Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Students build home from ground up for wounded veteran
• Car bombs rock two upmarket Baghdad hotels, five dead
• In Islamic State fight, radically changed Pentagon view of civilian casualties
• Syria: Europeans block it from UN culture protection measure
• 2 car bombs kill 10 people in Iraq
• Islamic State settles into Ramadi, but the lull unlikely to last
• US to "fine tune" Iraq strategy in light of Ramadi debacle
• UN nations agree to action to save Iraqi cultural sites
• Paper sorry for letter suggesting Obama should be executed
• Qaeda-led rebels take Idlib's last Syria regime bastion
• Kurdish fighters in Syria on the march against IS militants
• Study says girls seek sisterhood _ not just marriage _ in IS
• Pan-Muslim group condemns jihadist groups, IS
• Where They Stand: George Pataki on issues of 2016 campaign
• Iraq 'exhumed 470 bodies from Tikrit mass graves'
• Hearst Editorial Director Ellen Levine & Author Lee Woodruff To Speak At The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation's "Women Breaking The Silence About Mental Illness" Luncheon
• U.S., allies target Islamic State with 26 air strikes: statement
• George Pataki is in for 2016. Chris Christie without 'Bridgegate' burden?
• Al-Qaeda's Syria branch seeks image makeover in West
• Global chemical weapons stockpile '90% destroyed'
• Chobani CEO pledges to donate most of wealth
• Ex-governor Pataki joins Republican race for White House
• Islamic State 'blind judge' shows up in Ramadi as Iraqi forces make slow advance
• Pentagon mulls improving Iraqi troop training after fall of Ramadi
• Western women who join Islamic State defy 'jihadi bride' stereotype: report
• 430,000-Year-Old Murder Victim Discovered
• Islamic State photos purport to show unharmed Palmyra ruins
• Oil prices higher in Asian trade
• Egyptian police general killed in roadside bomb attack in Sinai
• France wants Europe to do more to fight Islamic State
• 'Transparent,' 'Black-ish' Feted at TV Academy Honors
• US launches new Islamic State investigations 'daily'

Students build home from ground up for wounded veteran Posted: 28 May 2015 04:53 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jerral Hancock is about to replace the worst day of his life with the best one.

Car bombs rock two upmarket Baghdad hotels, five dead Posted: 28 May 2015 04:48 PM PDT Car bombs ripped through car parks at two high-profile Baghdad hotels on Thursday that had been targeted in deadly attacks five years before, killing at least five people, police said. One of the bombs exploded at the Ishtar, shattering windows of the recently renovated hotel and turning rows of cars and SUVs into piles of charred, twisted metal. People traipsed through the site of the blast inside the walled hotel compound, while a group of men struggled to remove the smashed windshield from an SUV on the other side of the hotel.

In Islamic State fight, radically changed Pentagon view of civilian casualties Posted: 28 May 2015 03:33 PM PDT As the Islamic State continues its march across Iraq and Syria, so, too, has come the blame game. It runs along the lines that the US military should be doing more to help its Iraqi and Syrian allies in the region fight the Islamic State. Specifically, the US has reportedly declined to bomb certain targets for fear of civilian casualties.

Syria: Europeans block it from UN culture protection measure Posted: 28 May 2015 03:06 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria's U.N. ambassador said Thursday that a newly adopted General Assembly resolution on the Islamic State group's threat to Iraqi cultural heritage doesn't address the same threat to his country because member states threatened to reject the measure.

2 car bombs kill 10 people in Iraq Posted: 28 May 2015 03:06 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Authorities in Iraq say two separate car bombs inside parking lot of two hotels have killed 10 people in the capital Baghdad.

