Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Attack kills 30 at Iraq Shiite shrine: spokesman
• At least 35 killed in attack on Shi'ite mausoleum north of Baghdad
• Accused Islamic State sympathizer indicted in Arizona bomb plot
• Most suicides by U.S. veterans are by those over age 50: study
• U.S. asks other nations to curb use of North Korean workers
• Saudi Arabia identifies bombers in 2 attacks this week
• 19 people arrested over Saudi attacks including Medina: ministry 
• Saudi Interior Ministry names Qatif, Medina bombers; suspects arrested
• Iraq inquiry finds UK, U.S. failed to curb destabilising purge of Iraqi Ba'athists
• Inquiry finds UK, U.S. failed to curb destabilizing purge of Iraqi Ba'athists
• To defeat ISIS's widening reach: think global, act local
• IMF sets $5.3 billion program for Iraq
• NATO countries willing to 'do more' in Afghanistan: Pentagon chief
• Baghdad blast killed 292, many burned alive
• Baghdad bombing death toll rises to 292: health ministry
• Lithuania leader marks 'breakthrough' German troop deployment
• UK press condemn Blair 'arrogance' over Iraq war
• German court issues first convictions in Cologne mob sex attacks
• Russian actions caused 'loss of trust' with NATO: Merkel
• South Carolina town bans saggy pants: Can they do that?
• The Latest: Comey: Clinton not held to different standard
• Will recent deaths tame Navy SEAL training?
• Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorses Paul Jacques for 4th Bristol District State Representative
• Militants kill three worshippers at Bangladeshi Ramadan celebration
• Call for Iraq transparency over Fallujah abuses probe
• Iran: forces kill 2 Kurdish insurgents who were on the run
• Turkish jets hit Kurdish militant targets in southeast Turkey: sources
• UNESCO set to expand World Heritage list at Istanbul meeting
• NATO summit to retool alliance to face new threats
• Merkel says Eastern European countries unsettled by Russia
• US moves to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan aids allies
• Iraq war decision justified: Australia's Howard
• Former army chief warns Australia not to 'blindly' follow US
• How Michael Bay's 'The Rock' Was Used to Justify War in Iraq
• Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT
• #AskAntony trends as Australia falls into existential crisis

Attack kills 30 at Iraq Shiite shrine: spokesman Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:33 PM PDT Islamic State group militants killed 30 people at a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad, striking the area with suicide bombers, gunfire and mortar rounds, an Iraqi security spokesman said Friday. The overnight attack also wounded 50 people, the Joint Operations Command spokesman said in a statement. The Sayyid Mohammed shrine was first targeted with mortar rounds, after which suicide bombers arrived at the shrine and opened fire, the statement said.

At least 35 killed in attack on Shi'ite mausoleum north of Baghdad Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:21 PM PDT Islamic State claimed a triple suicide attack on Thursday evening near a Shi'ite mausoleum north of Baghdad, which killed at least 35 people and wounded 60 others, according to Iraqi security sources. The attack on the Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi reignited fears of an escalation of the sectarian strife between Iraq's Shi'ites and Sunnis. The Shi'ite form a majority in Iraq but Sunnis are predominant in northern and western provinces, including Salahuddin where the mausoleum is located.

Accused Islamic State sympathizer indicted in Arizona bomb plot Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:03 PM PDT An Arizona grand jury has indicted an accused Islamic State sympathizer on charges of plotting to stage an attack on a Phoenix-area state motor vehicle office with bombs and other weapons, prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspect, Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson, was arrested on July 1 by FBI agents in an investigation that began with citizens alerting authorities to suspicious behavior, according to a statement from the Arizona attorney general's office. Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an investigation by the FBI and state authorities of Khan's repeated communications with an individual he believed was an Islamic State fighter.

