Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Jon Keyser fails to make Colorado GOP Senate primary
• What 250 more Special Forces in Syria can do
• Voters weigh in on Cruz-Kasich deal to block Trump
• Police did not fire at teen who killed officer, then himself
• Armed Services chief lays out risky strategy for budget hike
• Behind global crackdown on NGOs, recognition of their power
• Artillery fire hits Iraq town despite ceasefire: officials
• Five things to know about the Abu Sayyaf
• US forces to Syria: Mission creep, or a sign of success?
• At least 28 killed in violence in Syria's capital and Aleppo
• IS suicide bomber hits Baghdad shops, killing seven
• Merkel hints at further military effort in Libya after talks
• Bomb in eastern Baghdad kills at least 11
• Kurds and Shi'ites clash in northern Iraq despite ceasefire
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus Reveals What Happened Behind the Scenes of Emotional 'Seinfeld' Finale
• U.N. envoy says war goals in Iraq obscuring humanitarian crisis
• National Press Club Newsmaker with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Professor Azizah al-Hibri Looks at Protecting Religious Minorities in Predominately Islamic Countries May 10, 10 a.m
• Obama calls for strong, united Europe
• The Latest: Attacks in government-controlled Aleppo kill 9
• Iraq: Car bombing in Baghdad kills at least 12 civilians
• US approves billion-dollar arms deal with Australia
• Obama ramps up special forces mission in Syria against Islamic State
• Anzac Day honours heroes of WWI's Western Front
• Obama says new US troops in Syria will be essential
• The Latest: Obama meeting with European leaders
• U.S. Forces Are Syria-Bound
• U.S., allies stage 14 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria: statement
• Critics of Trump in GOP Senate fact check his foreign policy
• U.S. volunteers seek adventure fighting Islamic State alongside Kurds
• Indonesia to set up 'crisis center' after Philippine kidnappings: minister
• Police charge Australian teenager with planning ANZAC terror attack
• Today in History
• China's Xi warns against religious infiltration from abroad
• Obama calls for 'reinstated' Syria truce as more die in Aleppo
• 10 Things to Know for Monday
• The Latest: Obama: Time not on side of US-Europe trade deal

Jon Keyser fails to make Colorado GOP Senate primary Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:09 PM PDT DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado state Rep. Jon Keyser, once considered a front-runner to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet this fall, failed to gather enough petition signatures to make the Republican primary ballot, the secretary of state's office said Monday.

What 250 more Special Forces in Syria can do Posted: 25 Apr 2016 03:24 PM PDT President Obama's announcement Monday that 250 Special Operations Forces will be headed to Syria suggests that a "start small" approach to combating the Islamic State might be showing signs of promise. Last fall, Mr. Obama sent 50 special operators to Syria as trainers as "a proof of concept of sorts," says Melissa Dalton, a former intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency. The goal was to see if the United States could use the training to gain traction with Kurdish fighters and Arab Sunnis on the ground, she says.

Voters weigh in on Cruz-Kasich deal to block Trump Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican presidential campaign trail is crackling with talk of a partnership and pancakes.

Police did not fire at teen who killed officer, then himself Posted: 25 Apr 2016 01:48 PM PDT GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A teen fired the only shots during a chase last month that ended with the death of a South Carolina police officer and the suicide of the suspect, authorities said.

Armed Services chief lays out risky strategy for budget hike Posted: 25 Apr 2016 01:29 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to halt an erosion of the U.S. military's combat readiness, a senior House Republican unveiled legislation Monday that would boost the defense budget by billions of dollars to pay for additional ships, jet fighters, helicopters and more.

Behind global crackdown on NGOs, recognition of their power Posted: 25 Apr 2016 01:06 PM PDT Chinese parliamentarians are due to take up controversial legislation this week to rein in foreign-based civil society groups. Around the globe, from Malaysia to Morocco and from India to Ethiopia, governments have been cracking down on activists who are trying to hold them to account. The worldwide trend constitutes "the broadest backlash against civil society in a generation," says Kenneth Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, a Washington-based watchdog group.

Artillery fire hits Iraq town despite ceasefire: officials Posted: 25 Apr 2016 12:38 PM PDT Artillery fire killed a civilian on Monday despite a ceasefire in a flashpoint northern Iraqi town that has been hit by deadly fighting between Kurdish and Turkmen forces, officials said. Fighting broke out at the weekend in Tuz Khurmatu between the autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and Turkmen members of the Hashed al-Shaabi militia umbrella organisation for the second time in six months. "Clashes were renewed sporadically in Tuz, but it was not like yesterday," said Mohammed Koja, the deputy governor of Salaheddin province where the town is located.

Five things to know about the Abu Sayyaf Posted: 25 Apr 2016 12:32 PM PDT Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group from the southern Philippines notorious for abducting foreigners, beheaded a Canadian hostage on Monday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "outraged" by the killing, and authorities were trying to free another Canadian still being held along with a Norwegian man and a Filipina. The group is a radical offshoot of a Muslim separatist insurgency that has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines since the 1970s.

