| Trump Steps Up Effort to Discredit Sanctions Against Russia Posted: 01 Jan 2017 04:17 PM PST  President-elect Donald Trump appears to be stepping up his effort to undercut the Obama administration's retaliation against Russia for interfering in the Nov. 8 election by hacking into Democratic emails and leaking millions of documents to WikiLeaks that were damaging to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign. The billionaire businessman vowed over the weekend to reveal in the coming days "things that other people don't know about hacking" that could weaken the U.S. intelligence community's indictment against Russian president Vladimir Putin, whom Trump is courting as a possible staunch ally in a reordering of global alliances. Meanwhile, his top spokesman, Sean Spicer, argued on the ABC News "This Week" that President's Obama's sanctions against Russia were disproportionate to the alleged offense. The government expelled 35 members of Russia's diplomatic mission and closed two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland that were suspected of being spy nests. Obama also imposed sanctions on officials of Russia's two main intelligence agencies.
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| Foreigners among victims of Istanbul attack Posted: 01 Jan 2017 03:17 PM PST  Foreigners including many nationals of Arab countries were among the dead in the New Year shooting rampage at an Istanbul nightclub, officials said on Sunday. Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul said that Saudis were among the victims, but gave no figures. The foreign ministry in Amman said three Jordanians were killed and four injured, the official Petra news agency reported.
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| Gunman in New Year slayings at Istanbul club still at large Posted: 01 Jan 2017 02:35 PM PST  Turkish police struggled Sunday to track down a gunman who attacked New Year's Eve revelers at a popular Istanbul nightclub, killing at least 39 people, most of them foreigners. Close to 70 more were wounded. ...
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| Islamic State attacks Iraqi police near Najaf, kills seven Posted: 01 Jan 2017 09:55 AM PST By Isabel Coles and Ali al-Rubaie MOSUL/HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint near the southern city of Najaf on Sunday, killing seven policemen as government forces in the north made more gains against the militants in Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country. The Najaf attack, which involved gunmen and a suicide car bomb, followed blasts a day earlier in Baghdad that left 29 people dead, a reminder of Islamic State's continued ability to operate away from territory under its control. The recapture of Mosul would probably spell the end for the group's self-styled caliphate in the areas it seized in 2014, but the militants would still be capable of fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq, and plotting or inspiring attacks on the West. |
| U.S.-led coalition hit Islamic State mortar position in Mosul: Pentagon Posted: 01 Jan 2017 09:13 AM PST  An artillery strike by the U.S.-led coalition in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul struck a mortar position next to two empty school buildings that Islamic State had been using to target Iraqi security forces, the U.S. military said on Sunday. No civilians were in the area and minimal damage was reported to the buildings, the Combined Joint Strike Force said in a statement. "While the Coalition takes extraordinary effort to protect civilians and strike appropriate military targets, we will continue to strike ISIL wherever and whenever our partner's lives are in danger in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict," it said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
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| Iraq forces have retaken over 60% of east Mosul: commander Posted: 01 Jan 2017 08:00 AM PST  Iraqi forces have retaken more than 60 percent of eastern Mosul from the Islamic State group since the battle for the city began in mid-October, a top commander said Sunday. "From east Mosul... more than 60 percent" has been recaptured from IS, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a top commander in Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), told AFP. The eastern side of Mosul, which is split by the Tigris River, is the larger of the two, but more civilians live in the west, he said.
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| Hundreds flee fighting near Syria's capital despite truce Posted: 01 Jan 2017 07:55 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of civilians fled a mountainous region outside the Syrian capital on Sunday, where government forces were battling several insurgent groups, including an al-Qaida-linked outfit excluded from a recent nationwide cease-fire. |
| Trump team on retaliation against Russia: ‘Why the magnitude of this?’ Posted: 01 Jan 2017 07:12 AM PST  On Sunday, Donald Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, questioned the severity of President Obama's retaliation against Russia for cyberattacks on Democratic officials. Last week, the Obama administration announced that it was taking a series of actions against Russia after accusing Moscow of spearheading hacking attacks against the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.
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| US general praises Iraqi forces fighting in Mosul Posted: 01 Jan 2017 06:45 AM PST  IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — A senior U.S. military commander on Sunday praised Iraqi forces fighting to recapture the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, saying they were "at their peak" and adjusting well to changing realities on the battlefield.
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| Trump still not sold on Russian link to hacking Posted: 01 Jan 2017 06:05 AM PST  PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says that "no computer is safe" when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations.
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| Humble Iraqi dish offers taste of home for Mosul's displaced Posted: 31 Dec 2016 11:36 PM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — Long before it became famous as a battlefield in the fight against the Islamic State group, the Iraqi city of Mosul was known for its ancient cuisine, enriched by Syrian, Turkish and Persian recipes.
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| Trump says he doesn't trust computers as he rings in 2017 Posted: 31 Dec 2016 09:38 PM PST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says that "no computer is safe" when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations. |
| Trump again doubts US intelligence on Russian hacking Posted: 31 Dec 2016 08:18 PM PST  President-elect Donald Trump again cast doubt on a US intelligence finding that Russia meddled in the US election through computer hacking, a conclusion that led to US sanctions against Moscow. "Well, I just want them to be sure, because it's a pretty serious charge, and I want them to be sure," Trump told reporters at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
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| IS-claimed attack in southern Iraq kills at least seven Posted: 31 Dec 2016 04:13 PM PST  An attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a police checkpoint in southern Iraq left at least seven people dead on Sunday, officials said. Gunmen wearing suicide vests and driving an explosives-laden vehicle opened fire on the checkpoint near the town of Qadisiyah, which lies around 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Baghdad. "They were planning to head to Najaf to blow themselves up there," interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said, referring to a holy Shiite city around 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the north.
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| Frightened civilians flee as Iraq forces battle IS in Mosul Posted: 31 Dec 2016 04:04 PM PST  Frightened Iraqi civilians hurry down a muddy street in Mosul as gunshots echo through the neighbourhood and a helicopter wheels overhead, firing a barrage of bullets towards jihadists below. Others choose to stay, hanging white flags from their homes and periodically peering out as Iraqi forces battle the Islamic State group for control of the country's second city. "There was more movement of families (Friday)," says Lieutenant Colonel Hisham Abdulkadhim of Iraq's elite Rapid Response Division, a special forces unit that directed civilians to shelter as it advanced.
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