Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Iran victory within Obama's reach
• Islamic State claims to kill 30 for sodomy, UN meeting told
• Turkey's Erdogan calls snap polls
• UN council hears from gays who fled IS terror
• Turkey's president calls new election after deadline passes
• What cheap oil means, and where do prices go from here?
• U.S., Turkey to launch 'comprehensive' anti-Islamic State operation
• Witness: Ancient Syrian temple completely destroyed by IS
• U.S.-led coalition stages 20 air strikes on Islamic State: statement
• Rare mass 'terror' trial opens in the UAE
• Iraq's Sadr urges supporters to rally against corruption
• Islamic State's destruction of Roman temple in Syria is war crime: UNESCO
• Islamic State suicide attacks targeting Iraqi outpost kill 8
• Americans who stopped train shooter boost US military image in Europe
• Merkel condemns 'disgusting' message of hate toward refugees
• AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from the Middle East
• Two Turkish troops, one policeman killed in PKK attacks in southeast
• Iraq's Sadr calls on followers to join Friday protests in Baghdad - spokesman
• Shots fired at Saudi police patrol in Jeddah
• Top candidates struggle with distractions from the past
• Two soldiers killed after convoy hits explosives in southeast Turkey
• Laura Poitras, Frederick Wiseman to Screen New Work at New York Film Festival
• Top Shiite cleric plays major role in Iraq reform drive

Iran victory within Obama's reach Posted: 24 Aug 2015 03:06 PM PDT US President Barack Obama has won the backing of a fresh clutch of senators for his Iran deal, raising the prospect he could yet dodge a humiliating legislative rebuke. For months, Republicans and rebellious Democrats have looked on course to pass a resolution against the nuclear deal, a stinging rejection of a central Obama foreign policy goal. A 'no' vote next month would not be enough to scupper the whole nuclear agreement -- thanks to Obama's veto power -- but it could foreshadow trouble ahead.

Islamic State claims to kill 30 for sodomy, UN meeting told Posted: 24 Aug 2015 02:25 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for killing at least 30 people for sodomy, the head of an international gay rights organization said Monday at the first-ever U.N. Security Council meeting spotlighting violence and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

Turkey's Erdogan calls snap polls Posted: 24 Aug 2015 02:18 PM PDT Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called snap elections in an unprecedented move to break weeks of political stalemate after June's inconclusive legislative polls. A presidential statement released after a meeting between Erdogan and parliament speaker Ismet Yilmaz gave no date for the elections but the president had previously said he expected the polls to be held on November 1. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), co-founded by Erdogan, lost its overall majority in the 550-seat parliament in the June 7 polls for the first time since it came to power in 2002, forcing the party to seek a coalition partner.

UN council hears from gays who fled IS terror Posted: 24 Aug 2015 01:25 PM PDT UN Security Council members on Monday heard Syrian and Iraqi gays tell of their terror-filled lives under the Islamic State, in the first-ever council meeting on LGBT rights. Subhi Nahas told the meeting that gays in his Syrian hometown of Idlib were being hurled from rooftops and stoned by cheering townspeople, including children. "In the Islamic State, gays are being tracked and killed all the time," said Nahas, who escaped and now works for a refugee organization in the United States.

Turkey's president calls new election after deadline passes Posted: 24 Aug 2015 12:39 PM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's president formally called a new election on Monday, a day after a deadline passed for forming a new government following an inconclusive vote in June.

What cheap oil means, and where do prices go from here? Posted: 24 Aug 2015 12:30 PM PDT The case can be made that oil will stay cheap for some time, which could have a number of wide-ranging and long-lasting consequences.

U.S., Turkey to launch 'comprehensive' anti-Islamic State operation Posted: 24 Aug 2015 12:11 PM PDT By Nick Tattersall ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State fighters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday. Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan as well as Britain and France may also take part, Cavusoglu said in an interview.

Witness: Ancient Syrian temple completely destroyed by IS Posted: 24 Aug 2015 10:58 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — An ancient temple in the Syrian town of Palmyra was reduced to rubble by Islamic State militants, a witness said Monday, confirming the complete destruction of the ancient monument in what UNESCO said was a "war crime."

U.S.-led coalition stages 20 air strikes on Islamic State: statement Posted: 24 Aug 2015 10:21 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its coalition partners targeted Islamic State militants with 20 air strikes on Sunday in Iraq and Syria, the Command Joint Task Force said in a statement on Monday. In Iraq, 12 strikes near Baiji, Mosul, Ramadi and other cities hit tactical units, buildings and vehicles, the statement said. Another eight strikes in Syria hit near Al Hasakah, Al Hawl, Ayn Isa, Kobani and Washiyah, the statement said. (Reporting by Washington newsroom; Editing by Chris Reese)

Rare mass 'terror' trial opens in the UAE Posted: 24 Aug 2015 08:46 AM PDT A rare mass trial of 41 radical Islamists accused of seeking to overthrow the government and links with "terrorists" opened on Monday in the United Arab Emirates, official media reported. WAM news agency said the hearing at the state security court in Abu Dhabi was devoted to procedural measures, including the appointment of lawyers. The Islamic State group, which has set up a "caliphate" on territory it has captured in Syria and Iraq, follows the takfiri ideology, as does Al-Qaeda.

