Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Australian warplanes make first air strike in Syria
• US leadership role hurt by weak Syria refugee response
• Hungary declares emergency, seals border, detains migrants
• Google launches donation-matching campaign to raise $11 million for refugees
• Media freedom at stake as Turkey fights rebels
• Mexico wants answers from Egypt after 8 tourists killed
• Kerry seeks Syria answers in new call with Russian FM
• Refugee surge to Europe raises concern about militants
• Dutch boost defence spending
• Ukrainian pilot's murder trial to start September 22
• Value of anti-IS airstrikes in Syria debated as France joins
• French PM Valls says no compromise with Syria's Assad possible
• No friend of America, UK's Corbyn faces test over Syria airstrikes
• U.S. reports 18 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
• Suicide attack in northeastern Syrian city kills 7
• US arrests 15-year-old for reported pope plot
• IS making 'significant progress' in Syria's Aleppo region: France
• Should Adrian Grenier's 9/11 tribute have included Iraq war dead?
• Kurdistan Regional Government applauds bipartisan legislation recognizing genocide against minorities in Iraq
• Facebook vows to help Germany combat racist, xenophobic content
• Charlie Hebdo stirs new controversy with migrant cartoons
• Kuwait sentences 7 to death for Shiite mosque bombing
• Saddled with 2 million Syrian refugees, Turkey shows signs of strain
• Migrant shipwreck off Turkey kills 22, police bar route to Greece
• Kuwaiti court sentences 7 to death over mosque bombing
• Syrian refugee count nears 2 million in Turkey, down in Iraq, Lebanon
• AP PHOTOS: Life on US aircraft carrier in Islamic State war
• Support for German right-wing party rises amid refugee crisis
• Razor-lined boxcar marks Hungary's new border for migrants
• Sanders courts Christian conservative students
• U.S. Officials Say Russia is Positioning Tanks at a Syrian Airfield

Australian warplanes make first air strike in Syria Posted: 15 Sep 2015 04:08 PM PDT Australian fighter jets have carried out their first air strike against Islamic State group in Syria, destroying an armoured personnel carrier, Defence Minister Kevin Andrews said Wednesday. "This is part of our logical extension in the fight against Daesh to operate not just over northern Iraq but also to operate over eastern Syria in order to degrade and destroy Daesh Forces," the minister told reporters using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. A Royal Australian Air Force Hornet fighter destroyed an IS armoured personnel carrier with a precision-guided missile two days ago, Andrews said.

US leadership role hurt by weak Syria refugee response Posted: 15 Sep 2015 02:48 PM PDT The United States' failure to live up to its historic role as the leader in resettling war refugees will weaken its diplomatic clout and tarnish Barack Obama's legacy, aid agencies warned Tuesday. With millions of Syrians forced into camps across the Middle East, tens of thousands crossing Europe on foot and hundreds washing up dead on beaches, America has promised to take in only 10,000 as refugees next year. Alongside this, Washington is the leading humanitarian donor to the region, has launched a diplomatic effort to end the political crisis with Syria and leads a coalition bombing the Islamic State jihadist group.

Hungary declares emergency, seals border, detains migrants Posted: 15 Sep 2015 02:09 PM PDT HORGOS, Serbia (AP) — Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with massive coils of barbed wire Tuesday and began detaining migrants trying to use the country as a gateway to Western Europe, harsh new measures that left thousands of frustrated asylum-seekers piled up on the Serbian side of the border.

Google launches donation-matching campaign to raise $11 million for refugees Posted: 15 Sep 2015 02:03 PM PDT By Yasmeen Abutaleb SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc announced a donation-matching campaign that aims to raise $11 million for humanitarian organizations aiding the thousands of refugees that have overwhelmed European nations as they flee war-torn and impoverished countries. Google took an uncharacteristically personal approach in announcing the donation drive on its blog. Rather than having an executive make the announcement, Rita Masoud, a Google employee who fled Kabul with her family when she was seven years old, wrote about her personal experience.

