Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Russia delays new body to assign blame for Syrian attacks
• Factbox: Ways to help refugees and migrants in Europe and beyond
• Russia holds up start of UN Syria chemical weapons probe
• Migrant tempers fray as Hungary blocks trains for 2nd day
• Kerry confident regional powers will send troops to Syria
• Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials
• Russia delays start of U.N. probe of Syria gas attacks: envoys
• IS retakes part of Iraqi town of Baiji: Pentagon
• Masked men kidnap 18 Turkish workers in Iraqi capital
• AP Interview: Rescuer says world must protect antiquities
• Using Al-Qaeda linked fighters to battle IS could succeed: Petraeus
• U.S. Army to open elite Ranger School to all genders
• U.S. leads 13 air strikes in Syria, Iraq against Islamic State -statement
• Presidential Candidates to Break Reagan Social Security Deal at Sept 16 Debate at Reagan Library, Say Robert Weiner, Ex-house Aging Comm. Chief of Staff and Eric Alves, Policy Analyst
• Greece makes arrests, takes steps to tackle migrant crisis
• Former ICC chief prosecutor pushes for Yazidi genocide case
• 'I want a blue-eyed Yazidi': teen describes IS slave market
• US man appeals terror conviction
• Massachusetts man appeals terror conviction
• US has secret drone campaign in Syria targeting Islamic State leaders – report
• Turkish jets target PKK, state media says 20 militants killed
• More downside ahead for oil will make oil stocks a buy: Analyst
• In Nordics, many refugees encounter a paradise lost
• Pakistan says 'almost all' Uighur militants eliminated
• Five Reason To Be Cautious On U.S. Treasuries
• Gunmen kidnap 18 Turks in Iraq capital
• Turkey confirms 18 construction workers kidnapped in Baghdad
• Turkey, Iraq probing kidnap of 18 workers in Baghdad: Turkish minister
• Fleeing Islamic State killings in Syria, a family reaches Bavaria
• HISTORY OF FAILURE IS OBSCURED BY ROSE-COLORED GLASSES

Russia delays new body to assign blame for Syrian attacks Posted: 02 Sep 2015 04:08 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia is holding up Security Council approval to establish a new international body to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria's deadly conflict for the first time.

Factbox: Ways to help refugees and migrants in Europe and beyond Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:56 PM PDT Looking for ways to help the hundreds of the thousands of refugees and migrants en route to the European Union to flee wars and poverty? Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org/) Through mid-August, the international aid group says it has rescued 11,482 people at risk of drowning through its search and rescue operations on the Mediterranean Sea. USA for UNHCR (www.unrefugees.org): Some 2,500 refugees and migrants have died or gone missing this year, the UNHCR says.

Russia holds up start of UN Syria chemical weapons probe Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:34 PM PDT Russia said Wednesday it was considering details of how to establish a UN team to investigate chemical weapons attacks in Syria, holding up final Security Council approval to launch the probe. A key ally of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Russia last month joined the 14 other council members in adopting a resolution setting up the team. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week informed the council of the specifics of his plan to set up the three-person panel.

Migrant tempers fray as Hungary blocks trains for 2nd day Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:44 PM PDT BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Tempers flared among the thousands trapped in a makeshift refugee camp in the heart of Budapest on Wednesday as Hungary played hardball with its unwelcome visitors for a second day, blocking train ticket-clutching migrants from traveling deeper into Europe.

Kerry confident regional powers will send troops to Syria Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:28 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday he was confident Middle East powers would send troops to help defeat the Islamic State group in Syria. Washington has so far resisted suggestions it put US boots on the ground to add muscle to a year-old coalition air campaign aimed at breaking the jihadists' grip on a swathe of Iraq and Syria. Kerry did not say which countries might be persuaded to take part in a ground operation, but the obvious candidates would be Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab countries.

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:00 PM PDT Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Russia delays start of U.N. probe of Syria gas attacks: envoys Posted: 02 Sep 2015 01:50 PM PDT Russia is delaying the launch of an international investigation aimed at assigning blame for chemical weapon attacks in Syria, U.N. Security Council diplomats said on Wednesday, though Moscow's U.N. envoy said the holdup was for technical reasons. In a letter to the 15-nation council last week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon outlined his plans for an investigation into toxic gas attacks in Syria, to be conducted by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

IS retakes part of Iraqi town of Baiji: Pentagon Posted: 02 Sep 2015 01:29 PM PDT Islamic State fighters have regained territory in the contested city of Baiji, home to Iraq's largest oil refinery, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Fierce fighting has been taking place for months in and around Baiji, and Iraqi forces and militia fighters had in recent weeks pushed back IS fighters in the northern town. "We had seen some recent progress in recent weeks where the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) had been able to regain some territory inside the city," he said.

Masked men kidnap 18 Turkish workers in Iraqi capital Posted: 02 Sep 2015 12:47 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Masked men in military uniforms kidnapped 18 Turkish citizens in Baghdad early Wednesday, bundling them into several SUVs and speeding away in a brazen operation that laid bare serious security gaps in the heavily defended city.

