Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• The Latest: Trump vows to clean up Washington
• Oil edges up as analysts say market could be closer to balance than expected
• U.S. State Dept official 'pressured' FBI to declassify Clinton email -FBI documents
• Iraqi refugee pleads guilty to trying to help Islamic State
• Mosul is more than a potentially climactic military battle
• Mosul offensive provides a pre-election boon for Obama
• Mosul operation to test UN humanitarian efforts
• FBI records: Effort to reduce Clinton email classification
• FBI and State Department Deny Working Together in a 'Quid Pro Quo' to Declassify Clinton Email
• Iraqis push toward IS-held Mosul in long-awaited offensive
• In the battle for Mosul, Islamic State is its own worst enemy
• BATTLE FOR MOSUL
• Iraqi forces 'ahead of schedule' in Mosul: Pentagon
• German defense minister says Berlin is ready to expand military role
• Russia announces brief Aleppo truce as EU warns of 'war crimes'
• Saudi Arabia says prepared for ceasefire in Yemen if Houthis agree
• The Latest: Mosul operation will test humanitarian efforts
• U.S. forces behind front lines in Iraq's battle to retake Mosul
• Battle for Mosul: a key test for US military strategy
• Russia sets brief cease-fire for Aleppo as strikes kill 36
• Iraq launches Mosul offensive, but bombs slow progress
• As Iraq's battle for Mosul surges, aid workers gird for uncertainties ahead
• 14 migrant children arriving in UK from Calais migrant camp
• In a shock to no one, September was warmest such month on record
• U.S. air strikes pound Libya's Sirte to oust IS militants
• Fears of abuse as Iraq Shi'ite fighters set to storm city
• U.S. air strikes pound Libya's Sirte to oust Islamic State militants
• Iraq's traumatized minorities: a test of unity after Mosul offensive
• The Limits of Chinese Isolationism
• 100,000 Iraqis may flee Mosul for Syria, Turkey: U.N.
• Jordan: Activists seek stiffer sentences for honor killings
• Battle for Mosul sparks fears of humanitarian crisis
• Large numbers may start fleeing Mosul in under a week: UN
• Turkey says ready for 'hundreds of thousands' who may flee Mosul
• Russia foreign ministry: Syria talks could continue in 'Lausanne format' - RIA
• AP PHOTOS: Iraqi forces march on Mosul
• Tactics in the battle for Iraq's Mosul

The Latest: Trump vows to clean up Washington Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:39 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

Oil edges up as analysts say market could be closer to balance than expected Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:39 PM PDT Oil prices rose early on Tuesday as some analysts said markets might not be quite as oversupplied as suggested by many, with global inventories rising less than expected ahead of the high-demand winter heating season in the northern hemisphere. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 27 cents at $50.21 a barrel. Traders said prices were receiving support from the notion that oil markets, which have been dogged by oversupply for two years, may be closer to balance than previously anticipated.

U.S. State Dept official 'pressured' FBI to declassify Clinton email -FBI documents Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:25 PM PDT By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior State Department official sought to shield Hillary Clinton last year by pressuring the FBI to drop its insistence that an email on the private server she used while secretary of state contained classified information, according to records of interviews with FBI officials released on Monday. The accusation against Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's most senior manager, appears in the latest release of interview summaries from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's year-long investigation into Clinton's sending and receiving classified government secrets via her unauthorized server. Although the FBI decided against declassifying the email's contents, the claim of interference added fuel to Republicans' belief that officials in President Barack Obama's administration have sought to protect Clinton, a Democrat, from criminal liability as she seeks to succeed Obama in the Nov. 8 election.

Iraqi refugee pleads guilty to trying to help Islamic State Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:56 PM PDT HOUSTON (AP) — An Iraqi refugee who authorities say wanted to set off bombs at two Houston malls pleaded guilty Monday to trying to help the Islamic State group.

Mosul is more than a potentially climactic military battle Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — More is riding on the battle for Mosul than the recapture of the Islamic State group's main stronghold in northern Iraq. Also on the line is the Obama administration's theory that the extremists can be defeated in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere without American ground troops doing the fighting.

