Elders and Elders sign a document of peaceful coexistence

[tigergorzow]

Smugglers receive $5,000 to secure ISIS terrorists escaping Tal Afar

August 27 2017 12:51 PM

ISIS terrorists

 

 

Smugglers receive $5,000 to secure the escape of ISIS terrorists from Tal afar as the almost recaptured city only needs cleansing to remove ISIS’ war remnants major-general Najm al-Jabouri, commander of Nineveh operations, revealed on Sunday.

 

In press statements, al-Jabouri said local ISIS terrorists and their families escaped from Tal Afar to Syria a while ago with the help of smugglers. 

He noted foreign ISIS terrorists escaped from the city to villages in the deep desert such as al-Ayadiya.   

Although Tal Afar has been besieged since nine months, smugglers use routes that facilitate their escape, he further stated.

According to Jabouri, Qa’im should be the next destination to be recaptured after Tal Afar is fully retaken.

On Saturday, Iraqi forces said they were about to fully control Tal Afar in western Mosul, the last stronghold of ISIS terror group in Iraq.

 

Iraqi security forces had retaken 27 out of 29 neighborhoods in Tal Afar by Saturday evening but in two neighborhoods on the northeast side, fighting was continuing, a statement from the Iraqi joint operations command said.

 

Last week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar, their next objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat ISIS terrorists.

"You either surrender, or die," Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the offensive, addressing the terrorists.

Tal Afar, 80 km west of Mosul, was cut off from the rest of ISIS-held territory in June.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16232/Smugglers-receive-5-000-to-secure-ISIS-terrorists-escaping-Tal-Afar

[tigergorzow]

Video: IMIS raise sectarian signs against Sunnis in Tal Afar

August 27 2017 01:41 PM

Video: IMIS spreads its sectarian hatred against Sunnis in Tal Afar

 

 

The Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS) terrorists raised a sectarian sign above buildings of Tal Afar, as shown in a video obtained by The Baghdad Post on Sunday.

 

 

The video also showed IMIS terrorists as they spread sectarian hatred against Saudi Arabia as it supports Sunnis.

Many local and international human rights organizations accused IMIS and governmental Shiite forces of committing numerous sectarian crimes and genocide against Sunni civilians in Iraq to further Iran's Mullah regime's Shiite crescent scheme.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16234/Video-IMIS-raise-sectarian-signs-against-Sunnis-in-Tal-Afar

Edited August 27, 2017 by tigergorzow

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi army liberates 6 villages in Tal Afar

August 27 2017 08:13 PM

Iraqi forces

 

 

Security forces have recaptured six new villages in Tal Afar from ISIS terrorists, a security source told The Baghdad Post on Sunday.

The source said that units of the Federal Police liberated the villages following fierce clashes with ISIS terrorists.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi security forces launched on Sunday an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar, their next objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat ISIS terrorists.

"You either surrender, or die," Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the offensive, addressing the terrorists.

Tal Afar, 80 km west of Mosul, was cut off from the rest of ISIS-held territory in June.

 

On Saturday, Iraqi forces said they were about to fully control Tal Afar in western Mosul, the last stronghold of ISIS terrro group in Iraq, Reuetrs reorted.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16254/Iraqi-army-liberates-6-villages-in-Tal-Afar

[tigergorzow]

Saudi Arabia congratulates Ira on Tal Afar victories

August 27 2017 08:20 PM

king Salman

 

Saudi Arabia on Sunday congratulated Iraq on the liberation of large swathes of Tal Afar from ISIS terrorist group, stressing that it stands with Iraq with all its capabilities to fight terrorism and extremism.

In a statemnet carried by Saudi news agency (SPA), an  official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated the Iraqi government and people on the victories achieved by the Sons of Iraq against ISIS in Tal Afar".

 

The source stressed that he kingdom has ut its full potential to support Iraq in its fight against terrorism and extremism until it is eliminated.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16255/Saudi-Arabia-congratulates-Ira-on-Tal-Afar-victories

[1lucdog]

http://www.aljazeera.com/video/news/2017/08/iraqi-forces-completing-mission-drive-isil-northern-iraq-170827190521644.html 

 

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Iraqi forces regained total control of the northern city of Tal Afar from the Islamic State on Sunday, Joint Operations command said.