Iraq's Sadr urges supporters to rally against corruption Posted: 24 Aug 2015 08:16 AM PDT Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Monday urged his followers to hold anti-corruption protests in Baghdad this week, the first major political figure to issue such a call. Thousands of people have for weeks taken to the streets of Baghdad and Shiite cities in the south on Fridays to protest rampant corruption and abysmal services that plague Iraq.

Islamic State's destruction of Roman temple in Syria is war crime: UNESCO Posted: 24 Aug 2015 07:44 AM PDT Islamic State's demolition of an renowned ancient Roman temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra is a war crime that targeted an historic symbol of the country's diversity, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO said on Monday. Ultra hardline Islamic State militants blew up the temple of Baal Shamin on Sunday, Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said, describing the destruction of one of the most important sites in the central city. "Such acts are war crimes and their perpetrators must be accountable for their actions," UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement.

Islamic State suicide attacks targeting Iraqi outpost kill 8 Posted: 24 Aug 2015 07:21 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of Islamic State suicide car bombings targeting a military outpost in Anbar province killed eight soldiers and wounded six Monday, military and security officials said, the latest extremist attacks to hit beleaguered Iraqi forces in the region.

Americans who stopped train shooter boost US military image in Europe Posted: 24 Aug 2015 06:14 AM PDT "Behaving like military" can be a loaded comment in Europe. Twelve years after the US invaded Iraq – to the outrage of many European nations, first among them France – the political impact still reverberates. Just recently Jeremy Corbyn, vying to lead the Labour Party in Britain, said that if elected he will issue a public apology over Britain's participation in the Iraq war 12 years ago.

Merkel condemns 'disgusting' message of hate toward refugees Posted: 24 Aug 2015 05:44 AM PDT By Josie Le Blond HEIDENAU, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned on Monday violent protests against refugees that erupted over the weekend in eastern Germany, blaming them on far-right extremists who were bent on spreading a "disgusting" message of hatred. More than 30 police were injured in clashes in the town of Heidenau near Dresden in early Saturday morning, after a mob of several hundred people, many of them drunk, began pelting officers with bottles and fireworks. Some of them shouted "Heil Hitler".

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from the Middle East Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:24 AM PDT Across the Mideast this past week, protesters gathered en masse in Lebanon and Iraq.

Two Turkish troops, one policeman killed in PKK attacks in southeast Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:16 AM PDT Two Turkish troops died Monday and a policeman was killed in new attacks blamed on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the country's southeast, the army and officials said. The two soldiers died in a roadside bombing by the PKK early Monday in the Semdinli region of the southeastern Hakkari province close to the borders with Iran and Iraq, the army said in a statement. A 20-year-old policeman in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province was shot dead by suspected PKK militants while standing outside his father's house late on Sunday night, the local governor's office said.

Iraq's Sadr calls on followers to join Friday protests in Baghdad - spokesman Posted: 24 Aug 2015 03:52 AM PDT Iraq's powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose opinion holds sway over tens of thousands of supporters, called on his followers on Monday to join Friday protests in Baghdad, a move that could risk escalating tensions over government reforms. The capital and many southern cities have witnessed demonstrations in recent weeks calling for the provision of basic services, the trial of corrupt politicians, and the shakeup of a system riddled with graft and incompetence. Sadr's statement is the first direct appeal by a major party leader to participate in the protests, which emerged from anger over power cuts during a sweltering heatwave and have been mostly non-sectarian.

Shots fired at Saudi police patrol in Jeddah Posted: 24 Aug 2015 03:42 AM PDT Saudi Press Agency quoted an unnamed Mecca police spokesman as saying security forces were investigating the incident. Jeddah is the second largest Saudi city and a major port. Supporters of the Islamic State group have shot at two Saudi police patrols, bombed a mosque used by the security services and two others used by members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority, killing 40 people.

Top candidates struggle with distractions from the past Posted: 24 Aug 2015 12:08 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Two soldiers killed after convoy hits explosives in southeast Turkey Posted: 23 Aug 2015 11:41 PM PDT Two Turkish soldiers were killed and three wounded on Monday when the vehicle they were traveling in hit explosives buried in the road, the latest attack following the collapse of a ceasefire with Kurdish militants, security sources said. Turkey has launched more than 400 air strikes against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, where the armed group is based, and in southeast Turkey since late July, in what it says is a response to attacks on police officers and soldiers. Ankara blames the autonomy-seeking PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, for the deaths of 40,000 people, mainly Kurdish, since it took up arms in 1984.

Laura Poitras, Frederick Wiseman to Screen New Work at New York Film Festival Posted: 23 Aug 2015 09:00 PM PDT The festival's documentary sidebar will also include portraits of Nora Ephron and Ingrid Bergman.

Top Shiite cleric plays major role in Iraq reform drive Posted: 23 Aug 2015 05:25 PM PDT As Iraq attempts to curb rampant corruption and streamline the government, the country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is playing a crucial role supporting the reform drive. Sistani, who is revered by millions and has unmatched prestige in Iraq, issued multiple calls for change this month, kickstarting Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's reform efforts and making it politically risky for Shiite politicians to openly oppose them.

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