Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• US concerned about precision bomb shortage: official
• US forces on ground in Syria aiding key anti-IS fight
• Oil dips after hitting $50/bbl as glut worries resurface
• US worries about declining precision weapons stocks for wars
• Veterans up their "SUP" in Nashville
• Thousands of migrants saved this week as traffic on Libya-Italy route swells
• Syria the world's most dangerous place for health workers: WHO
• Iraq honors policeman who stopped would-be suicide bomber
• Top Shi'ite cleric urges restraint in assault on Iraq's Falluja
• China hits back as G7 talk about economy
• Falluja refugees report cases of starvation: Norway aid group
• Hillary Clinton email scandal may have compromised terrorism ops, former military adviser says
• Delaware National Guard HQ to unveil Beau Biden signs
• Japan PM Abe tells G7 North Korea nuclear, missile developments a concern for Europe
• Council of Europe: Detention of lone minors 'unacceptable'
• Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson to Congress: Indigenous Christian Communities in Iraq and Syria Face Extinction
• Nearly 1,000 killed in attacks on health workers in 2014-15: WHO
• Iraqi PM asks protesters to stay home to aid Fallujah push
• U.S., allies target Islamic State in Falluja, Mosul: coalition
• Cartel or talking shop? OPEC awaits Saudi ruling
• Iraq PM urges end to protests while army busy fighting Islamic State
• Dire conditions for civilians trapped in Iraq's Fallujah: UN
• Kenya police arrest two for planning Islamic State-linked attack
• Man arrested over Australia 'terror' plot
• Disney ditches its iconic dollar
• 'Almost Sunrise' Documentary to Help Open Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
• Hot topics at the G7 summit in Japan
• World needs to act together on refugees: Tusk

US concerned about precision bomb shortage: official Posted: 26 May 2016 03:44 PM PDT The Air Force general overseeing US air operations in the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria said Thursday he was concerned about dwindling stockpiles of precision bombs. The Pentagon in February said it would spend $1.8 billion to buy over 45,000 more of the sophisticated bombs, but supplies remain low for now. "It's still a concern," Lieutenant General Charles Brown Jr, who works for the US Central Command that runs operations across the Middle East, told Pentagon reporters in a video call.

US forces on ground in Syria aiding key anti-IS fight Posted: 26 May 2016 02:43 PM PDT US forces on the ground in northern Syria are helping a major offensive against the Islamic State group in its stronghold of Raqa province, Kurdish-Arab fighters battling the jihadists say. "These are US special operations forces and this is why you cannot follow them or take many pictures," said a fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which announced on Tuesday an assault on the jihadists north of Raqa. Leaning on a partially destroyed home in the village of Fatisah recently seized from IS, SDF field commander Hawkar Kobane told AFP that "US forces are taking part in this operation" alongside his own troops.

Oil dips after hitting $50/bbl as glut worries resurface Posted: 26 May 2016 02:05 PM PDT By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices hit $50 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in seven months, then bounced below that level and settled lower on the day as investors worried robust price gains could encourage more output and add to the global glut. Wildfires in Canada's oil sands, unrest in the Nigerian and Libyan energy sectors, and a near economic meltdown in OPEC member Venezuela have knocked out nearly 4 million barrels per day in immediate production, sparking a buying frenzy in crude futures. Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures have risen nearly 90 percent from 12-year lows hit this winter.

US worries about declining precision weapons stocks for wars Posted: 26 May 2016 01:06 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In the face of imminent military assaults on key cities in Iraq and Syria, the commander of U.S. Air Forces in the Middle East said Thursday he's concerned about running low on precision-guided weapons needed for the war against the Islamic State group in both countries.

Veterans up their "SUP" in Nashville Posted: 26 May 2016 12:08 PM PDT "It was really pretty easy," says a laughing Jessika Lloyd, "until I fell off." Jessika and her husband, U.S. Army veteran Justin Lloyd, recently tried one of the fastest-growing water sports in the world, stand-up paddle boarding (SUP). Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and Nashville Paddle Company hosted the unique event. "It's been tough," says Jessika, "but we have participated in a few WWP events, which give warriors a chance to get together and forget about daily stresses.

Thousands of migrants saved this week as traffic on Libya-Italy route swells Posted: 26 May 2016 11:37 AM PDT A boat of asylum seekers headed for the Italian island Lampedusa capsized off the Libyan coast on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of refugees stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. Tuesday's influx of refugees symbolizes a larger trend in the European refugee crisis: the sea between Libya and Italy has become an increasingly popular route for asylum seekers after the European Union and Turkey signed an agreement in March to slow the surge of migrants entering Greece.

Syria the world's most dangerous place for health workers: WHO Posted: 26 May 2016 11:17 AM PDT Syria was the most dangerous place for health care workers to operate last year, ahead of other conflict zones like the Palestinian territories, and Yemen, the World Health Organization said Thursday. For the first time, the UN health agency provided comprehensive statistics on attacks on health care facilities and other violence directed at health workers in major conflict areas over the past two years. Almost 1,000 people, including health workers, patients and bystanders, were killed, the WHO report said.