Most suicides by U.S. veterans are by those over age 50: study Posted: 07 Jul 2016 04:56 PM PDT The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs analysis, which shows the suicide rate among veterans climbing over the past 15 years, is based on millions of records and is touted as the government's most comprehensive examination of the issue to date. President Barack Obama has joined veterans groups in singling out as a national priority the prevention of suicide among veterans, who the study says are at a 21 percent greater risk of taking their own lives than other Americans. Of the veterans known to have committed suicide in 2014, the latest year for which such data was available, 65 percent were at least 50 years of age, old enough to have served in the 1990-91 Gulf War, the Vietnam War or previous conflicts.

U.S. asks other nations to curb use of North Korean workers Posted: 07 Jul 2016 04:40 PM PDT By Arshad Mohammed and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The administration of President Barack Obama is asking other nations to cut the employment of North Korean workers as a way to reduce Pyongyang's access to foreign currency, a U.S. official said on Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, spoke a day after the United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights" in a move that infuriated the nuclear-armed country. The effort aims to increase economic pressure on the North, which angered the United States this year by conducting its fourth nuclear test and by carrying out a rocket launch that Washington said used banned ballistic missile technology.

Saudi Arabia identifies bombers in 2 attacks this week Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:44 PM PDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia identified on Thursday suspects in two of the three attacks that struck the kingdom on the same day this week, including one outside the sprawling mosque where the Prophet Muhammad is buried in the western city of Medina that killed four Saudi security troops.

19 people arrested over Saudi attacks including Medina: ministry  Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:35 PM PDT Nineteen people, including 12 Pakistani nationals, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia following suicide attacks on Monday, including one near Islam's second-holiest site in the city of Medina, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Seven people are believed to have been killed and two wounded in three separate attacks -- in Medina, at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, and in western Jeddah, the economic capital, not far from the US consulate. A 26-year-old Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, who had a "history of drug use" had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency.

Saudi Interior Ministry names Qatif, Medina bombers; suspects arrested Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:13 PM PDT Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked Prophet Mohammed's Mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse. Twelve Pakistanis and seven Saudis have been detained in relation to attacks that day. Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next to the prophet's mosque in Medina and detonated an explosive belt near a security headquarters, killing four soldiers, the state news agency SPA quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

Iraq inquiry finds UK, U.S. failed to curb destabilising purge of Iraqi Ba'athists Posted: 07 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball LONDON (Reuters) - A British inquiry into the Iraq War found that an aggressive purge of members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party led by the late, American-backed politician Ahmed Chalabi "had a significant and lasting negative impact on Iraq" that laid the groundwork for the deadly sectarian conflict ravaging the country today. The British investigation, led by Sir John Chilcot, found that UK and American officials sought, but largely failed, to limit post-war purges led by Chalabi and other Iraqi Shi'ite politicians that destabilised the country's ethnic and religious balance. Chilcot, who reviewed UK government records and interviewed top British officials involved in Iraq policy, reported that while U.S. and British officials assumed before the war that some kind of purge of pro-Saddam Ba'athists would have to take place, "no clear plan" for doing so was agreed before Iraq was invaded in 2003.

Inquiry finds UK, U.S. failed to curb destabilizing purge of Iraqi Ba'athists Posted: 07 Jul 2016 02:22 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball LONDON (Reuters) - A British inquiry into the Iraq War found that an aggressive purge of members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party led by the late, American-backed politician Ahmed Chalabi "had a significant and lasting negative impact on Iraq" that laid the groundwork for the deadly sectarian conflict ravaging the country today. The British investigation, led by Sir John Chilcot, found that UK and American officials sought, but largely failed, to limit post-war purges led by Chalabi and other Iraqi Shi'ite politicians that destabilized the country's ethnic and religious balance. Chilcot, who reviewed UK government records and interviewed top British officials involved in Iraq policy, reported that while U.S. and British officials assumed before the war that some kind of purge of pro-Saddam Ba'athists would have to take place, "no clear plan" for doing so was agreed before Iraq was invaded in 2003.

