Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Islamic State militants blow up temple in ancient city of Palmyra
• Germany vows to fight xenophobia after attacks on refugee home
• Activists: Islamic State destroys temple at Syria's Palmyra
• Dozens injured in second day of Beirut trash crisis protests
• IS blows up temple in Syria's Palmyra: antiquities chief
• Turkey jails five mayors in Kurdish southeast over 'self-rule' claims
• Thwarted French train attack highlights rail security against terror acts
• Britain, Iran reopen embassies after nuclear deal
• U.S.-led coalition stages 26 air strikes on Islamic State
• British foreign secretary reopens embassy in Tehran
• Gunmen attack Italian logistics manager in Iraq's Basra: sources
• Kurdish militants attack Turkish power station, one soldier killed
• Protesters re-open road access to Iraq's Umm Qasr port after new jobs promised
• Today in History

Islamic State militants blow up temple in ancient city of Palmyra Posted: 23 Aug 2015 03:47 PM PDT By Kinda Makeih DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Islamic State militants on Sunday blew up the temple of Baal Shamin, one of the most important sites in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, said Maamoun Abdul Karim, the country's antiquities chief. The temple bombing would be the first time the insurgents, who control swathes of Syria and Iraq and captured Palmyra in May, damaged monumental Roman-era ruins. "We have said repeatedly the next phase would be one of terrorizing people and when they have time they will begin destroying temples," Abdul Karim told Reuters.

Germany vows to fight xenophobia after attacks on refugee home Posted: 23 Aug 2015 03:16 PM PDT By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's interior minister led calls on Sunday for a crackdown on right-wing militants and racists after a second night of scuffles between protesters and police outside a refugee shelter in an eastern German town near Dresden. Just a day after 31 police officers were hurt in violent protests against the asylum seekers, a Reuters photographer on Saturday night saw some 200 mostly drunk militants in Heidenau throwing fireworks and bottles at police. Some shouted "Heil Hitler".

Activists: Islamic State destroys temple at Syria's Palmyra Posted: 23 Aug 2015 02:44 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants have destroyed a temple at Syria's ancient ruins of Palmyra, activists said Sunday, realizing the worst fears archaeologists had for the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city after the extremists seized it and beheaded a local scholar.

Dozens injured in second day of Beirut trash crisis protests Posted: 23 Aug 2015 02:14 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese riot police battled in the streets of downtown Beirut for a second night Sunday after demonstrators rallied over government corruption and an ongoing trash crisis, violence that wounded at least 44 people and 30 police officers, authorities said.

IS blows up temple in Syria's Palmyra: antiquities chief Posted: 23 Aug 2015 02:14 PM PDT Islamic State group jihadists on Sunday blew up the ancient temple of Baal Shamin in the UNESCO-listed Syrian city of Palmyra, the country's antiquities chief told AFP. "Daesh placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin today and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple," said Maamoun Abdulkarim, using another name for IS. IS, which controls swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, captured Palmyra on May 21, sparking international concern about the fate of the heritage site described by UNESCO as of "outstanding universal value".

Turkey jails five mayors in Kurdish southeast over 'self-rule' claims Posted: 23 Aug 2015 10:29 AM PDT Turkish courts on Sunday remanded in custody five mayors from the Kurdish-dominated southeast on charges of seeking to destroy national unity by allegedly supporting calls for regional self-rule, reports said. The investigation comes as Turkey carries out its biggest operation in years against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have responded by tearing up a 2013 ceasefire and staging daily attacks against the security forces. A court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir placed under arrest the co-mayors of the city's central Sur district, Seyid Narin and Fatma Sik Barut, the official Anatolia news agency reported.

Thwarted French train attack highlights rail security against terror acts Posted: 23 Aug 2015 10:24 AM PDT Authorities are questioning the man accused of Friday's attempted attack on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris. Moroccan Ayoub El-Khazzani, who is suspected of storming a passenger Thalys train with an automatic Kalashnikov-style rifle, is said to have ties to the "radical Islamic movement," according to the BBC. Officials continue to investigate whether Mr. El-Khazzani acted alone or with an accomplice, and "if there is possibly a wider framework involved," NBC News reports.

Britain, Iran reopen embassies after nuclear deal Posted: 23 Aug 2015 10:18 AM PDT Britain's foreign secretary reopened his country's embassy in Tehran on Sunday in a long-awaited step signalling better relations four years after a mob stormed the compound, forcing its closure. Philip Hammond's two-day trip comes five weeks after Britain and five other world powers struck a deal with Iran to end a 13-year dispute over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. Iran's embassy in London also reopened on Sunday.

U.S.-led coalition stages 26 air strikes on Islamic State Posted: 23 Aug 2015 09:44 AM PDT The United States and its coalition partners targeted Islamic State in 26 air strikes in Saturday's round of daily attacks on the militant group in Iraq and Syria, the Command Joint Task Force said in a statement on Sunday. Seventeen of the strikes were in Iraq, with the greatest concentrations near the cities of Bayji, Mosul and Ramadi, where tactical units, buildings, fighting positions, weapons and vehicles were hit. The strikes also hit Islamic State forces near four other Iraqi cities, the statement said.

British foreign secretary reopens embassy in Tehran Posted: 23 Aug 2015 09:39 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran Sunday in a sign of newly thawed relations in the wake of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Gunmen attack Italian logistics manager in Iraq's Basra: sources Posted: 23 Aug 2015 06:31 AM PDT Gunmen shot and wounded the Italian manager of a logistics company in the southern Iraqi oil city of Basra on Sunday, security officials and a company source said. Carlo Morandi from the Italian-Iraqi joint venture Sama Alimad was shot twice while withdrawing money from a bank and taken to hospital for surgery, but his injuries were not life-threatening, the officials said. Basra police spokesman Colonel Kareem al-Zaidi called the incident "criminal, not terrorist", and said Morandi had not been targeted as a foreigner.

Kurdish militants attack Turkish power station, one soldier killed Posted: 23 Aug 2015 05:44 AM PDT Kurdish militants armed with assault rifles attacked a hydroelectric power station near the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Sunday, killing a soldier and wounding three others, security sources said. Military attack helicopters were searching for the militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after they fled, the sources said. Turkey has launched more than 400 air strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey since late July, in what it says is a response to mounting attacks on police officers and soldiers.

Protesters re-open road access to Iraq's Umm Qasr port after new jobs promised Posted: 23 Aug 2015 03:07 AM PDT Road access to Iraq's southern Umm Qasr commodities port was restored on Sunday following a two-day closure by protesters after the authorities promised to create new jobs, a port company spokesman and port workers said. At Umm Qasr, negotiations with security officials and the director of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq resulted in a pledge to create up to 75 new jobs, said company spokesman Anmar al-Safi. The harbor near the oil-exporting city of Basra receives grain shipments and heavy equipment used in the oil industry, but does not export crude oil.

Today in History Posted: 22 Aug 2015 09:01 PM PDT Today is Sunday, August 23, the 235th day of 2015. There are 130 days left in the year.

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