US forces to Syria: Mission creep, or a sign of success? Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:43 AM PDT Speaking in Germany on Monday while on a farewell tour of Europe, President Obama announced the deployment of an additional 250 US troops, including special operations personnel, into Syria to keep up the "momentum" against ISIS. This announcement may come as a surprise to some after Mr. Obama told the BBC just a few days ago that deploying US ground troops against ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) was unnecessary. At that time, instead of international military involvement, Obama underscored the need for internal dialogue between Syrian rebels and the organized opposition, the High Negotiations Committee, that would effectively bypass President Assad's regime.

At least 28 killed in violence in Syria's capital and Aleppo Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:50 AM PDT DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Violence in Syria continued for the fourth straight day to chip away at what remains from a cease-fire that has effectively collapsed, leaving at least 28 people dead Monday in reciprocal shellings between government forces and opposition in the country's largest city while a bomb blast disrupted a relative quiet in a Damascus suburb that is home to one of the holiest Shiite shrines here.

IS suicide bomber hits Baghdad shops, killing seven Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:48 AM PDT A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group ripped through shops in eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least seven people, Iraqi security and medical officials said. The blast in the Shiite majority area of Baghdad Jadida also wounded at least 32 people, started fires in some shops and scattered debris across the street. The Islamic State issued a statement claiming the attack.

Merkel hints at further military effort in Libya after talks Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:47 AM PDT HANNOVER, Germany (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she, U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Britain and Italy discussed ways of supporting the fragile unity government in Libya and the possibility of expanding military efforts to stop the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean.

Bomb in eastern Baghdad kills at least 11 Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:19 AM PDT A suicide attacker detonated a bomb in a predominantly Shi'ite Muslim district of eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 39 others, security and medical sources said, the third such blast in four days in the capital. Islamic State said it was responsible for the explosion which went off near a cinema in Baghdad al-Jadida. Amaq news agency, which supports the group, said the bomber wore a suicide vest and targeted Iraqi security forces.

Kurds and Shi'ites clash in northern Iraq despite ceasefire Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:14 AM PDT Clashes between Kurdish and Shi'ite Turkmen fighters in an Iraqi town late on Monday cut the main road from Baghdad to the north for the second day in a row and threatened to undermine a ceasefire agreement reached by military leaders a day earlier. The violence in Tuz Khurmatu, 175 km (110 miles) north of the capital, is the latest and most severe flare-up of tensions that have been brewing since Islamic State militants were driven back from the town in 2014. Shi'ite paramilitary leaders and Kurdish peshmerga commanders had brokered a truce on Sunday to end fighting that killed at least 12 people on both sides, but it broke down before sunset on Monday.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Reveals What Happened Behind the Scenes of Emotional 'Seinfeld' Finale Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:10 AM PDT "I remember Jerry saying something like, 'We'll always have this and we'll always be tied to one another, because of this experience,'" the 'Veep' actress recalls.

U.N. envoy says war goals in Iraq obscuring humanitarian crisis Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:26 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla GENEVA (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights envoy said on Monday Iraq was being run by a failed government and warned foreign powers not to be "complicit" in its neglect of the plight of normal Iraqis. The United Nations' deputy high commissioner for human rights said both Baghdad and its international supporters were too focused on defeating Islamic State and had no strategy for mending the country after that. "It is beholden on the international community, that rightly focuses on the military action, to have ... comparable investment in non-military relief," Kate Gilmore said after a week-long trip to Iraq.

National Press Club Newsmaker with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Professor Azizah al-Hibri Looks at Protecting Religious Minorities in Predominately Islamic Countries May 10, 10 a.m Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON, April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of recent news stories have documented the destruction of Yazidi communities in Iraq, the persecution of Christians in Syria and in African nations, and the departure of the last Jews to reside in Yemen. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington and Azizah al-HIbri, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Richmond, will discuss the landmark Marrakech Declaration designed to improve the lives of religious minorities in Muslim countries at a National Press Club Newsmaker in the club's Bloomberg Room at 10 a. ...

Obama calls for strong, united Europe Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:39 AM PDT US President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea for European unity in the face of rising populism and scepticism Monday, warning this was a "defining moment" for the continent. "A strong and united Europe is a necessity for the world," Obama said in the German city of Hanover, in a landmark speech that carried the tone of a blunt challenge to friends. Visiting a region reeling from a migration crisis, economic stagnation and facing the prospect of Britain abandoning the European Union, Obama warned that "progress is not inevitable".

The Latest: Attacks in government-controlled Aleppo kill 9 Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:23 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on Syria's civil war (all times local):

Iraq: Car bombing in Baghdad kills at least 12 civilians Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:42 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car Monday in a commercial area in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least 12 civilians, officials said.

US approves billion-dollar arms deal with Australia Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:38 AM PDT Washington (AFP) - The United States government on Monday approved a deal for US firms to sell its close ally Australia $1.22 billion in air-to-air missiles and support equipment.

Obama ramps up special forces mission in Syria against Islamic State Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:36 AM PDT By Roberta Rampton HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Monday the biggest expansion of U.S. ground troops in Syria since the civil war there began, saying he would dispatch 250 special forces soldiers to help local militia to build on successes against Islamic State. While the total U.S. ground force is still small by comparison to other American deployments, defense experts said it could help shift the momentum in Syria by giving more Syrian fighters on the ground access to U.S. close air support. Obama said the move followed victories that clawed back territory from Islamic State.

