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Blowing up houses, digging up graves: Iraqis purge Islamic State By Isabel Coles RFAILA, Iraq (Reuters) - The mood was festive as seven men each carried a bomb into a house on the edge of a village in northern Iraq. Dozens of residents of Rfaila, young and old, had flocked to watch the house of their former neighbor Abu Maitham be blown up, filming the spectacle on phones to the sound of patriotic music blaring from a parked car. They said Abu Maitham joined Islamic State militants who ruled over hundreds of towns and villages like Rfaila for more than two years, subjecting the local population to a life of violence and privation. Abu Maitham had already fled when Iraqi forces drove the militants from the area last year as they advanced north towards Mosul, Islamic State's largest urban stronghold. The city's eastern half was cleared by January and the start of an assault on the western side was declared on Sunday. In their wake, local people are purging every last vestige of Islamic State's presence: demolishing militants' homes and even digging up their graves. The campaign points to a wider reckoning within Iraq's Sunni Muslim community, part of which sided with Islamic State militants who overran around one third of Iraq in 2014. Inside the house in Rfaila, about 45 km (30 miles) south of Mosul, Ayad Jasim arranged the tubs of explosives in a circle on the floor and connected them to a wire leading out to a battery pack. "It soothes the soul," said Jasim, as he prepared to detonate the house - his 79th since security forces regained control of the area. "There are still many left". Jasim's motives are both patriotic and personal. His own home in another village nearby was blown up by Islamic State, and 27 members of his extended family have disappeared or been killed by the group including a 10-year-old boy. Jasim has U.S. forces to thank for his skills: they taught him and other select soldiers how to handle explosives after invading Iraq in 2003. As for the bombs - tubs of C4 weighing about 2 kg (4-1/2 pounds) each - they were made by Islamic State and designed to kill or maim Iraqi security forces, but have been dug up for reuse by the militants' enemies. The first blast destroyed only the back of the house, so two more bombs were brought to finish the job. The second explosion ripped down the rest of the building with a flash followed by a shockwave. The audience surged towards the pile of concrete where a house had stood moments before, clambering onto the collapsed roof and firing celebratory shots into the air as the dust settled. "PURIFYING THE LAND" Almost everyone in the area has friends and family members who were killed by Islamic State, many of them in the security forces. In Rfaila alone, seven officers were executed by Islamic State and several dozen policemen and soldiers were taken away, presumably to their deaths, according to residents. Many members of the security forces who fled when Islamic State overran the area have now returned, joining government-backed Sunni militia and seeking revenge. "This village suffered a lot," said 26-year-old resident Ammar Ibrahim, who used to be in the security forces, but is now in a Sunni militia. "They (Islamic State) blew up our houses so we are blowing up theirs. No trace of them will remain." "Everyone cleans their own village," said another resident. In some cases, local people have dug up the graves of Islamic State militants who were buried locally. One resident of Rfaila described how the remains of a militant known as Abu Taha had recently been exhumed, attached to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the streets until the bones flew apart, leaving nothing behind. Several children listening to him laughed gleefully. Photographs of the episode are posted on the Facebook page of another Rfaila resident, a member of the elite Counter Terrorism Service, urging anyone with information about other militants' grave sites to contact him "so we can purify the land from these filthy germs". In a picture of a separate incident, the skull of another militant whose corpse was dug up in the same area sits on the bonnet of a car with a cigarette wedged between the jaw for comic effect. All but one tooth has been knocked out. "BLOOD OF MARTYRS" Abu Maitham was an employee of the Iraqi oil ministry before Islamic State took over, and had been involved in the insurgency against U.S. forces since 2003 along with his brother, whose house close by has also been demolished. Residents of Rfaila said Abu Maitham and other militants from the village had left with their families as security forces closed in last year, heading north towards Mosul. But some individuals who helped Islamic State maintain control by informing on those who broke the group's rules are still present. Those people must go, residents said, but it is difficult to prove their guilt in a court because they did not formally swear allegiance to Islamic State, take up arms, or wear the group's uniform. "There is no evidence so the court releases them," said Ammar Abu Rami, a brother and bodyguard of the mayor of Mosul, who is from Rfaila. Instead, some residents are taking matters into their own hands, throwing grenades at the homes of people they accuse of supporting Islamic State. "They don't kill them: just frighten them," Abu Rami said. Another resident said: "Their (the state's) procedures are slow and emotions are high. They (the authorities) say wait a bit, but people can't." Abu Maitham's house had already been torched from the inside before it was blown up. Scratched onto the charred wall of one room that would soon cease to exist were the words: "No bargaining with the blood of our martyrs. The time for dialogue is over."

