Nearly 3 years after Da'ish took the city... #Iraq's flag has been raised above #Mosul's government buildings

[tigergorzow]

ISIS drone strike kills 3 civilians in Mosul

February 15 2017 11:17 PM

ISIS terror

Three civilians were killed on Wednesday after ISIS terror group used a drone to bomb Mosul's Left Coast, a security source said.

Three civilians were killed and four others injured in a drone attack carried out by ISIS in Mosul's Left Coast, he added in a statement.

The police forces rushed the injured to hospital for treatment, and the bodies of the deceased were transferred to forensic medicine facilities.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6116/ISIS-drone-strike-kills-3-civilians-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

9 hours ago, yota691 said:

The commander of operations "are coming, Nineveh," Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yar God confirmed, in (February 8, 2017), that the preparations for the Liberation of the right coast of the city of Mosul, ready, adding that the military units waiting for the

 

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Haider al-Abadi order.

Yota Thanks,  DV,  The Iraqi & Coalition Forces Offensive must be immediate and swift because ISIS is killing many innocent civilians and children by the hour / daily.   The people can no longer wait days in ordered to be liberated so hurry the hell up!!!!!  

[pokerplayer]

2 hours ago, tigergorzow said:

ISIS executes 13 civilians by drowning them in cages in Mosul

 

February 15 2017 02:42 PM

ISIS drowning execution

ISIS terrorist executed 13 civilians by drowning them in cages in Mosul city in Nineveh governorate, according to a local source from Nineveh governorate.

The source added in a press statement that ISIS militant executed 13 civilians at Dawasa area  in central Mosul under the accusation of being spies for the Iraqi government and Peshmerga.

The militants filmed the execution process after their judges issued the sentences against the detainees.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6088/ISIS-executes-13-civilians-by-drowning-them-in-cages-in-Mosul#section_235

Good lord, I would hate to go like that. Karma is on the way Daesh, so don't be surprised if a few renegade Iraqi's capture some of you and do the same thing !

pp

[tigergorzow]

'Choose life, not death' reform center tells Iraqi teenage militants -Reuters

February 15 2017 06:16 PM

.

 

Wearing funky beads, Laith Abbas comes across as just another Iraqi teenager trying to look cool, until he describes how he clutched an AK-47 assault rifle at checkpoints along with other ISIS militants who terrorized Mosul, Reuters reported.

Abbas is one of 54 teenagers Kurdish authorities are trying to de-radicalise at a reform center in the northern city of Dohuk for youths and women suspected of aiding ISIS.

The idea is to prevent the hardline group from brainwashing a new generation of suicide bombers and fighters into threatening Iraq's stability again after an ongoing army offensive in their stronghold of Mosul ends.

"We encourage them to choose life, not death," said Zaki Saleh Moussa, head of the institution in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.

Reuters was given exclusive access to the facility and allowed to speak with Abbas, another 17-year-old boy and two adult women, all in the presence of interrogators.

All four prisoners denied that they wilfully supported the fighters, and said ISIS had put pressure on them to cooperate. An interrogator said he was skeptical of those accounts and a court would determine the prisoners' fate.

"My uncle and cousin pressured me to join," said Abbas, sitting in a room with books on culture and art designed to open up new horizons for teenagers and women exposed to extremist ideology.

"I had no choice. My family was in a feud with another one and they threatened to give those people my whereabouts and said 'we will let them kill you'," he said.

He spent 18 days at an ISIS training center in Mosul for religious indoctrination. Abbas was given an assault rifle and assigned to a checkpoint where he was charged with catching anyone who broke the group's many rules.

"They told me to go sign up to be a suicide bomber and I said no. My sister and brothers are sick; I could not leave them. I quit after 15 days. They jailed me for three days and tortured me with a stick," said Abbas.

Many Mosul residents acknowledge having backed ISIS when militants seized control of Iraq's main northern city in 2014. They initially regarded the ISIS fighters, fellow Sunni Muslims, as protectors against the Shi'ite-dominated army.

Eventually ISIS alienated Mosul with its beheadings and shootings of opponents and public whippings of people for enjoying simple pleasures like smoking or watching television.

The western half of Mosul is the last major stronghold of ISIS self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq. But once the city falls, Iraqi authorities fear the group will go underground and mount an insurgency. De-radicalisation programs are seen as a tool to reduce further security threats.


RELIGION OF PEACE

Bishra Abdullah, a 40-year-old woman also undergoing de-radicalisation at the Dohuk center, said ISIS fighters had come to the family home, taken her 14-year-old daughter and married her off to a militant for two months.

"They brought her back and said, 'We don't need her,'" she said.

An interrogator said Abdullah was accused of sheltering extremists. She denied it.

The teenagers at the Dohuk center are confined in groups of about 20 to a room with bunk beds and blankets. Above their beds are photographs of Kurdish leaders, people that ISIS describes as infidels who deserve to die.

Ghaith Rajeb, a subdued 17-year-old who slurs his words, said he felt joining ISIS was the only option as the militants jailed hundreds of people and forced others to pray and listen to fiery mosque sermons condemning non-Sunnis.

He too manned a checkpoint, where he was told to keep a close eye out for anyone who collaborated against ISIS.

"No one could defy their orders," said Rajeb, whose cousin signed up with the militants and was never heard from again.

