Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Questions and answers about American troops in Syria
• US orders troops in Syria to remove Kurdish insignia
• Hundreds of civilians flee Iraq's Fallujah area
• Dozens drown in new Mediterranean migrant tragedy
• Islamic State commander in Falluja killed, U.S. military says
• In Iraq's battle for Fallujah, residents gird for long fight
• Josh Duhamel celebrates Memorial Day by helping veterans
• A Day of Remembrance: Memorial Day by the Numbers
• Iraqi troops advance on IS-held Fallujah
• Freed by Russia, Ukraine's 'Joan of Arc' may be thorn in own leaders' side
• The Latest: HRW: 165,000 Syrians trapped at Turkish border
• IS grabs territory from Syrian rebels near Turkish border
• Washington planners look beyond U.S.' crowded 'front lawn'
• Iraq forces fire tear gas as thousands protest in Baghdad
• Ukraine pilot Savchenko 'ready to negotiate with pro-Moscow separatists'
• Warren Buffett says money can’t fix the biggest threat to the world
• Coalition warplanes pummel IS in Syria bastion
• Iraqis fleeing Mosul to Syria, up to 50,000 anticipated: UNHCR
• AP PHOTOS: Editor selections of the week in the Mideast
• ISIS, losing territory in Syria, signals strategic shift
• Global economy is 'urgent priority': G7
• The costly truth of emergency spending in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Middle East refugees help Europe prosecute war crimes
• Sixth man charged over Australia's 'tinnie terror' plan
• Australian party leader says some Trump views 'barking mad'

Questions and answers about American troops in Syria Posted: 27 May 2016 02:44 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 200 U.S. special operations troops are in Syria advising the Syrian Democratic Forces in their effort to retake the city of Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State group.

US orders troops in Syria to remove Kurdish insignia Posted: 27 May 2016 02:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — American special operations troops were not authorized to wear the patches of Kurdish forces while advising them in Syria and have been told to remove them, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said Friday, after Turkish leaders protested.

Hundreds of civilians flee Iraq's Fallujah area Posted: 27 May 2016 02:15 PM PDT Hundreds of people fled the Fallujah area Friday as forces pressed simultaneous offensives on the Iraqi city and on another of the Islamic State group's key bastions in Syria. An estimated 50,000 civilians remained trapped in Fallujah city however as well as twice that number along Syria's border with Turkey as a result of an IS sweep near Aleppo. The US-led coalition claimed it killed a key IS commander for the Fallujah area, although it was not clear when.

Dozens drown in new Mediterranean migrant tragedy Posted: 27 May 2016 02:09 PM PDT The Italian navy has recovered the bodies of 45 migrants who drowned Friday in the latest shipwreck, while dozens of others are still missing in the third major tragedy in the Mediterranean in as many days. "The vessel Vega rescued 135 migrants from a sinking vessel. While the European Union has pushed hard to limit the influx of people fleeing war and poverty, a bout of good weather as summer arrives has kicked off a fresh stream of boats trying to make the perilous crossing from Libya to Italy.

Islamic State commander in Falluja killed, U.S. military says Posted: 27 May 2016 12:27 PM PDT By Idrees Ali and Saif Hameed WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition strikes supporting Iraqi forces in the recapture of Falluja have killed 70 Islamic State militants including the group's commander in the city, a U.S military spokesman said on Friday. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State, said the coalition had carried out 20 strikes in support of the campaign over the past four days. Maher al-Bilawi, commander of Islamic State fighters in Falluja, was killed two days ago, Warren said.

In Iraq's battle for Fallujah, residents gird for long fight Posted: 27 May 2016 12:07 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Five days into an Iraqi military operation to push Islamic State fighters out of Fallujah, residents still inside the city are preparing for a long battle, with some saying they fear being trapped between two forces they don't fully trust.

