Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Erdogan denies IS launched attack on Syria's Kobane from Turkey
• Iraqi student pilot was flying F-16 that crashed in Arizona
• Italy rebukes EU leaders as 'time wasters' on migrants plan
• AJC Welcomes Bipartisan "Open Letter" on Iran Nuclear Deal
• IS attacks Syria's Kobane in new offensive after setbacks
• Kobane again a source of anguish for Kurds as Islamic State strikes back
• Islamic State militants attack 2 cities in northern Syria
• Iraqi F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes in Arizona During Training Mission
• Photographer Heidi Levine honored by women's media group
• IS sells 42 Yazidi women to fighters in Syria: monitor
• Does Australia's new anti-terrorism legislation go too far?
• Islamic State attacks Syrian army and Kurds in twin assault
• Who is advancing where in Syria?
• Iraqi F-16 jet crashes in Arizona: US military
• A look at countries cited in human rights report
• Rights groups blast U.N. Security Council response to Syria killings
• Islamic State militants kill 14 Iraqi soldiers
• Former Obama aides say U.S. needs tougher Iran nuclear deal
• U.S.-led air strikes hit Islamic State in al Hasaka, other cities
• New US rules on ransom payments unlikely to trigger windfall for militants
• Aid agencies say funding gap endangers Syrian refugees
• Attacks in Baghdad, town south of Iraqi capital kill 8
• Iran holds funerals for 8 men killed fighting IS in Syria
• Bomb attack, clashes in Syria's Kobani kill 12, wound 70: hospital officials
• Australia spy agency denies terror maps a security breach
• Car bomb explodes in Syria's Kobani near border, some people killed: YPG
• Internet companies should respond to extremist exploitation
• Kenya warns of foreign fighter threat across Horn of Africa

Erdogan denies IS launched attack on Syria's Kobane from Turkey Posted: 25 Jun 2015 04:41 PM PDT Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday dismissed as "propaganda" accusations that Islamic State fighters had been allowed to cross from Turkey into Syria to launch a fresh assault on the symbolic battleground town of Kobane. "We condemn the heinous attack by the terrorist IS organisation that targeted innocent civilians in the city of Kobane," Erdogan said in a speech. Dozens of civilians and fighters on both sides were killed when the IS jihadists made a surprise return to Kobane on Thursday, detonating a suicide car bomb near the border and battling Kurdish fighters in the city.

Iraqi student pilot was flying F-16 that crashed in Arizona Posted: 25 Jun 2015 03:07 PM PDT An Iraqi student pilot was flying an Iraqi military F-16 fighter jet that crashed in Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border during a night training mission, U.S. military officials and Iraq's government said on Thursday. U.S. officials said the student was the lone occupant of the F-16 Fighting Falcon when it went down on Wednesday night about five miles (eight km) east of the Douglas Municipal Airport, in the city of Douglas on the border with Mexico. The pilot's status remained unknown on Thursday as rescue efforts continued, according to a statement from the Air National Guard in Arizona, which said the plane belonged to the Iraqi Air Force.

Italy rebukes EU leaders as 'time wasters' on migrants plan Posted: 25 Jun 2015 02:53 PM PDT By Robin Emmott and Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi rebuked fellow EU leaders on Thursday for failing to agree a plan to take in 40,000 asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece, saying they were not worthy of calling themselves Europeans. EU leaders are divided over a growing migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and have largely left Italy and Greece to handle thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. "If you do not agree with the figure of 40,000 (asylum seekers) you do not deserve to call yourself Europeans," Renzi told an EU summit in Brussels.

AJC Welcomes Bipartisan "Open Letter" on Iran Nuclear Deal Posted: 25 Jun 2015 02:24 PM PDT NEW YORK, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomes the statement on the U.S-led talks with Iran by an impressive group of former top Obama and Bush administration officials. "Most importantly, this group of distinguished U.S. experts advises the Administration to proceed with caution and take more time to get the best deal possible to ensure that Iran will not be able to produce a nuclear weapon, ever," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. The open letter, directed at the White House and State Department, presents detailed recommendations on the elements that should be included in an agreement with Iran that addresses comprehensively its nuclear ambitions, as well as its support for terrorism and interference in other countries across the region.

IS attacks Syria's Kobane in new offensive after setbacks Posted: 25 Jun 2015 01:13 PM PDT The Islamic State group launched a two-pronged offensive in northern Syria on Thursday after several setbacks, re-entering the symbolic battleground town of Kobane and seizing parts of the city of Hasakeh. Analysts said the surprise IS assaults were aimed at diverting Kurdish forces after they scored a series of victories and advanced on the jihadists' Syrian stronghold of Raqa. Kobane, on the border with Turkey, became an important symbol in the battle against IS after the group launched a bid to take it last year.

Kobane again a source of anguish for Kurds as Islamic State strikes back Posted: 25 Jun 2015 01:10 PM PDT Islamic State forces launched a stinging, surprise attack on the Syrian border town of Kobane Thursday, slaughtering scores of families in their homes, according to the testimony of survivors and kinsmen. The anguished mood here in Suruc among Syrian and Turkish Kurds watching the violence unfold over the border echoes similar circumstances last fall in the early days of a months-long siege by IS. The battle for Kobane became a symbol of Kurdish defiance in the face of IS battlefield gains.