Iraq honors policeman who stopped would-be suicide bomber Posted: 26 May 2016 09:57 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has honored a police officer who stopped a would-be suicide bomber at a checkpoint in a northern Baghdad neighborhood this week.

Top Shi'ite cleric urges restraint in assault on Iraq's Falluja Posted: 26 May 2016 09:51 AM PDT By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged government and allied Shi'ite militia forces fighting to retake Falluja from Islamic State militants to spare trapped civilians amid reports of a budding humanitarian crisis in the city. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's appeal reflected concerns that a large civilian death toll in the battle for the mainly Sunni Muslim city could kindle increased sectarian strife in Iraq. The Baghdad government has been led by Shi'ites since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein, a member of the Sunni minority.

China hits back as G7 talk about economy Posted: 26 May 2016 09:44 AM PDT Ise-Shima (Japan) (AFP) - World leaders focused Thursday on pumping up the global economy and worries over the growing clout of China -- which promptly told the G7 club of rich nations to mind its own business. Presidents and prime ministers from the Group of Seven huddled in Japan for two days of meetings, with the refugee crisis, terrorism, the threat of North Korea and sanctions against Russia also filling up their packed agenda.

Falluja refugees report cases of starvation: Norway aid group Posted: 26 May 2016 09:37 AM PDT Civilians who managed to flee besieged Falluja have reported cases of starvation in the Iraqi city that government forces are trying to recapture from Islamic State militants, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Thursday. "If they stay in Falluja they face possible starvation, if they try to escape they risk being killed getting out," NRC media coordinator Becky Bakr Abdulla said in a report, citing refugee accounts.

Hillary Clinton email scandal may have compromised terrorism ops, former military adviser says Posted: 26 May 2016 09:26 AM PDT A damning report from the State Department yesterday added new fuel to a fire that was already a problem for Hillary Clinton. Now, a former military adviser to the State Department has broken ranks, saying that Clinton's "sloppy communications with her senior staff" may have compromised counter-terrorism operations. MUST READ:  The iPhone 7 might actually be in trouble Speaking to  Newsweek , Bill Johnson, the State Department's adviser to US special forces in the Pacific in 2010 and 2011, claimed Clinton's lax security "may have compromised at least two counterterrorism operations." He said that operations to "eliminate the leader of a Filipino Islamist separatist group and intercept Chinese-made weapons components being smuggled into Iraq were repeatedly foiled." The targets were said to be "one step ahead of us" on a constant basis. Johnson said that his team considered other sources for a security breach, but settled on Clinton's unencrypted phone calls to senior staff as the only option. There's no concrete evidence, so of course the Clinton camp is calling the allegations "patently false." The circumstantial evidence is pretty strong, however. When the special operations command became tired of botched missions, it stopped giving advance warning to the State Department officials in Manila. Once they did that, they finally had missions start to go to plan. Even if Clinton's phone calls weren't responsible for counter-terrorism ops going wrong, Johnson's stories of Clinton knowingly using unsecured phone lines to discuss military matters in worrying. The State Department report into Clinton's email use highlighted the fact that Clinton knew she was bypassing security rules; the fact that she also disregarded protocol for phone conversations isn't going to help her case at all.

Delaware National Guard HQ to unveil Beau Biden signs Posted: 26 May 2016 08:22 AM PDT NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) — The Delaware National Guard will unveil new signs naming its headquarters after former state attorney general and National Guard Major Beau Biden.

Japan PM Abe tells G7 North Korea nuclear, missile developments a concern for Europe Posted: 26 May 2016 07:30 AM PDT ISE-SHIMA (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told fellow Group of Seven leaders on Thursday that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are also a concern to Europe, a top Japanese government official said. Chairing the first of two days of a G7 summit in central Japan, Abe told his counterparts that Pyongyang's development of nuclear technology and ballistic missiles poses a threat to international peace, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko told reporters. The prime minister also said it is important to have Russia's constructive engagement in neighboring Ukraine and said Japan is ready to extend a fresh $500 million in aid to Iraq, Seko said.

Council of Europe: Detention of lone minors 'unacceptable' Posted: 26 May 2016 07:01 AM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — It is "unacceptable" for any unaccompanied refugee and migrant children who arrive on the continent to be held in detention centers, one of Europe's top human rights officials said Thursday, calling on European countries to ensure such children can be housed in special facilities and quickly reunited with their families.

Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson to Congress: Indigenous Christian Communities in Iraq and Syria Face Extinction Posted: 26 May 2016 07:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, describing a dire situation for Christians in Iraq and Syria that the United States could take steps to improve. "Many of the region's indigenous communities now face extinction.

Nearly 1,000 killed in attacks on health workers in 2014-15: WHO Posted: 26 May 2016 06:51 AM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Nearly 1,000 people were killed in attacks on health centers worldwide over the past two years, almost 40 percent of them in Syria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday in its first report on the issue. The United Nations agency documented 594 attacks resulting in 959 deaths and 1,561 injuries in 19 countries with emergencies between January 2014 and December 2015. Syria, torn by civil war since 2011, had the most attacks on hospitals, ambulances, patients and medical workers, accounting for 352 deaths.

