Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• U.S. confirms Islamic State computer expert killed in air strike
• AP National News Calendar
• The Latest: Sanders says party needs huge voter turnout
• Europe's migrant crisis brings new death by land and sea
• Walker: More Iraq combat, but no more boots on ground, yet
• Satellite images confirm Palmyra temple destruction: UN
• Iraqi PM orders easier access to Baghdad's Green Zone as protests surge
• US teen jailed more than 11 years for IS conviction
• Thousands protest against corruption in Iraq capital
• Bodies of 71 migrants who died in truck taken to morgue
• Teen gets more than 11 years for helping Islamic State group
• Turkish police detain two British journalists in Kurdish area
• Iraq's top cleric says government must genuinely seek change
• U.S., allies conduct 20 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: military
• Kenyan gets 15 years in prison in U.S. for funding Islamist militant groups
• Hungary razor wire no hurdle for hardened migrants
• Exhausted migrants scuffle at Greek-Macedonian border
• 12 mn Syrians have fled their homes since conflict began: UN
• Two British journalists detained in southeast Turkey
• Virginia teen gets 11 years for supporting Islamic State
• Popular fears aside, businesses often eager for migrant workers
• Young Syrian migrant's navigational tool: 'I follow the trash'
• Exclusive: Arab OPEC producers brace for oil-price weakness for rest of 2015
• Mediterranean refugee and migrant numbers pass 300,000 in 2015
• Militants posing as migrants? Unlikely, say European experts
• Aid-starved Syria refugees desert Mideast for Europe
• Iraq PM orders forces to prepare to open Green Zone
• Spain accuses suspect of running Islamic State network in Morocco
• Yemeni government says to mount battle for Sanaa within eight weeks
• IS struggle to make progress in Taliban bastion Afghanistan
• Iran premieres big-budget epic film 'Muhammad'
• Walker: 'We cannot afford to lose' in Middle East

U.S. confirms Islamic State computer expert killed in air strike Posted: 28 Aug 2015 03:12 PM PDT The U.S. military confirmed on Friday that a British hacker who was one of the Islamic State movement's top computer experts and active in encouraging people abroad to carry out "lone wolf" attacks was killed in Syria by a U.S. air strike. Junaid Hussain of Birmingham, England, was killed on Aug. 24 by a U.S. military air strike on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqah, said Air Force Colonel Pat Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Hussain had been involved in "actively recruiting ISIL sympathizers in the west to carry out 'lone wolf' style attacks," Ryder said, using an acronym for the militant group that has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq.

AP National News Calendar Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:43 PM PDT Eds: Major scheduled events for the week of August 30 - September 5. Note that many events are subject to change at the last minute.

The Latest: Sanders says party needs huge voter turnout Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:36 PM PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Here are the latest developments Friday from the Democratic National Committee meeting in Minneapolis, where four Democratic presidential candidates are addressing the party.

Europe's migrant crisis brings new death by land and sea Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:23 PM PDT VIENNA (AP) — Death and desperation mounted in Europe's migrant crisis Friday as Austrian police said 71 people appeared to have suffocated in the back of an abandoned truck, while an estimated 200 people were feared drowned off Libya when two overloaded boats capsized.

Walker: More Iraq combat, but no more boots on ground, yet Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:19 PM PDT CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker is calling for U.S. forces in Iraq to engage in direct combat to defeat "radical Islamic terrorists" in the Middle East.

Satellite images confirm Palmyra temple destruction: UN Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:45 PM PDT Satellite images confirm the destruction of the Baal Shamin temple in Syria's Palmyra, the United Nations said Friday, after international condemnation of the act claimed by the Islamic State group. The UN training and research agency UNITAR said its satellite programme had compared images of the site taken on June 26 and again on August 27. "We confirm the destruction of the main building, while surrounding columns seem to be less affected," UNITAR said in a statement.

