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MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio -

The trial against a Poland doctor chargedin a deadly boat crash at Berlin Reservoir in 2015 came to a close Tuesday afternoon.

The defense and prosecution teams presented their closing arguments, after a morning of testimony from the accused, 38-year-old Dr. Joseph Yurich.

Thedoctor admitted to leaving the scene of the crash while on the witness stand Tuesday morning.

Yurich faces a felony charge of aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident and operating a vehicle while impaired.

The charges stem from allegations that Yurich killed an Akron man after crashing into his fishing boat and fleeing the scene.

Investigators say Yurich was speeding when he struck the boat around midnight on May 9, 2015.

While on the witness stand Tuesday morning, Yurich testified that he remembers an explosion, and then nothing until a short while later when he was near the "Dutch Harbor" of Berlin Lake.

Yurich stated that the explosion reminded him of time spent deployed in Iraq, in which he witnessed the fallout from enemy fire.

The doctor was enlisted and deployed in the military in 2009, immediately following his medical residency. Yurich operated as a field surgeon and assisted troops as part of the Forward Surgical Team.

"I've been deployed three times, all in combat zones. Meaning there is imminent enemy threat and danger, frequently hit by mortars, rockets. What's called indirect hits," said Yurich.

In particular, Yurich testified about an incident during his first deployment. He said he was shaken by an experience in which a blast hit the base at which he was stationed.

Yurich said that in 2009 he was in Tikrit, Iraq, walking back from the latrine when he heard a loud whistle and then an explosion about 100 yards away. He testified that he remembers being knocked to the ground and being scared.

After an emotional pause, Yurich apologized and stated that he doesn't like to talk about the experience.

He continued, "Things tend to go slow, you don't hear anything, you don't know whats going on, you just react. What we had been told to do in that scenario in pre-deployment training to do was grab our gear and head to our duty stations. I ended up operating that night on a significant number of our nurses who had been injured."

When pressed by the defense, Yurich stated that during the crash on Berlin Lake, he heard an explosion, but then couldn't remember anything else. Yurich likened it to the experience in Iraq.

"The last thing I remember was an explosion when I heard that explosion it triggered memories. I don't remember anything else until I was over by the state park on the left side of the lake," said Yurich. "The explosion sounded similar to what I experienced in Iraq. It brought back memories, and it felt like in the moment I relived that experience."

Under cross examination, Yurich later admitted that the particular blast he recounted happened during his first deployment. The prosecution asked him if he ever sought a separation front he military, or to not be sent back to Iraq: Yurich testified that he did not.

Yurich testified that when following the explosion, his next memory is at the harbor. He claimed that he remembered being scared, even embarrassed that he couldn't remember what happened. He claimed he felt that he had hit something and there was an explosion, but said he had no recollection of having hit another boat, and thought that it may have been a large rock.

While on the stand, Yurich was able to recall details from the earlier portions of the day, such as specific details as to what he ate and the times he had done things with his wife and 10-month-old child.

Yurich admitted to drinking on the evening of the crash, saying that he and a few friends had traveled to a bar. Yurich testified that he drank two beers, and two shots known as "mini-beers" while at the bar. Yurich explained that a mini-beer is a shot of Licor 43 topped with cream, made to look like a small beer. But he argued that he was not drunk.

"I felt fine. I didn't feel any different than I had at any other point of the day," said Yurich.

Authorities alleged that Yurich was intoxicated, but Judge Durkin has ruled that blood and urine samples taken from Yurich are inadmissible because they were not refrigerated before being taken to a lab for analysis.

Yurich went on to detail the portion of the evening he spent at a friend's campsite, where he claims started drinking another beer, but never finished it.

The prosecution also argues that Yurich was traveling at unsafe speeds. During his testimony, Yurich recounted leaving the campsite in his boat shortly before midnight. He testified that as he pulled out the dock he looked around, and did not see any other boats or lights.

Yurich admitted that while boating back to his house, he was not following the recommended night time speed limit of 10 miles an hour. He testified that he headed toward the route 224 bridge over Berlin Lake, to use as a guide point for his direction.