Islamic State militants attack 2 cities in northern Syria Posted: 25 Jun 2015 12:33 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — After weeks of setbacks, militants from the Islamic State group launched swift counteroffensives Thursday on predominantly Kurdish areas of northern Syria, killing and wounding dozens and setting off car bombs, activists and officials said.

Iraqi F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes in Arizona During Training Mission Posted: 25 Jun 2015 12:30 PM PDT The F-16 fighter jet that crashed in Arizona overnight was actually owned by the Iraqi Air Force and flown by an Iraqi pilot, a U.S. Air Force official confirmed to ABC News today. Local law enforcement has been on the scene since the crash last night near Douglas, Arizona, but Air Force officials have yet to confirmed the identity of the pilot, who they say is an Iraqi trainee. The crash caused a large grass fire and it's likely the pilot did not survive, authorities said.

Photographer Heidi Levine honored by women's media group Posted: 25 Jun 2015 12:23 PM PDT BERLIN (AP) — Freelance photographer Heidi Levine, who has made a career of covering conflicts, was honored Thursday with the inaugural award for courage named for Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, who was killed on assignment in Afghanistan.

IS sells 42 Yazidi women to fighters in Syria: monitor Posted: 25 Jun 2015 12:19 PM PDT The Islamic State group on Thursday sold 42 Iraqi women it had abducted from the Yazidi religious minority to its fighters in eastern Syria, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the women were being treated as "slaves" by the jihadists and were sold "for between $500 (447 euros) and $2,000 dollars (1,785 euros)". The women were kidnapped last year in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq where IS had launched a wide offensive, the Britain-based monitor said.

Does Australia's new anti-terrorism legislation go too far? Posted: 25 Jun 2015 11:48 AM PDT Civil rights advocates and Muslim leaders in Australia have widely denounced new legislation that calls for dual nationals who are convicted of terrorism-related offenses to be stripped of their Australian citizenship. The legislation is designed to staunch the flow of Australians going to the Middle East to join groups such as the self-described Islamic State, and to help prevent domestic terror attacks like the hostage crisis in Sydney last December that left three people dead. The Australian Parliament has passed a raft of anti-terrorism laws in the past 12 months that grant law enforcement agencies new sweeping powers.

Islamic State attacks Syrian army and Kurds in twin assault Posted: 25 Jun 2015 11:27 AM PDT By Tom Perry and Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters have launched simultaneous attacks against Syrian government and Kurdish militia forces, moving back onto the offensive after losing ground in recent days to Kurdish-led forces near the capital of their "caliphate." Islamic State sought to retake the initiative with incursions into the Kurdish-held town of Kobani at the Turkish border and government-held areas of Hasaka city in the northeast. In a separate offensive in the multi-sided Syrian civil war, an alliance of rebels in the south of the country also launched an attack with the aim of driving government forces from the city of Deraa. The attacks by Islamic State follow a rapid advance by Kurdish-led forces deep into the hardline group's territory, to within 50 km (30 miles) of its de facto capital Raqqa.

Who is advancing where in Syria? Posted: 25 Jun 2015 11:24 AM PDT Beirut (AFP) - Here are the main advances in Syria by key armed groups over the past three months.

Iraqi F-16 jet crashes in Arizona: US military Posted: 25 Jun 2015 11:23 AM PDT An Iraqi F-16 fighter jet crashed late Wednesday during a training flight in the US state of Arizona, reportedly rupturing a gas line and sparking a large fire. Emergency crews rushed to the site of the crash about eight miles (13 kilometers) north of Douglas near the border with Mexico, local fire officials said. US and Iraqi defense officials confirmed that the fighter had been sold to Iraq and was being piloted by an Iraqi.

A look at countries cited in human rights report Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:53 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration tagged Iran and Cuba among serial human-rights abusers in its annual report on government mistreatment of its citizens, even as it works toward some sort of rapprochement with both. It also listed numerous other countries where similar behavior occurs. Here's a look at those countries and what the State Department says they did:

Rights groups blast U.N. Security Council response to Syria killings Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:24 AM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A coalition of some 81 human rights and aid groups blasted the United Nations Security Council on Thursday for a "woefully inadequate" response to the killing of civilians in Syria, and urged it to ensure that those responsible will be punished. The 15-member council has been largely deadlocked over how to deal with the four-year war in Syria. The coalition, which includes Amnesty International, CARE International, Human Rights Watch, International Rescue Committee and Save the Children, said it was outraged at the unchecked brutality in Syria.

Islamic State militants kill 14 Iraqi soldiers Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:00 AM PDT Islamic State militants detonated a car bomb and then opened fire on Iraqi troops in the western province of Anbar on Thursday, killing 14 soldiers, security sources said. Iraqi government forces and their Shi'ite militia allies are hoping to recapture Anbar's provincial capital, Ramadi, which was seized by the ultra-hardline Sunni insurgents last month. Islamic State swept through northern Iraq last year and has since taken control of a third of the country, a major oil producer and OPEC member.

