015 03:10 PM PDT By Steve Holland CONCORD, N.H. (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush, looking for more ways to draw a contrast with his older brother, criticized former President George W. Bush on Thursday for permitting too much federal government spending. After spending a week on the defensive for first saying he would have launched an invasion of Iraq just as his brother did, and then reversing course and disavowing the remark, Bush was asked by reporters in New Hampshire if there were any other differences on issues between the two brothers. "Sure, I think that in Washington during my brother's time Republicans spent too much money," Bush said, adopting a longstanding complaint by fiscal conservatives that the Bush administration was too free-spending.

London cabbie bombmaker 'murdered US soldier in Iraq' Posted: 21 May 2015 03:00 PM PDT A London taxi driver who made bombs targeting coalition troops in the Iraq war was on Thursday convicted in a British court of murdering a US soldier eight years ago. Anis Sardar, 38, built an improvised explosive device (IED) which killed Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment when it exploded under his armoured vehicle outside Baghdad on September 27, 2007. Sardar was arrested in London in September 2014 after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation found his fingerprints on two bombs which were planted in the area at the time, although not the one which killed Johnson.

US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children Posted: 21 May 2015 02:55 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Two children were likely killed during an American airstrike targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in Syria last year, and two other adults were wounded, according to an investigation released Thursday by the U.S. military.

US blacklists Iraqi firm helping Iran buy Airbus planes Posted: 21 May 2015 02:53 PM PDT The US Treasury placed restrictive sanctions Thursday on an Iraqi middleman company which obtained and sold nine Airbus aircraft to Iran's already-blacklisted Mahan Air. The Treasury said Al-Naser Airlines, based in Iraq, was used as a "cutout" to procure eight Airbus A340 aircraft and one A320 for transfer early this month to Mahan Air, which was placed under sanctions in 2011 for providing transport services to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC-QF, and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Al-Naser obtained the nine aircraft "from unwitting European vendors," the Treasury said in a statement, without providing further identification.

Islamic State seizes ancient Palmyra for strategic boost in eastern Syria Posted: 21 May 2015 02:47 PM PDT Islamic State militants were in full control of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria Thursday, residents said, a victory that gave them a strategic and symbolic boost less than a week after the group seized the Iraqi city of Ramadi. This fresh victory has turned the militant group into the dominant force in more than half of Syria, according to one activist group, and raised fears over the fate of its monumental ruins. Military analysts said the IS victory deprived the Syrian Army of an important local "anchor" and put IS forces in control of an important crossroads in eastern Syria that could open new supply lines to Iraq.

U.S. admits two children killed in Islamic State campaign Posted: 21 May 2015 02:24 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two children were likely killed by a U.S. air strike in Syria in November, the U.S. military said on Thursday, the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged civilian casualties since it began an air campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Two noncombatant adults also received minor injuries in the November air strikes, which targeted an explosives manufacturing facility operated by the al Qaeda-linked Khorasan Group, the U.S. military's Central Command said after an investigation of the reported casualties.

US says air raid in Syria killed two children Posted: 21 May 2015 02:20 PM PDT US air strikes against Islamist extremists in Syria killed two children by mistake, officials said Thursday, marking the first time the American military acknowledged inflicting civilian casualties in the war. "We regret the unintentional loss of lives," Lieutenant General James Terry, head of the US-led air campaign against the Islamic State group, said in a statement, citing the results of an investigation. The air strikes on November 5-6 last year were targeting members of the Khorasan group, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, in Harim City, according to the inquiry's conclusions.

Fears mount over Palmyra as IS expands territory in Syria Posted: 21 May 2015 02:08 PM PDT DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Fears mounted over the fate of one of the Mideast's most prominent archaeological sites after Islamic State militants overran the historic Syrian town of Palmyra, seizing control Thursday of its temples, tombs and colonnades within hours.

Wall St. up as near-term rate-hike prospects fade; oil jumps Posted: 21 May 2015 02:06 PM PDT By Michael Connor NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets rose on Thursday, with Wall Street's S&P 500 index closing at a record high as investors bet that U.S. interest rates won't rise soon, while oil jumped more than 2 percent on the view that a global glut may be starting to ease. Trading was muted in many North American markets a day ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who investors watch for indications of how soon the Fed will raise U.S. interest rates from near zero. Wall Street's S&P 500 gained 4.97 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 2,130.82 points, barely beating its previous record close of 2,129.2 from Monday.

Obama cites 'personal interest' in locking down Iran deal Posted: 21 May 2015 02:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he has a personal stake on ensuring that negotiations with Iran produce an agreement that keeps Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon over the long-term.

A look at Palmyra, the historic Syrian town captured by IS Posted: 21 May 2015 02:03 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — A look at Palmyra, the Syrian archaeological gem captured by Islamic State fighters.