"By God, it is victory...100 percent liberated," the War Media Cell, the Joint Operations Command's media service, posted on its Facebook page. The word "liberated" in Arabic was stamped on a map of Tal Afar.

 

Earlier Sunday, an Iraqi commander said Islamic State militants were cornered in a region northwest of Tal Afar as Iraqi forces had retaken all areas of the town.

On Saturday, the joint commend said it had attained 90 percent control of the city center. Islamic State's largest telecommunications tower was seized and burned.

The government launched an operation on Aug. 20.

Tal Afar was the militants' last holdout in Nineveh. One month ago, forces with U.S.-led air power captured Mosul, the de facto capital of the Islamic State.

"The enemy's back is broken," Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridhi, a top commander of the elite counter-terrorism service units in Tal Afar, said to The Washington Post. "Their morale is gone."

Before the battle, Iraq's government and its U.S. military partners had estimated that 10,000 to 50,000 civilians remained in Tal Afar. The city had been surrounded by the Shiite militias since late November, but the city appeared to be desolate, allowing the Iraqi troops to use heavy weaponry.

"We haven't seen a single civilian, dead or alive," Aridhi said. "If there were 20,000 civilians in Tal Afar, we would have only just taken the first neighborhood by now."

Iraq's intelligence services originally estimated that between 1,400 and 2,000 militants occupied the city, but that number also may have been overstated. Iraq's military said Saturday 259 militia members were killed and many had fled the battle into the vast desert north and west of the city, toward Syria.

 

 

Related UPI Stories

• Iraqi army uncovers mass grave with 500 bodies in Mosul
• Turkey tells U.S. defense chief of concerns about arming Syrian militia
• Cease-fire declared along Syrian-Lebanese border

 

Topics: Islamic State

Edited August 27, 2017 by 1lucdog

[1lucdog]

After Tal Afar, Iraqis need a helping hand

Politicians should not repeat past mistakes as the country looks forward to a new future

Published: 17:28 August 27, 2017

Layelle Saad

 

 

The forthcoming liberation of Tal Afar from Daesh marks a significant turning point for Iraq as the war against the terrorist group took precious blood, sweat, tears and resources from the country over the past three years.

But as politicians look ahead towards the future, important lessons need to be taken into account to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. Analysts have already sounded the alarm that the routing out of extremist groups such as Daesh and Al Qaida are only cosmetic victories and the real battle lies in eliminating the root causes of terrorism.One does not need to delve that far back in Iraq’s history to learn that Sunni disenfranchisement in the country after the US-led invasion which toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussain was one of the main incubators of extremism. Baathist institutions, which ran the country for decades, were eliminated overnight causing deep resentment among Iraq’s Sunni population.

 

As Sunnis felt shunned by the new pro-Iranian leadership in the country, they were desperate for anyone to air their grievances.

When no one listened and Daesh emerged in 2014, the Iraqi army, largely made up by Sunni tribe members, simply did not have the willpower to confront the terrorist group when it overran the cities. The terrorist group, seemingly overnight, took over large swathes of Iraqi lands, overrunning major cities like Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi.

Iraqi Sunnis did not feel loyalty to their government which was seemingly punishing them for Saddam’s past policies. As a result, the army largely disintegrated in the face of Daesh’s flash offensive.

They mistakenly thought that, since no one else cared about their plight, maybe Daesh could restore some of their lost Sunni power. However, what emerged later, a so-called ‘caliphate’ under so-called Islamic law, quickly made them regret their choices.

Iraqi Sunnis paid the price twice over, as they were both brutalised by Daesh under their draconian way of life and became the victims of revenge killings by Shiite militias who saw them as conspirators. Now, more than ever, this disaffected community needs to be nurtured and reintroduced into Iraq’s mainstream establishment. Gulf countries can play an important role in making this happen by coaxing Iraqis back to the Arab fold and away from Iran. At the end of the day, whether Sunni or Shiite, Iraqis are overwhelmingly Arab and need their leadership to advance the Arab agenda, not a Persian one.

[tigergorzow]

Al-Jabouri meets interior, defense ministers over Tal Afar battle

August 27 2017 11:38 PM

Al-Jabouri meets defense, interior ministers

 

 

Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri on Sunday discussed with the interior and defense ministers the developments in the security situation and the victories in Tal Afar.