Former Obama aides say U.S. needs tougher Iran nuclear deal Posted: 25 Jun 2015 08:07 AM PDT (This story has been refiled to fix spelling of Barack in paragraph one) (Reuters) - A group of prominent American security advisers, including five with ties to President Barack Obama's first term, warned on Wednesday that a deal on curbing Iran's nuclear program was at risk of failing to provide adequate safeguards. In an open letter, the group of former U.S. officials and foreign policy experts cautioned that an Iran nuclear deal would "fall short of meeting the administration's own standard of a 'good' agreement" unless it included a tougher line on United Nations nuclear inspections and conditions for sanctions relief. The release of the letter, which was signed by Dennis Ross, an adviser on Iran and the Middle East in Obama's first term, comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to fly to Vienna on Friday to join the talks.

U.S.-led air strikes hit Islamic State in al Hasaka, other cities Posted: 25 Jun 2015 06:06 AM PDT The United States and its allies hit Islamic State with an air strike in the Syrian city of al Hasaka on Wednesday, among other targets in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. military said. In a statement, the Combined Joint Task Force said the air strike in al Hasaka, a city divided into Syrian government and Kurdish control where Islamic State has been trying to retake the initiative, struck a unit of Islamic State fighters and one of the militant group's vehicles.

New US rules on ransom payments unlikely to trigger windfall for militants Posted: 25 Jun 2015 05:38 AM PDT Dan Murphy covered the Iraq war from 2003-2008, and the kidnapping in Baghdad of Monitor correspondent Jill Carroll.

Aid agencies say funding gap endangers Syrian refugees Posted: 25 Jun 2015 04:26 AM PDT United Nations aid agencies said on Thursday that a $4.5 billion appeal to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 was less than a quarter funded, putting millions of vulnerable people at risk, and had already led to cuts in vital assistance. "We are so dangerously low on funding that we risk not being able to meet even the most basic survival needs of millions of people over the coming six months," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in the statement which represented more than 200 groups involved in the appeal.

Attacks in Baghdad, town south of Iraqi capital kill 8 Posted: 25 Jun 2015 04:17 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say attacks in Baghdad and town south of the Iraqi capital have killed at least eight people.

Iran holds funerals for 8 men killed fighting IS in Syria Posted: 25 Jun 2015 02:42 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say thousands of people have attended the funerals for eight Iranian volunteers killed in fighting against Islamic State extremists in Syria.

Bomb attack, clashes in Syria's Kobani kill 12, wound 70: hospital officials Posted: 25 Jun 2015 12:24 AM PDT DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed and 70 wounded in a car bomb blast and attacks by Islamic State militants in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani on Thursday, hospital officials in the town told Reuters by telephone. Kurdish forces, helped by U.S. and allied air support, retook control of Kobani five months ago following a four-month siege by Islamic State fighters, who have seized large parts of Syria and Iraq. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Daren Butler; editing by John Stonestreet)

Australia spy agency denies terror maps a security breach Posted: 24 Jun 2015 10:57 PM PDT Australia's domestic spy agency on Thursday played down concerns that maps shown in a media briefing revealing the source of homegrown fighters travelling to the Middle East were classified, after fears their publication was a security breach. The maps, which revealed the Sydney and Melbourne suburbs where fighters heading to join jihadists came from, were photographed and filmed by journalists during a meeting Wednesday between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and spy chief Duncan Lewis. The Labor opposition attempted to move a motion in parliament Thursday condemning Abbott and the government.

Car bomb explodes in Syria's Kobani near border, some people killed: YPG Posted: 24 Jun 2015 10:36 PM PDT A car bomb exploded in the Syrian town of Kobani near the Turkish border gate on Thursday as Islamic State militants staged an attack from three sides of the town, a Kurdish YPG militia official told Reuters. Kurdish forces, helped by U.S. and allied air support, retook control of Kobani at the end of January after a four-month siege by Islamic State fighters, who have seized large parts of Syria and Iraq. The YPG militia has since led an attack against Islamic State strongholds in Syria, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes.

Internet companies should respond to extremist exploitation Posted: 24 Jun 2015 07:28 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. panel is calling for Internet and social media companies to respond to the exploitation of their services by al-Qaida and other extremist groups who use the web to recruit fighters and spout "increasingly horrific propaganda."

Kenya warns of foreign fighter threat across Horn of Africa Posted: 24 Jun 2015 05:41 PM PDT Foreign fighters with Somalia's Shebab insurgents pose a risk to Europe if troops fail to stop them, Kenya's deputy president warned Thursday, days after the first British jihadi was killed in Kenya. "Foreign fighters from far afield, some from Europe, are in the field here in the Horn of Africa," Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto said, speaking at conference in Nairobi on countering violent extremism. Briton Thomas Evans was among a group of Shebab militants killed last week in Kenya after a failed raid on an army base.

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