Mosul offensive provides a pre-election boon for Obama Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:08 PM PDT The battle for Mosul is a chance for President Barack Obama to claim an election-year victory over the Islamic State group in Iraq and offset failures in Syria. Ask the White House about the slow motion catastrophe in Syria and, more likely than not, officials will talk about the different -- if related -- problem of the Islamic State group. With the battle to retake Mosul kicking off Monday, the Obama administration now really has something to talk about.

Mosul operation to test UN humanitarian efforts Posted: 17 Oct 2016 03:47 PM PDT The military operation to wrest Mosul from the Islamic State group could potentially become the single largest, most complex humanitarian operation in the world in 2016, a U.N. official said Monday.

FBI records: Effort to reduce Clinton email classification Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:42 PM PDT A senior State Department official asked the FBI last year to help reduce the classification of an email from Hillary Clinton's private server, according to FBI investigative files made public Monday. ...

FBI and State Department Deny Working Together in a 'Quid Pro Quo' to Declassify Clinton Email Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:00 PM PDT The State Department and FBI are categorically denying that they negotiated any "quid pro quo" to declassify a Benghazi-related email found on Hillary Clinton's private email server, as newly-released FBI documents show what was allegedly discussed. The new documents, which are detailed notes of FBI interviews during the investigation into Clinton's private server, further describe how the State Department "pressured" other agencies into declassifying emails those agencies believed should have been kept secret. Around spring of last year, under secretary for management at the State Department, Patrick F. Kennedy, called a now-retired official with the FBI's International Operations Division (IOD).

Iraqis push toward IS-held Mosul in long-awaited offensive Posted: 17 Oct 2016 01:53 PM PDT KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — The long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group began Monday with a volley of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and heavy artillery bombardments on a cluster of villages along the edge of Iraq's historic Nineveh plain east of the militant-held city.

In the battle for Mosul, Islamic State is its own worst enemy Posted: 17 Oct 2016 01:45 PM PDT Now that Iraq and its allies have begun to retake Mosul from Islamic State (IS), it is worth pointing out that the real battle for Iraq's second-largest city is not simply one of superior warfare or territorial control. Long before the bombs started to explode over Mosul, the militant group was imploding in its largest stronghold – mostly of its own making. To be sure, IS has lost many of its battlefield commanders to targeted bombing by the United States inside the group's self-proclaimed caliphate covering parts of Iraq and Syria.

BATTLE FOR MOSUL Posted: 17 Oct 2016 01:10 PM PDT Graphic shows the geography and strategies so far for taking Mosul, Iraq from the Islamic State group; 4c x 5 inches; 195.7 mm x 127 mm;

Iraqi forces 'ahead of schedule' in Mosul: Pentagon Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:53 PM PDT Iraqi security forces were "ahead of schedule" after the first day of an offensive for the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, a Pentagon official said Monday. A US-led coalition has for months been helping train Iraqi forces for the fight for Mosul -- the last IS stronghold in Iraq -- and the military offensive finally got underway early Monday. "Early indications are that Iraqi forces have met their objectives so far, and that they are ahead of schedule for this first day," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

German defense minister says Berlin is ready to expand military role Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:40 PM PDT By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that Germany was ready to play a larger military role than in the past in the service of closer European defense cooperation. Isolation and self-blockades will not solve the problems we face in the world, in Europe, or here in our country," von der Leyen told a biennial gathering of 200 top military officials, citing Russia's more aggressive actions, the ravages of the Syrian war and brewing challenges in Africa. "Germany is ready to engage ... to take more responsibility," she said.

Russia announces brief Aleppo truce as EU warns of 'war crimes' Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:33 PM PDT Russia Monday announced an eight-hour "humanitarian" ceasefire in Aleppo later this week, as the EU warned that the Syrian regime's Moscow-backed assault on the city could amount to war crimes. The United Nations and European Union welcomed the announcement, but said Thursday's planned pause in fighting needed to be longer to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. "We have taken a decision not to waste time and to introduce 'humanitarian pauses', mainly for the free passage of civilians, evacuation of the sick and wounded and withdrawal of fighters," senior Russian military officer Sergei Rudskoi said in Moscow.