Al-Jubouri's office said in a press statement that they discussed the latest developments in the Iraqi arena, especially the security file, the developments in the battles against ISIS terrorist group.

 

 

US-backed Iraqi forces are about to liberate Tal Afar, the last stronghold of the terror group in Iraq.

 

"We highly appreciate the great sacrifices made by our security forces and the efforts of the members of the defense and interior ministries and all the other fighting forces in defeating the gangs and advocating the liberation of the land of Iraq," the speaker said.

 

"These victories are the beginning of stability and security that pave the way for conomic development in Iraq," he added.


"The expulsion of gangs does not mean the end of terrorism, so it is necessary to take measures to protect citizens in all provinces and to prepare to thwart all attempts of terrorism, which may resort to new methods to achieve its criminal goals," the statement read.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16261/Al-Jabouri-meets-interior-defense-ministers-over-Tal-Afar-battle

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi army encircles Ayadiya, Tal Afar full liberation imminent

August 27 2017 10:38 PM

Iraqi forces

 

 

US-backed Iraqi forces have encircled al-Ayadiya, a small area just outside Tal Afar city, security sources told The Baghdad Post on Sunday.

Iraqi military officials announced Saturday they were about to fully liberate ISIS' last stronghold in Iraq.

 

The US-backed operation comes just over a month after Mosul was retaken from the terror group, ending its three-year rule over Iraq’s second largest city.

 

ISIS captured large nswathes of Iraq and Syria in June 2014.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16259/Iraqi-army-encircles-Ayadiya-Tal-Afar-full-liberation-imminent

[tigergorzow]

Bahrain congratulates Iraq on Tal Afar liberation

August 27 2017 10:25 PM

Tal Afar operations

 

Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs has congratulated Iraq’s government and people on the liberation of Tal Afar city from ISIS terroists, Bahrain  news agency reported Sunday.

In a statement, the inistry highlighted the determination of the Iraqi government
and armed forces led by Prime Minister Dr. Haider al-Abadi.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms Bahrain's support for the Republic of Iraq against violence, extremism and terrorism, backing its actions and measures to eliminate all terrorist organizations and establish security and peace in all parts of Iraq and preserve its sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity," the statement read.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16258/Bahrain-congratulates-Iraq-on-Tal-Afar-liberation

[Laid Back]

Security, stability, new credit rating, investments, new loans

 

Go Iraq, keep moving forward 

[DinarDavo]

Is it safe to say that Iraq is essentially "Isis free" at this time? 

[ChuckFinley]

33 minutes ago, Botzwana said:

And Bahrain´s currency is worth $2.65 to one dollar.  Come on Iraq!  What are you waiting for?

Hey Botzwana, Bahrain what the heck even Bahrain is coming in to congratulate. We need them to revalue at the Bahrain rate.   

[ChuckFinley]

Thanks Wiljor for the updates.  

[fancy]

I'm following you and I do pray you are right

 

[danielchu]

hawaji and al-quiam to go !

[tigergorzow]

Exclusive: Forces discover ISIS prison with torture chambers in Tal Afar

August 28 2017 11:08 AM

File photo of ISIS prison

Federal Police Forces have discovered an ISIS prison in western of Tal Afar city, containing torture chambers, detention rooms and narcotics, lieutenant-general Raed Shaker Jawdat told The Baghdad Post on Monday.  
Jawdat said the prison was discovered after the forces conducted searches in Saad neighborhood in western Tal Afar.
On Saturday, Iraqi forces said they were about to fully control Tal Afar in western Mosul, the last stronghold of ISIS terror group in Iraq.
Iraqi security forces had retaken 27 out of 29 neighborhoods in Tal Afar by Saturday evening but in two neighborhoods on the northeast side, fighting was continuing, a statement from the Iraqi joint operations command said.
Last week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar, their next objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat ISIS terrorists.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16263/Exclusive-Forces-discover-ISIS-prison-with-torture-chambers-in-Tal-Afar

[tigergorzow]

