Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Former UK deputy PM Prescott says now believes Iraq invasion illegal
• Iraq PM says key base taken back from Islamic State
• Hollande calls for military action against Syrian Qaeda affiliate
• Iraq war was illegal, says Blair's former deputy
• Officers felled by Dallas sniper hailed as kind, devoted
• NATO boosts support for countries battling Islamic extremism
• Obama vows US will 'always' stand by NATO allies
• NATO to use surveillance planes against IS
• The Latest: NATO allies to create joint intel division
• Macedonian police arrest four suspected of Islamic State links
• Senior Kurdish PKK commander killed in Syria: Turkey's Anadolu
• Macedonia: Police detain 4 in anti-terror operation
• Iraq army seizes key airbase from IS south of Mosul
• AP: Islamic State's Twitter traffic drops amid US efforts
• Iraqi forces say recapture airbase on way to Mosul
• Corbyn as UK Labour chief: A stormy nine months
• Car bomb hits army outpost in Turkey, killing 3
• Merkel, Erdogan try to mend ties after genocide vote
• Merkel says talked through German-Turkish differences with Erdogan
• Dallas shooting: the victims
• Dallas police shooting: what we know
• Newlywed, Iraq veteran among the 5 Dallas police officers killed

Former UK deputy PM Prescott says now believes Iraq invasion illegal Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:21 PM PDT Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision. A seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalog of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal. Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told U.S. President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said.

Iraq PM says key base taken back from Islamic State Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:09 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces recaptured a northern air base from the Islamic State group on Saturday, a victory hailed by the prime minister as a key step ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake the northern city of Mosul.

Hollande calls for military action against Syrian Qaeda affiliate Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:49 PM PDT French President Francois Hollande called Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups. "Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw. Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group.

Iraq war was illegal, says Blair's former deputy Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:54 PM PDT Tony Blair's deputy as prime minister when Britain joined the invasion of Iraq has said he believes the war was illegal, days after a long-awaited report excoriated Britain's role in the conflict. John Prescott, number two in the Labour government when Britain took part in the US-led invasion in 2003, made the remarks in a piece to be published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper. On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain's role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before all peaceful options had been exhausted and that judgements about Iraq's capacities were "presented with a certainty that was not justified".

Officers felled by Dallas sniper hailed as kind, devoted Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:44 PM PDT They were spouses and parents. They volunteered in schools and at church. And they had sworn to serve and protect.

NATO boosts support for countries battling Islamic extremism Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:09 PM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO allies agreed Saturday to provide increased military support to countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are targets of Islamic extremism, including using NATO surveillance planes in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Obama vows US will 'always' stand by NATO allies Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:08 PM PDT US President Barack Obama on Saturday vowed the United States would always stand by Europe as its NATO allies backed a "hard-headed" policy of deterrence and dialogue with Russia. "In good times, and in bad, Europe can count on the United States. Always," Obama said after a NATO summit in Warsaw approved the alliance's biggest military upgrade since the end of the Cold War in response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.

NATO to use surveillance planes against IS Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:01 PM PDT NATO leaders on Saturday agreed to deploy sophisticated surveillance aircraft to support the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg said a summit of the 28 NATO leaders in Warsaw had formally approved a plan for the alliance's AWACS planes to fly over international airspace and help the US-led coalition.

The Latest: NATO allies to create joint intel division Posted: 09 Jul 2016 11:59 AM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Latest on the NATO Summit in Warsaw (all times local):

Macedonian police arrest four suspected of Islamic State links Posted: 09 Jul 2016 11:34 AM PDT SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Macedonian police said they arrested four people on Saturday believed to have fought alongside Islamic State insurgents in Syria and Iraq, and were looking for another three. Officers detained the group in the capital Skopje and the city of Tetovo and seized computers, mobile phones and passports, police official Dejana Nedeljkovic told local media. Authorities in the former Yugoslav republic estimate as many as 130 of its citizens have fought or are currently fighting alongside Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq. ...

Senior Kurdish PKK commander killed in Syria: Turkey's Anadolu Posted: 09 Jul 2016 10:30 AM PDT By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group has been killed in a bomb attack on a car in which he was traveling in northeast Syria, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday. If confirmed, the killing of Fehman Huseyin would be a major blow to the PKK, which been fighting in southeast Turkey since a two-year-old ceasefire collapsed a year ago.

