Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• World parties to ring in New Year despite terror jitters
• No big New Year's celebrations for Iraq's displaced
• Hollande to visit French troops in Iraq Monday
• France's Hollande says to visit Iraq Monday
• Egypt releases remains of Paris flight crew
• Elite Iraq units link up for Mosul assault: officers
• Texas judge takes specialized court for veterans on the road
• Baghdad blasts kill 29 as Mosul fighting intensifies
• Central Baghdad market blasts kill at least 27
• Turning Iraq history to rubble, leaving the mess to looters
• Despite political clout, Russian seniors find later life options limited
• Agatha Christie had little-known role in ancient Nimrud
• 3,000 years ago, it ruled the Mideast, now blown to pieces
• Yazidi woman escapes Islamic State in Mosul as Iraqi forces advance
• Caution marks Iraqi army advance against Islamic State north of Mosul
• Today in History

World parties to ring in New Year despite terror jitters Posted: 31 Dec 2016 03:12 PM PST Millions of people around the world shrugged off terror jitters to ring in 2017 in style, as Sydney kicked off the party with a spectacular fireworks display that lit up its iconic harbour. Getting the festivities started was Sydney, where around 1.5 million people thronged Australia's biggest city to watch midnight fireworks erupting from the Harbour Bridge. Celebrations swung into Europe with the night sky over Moscow's Red Square literally painted red by the fireworks.

No big New Year's celebrations for Iraq's displaced Posted: 31 Dec 2016 01:54 PM PST BARTELLA, Iraq (AP) — There were no big New Year's celebrations for the Iraqi men, women and children who narrowly escaped the fighting in Mosul, only to wait for hours under armed guard while the fighting-age males among them were cleared of links to the Islamic State.

Hollande to visit French troops in Iraq Monday Posted: 31 Dec 2016 12:26 PM PST President Francois Hollande said he would on Monday visit French troops fighting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq, as he warned that the terrorist threat within France was still live. France has around 500 troops fighting alongside coalition forces in Iraq, backed by Rafale fighter jets. In the last New Year message of his presidency, Hollande paid tribute to those killed in terror attacks in France this year, including the 86 mown down in the Bastille Day attack in Nice and smaller-scale attacks on a priest and two police officers.

France's Hollande says to visit Iraq Monday Posted: 31 Dec 2016 11:24 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday said he would visit Iraq on Monday to salute troops which are taking part in a U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State. "We're not done with the plight of terrorism. We have to keep on fighting it," Hollande said in a New Year address to the nation that was broadcast on French television. "This is the reason for our military operations abroad, in Mali, in Syria, in Iraq -- Iraq where I'll be going the day after tomorrow to salute our troops. ...

Egypt releases remains of Paris flight crew Posted: 31 Dec 2016 08:28 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Forensics Authority says it has released the remains of ten crew members of the EgyptAir Paris flight that crashed in May, killing all 66 passengers on board.

Elite Iraq units link up for Mosul assault: officers Posted: 31 Dec 2016 08:14 AM PST Two elite Iraqi units linked up in Mosul on Saturday and will form a joint front to advance westward against the Islamic State group, officers said. The Rapid Response Division reached the northern edge of Al-Intisar neighbourhood, while the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) advanced to the southern side of the adjoining Al-Quds area. The two neighbourhoods are located on the eastern side of Mosul, where security forces have retaken multiple areas from IS, but the city's west is still completely in jihadist hands.

Texas judge takes specialized court for veterans on the road Posted: 31 Dec 2016 08:06 AM PST ANNA, Texas (AP) — In the Army, Richard Ress survived duty in some of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, but on a July day in 2009, he seemed ready for his life to end in the back of a Texas police car facing his third drunken-driving arrest in less than a year.

Baghdad blasts kill 29 as Mosul fighting intensifies Posted: 31 Dec 2016 07:32 AM PST By Kareem Raheem and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Three bombs killed 29 people in Baghdad on Saturday as fighting intensified in the northern city of Mosul, where Iraqi government forces are trying to rout Islamic State militants from their last major stronghold in the country. A pro-Islamic State news agency said the target was Shi'ite Muslims, whom the militants regard as apostates. Islamic State has continued to launch attacks in the heavily fortified capital, even after losing most of the northern and western territory it seized in 2014.

Central Baghdad market blasts kill at least 27 Posted: 31 Dec 2016 06:44 AM PST Twin bomb blasts ripped through a busy market area in central Baghdad Saturday, police said, shattering a relative lull in attacks in the capital and marring preparations for New Year celebrations. Two suicide bombers attacked the Al-Sinek area, killing at least 27 people and wounding 53, a police colonel said. "Many of the victims were people from the spare parts shops in the area, they were gathered near a cart selling breakfast when the explosions went off," said Ibrahim Mohammed Ali, who owns a nearby shop.

Turning Iraq history to rubble, leaving the mess to looters Posted: 31 Dec 2016 05:39 AM PST NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — The giant winged bulls that once stood sentry at the nearly 3,000-year-old palace at Nimrud have been hacked to pieces. The fantastical human-headed creatures were believed to guard the king from evil, but now their stone remains are piled in the dirt, victims of the Islamic State group's fervor to erase history.

Despite political clout, Russian seniors find later life options limited Posted: 31 Dec 2016 05:31 AM PST The "Third Age" home for the elderly is a clean, modern, privately-run facility for about 50 people in this hilly satellite town just outside Moscow. Unlike their Western counterparts, however, most Russians have never had the opportunity to accumulate the property and savings that might enable them to finance a comfortable retirement for themselves.

Agatha Christie had little-known role in ancient Nimrud Posted: 31 Dec 2016 04:12 AM PST NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — Her diligence and face cream cleaned Nimrud's most famous ivory. She captured the archaeological dig on celluloid and Kodak film, developing the prints in water painstakingly filtered from the nearby Tigris River.

3,000 years ago, it ruled the Mideast, now blown to pieces Posted: 31 Dec 2016 04:10 AM PST NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — The chilly December wind whipped rain across the strewn wreckage of a city that, nearly 3,000 years ago, ruled almost the entire Middle East. Rivulets of water ran through the dirt, washing away chunks of ancient stone.

Yazidi woman escapes Islamic State in Mosul as Iraqi forces advance Posted: 31 Dec 2016 01:38 AM PST A Yazidi woman held captive by Islamic State militants for more than two years managed to escape when Iraqi forces pushed into Mosul and provided information that helped them retake a neighbourhood of the city, Iraqi commanders said. The 42-year old woman, who asked to remain unnamed, was kidnapped by the militants from her hometown of Sinjar in the summer of 2014 when they overran northern Iraq and purged its Yazidi minority. Since then, some have escaped or have been bought back from the militants, but as many as 3,500 remain in Islamic State captivity, according to a recent estimate provided by the office that handles kidnappings in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Caution marks Iraqi army advance against Islamic State north of Mosul Posted: 31 Dec 2016 12:54 AM PST By Stephen Kalin SADA, Iraq (Reuters) - The earth shook three times with the impact of air strikes targeting Islamic State positions north of Mosul. Only then did the Iraqi troops assembled on the edge of the small farming village advance. The second phase of the operation to retake Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq, began on Thursday after several weeks of deadlock in the most complex operation in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Today in History Posted: 30 Dec 2016 09:01 PM PST Today in History

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