TSX rallies as oil prices boost energy; Shopify surges Posted: 21 May 2015 01:57 PM PDT By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rebounded on Thursday as financial and energy stocks, bolstered by a rally in oil prices, pushed the TSX to its best performance in more than a week. The company is in talks to buy Egyptian drugmaker Amoun Pharmaceutical Co, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. Other influential movers included Enbridge Inc , which climbed 2.62 percent to C$62.67, and Canadian Natural Resources , which advanced 2.4 percent to C$38.85.

Islamic State seizes Syria's last border crossing with Iraq Posted: 21 May 2015 01:43 PM PDT The Islamic State militant group has seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Syrian government after security forces withdrew, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Thursday. Iraqi officials said Iraqi security forces had also withdrawn from their side of the crossing known as al-Waleed in Iraq and al-Tanf in Syria. The crossing is in Syria's Homs province, where Islamic State on Wednesday seized the historic city of Palmyra from government forces.

U.S.-led air strikes target Islamic State Syria, Iraq against Islamic State : U.S Posted: 21 May 2015 01:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and coalition forces conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since Wednesday, the U.S. military said on Thursday. The 10 strikes in Iraq hit targets near Baiji, Fallujah, Makhmur, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar, destroying Islamic State tactical units, a tunnel system, fighting positions and heavy machine guns, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. ...

Islamic State takes over ancient Syrian cultural site. Destruction ahead? Posted: 21 May 2015 01:40 PM PDT As Islamic State militants extend and tighten their grip on growing portions of Iraq and Syria, they're targeting not only cities, villages, and the forces opposing them but historical and cultural treasures dating back to King Solomon, ancient Persia, and Greco-Roman times. On Thursday, that included the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, where government forces were sent scurrying back toward Damascus and yet more Syrian refugees were forced to flee. "I am deeply concerned by the situation at the site of Palmyra," Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement.

IS jihadists threaten ancient Palmyra ruins Posted: 21 May 2015 01:32 PM PDT The Islamic State group seized Syria's Palmyra on Thursday, as UNESCO warned that the destruction of the ancient city would be "an enormous loss to humanity". The capture of the 2,000-year-old metropolis reportedly leaves more than half of Syria under IS control and comes days after it expanded its control in Iraq. US President Barack Obama played down the developments, saying he didn't think the US was "losing" to IS.

Will new rules make GOP debates more combative? Posted: 21 May 2015 01:29 PM PDT The upcoming Republican presidential debates look like they're going to be a lot of fun. Why? One big reason is obvious: The GOP has a deep field of qualified candidates for 2016. We can't wait to see Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz discuss the Iraq War, or Marco Rubio and Scott Walker question each other's position on immigration.

IS takes last Syria regime-held crossing on Iraq border: monitor Posted: 21 May 2015 01:12 PM PDT Beirut (AFP) - Jihadists from the Islamic State group seized the last Syrian regime-controlled crossing on the border with Iraq late Thursday, a monitoring group said.

Oil surges as falling US stockpiles ease glut worries Posted: 21 May 2015 12:49 PM PDT Global oil prices surged on Thursday as falling US crude stockpiles and production stirred expectations of an easing in the global supply glut. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July rose $1.74 to finish at $60.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after gaining about a dollar on Wednesday. The petroleum rally is "supported by an abiding faith that rising demand and declining US oil shale production will translate into higher prices," said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.

Mideast youth unemployment rises amid post-Arab Spring chaos Posted: 21 May 2015 12:38 PM PDT KITTEH, Jordan (AP) — Fawziyeh Sharif and dozens of other young women who make jeans for the U.S. market in a factory in this village in northern Jordan consider themselves lucky — even though they spend 48 hours a week bent over sewing machines for minimum wage.

Russia's Lavrov discusses Syria and Yemen with Kerry Posted: 21 May 2015 12:30 PM PDT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Syria and Yemen as well as Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The phone call was the latest in a string of high-level contacts between Moscow and Washington in recent days over the crises in the Middle East as well as Ukraine, a conflict that has dragged ties between the Cold War-era foes to new lows. "The situation in Syria and Yemen, including efforts by the international community to facilitate the start of a peace process in both the 'hot spots', was the focus," the ministry said.

IS attacks Iraq forces east of Ramadi: officials Posted: 21 May 2015 12:07 PM PDT The Islamic State group seized positions from Iraqi security forces east of Ramadi Thursday as it tried to keep its momentum after capturing the city, officials said. The jihadists pressed their offensive along the Euphrates to attack positions held by the government in Husaybah, seven kilometres (4.5 miles) east of Anbar's provincial capital. "Daesh took control of the defence lines in Husaybah al-Sharkiya, where the security forces were supposed to launch their operations to liberate Ramadi," a police colonel said.