To defeat ISIS's widening reach: think global, act local Posted: 07 Jul 2016 02:01 PM PDT After a spate of attacks that have revealed the Islamic State's international reach and appeal, defeating the terrorist organization increasingly looks like a mission of painstaking global collaboration. The sense of urgency has risen in recent weeks due to a wave of deadly attacks unleashed by the group or its sympathizers – spanning from Orlando, Fla., to Turkey and Bangladesh. Recommended: How much do you know about Islamic extremists in Africa?

IMF sets $5.3 billion program for Iraq Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:52 PM PDT The IMF announced a $5.34 billion program for Iraq on Thursday to help strengthen the country's finances, hit by the crash in oil prices and the fight against the Islamic State group. The International Monetary Fund said the three-year loan will see $634 million immediately allocated to Baghdad, which needs the money to stabilize its balance of payments and ensure it can keep up with its debt obligations. It said Iraq's economy had contracted by 2.4 percent last year despite a 13 percent increase in oil production.

NATO countries willing to 'do more' in Afghanistan: Pentagon chief Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:22 PM PDT NATO members have indicated they will boost contributions to the Afghanistan security mission, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday, a day after Washington announced thousands of US troops would remain in the war-ravaged country. Carter said alliance members have welcomed Obama's decision to keep 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan through the end of his term in office. Obama had previously vowed to slash the troop numbers from the current level of 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of this year, but a resurgent Taliban -- coupled with an uptick in Al-Qaeda and Islamic State attacks -- made the reduction untenable.

Baghdad blast killed 292, many burned alive Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:09 PM PDT A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 292 people, according to a new toll issued Thursday, many of whom were trapped in blazing buildings and burned alive. A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden minibus in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood early on Sunday, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Baghdad bombing death toll rises to 292: health ministry Posted: 07 Jul 2016 11:08 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The death toll from a suicide bombing in Baghdad this weekend has reached 292, Iraq's Health Ministry said on Thursday. The attack, claimed by the militant group Islamic State, which government forces are trying to eject from large parts of the north and west of the country, was the deadliest bombing in Iraq since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. The militants have lost ground since last year to U.S.-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias but the weekend bombing showed they can still strike Baghdad despite having lost Falluja, their nearby stronghold, in June.

Lithuania leader marks 'breakthrough' German troop deployment Posted: 07 Jul 2016 10:18 AM PDT Germany's decision to deploy a battalion of troops to Lithuania under a NATO initiative marks a "mindset breakthrough" for Berlin towards taking a leading role in European defence, the Lithuanian president said Thursday. "I think we are at a historic turning point," Dalia Grybauskaite said in an interview with AFP in Vilnius on the eve of a key NATO summit, which will to seal its biggest revamp since the Cold War to counter a resurgent Russia. Fears that Russia could attempt to attack NATO's three small formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic member states surged after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move that sent East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.

UK press condemn Blair 'arrogance' over Iraq war Posted: 07 Jul 2016 09:39 AM PDT Tony Blair pleaded with his critics to stop questioning his intentions over Britain's disastrous war in Iraq, after a blistering verdict by the Chilcot inquiry -- but commentators Thursday showed scant sympathy. "For his own sanity he still has to tell himself the world is 'better and safer' for him joining George Bush's assault on Iraq. It is a monumental delusion," said an editorial in The Sun, Britain's top-selling paper.

German court issues first convictions in Cologne mob sex attacks Posted: 07 Jul 2016 09:29 AM PDT By Joseph Nasr BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court on Thursday convicted two men of sexual assault in a New Year's eve mob attack on women in Cologne which sparked outrage and hardened public opinion against Berlin's decision to allow in more than one million migrants. The District Court of Cologne gave a 20-year-old Iraqi and a 26-year-old Algerian a one-year suspended sentence each in a ruling that came just hours after the parliament in Berlin unanimously toughened sex crime laws. It was the first such conviction from the incidents in Cologne on New Year's Eve, when hundreds of women told police they had been groped, attacked and robbed by mobs of men outside the central train station.