Islamic State settles into Ramadi, but the lull unlikely to last Posted: 28 May 2015 01:04 PM PDT When the evening prayer was over, the man, whose head was shrouded in black, delivered a speech to the faithful, hailing the Islamic State's capture of the capital of Anbar Province -- its greatest victory over Iraqi forces in almost a year. Ali Attiya al-Jubouri, widely known as "the blind judge", is one of Islamic State's most senior figures and his presence in the mosque signaled the group's dominance over the city, which it seized on May 17 from hapless government forces. "By the blessing of God, we now have an open road between Ramadi and Raqqa," he said, referring to the ultra hardline group's de-facto capital in neighboring Syria.

US to "fine tune" Iraq strategy in light of Ramadi debacle Posted: 28 May 2015 12:56 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Pentagon leaders are trying to "fine tune" U.S. strategy for ousting the Islamic State group from Iraq, focusing on faster and better training and arming of Sunni tribes whose combat role is central to reversing the extremists' advances, senior U.S. officials said Thursday.

UN nations agree to action to save Iraqi cultural sites Posted: 28 May 2015 12:55 PM PDT UN member-states on Thursday declared that the destruction by jihadists of Iraqi cultural sites may amount to war crimes and agreed to take steps to curb the trade of stolen ancient artifacts. The General Assembly adopted a resolution on saving Iraq's cultural sites as international concern mounted over the fate of the Syrian archeological site of Palmyra captured by Islamic State fighters a week ago. Videos of IS combatants destroying artifacts at the Mosul museum and smashing sledgehammers into ancient walls at Hatra and Nimrud sparked an outcry and calls to prevent the "cultural cleansing" of the Middle East.

Paper sorry for letter suggesting Obama should be executed Posted: 28 May 2015 12:51 PM PDT SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — A newspaper apologized Thursday for publishing a letter to the editor that suggested President Barack Obama should be executed.

Qaeda-led rebels take Idlib's last Syria regime bastion Posted: 28 May 2015 12:50 PM PDT A rebel coalition led by the Syrian affiliate of Al-Qaeda stormed and seized the last regime-held city in Idlib province Thursday, as Iraq exhumed the remains of 470 jihadist victims. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Al-Nusra Front and its allies in the Army of Conquest -- Jaish al-Fatah in Arabic -- captured Ariha after fierce clashes with regime forces including their Hezbollah allies, who were seen withdrawing. The rebel sweep saw their fighters quickly enter outer districts of Ariha, the Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Kurdish fighters in Syria on the march against IS militants Posted: 28 May 2015 12:39 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — In contrast to the Iraqi army's failures, Kurdish fighters in Syria are on the march against the Islamic State group, capturing towns and villages in an oil-rich swath of the country's northeast under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes.

Study says girls seek sisterhood _ not just marriage _ in IS Posted: 28 May 2015 12:27 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — The notion that young women are traveling to Syria solely to become "jihadi brides" is simplistic and hinders efforts to prevent other girls from being radicalized, new research suggests.

Pan-Muslim group condemns jihadist groups, IS Posted: 28 May 2015 11:11 AM PDT A conference of Muslim states on Thursday condemned main jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq and studied a plan for developing an effective strategy against "terrorism and extremism". "We condemn the gruesome atrocities committed by all terrorist organisations including Daesh (Arabic for the Islamic State group), Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra Front (its affiliate in Syria)," said the final communique of a two-day conference by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Sunni groups named are involved in armed conflicts in several Arab countries including Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

Where They Stand: George Pataki on issues of 2016 campaign Posted: 28 May 2015 10:54 AM PDT ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. George Pataki has entered the contest for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Here's a look at where the three-term governor stands on various issues that will be debated in the GOP primaries:

Iraq 'exhumed 470 bodies from Tikrit mass graves' Posted: 28 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT Iraq has exhumed the remains of 470 people believed to have been executed by jihadists near Tikrit last year in what is known as the Speicher massacre, the health minister said Thursday. "We have exhumed the bodies of 470 Speicher martyrs from burial sites in Tikrit," Adila Hammoud said at a press conference in Baghdad. In June 2014, armed men belonging or allied to the Islamic State group abducted hundreds of young, mostly Shiite recruits from Speicher military base, just outside the city of Tikrit.