He said that that night was one of the "few times" he had been out on the lake by himself. When asked again by the prosecution Yurich redirected and testified that he had never before taken the boat out on the lake at night alone.

"I remember throttling back to a speed I felt comfortable and safe," said Yurich, "given I didn't see any other traffic"

Yurich testified he does not remember hearing any thing on the lake nearby, until the explosion.

The doctor then recounted getting to a dock and calling a friend who told him he was on a distress call. Yurich explained that when he got home he told his wife that there was an explosion, but that he couldn't remember.

The doctor said he started calling other people to try to figure out what had happened, he testified that he wanted to find out what the explosion was because he couldn't remember.

According to Yurich, it was nearly an hour later when his wife found out from someone that he had probably hit a boat, and she called 911.

However, when he was cross-examined by the prosecution Yurich admitted that there were several details that he did not initially tell officials including the number of people on another boat, that that boat was playing music, that Yurich himself had consumed two shots in addition to the beers, or that there was an explosion.

Yurich testified that he remembered telling a lieutenant that he believed it was a rock or something.

He also testified that the week after the crash he sought help from a psychiatrist.

Judge Durkin is expected to issue a verdict in the case Wednesday.

If he is convicted, Yurich could face several years in prison.

This is a developing story. Stay with 21 News for more information as it becomes available.

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Poland doctor testifies fatal boat crash brought back Iraq war experience - WFMJ

IRINnews.org

Mobile magistrates are Iraq's new frontline fighters IRINnews.org Not only is al-Shimari a judge in exile and an internally displaced person himself, but since December he is also one of Iraq's most in-demand professionals: a mobile magistrate. Every Thursday, al-Shimari, who has worked for the provincial court for ... and more »

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Mobile magistrates are Iraq's new frontline fighters - IRINnews.org

With Adam Rawnsley

Gulf hack. The hack of Qatari government Web sites earlier this year was carried out by the United Arab Emirates, and not Russia, as had initially been suspected. The revelation which will likely only deepen the diplomatic row between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries slapped an economic blockade on the tiny Gulf monarchy.

U.S. officials who described the latest twist to the Washington Post said theyre unsure whether the UAE carried out the hacks itself or contracted the job out. The hacks took place on May 24, just after President Trump sat down with Persian Gulf leaders in neighboring Saudi Arabia and declared them unified. The UAE on Monday officially denied responsibility.

Iran won the Iraq war. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Tehran saw an opportunity to use the chaos that resulted to increase its own influence in the region. And their plan appears to have worked, the New York Times reports. Iran has for years planted friendly ministers inside the Iraqi parliament and government agencies, and is training Iraqi Shiite militias to fight ISIS in Iraq, and for the Syrian government over the border.

Consider this: At some border posts in the south, Iraqi sovereignty is an afterthought. Busloads of young militia recruits cross into Iran without so much as a document check. They receive military training and are then flown to Syria, where they fight under the command of Iranian officers in defense of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Iran is also training thousands of Afghan fighters to battle in Syria.

Secret Service pushes back on Trump lawyer. This is awkward. The U.S. Secret Service on Sunday firmly denied a statement from President Donald Trumps personal lawyer that its agents vetted a meeting between the presidents son and Russian nationals during the 2016 campaign, in which the Russians claiming to represent the Kremlin promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Secret Service spokesman Mason Brayman said later in the day that Trump Jr. was not under Secret Service protection at the time of the meeting, which included Trumps son and two senior campaign officials. Whelp.

Elsewhere, the New York Times profiled one of the Russians who were in the room with Trump Jr., campaign head Paul Manafort, and son in law and advisor Jared Kushner. They did the same with another Russian tied to the burgeoning scandal.

Civilian casualties spike under Trump. A new report from a researcher with independent watchdog Airwars claims that civilian casualties in Iraq have risen to an average of 12 per day since January, or 360 a month. Under the Obama administration, the average was about 80 a month.

More bad news in Syria. Turkish-backed rebels battled with Kurdish fighters from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in northwestern Syria on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Things had been somewhat quiet in the area around Aleppo for the past several weeks, where an uneasy calm has prevailed.