Media freedom at stake as Turkey fights rebels Posted: 15 Sep 2015 01:32 PM PDT When suspected Islamic State (IS) jihadists organised a deadly attack on Turkish activists in Suruc on the Syrian border in July, respected newspaper commentator Kadri Gursel responded with a tweet critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "It's embarrassing that foreign leaders call the person who is the number one cause of the IS terror in Turkey to present their condolences for Suruc," he tweeted. Gursel was referring to allegations -- vehemently denied by Ankara -- that Erdogan had supported jihadists in Syria in the hope they would oust the Syrian regime.

Mexico wants answers from Egypt after 8 tourists killed Posted: 15 Sep 2015 12:51 PM PDT Mexico's foreign minister headed for Cairo Tuesday with relatives of some of her country's eight tourists mistakenly killed by Egyptian security forces, demanding an urgent enquiry into an "unjustified attack". Claudia Ruiz Massieu said she wanted answers about the strike that killed 12 people. The foreign ministry in Mexico City said Mexican diplomats "had access to the remains of victims" from the attack "and were able to confirm that they correspond to the six Mexicans who were part of the group of tourists".

Kerry seeks Syria answers in new call with Russian FM Posted: 15 Sep 2015 12:38 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry has made his third phone call to his Russian counterpart in the last 10 days, a State Department official said, seeking to clarify the intent of Moscow's military buildup in Syria, and warning that continued support for President Bashar Assad will only prolong the Syrian conflict.

Refugee surge to Europe raises concern about militants Posted: 15 Sep 2015 12:19 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — When Islamic State extremists lost control of a key crossroads town in northern Syria in June, some militants shed their jihadi garb and blended in with the flood of Syrians fleeing across the Turkish border. Since then, the exodus of Syrians and Iraqis toward Europe has surged — and Europeans opposed to taking in more refugees say that more than ever, they fear "disguised terrorists" in their midst.

Dutch boost defence spending Posted: 15 Sep 2015 12:17 PM PDT The Netherlands on Tuesday boosted its defence spending by 220 million euros ($248.8 million) for 2016 aiming to strengthen its military capacity and step up participation in overseas missions. Amid the growing migrant crisis, the Dutch government also called for an "integrated" European approach as it set aside an added 539 million euros to fund the arrival of new refugees into the country. In a speech written by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the king laid out the Liberal-led government's plans for the coming year, calling for an "integrated approach" across Europe to the migrants flooding in from overseas.

Ukrainian pilot's murder trial to start September 22 Posted: 15 Sep 2015 12:17 PM PDT A Russian court on Tuesday said a Ukrainian female helicopter pilot will go on trial next week over the murder of two Russian journalists, and ruled that she must stay behind bars meanwhile. Nadiya Savchenko, who is feted for her heroism in Ukraine, faces up to 25 years in prison for her alleged role in pre-meditated, hate-motivated murder of the journalists in war-torn eastern Ukraine last year. Savchenko, 34, has denied the charges and spent more than 80 days on hunger strike to protest her detention.

Value of anti-IS airstrikes in Syria debated as France joins Posted: 15 Sep 2015 11:40 AM PDT PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers are debating the decision to join a military air campaign over Syria, raising new questions about what a year of U.S.-led bombing of the Islamic State group has accomplished.

French PM Valls says no compromise with Syria's Assad possible Posted: 15 Sep 2015 11:30 AM PDT France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to reach a political transition was impossible, but said Paris would back regional ground troops if they were to intervene against Islamic State militants. President Francois Hollande on Monday said that French air strikes against the group in Syria would be necessary, a change in position after previously warning any such action could reinforce Assad. "We will do nothing to strengthen the regime," Valls said in a speech to parliament to explain France's decision to launch reconnaissance flights and future action over Syria.

No friend of America, UK's Corbyn faces test over Syria airstrikes Posted: 15 Sep 2015 11:30 AM PDT By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - No fan of Britain's "special relationship" with the United States, the new left-wing leader of the country's main opposition party is against Prime Minister David Cameron's drive to join Washington's air strikes on Syria.

