Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• The Latest: Sanders basks in twin wins
• Democratic voter voices from Washington, Alaska and Hawaii
• Heavy Russian airstrikes as Syrian army fights IS in Palmyra
• Greece starts emptying border camp as new arrivals slow
• From crime to journalism, Belgian terror suspects a mixed bag
• Turkish soldier killed in Iraq by IS rockets fired at base
• Syria army edges forward in jihadist-held Palmyra
• IS setbacks in Syria and Iraq
• Turkish soldier killed in Iraq by IS missiles: army
• UN chief urges Iraq politicians to back PM's reforms
• Suicide bombers kill three soldiers in attack on Iraq base
• Syria government says will restore ancient Palmyra
• UN chief offers condolences to Iraq after IS stadium bombing
• U.S., allies conduct 26 strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military
• U.N. chief presses Iraq on national reconciliation to defeat Islamic State
• Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials
• Nails and nail varnish: Brussels bombers prepared a 'satanic' cocktail
• Final print edition of UK's Independent hits the newsstands
• Final edition of UK's Independent goes to print
• Military officials pushing for increase in US troops in Iraq
• Flag-waving patriotism rare in Belgium despite attacks
• Pentagon moving to increase US troop numbers in Iraq soon

The Latest: Sanders basks in twin wins Posted: 26 Mar 2016 03:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic presidential nominating contests Saturday in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state (all times local):

Democratic voter voices from Washington, Alaska and Hawaii Posted: 26 Mar 2016 02:44 PM PDT Democrats in Washington state, Alaska and Hawaii are making a choice on their party's candidate for president Saturday.

Heavy Russian airstrikes as Syrian army fights IS in Palmyra Posted: 26 Mar 2016 12:40 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian airstrikes have seized three neighborhoods inside Palmyra, a town with famed Roman-era ruins that fell to the Islamic State group last May, state media reported Saturday.

Greece starts emptying border camp as new arrivals slow Posted: 26 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Greece said Saturday it has begun emptying the main migrant camp on its border with Macedonia, as the huge tide of refugees flooding into the country slows to a trickle following the EU-Turkey deal. Eight buses transported around 400 refugees from the Idomeni camp Friday, while another three buses left on Saturday, taking them to other camps set up in northern Greece, local police said.

From crime to journalism, Belgian terror suspects a mixed bag Posted: 26 Mar 2016 12:00 PM PDT Two brothers who dabbled in crime, a freelance journalist, a university drop-out and a mystery man -- the five suspects in Belgium's airport and subway train attacks are a mixed lot. Two of the men blew themselves up at the Brussels' airport, a third inside a metro train, killing 31 people and injuring 300 on March 22. A fourth suspect was charged Saturday with terrorist murder and identified by the federal prosecutor's office only as Faycal C.

Turkish soldier killed in Iraq by IS rockets fired at base Posted: 26 Mar 2016 11:59 AM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish Air Force jets on Saturday joined coalition forces in attacking Islamic State targets in northern Iraq, hours after a Turkish soldier was killed at a military base in the region from rockets fired by the extremist militants.

Syria army edges forward in jihadist-held Palmyra Posted: 26 Mar 2016 10:06 AM PDT Syrian troops backed by Russian ground and air forces on Saturday pushed deeper into the Islamic State group stronghold of Palmyra, as Washington considered boosting its anti-jihadist fight in neighbouring Iraq. Syrian forces battled IS fighters Saturday inside Palmyra, a strategically located ancient city, under the cover of Russian and Syrian artillery fire. After capturing the town of Al-Amiriyah on the city's northern outskirts, regime forces fought their way into Palmyra's northern and western districts.

IS setbacks in Syria and Iraq Posted: 26 Mar 2016 10:02 AM PDT The Islamic State group, which came under attack this weekend by regime forces in Syria and Iraq, has faced major setbacks in the two neighbouring countries over the past year. "The more IS loses territory in Syria, the more they will export attacks," a senior French counter-terrorism official warned this week after the Belgium bombings. Kurdish forces backed by intense US-led air strikes capture the town after four months of fighting.

Turkish soldier killed in Iraq by IS missiles: army Posted: 26 Mar 2016 09:42 AM PDT One Turkish soldier was killed and another injured on Saturday when missiles fired by Islamic State (IS) fighters hit their base during clashes between the jihadists and local Kurdish forces, the Turkish army said. The army said that missiles launched by "Daesh terrorist group", intended for Kurdish forces, had landed in Gedu military base, where Turkish troops are deployed. The casualties were transferred to Turkey by helicopter, it said, with the wounded soldier taken to a hospital in the city of Sirnak bordering Iraq.

UN chief urges Iraq politicians to back PM's reforms Posted: 26 Mar 2016 09:32 AM PDT UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday urged Iraq's politicians to support embattled Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's reform drive. Speaking in Baghdad on his eighth visit to Iraq as secretary general of the United Nations, Ban emphasised the need for national reconciliation. "I call on all political leaders here today to continue your efforts towards a single, unified vision to advance national reconciliation in Iraq," Ban said in an address to parliament.

Suicide bombers kill three soldiers in attack on Iraq base Posted: 26 Mar 2016 08:59 AM PDT A group of suicide bombers from the Islamic State group killed three Iraqi soldiers Saturday in an attack on a military base hosting hundreds of coalition advisers, officers said. "Four suicide bombers this morning infiltrated the military base of Al-Asad on its northern edge," said Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command.