Strikes. The U.S. killed the leader of the Islamic States Afghan affiliate in a drone strike early last week, the Pentagon announced on Friday. Defense Secretary James Mattis described the death of ISIS-K leader Abu Sayed as obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back. The U.S. had killed the groups two previous leaders, Hafiz Sayed Khan and Abdul Hasib, in strikes carried out over the past year.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

American intelligence officials tell the Washington Post that the United Arab Emirates was behind the hack of a Qatari state news agency that posted fake quotes from Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani praising Hamas and Iran. Americans spies picked up information on Emirati officials discussing the plan to plant the fake quotes in the website on May 23, shortly before the hack.

Art of the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Syrian ceasefire that President Trumps agreed to with Russia is a bad deal in a rare public break with the Trump administration, according to Haarertz. Israel had insisted that any ceasefire deal include provisions to keep Iranian-backed forces away from the Israeli border, prevent Iran from fortifying its position in Syria, and not allow Russian troops to produce buffer zones.

Human rights. Locals along the banks of the Tigris are seeing a steady stream of bound human bodies of military-age men floating outside Mosul, raising fears of summary executions by Iraqi forces in the wake of Mosuls liberation. Freelance reporter Fazel Hawramy has been monitoring Iraqi social media pages and highlighted video showing Iraqi forces torturing and abusing alleged Islamic State members in Mosul.

Observers. The Defense Department tested a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery last week in order to demonstrate to North Korea that the system, currently deployed in South Korea, can knock down ballistic missiles. But the THAAD test had another observer, according to CNN. North American Aerospace Defense Command tells the cable news channel that a Chinese spy ship showed up in international waters off the coast of Alaska.

Retaliation. Russia is raising the temperature over its diplomatic feud with the U.S. over the Obama administration expulsion of alleged Russian spies. If the U.S. doesnt return a seized Russian diplomatic compound and allow an increase in the number of Russian diplomats in America, Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Kiselev recently said, U.S. diplomats will be expelled, and those who remain behind will be harassed.

Trouble in the alliance. NATO is trying to nudge Germany and Turkey to cooperate after Germany began pulling its troops from Incirlik Air Base following a diplomatic dispute with Ankara. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the two countries should have their foreign ministers meet for a sit down to resolve their differences following Germanys refusal to extradite Turkish asylum seekers that Turkey accuses of participating in last year coup attempt and Turkeys refusal to allow German members of parliament to visit troops at Incirlik.

Heatwave. Summer heat got you down? It could be worse. American U-2 spy planes supporting the anti-Islamic State fight are watching their tail wheels melt on the runway because temperatures in the Middle East are so high right now.

Afghanistan. Army Maj. Gen. Robin Fontes is now commander of Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, giving her the highest position of any American female officer.

Iran. Iran jails Chinese-American Xiyue Wan, accusing the Princeton University academic of espionage charges. The U.S. State Department calls the charges fabricated.

Shes a rainbow. Chinas Cai Hong (rainbow) series of armed drones has taken the export market by storm, with the CH-4 model proving especially popular among customers in the Middle East. This week, the newest member of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporations Cai Hong drone family, the CH-5, underwent flight trials in Hebei Province and might soon be showing up in the skies over Middle Eastern conflicts.

Turkey. Turkey has carried out its first drone strike in combat, using its domestically-built Anka drone to fire a missile at members of the PKK terrorist group in eastern Anatolia, reportedly killing five.

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Situation Report: How Iran Won Iraq War; Secret Service Vs. Trump Team - Foreign Policy (blog)

Fort Blisss 1st Armored Division took command of land operations in Iraq last week as part of an effort to combat the Islamic State extremist group and train Iraqi security forces.

The Army has deployed 400 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division headquarters at Fort Bliss to join more than 5,000 U.S. troops and an international coalition to train, equip and advise Iraqi security forces. Pockets of ISIS remain in Iraq days after the defeat of the militants in Mosul, a major city in Iraq.

Our soldiers are trained and ready for this mission. (Islamic State) is a desperate enemy, said Lt. Col. Crystal Boring, a public affairs officer with the 1st Armored Division. She spoke to El Paso Inc. by phone from Baghdad.

Fort Bliss commander Maj. Gen. Robert P. White will oversee operations in Iraq for nine months and will lead the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command.

