Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• ISIS recapture of Palmyra: A fresh assault on heritage sites?
• US-led coalition strike kills IS leader in Syria: Pentagon
• US-backed alliance announces 'phase two' of Raqa campaign
• ISLAMIC STATE
• The ISIS breakers: How moderate Muslims are countering extremism
• Iran summons UK envoy over 'divisive' May remarks to Gulf Arabs
• Indonesia counter-terrorism forces foil plot to bomb state palace: police
• Iraq sends reinforcements to eastern Mosul after IS attack
• Suicide bomber kills at least 50 Yemeni troops in Aden
• Iran summons UK ambassador in Tehran
• Petraeus sees 'downsides' to Iran nuclear pact
• Iraq police poised to enter Mosul
• Iraq says army makes gains in grueling Mosul battle
• French government seeks extension of state of emergency
• OPEC, Russia see smooth road to global deal on output cut
• Pentagon chief announces 200 more US troops for Syria
• U.S. boosts Syria anti-IS forces, urges Gulf military self-reliance
• It's Trump's war soon: Afghan future is cloudy at best
• Assad relies on foreign fighters in push to retake Aleppo
• Spotlight turns to US forces' role as IS fight continues
• Turkish air strikes kill 19 Kurdish militants in north Iraq - military sources
• Today in History
• U.S. allies caution Trump on Syria strategy

ISIS recapture of Palmyra: A fresh assault on heritage sites? Posted: 10 Dec 2016 02:59 PM PST The city's fall followed the ISIS seizure of several key government positions, oil fields and strategic hilltops over the course of a three-day campaign, and sparked concern for the well-being of civilians in a city where much of the population supports the Syrian government. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State? The capture of Palmyra poses a setback to the US-allied coalition in a city that has particular historical and symbolic resonance. During their 10-month rule over the town, ISIS militants embarked upon a fit of iconoclasm, destroying several of Palmyra's famed world heritage sites, including two temples dating back nearly 2,000 years and a Roman archway, and executing the city's archeological director.

US-led coalition strike kills IS leader in Syria: Pentagon Posted: 10 Dec 2016 12:31 PM PST The US-led military coalition has killed a leader of the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, the Pentagon said on Saturday. "Coalition warplanes targeted and killed Tunisian Boubaker al-Hakim, in Raqa, Syria" on November 26, Pentagon spokesman Ben Sakrisson said in a statement emailed to AFP. "Al-Hakim was an ISIL leader and longtime terrorist with deep ties to French and Tunisian Jihadist elements," he added, using an alternate acronym for the IS group.

US-backed alliance announces 'phase two' of Raqa campaign Posted: 10 Dec 2016 11:50 AM PST A US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance announced Saturday "phase two" of its campaign for the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion of Raqa as Washington said it was sending 200 more troops to back the offensive. The Syrian Democratic Forces will "begin phase two of the campaign, which aims to liberate territory west of Raqa and isolate the city," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told reporters.

ISLAMIC STATE Posted: 10 Dec 2016 11:04 AM PST Map shows areas in Iraq and Syria with an Islamic State presence.; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm;

The ISIS breakers: How moderate Muslims are countering extremism Posted: 10 Dec 2016 10:46 AM PST Mohammed Zorgui is decked out in sweatpants, a teal Portugal soccer jersey, and a crisp New York Yankees cap. As he works the crowd in a smoked-filled cafe in Kasserine, Tunisia, he looks more American East Coast rapper than the Middle Eastern jihadist he once pledged to be – more Jay Z than Islamic State warrior.

Iran summons UK envoy over 'divisive' May remarks to Gulf Arabs Posted: 10 Dec 2016 09:42 AM PST Iran summoned the British ambassador on Saturday to protest against remarks by Prime Minister Theresa May who accused Tehran of "aggressive regional actions" in a speech to a Gulf Arab summit. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said the move was prompted by May's "irresponsible, provocative and divisive remarks" at the summit in Bahrain on Wednesday, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported. May told the Gulf Arab leaders that "we must also work together to push back against Iran's aggressive regional actions, whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria or in the Gulf itself".

Indonesia counter-terrorism forces foil plot to bomb state palace: police Posted: 10 Dec 2016 09:19 AM PST Indonesian counter-terrorism forces on Saturday arrested three people near the capital Jakarta suspected of planning a bomb attack on the presidential palace, a police spokesman said. Police raided a dormitory in Bekasi, a town about an hour outside Jakarta, and found an unexploded bomb. "The plan was to use the bomb at the presidential palace during the change of guard," Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said in a statement.

Iraq sends reinforcements to eastern Mosul after IS attack Posted: 10 Dec 2016 08:51 AM PST QAYARA AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) — Reinforcements have been sent to eastern Mosul after a major Islamic State counterattack drove troops back last week, further slowing a nearly two-month-old offensive to retake the city, according to an Iraqi commander.

Suicide bomber kills at least 50 Yemeni troops in Aden Posted: 10 Dec 2016 08:39 AM PST A suicide bomber killed at least 50 Yemeni soldiers at a base in the city of Aden, a local security official said, in another major attack claimed by Islamic State on forces allied to a Saudi-led military coalition. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a message posted online. The Yemeni branch of the militant group based in Iraq and Syria has carried out many deadly bombings around troops in the southern port city, which is under the control of the internationally recognized government in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Iran summons UK ambassador in Tehran Posted: 10 Dec 2016 08:14 AM PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the country's Foreign Ministry has summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the British prime minister's recent comments on Iran.

Petraeus sees 'downsides' to Iran nuclear pact Posted: 10 Dec 2016 07:50 AM PST A global deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions contains elements "of great concern", retired US general David Petraeus, seen as a contender to be Washington's top diplomat, said on Saturday. Iran has denied that it seeks to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. "There are some significant downsides that should cause us great concern," Petraeus told the Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain of the accord.

