Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• U.S. strike kills former German rapper who joined Islamic State
• Iran signals readiness to compromise before key Syria talks: officials
• San Diego man pleads guilty to lying about fighting in Syria
• Illinois, New Jersey men admit to trying to support Islamic State
• U.S. court throws out Iraqi Kurdish crude suit, big issue unresolved
• The Latest: 2 more migrants dead on Greek island of Lesbos
• Rockets strike Iranian opposition camp in Baghdad
• U.S. sticks to demand Assad leave power at first peace talks to include Iran
• Iraqis tour North Dakota to study gas-capturing technologies
• Austria needs border barrier, insists interior minister
• Black man fearing US police will kill him flees to Canada
• Jeb Bush led the race. Now he's probably finished. What happened?
• Show me your hands, or moves, dancing officer says to teens
• Jailed Saudi blogger wins Sakharov Prize. Will it help?
• Chaos, compassion as migrants rescued from Aegean boat wreck
• D.C. cop ends up in epic dance-off with teen after breaking up fight
• U.S.-backed Syrian rebel group says assault on Islamic State imminent
• Toddler dies as Iraq downpour wreaks havoc
• Turkey ruling party hopes crackdown on Kurds will win back support in heartland
• Turkish election to shape EU ties amid migration, Syria fears
• In divided Turkey, election unlikely to resolve uncertainty
• Floods paralyze Iraqi capital as heavy rain continues
• Members of Iraq's ruling coalition threaten to withdraw support for Abadi's reforms
• Head of inquiry into Iraq war expects report next year
• British Iraq war report not ready till mid-2016
• U.S. reports 13 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq
• Britain's long-awaited Iraq inquiry to be published in June or July 2016
• Kuwait defers Iraq's final war reparation payment until 2017
• Injured Service Members Cycle toward Recovery and Healing
• Iran considered nuclear weapons during 1980s Iraq war, ex-president says
• Report: Little oversight allows Mideast military corruption

U.S. strike kills former German rapper who joined Islamic State Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:47 PM PDT A former German rapper who participated in propaganda videos for Islamic State and sought to lure foreigners to the militant group has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Thursday. Born in Berlin, Denis Cuspert was once a popular rapper known by the name "Deso Dogg." But he turned his focus toward militant Islam and joined Islamic State in 2012. In one propaganda video in November 2014, Cuspert was shown holding a severed head he claimed belonged to a man executed for opposing Islamic State.

Iran signals readiness to compromise before key Syria talks: officials Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:20 PM PDT By Parisa Hafezi and Louis Charbonneau VIENNA (Reuters) - On the eve of an international conference aimed at ending Syria's four-year-old civil war, Iran signaled it might be willing to back away from its insistence that President Bashar al-Assad remain in power. Iran could accept a six-month transition period at the end of which Assad's fate would be decided in nationwide elections, a senior official from the Middle East familiar with the Iranian position told Reuters on Thursday. During a war that has killed more than 250,000 people and driven 10 million from their homes, Assad's main ally, Tehran, has been locked out of a succession of international peace conferences, all of which ended in failure.

San Diego man pleads guilty to lying about fighting in Syria Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:18 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Syrian-American man from San Diego pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to U.S. officials about knowing a member of the extremist Islamic State group and about participating in combat against the Syrian regime.

Illinois, New Jersey men admit to trying to support Islamic State Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:18 PM PDT CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Thursday secured guilty pleas from two men in New Jersey and Chicago for trying to provide support to the Islamic State in a pair of cases following investigations nationally into potential supporters of the militant group. Alaa Saadeh, a 24-year-old who was among several men arrested in recent months in New York and New Jersey and accused of trying to aid the Islamic State, pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to conspiring with others to provide material support to the group. In a separate federal case in Chicago, Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 20, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, as part of deal in which prosecutors will seek at most five years in prison.

U.S. court throws out Iraqi Kurdish crude suit, big issue unresolved Posted: 29 Oct 2015 02:09 PM PDT A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a disputed cargo of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil that showed up last year off the shore of Texas, prompting months of legal wrangling as Iraq sought to block the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from directly exporting oil. The case was dismissed on Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller because the vessel carrying the crude sailed away after the U.S. buyer balked at taking delivery because of the legal fight.

The Latest: 2 more migrants dead on Greek island of Lesbos Posted: 29 Oct 2015 01:19 PM PDT LESBOS, Greece (AP) — The latest in the odyssey of hundreds of thousands of people trekking across Europe in search of a new life: All times local.

Rockets strike Iranian opposition camp in Baghdad Posted: 29 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT At least 15 missiles targeted a base near the international airport west of Baghdad that houses exiled Iranian opposition members, security sources said. "Fifteen rockets were fired from Bakriya around and on the edge of Camp Liberty," Baghdad operations command said, adding that police found the truck the rockets were fired from. Camp Liberty is a former US military base housing members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, an opposition group that has been exiled since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

U.S. sticks to demand Assad leave power at first peace talks to include Iran Posted: 29 Oct 2015 12:19 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) - Washington stuck to its demand on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave power, ahead of peace talks which will include Assad's main ally Iran for the first time, reflecting his stronger position since Russia joined the war on his side. Throughout four years of war that has killed 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million from their homes, Assad's main ally Tehran was locked out of a succession of international peace conferences, all of which ended in failure.