Iraqi PM orders easier access to Baghdad's Green Zone as protests surge Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:38 PM PDT By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday ordered security forces to ease access to Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and main streets, in an apparent bid to improve daily life for ordinary Iraqis as fresh protests erupted across the country. The capital and many southern cities have witnessed demonstrations in recent weeks calling for provision of basic services, the trial of corrupt politicians, and the shakeup of a system riddled with graft and incompetence. Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled Baghdad's Tahrir Square on Friday in what a senior security official called the biggest protest of the summer.

US teen jailed more than 11 years for IS conviction Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:12 PM PDT A tech-savvy US teenager from Virginia was sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison on Friday for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State extremist group. Ali Shukri Amin, 17, from the small town of Manassas an hour's drive from Washington DC, will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release and monitoring of his Internet activities. The prolific Twitter user, who sent more than 7,000 messages on the site in support of IS, pleaded guilty in June.

Thousands protest against corruption in Iraq capital Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:06 PM PDT Protesters have taken to the streets of Baghdad and cities in the Shiite south for weeks, railing against rampant corruption and abysmal services, especially power outages that leave just a few hours of government-supplied electricity per day during the scorching summer heat. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has responded to the demonstrations and a call from Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, with a reform programme aimed at curbing corruption and streamlining the government, but it is still in its early stages. At Friday's demonstration, hundreds waved Iraqi flags and chanted anti-corruption slogans as in previous weeks, but this time the crowd also included supporters of Sadr, responding to his call to take part.

Bodies of 71 migrants who died in truck taken to morgue Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:05 PM PDT NICKELSDORF, Austria (AP) — An overpowering stench of death came from the truck on Austria's border with Hungary as workers unloaded the bodies of some of the 71 migrants who perished trapped inside the vehicle they hoped would take them to a better life.

Teen gets more than 11 years for helping Islamic State group Posted: 28 Aug 2015 11:51 AM PDT ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia teenager was sentenced Friday to more than 11 years in prison for helping another teen travel to Syria to join Islamic State militants and for providing other aid to the group.

Turkish police detain two British journalists in Kurdish area Posted: 28 Aug 2015 10:45 AM PDT Turkish police have detained two British journalists from Vice News who were covering the unrest in the restive Kurdish dominated southeast, the media company confirmed on Friday. "A VICE News journalist, cameraman and fixer were detained by local police last night in Diyarbakir, Turkey while reporting in the region," a spokesperson from the media company told AFP in an emailed statement.

Iraq's top cleric says government must genuinely seek change Posted: 28 Aug 2015 10:42 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's top Shiite cleric said on Friday the government must show it was seeking genuine change to combat corruption and improve services and not just introduce temporary measures to placate the embattled nation.

U.S., allies conduct 20 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: military Posted: 28 Aug 2015 10:21 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An international coalition led by the United States conducted seven air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and 13 in Iraq on Thursday, according to a statement released on Friday. In Syria, the coalition focused attacks near Washiyah, where three air strikes hit tactical units and destroyed an Islamic State vehicle, the Combined Joint Task Forces said in the statement. Strikes against the militant group in Iraq were spread across the country and included two near Baiji, two near Mosul and one near Ramadi. ...

Kenyan gets 15 years in prison in U.S. for funding Islamist militant groups Posted: 28 Aug 2015 10:18 AM PDT A Kenyan man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday by a judge in Miami after pleading guilty to funneling $11,600 dollars to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations in Africa and the Middle East. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro sentenced Mohamed Hussain Said, 27, for conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, al Qaeda in Iraq/Nusra Front, and al Shabaab. Said was arrested along with Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, a 31-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in India, in Saudi Arabia in August 2013 and turned over to U.S. authorities.

Hungary razor wire no hurdle for hardened migrants Posted: 28 Aug 2015 10:13 AM PDT Röszke (Hungary) (AFP) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vaunted the razor-wire fence being laid along the Serbian border as the only answer to stop tens of thousands of migrants from getting in. "We fear neither the Hungarian police, nor the fence," Nasreen, a 29-year-old Syrian woman, told AFP after scrambling through the fence from Serbia and heading off into the safety of the European Union. Clad in jumpers despite the late-summer heat, she says the extra layers will help once the nights get colder as they go north from Hungary towards the holy grail of Germany or Sweden.