Hearst Editorial Director Ellen Levine & Author Lee Woodruff To Speak At The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation's "Women Breaking The Silence About Mental Illness" Luncheon Posted: 28 May 2015 09:32 AM PDT NEW YORK, May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, a not-for-profit organization funding innovative scientific research to better understand the causes, develop new treatments for, and alleviate suffering from brain and behavior disorders, will host its second "Women Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness" Luncheon featuring a discussion between Hearst Magazine's Editorial Director Ellen Levine and advocate, author Lee Woodruff about depression, anxiety and the importance of removing the stigma from mental illness. The Luncheon will be held Monday, June 15, 2015 at the Metropolitan Club in Midtown Manhattan. "By engaging in this important conversation about depression, anxiety and recovery, Ellen Levine and Lee Woodruff are educating the public, raising awareness and, most importantly, helping to eliminate the stigma around mental illness that keeps so many people suffering in silence instead of seeking help," says Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

U.S., allies target Islamic State with 26 air strikes: statement Posted: 28 May 2015 09:29 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition has staged 26 air strikes since early Wednesday targeting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq against, according to the Combined Joint Task Force leading the air operations. In Iraq, 20 air strikes struck near 10 cities, including five near Mosul, three by Falluja and one near Ramadi, the task force said in a statement released on Thursday. Six air strikes in Syria targeted areas near al Hasaka and Dayr az Zawr, it said. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom)

George Pataki is in for 2016. Chris Christie without 'Bridgegate' burden? Posted: 28 May 2015 09:28 AM PDT George Pataki is running for president. Will he try to be Chris Christie, minus the burden of the "Bridgegate" traffic scandal? Mr. Pataki, in case you've forgotten, was a three-term governor of New York, leaving office in 2006.

Al-Qaeda's Syria branch seeks image makeover in West Posted: 28 May 2015 08:26 AM PDT Al-Qaeda's Syria franchise is striving to reinvent itself as a legitimate opposition force that is more acceptable to the West, but it is unlikely to succeed, analysts said Thursday. In a rare television interview, Al-Nusra Front chief Abu Mohamed al-Jolani vowed not to use Syria as a springboard to attack the West and said he would be willing to protect minorities. "It's all part of a normalisation process that Al-Qaeda in Syria has been seeking to do for some time now," said Charlie Winter, an analyst on jihadism at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.

Global chemical weapons stockpile '90% destroyed' Posted: 28 May 2015 07:51 AM PDT The world's chemical watchdog said on Thursday that 90 percent of the global chemical weapons stockpile has been destroyed, calling it a "major milestone". The stockpiles included caches containing chemicals needed to make deadly nerve agents like sarin, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said. "This is a major milestone that shows we are well on the way to ridding the world of chemical weapons," OPCW director Ahmet Uzumcu said in a statement, issued from the OPCW's Hague-based headquarters.

Chobani CEO pledges to donate most of wealth Posted: 28 May 2015 07:50 AM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya says he will join some of the world's richest individuals in pledging to give away at least half his wealth, which has been estimated at $1.41 billion.

Ex-governor Pataki joins Republican race for White House Posted: 28 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT George Pataki, the former governor who led New York during the September 11, 2001 attacks, on Thursday threw his hat into the crowded ring of Republicans running for the White House. The son of a postman, Pataki studied at Yale University and Columbia Law School.

Islamic State 'blind judge' shows up in Ramadi as Iraqi forces make slow advance Posted: 28 May 2015 07:00 AM PDT A senior Islamic State figure known as "the blind judge" has made an appearance in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, asserting the militant group's dominion over it as security forces and Shi'ite militias prepare a counter-attack. Residents of Ramadi said a blind man with one hand and his head shrouded had delivered a speech in the Anbar provincial capital's main mosque after evening prayers on Wednesday. Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashimi, who closely tracks the hardline insurgents, identified the man as Ali Attiya al-Jubouri, also known as Abu Asim, or "the blind judge of the Islamic State".