AP Interview: Rescuer says world must protect antiquities Posted: 02 Sep 2015 11:57 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — A reserve colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps who led an international hunt for looted antiquities from Iraq a decade ago said Wednesday that the West needs to deploy forces to protect Mideast archaeological sites from extremists like the Islamic State group.

Using Al-Qaeda linked fighters to battle IS could succeed: Petraeus Posted: 02 Sep 2015 11:47 AM PDT Former US military commander David Petraeus said Wednesday fighters from Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate could be used to take on the Islamic State group as he warned that his nation's hesitation to enforce "red lines" in Syria had damaged US credibility. The decorated four-star general said a controversial move to harness fighters from a group linked to Al-Qaeda -- which was responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks -- was "an option that has some prospect for achievement". Petraeus, who was feted for changing the course of the Iraq war in 2007, said the focus was not on cooperating with the leaders of Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front but with its fighters, using similar strategies from the previous conflict.

U.S. Army to open elite Ranger School to all genders Posted: 02 Sep 2015 10:48 AM PDT The U.S. Army said on Wednesday it would open its elite Ranger School to all soldiers regardless of gender, after two women made history last month by becoming the first to pass the grueling leadership course. "We must ensure that this training opportunity is available to all soldiers who are qualified and capable and we continue to look for ways to select, train, and retain the best soldiers to meet our nation's needs," Army Secretary John McHugh said in a statement. In a program that began in April, 19 women and 381 men began the first Ranger course that included women at the Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

U.S. leads 13 air strikes in Syria, Iraq against Islamic State -statement Posted: 02 Sep 2015 10:18 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 13 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, the coalition said in a statement. In Iraq, eight strikes targeted the militant group near seven cities including Baiji and Mosul. Five strikes in Syria hit near four cities, including Raqqa, said the statement released on Wednesday. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom)

Presidential Candidates to Break Reagan Social Security Deal at Sept 16 Debate at Reagan Library, Say Robert Weiner, Ex-house Aging Comm. Chief of Staff and Eric Alves, Policy Analyst Posted: 02 Sep 2015 08:55 AM PDT Weiner and Alves state, "As Republicans prepare for the second debate, at the Ronald Reagan Library on September 16, their continued calls to 'reform' (meaning, cut) actually tarnishes the legacy of Reagan. Reagan reached across the aisle, joining Speaker Tip O'Neill and Florida Congressman Claude Pepper, developing and signing into law the Social Security Amendments of 1983, an historic agreement, which helped the Social Security Fund to be solvent for 75 years.

Greece makes arrests, takes steps to tackle migrant crisis Posted: 02 Sep 2015 08:03 AM PDT Greek authorities detained six foreigners for suspected human trafficking on Wednesday as the interim government announced new measures to tackle a crisis that has seen hundreds of migrants and refugees arriving on Greek shores every day. Four Bulgarians and two Turkish citizens were detained in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki for trafficking 103 migrants from Turkey to Greece, a police official said on Wednesday. The traffickers had charged the Syrian migrants 2,000 euros ($2,257) per head to transport them to Greece and then on to Macedonia.

Former ICC chief prosecutor pushes for Yazidi genocide case Posted: 02 Sep 2015 07:55 AM PDT By Isabel Coles ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) is pushing for a case to be opened into the "ongoing genocide" against Iraq's Yazidi community at the hands of Islamic State militants. Luis Moreno Ocampo said he was approached in the United States recently by Yazidi activists who are seeking justice for the systematic slaughter, rape and enslavement of thousands of members of the religious minority in northern Iraq. It's an ongoing genocide because there are still people in captivity," Ocampo told Reuters in an interview in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, late on Wednesday.

'I want a blue-eyed Yazidi': teen describes IS slave market Posted: 02 Sep 2015 07:03 AM PDT Kidnapped, beaten, sold and raped: the Islamic State group is running an international market in Iraq where Christian and Yazidi women are sold as sexual slaves, a teenager who escaped told AFP on Tuesday. Jinan, 18, a Yazidi, was captured in early 2014 and held by IS jihadists for three months before she managed to flee, she said on a visit to Paris ahead of the publication Friday of a book about her ordeal. Seized as IS fighters swept through northern regions inhabited by the Yazidi religious minority, Jinan was moved around between several locations before being bought by two men, a former policeman and an imam.

US man appeals terror conviction Posted: 02 Sep 2015 06:52 AM PDT BOSTON (AP) — A man sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison on terrorism-related charges is appealing his conviction.

Massachusetts man appeals terror conviction Posted: 02 Sep 2015 06:19 AM PDT BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison on terrorism-related charges is appealing his conviction.

US has secret drone campaign in Syria targeting Islamic State leaders – report Posted: 02 Sep 2015 05:57 AM PDT The CIA and US special forces are operating a coordinated, targeted assassination drone campaign in Syria against Islamic State militants, in a program that is separate from the US-led military coalition fighting the group in Iraq and Syria, according to a new report. The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that several members of the self-declared Islamic State have been killed in drone strikes carried out under the joint CIA and US anti-terror cell Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) program.