White replaces Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley, Kansas.

The division has trained for months in anticipation of deploying to Iraq. Their mission is part of Operation Inherent Resolve, which started in 2014 when the U.S. military formally launched its efforts to combat the Islamic State group, also known as ISIL and ISIS.

As part of their efforts, the U.S. and international forces have provided weapons and trained more than 60,000 Iraqis.

On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced a total victory in the city of Mosul, which has been a stronghold for ISIS. According to news reports, half of the citys population has been displaced and thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed.

Lt. Col. Boring said citizens are happy, having been freed by the U.S. led coalition. She said Islamic State continues to disrupt efforts to stabilize the country.

According to news accounts, U.S. and coalition forces have reportedly continued to launch airstrikes against the remnants of Islamic State fighters south of Mosul.

Email El Paso Inc. reporter Aaron Montes at amontes@elpasoinc.com or call (915) 534-4422, ext. 105. Twitter: @aaronmontes91

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1st Armored Division takes command in Iraq - El Paso Inc.

BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) - Their husbands, sons and brothers are dead, but the women and children Islamic State militants left behind will live to pay the price for their actions.

As Islamic State's days of ruling over vast swathes of Iraq come to an end, questions are emerging about what to do with their families.

For now, many of them are effectively imprisoned in a rubbish strewn encampment east of Mosul, where the last people to be displaced from the city have been taken.

"All the men were killed," said 62 year-old Umm Hamoudi, who fled the Midan district last week with 21 members of her family -- all women and children.

Her husband, an Islamic State member, was wounded in the fighting for the Old City. They tried to carry him off the battlefield but he was too heavy, so they said goodbye and left him there to die.

Displaced civilians are returning home to rebuild their lives, but those who suffered three years of extreme violence and privation under Islamic State say the militants' relatives have no place among them.

Leaflets threatening militants' families have appeared in areas retaken from Islamic State, and vigilantes have thrown grenades at their homes.

"Revenge is not a cure," said Ali Iskander, the head of the Bartella district where the camp is located. "These families should undergo rehabilitation courses"

Local authorities in Mosul recently issued a decree to exile Islamic State families to camps so they can be rehabilitated ideologically.

But rights groups say collective punishment undermines the prospects for reconciliation after Islamic State, and risks fostering a generation of outcasts with no stake in Iraq.

"If we isolate them, how will we bring them back into the fold of the nation?" said a local official visiting the camp on Saturday. "They will become Daesh".

Umm Hamoudi's daughter was only 14 years old when her father married her off to an Islamic State militant.

He too was killed around one year ago while the girl was pregnant with her first child, who lay sleeping on the floor of the tent, oblivious to the stigma that will likely cloud the rest of his life.

Umm Suhaib, 32, last heard from her husband two months ago. "He is certainly dead," she said, showing no emotion.

She threatened to leave him when he joined Islamic State around one year after the group took over, but did not because of their four children.

A devout Muslim, her husband was seduced by the idea of a modern-day caliphate, and offered his skills as an engineer in service of Islamic State's state-building project. He came to regret his decision, Umm Suhaib said, but by then it was too late. "He wasted his life and threw ours away with it," she said. "We are lost now".

Like other women whose male relatives joined Islamic State, Umm Suhaib said she was powerless to stop him.

"I have no authority over them," 50 year-old Fatima Shihab Ahmed said of her two brothers who joined the group. She believes one of them is still alive in the militant-held city of Tel Afar, which Iraqi forces plan to assault next.

Ahmed is also a suspect herself: a neighbor's son accused her of working for Islamic State's morality police known as the Hisba, which punished women who broke the militants' strict dress code. She denies it.

None of Umm Yousif's close male relatives joined Islamic State, she said. She was separated from her wounded husband as they fled the Midan district last week and believes he was taken to a hospital after being screened by Iraqi security forces for links with the militants.

"Maybe he is dead. Perhaps he is alive," she said, pleading to be allowed out of the camp so she could look for him.

"They say 'you are all Daesh', but we are not. Even if we were, what is it to do with women and children? Each person is responsible for himself."

Continued here:
As Islamic State militants routed in Iraq, their families fear reprisals - Reuters