U.S. reports 18 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria Posted: 15 Sep 2015 10:51 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies carried out 15 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and three in Syria on Monday, a U.S. military statement said. The strikes in Iraq targeted Islamic State tactical units, weapons, buildings and vehicles near various cities including Mosul and Kirkuk, according to the statement issued on Tuesday. In Syria, Islamic State targets were hit near Hasaka and Deir al-Zor, it said. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Suicide attack in northeastern Syrian city kills 7 Posted: 15 Sep 2015 10:45 AM PDT DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A suicide car bomber struck in a predominantly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, killing seven people, a day after twin car bombings in the same city killed at least 32, including 19 civilians.

US arrests 15-year-old for reported pope plot Posted: 15 Sep 2015 09:50 AM PDT US authorities arrested a 15-year-old last month for allegedly plotting an Islamic State-inspired attack that US media said had Pope Francis as its target. Francis is scheduled to visit the United States September 22-27 for the first time, in a tour culminating with an outdoor mass in Philadelphia after stops in Washington and New York. The US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI disclosed the unidentified 15-year-old's arrest in a joint intelligence bulletin August 14, without mentioning that the pope was the target.

IS making 'significant progress' in Syria's Aleppo region: France Posted: 15 Sep 2015 09:49 AM PDT France's defence minister said Tuesday jihadists from the Islamic State group were making major gains in Syria, especially in the northern region of Aleppo. In parliament, Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed to "the very significant progress of Daesh (IS) in Syria at this very moment," as he defended France's decision to conduct surveillance flights over Syria with a view to carrying out air strikes. "I'm thinking in particular of what is currently happening in the Aleppo region.

Should Adrian Grenier's 9/11 tribute have included Iraq war dead? Posted: 15 Sep 2015 09:42 AM PDT Within days of the attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans told each other, "We will never forget": a wish, and command, as much as a statement of fact. An Instragram tribute from actor Adrian Grenier sparked both appreciation and outrage, setting the tone for an anniversary weekend of not only mourning, but controversy, as Americans wrestled with the day's legacy fourteen years after the attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Kurdistan Regional Government applauds bipartisan legislation recognizing genocide against minorities in Iraq Posted: 15 Sep 2015 08:20 AM PDT WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) applauds and fully supports a bipartisan initiative in the United States Congress denouncing the persecution and genocide of Yezidis, Christians, Turkmen, Shabaks and other ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq. To this end, the Congressional co-chairs of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and the co-chairs of the International Religious Freedom Caucus, Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Trent Franks (R-AZ), introduced a resolution (H. Con.

Facebook vows to help Germany combat racist, xenophobic content Posted: 15 Sep 2015 08:19 AM PDT The partnership comes after the country's chancellor urged the social network to do more to police hate posted directed at segments of the population.

Charlie Hebdo stirs new controversy with migrant cartoons Posted: 15 Sep 2015 08:13 AM PDT By Brian Love PARIS (Reuters) - French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is courting controversy again by running cartoons deriding the response of predominantly Christian European countries to a flood of migrants from mainly Muslim war zones such as Syria and Iraq. One drawing plays on the harrowing photo of Aylan Kurdi, the drowned Syrian child whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey after a failed attempt to cross by boat with his family to Greece. The Charlie Hebdo cartoon shows a toddler in shorts and a T-shirt face-down on the shoreline beside an advertising billboard that offers two children's meal menus for the price of one.

Kuwait sentences 7 to death for Shiite mosque bombing Posted: 15 Sep 2015 07:43 AM PDT A Kuwaiti court sentenced seven men to death on Tuesday, five of them in absentia, for their roles in a deadly Shiite mosque bombing claimed by the Islamic State group. A total of 29 defendants, seven of them women, had been on trial on charges of helping a Saudi suicide bomber carry out the June 26 attack which killed 26 Shiite worshippers and wounded 227. It was the bloodiest attack in Kuwait's history.

