Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Turkey allows US to use key air base to strike Islamic State
• Boko Haram holds territories in Nigeria's NE: governors
• Defense secretary in Iraq to check on plans to retake Ramadi
• Exclusive: Military school knew of doctor's macabre ways for decades
• Turkish army hits IS in Syria after soldier killed
• Turkey allows US planes to bomb IS from Incirlik base
• Iraq deploys U.S.-trained troops to Ramadi fight for first time
• Turkish army returns fire on Islamic State after soldier killed: officials
• US-trained Iraqi troops to join Ramadi counteroffensive
• Iran nuclear deal: why Saudis are wooing the Muslim Brotherhood
• France's Hollande discussses Iran nuclear deal with Rouhani
• Islamic State targeted in 18 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: joint statement
• US defence chief in Iraq to assess anti-IS efforts
• Coalition-trained Iraqi troops join battle against IS
• Iran nuclear deal safeguards seem effective: Saudi FM
• Sec. Jeh Johnson, CIA's Caroline Krass, Gen. John Allen, NSA Dir. Michael Rogers Interviewed at Aspen Security Forum Today
• Syria sees West easing tough stance after Iran deal: Assad aide
• A Definable Case of Genocide: Islamic State's Ideology, Mission and Actions Toward Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Iraq
• Iraqi Kurds head back to Europe, escaping war and seeking work
• How the Presidential Candidates Would Confront $18.6 Trillion of U.S. Debt
• The Gaping Hole in the Iran Debate
• Region's militant troubles weigh on Morocco's vital tourism industry
• Two Swedes arrested on Syria terrorist crime suspicion
• 10 Things to Know for Today
• Roughly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism
• FBI chief: Islamic State group bigger threat than al-Qaida
• Drones and ditches as Turkey tightens border after Islamic State bombing
• New terror threat system for Australia
• PKK claims murder of Turkish police to avenge 'IS bombing'
• Obama, Turkey's Erdogan discuss regional security and IS
• No changes to Obama schedule in Kenya after leak: White House

Turkey allows US to use key air base to strike Islamic State Posted: 23 Jul 2015 04:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Turkey has agreed to let the U.S. military launch airstrikes against the Islamic State from a key air base near the Syrian border, senior U.S. officials said Thursday, giving a boost to the U.S.-led coalition while drawing Turkey deeper into the conflict.

Boko Haram holds territories in Nigeria's NE: governors Posted: 23 Jul 2015 04:46 PM PDT Boko Haram Islamists are still holding on to some territories in Nigeria's troubled northeast, state governors from the region said on Thursday, after the military claimed a series of major victories against the Islamists. Borno and Yobe governors told a monthly national economic council meeting in Abuja that the rebel group -- whose insurgency has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2009 -- still controlled five municipalities within their states. "On Boko Haram issues, governors of Yobe and Borno raised the alarm of five local government areas of the two states still being in possession of the insurgents," an official document made available to reporters after the meeting said.

Defense secretary in Iraq to check on plans to retake Ramadi Posted: 23 Jul 2015 03:28 PM PDT Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter touched down in Baghdad Thursday to get an on-the-ground picture of how the fight against the Islamic State there is going. Senior Defense officials were quick to dispel any notions that this unannounced trip portends a shift in United States strategy or troop levels. Instead, this leg of Secretary Carter's trip to the Mideast – his first as Defense secretary – is focused on an upcoming counteroffensive in western Iraq, which Iraqi security forces launched against Islamic State fighters more than one week ago.

Exclusive: Military school knew of doctor's macabre ways for decades Posted: 23 Jul 2015 02:03 PM PDT By John Shiffman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The president of the U.S. military's medical college said he took swift action after learning in 2013 that John Henry Hagmann, a former Army doctor teaching there, was injecting students with hypnotic drugs, inducing shock by withdrawing their blood, and performing rectal exams in class. Hagmann was escorted off the Uniformed Services University campus in Maryland, and the college quickly offered students blood tests to determine if they had been exposed to any diseases, school President Charles Rice said. The college also launched an internal investigation into Hagmann's conduct, and it forwarded information to law enforcement authorities and the Virginia Board of Medicine, which revoked Hagmann's license last month.

