Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• At least two die in police raid on group planning new Paris attack
• U.S. Republicans, defying Obama, propose tightening Syrian refugee screening
• 2 dead, 5 arrested in raid targeting Paris attack mastermind
• Russia, France push UN resolutions on fighting IS
• The Latest: Video of restaurant shooting posted online
• Russia, France set for showdown at U.N. over Islamic State fight
• Obama threatens to veto House GOP bill on Syrian refugees
• Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials
• US strikes on IS oil supply initially only 'minimally effective'
• Q&A: ICC prosecutor on trying the world's worst crimes
• Nearly 6,000 foreign jihadists on Interpol radar: chief
• From Bombers to Subs, Inside Bush’s Costly Plan to Expand the Military
• Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf: Who are they?
• White House says Obama would veto proposal for more scrutiny of refugees
• Honduras arrests five Syrians headed to US with stolen passports
• Terrorists Once Used Refugee Program to Settle in US
• Islamic State group says bomb downed Russian plane
• Islamic State says it has executed two captives from Norway and China
• IS releases photo of bomb it says downed Russian jetliner
• Presidential candidate Bush wants increased U.S. presence on ground in Iraq
• Female suicide-bomber; France's first but growing tactic worldwide
• Calls for U.S. troops to fight Islamic State misguided, say experts
• Bush calls for US ground forces to fight Islamic State
• Lindsey Graham Wants to Declare War on ISIS, but Is Anyone Listening?
• Sweden raises terrorism threat level, hunts for suspect
• Paris attacks: Would US troops in Syria play into Islamic State's hands?
• IS group says it has killed Norwegian, Chinese captives
• Despite heavy US airstrikes, IS threat persists
• IS 'executes' Chinese, Norwegian hostages as bastion pounded
• Carter pushing retirement, other changes for future force
• Former US officials call for ramping up air war against IS
• With Islamic State targeted, what happens to Syria's Assad?
• In Islamic State's global reach, new risks for jihadists – and the West
• Will French president's welcome of Syrian refugees stem fears?
• IS attacks claim more than 800 lives abroad this year
• Foreigners executed by IS militants: a factfile
• Police dog killed in suburban Paris raid. Are they properly honored?
• IS releases picture of bomb it says downed Russian plane
• U.S. House Democrats oppose Syria bill: leadership aide
• Prince Ali: Violence shouldn't force soccer out of countries

At least two die in police raid on group planning new Paris attack Posted: 18 Nov 2015 05:19 PM PST By Emmanuel Jarry and Antony Paone SAINT DENIS, France (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew herself up in a police raid on Wednesday that sources said had foiled a jihadi plan to hit Paris's business district, days after a wave of attacks killed 129 across the French capital. Police stormed an apartment in the Paris suburb of St. Denis before dawn in a hunt for Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian militant accused of masterminding the bombings and shootings, but it was unclear whether he had died in the assault. "A new team of terrorists has been neutralized," Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters on Wednesday evening, saying police fired 5,000 rounds of munitions into the apartment, which was left shredded by the raid, its windows blown out and the facade riddled with bullet impacts.

U.S. Republicans, defying Obama, propose tightening Syrian refugee screening Posted: 18 Nov 2015 05:12 PM PST House Republican lawmakers defied President Barack Obama on Wednesday and laid out plans to tighten screening of Syrian refugees after the Paris attacks, in a political fight that challenges the U.S. view of itself as a refuge for downtrodden immigrants. Concerned about possible strikes against the United States after Islamic State killed 129 people in the French capital on Friday, the Republican chairman of a House of Representatives security committee proposed additional scrutiny of refugees fleeing Syria or Iraq seeking to enter the United States.

2 dead, 5 arrested in raid targeting Paris attack mastermind Posted: 18 Nov 2015 04:47 PM PST SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — A woman wearing an explosive suicide vest blew herself up Wednesday as heavily armed police tried to storm a suburban Paris apartment where the suspected mastermind of last week's gun and bomb rampage was believed to be holed up, police said.

Russia, France push UN resolutions on fighting IS Posted: 18 Nov 2015 04:39 PM PST Russia submitted a revised draft UN resolution Wednesday on fighting the Islamic State group that France said could be partially included in its own Security Council measure following the Paris attacks. The Russian draft text was first presented to the Security Council in late September but was rejected by the United States, Britain and France over a provision that calls for battling the IS extremists with the consent of the Syrian regime -- a Moscow ally. The new draft resolution still contains that provision, said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, but he downplayed disagreements.

