2016年3月14日星期一

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Islamic State fighter from U.S. in custody in Iraq

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 04:51 PM PDT

By Isabel Coles ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - An American fighting for Islamic State was taken into custody in northern Iraq after he left territory controlled by the militant group, according to two Kurdish officers, one of whom arrested him. Both said it appeared the man was intending to escape both Islamic State and Kurdish forces but handed himself in after peshmerga fighters opened fire on him near the frontline in the village of Golat. Captain Daham Khalaf said they had spotted the fighter hiding in long grass around dawn and waited until the sun rose before surrounding him.

Putin orders start of Russian military pullout from Syria

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 04:47 PM PDT

President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to withdraw most of its forces from Syria, timing his move to coincide with the launch of Syria peace talks Monday — an end game that allows the Russian ...

House passes resolution condemning IS atrocities as genocide

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 04:36 PM PDT

FIL - In this March 9, 2016, file photo, Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington. The Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to formally declare that Islamic State group atrocities against religious minorities, including Christians, constitute "genocide." Kerry is leaning toward making the determination and could do so as early as next week, when a congressional deadline for action has been set, according to several administration officials. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Ratcheting up the pressure on the Obama administration, the House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that condemns as genocide the atrocities committed by the Islamic State group against Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria.


Migrants scramble for way past EU's closed Balkan door

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 03:33 PM PDT

Refugees make their way to Macedonia from a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni on March 14, 2016Hundreds of desperate migrants were stopped by Macedonian troops Monday after wading thigh-deep through a surging river to cross the border from Greece, where thousands have been left stranded after Balkan states slammed Europe's migrant door shut. The migrants, who had set off from an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek side, clung perilously to a rope strung between the banks to cross north into Macedonia, bypassing the closed regular border crossing. About 20 journalists who had followed the migrants from the Idomeni migrant camp were taken to a police station in Gevgelija, just over the border in Macedonia.


California man sentenced for lying about ISIS

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 03:11 PM PDT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Syrian-American man living in San Diego has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for lying to U.S. officials about knowing a member of the Islamic State group and for participating in combat against the Syrian regime.

Desertions prompting IS to rely on child soldiers: Washington

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 02:29 PM PDT

Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation units take position on March 1, 2016, near the city of Samarra, during an operation aimed at retaking areas from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist groupWashington (AFP) - The Islamic State group is relying more heavily on child soldiers as growing numbers of fighters desert the jihadist organization, the United States said Monday.


Why We Can’t Ignore a Generation of Syrian Youths

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 02:09 PM PDT

Why We Can't Ignore a Generation of Syrian YouthsThis month, Syria enters its sixth year of devastating conflict. At least 250,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million injured. Half of the country's population—11 million people—is displaced. Equally alarming: More than half of the 4 million people who have fled their homeland are under 18, and one in four of these young people is a teenager.Teenagers have been greatly overlooked in the Syrian crisis, despite billions of dollars spent on aid. They are spending their formative years in limbo and have missed critical developmental and educational milestones. ...


Navy says glitch caused improper pulling of SEALs' weapons

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 02:01 PM PDT

FILE - In this April 7, 2011 file photo, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., center, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, April 7, 2011. Hunter says he's been assured the Navy has repaired a procedural glitch that caused combat rifles used by SEAL teams based in San Diego to be taken from them unnecessarily. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican lawmaker said Monday he's been assured the Navy has resolved a procedural glitch that caused combat rifles used by SEAL teams based in San Diego to be taken from them unnecessarily.


Turkey points finger at Kurdish rebels over Ankara bombing

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:58 PM PDT

Turkish officials say one of the bombers was a woman with ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)Turkey on Monday blamed Kurdish rebels for a suicide car bombing that killed 35 people in Ankara, the latest in a series of attacks that has heightened concerns about security in the country. Officials say that of the 37 people killed in the blast, 35 have now been identified as victims, one was a female suicide bomber and one a man thought to have been her accomplice. Sunday's carnage, the second major bombing in Ankara in less than a month, will come as an embarrassment to the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) won parliamentary elections in November promising to save Turkey from "chaos" and smash the PKK.