Turkish army hits IS in Syria after soldier killed Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:52 PM PDT The Turkish military Thursday pounded positions of Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria after a Turkish soldier was killed by cross-border fire from jihadists, in a drastic escalation of tensions between Ankara and the extremist group. The deadly clash was the most serious yet between the Turkish army and IS since the Islamists began to take swathes of Iraq and Syria right up to the Turkish border from 2013. The fighting erupted three days after the killing of 32 people in a suicide bombing in a Turkish town on the Syrian border, blamed on IS, sparked an upsurge in violence in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.

Turkey allows US planes to bomb IS from Incirlik base Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:41 PM PDT Turkey will allow US warplanes to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State group from Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, American officials said Thursday. Ankara and Washington clinched an agreement after months of negotiations and it was revealed a day after President Barack Obama spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the conflict. "Access to Turkish bases such as Incirlik air base will increase the coalition's operational efficiency for such counter-ISIL efforts," a defense official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iraq deploys U.S.-trained troops to Ramadi fight for first time Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:39 PM PDT By Phil Stewart BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has for the first time deployed soldiers trained by the U.S.-led coalition in their campaign to retake the city of Ramadi from Islamic State militants, the U.S. military said on Thursday. The disclosure came during an unannounced visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter to Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and underscored the need for capable Iraqi ground forces to battle back Islamic State.

Turkish army returns fire on Islamic State after soldier killed: officials Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:25 PM PDT By Orhan Coskun and Sylvia Westall ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish forces returned fire on Islamic State militants in Syria with tank shells on Thursday after a Turkish soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a cross-border firefight, military and government officials said. The fighting comes days after a suspected suicide bombing by the Islamist radical group in a Turkish border town killed 32 people, many of them students and some of them Kurds, touching off waves of violence in the largely Kurdish southeast. Turkey's NATO allies have long expressed concern about control of the border with Syria, which in parts runs parallel with territory controlled by Islamic State.

US-trained Iraqi troops to join Ramadi counteroffensive Posted: 23 Jul 2015 12:46 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — For the first time, Iraqi troops trained by the U.S.-led coalition have been added to the assault force Iraq is using to retake the city of Ramadi, a U.S. military official said Thursday.

Iran nuclear deal: why Saudis are wooing the Muslim Brotherhood Posted: 23 Jul 2015 11:55 AM PDT Saudi Arabia has launched a diplomatic overture toward the Muslim Brotherhood that appears aimed at limiting Iran's influence with some branches of the Sunni Islamist organization. The Saudi move follows the recent nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran and marks a dramatic departure from an aggressive policy that saw Riyadh label the group a terrorist organization in March 2014 and attempt to eradicate it from the Gulf region. Most striking was last week's official visit to the kingdom by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

France's Hollande discussses Iran nuclear deal with Rouhani Posted: 23 Jul 2015 11:50 AM PDT French President Francois Hollande conferred with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani Thursday on "conditions for implementing" the Iran nuclear accord, Hollande's office said. Hollande "expressed the wish for Iran to contribute positively to the resolution of crises in the Middle East," it added. The conversation marks the latest step by Western leaders to beef up contacts with Iran since the July 14 deal in Vienna.

Islamic State targeted in 18 air strikes in Iraq, Syria: joint statement Posted: 23 Jul 2015 11:46 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies carried out 18 air strikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, the Command Joint Task Force said in a statement on Thursday. Eleven strikes were near the Iraqi cities of Habbaniyah, Haditha, Makhmur, Mosul, Ramadi, Sinjar and Tel Afar and hit tactical units, vehicles, weapons, bunkers and other Islamic State assets. In Syria, four attacks near Kobani hit tactical units and fighting positions, while similar targets were hit in three strikes near Al Hasakah, the statement said. ...

US defence chief in Iraq to assess anti-IS efforts Posted: 23 Jul 2015 11:01 AM PDT Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said during his first visit to Baghdad Thursday that the United States was willing to do more to help Iraq defeat the Islamic State group. "We are willing to do more... when and if (the Iraqis) develop capable, motivated forces of their own that can take and retain territory," he said as he met some of the 3,500 US military trainers and advisers in Iraq. On his first visit since taking office earlier this year, Carter met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his counterpart, Khaled al-Obeidi.