Pentagon mulls improving Iraqi troop training after fall of Ramadi Posted: 28 May 2015 04:52 AM PDT By David Alexander ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday Pentagon officials have begun to examine how the U.S. military could better equip and train Iraqi troops after the recent fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to Islamic State insurgents. Carter told reporters on his plane to Asia that he had convened a group of defense policy officials and military officers from U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon's Joint Staff to look at how "we can enhance, hasten" the mission to train and equip Iraqi forces.

Western women who join Islamic State defy 'jihadi bride' stereotype: report Posted: 28 May 2015 04:09 AM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Western women joining Islamic State are increasingly from comfortable backgrounds and often well educated with romantic notions of adventure often quickly dispelled by the harshness of life as a "Jihadi bride", according to a British research report. Some 550 women from Western countries have left their homelands to join Islamic State, which has captured swathes of Syria and Iraq, said the report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College, London. Based on the social media activity of more than 100 Western women who are thought to have joined the militants, researchers said there were many differing reasons why women join.

430,000-Year-Old Murder Victim Discovered Posted: 28 May 2015 04:08 AM PDT Archaeologists may have unearthed one of the world's oldest cold cases — a skull fragment found in a Spanish cave from an ancient murder victim whose head was bashed in. The skull was first unearthed in the Atapuerca Mountains, which are threaded by a series of limestone caves, sinkholes and tunnels. "The bodies were deposited at the site by other members of the social group," study co-author Nohemi Sala, a paleontologist at the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid, speculated.

Islamic State photos purport to show unharmed Palmyra ruins Posted: 28 May 2015 02:57 AM PDT Islamic State posted photographs online which it said were taken in the central Syrian city of Palmyra and appeared to show its ancient ruins unharmed since the hardline group seized it from government forces. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the authenticity of the photographs posted on jihadi forums by the Islamic State's media branch. Islamic State is an offshoot of al Qaeda that has seized territory in Syria and Iraq and is the target of a U.S.-led air strike campaign in both countries.

Oil prices higher in Asian trade Posted: 28 May 2015 02:17 AM PDT Oil prices rose in Asia Thursday on expectations that the latest US stockpiles report will show a further dip in crude reserves as traders worry about a global oversupply, analysts said. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 12 cents to $57.63 while Brent crude for July gained 39 cents to $62.45 in afternoon trade. The Department of Energy's weekly petroleum report, usually released on Wednesdays, will be issued on Thursday owing to a public holiday at the start of the week.

Egyptian police general killed in roadside bomb attack in Sinai Posted: 28 May 2015 02:11 AM PDT An Egyptian police brigadier general was killed in a roadside bomb attack on Wednesday in North Sinai, the interior ministry said, one of the most high-profile police deaths in the Islamist insurgency raging in the region. The Interior Ministry spokesman said the roadside bomb hit a team of security forces on the al-Samarat road in the provincial capital of al-Arish. Brigadier General Ahmed Ibrahim was a deputy in the criminal investigations department in North Sinai.

France wants Europe to do more to fight Islamic State Posted: 28 May 2015 01:24 AM PDT PARIS (AP) — France's foreign minister wants European countries to do more to fight the Islamic State group, and is seeking support from Russia in international talks about defeating the group.

'Transparent,' 'Black-ish' Feted at TV Academy Honors Posted: 27 May 2015 09:00 PM PDT Four other television shows that have "shifted cultural acceptance" were lauded at the annual TV Academy event held at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

US launches new Islamic State investigations 'daily' Posted: 27 May 2015 07:28 PM PDT The United States now launches a new investigation into suspected Islamic State group sympathizers almost every day, a senior official said, underscoring the increased threat posed by the jihadist group. Pointing to a significant uptick in cases linked to militants who now control swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, the official warned Congress of "brinkmanship" over intelligence gathering powers that put national security at risk at a sensitive time. "We are opening new investigations daily, particularly the ISIL threat," said the senior administration official, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

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