Exhausted migrants scuffle at Greek-Macedonian border Posted: 28 Aug 2015 09:27 AM PDT IDOMENI, Greece (AP) — Scuffles and limited fights broke out Friday among more than 1,000 people at Greece's northern border with Macedonia as exhausted, thirsty migrants jostled to get into position to cross.

12 mn Syrians have fled their homes since conflict began: UN Posted: 28 Aug 2015 09:01 AM PDT Syria's four-and-a-half year conflict has driven half of the country's people to flee their homes, with the number of those who have left the country approaching 20 percent of the pre-war population. At least 7.6 million people are displaced within Syria, which counted 23 million inhabitants at the start of the civil war. According to the head of UN humanitarian operations, aid in Syria continues to be blocked by belligerents, particularly in difficult-to-access zones or those occupied by regime or opposition forces.

Two British journalists detained in southeast Turkey Posted: 28 Aug 2015 08:05 AM PDT Turkish anti-terrorist police have detained two British journalists from Vice News for reporting from the predominantly Kurdish southeast without government accreditation, security sources said on Friday. The two journalists were identified by the Turkish media and security sources as Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury. "A Vice News journalist, cameraman and fixer were detained by local police last night in Diyarbakir, Turkey, while reporting in the region.

Virginia teen gets 11 years for supporting Islamic State Posted: 28 Aug 2015 07:38 AM PDT A Virginia teenager who had pleaded guilty to online support of the militant group Islamic State was sentenced to just over 11 years in federal prison on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said. Ali Amin, 17, of Manassas, was the first minor prosecuted by the United States in such a case. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton handed down a 136-month sentence in a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, the department said in a statement.

Popular fears aside, businesses often eager for migrant workers Posted: 28 Aug 2015 07:05 AM PDT By William Schomberg and Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Raghad al Sous braved bombings in Syria to keep studying at school before fleeing in 2013 to rejoin her mother, who had been granted refugee status in Britain. Two years after moving from Damascus to Huddersfield in northern England, the 19 year-old's plans for a well-paid career contrast with concerns among some Britons that migrants are a drag on the country's economy and public services. Britain this week said net migration levels hit a record high of 330,000 in the year to March as workers from other EU countries and from outside the bloc flocked to take up jobs.

Young Syrian migrant's navigational tool: 'I follow the trash' Posted: 28 Aug 2015 07:02 AM PDT When 23-year-old Abood set out alone from war-torn Syria a month ago in the hope of reaching sanctuary in northern Europe, the prospect of navigating through countries he knew nothing about was daunting. "I follow the trash," he told the Monitor, pausing by the side of a railway track just yards from the border between Serbia and Hungary, a frontline European Union country in the Continent's deepening migration crisis. Amid much fanfare and domestic political posturing, Hungary has in the past few weeks erected a razor-wire barrier along its 110-mile border with its southern neighbor, Serbia.

Exclusive: Arab OPEC producers brace for oil-price weakness for rest of 2015 Posted: 28 Aug 2015 06:04 AM PDT DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - A second oil price rout of 2015 has forced Arab OPEC members to cut their price expectations for this year, showing they are prepared to tolerate cheaper crude for longer to defend market share and curb rivals' output. OPEC delegates, including those from core Gulf OPEC countries, see economic troubles in top energy consumer China as short term and unlikely to have much impact on demand for crude which will rise seasonally in the fourth quarter. The comments further indicate that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is sticking to its policy of defending market share rather than cutting production to shore up prices - regardless of how low they would fall and how long it would take to balance the market.

Mediterranean refugee and migrant numbers pass 300,000 in 2015 Posted: 28 Aug 2015 04:26 AM PDT By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The number of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe has passed 300,000 this year, up from 219,000 in the whole of 2014, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. More than 2,500 people have died making the crossing this year, not including about 200 who are feared to have drowned off Libya on Thursday. "The way people are being packed onto boats is causing their deaths," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a regular U.N. briefing.