Coalition-trained Iraqi troops join battle against IS Posted: 23 Jul 2015 11:00 AM PDT Iraqi troops trained by the US-led coalition have joined the battlefield for the first time, a US pentagon spokesman said Thursday, and are battling the Islamic State group to retake Ramadi. "As many as 3,000" Iraqi soldiers trained and armed by the coalition are taking part in ongoing operations to reconquer the Anbar provincial capital, Colonel Steven Warren said. "This is a development we are very satisfied to hear," he told reporters in Baghdad during a visit by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

Iran nuclear deal safeguards seem effective: Saudi FM Posted: 23 Jul 2015 10:54 AM PDT An agreement reached this month to curb any Iranian attempt to get an atomic bomb appears to have effective safeguards, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Thursday. Riyadh and its Gulf neighbours share with Israel a concern that Iran, made wealthier under the agreement, will be more able to support its regional proxies.

Sec. Jeh Johnson, CIA's Caroline Krass, Gen. John Allen, NSA Dir. Michael Rogers Interviewed at Aspen Security Forum Today Posted: 23 Jul 2015 10:47 AM PDT ASPEN, Colo., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WHAT: Upcoming live video from the 2015 Aspen Security Forum, as well as video and transcripts from previously recorded sessions, are as follows:Wednesday, July 22The Complexity of Today's Global Threat EnvironmentJames Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of InvestigationsModerated by: WolfBlitzer, Anchor, "The Situation Room," CNNTranscript: http://aspensecurityforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/The-Complexity-of-Todays-Global-Threat-Environment.pdf Video: https://youtu. ...

Syria sees West easing tough stance after Iran deal: Assad aide Posted: 23 Jul 2015 10:16 AM PDT A close adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Iran's nuclear accord with world powers will force the West to soften its stance against Damascus and deal with its government to find a negotiated solution to Syria's civil war. Tehran has given vital financial and military support to Assad in a four-year-old conflict that has become a battleground for Shi'ite Muslim Iran's regional power struggle with Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, which backs insurgent forces in Syria. Western powers have supported non-Islamist rebels in Syria and said there was no room for Assad in a future Syria.

A Definable Case of Genocide: Islamic State's Ideology, Mission and Actions Toward Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Iraq Posted: 23 Jul 2015 10:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Congressman Frank R. Wolf and the religious freedom group, 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, question why President Obama and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have yet to fully declare that the Islamic State's actions against religious and ethnic minority populations in the Middle East is genocide. This week Wolf sent a letter to both the President and Secretary General that stated "Genocidal intent can clearly be seen in Islamic State's ideology and mission which is directed towards the creation of a global caliphate that has been purged of every man, woman and child deemed to be an 'unbeliever' through either forced conversion or death. In Iraq, this has manifested most clearly in the insurgency's actions against Christians and Yezidis.

Iraqi Kurds head back to Europe, escaping war and seeking work Posted: 23 Jul 2015 08:41 AM PDT By Isabel Coles ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The economy is in freefall, but business has never been better for one trade in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Smugglers are taking thousands of dollars from young Kurds desperate to leave the autonomous region, now at war with Islamic State militants and in the throes of economic crisis. One Kurdish smuggler involved in the trade for nearly three decades said the network of which he is a part sent 255 people to Europe in May and June alone, nearly all of them young men.

How the Presidential Candidates Would Confront $18.6 Trillion of U.S. Debt Posted: 23 Jul 2015 08:16 AM PDT It has taken a while, but many of the 2016 presidential candidates have begun talking about how $18.6 trillion in long-term debt could threaten the U.S. economy, and what they would do to address it if they manage to succeed President Obama in the White House.

The Gaping Hole in the Iran Debate Posted: 23 Jul 2015 07:43 AM PDT As Iraq spiraled into disaster, I felt intellectually unmoored. The debate preceding it pitted people who believed Saddam Hussein was malevolent but rational against people who believed he might well nuke the United States.

Region's militant troubles weigh on Morocco's vital tourism industry Posted: 23 Jul 2015 07:34 AM PDT By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT (Reuters) - French tourist Margot Benet thought twice before boarding her plane bound for Morocco's legendary city of Marrakesh. It was just days after an Islamist militant gunman killed 38 tourists in neighbouring Tunisia. After she and her husband and two young children spent nearly a week in Marrakesh, the capital Rabat and other Moroccan towns without incident, she reckons she made the right decision.