I was typing a personal message to one of the members here called, truepatriot, when I realized two things. One the message was too long to fit in his profile page, and two it seemed good to me that others could benefit from it. Again let me clarify, I am only a truck driver that loves Jesus as he said, with all my heart, might, and mind. If you read these words further you WILL be reading spiritual content from a child of God doing the best he can. Here is the message. Please forgive me for taking so long getting back to you. As a truck driver I work 80 hrs a week, and as the information that I will be relaying is in reference to our Lord I wanted to be careful with my words. I have been in this investment for 3 yrs now and have brought it to Jesus many times in prayer. The first time was when someone whom I trust here told me about it. I had heard of dinar before but didn't give it much thought. When I did pray about if I should get in I believe that I received a resounding, YES. As you can imagine the Lord and I have had several conversations about it since. I would like to tell you about a strange event that happened to me one night while playing Yahtzee with my wife. First it should be said that I almost NEVER actually get a Yahtzee. This night my wife had been getting several when I maid some kind of remark about her luck. She told me that before every roll of the dice she would secretly say a little prayer for Jesus to bless her roll. So I decided to take that a little farther. I asked Jesus,"if this dinar would revalue could you let me get a Yahtzee?" The VERY NEXT THROUGH I rolled 5 threes. My wife said, "see Jesus answers prayer". I just smiled and said yes he does.My next roll I asked Jesus, "can you let me get another Yahtzee using the dice to tell me how much it will revalue to?" I then rolled another Yahtzee of 4s in three rolls. Now I'm no fool and know how radical this sounds, but whether God was telling me the rate would be $3.33, as per the rolls, or $4.44 as per the numbers,what I do believe is that this dinar will end up somewhere in that area. I have studied this until I am sick with it and understand full well that according to the world it would be unheard of to see a one to one, as the CBI has stated for over a yr now. But my God, is God, and he's capable of anything. That brings us to the spiritual side of dinar. In the book of Revelation we see that Jesus clearly states, that all the nations of the world, all the kings of the earth, and all the merchants of the sea will come to Babylon for there wealth. Something I simply don't believe a small rv will do. In fact I don't even think a one to one would do it. At least not right off the bat. And what is it that a one to one would cause, EVERYONE,to come to Babylon? Sure allot would, but not everyone as God has said. But a 3 to 4? I think so. We also know from Rev that God will call his people out of Babylon. This implies that it is acceptable to God for us to be in this investment. Now to the personal nature of this investment as it relates to me. I have been a Christian for 14yrs and only of late have I really seen myself grow in the Lord. It has always been an overwhelming desire of mine to be close to God, but it seemed that the wherewithal to do so was lacking. UNTIL this yr. I own a small trucking company and was for all practical sense and purpose doing well up until this yr. I have been hit by the devil with so many bad things that to mention them all here one would think me to be a liar. Indeed, it is truly a miracle that I even still have a company at all. As you can imagine this has had a heavy toll on my well being. But through the word of God I began to overcome, spiritually and emotionally only. I can't begin to explain to you how far in faith and growth that God has brought me in such a short time. Indeed, I believe even the words I now type are by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was in this that Jesus has called me into the mission field to build an orphanage, school, and clinic for the children of Honduras, and eventually other depressed countries of the world. Jesus has shown me how that everything up to now in my life has brought me to this place.Even the desires that I have were given me by him. I recently went to Jesus with a desire to know how long before this would happen? To which he only said,"soon". I then later went to him again and asked when, he said,"very soon". What most fail to see in dinar is exactly what they fail to see in all things. We are spiritual beings living in a physical world. EVERYTHING, that we say and do has spiritual ramifications. And that goes for the lost as well. EVERYONE. Therefor, this is a spiritual event, and not just an ordinary one, but one that has been foretold from the foundations of the world. What we are soon to witness is the rise of Babylon, that great mistress that leads all she can to destruction. But as our Lord so often does he will also use this event to bless his children. Lines are being drawn in the spiritual sand of the world. War is even now raging on. So, if I may, I would like to advise you not to listen to the evil one that wishes to blind all to what is about to happen and to be of good cheer. For the Lord your God will do whatever is his pleasure to do and as always he will supply all the needs of his children. Of which you are one. Give God all the glory and praise and trust in him to finish that work he has begun. I know this one thing concerning the dinar SUDDENLY, God will move.