Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Top Asian News 12:53 a.m. GMT
• Libya forces free five foreign captives from Islamic State in Sirte
• Turkey ramps up fight against Kurdish fighters in Syria
• Iraqi special forces join battle for Mosul, US soldier dies
• US service member killed by roadside bomb in northern Iraq
• Most Syrian refugees arriving in US are kids; schools adapt
• Iraq forces make gains against IS near Mosul
• The Latest: EU leaders want more migrants deported
• Mosul Today: Iraqi special forces push into IS-held town
• Austrian rightwinger riles former EU boss Barroso in testy debate
• ICRC steps up aid for Iraq amid fears of post-Mosul sectarian strife
• US service member killed north of Mosul: defense official
• What to expect in the fight for Mosul
• The Latest: Catholic leader in Kansas criticizes Kaine
• UK sends warships to watch Russian ships in English Channel
• Mosul offensive going faster than planned, Iraqi PM says
• BATTLE FOR MOSUL
• U.S. service member killed in northern Iraq: military statement
• Seeking to block rival, Abbas calls for Fatah, PLO elections
• Iraqis flee IS-held Mosul for war-torn Syria
• Assange, Ecuador's awkward guest who just won't leave
• The Latest: US soldier dies of wounds from bombing in Iraq
• Operation to Liberate Mosul Advancing 'More Quickly' Than Expected, Iraqi Prime Minister Says
• Locals Are Saving an Enormous Tropical Fish From Extinction
• Donald Trump most discussed on Twitter during final debate
• World diplomats seek post-battle plan for IS bastion Mosul
• The Latest: Trump says he'll honor results - if he wins
• Headscarves worn in first Middle East FIFA women's tourney
• US imposes sanctions on Hezbollah commander, financiers
• US, Saudi Arabia blacklist Hezbollah members, financiers
• Iraq forces retake town east of Mosul: commander
• 50 years on, a Welsh village remembers a disaster
• Israel indicts couple who traveled to Mosul to join IS
• Deadly Turkish raids on US-backed Syrian Kurd fighters
• Artist sues Trump campaign over Skittles tweet about Syrian refugees
• Baghdad's Finest: A look at Iraq's vaunted special forces
• Iraqi general: Special forces retake town less than 10 kilometers from IS-held city of Mosul
• Iraqi Kurds battle IS shadows in Mosul push
• Nepal lifts ban on allowing migrant workers to Afghanistan
• Germany tries teenage girl accused of stabbing policeman on Islamic State orders

Top Asian News 12:53 a.m. GMT Posted: 20 Oct 2016 05:53 PM PDT MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The bodies terrified Betchie Salvador, because she always knew her husband could be next. They had begun turning up in cities all over the Philippines ever since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a controversial war on drugs this year — so many that one local newspaper had to create a "Kill List" just to keep track. Dealers and addicts were being shot by police or slain by unidentified gunmen in mysterious, gangland-style murders. Their bodies ended up dumped on highways in the rain, curled in pools of blood in the slums. Some were found tied up, with masking tape plastered across their faces.

Libya forces free five foreign captives from Islamic State in Sirte Posted: 20 Oct 2016 03:35 PM PDT Libyan pro-government forces have freed five foreign nationals held by Islamic State in Sirte after heavy fighting in their battle to capture the final district of the city, a local official said on Thursday. Islamic State took over Sirte more than a year ago, profiting from chaos caused by infighting among rival brigades of Libyan forces who once battled together to oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, but steadily turned against each other. Two of the freed foreigners were from Turkey, two from India and one from Bangladesh, said Rida Issa, a spokesman for the Bonyan Marsous forces which have been battling for six months against militants in Sirte.

Turkey ramps up fight against Kurdish fighters in Syria Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:55 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey escalated its offensive Thursday against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, pounding them with airstrikes and artillery, and complicating the battle against the Islamic State group by Ankara and Washington, both NATO allies.

Iraqi special forces join battle for Mosul, US soldier dies Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:47 PM PDT BARTELLA, Iraq (AP) — In a significant escalation of the battle for Mosul, elite Iraqi special forces joined the fight Thursday, unleashing a pre-dawn assault on an Islamic State-held town east of the besieged city, and the U.S. military announced the first American combat death since the operation began.

