Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Russia: Syria meeting aims to isolate Nusra extremists
• Milwaukee men accused of trying to join Islamic State group
• Two Wisconsin men charged with trying to join Islamic State
• Pro-govt gains in Aleppo ahead of key Syria talks
• Missouri Senate race not strange this time, just competitive
• Syria ceasefire relaunch to be discussed in Lausanne, Russia deputy foreign min tells RIA
• Raising tensions, Turkey prepares for post-IS Mosul
• Iraqi special forces arrive outside militant-held Mosul
• Oregon man gets 4 plus years in Iraq contract-steering case
• Aleppo rebels outgunned but confident as siege bites
• Chicago Tribune endorses Duckworth, cites Kirk's health
• Islamic State kills 12 military personnel in Egypt's Sinai
• Presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq angers Baghdad
• Gunmen kill 3 Pakistani paramilitary troops in Quetta
• Turkey determined to play role in planned Mosul offensive: Erdogan
• Merkel turns to Africa to curb mass migrant flow
• Erdogan warns of 'plan B' over Mosul offensive
• Fuel aid halt suggests deeper Saudi-Egyptian rift
• Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation
• Erdogan says Turkey determined to take part in operation in Iraq's Mosul
• Militants kill 12 military personnel in Egypt's Sinai
• Slovak police charge five with smuggling migrants to Germany, Italy
• Exclusive: Islamic State crushes rebellion plot in Mosul as army closes in
• Obama Has Just Turned Yemen into Another Middle East Quagmire
• Hollywood's Next Big Thing: Joe Alwyn, From Film Student to Star of 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'

Russia: Syria meeting aims to isolate Nusra extremists Posted: 14 Oct 2016 03:50 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A key aim of this weekend's high-level meeting on Syria is to get countries that support moderate opposition groups to use their influence to work for a new cease-fire, Russia's U.N. ambassador said Friday.

Milwaukee men accused of trying to join Islamic State group Posted: 14 Oct 2016 03:17 PM PDT MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two Milwaukee men were charged in federal court Friday with trying to join the Islamic State group by traveling through Mexico to Syria.

Two Wisconsin men charged with trying to join Islamic State Posted: 14 Oct 2016 02:34 PM PDT Two Wisconsin men have been charged with attempting to travel overseas to join the Islamic State militant group, the Justice Department said on Friday. Jason Michael Ludke, 35, and Yosvany Padylla-Conde, 30, both from Milwaukee, were arrested near San Angelo, Texas, allegedly while trying to travel to Mexico where they intended to acquire documents necessary to travel overseas to join Islamic State, the department said in a news release. The two men are among numerous people arrested in the United States in the last two years on accusations by authorities of planning to join Islamic State, which controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Pro-govt gains in Aleppo ahead of key Syria talks Posted: 14 Oct 2016 01:15 PM PDT Syrian pro-government forces used intense air strikes as cover for an advance in the battleground city of Aleppo on Friday, ahead of fresh diplomatic efforts to end the country's intractable conflict. The United States and Russia, which support opposite sides in the five-year war, will meet in Switzerland on Saturday to try to resurrect the peace process. Moscow has faced rising international criticism over its backing for President Bashar al-Assad's onslaught in divided Aleppo, including Western accusations of possible war crimes.

Missouri Senate race not strange this time, just competitive Posted: 14 Oct 2016 01:01 PM PDT ST. LOUIS (AP) — Four years after a strange campaign kept one Missouri Senate seat in Democratic hands, the party is hoping to capitalize on anti-incumbent sentiment and claim the other.

Syria ceasefire relaunch to be discussed in Lausanne, Russia deputy foreign min tells RIA Posted: 14 Oct 2016 12:23 PM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - The relaunch of a ceasefire in Syria is expected to be discussed at a meeting on Syria in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Saturday, RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bodganov as saying on Friday. He added that he had called for representatives of Iran, Iraq and Egypt to join the meeting as well, RIA reported. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova)

Raising tensions, Turkey prepares for post-IS Mosul Posted: 14 Oct 2016 12:15 PM PDT Raising tensions with Iraq ahead of the planned US-backed operation by Iraqi troops to retake Mosul from Islamic State (IS) jihadists, Turkey is seeking to have its say over who controls and lives in the city once the extremists are ousted. Ruled for nearly half a millennium by the Ottoman Empire, Mosul is considered by mainly Sunni Muslim Turkey to be part of its natural sphere of influence in the Middle East. Ankara is watching uneasily the potential involvement of Shiite and Kurdish militia in the offensive, insisting that Mosul must keep its Sunni Arab Muslim majority as before IS took over the city from woefully unprepared Iraqi troops in 2014.

