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HADIMIZBAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Fouad Massoum speaks during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2004. Kurdish politician Massoum was named Iraq's new president on Thursday. BySameerN.Yacoub The Associated Press BAGHDAD Iraqi law- makers elected a veteran Kurdish politician on Thursday to replace long- serving Jalal Talabani as the country's new presi- dent in the latest step to- ward forming a new gov- ernment. But a series of attacks killed dozens of people and Islamic mili- tants destroyed a Muslim shrine traditionally said to be the burial place of the Prophet Jonah, under- scoring the overwhelm- ing challenges facing the divided nation. The 76-year-old Fouad Massoum, one of the founders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party led by the previous pres- ident, Talabani, accepted the position after win- ning two-thirds of the votes in parliament, not- ing the "huge security, political and economic tasks" facing the next government. Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 with- drawal of U.S. troops amid the blitz offensive launched last month by al-Qaida breakaway Is- lamic State group, which captured large swaths of land in the country's west and north, including Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. The militants have also seized a huge chunk of territory straddling the Iraq-Syria border and de- clared a self-styled caliph- ate in the territory they control, imposing their harsh interpretation of Is- lamic law. As Massoum was named president, the Is- lamic militants blew up a revered Muslim shrine in Mosul traditionally said to be the burial place of the Prophet Jonah, several residents of the city told The Associated Press. The militants first or- dered everyone out of the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, then blew it up, the residents said, speaking on condi- tion of anonymity for fear for their own safety. Sev- eral nearby houses were also damaged by the blast, they said. The mosque was built on an archaeological site dating back to 8th cen- tury BC and is said to be the burial place of the prophet, who in stories from both the Bible and Quran is swallowed by a whale. It was renovated in the 1990's under Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hus- sein and until the June militant blitz, remained a popular destination for religious pilgrims from around the world. Iraq elects new president as attacks kill dozens MIDDLE EAST By Aomar Ouali The Associated Press ALGIERS, ALGERIA An Air Algerie flight carrying 116 people from Burkina Faso to Algeria's capital disap- peared from radar early Thursday over northern Mali during a rainstorm, officials said. France de- ployed fighter jets to search for wreckage and the coun- try's president said the plane most likely crashed. The MD-83 vanished less than an hour after takeoff from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Air Algerie Flight 5017 was operated by Spanish air- line Swiftair, which owns the plane. "Everything allows us to believe this plane crashed in Mali," French President Francois Hollande said in a statement after an emer- gency meeting in Paris with senior officials, adding the crew changed its flight path because of "particularly dif- ficult weather conditions." Earlier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris the plane "probably crashed" and no "trace of the aircraft has been found." Two French fighter jets are among aircraft scouring the rugged north of Mali for the plane, which was trav- eling from Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, to Algiers, the Algerian capital. Hollande said "all mili- tary means we have in Mali" were being activated for the search, through the night if needed. France has con- siderable military means in Mali, because of its in- tervention in the country in January 2013 to rout Is- lamic extremists who were controlling the north. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, was also help- ing in the search, U.N. dep- uty spokesman Farhan Haq said. More than 50 French were onboard the plane along with 27 Burkina Faso nationals and passengers from a dozen other coun- tries. The flight crew was Spanish. Before vanishing, the pi- lots sent a final message to ask Niger air control to change its route because of heavy rain in the area, Burkina Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Oue- draogo said. A resident who lives in a village in Mali about 60 miles southeast of the town of Gossi said he saw a plane coming down early Thurs- day, according to Gen. Gil- bert Diendere, heading the crisis committee set up in Burkina Faso. "We think that it is a re- liable source because it cor- responds to the latest radar images of the plane before it lost contact with air con- trollers," Diendere said. Radar images show the plane deviated from its route, Diendere said. Gossi is nearly 175 miles south- west of Gao. The vast des- erts and mountains of northern Mali have been the scene of unrest by both Tuareg separatists and Is- lamist radicals. The disappearance of the Air Algerie plane comes af- ter a spate of aviation disas- ters. Fliers around the globe have been on edge ever since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March on its way to Beijing. Search- ers have yet to find a single piece of wreckage from the jet with 239 people on board. Last week, a Malay- sia Airlines flight was shot down by a surface- to-air missile while flying over a war-torn section of Ukraine. The back-to-back disasters involving Boeing 777s flown by the same air- line were too much of a co- incidence for many fliers. Then this week, U.S. and European airlines started canceling flights to Tel Aviv after a rocket landed near the city's airport. Finally, on Wednesday, a Taiwan- ese plane crashed during a storm, killing 48 people. It's easy to see why fliers are jittery, but air travel is relatively safe. There have been two deaths for every 100 mil- lion passengers on commer- cial flights in the last de- cade, excluding acts of ter- rorism. Travelers are much more likely to die driving to the airport than stepping on a plane. There are more than 30,000 motor-vehicle deaths in the U.S. each year, a mortality rate eight times greater than that in planes. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on state television that 10 min- utes before disappearing, it was in contact with air traf- fic controllers in Gao, a city under the control of the Ma- lian government, though it has seen lingering separat- ist violence. The plane had been miss- ing for hours before the news was made public. It wasn't immediately clear why airline or government officials didn't release infor- mation earlier. PLANE France: Air Algerie flight probably crashed in Mali KEVIN CLEYNHENS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An MD-83aircra in the livery of Swi air lands at Zaventem Airport Brussels is shown on May 16. An Air Algerie flight carrying over 100people from Burkina Faso to Algeria's capital disappeared from radar early Thursday over northern Mali a er heavy rains were reported. By Ibrahim Barzak The Associated Press GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP Is- raeli tank shells hit a com- pound housing a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding doz- ens who were seeking shel- ter from fierce clashes on the streets outside, Pales- tinian officials said, as Is- rael pressed forward with its 17-day war against the territory's Hamas rulers. The U.N. said the strike occurred as staff members were trying to arrange a hu- manitarian pause in the hos- tilities so they could evacu- ate the civilians from the compound in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident and suggested Hamas rockets may have been to blame, al- though it offered no proof. Kamel al-Kafarne, who was in the school, said that the U.N. was putting people on buses when three tank shells hit. "We were about to get out of the school, then they hit the school. They kept on shelling it," he said. Books, blankets, cush- ions and other belongings were scattered about the courtyard in the aftermath of the explosion. There was a large scorch mark in the courtyard marking the ap- parent site of impact. A san- dal with a yellow flower lay beside a puddle of blood, and sheep and a horse that had belonged to those seek- ing shelter grazed nearby. Dozens of people, including children, were wheeled into a nearby hospital. It was the fourth time a U.N. facility has been hit in fighting between Israel and PalestinianmilitantsinGaza, since the conflict began July 8. UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency, has said it has found militant rockets inside two vacant schools. The Palestinian Red Cres- cent said Israeli shells had hit the compound. The Israeli military said Hamas had launched rock- ets that fell in the area that could have been responsible for the deaths. "We can't confirm that this is a result of errant fire. In any case, we do not tar- get U.N. facilities," military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. Lerner said the military had urged the U.N. and the Red Cross to evacu- ate the school for three days leading up to the incident. The U.N. said it was try- ing to do just that when the school was hit. Agency spokesman Chris Gunness said the U.N. had asked the Israeli military for a lull in fighting to allow for the school's evacuation but did not hear back. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said U.N. staff were among the casualties and demanded that Israel and Hamas abide by inter- national humanitarian law, respect "the sanctity of ci- vilian life, the inviolability of U.N. premises" and pro- tect humanitarian workers. He said more than 100,000 Gazans have sought refuge in UNRWA facilities. Israel insists it does its utmost to prevent civilian casualties but says Hamas puts Palestinians in danger by hiding arms and fight- ers in civilian areas. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum condemned the violence, saying Israel was targeting displaced people and "com- mitting massacres." Dozens of other people also were killed in a day of heavy fighting throughout the coastal territory, rais- ing the overall Palestinian death toll in the conflict to at least 788, Gaza health offi- cial Ashraf al-Kidra said. Is- rael has lost 32 soldiers, all since July 17, when it wid- ened its air campaign into a full-scale ground operation. With the number of ca- sualties growing on both sides, the international community has stepped up diplomatic efforts to bro- ker a cease-fire. But Hamas is insisting on the lifting of the 7-year-old blockade, which was imposed when the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza from the Western-backed govern- ment of Palestinian Presi- dent Mahmoud Abbas. Is- rael says the war is meant to halt rocket fire from Pal- estinian militants in Gaza and destroy a sophisticated network of cross-border tunnels. MIDDLE EAST UN s ch oo l in G az a hi t; 15 k il le d MAJED HAMDAN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Palestinian medics run carrying children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya on Thursday. Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 527-2151 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •SHOFFORTHODONTICS • DOLLING INSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • HOOKER CREEK INC. • CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMPANY • LEPAGE COMPANY INC. • MODERN CLEANERS • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • WALMART • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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