Yahoo! News: Iraq

US says Iraqi forces have retaken western town of Rutba
Protesters break into Green Zone, enter Iraq PM's office
Iraqi protesters storm Baghdad's Green Zone, shooting erupts
Protesters storm Baghdad's Green Zone again, dozens hurt
The Real Captain Kirk Takes Command of the Navy’s New $4 Billion Destroyer
Cameraman blown up shooting film gets Cannes ovation
Chelsea Manning Officially Appeals Her 35-Year Prison Sentence
US Troops Are Headed to Libya, and That’s Bad News for Hillary Clinton
Libya's Haftar says won't work with unity government until militias disbanded
Iraq's Sadr warns against blocking 'peaceful protests'
Iraq's Sadr condemns use of force against Green Zone protesters
Iraq says control restored after Green Zone breach
Senate bill would extend coverage of in vitro fertilization to wounded veterans
Baghdad imposes curfew after Green Zone breach: state TV
Kosovo group jailed for 42 years for aiding Islamic State
The Latest: Greece sends 51 migrants back to Turkey
Paris attacks suspect refuses to speak at French hearing
Arianna Huffington Leads List of Notables to Speak at Inspiring Event from AARP's Life Reimagined in Dallas
U.S., allies stage 17 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria: U.S. military
Migrants test 'closed' Balkan borders to chase European dream
Refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece from Balkans
Veteran returns lost Purple Heart, dog tags to fellow vet
Clinton grapples with Trump's ability to stay in spotlight
Local veteran reunited with puppy he befriended in Iraq
Today in History
How Saddam Hussein Modeled a Paramilitary Unit After Darth Vader
The Island Paradise Where Journalists Are Murdered

US says Iraqi forces have retaken western town of Rutba

Posted: 20 May 2016 04:40 PM PDT

TAJI, Iraq (AP) — The top American general for the Middle East said Friday he is confident that Iraq is on course to defeating the Islamic State, but his words were spare and cautious, his tone notably muted.

Protesters break into Green Zone, enter Iraq PM's office

Posted: 20 May 2016 03:23 PM PDT

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the premier's office Friday after breaking into the Green Zone for the second time in three weeks, further escalating a long-running political crisis.

Iraqi protesters storm Baghdad's Green Zone, shooting erupts

Posted: 20 May 2016 02:55 PM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and gunshots in the air as hundreds of anti-government protesters stormed Baghdad's heavily secured Green Zone on Friday. Several demonstrators, mostly supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were wounded as the crowd rushed the prime minister's office and the parliament building.

Protesters storm Baghdad's Green Zone again, dozens hurt

Posted: 20 May 2016 02:50 PM PDT

By Kareem Raheem and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces opened fire on protesters who stormed into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Friday and entered the cabinet building, drawing calls for revolt from a powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric. The thousands of protesters included supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and people from other groups upset with the government's failure to approve anti-corruption reforms and provide security. The government briefly imposed a curfew on Baghdad and authorities later said order had returned after what they called rioting at the Green Zone, which houses parliament, government buildings and many foreign embassies.

The Real Captain Kirk Takes Command of the Navy’s New $4 Billion Destroyer

Posted: 20 May 2016 02:24 PM PDT

Who better to entrust a high-tech, multi-billion dollar warship than Capt. James Kirk? In this case it's U.S. Navy Capt. James A. Kirk, not Starfleet Capt. James Tiberius Kirk of the United Federation ...

Cameraman blown up shooting film gets Cannes ovation

Posted: 20 May 2016 02:09 PM PDT

A Kurdish cameraman who nearly lost his arm shooting a film by French celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy about the Kurds' battle against the Islamic State group was cheered Friday at the Cannes film festival. Ala Tayyeb was called onto the stage by the flamboyant Gallic intellectual as he and a group of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga generals got a standing ovation after the documentary "Peshmerga" was screened.

Chelsea Manning Officially Appeals Her 35-Year Prison Sentence

Posted: 20 May 2016 12:50 PM PDT

Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army Private who leaked thousands of classified documents to the website WikiLeaks in 2013, has officially filed an appeal for her 35-year military prison sentence after being convicted of multiple charges including violation of the Espionage Act. The former intelligence analyst's leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, mostly about the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has sparked a wide debate about government secrecy and First Amendment rights. The appeal argues that the sentencing was overreaching, stating, "For what PFC Manning did, the punishment is grossly unfair and unprecedented.

US Troops Are Headed to Libya, and That’s Bad News for Hillary Clinton

Posted: 20 May 2016 12:05 PM PDT

The U.S. is inching closer to a deal that would see a long-term commitment of troops to Libya to fight the Islamic State. "There's a lot of activity going on underneath the surface," Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters traveling with him back from NATO headquarters in Brussels. "There will be a long-term mission in Libya," the nation's top general said, according to The Washington Post.

Libya's Haftar says won't work with unity government until militias disbanded

Posted: 20 May 2016 11:32 AM PDT

It would be "unthinkable" for eastern Libyan forces to join a U.N.-backed unity government until militias aligned to it have been disbanded, General Khalifa Haftar, who heads up troops in the east, said in an interview broadcast on Friday. A December unity deal was meant to end the divide between rival governments in the capital Tripoli and the east who have vied for control over the country and its oil resources since 2014, backed by competing factions, who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi five years ago. Western powers see Fayaz Seraj, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), as the best hope of unifying political and armed factions to take on Islamic State.

Iraq's Sadr warns against blocking 'peaceful protests'

Posted: 20 May 2016 11:00 AM PDT

Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr Friday warned against attempts to block "peaceful protests," after security forces used tear gas and sound bombs to clear a demonstration by his supporters.