Iraqi special forces arrive outside militant-held Mosul Posted: 14 Oct 2016 11:25 AM PDT KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — A few hundred Iraqi special forces arrived Friday at the front line near militant-held Mosul, one small part of a series of troop movements that have massed thousands of soldiers ahead of an operation seeking to retake the country's second-largest city from the Islamic State group.

Oregon man gets 4 plus years in Iraq contract-steering case Posted: 14 Oct 2016 10:32 AM PDT ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former State Department employee has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for helping to steer $2 million in government contracts to a company half-owned by his son.

Aleppo rebels outgunned but confident as siege bites Posted: 14 Oct 2016 10:30 AM PDT By Tom Perry and Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - A senior rebel commander said on Friday that Syrian government forces would never be able to capture Aleppo's opposition-held east, more than three weeks into a ferocious offensive, but a military source said the operation was going as planned. Russian air strikes were proving of little help to government ground forces in urban warfare, the deputy commander of the Fastaqim rebel group in Aleppo said. While air strikes have pounded much of the city, they have avoided frontlines where the sides are fighting in close proximity, apparently out of fear they could hit the wrong side, he said.

Chicago Tribune endorses Duckworth, cites Kirk's health Posted: 14 Oct 2016 10:15 AM PDT SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Tribune endorsed Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth for the U.S. Senate on Friday, arguing that incumbent Republican Mark Kirk is unable to fully do the job due to his ongoing recovery from a 2012 stroke.

Islamic State kills 12 military personnel in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 14 Oct 2016 09:42 AM PDT Islamist militants killed 12 members of Egypt's military in North Sinai province and wounded six more in an attack on a checkpoint on Friday, the military said, adding that it killed 15 militants in return. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident, which took place 40 km (25 miles) from the town of Bir al-Abd, making it the first major attack in the central Sinai area, which had so far escaped the militant Islamists' campaign. "An armed group of terrorist elements attacked a security checkpoint in North Sinai this morning using four-wheel drives and were immediately engaged.

Presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq angers Baghdad Posted: 14 Oct 2016 09:30 AM PDT ZELKAN CAMP, Iraq (AP) — Tucked behind Bashiqa Mountain in northern Iraq, some 500 Turkish troops stationed alongside a local militia say they are training and arming Iraqi fighters to help defeat the Islamic State group. But their presence has strained relations between Iraq and Turkey and further complicated plans to retake the militant-held city of Mosul.

Gunmen kill 3 Pakistani paramilitary troops in Quetta Posted: 14 Oct 2016 09:04 AM PDT QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen riding on motorcycles in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta shot and killed three paramilitary officers on Friday before fleeing, an official said.

Turkey determined to play role in planned Mosul offensive: Erdogan Posted: 14 Oct 2016 08:43 AM PDT By Daren Butler and Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey is determined to take part in a planned operation by coalition forces to oust Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul and will implement a "plan B" if it is not involved, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. In a speech in the city of Konya, Erdogan said Turkey would make its desire to take part in the operation known to its international partners in the coming days. Ankara has been locked in a fierce row with Baghdad over who should take part in the U.S.-backed assault on Mosul, which is expected to begin this month.

Merkel turns to Africa to curb mass migrant flow Posted: 14 Oct 2016 08:35 AM PDT As Germany, Europe's top destination for people fleeing war and misery, looks to chair the G20 next year, she has pledged to step up efforts to help Africa and fight the causes of the mass migration. "I think we will need to take a vastly greater interest in the destiny of Africa," Merkel said at the start of her first major Africa trip in five years.