Anzac Day honours heroes of WWI's Western Front Posted: 25 Apr 2016 06:06 AM PDT Villers-Bretonneux (France) (AFP) - Some 3,000 Australians marked Anzac Day on Monday with a sombre dawn service in northern France to honour their forebears who fought in the Battle of the Somme a century ago. "Today we come together... to commemorate all who served on the Western Front and to remember those who never made it home," Australian Air Force chief Leo Davies said. The faces of the fallen were projected onto the imposing tower of the Australian National Memorial, which honours nearly 11,000 soldiers with no known graves.

Obama says new US troops in Syria will be essential Posted: 25 Apr 2016 06:05 AM PDT President Barack Obama on Monday announced the deployment of up to 250 U.S. military personnel to Syria, mostly special operations forces, to assist local troops trying to dislodge Islamic State extremists. The deployment will bring the number of personnel to roughly 300, up from about 50 special operations forces currently in Syria. Obama revealed his decision a week after Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that more than 200 U.S. troops soon will be headed to Iraq, where local forces are also battling Islamic State militants who control areas of that country.

The Latest: Obama meeting with European leaders Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:51 AM PDT HANNOVER, Germany (AP) — The Latest on President Barack Obama's visit to Germany (all times local):

U.S. Forces Are Syria-Bound Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:35 AM PDT Up to 250 U.S. troops, including Special Forces, will join the Special Forces already in Syria to train and assist local fighters combating ISIS, President Obama said Monday in Hannover, Germany.

U.S., allies stage 14 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria: statement Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:27 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 14 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, the coalition leading the operations said. In a statement released on Monday, the Combined Joint Task Force said three strikes near two cities in Syria hit two tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, a supply cache and a vehicle borne improvised explosive device. ...

Critics of Trump in GOP Senate fact check his foreign policy Posted: 25 Apr 2016 12:51 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's leading Republican voices on national security are assembling an indictment of Donald Trump's worldview by soliciting rebuttals from U.S. military leaders that challenge the accuracy and legality of the GOP presidential front-runner's most provocative foreign policy positions.

U.S. volunteers seek adventure fighting Islamic State alongside Kurds Posted: 24 Apr 2016 11:12 PM PDT By Stephen Kalin MAKHMOUR, Iraq (Reuters) - Towering over his Kurdish partner at a checkpoint in northern Iraq, U.S. volunteer John Cole cuts an unusual figure on the road to the newest front in the war against Islamic State. Seven feet (2.1 meters) tall and holding his assault rifle upside down, Cole is among a relatively small band of Westerners who have made their own way to Iraq to take up arms against the militant group - even though Kurdish authorities say they need foreign money and weapons more than men. Exactly how much fighting Cole has done is unclear, but the 23-year-old said that - unlike most regular U.S. soldiers stationed nearby - he has participated in offensives against Islamic State that involved artillery fire and airstrikes.

Indonesia to set up 'crisis center' after Philippine kidnappings: minister Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:28 PM PDT Indonesia will set up a crisis center, headed by President Joko Widodo, to handle security situations involving its citizens overseas, a senior minister said on Monday, following recent abductions of Indonesian sailors in Philippine waters. The center will include senior ministers and military and police chiefs and will be designed to respond quickly to situations that could have a "strategic impact", chief security minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters. Since coming to power in 2014, Widodo has placed maritime security for the Indonesian archipelago high on his government's agenda.

Police charge Australian teenager with planning ANZAC terror attack Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:13 PM PDT Australian police have arrested and charged a teenager with planning a terror attack on Monday's commemorations of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli during World War One, which attracted thousands of people in Sydney. The 16-year-old boy was arrested near his Sydney home on Sunday and appeared before a children's court on Monday. Court documents show that police accuse the boy of attempting to obtain a gun, Australian Associated Press reported.

Today in History Posted: 24 Apr 2016 09:01 PM PDT Today is Monday, April 25, the 116th day of 2016. There are 250 days left in the year.

China's Xi warns against religious infiltration from abroad Posted: 24 Apr 2016 08:10 PM PDT BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping says that China must be on guard against nefarious religious influences from abroad.

Obama calls for 'reinstated' Syria truce as more die in Aleppo Posted: 24 Apr 2016 07:36 PM PDT US President Barack Obama has called for Syria's warring parties to reinstate a troubled ceasefire, as regime and rebel bombardments killed 26 civilians in the flashpoint city of Aleppo. Eight weeks into the declared truce between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and non-jihadist rebels, violence has escalated around Aleppo, with dozens killed by government air strikes and rebel rockets.

10 Things to Know for Monday Posted: 24 Apr 2016 06:13 PM PDT Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:

The Latest: Obama: Time not on side of US-Europe trade deal Posted: 24 Apr 2016 01:24 PM PDT HANNOVER, Germany (AP) — The Latest on President Barack Obama's visit to Germany (all times local):

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