Iraq's Sadr condemns use of force against Green Zone protesters

Posted: 20 May 2016 10:36 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr expressed support for protesters who stormed into Baghdad's Green Zone on Friday and condemned security forces' use of force against them. "I respect your choice and your peaceful spontaneous revolt," Sadr said in a statement. "Curse the government that kills its children in cold blood." Witnesses said earlier that dozens of people were wounded when the security forces fired tear gas and bullets at the protesters. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem and Saif Hameed; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Iraq says control restored after Green Zone breach

Posted: 20 May 2016 09:37 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's military said on Friday authorities had regained "complete control over the riots" after security forces opened fire on protesters who stormed the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, according to a flash on state television. "Infiltrators exploited our forces' preoccupation with preparations for the Falluja battle to infiltrate state institutions and cause chaos," a statement from the Joint Operations Command said. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Senate bill would extend coverage of in vitro fertilization to wounded veterans

Posted: 20 May 2016 09:30 AM PDT

By Randi Belisomo (Reuters Health) – U.S. military veterans who are infertile as a result of combat or training-related injuries still don't have insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), but that might change soon. A ban against coverage of IVF by the Department of Veterans Affairs came one step closer to being lifted this week, as the U.S. Senate's passage of a large appropriations bill included a provision to overturn a more than two-decades old law. Injured veterans who are unable to have children naturally - due to spinal cord and other genital injuries- currently must pick up their own tab to produce a viable pregnancy through IVF treatments, which often cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Baghdad imposes curfew after Green Zone breach: state TV

Posted: 20 May 2016 08:53 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's military imposed a curfew on Baghdad "until further notice", state television said in a news flash, after security forces opened fire on protesters who had entered the heavily fortified Green Zone. Witnesses said dozens of people were injured in the clashes. The protesters included supporters of powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and people from other groups who are displeased with the government's failure to approve anti-corruption reforms and provide security. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Writing by Stephen Kalin)

Kosovo group jailed for 42 years for aiding Islamic State

Posted: 20 May 2016 08:19 AM PDT

A Kosovo court sentenced seven men to a total of 42 years in jail for recruiting on behalf of Islamic State or fighting for the group in Syria, a judge said on Friday. The main defendant, Imam Zekeria Qazimi, was jailed for 10 years for recruiting young Kosovars to go and fight in Syria. Five others were found guilty of "fighting with the terrorist organization called ISIS after traveling from Pristina to Turkey and later to Syria," the judge said.

The Latest: Greece sends 51 migrants back to Turkey

Posted: 20 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT

BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the flow of migrants into Europe (all times local):

Paris attacks suspect refuses to speak at French hearing

Posted: 20 May 2016 07:44 AM PDT

The man prosecutors believe is the sole survivor of the Islamist group that attacked Paris last November appeared before a French investigating judge on Friday, but refused to say anything about the assault in which 130 people were killed. Salah Abdeslam, a French national born to Moroccan-born parents in Belgium and raised there, was brought under heavily armed escort to a court in central Paris from his solitary-confinement cell in a high-security prison outside the capital. Frank Berton, his lawyer, said Abdeslam, who was captured in Brussels and extradited to France, was upset about being kept under day-and-night watch inside his cell at Fleury-Merogis prison, south of Paris.

Arianna Huffington Leads List of Notables to Speak at Inspiring Event from AARP's Life Reimagined in Dallas

Posted: 20 May 2016 07:29 AM PDT

DALLAS, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP's Life Reimagined presents "Reimagine You," a one-day immersive experience at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, where participants will gain inspiration and guidance as they navigate various crossroads, and discover their opportunities and possibilities in life. Featuring speaker and media powerhouse Arianna Huffington, along with notables Angela Davis, J.R. Martinez and Dani Shapiro, the Saturday, June 11, event will help attendees develop their personal roadmap to success through insightful activities, reflection, and practical ideas on how to pursue what's next. Renowned New York psychiatrist, certified life coach and writer Janet Taylor, M.D., will emcee the event.

U.S., allies stage 17 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria: U.S. military

Posted: 20 May 2016 05:28 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 17 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, the coalition leading the operations said. In a statement released on Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force said two strikes in Syria destroyed an oil pump-jack and two vehicles. In Iraq, 15 strikes near 10 cities hit several tactical units and destroyed multiple fighting positions, assembly areas, tunnels and nearly 30 rocket rails, among other targets, the statement said. (Reporting by Megan Cassella)

Migrants test 'closed' Balkan borders to chase European dream

Posted: 20 May 2016 05:23 AM PDT

Esan Ahmadzia, an IT manager from Afghanistan, says he ran into trouble with the Taliban and is heading for Germany to join his family. Balkan states have tried to seal their borders, but for many migrants, Serbia still offers a risky path to a better future. More than 650,000 people from the Middle East, Asia and Africa trudged through Serbia last year on their way to the European Union, but in March the borders closed, leaving thousands trapped on the Macedonian frontier.

Refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece from Balkans

Posted: 20 May 2016 03:59 AM PDT

IDOMENI, Greece (AP) — Anwar Ismail Murad passed almost effortlessly along what has become known as the Balkan route, heading north from Greece to Macedonia, through Serbia, Croatia and on to Slovenia. He reached there on Feb. 14, when the border was still open, but that's where his dream abruptly died.

Veteran returns lost Purple Heart, dog tags to fellow vet

Posted: 20 May 2016 03:13 AM PDT

WAKEFIELD, N.H. (AP) — A Vietnam veteran was reunited with his missing Purple Heart and dog tags thanks to the kindness of another veteran.

Clinton grapples with Trump's ability to stay in spotlight

Posted: 20 May 2016 12:28 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump kept himself planted firmly in the political spotlight this week with one headline-grabbing move after another — launching a social media defense of his treatment of women, listing possible Supreme Court nominees, and rapidly declaring an Egyptian plane crash an act of terrorism.