Russian actions caused 'loss of trust' with NATO: Merkel Posted: 07 Jul 2016 09:18 AM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Russia's actions in Ukraine had eroded mutual trust with the West, speaking on the eve of a major NATO summit in Poland. When NATO leaders meet in Warsaw, "it will be in a phase in which the security situation has significantly changed in Europe," she said, also pointing at turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Libya. The US-led alliance plans to finalise its biggest revamp since the collapse of the Soviet Union to counter what it sees as a revanchist and unpredictable Russia since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

South Carolina town bans saggy pants: Can they do that? Posted: 07 Jul 2016 08:48 AM PDT The town of Timmonsville, S.C., (population 2,379), passed a bill five to one on Tuesday that bans "sagging pants, trousers, or shorts that intentionally display a person's underwear," according to the Associated Press. The law, which city officials say is a matter of "respect," raises questions about the line between freedom of expression and the government's role in legislating decency. Similar laws in other communities have been met with pushback from civil rights advocates.

The Latest: Comey: Clinton not held to different standard Posted: 07 Jul 2016 08:01 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the presidential campaign ahead of the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions (all times EDT):

Will recent deaths tame Navy SEAL training? Posted: 07 Jul 2016 07:58 AM PDT During his first week of Navy SEAL training, James Derek Lovelace died after he was pushed underwater by an instructor during training in a large pool. Seaman Lovelace was wearing full gear and struggling to tread water when he was pushed underwater by an instructor. Protocol for instructors allows them to splash, make waves, and yell at trainees, but does not allow them to forcibly send them underwater, although several former SEALs told the Associated Press that the trainer's actions did not seem out of the ordinary.

Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorses Paul Jacques for 4th Bristol District State Representative Posted: 07 Jul 2016 06:41 AM PDT CANTON, Mass., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United (MNA/NNU), the state's largest union and professional association for registered nurses and health care professionals, announces its endorsement and strong support for Paul W. Jacques, Democratic candidate for the 4th Bristol State Representative seat. "Paul Jacques is a strong voice for public safety, unions and Massachusetts nurses," MNA President Donna Kelly-William said. "As a union firefighter, Jacques has worked closely with MNA nurses.

Militants kill three worshippers at Bangladeshi Ramadan celebration Posted: 07 Jul 2016 06:04 AM PDT Militants attacked police protecting worshippers at a celebration marking the end Ramadan in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, on Thursday, killing three and wounding 14. Around 300,000 people where in attendance at the Eid al-Fitr festival in the Kishoreganj, 90 miles from Dhaka, when five militants attacked with bombs and "sharp weapons," local authorities said.

Call for Iraq transparency over Fallujah abuses probe Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:49 AM PDT Human Rights Watch called Thursday for transparency from Iraq over its promised investigation of alleged abuses, including executions of civilians, by its forces during the recapture of Fallujah from the Islamic State group. "Failing to hold fighters and commanders accountable for grave abuses bodes very badly for the looming battle for Mosul," HRW's deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork, said in a statement, referring to the last IS-held city in Iraq. "Serious investigations and prosecutions are essential to provide justice to victims and their families, and to deter atrocities by government forces," Stork said.

Iran: forces kill 2 Kurdish insurgents who were on the run Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:47 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says the Revolutionary Guard has killed two Kurdish insurgents who have been on the run since last week.

Turkish jets hit Kurdish militant targets in southeast Turkey: sources Posted: 07 Jul 2016 02:59 AM PDT Turkish fighter jets pounded Kurdish militant targets in rural areas of the southeastern province of Sirnak on Thursday, security sources said. Seven targets, including shelters and caves belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), were destroyed in the Cudi mountains and the Guclukonak district in the air strikes, which followed reconnaissance flights by drones, the sources said. Military sources said reconnaissance flights in the area continued while gendarmerie and special forces carried out searches.