Hundreds of migrants march out of Greek camp, cross to Macedonia

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:19 PM PDT

Migrants wade across a river near Greek-Macedonian border west of IdomeniBy Ognen Teofilovski MOIN, Macedonia (Reuters) - Hundreds of migrants marched out of a Greek transit camp, hiked for hours along muddy paths and forded a rain-swollen river to get around a border fence and cross into Macedonia, where they were detained on Monday, authorities said. A Macedonian police spokeswoman said the several hundred migrants who had crossed into Macedonia would be sent back to Greece. A Reuters photographer put the number who crossed as high as 2,000.


Today in History

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:13 PM PDT

Today is Saturday, March 19, the 79th day of 2016. There are 287 days left in the year. Spring arrives at 9:30 p.m. Pacific time / 10:30 p.m. Mountain time / 11:30 p.m. Central time.

Sanders seeks Midwest wins to turn tide against Clinton

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:12 PM PDT

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is greeted by Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, Diane Latiker of Kids off the Block memorial, second from right, and Rep Bobby Rush, D-Ill., as she arrives to visit Kids off the Block memorial l to children killed by gun violence in Chicago, Monday, March 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)CHICAGO (AP) — Barnstorming through the Rust Belt, Bernie Sanders on Monday looked toward primary contests in five states as the linchpin of his strategy to turn the tide against Hillary Clinton and overcome her delegate edge in the Democratic primary. Clinton urged Democrats to unite behind her bid to focus on a far bigger threat: Republican front-runner Donald Trump.


Virginia Man Fighting for ISIS Captured in Iraq

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:00 PM PDT

Virginia Man Fighting for ISIS Captured in IraqThe Kurdish Peshmerga captured an ISIS fighter from Alexandria, Virginia, in northern Iraq Monday, according to a senior U.S. official. The man was initially identified by Kurdish media as Muhammad Jamal Amin, but a driver's license that purportedly belongs to him uses a different spelling for Mohammad and the last name Khweis. A local commander told a Kurdish media outlet that the fighter walked into a Peshmerga-controlled area near Sinjar, Iraq.


5 Attack Planes That Could Replace the A-10 Warthog

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:00 PM PDT

5 Attack Planes That Could Replace the A-10 WarthogThe U.S. Air Force seems to have woken up to the fact that it can't simply retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet. The Air Force has waged a years-long campaign to scrap its A-10 fleet in a bid to save roughly $4 billion in operating costs. Service leaders have argued that the plane's close air support mission can be performed by existing platforms, including the B-1 bomber and the highly-anticipated F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.


Oil falls as hopes dim for output freeze

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 12:52 PM PDT

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April slumped $1.32 (3.4 percent) to $37.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile ExchangeOil prices fell Monday on renewed doubts that OPEC will engineer an output freeze amid the global oversupply, with Iran signaling it was not ready to commit any time soon. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April slumped $1.32 (3.4 percent) to $37.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The downturn in the market Monday, following a rebound on Friday, reflects "concern about whether or not OPEC is going to get a meeting put together," said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.


Turkey carries out airstrikes after deadly bombing

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 12:42 PM PDT

Turkey carries out airstrikes after deadly bombing to 37ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey lashed out Monday at Kurdish targets, bombing military positions in northern Iraq and rounding up dozens of militants at home after a suicide car bombing in the heart of the capital drew the country even deeper into the complex Syrian conflict.


Turkish warplanes strike Iraq after Ankara bombing blamed on Kurdish militants

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 12:12 PM PDT

People attend a ceremony to commemorate three car bombing victims in a mosque in AnkaraBy Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant camps in northern Iraq on Monday, a day after 37 people were killed in an Ankara car bombing that security officials said involved two fighters - one female - from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Sunday's attack, tearing through a crowded transport hub a few hundred meters from the Justice and Interior Ministries, was the second such strike at the administrative heart of the Turkish capital in under a month.