The Latest: Video of restaurant shooting posted online Posted: 18 Nov 2015 04:33 PM PST PARIS (AP) — The latest on the deadly attacks in Paris. (All times local):

Russia, France set for showdown at U.N. over Islamic State fight Posted: 18 Nov 2015 04:25 PM PST By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia revived on Wednesday a push for United Nations approval of international military campaigns combating Islamic State, setting up a showdown with France over its rival bid for a U.N. Security Council resolution on the issue. Russia circulated to the 15-member council an updated version of a draft resolution it first proposed on Sept. 30, diplomats said. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council the text had been updated to focus more on combating Islamic State in reaction to recent attacks by the militant group, according to diplomats at the closed-door meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Obama threatens to veto House GOP bill on Syrian refugees Posted: 18 Nov 2015 03:43 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Wednesday threatened a presidential veto of House Republican legislation aimed at increasing screenings for Syrian and Iraqi refugees before they enter the United States, calling new requirements in the bill "untenable."

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Posted: 18 Nov 2015 03:26 PM PST Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

US strikes on IS oil supply initially only 'minimally effective' Posted: 18 Nov 2015 03:12 PM PST US air strikes have been only "minimally effective" in destroying oil infrastructure in the hands of jihadists, a military spokesman said Wednesday, explaining why tanker trucks in Syria are now being targeted instead. The US-led coalition that has been conducting drone and plane strikes in Iraq and Syria for more than a year has repeatedly hit IS oil equipment -- only to see the jihadists quickly repair it. IS militants reportedly rake in millions of dollars in revenue from oil fields under their control.

Q&A: ICC prosecutor on trying the world's worst crimes Posted: 18 Nov 2015 03:01 PM PST This year Fatou Bensouda, a trained lawyer from Gambia, opened preliminary probes into alleged crimes in Palestine, broadened the scope of an initial inquiry in Ukraine, and has asked the ICC to open a formal investigation into the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. Now she is joining calls for the International Criminal Court to increase its annual budget to 153.32 million euros ($163 million) to pay for more trained investigators to delve into other pressing cases.

Nearly 6,000 foreign jihadists on Interpol radar: chief Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:53 PM PST Interpol has identified only 5,800 foreign fighters of the roughly 25,000 believed to have joined jihadist groups in conflict zones like Syria and Iraq, the head of the global police body said Wednesday. "The organisation currently holds records of some 5,800 suspected foreign terrorist fighters contributed by more than 50 countries," Juergen Stock said in an address. Stock said there had to be more information sharing between nations and improved access to the data they have for organisations like Interpol.

From Bombers to Subs, Inside Bush’s Costly Plan to Expand the Military Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:53 PM PST The same day he called for U.S. troops on the ground in the Middle East to combat ISIS, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush also offered a detailed – and potentially very costly – plan for how he would "rebuild" the U.S. military if he were commander-in-chief. The 13-page, four-part strategy is largely a rehash of many of the national security policies Bush and other GOP presidential contenders have talked about in the past, such as reinvigorating ties with NATO and allies in the Asia-Pacific. For instance, Bush wants to scrap the plan enacted by the 2011 Budget Control Act that will reduce the Army's size to 450,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal 2018.

Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf: Who are they? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:43 PM PST A Malaysian man held by Islamic militants for six months in the southern Philippines was confirmed killed on Wednesday. Here are a series of questions and answers on the Abu Sayyaf, a US-listed terrorist organisation blamed for the murder of Bernard Then. The Abu Sayyaf emerged in the early 1990s as a radical offshoot of a Muslim insurgency that has claimed 120,000 lives in the country's south since the 1970s.

White House says Obama would veto proposal for more scrutiny of refugees Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:19 PM PST President Barack Obama would veto a proposal from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives for additional scrutiny of refugees from Syria or Iraq, the White House said on Wednesday. "This legislation would introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people in the world," the White House said in a statement. The proposed requirements "would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people, instead serving only to create significant delays and obstacles in the fulfillment of a vital program that satisfies both humanitarian and national security objectives," the White House said.

Honduras arrests five Syrians headed to US with stolen passports Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:16 PM PST Honduran authorities have arrested five Syrians intending to make it to the United States with stolen Greek passports, triggering alarm Wednesday in the wake of the Paris attacks launched by Syria-linked jihadists. The Syrians were arrested on Tuesday as they flew into Toncontin airport serving the Honduran capital and failed to make it past airport security checks, a police spokesman, Anibal Baca, told reporters. "Five Syrian citizens have been detained and will be taken to our offices to be investigated because it is suspected they are carrying false documents, passports stolen in Greece," Baca said.