Two Swedes arrested on Syria terrorist crime suspicion Posted: 23 Jul 2015 06:42 AM PDT Two Swedes were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of terrorist crimes in committing murder in Syria in 2013, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said, adding a third person was arrested in absentia. In a brief press release, the authority said the apprehended suspects were Swedish citizens, 30 and 32 years old, but did not name them or identify them by gender. "Two persons have been arrested in Gothenburg on probable cause on suspicion of terrorist crimes in committing murder," the Prosecution Authority said in a press release.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 23 Jul 2015 06:08 AM PDT Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

Roughly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism Posted: 23 Jul 2015 05:15 AM PDT "Other countries have spied on American companies, and they have stolen from them, but this is likely the first time—occurring months before the late November attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE)—that a foreign player simply sought to destroy American corporate infrastructure on such a scale. "Like Humphrey Bogart saying, 'Play it again, Sam,' Tom Cruise jumping on a couch is one of our mass hallucinations.

FBI chief: Islamic State group bigger threat than al-Qaida Posted: 23 Jul 2015 04:23 AM PDT ASPEN, Colorado (AP) — The Islamic State group's effort to inspire troubled Americans to violence has become more of a terror threat to the U.S. than an external attack by al-Qaida, the FBI director said Wednesday.

Drones and ditches as Turkey tightens border after Islamic State bombing Posted: 23 Jul 2015 03:53 AM PDT By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is erecting a modular wall along part of its border with Syria as well as reinforcing wire fencing and digging extra ditches after a suspected Islamic State suicide bombing killed 32 mostly young students in a border town this week. Turkey's NATO allies have long expressed concern about control of its border with Syria which in parts runs directly parallel with territory controlled by Islamic State. A suicide bombing on Monday in the southeastern town of Suruc highlighted fears about Syria's conflict spilling onto Turkish soil.

New terror threat system for Australia Posted: 22 Jul 2015 08:58 PM PDT Australia on Thursday announced a new terror alert system as the country faces what Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the worst extremist threat in its history, with the government outlining a long-term strategy to tackle the scourge. The new system will be introduced later this year, subject to community consultation, with the new threat levels to be: certain, expected, probable, possible and not expected, which Abbott said would be much easier for the public to understand. "Any changes to the threat level under the new system will be accompanied by a statement providing more information on what the new threat level means, where the threat is coming from, what the potential targets are and the means by which an attack may be perpetrated." The government has been increasingly concerned about the flow of fighters to Iraq and Syria to join groups such as Islamic State, with some 120 Australians already in the region and 160 actively supporting extremist organisations through financing and recruitment.

PKK claims murder of Turkish police to avenge 'IS bombing' Posted: 22 Jul 2015 08:16 PM PDT Kurdish militants claimed the murder of two Turkish police officers as revenge for a suicide bombing, blamed on Islamic State jihadists, that killed 32 activists near the Syrian border. The attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the town of Ceylanpinar intensified fears that the fighting raging in Syria between Kurds and IS extremists is spilling over onto Turkish territory. In Ankara, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened his cabinet to discuss an action plan for strengthening security on Turkey's border with Syria after Monday's devastating attack in the town of Suruc.

Obama, Turkey's Erdogan discuss regional security and IS Posted: 22 Jul 2015 07:11 PM PDT US President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey spoke on the phone about conflicts in Iraq and Syria and the fight against Islamic State militants, the White House said. The White House said regional security remained a top priority, and pledged to work closely with Turkey on a number of fronts. The leaders spoke about "deepening our ongoing cooperation in the fight against ISIL and common efforts to bring security and stability to Iraq and a political settlement to the conflict in Syria," the White House said in a statement, using an acronym for the IS group.

No changes to Obama schedule in Kenya after leak: White House Posted: 22 Jul 2015 07:01 PM PDT US President Barack Obama does not need to reshuffle his visit to east Africa after a posting of some details of the trip were made public in Kenya, a White House spokesman said. Responding to a question about Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority issuing details of the president's arrival time to the country that became public, spokesman Josh Earnest said there is not enough cause for concern to change Obama's schedule. Earnest pointed out that traveling to Kenya was not like going to war zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan, where all schedule details are kept tightly under wraps.

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