Palestinian-American IS fighter surrenders to Iraqi Kurds

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 11:39 AM PDT

This image made from video posted on Twitter by a Kurdish fighter shows a man that the Kurdish military says is an American member of the Islamic State group shortly after he turned himself in to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, Monday, March 14, 2016. The circumstances of the surrender were not fully disclosed but it marked a rare instance in which an IS fighter voluntarily gave himself up to Iraqi or Kurdish forces in Iraq. (Kurdish fighter via AP)IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — A 26-year-old man fighting with the Islamic State group gave himself up to Iraqi Kurdish forces in northern Iraq on Monday and when asked, said he is a Palestinian from the United States.


For refugees on Turkey's coast, it's still (risky) business as usual

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 11:12 AM PDT

Just one day after the European Union declared that the flow of migrants from Turkey had "now come to an end," Mehdi Oso set off with his wife and five children for that perilous boat journey from Turkey to Greece – for a second time. In the first attempt, 10 days before, the Syrian family had been thwarted more than a mile offshore when meter-high waves nearly swamped their small boat overloaded with 54 refugees. In their second attempt last Wednesday – a day after the EU and Turkey agreed to block the daily flow of 2,500 new arrivals, and announced they had done it – the family never even made it to the boats.

In Trump, the World Sees 'The Ugly American'

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:52 AM PDT

Donald Trump's raw campaign rhetoric has been criticized in the United States as xenophobic, racist, vulgar, spreading falsehoods and for inciting violence at his political rallies. Trump's rhetoric has drawn condemnation from all corners of the world, including -- remarkably -- from some of the United States' most stalwart of allies. Trump's promise to bar Muslims from entering the country, criticism of Islam as a religion that "hates us," vow to force Mexico to pay for a higher wall along its border with the U.S. and declaration that U.S. allies pay more for military alliances has drawn criticism from international diplomats in hushed tones in Washington, from bloggers across the globe and from leaders in government and business around the world.

Peter Maxwell Davies, composer with royal ties, dies at 81

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PDT

FILE - This is a June 19, 1996 file photo of composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies posing for a photograph in London. Maxwell Davies, who served as Queen Elizabeth II's official master of music, has died at 81. Davies' management company, Intermusica, says he died Monday March 14, 2016 of leukemia at his home in Scotland's Orkney islands. One of Britain's best-known modern composers, Davies created some 300 works including symphonies, the operas "Taverner" and "The Lighthouse," and "Eight Songs for a Mad King," about the current queen's troubled ancestor, George III. (AP Photo, File)LONDON (AP) — Peter Maxwell Davies, an experimental, socially radical composer who served as Queen Elizabeth II's official master of music, has died. He was 81.


Turkey struggles for response as violence spills beyond Kurdish southeast

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PDT

By Ayla Jean Yackley and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The second suicide bombing in a month in the heart of Turkey's capital has raised fears of a dangerous new phase in its war with Kurdish militants, bringing deadly attacks to its biggest cities in violence fueled by the wars in Syria and Iraq. Security officials say the two perpetrators of Sunday's car bombing, a man and a woman, were linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey had obtained "very serious and almost certain" evidence suggesting the PKK was responsible but there has been no claim of responsibility.

OPEC output falls despite Iran return more crude

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:19 AM PDT

Iraq's oil refineries, like the Zubair refinery south of Basra, saw a decline in exports and revenue in February due to low crude pricesOPEC said on Monday its oil production fell in February despite member Iran steadily increasing its output after international sanctions were lifted in January following a landmark nuclear deal. The decrease can be largely attributed to a steep production drop in Iraq, which has suffered from the global price slump for crude and rival oil exports by the autonomous Kurdistan region, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its February monthly report. Crude output dropped by 175,000 barrels per day in February to average 32.28 million barrels per day (mbpd), it said.


American IS member surrenders to Iraq Kurds: general

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:15 AM PDT

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority on November 13, 2015A member of the Islamic State jihadist group with US citizenship turned himself in to the Kurdish peshmerga forces in northern Iraq on Monday, a senior military officer said. "This person's name is Mohammed Jamal Amin, he holds US citizenship, has a Palestinian father and an Iraqi mother," Major General Hashem Siti, commander of the peshmerga's 8th brigade, told AFP. "We are aware of the reports that a US citizen allegedly fighting for ISIL (IS) has been captured by peshmerga forces in northern Iraq," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters.