Terrorists Once Used Refugee Program to Settle in US Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:13 PM PST Of the 31 states that have declared their opposition to taking in Syrian refugees, one state, Kentucky, has a specific reason to be wary of the background check process: previously two Iraqi refugees who settled in Bowling Green turned out to be al Qaeda-linked terrorists with the blood of American soldiers on their hands, an ABC News investigation found. Both pleaded guilty to terror-connected charges after trying to acquire heavy weapons while in America's heartland. The 2013 ABC News investigation also revealed that several dozen other suspected terrorist bombmakers, including some who were believed to have targeted U.S. troops, may have mistakenly been allowed to move to the U.S. as Iraq and Afghanistan War refugees, among the tens of thousands of innocent immigrants.

Islamic State group says bomb downed Russian plane Posted: 18 Nov 2015 02:11 PM PST The Islamic State group said Wednesday it had smuggled a bomb on board a Russian airliner that went down last month, after discovering a "way to compromise the security" at an Egyptian airport. The IS claim, published in the group's magazine, came a day after Moscow announced that traces of explosives had been found in the plane wreckage and vowed to hunt down the perpetrators. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed "close cooperation" between their security services, the Kremlin said.

Islamic State says it has executed two captives from Norway and China Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:59 PM PST Islamic State said it had killed a Norwegian and a Chinese captive, showing what appeared to be pictures of the dead men under a banner reading "Executed" in the latest edition of its English language magazine on Wednesday. It did not give any details in the online Dabiq magazine about how, when or where the men were killed. Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference in Oslo that the Norwegian man, named by the foreign ministry as Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, had most likely been killed.

IS releases photo of bomb it says downed Russian jetliner Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:55 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — The Islamic State group on Wednesday released a photo of a bomb hidden in a soft drink can that it said had brought down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month, and it also announced it had killed hostages from Norway and China.

Presidential candidate Bush wants increased U.S. presence on ground in Iraq Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:36 PM PST By Steve Holland CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush called for an increased U.S. troop presence on the ground in Iraq as part of a global coalition to fight Islamic State militants, shifting to a more hawkish stance in response to the Paris attacks. Bush's decision, which will inevitably lead to comparisons with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq ordered by his brother, then-President George W. Bush, was reached after the attacks in Paris, where 129 people were killed by gunfire and bombs.

Female suicide-bomber; France's first but growing tactic worldwide Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:33 PM PST On Wednesday morning in a Paris suburb, a woman detonated an explosives belt she was wearing -- a first in France but part of a growing list of female suicide bombers who have carried out acts of carnage worldwide. "The level of indoctrination and militarisation was so great that she preferred to die than be arrested," Fatima Lahnait, author of a think-tank report on female suicide bombers, told AFP. While hundreds of women have in recent years joined jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, few have been chosen for suicide missions.

Calls for U.S. troops to fight Islamic State misguided, say experts Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:23 PM PST Americans want the Obama administration to get tougher with the Islamic State following the carnage in Paris, but many of the measures now being proposed could actually make the threat worse, counter-terrorism experts said. Republican presidential candidates, lawmakers and others are calling for deploying U.S. ground forces to the Middle East, using air power to create a Syria safe zone to train anti-Islamic State fighters and barring Syrian refugees. "There is no compelling reason to believe that anything we are doing will be sufficient," Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declared on Tuesday in a speech in which he proposed intervention by a European and Arab ground force backed by 10,000 U.S. military advisers and trainers.

Bush calls for US ground forces to fight Islamic State Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:20 PM PST CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Wednesday called for the U.S. to send more troops to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State group.

Lindsey Graham Wants to Declare War on ISIS, but Is Anyone Listening? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 01:11 PM PST On Tuesday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal apparently got tired of waiting for his big break and announced that he was dropping out of the campaign. Indeed, this time around, with Donald Trump in the race, the very top of the polls has so far been permanently occupied. One of Jindal's partners in futility though, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, must see the current focus on the threat posed by the terrorist group ISIS as his last, best shot to break out of the basement in the opinion polls and make himself a factor in the race.

Sweden raises terrorism threat level, hunts for suspect Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:58 PM PST By Johan Ahlander and Anna Ringstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's security police raised their terrorist threat assessment to its highest ever level on Wednesday, saying they were hunting a suspect and had "concrete information" of a possible attack only days after the Paris killing spree. Security police (SAPO) chief Anders Thornberg said one arrest had been made "in absentia" for terrorism crimes for an unnamed suspect. "One of the reasons for the increase is that the Security Police have received concrete information and made a judgement that we need to act within the framework of our counter-terrorism operations," SAPO said in a statement.