Iraq police poised to enter Mosul Posted: 10 Dec 2016 07:08 AM PST Police and interior ministry forces will enter Mosul to help the army defeat the Islamic State group in the east of the city, Iraqi commanders said on Saturday. Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat said federal police forces and the elite Rapid Response forces from the interior ministry would soon move in to assist the army's 9th Armoured Division. The move comes three days after jihadists ambushed the army in the Al-Salam hospital in southeast Mosul, killing several soldiers and forcing them to pull back.

Iraq says army makes gains in grueling Mosul battle Posted: 10 Dec 2016 05:51 AM PST By Dominic Evans and Stephanie Nebehay BAGHDAD/GENEVA (Reuters) - The Iraqi army said it took full control of two more districts of east Mosul on Saturday, pushing back Islamic State militants in a slow and hard-fought advance into the city whose 1 million residents face growing shortages of fuel, water and food. A military statement said elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops took over the neighborhoods of al-Murour and al-Qadisiya al-Oula, expanding their area of control in the east of the city. Despite the reported advance, the army's progress in Mosul remains painstakingly slow, facing brutal counter attacks from the hugely outnumbered but well prepared and heavily armed jihadists who have controlled the city since mid-2104.

French government seeks extension of state of emergency Posted: 10 Dec 2016 05:26 AM PST PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says 17 attacks have been thwarted in the country so far this year and he is asking Parliament to extend the state of emergency until July 15.

OPEC, Russia see smooth road to global deal on output cut Posted: 10 Dec 2016 02:13 AM PST Russia and Saudi Arabia said they expect OPEC and non-OPEC producers to reach an agreement on Saturday to curtail oil output and prop up prices in the first such joint move since 2001. Everything is good!" Khalid al-Falih, energy minister of OPEC's de facto leader and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, told reporters. Oil prices have more than halved in the past two years after Saudi Arabia raised output steeply in an attempt to drive higher-cost producers such as U.S. shale firms out of the market.

Pentagon chief announces 200 more US troops for Syria Posted: 10 Dec 2016 02:12 AM PST Washington will send another 200 troops to Syria to help an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters seize the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Saturday. The operation coincides with a vast US-backed offensive to retake Iraq's second city of Mosul from the jihadists, forming a twin-pronged campaign intended to deliver a knockout blow to the "caliphate" they declared across Iraq and Syria in 2014. The two cities are the last major urban centres under IS control after the jihadists suffered a string of territorial losses in both countries over the past year.

U.S. boosts Syria anti-IS forces, urges Gulf military self-reliance Posted: 10 Dec 2016 12:59 AM PST By William Maclean MANAMA (Reuters) - The United States will send 200 additional military personnel including special forces to the campaign against Islamic State in Syria to create a "tornado" of pressure against the group's Raqqa hub, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday, Carter, speaking in Bahrain to regional security chiefs, twinned the announcement with a call on Middle East allies to do more for their own defense, a sore topic with some Gulf states who resent being seen by Washington as military "free riders". The arrival of the 200 additional forces in Syria, joining 300 special forces already there backing local allies, would bring to bear the "full weight of U.S. forces around the theater of operations like the funnel of a giant tornado", Carter said.

It's Trump's war soon: Afghan future is cloudy at best Posted: 09 Dec 2016 11:36 PM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan has fallen so far from Americans' consciousness that some may have forgotten it's called the forgotten war.

Assad relies on foreign fighters in push to retake Aleppo Posted: 09 Dec 2016 11:26 PM PST ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Syria's President Bashar Assad is on the verge of recapturing all of Aleppo from rebels, but the victory won't be his alone. The battle for Syria's largest city has attracted thousands of foreign forces backing Assad — including Russian soldiers and Shiite fighters from Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Spotlight turns to US forces' role as IS fight continues Posted: 09 Dec 2016 11:01 PM PST As President Barack Obama prepares to leave office and step down as commander-in-chief of America's military, a flap has erupted over the secretive commandos who have become his go-to counterterrorist force across the globe. Obama's foreign military policy has centered on the targeted killings of terror suspects -- usually by drone strikes -- and he has ordered such actions in countries including Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. The current kerfuffle stems from a Washington Post story that said SOCOM, specifically its super-secret wing called the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), is being granted new powers to track and potentially attack terror cells around the world.

Turkish air strikes kill 19 Kurdish militants in north Iraq - military sources Posted: 09 Dec 2016 10:36 PM PST Turkish jets carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in the Gara region of northern Iraq on Friday and killed 19 militants, Turkish military sources said on Saturday. The warplanes took off from an air base in Diyarbakir in response to threats that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were preparing an attack on military units at the border, the sources said. Turkey frequently launches air attacks against PKK targets in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq near the Turkish border, where the Kurdish militant group's leadership has camps.

Today in History Posted: 09 Dec 2016 09:01 PM PST Today in History

U.S. allies caution Trump on Syria strategy Posted: 09 Dec 2016 07:22 PM PST By Warren Strobel, Yara Bayoumy and John Irish WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) - Key U.S. allies in Europe are quietly expressing concern over President-elect Donald Trump's approach to Syria, warning that his pledge to work more closely with Russia, Damascus' main backer, will do little to diminish the terrorist threat emanating from Syria. The diplomatic persuasion campaign has taken on new importance in recent days as the Syrian army, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias, appears poised to retake all of Aleppo city in a major defeat for Western-backed rebels. Moscow and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are expected to cast Aleppo's fall as the end of a revolt against Assad that began in March 2011, although Western analysts predict the civil war, which has killed more than 300,000 people and made more than half of Syrians homeless, will continue, perhaps for years.

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