Baghdad (AIN) -The President, Fuad Masoum discussed with the US Ambassador for Iraq, Stuart Jones the security situation in Kobane and its ramifications on Iraq and the region. The President assured, during the meeting, the need to assess the serious posture in the Syrian city of Kobane and possible consequences on the security in Iraq and Syria and all the region, said media office of Masoum. Read more: http://www.alliraqnews.com/en/index.php/component/content/article/40-2011-11-19-15-20-50/59073-president-us-ambassador-for-iraq-discuss-kobane-crisis-.html

-Deutsche Welle- In attacks on the Yazidi religious minority in northern Iraq, "Islamic State" militants are said to have abducted up to 5,000 women and girls. Five survivors tell DW what they endured in 23 days of captivity. The five girls sit with their heads bowed, veils pulled down over their faces, fingers clutched firmly together. They come from Kocho, a village in the Sinjar Mountains. Ceylan, the smallest, is 10, while the oldest, Zehra, is 20. For three weeks, they…

-Al Jazeera- More than two months have passed since the US-led coalition began targeting ISIL in Iraq. There have been some tactical successes but the group has not been defeated. The Iraqi government is now trying to persuade Sunni armed factions and tribes to help it fight ISIL but Sunni leaders want greater rights and representation in government. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Erbil. Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2014/10/iraq-wants-sunni-armed-factions-fight-isil-2014107152837974822.html

-EUobserver, BRUSSELS - People arriving at the Place du Luxembourg in front of the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday (7 October) morning saw a familar scene from recent days: a group of protesters calling for help for Kurdish victims of Islamic State (IS). But at around 11am local time the scene became more hectic. “The protesters stormed the building”, Orhan Murat, the spokesperson for the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Belgium told EUobserver. He said about 150 Kurdish activists…

-Today's Zaman- The Pentagon has spent as much as $1.1 billion on US military operations against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in Iraq and Syria since the mission began in mid-June, including more than $62 million alone in Navy airstrikes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. US Central Command, in data released Monday, said that the Navy has dropped roughly 185 munitions, including 47 cruise missiles launched from ships in the region. Central Command said Air Force fighter jets…

-Al Monitor- On Sept. 18, Bir Khadr Suleiman, a famous Iraqi writer and researcher, burned all the books in his personal library to protest the extermination of Iraq’s minorities. In Dahuk in northern Iraq, Suleiman gathered his books, and, in the presence of a number of his supporters, burned them while weeping over his many years of work. Suleiman is one of Iraq's most famous researchers on the Yazidi minority, publishing nine books in English, Arabic and Kurdish over four…

-Press release from Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and The Rt Hon William Hague MP- There continue to be reports from Iraq of sexual violence and slavery being inflicted on women and children by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Later this month the UK and Canada will deploy gender violence and programming experts on a joint mission to Iraq where they will work with the government and local civil society to identify ways to…

(The New York Times) BAGHDAD — After enduring weeks of abuse by insurgents of the group called Islamic State, members of the Aza tribe struck a secret deal last month with local police and military officials: The authorities would supply weapons to two tribal regiments totaling about 1,150 fighters, and in return the tribe would help government security forces fight Islamic State. Several days later, the tribal regiments, in collaboration with Iraqi government troops and Shiite militia fighters, liberated 13…

-Agence France-Presse, Tehran-Iranian television published a rare picture Monday of its elite Quds Force chief in Iraq that was widely circulated online, puncturing the mystique of one of the region’s most powerful men.The image of Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani purportedly showing him on an Iraqi battlefield was published on the website of IRINN state television and repeatedly shared on Twitter.Grinning widely, Suleimani, easily identified by his greying hair and beard, was seen standing alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. IRINN did not…

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s main political camps remain unable to agree on candidates for two key ministerial positions, dashing hopes that government line-up could be finalized ahead of Eid Al-Adha.Iraqi parliamentary rapporteur Niyazi Uglu said on Thursday that the parliament will not be able to convene to name candidates for the interior and defense ministries, without explaining why.Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced he would discuss with the Speaker of the Parliament Salim Al-Jubouri the possibility of holding…