Josh Duhamel celebrates Memorial Day by helping veterans Posted: 27 May 2016 12:01 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before starting work on the next "Transformers" film, Josh Duhamel is lending his star power to help disabled veterans.

A Day of Remembrance: Memorial Day by the Numbers Posted: 27 May 2016 12:01 PM PDT Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer for many Americans, a holiday weekend filled with road trips, cook-outs and parades. But even as we enjoy the warm temperatures and a three-day break from ...

Iraqi troops advance on IS-held Fallujah Posted: 27 May 2016 11:49 AM PDT CAMP TARIQ, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi troops pushed toward Fallujah from the south Friday, aiming to completely surround the militant-held city, Iraq's elite counterterrrorism forces said.

Freed by Russia, Ukraine's 'Joan of Arc' may be thorn in own leaders' side Posted: 27 May 2016 11:41 AM PDT By Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Securing pilot Nadiya Savchenko's release from Russian captivity was a PR coup for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko but the outspoken woman feted as the nation's "Joan of Arc" may ultimately prove a thorn in his side. While in jail, Savchenko was named a lawmaker in what is now the main opposition party at a time of growing disillusion with the slow pace of reforms and tackling corruption. Two years after being captured in the separatist Donbass region and jailed in Russia for allegedly killing two Russian journalists, Savchenko was flown back to a hero's welcome and flowers in Kiev as part of a prisoner exchange on Tuesday.

The Latest: HRW: 165,000 Syrians trapped at Turkish border Posted: 27 May 2016 10:37 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the fighting in Syria (all times local):

IS grabs territory from Syrian rebels near Turkish border Posted: 27 May 2016 10:17 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Militants of the Islamic State group on Friday seized a string of villages from Syrian rebels near the Turkish border in rapid advances that forced the evacuation of a hospital and trapped tens of thousands of people amid heavy fighting, Syrian opposition activists and an international medical organization said.

Washington planners look beyond U.S.' crowded 'front lawn' Posted: 27 May 2016 09:53 AM PDT The National Mall, the iconic lawn stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, has become so crowded with commemorative monuments that even the most ambitious tourists find it hard to visit them all in one day. The backdrop for countless political protests and visits by world leaders, the park is packed with imposing memorials ranging from the tall white spire commemorating George Washington to the imposing black wall honoring Vietnam War dead. As these memorials cluster ever-closer together and draw additional millions of visitors each year, the Mall's custodians have launched a search for new ways to pay tribute to historical figures and events in the U.S. capital.

Iraq forces fire tear gas as thousands protest in Baghdad Posted: 27 May 2016 09:36 AM PDT Security forces fired tear gas as thousands of protesters gathered in central Baghdad on Friday and attempted to head to the Green Zone, a fortified area they have breached twice. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had called on the demonstrators, most of them supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, to stay home and security forces deployed to block their way to the Green Zone, but the protesters were undeterred. Demonstrators pushed past security forces at Tahrir Square, breached a barbed wire barrier and attempted to pull down slabs of heavy concrete blast wall blocking Jumhuriyah Bridge, which leads toward the Green Zone, where Iraq's main government institutions are located.

Ukraine pilot Savchenko 'ready to negotiate with pro-Moscow separatists' Posted: 27 May 2016 09:01 AM PDT Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, freed from a Russian jail this week, said on Friday she is ready to negotiate with pro-Russian separatists on releasing prisoners. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Thursday that 174 Ukrainians are currently jailed in Russia and Crimea or being held by rebels in east Ukraine. "When they say that we should not engage with separatists politically, I don't think so.

Warren Buffett says money can’t fix the biggest threat to the world Posted: 27 May 2016 08:50 AM PDT Legendary investor Warren Buffett says there's one massive threat to the global economy and there's no way American corporations or their investors can shed the risk.