Iraqis tour North Dakota to study gas-capturing technologies Posted: 29 Oct 2015 12:04 PM PDT The Iraqi government has turned to North Dakota for help in finding solutions to the wasteful burning of natural gas that's a byproduct of oil production. Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest oil producer behind ...

Austria needs border barrier, insists interior minister Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:50 AM PDT Austria's interior minister on Thursday reiterated the need for some kind of "barrier" at its Slovenian border to control the record migrant influx, but eased off her call for an actual fence. Johanna Mikl-Leitner told the APA news agency she backed the installation of a "security construction" which would allow a "controlled entry" into Austria. "The best border crossing is worthless if its sides are wide open," she said.

Black man fearing US police will kill him flees to Canada Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:37 AM PDT An American citizen has applied for asylum in Canada because he says he fears police in the United States will kill him because he is black, the refugee board said Thursday. Kyle Lydell Canty, 30, filed a refugee claim soon after arriving in Vancouver in September. According to public broadcaster CBC, he told an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearing on October 23: "I'm in fear of my life because I'm black.

Jeb Bush led the race. Now he's probably finished. What happened? Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:26 AM PDT Whomever was declared the winner in Wednesday night's Republican debate, it was nearly unanimous who the loser was. "Jeb Bush's campaign on life support," declared NBC News. "Jeb Bush is probably toast," wrote FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver.

Show me your hands, or moves, dancing officer says to teens Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:14 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Show me your hands, or your dance moves.

Jailed Saudi blogger wins Sakharov Prize. Will it help? Posted: 29 Oct 2015 10:45 AM PDT A Saudi blogger and activist sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam has been awarded the European Union's esteemed prize for human rights. Raif Badawi was sentenced in 2012 for a blog he wrote questioning the country's staunch religious practices based on Wahhabi Islam. Saudi Arabia does not allow other faiths to be worshipped, while a new law imposed in 2014 treats atheism as a crime on par with terrorism. The European Parliament awarded Badawi the EU's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Chaos, compassion as migrants rescued from Aegean boat wreck Posted: 29 Oct 2015 10:35 AM PDT LESBOS, Greece (AP) — An autumn chill had set in and winds were blowing at 30 miles per hour (50 kph) when the wooden boat, packed with families from Syria and Iraq, set out on the short crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos and the promise of a new life in Europe.

D.C. cop ends up in epic dance-off with teen after breaking up fight Posted: 29 Oct 2015 10:30 AM PDT A Washington, D.C., police officer found herself in an unusual confrontation with a high school student earlier this week that tested skills not taught at the police academy. In an effort to break up a lingering crowd following a fight, a female D.C. police officer ended up in a dance-off with a 17-year-old high school student, The Washington Post reports. Despite recent spotlights on police brutality and incidents of excessive force, such pleasant encounters might be more common than media portrays.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebel group says assault on Islamic State imminent Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:04 AM PDT A Syrian rebel group which is part of a new U.S.-backed alliance that also includes the Kurdish YPG militia announced on Thursday plans for an imminent offensive against Islamic State militants in Raqqa province, the jihadists' stronghold in Syria. U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said earlier this week the U.S.-led coalition would support local forces as they put pressure on Islamic State in Raqqa and in neighboring Iraq. Washington has announced a shake-up of its support to the rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ending a program to train fighters outside Syria and instead providing weapons to groups under U.S.-vetted commanders.

Toddler dies as Iraq downpour wreaks havoc Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:04 AM PDT Torrential rain caused chaos across several parts of Iraq Thursday, with flood waters sweeping a toddler to her death and damaging camps for displaced people. The storm that hit Baghdad Wednesday evening was unusually violent and the first after a long, dry summer. According to a spokesman for the meteorological department, 54 millimetres (2.1 inches) of rain fell on the Baghdad region in 24 hours, causing thigh-high flooding on some streets.

Turkey ruling party hopes crackdown on Kurds will win back support in heartland Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:23 AM PDT By Dasha Afanasieva KAYSERI, Turkey (Reuters) - Like other conservative voters in Turkey's pious, Anatolian heartland, 55-year-old Yasin deserted the ruling AK Party in June parliamentary elections, fearing it had gone soft on Kurdish militants after years of peace talks. Now, he says, he has been wooed back by a renewed crackdown on insurgents of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and plans to once again vote for the AKP in the Nov. 1 election re-run. "You give them a finger, they take your arm," he said, referring to the PKK, which has carried out a three-decade insurgency for greater Kurdish autonomy.