3 Yazidi women freed from ISIS’ captivity in Tal Afar

August 28 2017 03:57 PM

Yazidi women freed from ISIS clutches

A total of three Yazidis women have been freed from ISIS’ captivity in Tal Afar city in Nineveh Governorate, office of Yazidi Abductees’ Affairs in Dohuk governorate in Kurdistan Region announced Monday. 
In press statement, Hussein Qaidi, head of the office, said that a 40-year-old woman, a 19-year-old girl from Kojar village and a 14-year-old girl from Tal Aziz village were freed from ISIS’ clutches. 
Iraqi forces retook on Sunday virtually all of the city of Tal Afar, the ISIS stronghold in the country's northwest, according to its military. 
All 29 neighborhoods in Tal Afar have been taken back from the terrorist group after just eight days of fighting, the military said in a statement.
The seemingly imminent retaking of Tal Afar represents another decisive victory in the US-backed war against the terrorist group following the recapture in July of Mosul, where Isis declared its self-proclaimed caliphate over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16270/3-Yazidi-women-freed-from-ISIS-captivity-in-Tal-Afar

[tigergorzow]

ISIS top commander killed in airstrike in Anbar

August 27 2017 10:11 PM

ISIS terrorists

Iraqi Air Forces have killed an ISIS top commander in an airstrike on Sunday, a security source in Anbar Governorate revealed.

 

The source added the airstrike targeted ISIS Caliphate Diwan in al-Qai'm city.

 

The killed terrorist has been identified as Ali Anaz Suleiman.

 

US-backed Iraqi army launched an offensive to retake Tal Afar, th terror group's last stromghold in the country.

 

The offensive is code-named 'We Are Coming, Tal Afar'.

 

On Saturday, Iraqi military officials confirmed they were about to fully control the city.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16256/ISIS-top-commander-killed-in-airstrike-in-Anbar

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi Army artillery shells ISIS hideouts in western Anbar cities

August 28 2017 10:38 AM

Iraqi artillery

Iraqi Army’s artillery has shelled ISIS hideouts in cities in western Anbar, a source told The Baghdad Post on Monday. 
The source said that the army bombarded ISIS hideouts in three axes: First, Annah, al-Rihana cities, second, Rawa city and nearby villages, third, Okashat city and part of Biaaj village towards the desert of Qa’im. 
Anbar Governorate is witnessing recurrent ISIS attacks that target civilians and security forces, particularly the western districts of the governorate.
Qa’im. Annah and Rawa cities in western Anabr are still under ISIS’ control. 
Last week, Iraqi Air Force's aircraft dropped hundred thousands of leaflets over Hawija city in Kirkuk Governorate and cities in western Anbar.  
The leaflets contained news on victories achieved in Iraq, ISIS defeats and warnings to ISIS so that the group's terrorists either surrender or die. 
This comes after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced last week that the Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to recapture the city of Tal Afar, their next objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat ISIS terrorists.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/16262/Iraqi-Army-artillery-shells-ISIS-hideouts-in-western-Anbar-cities

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi Security Forces Capture 50 IS Militants in a Tunnel in Tel Afar

 

Basnews English

28/08/2017 - 16:17

Iraq

 

 

 

MOSUL — The Iraqi forces captured 50 Islamic State (IS) militants in Tel Afar during the mopping-up operations on Monday.

Major Salam al-Khalaf from the Iraqi Army told BasNews on Monday that the joint security forces have begun the mopping-up operations in orchards and farms in Tel Afar district. He revealed that the troops have discovered arms caches and captured scores of fleeing militants.

"The joint security forces launched a massive search operation in the orchards and farms in Tel Afar, including the orchards of Baglar, Safwan and Makhyius in the center of Tel Afar, for militants who may have resorted to those orchards to save themselves," Major Khafaf told BasNews.

He noted "The joint forces managed to capture 50 IS militants inside one of the tunnels that has been previously dug by the militants in one of these orchards."

Tel Afar district is fully in the hands of the Iraqi security forces, except for a few parts of al-Ayadiyya area, 11 km to the northwest of Tel Afar, which is still witnessing clashes, according to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

The Iraqi army is waiting to liberate Ayadiyyah, the last area in Tel Afar, to announce the full liberation of the district.

According to the joint operations, the Iraqi military controls ninety-five percent of Tel Afar by having liberated twenty-seven out of the 29 neighborhoods of the district during the last eight days of the operation.