'Only remnants of terrorism' left in Algeria: minister Posted: 21 May 2015 11:50 AM PDT Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said Thursday that "only remnants of terrorism" remain in Algeria, where authorities say 25 Islamist militants were killed in an army sweep this week. According to the defence ministry, 25 Islamists have been killed since the army launched operations on Tuesday in the mountainous Ferkioua area of Bouira province, east of Algiers. The sweep came following information that militants were in the area, a zone of operations of Jund el-Khilafa, a local affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Iraqis fleeing Ramadi assumed sandstorm precluded US strikes: official Posted: 21 May 2015 11:48 AM PDT Iraqi forces retreated from Ramadi in the face of an assault by Islamic State group fighters partly because they assumed -- incorrectly -- that a sandstorm prevented US-led aircraft from coming to their aid with bombing raids, the Pentagon said Thursday. "The Iraqi forces in Ramadi believed that because the weather was what it was, that they would not be able to receive air power support," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters, referring to a sandstorm. According to a tally of air raids by the US military, American-led aircraft carried out seven strikes near Ramadi between Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as three near the western town of Fallujah.

Mr. Trump Goes to Washington: What The Donald Is Saying About 2016 Posted: 21 May 2015 11:45 AM PDT It's official: Donald Trump is moving to Pennsylvania Avenue.No, not to the most famous address in America, but just down the street, where the real estate mogul turned reality TV star is set to open a luxury hotel in the Old Post Office space.We Played 2016 Presidential Word Association With Donald Trump And This Is What He SaidDonald Trump Says Jeb Bush is the 'Last Thing We Need'But the sign that reads "Coming 2016" and below in big letters "Trump" over the construction site may turn out to be a double entendre, according to The Donald. ...

11 Questions for Lincoln Chafee: The Democrat Who Thinks Hillary Clinton Shouldn't Be President (and Might Run Against Her) Posted: 21 May 2015 11:45 AM PDT But really, who is Lincoln Chafee? If you haven't heard of former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, you're probably not alone. The little-known Republican turned Independent turned Democrat recently announced that he might run for president, and he's already making headlines.

U.S. to deliver 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Iraq, Pentagon says Posted: 21 May 2015 11:42 AM PDT The Pentagon said on Thursday the United States would deliver 2,000 AT-4 anti-tank rockets to Iraq as early as next week, 1,000 more than announced on Wednesday, to help Baghdad combat suicide car bombings by Islamic State. Spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the delivery would help Iraq defend against approaching suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives, attacks used by Islamic State militants last weekend to help them seize Ramadi from Iraqi forces. The Islamic State's capture of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, handed the Baghdad government its most significant setback in a year and exposed the limitations of Iraq's army and the U.S.-led air strikes against the group.

Islamic State fighters overrun Iraqi govt lines east of Ramadi Posted: 21 May 2015 11:42 AM PDT Islamic State militants overran Iraqi government defences east of the city of Ramadi on Thursday, police and pro-government tribal fighters said. The defensive line was breached at Husaiba, about 10 km (six miles) from the city, on Thursday afternoon after IS fighters intensified mortar and rocket fire. "The situation is very critical now after Daesh (IS) fighters managed to overrun our defensive line in Husaiba," Police major Khalid al-Fahdawi said.

Cultural heritage a victim of conflict Posted: 21 May 2015 11:09 AM PDT The fall to Islamic State group jihadists of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday has raised fears for the fate of the world heritage site and its priceless artefacts. The jihadists have become notorious for demolishing archaeological treasures since declaring a "caliphate" last year straddling Iraq and Syria. The UN cultural organisation UNESCO has expressed concern that Palmyra could become the latest loss of world cultural heritage to conflict.

Iraq's Sunni tribes feel deserted after Ramadi fall Posted: 21 May 2015 10:59 AM PDT They were always seen as the key to defeating the jihadists in their bastions but the fall of Ramadi has deepened the distrust that Iraq's Sunni tribes feel towards the government. Many tribal leaders in Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital, said they would continue to fight the Islamic State group, not for the sake of a government they say never offered the adequate support, but because they have no other choice. "The fall of Ramadi is a disaster," said Salah Hassan al-Nada, a tribal leader from Awja, near the northern city of Tikrit, who moved to Kurdistan when IS established its grip on Sunni areas last year.

Exclusive: Turkish intelligence helped ship arms to Syrian Islamist rebel areas Posted: 21 May 2015 10:35 AM PDT By Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall ADANA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's state intelligence agency helped deliver arms to parts of Syria under Islamist rebel control during late 2013 and early 2014, according to a prosecutor and court testimony from gendarmerie officers seen by Reuters. The witness testimony contradicts Turkey's denials that it sent arms to Syrian rebels and, by extension, contributed to the rise of Islamic State, now a major concern for the NATO member. Syria and some of Turkey's Western allies say Turkey, in its haste to see President Bashar al-Assad toppled, let fighters and arms over the border, some of whom went on to join the Islamic State militant group which has carved a self-declared caliphate out of parts of Syria and Iraq.

Facts on Iraq's largest province of Anbar Posted: 21 May 2015 10:05 AM PDT Baghdad (AFP) - The government of Iraq recently announced its new priority was to liberate the province of Anbar from the Islamic State group, but the jihadists have since seized its capital Ramadi.

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