Saudi Arabia says prepared for ceasefire in Yemen if Houthis agree Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:59 AM PDT By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is prepared to agree to a ceasefire in Yemen if the Iran-allied Houthis agree, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday, adding that he was skeptical about efforts for peace after previous ceasefire attempts had failed. The Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen has faced heavy criticism since an air strike this month on a funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that killed 140 people according to a United Nations' estimate and 82 according to the Houthis. "Everybody wants a ceasefire in Yemen, nobody more so than the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the coalition members." He accused the Houthis of reneging on previous deals.

The Latest: Mosul operation will test humanitarian efforts Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:50 AM PDT IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Latest developments in Iraq's operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State group (all times local):

U.S. forces behind front lines in Iraq's battle to retake Mosul Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:22 AM PDT The Pentagon on Monday played down any new role for U.S. forces in Iraq's battle to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State, saying American personnel were behind the forward line of troops and acting in an advisory role to support Iraqis. "Americans are again playing an advisor role, an enabler role for these Iraqi forces ... Most of the American forces in Iraq are not anywhere close to the front line," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing, saying many U.S. troops were on advisory or logistical support missions.

Battle for Mosul: a key test for US military strategy Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:15 AM PDT The Mosul offensive is a critical test for the Pentagon's strategy against the Islamic State group, which relies on local forces and keeping as many Americans as possible away from combat. After IS overran large parts of Iraq and Syria in early 2014, the United States formed a coalition that launched an air campaign to strike the Sunni extremists and to train local, partnered forces to do the fighting. The anti-IS coalition is made up of 65 nations, about a dozen of which have conducted air strikes in Iraq or Syria.

Russia sets brief cease-fire for Aleppo as strikes kill 36 Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:02 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Russian and Syrian forces will halt hostilities for eight hours in the eastern districts of Aleppo, Russia's military announced on Monday, a day on which opposition activists said their airstrikes killed at least 36 people, including several children, in and around the divided city.

Iraq launches Mosul offensive, but bombs slow progress Posted: 17 Oct 2016 10:03 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a long-awaited offensive Monday to drive the Islamic State group out of the country's second largest city, Mosul, but the operation could take weeks, if not months, and many fear a humanitarian crisis.

As Iraq's battle for Mosul surges, aid workers gird for uncertainties ahead Posted: 17 Oct 2016 10:00 AM PDT As the long anticipated battle for Mosul gets under way, Iraq faces two critical tests: whether it can deliver a major blow to the Islamic State's "caliphate" with a cohesive military force – while also protecting citizens stuck in the middle of a fight seen as potentially transformative for the country. Artillery fire and coalition aircraft pounded positions of the so-called Islamic State overnight. Within hours of breaking through the IS frontline at 6 a.m., Kurdish peshmerga forces advancing on three fronts seized half a dozen villages, paving the way for Iraqi Army and police units to advance to the city.

14 migrant children arriving in UK from Calais migrant camp Posted: 17 Oct 2016 09:48 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — Fourteen children left a border refugee camp in northern France on Monday to be settled with relatives in Britain — the first of dozens of children from the Calais encampment expected to come to the country this week.