US service member killed by roadside bomb in northern Iraq Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:37 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military member assisting Iraqi forces in their push to retake Mosul was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday, marking the first American combat casualty in the campaign to oust the Islamic State group from its last major stronghold in northern Iraq.

Most Syrian refugees arriving in US are kids; schools adapt Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:34 PM PDT EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Seated at his desk at a suburban San Diego middle school, 12-year-old Abdulhamid Ashehneh tries not to let his mind wander to the painful memories of his life in civil war-torn Syria.

Iraq forces make gains against IS near Mosul Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:25 PM PDT Elite Iraqi forces retook a town on the eastern edge of Mosul on Thursday while Kurdish peshmerga fighters opened a new front in the offensive to wrest back the jihadists' last bastion in Iraq. France and Iraq were co-chairing the meeting on the future of Mosul, which observers have warned could raise even greater humanitarian and interconfessional challenges than the massive military operation to retake it. In some areas, the Iraqi advance was met by a trickle of civilians fleeing both the fighting and the jihadists who ruled them for two years, but the feared mass exodus from Mosul had yet to materialise.

The Latest: EU leaders want more migrants deported Posted: 20 Oct 2016 02:13 PM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Latest on Europe's response to the inflow of asylum-seekers and migrants to the continent (all times local):

Mosul Today: Iraqi special forces push into IS-held town Posted: 20 Oct 2016 01:32 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city.

Austrian rightwinger riles former EU boss Barroso in testy debate Posted: 20 Oct 2016 01:25 PM PDT Austrian presidential hopeful Norbert Hofer brushed off student protests on Thursday as he publicly debated immigration with former European Commission president Juan-Manuel Barroso. Barroso won applause from a packed auditorium at Geneva's Graduate Institute when he laid out the merits of migration and derided Hofer's call for "safe areas" in North Africa to process migrants, saying this reminded him of World War Two concentration camps. "It's always the same," sighed Hofer, who is preparing to contest a Dec. 4 election as the candidate of the right-wing Freedom party of Austria.

ICRC steps up aid for Iraq amid fears of post-Mosul sectarian strife Posted: 20 Oct 2016 01:20 PM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - As Iraqi families begin streaming out of villages in the path of an army offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State, some fear that the onslaught may stoke future sectarian strife in the volatile region, a senior Red Cross official said on Thursday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is prepared to provide aid to 800,000 people who could flee the looming battle for Mosul, including against any use of chemical weapons, said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC's deputy director for the Near and Middle East. Islamic State militants have used banned chemical agents previously against Iraqi Kurdish forces.

US service member killed north of Mosul: defense official Posted: 20 Oct 2016 12:20 PM PDT A member of the US military was killed Thursday in a bomb blast north of Mosul, a senior US defense official said, as Iraqi forces in the region continued their push on the city. The official told AFP that the service member had died in what were likely "Mosul-related" operations, but did not provide additional details. More than 100 US troops are advising Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga as they advance toward Mosul, the Islamic State group's last stronghold in Iraq, on multiple fronts.

What to expect in the fight for Mosul Posted: 20 Oct 2016 12:01 PM PDT The offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State jihadists has so far progressed faster than planners anticipated, but military experts fear the fighting could get tougher as US-backed Iraqi forces enter the city. - Will IS defend Mosul at any cost? Jihadists in Mosul are expected to put up a fierce fight.

The Latest: Catholic leader in Kansas criticizes Kaine Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:54 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

UK sends warships to watch Russian ships in English Channel Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:51 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — Britain has deployed warships to monitor a Russian aircraft carrier group and other vessels Thursday as they sailed through the North Sea and the English Channel reportedly en route to Syria's coast.

Mosul offensive going faster than planned, Iraqi PM says Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:40 AM PDT By Stephen Kalin and Babak Dehghanpisheh EAST AND NORTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The offensive to seize back Mosul from Islamic State is going faster than planned, Iraq's prime minister said on Thursday, as Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a new military operation to clear villages on the city's outskirts. Howitzer and mortar fire started at dawn, hitting a group of villages held by Islamic State about 10-20 km (6-12 miles) from Mosul, while helicopters flew overhead, according to Reuters reporters at two frontline locations north and east of Mosul. Hours later, the head of Iraq's Special Forces, Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, told reporters at a command center near the frontline that troops had surrounded Bartella and entered the center of the village.