UNESCO set to expand World Heritage list at Istanbul meeting Posted: 07 Jul 2016 02:26 AM PDT UN cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. After the June 28 attack on Istanbul's airport that claimed 45 lives, security has been stepped up for the 11-day World Heritage Committee meeting -- the panel's 40th. "What happened in Syria and Iraq as well as in Mali and Afghanistan were so shocking that the process of preparing UNESCO's lists has become of great political importance," said the body's director general, Irina Bokova.

NATO summit to retool alliance to face new threats Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:11 AM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — In what some are terming NATO's most important meeting in a generation, U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of the 27 other member nations are deciding how to retool the Cold War-era military alliance to face a daunting range of modern threats, from a hostile Kremlin to religious-fueled violence and attacks in cyberspace.

Merkel says Eastern European countries unsettled by Russia Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:06 AM PDT BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel says that Russia's conflict with Ukraine has deeply unsettled NATO's Eastern European member states and that the Baltic states and Poland therefore "need a clear reassurance by the alliance."

US moves to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan aids allies Posted: 07 Jul 2016 12:30 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's decision to slow the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will be welcomed at the NATO summit this weekend, providing aid for allied forces in the country and bolstering U.S. efforts to get more pledges of support for the war from U.S. allies.

Iraq war decision justified: Australia's Howard Posted: 06 Jul 2016 10:18 PM PDT Former Australian leader John Howard Thursday defended his decision to go to war with Iraq alongside the United States and Britain, saying it was justified at the time and there was "no lie". Howard, prime minister from 1996 to 2007 and considered with Blair to be George W. Bush's staunchest ally in the US-led invasion, said he regretted the loss of life but stood by his decision. "I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I don't resile from that because I thought it was the right decision," he told a press conference in Sydney.

Former army chief warns Australia not to 'blindly' follow US Posted: 06 Jul 2016 09:02 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A former Australian army chief on Thursday warned Australia against "blindly going along with" the United States after an inquiry was critical of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.

How Michael Bay's 'The Rock' Was Used to Justify War in Iraq Posted: 06 Jul 2016 09:00 PM PDT The newly published Iraq War Report claims British intelligence may have ripped off the plot of the action thriller to help justify military intervention.

Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT Posted: 06 Jul 2016 08:59 PM PDT NEW DELHI (AP) — A Bangladeshi politician whose son was one of the Dhaka restaurant attackers said Wednesday that many young men from educated families have been missing like his son was for several months before carrying out the deadly attack. Two police officers and 20 hostages — nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian and three students at American universities — were killed in the weekend siege at an upscale restaurant in the capital's diplomatic zone. Authorities have said security forces killed six of the attackers and freed 13 hostages in the rescue operation Saturday morning. It was the worst in a recent series of militant attacks in Bangladesh, and the escalating violence has raised global concerns about whether the South Asian country can cope with increasingly strident Islamist militants.

#AskAntony trends as Australia falls into existential crisis Posted: 06 Jul 2016 06:27 PM PDT It has been days since Australia voted in its federal election, but still no winner has been declared. The frustration is real, so the country is doing what it does. Namely, making funny jokes on social media. Antony Green, ABC's election analyst, is Australia's version of Paul the psychic octopus. He has a pretty good record of picking winners, and helpfully, he has a website that asks one simple question: "Has Antony Green called the election"  The answer for days now has been an emphatic, "No." SEE ALSO: Australian election won by sausage outrage, Harambe and uncertainty Luckily, there are plenty of other questions you can ask Green. The #AskAntony hashtag has been hijacked by Twitter users to express the debilitating case of cabin fever that has taken hold nationwide. In other words, they're asking life's puzzling questions of a perpetually negative Green. Is he wearing any pants, for example? Nope. Is "fetch" a catchword yet? How about the war in Iraq. A good idea? Got religion? Science is hard, guys. Is Green interested in your existential crisis? How bad are leggings, huh? Green plays Pokémon Go , actually. Never change Australia, you ridiculous place.

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