Turkish election to shape EU ties amid migration, Syria fears Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:05 AM PDT By Robin Emmott and Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey's election on Sunday could mark a turning point in relations with the European Union, either bolstering President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to accumulate more power or putting a check on a leader many in Europe accuse of creeping authoritarianism. The country's second general election in five months comes at a critical juncture for Brussels, which is dangling the prospect of a relaunch of stalled EU membership talks in front of Turkey in return for its help in dealing with the biggest migration crisis the continent has seen since World War Two. While wary of his authoritarian tendencies, some European leaders have displayed a pragmatic new approach towards Erdogan in recent weeks, appearing to set a deal on refugees above concern about worsening in human rights.

In divided Turkey, election unlikely to resolve uncertainty Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:02 AM PDT ISTANBUL (AP) — As extremist violence and political uncertainty cast a shadow over Turkey, voters are looking for Sunday's parliamentary election to usher in stability. But in a deeply polarized country, the most likely result is more confusion.

Floods paralyze Iraqi capital as heavy rain continues Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:41 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — After a night of intense rain storms pummeling Baghdad, a joke shared on social media on Thursday assures Iraqis they don't need to go far to catch a migrant boat to Europe.

Members of Iraq's ruling coalition threaten to withdraw support for Abadi's reforms Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:30 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 60 members of Iraq's ruling coalition will seek to withdraw parliamentary support for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's reforms if he does not respond within 72 hours to their demands for wider consultation, parliamentarians said. Growing political tensions could undermine efforts to tackle an economic crisis and form a united front in the war against Islamic State militants, who pose the biggest security threat to Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Members of the State of Law coalition delivered a letter to Abadi on Tuesday urging him to consult more widely before ordering reforms.

Head of inquiry into Iraq war expects report next year Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:28 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — The chairman of Britain's Iraq war inquiry pledged in a letter released Thursday that his long-awaited report will be published next summer, disappointing the prime minister and families of slain service personnel who were hoping that it would happen sooner.

British Iraq war report not ready till mid-2016 Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:23 AM PDT Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday said he was "disappointed" that a long-awaited report into Britain's role into the Iraq War -- initially due to have been published in 2010 -- would not be released until next June or July. In a letter to Cameron published Thursday, inquiry chairman John Chilcot said the two-million-word report would be completed by mid-April 2016, ready for the authorities to conduct "national security checking". In his reply, Cameron welcomed the setting out of a timetable for the report's publication, but criticised its contents.

U.S. reports 13 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq Posted: 29 Oct 2015 05:45 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 13 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq on Wednesday, according to a military statement released on Thursday. The strikes hit Islamic State weapons, boats, fighting positions and other targets near six Iraqi cities, including Ramadi and Mosul, the statement said. No attacks on the militant group in Syria were listed. A U.S.-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since last year. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Britain's long-awaited Iraq inquiry to be published in June or July 2016 Posted: 29 Oct 2015 05:13 AM PDT By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - The chairman of a British public inquiry into the Iraq War that has been running for seven years said on Thursday he expected to publish his report mid-2016, prompting Prime Minister David Cameron to urge him to speed up the process. The inquiry aims to shed light on every aspect of Britain's involvement with Iraq from 2001 to 2009, from the build-up to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to the withdrawal of combat troops, and to identify lessons that can be learned. The Iraq War, and in particular the role of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in leading the nation into it, are still live political issues in Britain and the inquiry has come under repeated criticism from lawmakers and relatives of those killed over how long it has taken.

Kuwait defers Iraq's final war reparation payment until 2017 Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:33 AM PDT Kuwait has postponed the final installment of reparations for Iraq's 1990-91 occupation, Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday, easing a cash crisis in Baghdad caused by lower oil prices and war with Islamic State. The delay, which Iraq requested, gives it until 2017 to pay the last, and largest, tranche worth $4.6 billion, Zebari told Reuters in a text message. Since Iraq was first allowed to resume oil sales nearly two decades ago, it has paid funds into a United Nations body overseeing compensation for looting and damage inflicted during Saddam Hussein's seven-month occupation of Kuwait.

Injured Service Members Cycle toward Recovery and Healing Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:00 AM PDT PHOENIX, Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride® presented by USAA® offers injured veterans the opportunity to push their mental and physical boundaries through a three-day cycling journey that promotes rehabilitation and camaraderie. This life changing cycling event is headed back to Phoenix November 19-21. Nearly 50 of our nation's injured veterans will come together for a long weekend of group cycling that facilitates camaraderie and healing by means of physical health and wellness activities.

Iran considered nuclear weapons during 1980s Iraq war, ex-president says Posted: 29 Oct 2015 01:04 AM PDT By Sam Wilkin DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran considered pursuing a nuclear deterrent when it began its nuclear program in the 1980s, during an eight-year war with Iraq, a former president has been quoted as saying. Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's comments comes at a sensitive moment, as Iran implements an agreement reached with world powers in July aimed at curbing its nuclear program, to allay Western fears it was trying to build an atomic bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, is investigating whether Iran's nuclear program ever had a military application.

Report: Little oversight allows Mideast military corruption Posted: 28 Oct 2015 05:19 PM PDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The ever-growing, secret defense budgets and poor oversight of militaries in the Middle East make them susceptible to corruption and more vulnerable to extremist violence, a watchdog group warned Thursday.

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