Coalition warplanes pummel IS in Syria bastion Posted: 27 May 2016 08:09 AM PDT Warplanes from the US-led coalition have pounded the Islamic State group with at least 150 strikes to bolster a major offensive on the jihadists' Syrian stronghold of Raqa, a monitor said Friday. The US is backing twin assaults against IS -- one in Raqa province and another which aims to retake the Iraqi city of Fallujah across the border. A Kurdish-Arab alliance is being supported by coalition air raids as well as US forces on the ground in its push for territory north of Raqa city -- IS's de facto Syrian capital.

Iraqis fleeing Mosul to Syria, up to 50,000 anticipated: UNHCR Posted: 27 May 2016 07:24 AM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 4,200 Iraqis from Mosul fled to Syria in May, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday, adding it is gearing up for up to 50,000 people to leave the Islamic State-held city and cross the border. Driving the exodus appear to be reports that IS militants have stepped up executions of men and boys in Falluja since Iraqi government forces launched an offensive to re-take the city, where people are also dying of starvation, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. The Iraqi army launched an offensive on Monday to dislodge the ultra-hardline Sunni militants from Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad.

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections of the week in the Mideast Posted: 27 May 2016 06:20 AM PDT In Egypt, candlelight vigils have been held for the victims of EgyptAir flight 804. The cause of last week's crash of the EgyptAir jet flying from Paris to Cairo that killed all 66 people on board still has not been determined. Ships and planes from Egypt, Greece, France, the United States and other nations are searching the Mediterranean Sea north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria for the jet's voice and flight data recorders.

ISIS, losing territory in Syria, signals strategic shift Posted: 27 May 2016 06:13 AM PDT Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State? The announcement signals a shift away from the traditional military campaign that enabled IS to rapidly capture large swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq and establish the so-called "Islamic Caliphate," a jihadist's utopia where its ultra-extremist interpretation of Islam is enforced in all aspects of life. IS, which is also known as ISIS, has long based its legitimacy – and supremacy over other jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda – on its ability to capture and administer territories in Iraq and Syria.

Global economy is 'urgent priority': G7 Posted: 27 May 2016 03:55 AM PDT Ise-Shima (Japan) (AFP) - Pumping up the world economy is an "urgent priority" G7 leaders said Friday, as they warned there could be dire global consequences if Britain decides to leave the EU. Wrapping up their meeting in rural Japan, the leaders endorsed a pick-and-mix approach to dealing with the malaise that has lingered since the financial crisis erupted in 2008. "Global growth is our urgent priority," the G7 said in a final statement.

The costly truth of emergency spending in Iraq and Afghanistan Posted: 27 May 2016 02:00 AM PDT Troops are leaving, but the Pentagon's war funding is increasing

Middle East refugees help Europe prosecute war crimes Posted: 27 May 2016 01:40 AM PDT By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE (Reuters) - European authorities are seeking testimony from some of the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Middle East violence as they try to build war crimes cases linked to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. As witnesses to atrocities, they are invaluable to prosecutors preparing trials in European courts that will offer a way round the United Nations impasse that has prevented the setting up of an international court for Syria. "Over the next five years you'll see a lot of prosecutions," said Matevz Pezdirc of the European Union's Genocide Network, a forum that brings together police and prosecutors twice a year in The Hague to swap information about war crimes.

Sixth man charged over Australia's 'tinnie terror' plan Posted: 27 May 2016 12:16 AM PDT A sixth man was charged Friday in connection to Australia's so-called "tinnie terror" case in which a group of young men allegedly hoped to travel overseas on a small boat to join jihadists. Australian Federal Police said a 25-year-old Melbourne man was charged on suspicion of preparing to enter a foreign country to engage in hostile activities. "There is no current or impending threat of a terrorist act to the Australian community arising from this investigation," they said in a joint statement with Victoria Police.

Australian party leader says some Trump views 'barking mad' Posted: 26 May 2016 09:20 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's opposition leader on Friday described some of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's views as "barking mad," breaking a longstanding Australian convention of avoiding taking sides in U.S. political contests.

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