Turkish jets target PKK, state media says 20 militants killed Posted: 02 Sep 2015 05:54 AM PDT By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in southeast Turkey on Wednesday after one soldier was killed in the area, the army said, and state media reported 20 militants were killed in the air strikes. Clashes between Turkish troops and the militants, who have bases in the mountains of nearby northern Iraq, have become a daily occurrence since a two-year-old ceasefire fell apart last month, leaving peace negotiations in tatters. PKK fighters armed with rifles opened fire on troops conducting early-morning searches on a road in the Semdinli district of Hakkari province near the borders with Iran and Iraq, the general staff said on its website.

More downside ahead for oil will make oil stocks a buy: Analyst Posted: 02 Sep 2015 05:12 AM PDT It's been a wild few days for crude but one energy analyst sees one of the biggest buying opportunities for oil and oil-related companies.

In Nordics, many refugees encounter a paradise lost Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:57 AM PDT By Simon Johnson and Johan Sennero STOCKHOLM, Sep 2 (Reuters) - Sweden may have one of Europe's most generous immigration regimes but there is flip side - one of the poorest records among wealthy industrialized nations of integrating newcomers, especially thousands of refugees, into its labor force. "I didn't come to Sweden for the welfare. Born in Saudi Arabia to Somalian parents, Musse arrived in Sweden in January 2014 and got permanent residency two months later.

Pakistan says 'almost all' Uighur militants eliminated Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:51 AM PDT Almost all members of the Uighur militant group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) have been eliminated from Pakistan, the country's president said on Wednesday during a visit to Beijing. China blames violent unrest in its far western region of Xinjiang on Islamist separatist groups like ETIM, which it says wants to set up an independent state called East Turkestan and have bases in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Many foreign experts, however, have questioned whether ETIM exists as the coherent group China claims it is.

Five Reason To Be Cautious On U.S. Treasuries Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:40 AM PDT Here are five very brief, but good reasons to be cautious on the longer end of the U.S. Treasury bond market, which I consider to be 7 years or longer. Your Best Customers are now Competitors Oil countries ...

Gunmen kidnap 18 Turks in Iraq capital Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:19 AM PDT Gunmen kidnapped at least 18 Turkish employees of a company building a football stadium in Baghdad on Wednesday, officials said, but it was not immediately clear who was holding them. Dozens of Turks have been kidnapped in Iraq by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over the past 18 months and later released, but the latest abductions took place in Sadr City, a stronghold of Shiite paramilitary forces. "Eighteen Turkish citizens working for a construction company in Baghdad have been kidnapped," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters.

Turkey confirms 18 construction workers kidnapped in Baghdad Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:19 AM PDT Turkey on Wednesday confirmed that 18 Turkish construction workers have been kidnapped by unknown individuals in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. "Eighteen Turkish citizens working for a construction company in Baghdad have been kidnapped," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters. The Iraqi authorities had earlier said gunmen had abducted at least 17 Turkish employees of a company building a football stadium in the Shiite-dominated Sadr City area of north Baghdad.

Turkey, Iraq probing kidnap of 18 workers in Baghdad: Turkish minister Posted: 02 Sep 2015 01:07 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish authorities are in contact with their counterparts in Iraq and are investigating who is behind the kidnap of 18 construction workers in Baghdad, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Wednesday. Kurtulmus also said no contact had been established with a Turkish soldier who went missing late on Tuesday following cross-border fire from Islamic State-held territory in northern Syria which left one other soldier dead. (Reporting by Jonny Hogg and Asli Kandemir; Writing by Nick Tattersall)

Fleeing Islamic State killings in Syria, a family reaches Bavaria Posted: 01 Sep 2015 11:09 PM PDT Is this the train to Germany?!" Maha screams with delight. It is Monday evening in Vienna's central train station and the 25-year-old Arabic teacher, carrying her one-year old son in her arms, can't quite believe that her family's harrowing journey from Syria may soon be over. Maha and her husband Khalil decided to attempt the treacherous trek to Europe with two small children back in June, when Islamic State (IS) fighters entered their hometown of Kobani and began butchering people with knives.

HISTORY OF FAILURE IS OBSCURED BY ROSE-COLORED GLASSES Posted: 01 Sep 2015 05:31 PM PDT When the first savage hordes of the Islamic State came rolling out of Syria in stolen American trucks across the unrelieved sands of northern Iraq in 2013, it seemed to be an image of Mesopotamian hell on Detroit wheels. Indeed, where COULD hundreds of ominously black-clad men -- faces covered, American guns also stolen -- secret themselves in a world of cameras, drones, satellites, social media and spies everywhere? Now, there is more information revealing that many in our military and diplomatic corps actually DID know of the brutal and dangerous revolutionary sect that was forming inside Syria.

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