Iraqi army, militants clash west of Baghdad

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN

BAGHDAD (AP) — Clashes between Iraqi troops and Sunni insurgents west of Baghdad killed at least four children on Thursday as the United Nations said the humanitarian crisis ignited by the advance of Islamic militants had escalated to its highest emergency level.

The extremist Islamic State group's lightning advance across much of northern and western Iraq has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes since June, and last week prompted the U.S. to launch aid operations and airstrikes as the militants threatened religious minorities and the largely autonomous Kurdish region.

The U.N. on Wednesday declared the situation in Iraq a "Level 3 Emergency" — a development that will allow for additional assets to respond to the needs of the displaced, said U.N. special representative Nickolay Mladenov, pointing to the "scale and complexity of the current humanitarian catastrophe."

The Security Council also said it was backing a newly nominated premier-designate in the hope that he can swiftly form an "inclusive government" that could counter the insurgent threat, which has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since U.S. troops withdrew at the end of 2011.

FULL story at link.



Civilians inspect the site of a car bomb attack near a restaurant in the southeastern district of New Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. A string of attacks in and around the capital killed more than a dozen and wounded dozens. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140814/ml--iraq-3fdf3d679c.html

[grahamhgreen]

1. Why aren't the Bush cabal in jail? In my view, they are culpable for the current debacle in Iraq.