Saddled with 2 million Syrian refugees, Turkey shows signs of strain Posted: 15 Sep 2015 07:39 AM PDT By Jonny Hogg ANKARA (Reuters) - The strain of sheltering the world's largest refugee population is showing in Turkey, whose open door to those fleeing Syria and Iraq is shielding European nations from a migration crisis far worse than the one they are struggling with now. As some European governments turn to baton-wielding police and barricades to stem the flow of migrants, Ankara has vowed to continue accommodating more than 2 million people from its war-torn southern neighbors and welcome any more who come. When war first broke out in Syria in 2011, Turkey believed tens of thousands would cross its 900-km (560-mile) frontier.

Migrant shipwreck off Turkey kills 22, police bar route to Greece Posted: 15 Sep 2015 07:27 AM PDT At least 22 Greece-bound migrants drowned on Tuesday when their boat sank off Turkey, officials said, as police blocked hundreds of others seeking to find an alternative route to Europe by land. Eleven women and four children were among the victims of the latest migrant shipwreck in the Aegean Sea, where three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi drowned two weeks ago, the Dogan news agency said. The deaths brings to 24 the amount of refugees to have drowned off Turkey in the last day after two Syrians drowned trying to cross to the Greek island of Samos, Dogan reported.

Kuwaiti court sentences 7 to death over mosque bombing Posted: 15 Sep 2015 04:57 AM PDT KUWAIT CITY (AP) — A Kuwaiti court sentenced seven people to death Tuesday over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in the capital that killed 27 people in June, state media reported.

Syrian refugee count nears 2 million in Turkey, down in Iraq, Lebanon Posted: 15 Sep 2015 04:02 AM PDT By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The numbers of Syrian refugees in Iraq and Lebanon fell in August, while the number in Turkey has risen to almost 2 million and asylum applications in Europe have leapt, the U.N. refugee agency said. The Syrian refugee count in Turkey has jumped by more than 200,000 since June, having risen by just 14,000 in the previous three months, UNHCR spokeswoman Selin Unal said. From Turkey, tens of thousands of refugees try to reach Europe by attempting the short sea crossing to Greece, though many have drowned on the way.

AP PHOTOS: Life on US aircraft carrier in Islamic State war Posted: 15 Sep 2015 01:54 AM PDT ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT IN THE PERSIAN GULF (AP) — Every day, the steam-powered catapult aboard this massive aircraft carrier flings American fighter jets into the sky, on missions to target the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Support for German right-wing party rises amid refugee crisis Posted: 15 Sep 2015 01:23 AM PDT Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a right-wing party that backs a tough line on immigration, has risen to its highest level in nearly four months as an influx of refugees from the Middle East gathers pace, a poll showed on Tuesday. The INSA poll for German daily Bild showed support for the AfD, which was dogged by infighting in the first half of the year and saw its founder break away to form a new party, climbing to 5.5 percent, its highest level since late May. The survey also showed support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc slipping 1.5 points to 40 percent, still the strongest party by far, but its lowest reading since late June. Merkel was feted in Germany earlier this month for opening Germany's borders to refugees fleeing war in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, but has since backtracked amid an outcry from the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states.

Razor-lined boxcar marks Hungary's new border for migrants Posted: 14 Sep 2015 07:20 PM PDT ROSZKE, Hungary (AP) — Hungary deployed a boxcar bristling with razor wire to close a key border crossing and warned of a new era of swift deportations Monday as governments across Europe debated how to share the burden of housing hundreds of thousands seeking refuge — and whether the continent's hard-won policy of passport-free travel could survive the unrelenting flow of humanity.

Sanders courts Christian conservative students Posted: 14 Sep 2015 06:26 PM PDT LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — In an unlikely appearance at a prominent Christian university, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Monday the "massive injustice" of income and wealth inequality should unite people across the political spectrum.

U.S. Officials Say Russia is Positioning Tanks at a Syrian Airfield Posted: 14 Sep 2015 04:07 PM PDT Russia has positioned about a half dozen tanks at an airfield at the center of a military buildup in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Monday, adding that the intentions of Moscow's latest deployment of heavy military equipment were unclear. Moscow has come under increased international pressure in recent days to explain its moves in Syria, where the Kremlin has been supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a 4-1/2-year war. The Pentagon declined to directly comment on the Reuters report, saying it could not discuss U.S. intelligence.

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