Iraq

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US Seeks Allies in ISIS Fight —but Not Assad

Obama may greenlight military action in Syria, expanded airstrikes in Iraq

(Newser) - After OKing airstrikes in Iraq and spy flights over Syria in an attempt to rein in ISIS, President Obama has started rallying international allies to expand efforts against the militant Sunni group—efforts that may include even more airstrikes in Iraq and possible military action in Syria, reports the New ...

Islamic State Says It Executed US Journalist

American James Foley is reportedly beheaded

(Newser) - The terror group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS, claims to have beheaded American photojournalist James Foley in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iraq, reports the Washington Post and NBC News . A graphic video purports to show Foley, 40, being executed after reciting a statement in which he refers...

US Hit 90 Targets in Mosul Dam Fight: Pentagon

President calls recapture of dam a 'major step forward'

(Newser) - President Obama hailed the recapture of Mosul dam today as a "major step forward" as a barrage of US airstrikes helped Kurdish and Iraqi forces score the biggest victory of its counteroffensive against the Islamic State militants. Obama also urged the badly fractured and largely dysfunctional Iraqi government to...

Pope Backs Action in Iraq, Wants UN OK

Pontiff says Islamic State militants must be stopped

(Newser) - Pope Francis, the guy probably least likely on the planet to come out in favor of military action, today did precisely that, telling reporters aboard his plane that he had no problem with the use of force to stop Islamic State militants in Iraq from slaughtering the Yazidi minority. "...

Iraq: We've 'Fully Liberated' Critical Dam

US airstrikes backed troops in big blow to Islamic State

(Newser) - In a major victory against the Islamic State, Iraqi and Kurdish forces have retaken control of the Mosul Dam, an Iraqi military spokesman tells the AP . The success comes after two days of US airstrikes aimed at helping recapture the site north of Iraq's second-biggest city. The troops have...

'At Least I'm Alive': Inside a Deadly Iraq 'Copter Crash

Helicopter went down trying to save Yazidis

(Newser) - A crashing helicopter full of Yazidi refugees goes down too quickly to describe—so Alissa Rubin, a veteran New York Times reporter, writes more about the others on board during the crash this week . Yazidi member of Parliament Vian Dakhil, who had given a "heart-rending" speech advocating the rescue...

Militants Massacre 80 Yazidi Villagers

Women, children are abducted by Islamic State

(Newser) - The Yazidis who managed to escape to the mountains seem to be protected from Islamic State militants, but those who stayed in their villages clearly are not. Reports from the village of Kocho in northern Iraq say that extremists executed about 80 Yazidi men yesterday and took away about 300...

Maliki Steps Down in Iraq
 Maliki Steps Down in Iraq 
Aug 14, 2014 3:19 PM CDT

Maliki Steps Down in Iraq

He gives up fight to remain prime minister

(Newser) - Nouri al-Maliki finally took the hint: He's giving up his fight to serve a third term as prime minister of Iraq, reports the BBC . State TV says Maliki has agreed to step down in favor of Haider al-Ibadi, even though Maliki had called Ibadi's appointment unconstitutional and raised...

US: Airstrikes Worked, Iraqi Rescue Not Needed

Military advisers find 'far fewer' Yazidis on mountain than expected

(Newser) - It looks like the US won't have to launch a mass evacuation of Iraqis trapped on a mountain after all. A small team of American military personnel who spent 24 hours on Mount Sinjar said US airstrikes seem to have done the trick—most of the trapped Yazidis who...

US Sends More Troops to Iraq
 US Sends More Troops to Iraq 
Aug 13, 2014 7:57 AM CDT

US Sends More Troops to Iraq

Maliki in talks to step down as France sends weapons to Kurds

(Newser) - Another 130 Marines and special operations forces have been sent to Iraq to help rescue tens of thousands of Yazidi refugees still trapped on a mountain, but this "is not a combat boots on the ground kind of operation," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says. Speaking at California's...

Helicopter Overloaded With Rescued Iraqis Crashes

Pilot appears to be only fatality; 2 journalists among those injured

(Newser) - An Iraqi helicopter that brought supplies to tens of thousands of Yazidi minorities still trapped on Iraq's Mount Sinjar crashed today because too many refugees clambered on board, an Iraqi military spokesman tells the AP . The pilot is apparently the only fatality. New York Times journalist Alissa Rubin, 56,...

How US Media Censored a Shocking War Photo

Kenneth Jarecke's photograph, once snubbed, is now famous

(Newser) - Kenneth Jarecke's stunning photo of an Iraqi soldier scorched alive in his truck might have shocked Americans 23 years ago, but we'll never know—because the US media kept it under wraps, the Atlantic reports. On assignment with Time to cover Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Jarecke persuaded...

Obama Calls for New Iraqi Government

President says he and Joe Biden called al-Maliki's replacement

(Newser) - President Obama welcomed new leadership in Iraq as "a promising step forward" today amid a political and security crisis in Baghdad, saying the only lasting solution is the formation of an inclusive government. Obama did not mention Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but clearly was addressing the embattled incumbent as...

Islamic State Stones 2 Women to Death for Adultery

Locals refuse to throw rocks

(Newser) - Two women were stoned to death by Islamic State militants within a 24-hour period last month, the AP reports. Their alleged crime: adultery. "People were shocked and couldn't understand what was going on," says an activist witness to one of the stonings in northern Syria. Militants called...

Maliki Out? In Snub, Iraq President Names New PM

Whether Maliki will go along remains unclear

(Newser) - The big question in Iraq today: Will Nouri al-Maliki go quietly? As expected, President Fouad Massoum snubbed the two-term prime minister and said he must step down to make way for someone new. Massoum picked deputy parliament speaker Haider al-Ibadi to be the next PM and gave him 30 days...

Iraq's Newest Mess: A Possible 'Coup'

Prime Minister Maliki wants a third term, but president is balking

(Newser) - Tense times in Baghdad: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki deployed troops at strategic locations in the Iraqi capital amid a power struggle with newly elected President Fouad Massoum. Maliki accuses Massoum of carrying out "a coup against the constitution and the political process" by failing to nominate him for a...

20K Trapped Iraqis Rescued From Mountain

Yazidis aided by Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Today brought word from officials that militants in Iraq killed some 500 members of the Yazidi minority community, but much better news is also emerging: With tens of thousands of Yazidis trapped on a mountain by militants, about 20,000 of them have managed to flee within the past 24...

Iraq: Militants Killed 500 Yazidis, Buried Some Alive

Some were women, children in mass graves: human rights minister

(Newser) - The Islamic State's assault on the Yazidi minority community is every bit as horrific as might be expected, with Iraq's human rights minister telling Reuters today that the militant group has killed at least 500 Yazidis—and buried some of those alive. " We have striking evidence obtained...

The Next Target of ISIS: Western Nations?

CNN looks at possible ways the extremist group might attack

(Newser) - In the wake of two US airstrikes against ISIS, supporters of the extremist group that's been seizing towns in northern Iraq are calling for retaliatory strikes against America, CNN reports. "It is a clear message that the war is against Islam and the mujahideen," wrote the administrator...

Obama: Iraq Intervention Will Be 'Long Term'

'I don't think we're going to solve this problem in weeks,' he says

(Newser) - While President Obama reiterated today that he won't let the US get dragged back into a ground war in Iraq, he said the newly restarted airstrikes won't be ending anytime soon, reports the New York Times . “I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem...

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