Syria government says will restore ancient Palmyra Posted: 26 Mar 2016 07:11 AM PDT By Kinda Makieh DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Palmyra's ancient Roman temples and archway, blown up by Islamic State fighters last year, will be restored once Syria recaptures the city from the ultra-hardline Islamist group, the head of the antiquities authority said on Saturday. Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters he hoped Palmyra would be retaken within days, after government forces fought their way into the western and northern parts of the city, and promised to revive the Roman-era monuments "as a message against terrorism". Islamic State militants dynamited the temples of Baal Shamin and Bel, as well as funeral towers and a triumphal arch, which had stood for 1,800 years in the oasis city described by the U.N. cultural agency as a crossroads of cultures since the dawn of humanity.

UN chief offers condolences to Iraq after IS stadium bombing Posted: 26 Mar 2016 07:02 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences on Saturday to the families and friends of the 41 people killed in a suicide bombing at a soccer stadium in Iraq, adding that the "the international community stands with Iraqis in horror and outrage."

U.S., allies conduct 26 strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military Posted: 26 Mar 2016 07:01 AM PDT The United States and its allies targeted Islamic State militants in Iraq with 22 strikes on Friday and four in Syria, the U.S. military said on Saturday. Six of the strikes in Iraq were near Qayyarah, striking four Islamic State tactical units and three mortar positions. In Syria, three strikes were near Mar'a and hit two Islamic State tactical units.

U.N. chief presses Iraq on national reconciliation to defeat Islamic State Posted: 26 Mar 2016 06:57 AM PDT By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on the Iraqi government on Saturday to step up efforts to foster reconciliation between the nation's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim communities in order to combat Islamic State. "National reconciliation is an important part of the strategy to defeat Daesh (Islamic State), who have ruthlessly exploited divisions and targeted the marginalized and disenfranchised," he told a joint news conference in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The U.N. chief was referring to the country's minority Sunnis who say they were marginalized under the Shi'ite-led government installed after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and some of whom have joined the militant group which seized swathes of Iraq nearly two years ago.

Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials Posted: 26 Mar 2016 06:54 AM PDT By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State will struggle to recover from the death of a top aide, reported this week in a U.S. air strike, whose overview of the group's finances, politics and administration was unmatched, Iraqi and U.S. sources said. Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Iman and Abu Alaa al-Afri, was a veteran jihadist with a bounty of $7 million on his head. "This is the heaviest blow to Islamic State in terms of assassinations because Qaduli was at the heart of (its) ...administrative structure," said Hisham al-Hashimi, an analyst who advises the Iraqi government on the militants.

Nails and nail varnish: Brussels bombers prepared a 'satanic' cocktail Posted: 26 Mar 2016 05:52 AM PDT By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An empty apartment block on a quiet street turned out to be the perfect place for the three suspected Brussels attackers to prepare the home-made nail bombs used in Tuesday's airport and metro attacks that killed at least 31 people. In a building undergoing renovation, there were no near neighbors to notice them taking in large quantities of strong-smelling household chemicals, as well as a suitcase of nails, to concoct an unstable white explosive powder known as TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, that they later used in their attacks. "Even if someone had stopped them, they could have said the materials were for renovation," said Hassan Abid, an official at the local town hall, who was trying to determine why authorities had no knowledge of the men living illegally on the fifth floor.

Final print edition of UK's Independent hits the newsstands Posted: 26 Mar 2016 04:54 AM PDT The final print edition of The Independent newspaper went on sale Saturday, ending its 30-year appearance on British newsstands with an exclusive on an assassination plot against a former Saudi king. A poignant wrap-around front page carried the words "STOP PRESS" in red lettering on a white background, followed by the words "Read all about it in this, our final print edition - 1986- 2016".

Final edition of UK's Independent goes to print Posted: 26 Mar 2016 03:22 AM PDT Staff at The Independent sent their final edition to the printing presses on Friday before the 30-year-old British newspaper becomes available only in digital format. The newspaper's Russian-born British owner, Evgeny Lebedev, who announced the closure of the print edition last month, wrote that journalism had "changed beyond recognition" and the newspaper "must change too". The Independent was set up by three former journalists in 1986 and became known for its eye-catching, campaigning front pages and emphasis on photos.

Military officials pushing for increase in US troops in Iraq Posted: 26 Mar 2016 12:02 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is moving to increase the number of American troops in Iraq amid strikes that have killed the Islamic State's finance minister and other senior leaders. Still, top U.S. defense officials say the deaths won't "break the back" of the extremist group, which is in a fierce fight for an ancient city in Syria and claim responsibility for bombing a soccer stadium in Iraq.

Flag-waving patriotism rare in Belgium despite attacks Posted: 25 Mar 2016 08:53 PM PDT Tough talk and flag-waving patriotism have been rare in Belgium in the wake of this week's terror attacks, the worst to strike the divided nation at the symbolic heart of the EU. While France and the United States rallied their citizens after major attacks evoking national identity and pledging revenge, Belgian leaders have urged tolerance and understanding. The different tone from Belgium in response to Tuesday's suicide bombings that killed 31 people is rooted in the fractured nature of the small nation of 11 million, which is cleaved in half between its French and Flemish speaking communities.

Pentagon moving to increase US troop numbers in Iraq soon Posted: 25 Mar 2016 09:40 AM PDT The Pentagon said Friday it was moving to increase the number of American forces in Iraq and announced that U.S. forces have killed the Islamic State's finance minister. "We are systematically eliminating ISIL's cabinet," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recommendations on ways to increase U.S. support for Iraq's ground fight against IS are going to be discussed with President Barack Obama soon.

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