Erdogan warns of 'plan B' over Mosul offensive Posted: 14 Oct 2016 07:58 AM PDT President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Friday to resort to a "plan B" if Turkey's forces do not take part in the planned major US-backed offensive by the Iraqi army to free Mosul from jihadists. "We are determined to take our place among the coalition forces in Iraq for Iraq's unity. If the coalition forces do not want Turkey, we will engage a plan B. If that doesn't work, we will engage plan C," Erdogan said during a speech in the Anatolian city of Konya.

Fuel aid halt suggests deeper Saudi-Egyptian rift Posted: 14 Oct 2016 07:31 AM PDT By Lin Noueihed and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - A halt to shipments of Saudi fuel to Egypt under a $23 billion aid deal shows that a rift between the Arab world's richest country and its most populous may be deeper than previously thought, which could leave Egypt desperate for a new sponsor. Under the deal, signed during a visit by the Saudi king in April, Riyadh was meant to send 700,000 tonnes a month of refined fuel to Egypt. The agreement threw a lifeline to Cairo and was meant to bury suggestions that the relationship had unraveled.

Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation Posted: 14 Oct 2016 07:04 AM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is determined to take part in a possible operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, despite calls from Iraq for Turkey to withdraw its troops.

Erdogan says Turkey determined to take part in operation in Iraq's Mosul Posted: 14 Oct 2016 06:52 AM PDT Turkey is determined to take part in a planned operation by coalition forces against Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Mosul and will implement a "plan B" if it is not involved, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. In a speech in the city of Konya that was broadcast live, Erdogan said Turkey would make its desire to take part in the coalition operation known to its international partners in the coming days. Turkey has been locked in a fierce row with Iraq over who should take part in the U.S.-backed assault on Mosul, which is expected to begin this month.

Militants kill 12 military personnel in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 14 Oct 2016 06:10 AM PDT Suspected Islamic State gunmen killed 12 members of Egypt's military in North Sinai province and wounded six more in an attack on a checkpoint on Friday, the military said, adding that it killed 15 militants in return. The incident took place 40 km (25 miles) from the town of Bir al-Abd, making it the first major attack in the central Sinai area, which had so far escaped the militant Islamists' campaign. "An armed group of terrorist elements attacked a security checkpoint in North Sinai this morning using four-wheel drives and were immediately engaged.

Slovak police charge five with smuggling migrants to Germany, Italy Posted: 14 Oct 2016 05:43 AM PDT Five Slovaks are facing charges of smuggling at least 300 illegal migrants last year from Hungary to western Europe, mostly to Germany and Italy, Slovakian police said on Friday. Police said they hid migrants from Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan in customized cars from Slovak and Czech rental companies and charged each of them 500-1,000 euros ($550-$1,100). Slovakia has not been a principal route for the hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa who have sought to reach richer parts of the EU via the Balkans and Hungary over the past two years.

Exclusive: Islamic State crushes rebellion plot in Mosul as army closes in Posted: 14 Oct 2016 03:25 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State has crushed a rebellion plot in Mosul, led by one of the group's commanders who aimed to switch sides and help deliver the caliphate's Iraqi capital to government forces, residents and Iraqi security officials said. Islamic State (IS) executed 58 people suspected of taking part in the plot after it was uncovered last week. Among them was a local aide of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who led the plotters, according to matching accounts given by five residents, by Hisham al-Hashimi, an expert on IS affairs that advises the government in Baghdad and by colonel Ahmed al-Taie, from Mosul's Nineveh province Operation Command's military intelligence.

Obama Has Just Turned Yemen into Another Middle East Quagmire Posted: 14 Oct 2016 02:15 AM PDT When a U.S. vessel off the coast of Yemen fired on Houthi rebels Thursday, it sent another of the Obama administration's delicate balancing acts in the Middle East off the rails. It has since chided the Saudis from time to time – weakly and ineffectively -- while indirectly supporting their savage and apparently indiscriminate bombing campaign against the Houthi who Riyadh casts (inaccurately) as creatures of the Shi'a regime in Tehran. As of Thursday, Obama is certain to serve it, piping hot, to his successor in November.

Hollywood's Next Big Thing: Joe Alwyn, From Film Student to Star of 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Posted: 13 Oct 2016 09:00 PM PDT The actor was attending college in London when he tried out for Ang Lee's film adaptation, landing his first role — ever — in a span of just a few weeks: "It happened incredibly quickly."

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