Turkey PM says evidence points to PKK being behind Ankara attack

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 10:04 AM PDT

Forensic experts investigate the scene of an explosion on March 14, 2016, the day after a suicide car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara killing at least 34 people and wounding 125, officials saidTurkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday that the evidence so far pointed to Kurdish rebels being behind a deadly suicide car bombing in Ankara. "There are very serious, almost certain findings that point to the separatist terrorist organisation," Davutoglu told reporters after visiting the wounded at an Ankara hospital, in reference to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Davutoglu said that of the 37 people killed in the blast, 35 had been identified as victims, one was confirmed as an attacker and one was believed to have been helping the attacker.


'Almost certain' findings point to Kurdish PKK behind Ankara attack: Turkey PM

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 09:41 AM PDT

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has obtained "very serious and almost certain" findings that point to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group having carried out Sunday's bombing in Ankara that killed 37 people, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. There has not been any claim of responsibility for the bombing and Davutoglu said DNA investigations were being done to identify the attackers. He also said added in comments broadcast live on television that Turkey had carried out airstrikes against PKK camps in Northern Iraq after the perpetrators of the attack were determined. ...

Global oil output freeze plan 'acceptable' for Iraq: minister

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 09:33 AM PDT

Iraq is inclined to accept a global deal to freeze oil production in order to lift crude prices, Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters on Monday. Zebari declined to address specifically the idea floated by Russian energy minister Alexander Novak that Iran should be excluded from a deal on freezing output. Novak, speaking on Monday in Tehran, said a global deal to freeze oil production could be signed in April and exclude Iran, which has the right to boost output after years of sanctions.

"The Islamic jihad against Christendom started before anyone ever heard of a Crusade" says James A. Lyons, retired U.S. Navy admiral and former commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 09:20 AM PDT

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Admiral James A. "Ace" Lyons, Jr.:Former U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations, Admiral James A. "Ace" Lyons has detailed how Islamic jihad against Christians started before the use of "Crusades" or "Crusaders". ...

3D images of Syria archaeological treasures go online

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 08:54 AM PDT

Syrians watch pigeons flying outside the Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on November 10, 2015Paris (AFP) - 3D reconstructions of some of Syria's most spectacular archaeological sites go online Tuesday after a big push to digitalise the war-torn country's threatened heritage. French digital surveyors have been working with Syrian archaeologists to map some of the country's most famous monuments after Islamic State jihadists sparked international outrage by blowing up two temples in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra last year. The eighth-century Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus -- regarded by some as the fourth holiest place in Islam -- and the Krak des Chevaliers Crusader castle near the ravaged city of Homs are the two most famous buildings to have been scanned in minute detail.


U.S. Bishops Join Knights of Columbus in Urging Genocide Designation for Christians in the Middle East

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 08:43 AM PDT

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Knights of Columbus welcomes the support of the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for its petition asking Secretary of State John Kerry to declare that genocide is taking place against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East at the hands of ISIS and its affiliates. With the State Department facing a Congressionally-mandated deadline of March 17 by which to make a determination on genocide, USCCB President Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville wrote in a statement today: "I urge every Catholic to sign the petition at www.stopthechristiangenocide.org.

U.S. checking reports of capture of American Islamic State militant: official

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 07:15 AM PDT

The United States is in contact with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities about the reported capture in northern Iraq of an American who was fighting with Islamic State, a State Department official said on Monday. The Islamic State fighter, who was identified by CBS News as Muhammad Jamal Amin, 27, of Virginia, emerged from territory controlled by the militant group in Syria, media reports said. "We are in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

Dead Billionaire Walking

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 06:32 AM PDT

Dead Billionaire WalkingIranian oil tycoon Babak Zanjani made billions from black market trading in the bazaar. Now he faces execution for corruption.