BATTLE FOR MOSUL Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:39 AM PDT Graphic shows the geography and strategies so far for taking Mosul, Iraq from the Islamic State group.;

U.S. service member killed in northern Iraq: military statement Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:25 AM PDT A U.S. service member died on Thursday from wounds sustained in an improvised explosive device blast in northern Iraq, the U.S.-led military coalition said in a statement. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the incident took place near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Roughly 5,000 U.S. forces are in Iraq.

Seeking to block rival, Abbas calls for Fatah, PLO elections Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:15 AM PDT RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pushing for leadership elections in his Fatah movement and the PLO before the end of the year, as part of what senior officials say is largely an elaborate attempt to block the return of an exiled rival backed by several Arab states.

Iraqis flee IS-held Mosul for war-torn Syria Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:14 AM PDT Al-Hawl (Syria) (AFP) - At a refugee camp in Syria's Al-Hawl, 11-year-old Jawaher limps from a wound she sustained in an Islamic State group mortar attack while she and family were fleeing Iraq's Mosul.

Assange, Ecuador's awkward guest who just won't leave Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:09 AM PDT For Ecuador, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become the worst kind of guest: he makes messes he doesn't clean up, he spills secrets, he meddles, and there's no telling when he will leave. Four years after Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, the tension between host and guest is plain to see. Ecuador said Tuesday it has cut Assange's internet access because of leaks by his anti-secrecy website "impacting on the US election" -- a reference to the release of a damaging trove of hacked emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The Latest: US soldier dies of wounds from bombing in Iraq Posted: 20 Oct 2016 11:03 AM PDT BARTELLA, Iraq (AP) — The Latest on the campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group (all times local):

Operation to Liberate Mosul Advancing 'More Quickly' Than Expected, Iraqi Prime Minister Says Posted: 20 Oct 2016 10:50 AM PDT The operation to liberate Iraq's second largest city from the Islamic State is advancing "more quickly" than expected, Prime Minister Haider Alabadi said today as an Iraqi-led coalition of forces captured several more villages around Mosul. The peshmerga commanders told ABC News that this morning's operation aimed to clear more of the outlying villages around Mosul and to tighten the noose around the Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq. Meanwhile, to the south of Mosul, the Iraqi army is carefully pushing forward today.

Locals Are Saving an Enormous Tropical Fish From Extinction Posted: 20 Oct 2016 10:49 AM PDT Three decades ago, commercial overfishing decimated populations of the arapaima—the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world—in the meandering Juruá River in a remote area of Brazil's western Amazon. Now scientists report that among 83 lakes along a 310-mile stretch of the Juruá, populations of arapaima, an air-breathing fish that can grow over 10 feet long and weigh more than 400 pounds, have rapidly risen by several orders of magnitude when local communities controlled subsistence fishing and conservation efforts. Local management has improved the supply and security of a key source of protein for these small communities of four to 30 households while increasing annual income from legal sales of arapaima to about $1,050 per household, according to the study.

Donald Trump most discussed on Twitter during final debate Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:59 AM PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) — Donald Trump has dominated the Twitter conversation surrounding the third and final presidential debate.

World diplomats seek post-battle plan for IS bastion Mosul Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:56 AM PDT PARIS (AP) — Iraq's prime minister vowed Thursday to protect civilians fleeing the battle to oust Islamic State extremists from Mosul, as the offensive picked up speed and diplomats worked to ensure the gains are lasting — and that jihadists don't escape.

The Latest: Trump says he'll honor results - if he wins Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:51 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

Headscarves worn in first Middle East FIFA women's tourney Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:48 AM PDT A youth tournament in Jordan has quietly ushered in some advances in women's soccer.

US imposes sanctions on Hezbollah commander, financiers Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:38 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government on Thursday sanctioned a Hezbollah commander and a number of other operatives and financiers linked to the militant group who it said were working to destabilize the Middle East.

US, Saudi Arabia blacklist Hezbollah members, financiers Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:27 AM PDT The United States and Saudi Arabia Thursday imposed sanctions on alleged Hezbollah members and financial backers, accusing them of funneling money to the Lebanese militant group or engaging in terrorism. The US Treasury Department said it targeted four individuals and one company, effectively freezing their US assets and blocking any transactions with them, while also announcing related action by Saudi Arabia. In a related action, the US State Department also blacklisted alleged Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai, alias Abu Ali al-Tabatabai, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Iraq forces retake town east of Mosul: commander Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:26 AM PDT Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) on Thursday retook full control of Bartalla, a small Christian town to the east of Mosul which the Islamic State group seized two years ago. CTS commander Taleb Sheghati al-Kenani announced the jihadists' defeat in Bartalla on television from the town, which lies less than 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the eastern edge of Mosul. "I announce to the people of Bartalla and Mosul we have complete control over Bartalla.