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/374343

Edited August 28, 2017 by tigergorzow

[tigergorzow]

Central Tel Afar Fully in Hands of Iraqi Forces

 

Basnews English

28/08/2017 - 15:16

Iraq

 

 

 

MOSUL — Tel Afar district is fully in the hands of the Iraqi security forces, except for a few parts of al-Ayadiyya area, 11 km to the northwest of Tel Afar, which is still witnessing clashes.

According to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, central Tel Afar was completely liberated after the troops liberated the remaining neighborhoods in the district.

During the operations in the district, the Iraqi forces have been able to seize rocket factories and improvised explosive devices and large amounts of high-explosive C-4.

According to local military sources, the Iraqi army is waiting to liberate Ayadiyyah, the last area just outside Tel Afar, to announce the full liberation of the district.

According to the joint operations, Iraqi military controls ninety-five percent of Tel Afar by liberating twenty-seven out of the 29 neighborhoods of the district during the last eight days of the operation.

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/374329

[tigergorzow]

Only 20 Kurdish IS Members Alive: Official

 

Basnews English

28/08/2017 - 13:33

Kurdistan

 

 

 

ERBIL — Only 20 Kurdish members of the Islamic State (IS) have so far survived within the ranks of the extremist group, and they are believed to have recently been deployed to Hawija, said a Kurdish official.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) previously said that nearly 500 Kurds had joined IS, 300 of whom were killed in battles while 150 others already abandoned the jihadist group to surrender to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Head of Relations Department at KRG’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Mariwan Naqshbandi, told BasNews that the extremist group is rapidly loosing ground and withdrawing its elements to Hawija, among them are 20 Kurds.

He also warned about the IS jihadists disguising as IDPs while escaping the battlefields. “Some of these militants have been recognised by Kurdish Yezidi girls who survived the IS captivity,” Naqshbandi stated.

The Kurdish official renewed a call on Iraqi central government to spare no effort in using every intelligence mean to reveal the identity of the IS jihadists among IDPs and bring them to justice.

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/374276

[tigergorzow]

VIDEO: Iraqi airpower burns 180 ISIS militants, 60 vehicles fleeing Tal Afar (Video in link)

By

Andrew Illingworth

-

28/08/2017

1

 

BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:45 A.M.) – Footage has been released on social media showing the Iraqi Air Force attacking ISIS troop and vehicle columns that, two days ago, were in full retreat from the strategic city of Tal Afar in Nineveh Governorate.

The footage is captured straight from the gun cameras of Iraqi attack helicopters and shows them using guided missiles against ISIS vehicles and troop concentrations.

The video (below) is linked to an interdiction operation by the Iraqi Air Force that is reported to have resulted in the death of 180 ISIS militants as well as the destruction of sixty transport vehicles and technicals belonging to the terrorist group.

 

Tal Afar was officially liberated from ISIS yesterday after one week of clashes for the city between the jihadist faction and Iraqi forces.

 

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-iraqi-airpower-burns-180-isis-militants-60-vehicles-fleeing-tal-afar/

Edited August 28, 2017 by tigergorzow

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi forces push north of Tal Afar to hunt retreating ISIL terrorists

By

Leith Fadel

-

28/08/2017

0

 

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:40 A.M.) – The Iraqi military has pushed north from the recently liberated city of Tal ‘Afar towards the Al-‘Ayadiyah District, the official media wing of the Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd Al-Sha’abi) reported this morning.

Backed by the Iraqi Air Force, the military units managed to liberate four villages en route to reaching the outskirts of the Al-‘Ayadiyah District.

Today’s  military operation in the northern countryside of Tal ‘Afar was led by the Federal Police forces, Iraqi Army, and Popular Mobilization Units.

 

Once the Al-‘Ayadiyah District is liberated by the Iraqi Armed Forces, the Islamic State will no longer have a presence north of Tal ‘Afar, marking the end of their 50 month long occupation.

 

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-forces-push-north-tal-afar-hunt-retreating-isil-terrorists/

Edited August 28, 2017 by tigergorzow

[King Bean]

17 hours ago, Botzwana said:

I gotta buy my new obsession.  A Giant American Bullfrog.  Been watching youtube videos of them.  I currently have a tarantula and he has been boring me the past 4 years.  You put food in front of him and he doesn´t eat it.  A bullfrog will eat the chrome off a trailer hitch.  Much more exciting.

 

                  aaaaaaand..........adios mr. tarantula. Burp!!