Iraq Kurdish general: Palestinian-American member of Islamic State surrenders in northern Iraq

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 06:02 AM PDT

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq Kurdish general: Palestinian-American member of Islamic State surrenders in northern Iraq.

Growing Chinese debt leaves Angola with little spare oil

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 05:15 AM PDT

To match Special Report DAVOS/AFRICABy Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Angola has found itself with a dwindling amount of crude to sell as more of its oil flows to China for debt repayment, leaving little revenue for anything from oil sector development to health care in one of Africa's largest oil exporting nations. Following a trend also seen in Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia and Venezuela, Angola has tied up more of its output in pre-financed deals to bridge a drop in income due to the 70 percent fall in oil prices in the past 18 months. The price slump means the Western oil majors which manage the fields and platforms that help Angola export 1.8 million barrels per day are also taking more oil in return for their investment and services.


U.S. stages 15 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria -statement

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 04:40 AM PDT

A plume of smoke rises above a building during an air strike in TikritThe United States and its allies targeted Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with 15 strikes on Sunday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement on its latest round of daily attacks on the militant group. In Iraq, 11 strikes near seven cities were concentrated near Hit and Sinjar, where they hit five of the militants' tactical units and destroyed two vehicles, among other damage, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Monday. Four strikes in near Manbij and Mar'a, Syria, hit four Islamic State tactical units and destroyed two vehicles and two fighting positions, the coalition statement said.


Iraq medics screen 800 people after chemical attack

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 04:05 AM PDT

Iraqis carry the coffin of a young girl who was killed following a chemical attack on Taza, a town on the outskirts of Kirkuk, on March 11, 2016Health authorities in Iraq's Kirkuk region have screened a total of 800 people since a chemical attack carried out by the Islamic State group last week, officials said on Monday. "The number of people who have sought treatment and been checked by the hospitals in Daquq and Kirkuk has topped 800," said Hussein Adil Abbas, the mayor of Taza. IS last week fired a salvo of rockets armed with suspected chemical agents on the town of Taza, around 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of Baghdad.


Italian engineers need two months on Mosul dam before starting repairs: ministry

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 03:29 AM PDT

Employees work at strengthening the Mosul DamBy Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Italian engineers hired to help prevent a catastrophic collapse of Iraq's largest hydro-electric dam will need at least two months to assess the structure before starting major maintenance work, a Water Resources Ministry spokesman told Reuters. Mahdi Rasheed Mahdi said it might be six months before work began on the Mosul dam as Italy's Trevi Group needed to bring in specialist equipment to plug gaps caused by erosion. The dam, near the northern city of Mosul, was built in the 1980s on a friable gypsum layer on the Tigris and needs constant repairs to avoid disaster.


IS returns to Iraqi town, 24 hours after vacating it

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:48 AM PDT

ISIL fighters raising their weapons as they stand on a vehicle mounted with the trademark Jihadists flag at an undisclosed location in the Anbar provinceThe Islamic State group on Monday returned to the desert town of Rutba in western Iraq, less than a day after vacating it, officials said. The mayor of the remote town in Anbar province had warned when IS pulled out that the jihadist organisation may just be testing the population's allegiance. "Daesh (IS) has re-established its control on the city of Rutba... which it had left the previous day," said a senior officer in the Jazeera Operations Command in charge of the area.


Turkey imposes new curfew to target Kurdish militant PKK in southeast

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:31 AM PDT

Turkey declared a round-the-clock curfew in the southeastern town of Sirnak on Monday in order to carry out operations against Kurdish militants in the area, the provincial governor's office said in a statement. It said the curfew will go into effect at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Monday. Separately, Kurdish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq early on Monday, the army said, following a car bomb attack in Ankara that killed at least 37 people.

Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish militant PKK camps in northern Iraq: army

Posted: 14 Mar 2016 01:10 AM PDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq early on Monday, Turkey's army said, following a car bomb attack in Ankara that killed at least 37 people. Eleven warplanes carried out the strikes on eighteen recently identified targets, including ammunition depots and shelters and targets have been destroyed, the military said in a statement. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; editing by David Dolan)
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