In a shock to no one, September was warmest such month on record Posted: 17 Oct 2016 09:28 AM PDT The planet's hot streak is crawling to a temporary end, but it's not over quite yet. September was the hottest such month on record, according to NASA, coming in at 0.91 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above average. This marks nearly a year straight of record heat, according to NASA, with 11 of the past 12 months ranking as the warmest on record. September's record warmth assures that 2016 will be the warmest calendar year on record, taking over the top spot from 2015. SEE ALSO: Stuck on record warm: Earth has unprecedented 16-straight warmest months September only narrowly beat the previous warmest September, which occurred in 2014, making it a statistical tie, according to NASA.  According to a press release, September 2016's global average temperature was just 0.004 degrees Celsius, or 0.0072 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than September 2014.  With data now available through September, 2016 annual record (~1.25ºC above late 19th C) seems locked in. pic.twitter.com/Btp3Vutakn — Gavin Schmidt (@ClimateOfGavin) October 17, 2016 September's temperature anomaly was considerably lower than that for other months in 2016, which blew away historical benchmarks. July of this year was not only the hottest July, but also the hottest month the planet has seen since instrument records began in 1880.  That milestone was tied in August, which beat the previous record for that month by 0.15 degrees Celsius, or 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit. Of the 11 record warm months in NASA's database, seven had temperature anomalies that were at or greater than 1-degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 20th century average. Before this warm streak, this monthly threshold had never been crossed before.  To climate scientists, such a threshold is significant particularly because world leaders are seeking to limit global warming to at or below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, below preindustrial levels through 2100. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which also keeps global temperature records, there have been 16 straight warmest months (September could become the 17th straight month of record warmth), which is unprecedented.  The September record virtually eliminates any doubt that 2016 will beat last year for the title of the warmest year on record.  Climate extremes seen during record warm year The record warm streak was caused primarily by human-caused global warming, which is increasing global average temperatures over the long-term. In addition, a strong El Niño event helped heighten global average surface temperatures further.  "We continue to stress that while monthly rankings are newsworthy, they are not nearly as important as long-term trends,"  NASA's Gavin Schmidt, who directs the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, said in a statement.  The monthly analysis comes from data gleaned from about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations.  The reading for September is preliminary, with adjustments possible as more information comes in. For example, NASA announced Monday that the June temperature record had been revised downward to make it the third-warmest such month on record. Had this revision not been made, September would have marked a solid year straight of warmest months. The extraordinarily warm year of 2016 has brought flood disasters to the U.S. — the most recent of which devastated parts of North Carolina — as well as in China. The flooding in North Carolina, which was the result of Hurricane Matthew combined with previous heavy rainfall earlier in the year, has broken all-time records in many locations in that state. Kyle Hawley, right, and Trey Wood, pilot their boat through the flooded streets of their neighborhood in Greenville, N.C. on  Oct. 12, 2016. Image: Brian Blanco/AP Typically hot locations, such as India, Kuwait and Iraq, set new benchmarks for what constitutes their hottest days.  Meanwhile, the world's oceans have been suffering through the longest-lasting global coral bleaching event on record, which is now expected to last into 2017. Meanwhile in the Arctic, both the Northwest and Northeast Passages were open for navigation, with a massive cruise ship passing through the Northwest Passage for the first time, carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew.  In addition, a small sailboat has nearly completed its circumnavigation of the Arctic, during which it passed through both the Northeast and Northwest Passage in a bid to raise awareness of climate change impacts. During much of its voyage the crew saw little to no sea ice. Arctic sea ice hit the second-lowest level on record, which continues the long-term trend toward a seasonally ice-free Arctic.

U.S. air strikes pound Libya's Sirte to oust IS militants Posted: 17 Oct 2016 09:04 AM PDT U.S. aircraft hit Islamic State targets with more 30 strikes over the last three days on the Libyan city of Sirte as pro-government forces push into its last militant-held districts, the U.S. military said on Monday. Libyan forces are close to ending a six-month campaign to liberate Sirte from Islamic State, which took over the city more than a year after taking advantage of factional infighting that emerged after the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Fears of abuse as Iraq Shi'ite fighters set to storm city Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:37 AM PDT By Babak Dehghanpisheh DAQUQ (Reuters) - Shi'ite irregulars will help storm a smaller city in northern Iraq while government troops launch their upcoming offensive against Islamic State's biggest stronghold Mosul, raising fears among Iraqi officials and aid workers of sectarian retribution. The decision to steer the Popular Mobilisation Forces away from Mosul to Hawija 100 km (60 miles) away is intended to ease sectarian animosity during the fight for Mosul, expected to be the biggest battle in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The PMF units, formed from Shi'ite militia groups who now have official status from Baghdad, have been accused by the United Nations and others of carrying out killings and kidnappings in some other areas freed from Islamic State.

U.S. air strikes pound Libya's Sirte to oust Islamic State militants Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:35 AM PDT U.S. aircraft hit Islamic State targets with more 30 strikes over the last three days on the Libyan city of Sirte as pro-government forces push into its last militant-held districts, the U.S. military said on Monday. Libyan forces are close to ending a six-month campaign to liberate Sirte from Islamic State, which took over the city more than a year after taking advantage of factional infighting that emerged after the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Iraq's traumatized minorities: a test of unity after Mosul offensive Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:18 AM PDT Abboush says some members of his community, one of Iraq's many religious and ethnic minorities, were abandoned to their fate when the jihadists swept through northern Iraq two years ago. Now his fighters are determined to protect Christian towns and villages in the Mosul region without relying on anyone else, while Iraqi government troops and other forces launch their offensive to regain the city nearby. Ancient minorities have always been an integral part of Iraq's complex social fabric.