Iraqi PM asks protesters to stay home to aid Fallujah push Posted: 26 May 2016 06:41 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister appealed on Thursday to Iraqis to postpone the weekly protests due the following day so that security forces can focus on a key military operation aimed at retaking the city of Fallujah from the Islamic State group.

U.S., allies target Islamic State in Falluja, Mosul: coalition Posted: 26 May 2016 06:17 AM PDT The United States and its allies said they targeted Islamic State on Wednesday with two dozen strikes in Iraq, including four near Falluja, where Iraqi forces have launched a recent effort to retake the city from the militant group. The strikes in the city west of Baghdad hit three Islamic State tactical units and two tunnels used by the group as well as four vehicles, an artillery piece, a weapons cache and three fighting positions, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement released on Thursday. Other strikes included five near Mosul, another city where Iraqi forces, with support from the coalition, are working to retake control in the country's northern region.

Cartel or talking shop? OPEC awaits Saudi ruling Posted: 26 May 2016 06:06 AM PDT DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - For those seeking guidance on Saudi Arabia's thinking regarding the future of OPEC, the last few weeks' agenda of the new Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, might offer a few clues. Unlike his predecessor Ali al-Naimi, Falih may not have much time for OPEC. For oil-price hawks such as Iran, Algeria and Venezuela, fears are growing that the 56-year-old OPEC is losing its role as an output-setting cartel and turning into a talking shop.

Iraq PM urges end to protests while army busy fighting Islamic State Posted: 26 May 2016 06:02 AM PDT By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appealed on Thursday for an end to protests against his government while the armed forces are fighting to retake the city of Falluja from Islamic State (IS) insurgents. Abadi is trying to refocus the attention of Iraq's unruly political parties on the war on Islamic State so as to defuse unrest prompted by delays in his planned reshuffle of the cabinet to help root out corruption. Abadi said security forces should be free to concentrate on the offensive that began on Monday to dislodge the ultra-hardline Sunni militants from Falluja, the first Iraqi city that fell under IS control in Iraq, in January 2014.

Dire conditions for civilians trapped in Iraq's Fallujah: UN Posted: 26 May 2016 02:39 AM PDT Only 800 people have been able to flee Fallujah since Iraqi forces launched a major offensive to retake the city, the United Nations said in a statement released Thursday. Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said that those who managed to leave the city occupied by the Islamic State group reported dire living conditions inside. "We are receiving distressing reports of civilians trapped inside Fallujah who are desperate to escape to safety, but can't," the statement quoted her as saying.

Kenya police arrest two for planning Islamic State-linked attack Posted: 26 May 2016 01:03 AM PDT Kenyan police said on Wednesday they had arrested two people linked to Islamic State who were planning to launch an attack, seizing bomb-making materials. Kenya has faced a series of attacks in the past few years in which hundreds have died, launched by the al Qaeda-aligned Somali Islamist group al Shabaab. This month, however, police said they had arrested an Islamist militant who was plotting attacks and who they said was linked to Islamic State.

Man arrested over Australia 'terror' plot Posted: 26 May 2016 12:49 AM PDT A Sydney-based man was arrested on Thursday on charges of planning a terrorist attack in Australia, which reportedly involved targeting a naval base close to the capital's famous opera house, police said. The 24-year-old, named in local media as Farhad Said, was charged with "conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act" after being seized by counter-terrorism police outside his home in the suburb of Bankstown. Several other men are already facing charges over the same alleged plot, which was uncovered in late 2014, with reports last year saying the Garden Island naval base close to the Sydney Opera House and other government buildings were among locations mentioned.

Disney ditches its iconic dollar Posted: 26 May 2016 12:41 AM PDT The iconic home of Mickey Mouse said on Wednesday it would no longer print and sell its beloved currency, the Disney dollar, sparking a buying frenzy among collectors. The distinctive bills, each featuring iconic characters and signed by treasurer Scrooge McDuck, have been a legitimate form of money within the Disney universe since they were put into circulation in the 1980s. Mickey was featured on the dollar bill while Goofy was on the $5 and Minnie Mouse was on the $10.

'Almost Sunrise' Documentary to Help Open Telluride Mountainfilm Festival Posted: 25 May 2016 09:00 PM PDT The film about two Iraq War vets also will screen at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival and AFI Docs.

Hot topics at the G7 summit in Japan Posted: 25 May 2016 07:42 PM PDT Ise-Shima (Japan) (AFP) - Leaders of the Group of Seven industrial democracies meet in Japan Thursday for two days of talks. Here are the hot topics up for discussion at Ise-Shima, a resort 300 kilometres (200 miles) southwest of Tokyo, and what to expect from the talks. The slowing of China's once-dependable growth means G7 leaders now have to look elsewhere for a boost.

World needs to act together on refugees: Tusk Posted: 25 May 2016 07:35 PM PDT The world needs to act together on the refugee crisis gripping Europe, and not leave the continent to battle the problem alone, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday. Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Tusk said European nations needed help in dealing with the tide of people fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa. "We are aware that it is because of geography that the most responsibility is, and will continue to be, placed on Europe," Tusk told reporters at Ise-Shima, 300 kilometres (200 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

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