50 years on, a Welsh village remembers a disaster Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:16 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — It was 9:15 on a Friday morning when a towering mound of mine waste collapsed at the Merthyr Vale Colliery in the Welsh town of Aberfan, sending millions of tons of sludge crashing down onto Pantglas Junior School in the valley below as classes were beginning for the day.

Israel indicts couple who traveled to Mosul to join IS Posted: 20 Oct 2016 09:13 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court indicted an Arab Israeli couple on Thursday for joining the extremist Islamic State group with their three young children.

Deadly Turkish raids on US-backed Syrian Kurd fighters Posted: 20 Oct 2016 08:47 AM PDT Turkish warplanes carried out deadly strikes on US-backed militias in northern Syria, including Syrian Kurdish fighters, a monitor said Thursday, action that is likely to raise tensions between the NATO allies. The army, quoted by the official news agency Anadolu, said the raids hit 18 targets north of the battered Syrian city of Aleppo, areas recently recaptured by the People's Protection Units (YPG) from the Islamic State group. It said the raids killed between 160 and 200 YPG militants.

Artist sues Trump campaign over Skittles tweet about Syrian refugees Posted: 20 Oct 2016 08:18 AM PDT An artist from the United Kingdom has filed a lawsuit against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, arguing that the campaign illegally used his photograph of a bowl of Skittles to illustrate its position against admitting Syrian refugees to the United States. Donald Trump Jr., one of the candidate's sons, posted the image with his father's campaign hashtag on Sept. 19 in a tweet that has since garnered nearly 18,000 retweets and 20,000 likes. David Kittos, the plaintiff, alleges that the campaign's actions resulted in a direct violation of his copyright and "rampant viral infringement" by third parties, according to the complaint filed Tuesday.

Baghdad's Finest: A look at Iraq's vaunted special forces Posted: 20 Oct 2016 07:46 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's special forces, which barreled into a town east of Mosul on Thursday despite a wave of suicide attacks, are the country's most professional and least sectarian fighting force.

Iraqi general: Special forces retake town less than 10 kilometers from IS-held city of Mosul Posted: 20 Oct 2016 07:14 AM PDT BARTELLA, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi general: Special forces retake town less than 10 kilometers from IS-held city of Mosul.

Iraqi Kurds battle IS shadows in Mosul push Posted: 20 Oct 2016 07:12 AM PDT "Around four kilometres (two and a half miles) from here, at the end of the road, there's my house and even my car," Lass says as he gazes towards the columns of acrid black smoke rising from Bashiqa. Lass was forced to flee Bashiqa, 25 kilometres (16 miles) northeast of Mosul, when the jihadists unleashed a lightning assault capturing swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory before declaring a "caliphate" straddling the two countries in 2014.

Nepal lifts ban on allowing migrant workers to Afghanistan Posted: 20 Oct 2016 07:06 AM PDT By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nepal will allow its nationals to go to war-torn Afghanistan for work, a labor ministry official said on Thursday, ending an almost four-month ban imposed after 13 Nepali security guards were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber in the Afghan capital. Labor Ministry Spokesman Govinda Mani Bhurtel said employers would have to make adequate security arrangements for their stay, travel and work before Nepali nationals were given a work permit by the government to leave Nepal. "We'll allow our people to go to Afghanistan to work only with foreign missions and international companies located inside the Green Zone which is considered safe," Bhurtel told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Germany tries teenage girl accused of stabbing policeman on Islamic State orders Posted: 20 Oct 2016 06:59 AM PDT A teenage German-Moroccan girl went on trial in Germany on Thursday accused of stabbing a policeman on the orders of Islamic State (IS) militants, and her lawyer argued that she lacked the capacity to know she was doing wrong. Safia S., a dual citizen, has been in prison awaiting trial for the attack at a train station in Hanover in February. While in Istanbul, they said, she received IS orders to carry out a "martyrdom attack" in Germany.

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