The Limits of Chinese Isolationism Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:12 AM PDT BEIJING—On August 20, Chinese state media published a travel dispatch from Sulayman Mountain, a pilgrimage site popular with tourists in Kyrgyzstan's Osh region. The piece traced the path of the "One Belt One Road" (OBOR) policy, an ambitious plan launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to invest billions of Chinese renminbi in infrastructure and development along the path from Beijing to Istanbul. It's a corridor that runs through restive states like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Kyrgyzstan, though, was filled with friendly locals eager to engage with China, the report (titled "China Love on Kyrgyzstan's Holy Mountain") boasted, from a 17-year-old street vendor who proudly showed off his shirt's "Made in China" label, to thousands of students learning Mandarin at Kyrgyz universities.

100,000 Iraqis may flee Mosul for Syria, Turkey: U.N. Posted: 17 Oct 2016 07:40 AM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Up to 100,000 Iraqis may flee to Syria and Turkey to escape the Iraqi government's assault aimed at ousting Islamic State from the northern city of Mosul, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Monday. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees issued an appeal for an additional $61 million to provide tents, camps, winter items and stoves for displaced inside Iraq and new refugees needing shelter in the two neighboring countries.

Jordan: Activists seek stiffer sentences for honor killings Posted: 17 Oct 2016 07:38 AM PDT AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Rights activists in Jordan called Monday for stiffer punishment for violence in the family, after four women and a man were killed in "honor crimes" in just over a week.

Battle for Mosul sparks fears of humanitarian crisis Posted: 17 Oct 2016 07:00 AM PDT The battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from jihadists could unleash a massive humanitarian crisis, potentially pushing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes as winter sets in. Mosul, the country's second city, was seized by the Islamic State group in 2014, and is now the last major population centre in Iraq still held by the jihadists, who have lost much of the territory they seized two years ago. The city has a civilian population that numbers in the hundreds of thousands at least, and the only other operation to retake a city that had a significant number of inhabitants -- in Fallujah earlier this year -- led to widespread displacement and suffering for those who fled.

Large numbers may start fleeing Mosul in under a week: UN Posted: 17 Oct 2016 06:59 AM PDT Arbil (Iraq) (AFP) - A senior United Nations official on Monday quoted the Iraqi military as saying that large numbers of people may start fleeing fighting in the Mosul area in less than a week.

Turkey says ready for 'hundreds of thousands' who may flee Mosul Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:27 AM PDT By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is ready for hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Iraqi city of Mosul if a U.S.-backed operation to drive out Islamic State fuels sectarian violence, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday. Iraqi government forces, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition, launched the long-anticipated offensive early on Monday to push the jihadist group out of Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq. Turkey has repeatedly said that letting Shi'ite militias, which the Iraqi army has relied on in the past, take part in the assault on the mainly Sunni Arab city could spark sectarian violence.

Russia foreign ministry: Syria talks could continue in 'Lausanne format' - RIA Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:25 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia believes that Syria peace talks could continue in the "Lausanne format", RIA news agency quoted Russia's Foreign Ministry as saying on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and seven foreign ministers from the region - from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt - in Lausanne on Saturday. The meeting took place weeks after the collapse of a painstakingly crafted U.S.-Russian ceasefire plan that many saw as the last hope for peace this year. It ended without a breakthrough. ...

AP PHOTOS: Iraqi forces march on Mosul Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:06 AM PDT KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — Armored convoys roared down desert highways and plumes of black smoke rose in the distance as Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a long-awaited operation on Monday to drive the Islamic State group from Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Tactics in the battle for Iraq's Mosul Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:33 AM PDT Iraqi security forces have launched a final push to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, which seized the country's second city more than two years ago. Iraqi forces will fight their way to Mosul and then seek to encircle the city before launching an attack inside it -- tactics they have used in operations to retake other IS-held cities including Ramadi and Tikrit. The eventual assault into Mosul will likely be led by Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service, which has spearheaded most operations against the jihadists.

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