Militants posing as migrants? Unlikely, say European experts Posted: 28 Aug 2015 04:15 AM PDT By Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) - The risk that groups like Islamic State could smuggle militants into Europe under cover of a huge wave of migrants is much smaller than some politicians suggest, according to security specialists with close ties to governments and intelligence agencies. By the end of July, more than a third of a million migrants and refugees had entered the European Union, mainly via Italy, Greece and Hungary, according to EU border agency Frontex. Once inside the bloc's borderless Schengen zone, the new arrivals -- many from countries like Syria and Iraq where Islamic State holds sway over vast areas -- are free to travel through 26 countries without restrictions or checks.

Aid-starved Syria refugees desert Mideast for Europe Posted: 28 Aug 2015 03:44 AM PDT After escaping a devastating war, frustrated Syrian refugees in aid-starved neighbouring states say they must now choose between joining an exodus to Europe or "returning home to die". Millions of Syrians have found shelter in surrounding countries including Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan that are now struggling to cope with the massive influx. A lack of jobs and humanitarian assistance means that many are now giving up on their host nations.

Iraq PM orders forces to prepare to open Green Zone Posted: 28 Aug 2015 03:02 AM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered security forces to prepare to open Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone government and embassy area to the public, his office said Friday. The order comes in the third week of a reform drive by Abadi aimed at combatting rampant corruption and streamlining the bloated government, in response to weeks of protests and calls from top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Abadi directed security forces to make "the necessary arrangements to open the Green Zone to the citizens," a statement from his office said.

Spain accuses suspect of running Islamic State network in Morocco Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:08 AM PDT A Moroccan man arrested in Spain this week is accused of coordinating a network of Islamic State supporters in Moroccan cities who spread the group's message and recruit militants to fight in Iraq and Syria, a court document said on Thursday. Abdeladim Achriaa was detained on Tuesday in a small town near Madrid as part of a joint Moroccan-Spanish police operation against alleged Islamic State sympathisers. Thirteen others were arrested in Morocco.

Yemeni government says to mount battle for Sanaa within eight weeks Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:46 AM PDT By Jake Rashbass CAIRO (Reuters) - Yemeni government forces intend to launch the battle for Sanaa within two months and steps are already under way to break the grip of Houthi fighters who controlled the capital for nearly a year, said the country's exiled foreign minister. "(The battle for Sanaa will begin) within eight weeks, God willing. It has really already begun in the resistance within Sanaa, which is mobilizing," Yemeni Foreign Minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Cairo.

IS struggle to make progress in Taliban bastion Afghanistan Posted: 27 Aug 2015 11:57 PM PDT The Islamic State group had ambitious plans for Afghanistan, but Taliban resistance, US drone strikes, and a society less scarred by sectarianism mean the extremists have so far failed to repeat their Middle Eastern breakthrough. The jihadist group, which controls large areas of Syria and Iraq, has been trying for months to establish itself in Afghanistan's eastern badlands, challenging the Taliban on their own turf. Its franchise in the war-torn country has managed to recruit disaffected Taliban fighters, as the fractious Afghan militant movement wrestles with a bitter power transition.

Iran premieres big-budget epic film 'Muhammad' Posted: 27 Aug 2015 09:36 PM PDT Iran's most expensive movie, "Muhammad", which chronicles the childhood of the Muslim prophet, opened nationwide, winning praise from early audiences. Directed by Majid Majidi, the 171-minute, visually stunning film cost around $40 million (36 million euros), partly funded by the state, and took more than seven years to complete. Majidi says the aim of his work, the first part of a trilogy, is to reclaim the rightful image of Islam, which he said extremists have distorted.

Walker: 'We cannot afford to lose' in Middle East Posted: 27 Aug 2015 09:11 PM PDT COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker says the United States under his leadership would aggressively confront what he describes as "evil" and "radical Islamic terrorism."

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