Paris attacks: Would US troops in Syria play into Islamic State's hands? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:58 PM PST Even as raids are going on in Paris and details of the terrorist attacks are still emerging, robust calls for the US government to "do something" – to "take the fight" to the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) – have started streaming in.

IS group says it has killed Norwegian, Chinese captives Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:54 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — The Islamic State group said Wednesday that it has killed Norwegian and Chinese captives after earlier demanding ransoms for the two men.

Despite heavy US airstrikes, IS threat persists Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:48 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — In measuring progress in the American-led air war against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, numbers tell one story but results tell another.

IS 'executes' Chinese, Norwegian hostages as bastion pounded Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:42 PM PST The Islamic State group said Wednesday it had killed a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage, as French and Russian air strikes on its Syrian stronghold were reported to have left 33 fighters dead. Moscow announced that its warplanes were hunting IS oil tanker trucks in Syria, a day after saying a "terrorist attack" brought down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. Its English-language Dabiq magazine featured graphic photos of two bodies that appeared to be Chinese hostage Fan Jinghui and Norwegian Ole-Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad.

Carter pushing retirement, other changes for future force Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military must harness the best talent and keep up its technological edge in order to meet evolving security challenges, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday as he rolled out a series of initiatives aimed at attracting the next generation of service members and dragging the often-antiquated Pentagon bureaucracy into the 21st century.

Former US officials call for ramping up air war against IS Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:22 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A one-time top CIA official and a former ambassador to Syria and Iraq are calling on the U.S. to ramp up the air campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria and set up a safe zone to protect citizens from Syrian President Bashar Assad's bombing raids.

With Islamic State targeted, what happens to Syria's Assad? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:18 PM PST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tide of global rage against the Islamic State group lends greater urgency to ending the jihadis' ability to operate at will from a base in war-torn Syria. That momentum could also force a reevaluation of what to do about President Bashar Assad and puts a renewed focus on the position of his key patrons, Russia and Iran.

In Islamic State's global reach, new risks for jihadists – and the West Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:17 PM PST In launching a flurry of devastating attacks in the skies above Egypt's Sinai and in Beirut and Paris, the self-described Islamic State appears to have embarked upon a new strategy to lash out against its enemies. IS swiftly declared responsibility for the bombing of a Russian airliner, twin suicide attacks in southern Beirut, and a shooting rampage in Paris. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State?

Will French president's welcome of Syrian refugees stem fears? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 12:00 PM PST Five days after 129 Parisians were killed in a terror attack last Friday, stoking a backlash against refugees and immigrants in France and other parts of the world, French President François Hollande said Wednesday that he remains committed to taking in 30,000 refugees during the next two years. "Some have wanted to link the influx of refugees to Friday's acts of terror," President Hollande said in a speech to French mayors. "We also have to verify people who are coming onto the European territory and into France to make sure there are zero risks for our country.

IS attacks claim more than 800 lives abroad this year Posted: 18 Nov 2015 11:48 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has dramatically expanded its theatre of operations from its hub in Syria and Iraq, executing or inspiring a series of attacks across three continents that claimed more than 800 lives this year.

Foreigners executed by IS militants: a factfile Posted: 18 Nov 2015 11:34 AM PST Beirut (AFP) - The Islamic State group said Wednesday it has "executed" a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage, in its latest killing of foreigners.

Police dog killed in suburban Paris raid. Are they properly honored? Posted: 18 Nov 2015 11:18 AM PST Diesel was seven years old when he was killed on Wednesday during a police raid in a Parisian suburb that targeted the suspected mastermind of Friday's Paris terror attacks. The Belgian Shepherd was killed and five police officers were injured when a woman detonated a suicide vest full of explosives. The raid, which took place at 4:45 a.m. in St. Denis, a suburb just outside Paris, was the closest French authorities have come to retracing the trail of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian militant suspected of planning the attacks.

IS releases picture of bomb it says downed Russian plane Posted: 18 Nov 2015 10:49 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — The Islamic State group has released a photo of the bomb it says was used to bring down a Russian passenger plane in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board.

U.S. House Democrats oppose Syria bill: leadership aide Posted: 18 Nov 2015 10:19 AM PST Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives oppose Republican-backed legislation that would pause the admission of refugees from Syria and Iraq and may offer an alternative measure if they cannot negotiate a bipartisan bill, an aide said.

Prince Ali: Violence shouldn't force soccer out of countries Posted: 18 Nov 2015 10:06 AM PST LONDON (AP) — Violence should not force teams to play matches outside their home countries, FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said Wednesday.

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