Macedonia: Police detain 4 in anti-terror operation Posted: 09 Jul 2016 10:26 AM PDT SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian police have arrested four men in an anti-terror operation launched overnight against suspected Islamic State supporters.

Iraq army seizes key airbase from IS south of Mosul Posted: 09 Jul 2016 10:22 AM PDT Iraqi forces have captured a key airbase from the Islamic State group that can serve as a launchpad for retaking the jihadist-held city of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday. The Qayyarah airbase in the Tigris valley 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul would be "an important base for the liberation of Mosul," Abadi said in a statement. Iraq's Joint Operations Command said two army divisions and members of the country's counter-terrorism forces took the base with air support from a US-led international coalition.

AP: Islamic State's Twitter traffic drops amid US efforts Posted: 09 Jul 2016 09:24 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Islamic State group's Twitter traffic has plunged 45 percent in the past two years, the Obama administration says, as the U.S. and its allies have countered messages of jihadi glorification with a flood of online images and statements about suffering and enslavement at the hands of the extremist organization.

Iraqi forces say recapture airbase on way to Mosul Posted: 09 Jul 2016 08:02 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces said they seized back control of a major airbase on Saturday, a staging post on their way to the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. Special forces and regular troops, under air cover from the U.S.-led coalition, entered Qayyara airbase from the south and found fighters from the militant group appeared to have fled, said a senior army officer from the frontline. "It's a strategic advance ... It will help speed up the offensive on Mosul," he added.

Corbyn as UK Labour chief: A stormy nine months Posted: 09 Jul 2016 07:25 AM PDT Veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn has had to contend with the Brexit vote and now an open rebellion during his nine tumultuous months at the head of Britain's main opposition Labour party. Throughout, Corbyn has used his support from grassroots party members as a shield against increasingly fierce attacks from Labour MPs and is likely to do so again following the leadership challenge announced by Angela Eagle on Saturday. Corbyn was elected head of the Labour party by party members and trade union members on September 12, 2015.

Car bomb hits army outpost in Turkey, killing 3 Posted: 09 Jul 2016 07:23 AM PDT ISTANBUL (AP) — A vehicle laden with explosives hit an army outpost in southeastern Turkey on Saturday, killing three people, according to a statement published by the governor's office.

Merkel, Erdogan try to mend ties after genocide vote Posted: 09 Jul 2016 06:42 AM PDT By Sabine Siebold WARSAW (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and Turkey sought on Saturday to clear the air in their first private talks since the German parliament infuriated Ankara by branding the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, but they did not overcome their differences. Chancellor Angela Merkel met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw to discuss the tensions in their often prickly but strategically important relationship. Ties between Turkey and Germany - vital partners in efforts to curb mass migration to Europe - have been strained since the Bundestag passed the Armenian resolution on June 2.

Merkel says talked through German-Turkish differences with Erdogan Posted: 09 Jul 2016 05:59 AM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had talked through German-Turkish differences in a constructive spirit with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday but the issues had not disappeared. It was the two leaders' first meeting since the German parliament last month passed a resolution declaring that a 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces was a genocide, causing outrage in Turkey which denies the accusation. Ankara has since refused German parliamentarians access to the Incirlik airbase, where 250 German troops are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Dallas shooting: the victims Posted: 08 Jul 2016 08:38 PM PDT Five police officers were killed in a sniper-style attack by a black army veteran during a protest in Dallas against police brutality towards African-Americans. Thompson was a police officer attached to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority. The first DART officer to be killed in the line of duty since the agency formed its police force in 1989, he joined the department in 2009.

Dallas police shooting: what we know Posted: 08 Jul 2016 07:22 PM PDT Five police officers were killed and seven others wounded in a sniper-style attack by a black army veteran during a protest in Dallas against police brutality towards African-Americans. Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered Thursday in Dallas, Texas, a city of 1.2 million people, to protest over the fatal police shootings of two black men this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. The shootings revived an emotional debate over lethal use of force by police, and problems of alleged police racial bias targeting minorities, especially African-Americans.

Newlywed, Iraq veteran among the 5 Dallas police officers killed Posted: 08 Jul 2016 06:34 PM PDT Seven other police officers and two civilians were wounded in the shooting at the end of a protest over this week's killing of two black men by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Dallas shooter was a U.S. Army reservist who served in Afghanistan. Transit Police Officer Brent Thompson, 43, worked for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system since 2009 and was the first officer killed in the line of duty since the transit system formed a police department in 1989, DART said on its website.

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