Rajeb is nostalgic for the days when he was studying to become a teacher and playing soccer with friends, another activity banned by ISIS. But returning to Mosul depends on convincing the Kurdish authorities to release him.

"I would like to go back and study and see my family. But I don't know if there will be a court ruling," he said.

Moussa, the reform center director, was cautiously optimistic the re-education program would help prevent the youths and women from supporting ISIS in the future.

"There are results. But more efforts are needed in this place because the number of people arriving here increases by the day," he said, as an interrogator looked on.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6099/Choose-life-not-death-reform-center-tells-Iraqi-teenage-militants-Reuters

[tigergorzow]

Food Shortage in West Mosul Kills 25 Children 

16 February 2017

 

 

LEEDS — At least 25 children have died as a result of hunger caused by food shortage in the Islamic State (IS)- held areas of western Mosul, The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

According to the Iraqi human rights monitor, there is a serious shortage of food supplies, baby milk, supplementary nutrition and drinkable water in the IS-held areas of western Mosul, putting more than 140,000 local civilians at risk including a large number of children. 

They added that 25 children aged between one month and three years have died from the food shortage in January, according to information obtained by the organization. The number of dead civilians is expected to be significantly larger for the months since the start of the operation against IS in Mosul last year. 

The inability to transport supplies in or out of the areas has led to local residents having to dig wells for underground water, which is highly dangerous due to the possibility of poisoning. The United Nations reported on Tuesday that in western Mosul some parts of the city receive safe drinking water for several hours every few days, but not all areas have the access to the clean water. 

The Iraqi forces backed by the US-led coalition have been fighting the IS militants in Mosul since October last year. Up to this date the government forces managed to liberate the entire eastern part of the city and currently awaiting an order to enter the western parts. 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/330647

[pokerplayer]

Oh yeah, Daesh and their idea of a utopian caliphate. If that's there idea of an ideal country I would hate to see what it would be otherwise. These vermin have got to go !!

pp 

[yota691]

"watch" talk on the work of "looting and destruction" at the hands of Iraqi forces to homes near Mosul

   

 

 4 hours ago

Twilight News / she said, "Human Rights Watch" on Thursday that the Iraqi forces are fighting against al Daesh in order to recover the town and four villages near Mosul, looted homes and damaged or destroyed.

According to the organization, the demolitions have occurred between November 2016 and February 2017, without any military necessity phenomenon, which is tantamount to the ranks of war crimes.

She said, "Human Rights Watch" that "the Iraqi authorities to investigate allegations of war crimes and hold those responsible accountable. The United States and other countries that offer the Iraqi security forces in military aid to put pressure on the government to conduct these investigations. On" Human Rights Council "to expand the scope of the investigation mechanism It was established in 2014 to also include serious violations committed by all parties, including the "popular crowd forces", which is mainly to fight Daesh established, subject to the leadership of Prime Minister al-Abadi directly. "

The report quoted Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director of the organization, as saying that "in the absence of any legitimate military target, there is no justification for the destruction of civilian homes. All this causes the destruction is to prevent civilians from returning to their homes."

The organization pointed out that "documented looting and the destruction of a wide buildings using explosives and heavy equipment and by arson in three villages. Was confirmed witness testimony about the demolition work, which took place between late December / December and early February, with pictures of the satellite showed destroy what does not at least 345 buildings, including the main mosque in the village of Oshawa. satellite imagery showed that examined the occurrence of violations after the annexation of combat troops to Daesh villages to a large network of berms and trenches floor.

The organization said in its report that local residents had told the that "the only armed forces in the region that have been retrieved from the Daesh were different groups within the popular crowd forces."

The organization said it was "a representative of the popular crowd about the demolition work in the three villages. In a written response we got in the February 12, the popular crowd said that Daesh used some houses Kamrad defensive Fajkh others to explode against the popular crowd forces during the offer."

 He also said that "the popular crowd forces have delayed progress for nearly two days to avoid infrastructure and private property destroyed, though Daesh forces continued under the guidance of artillery Rmiadtha on villages even after coming out of it."

The organization noted that "the popular crowd did not mention how long it took Daesh on villages attacks, did not specify the number of homes destroyed by the organization, it was not called the People for the crowd that was present in the village groups. The statement did not acknowledge that the popular crowd launched to destroy an expanded property process after recovery of the areas mentioned, let alone provide any explanation for these actions. "

The report went on that "despite the statement of the popular crowd about booby-trapping houses, satellite imagery, seen by Human Rights Watch showed that the houses were destroyed with explosives, machinery and heavy equipment and arson after the recovery of the popular crowd villages. Burning of houses or demolished or razed to the ground by bulldozers conduct is totally suitable for cleansing of mine, and is likely to lead to an explosion of any improvised explosive devices inside the home. in addition, all the buildings that burned almost still internal and external walls coherent, did not only lose the roof, which is not correct with what happens when an improvised explosive device explosion. "

He said the organization "Based on the investigation we conducted on a larger scale, and continuous pattern of destruction for about two months after the tightening of the popular crowd control of the region, the organization did not find any evidence to support allegations that the demolitions took place perhaps military for legitimate reasons."

The report pointed out that "the satellite images show that the popular crowd included villages retrieved by the security network of berms and trenches ground. This network suggests that the region as a whole interior was protected adequately and there is no military need to pay the popular crowd forces to destroy the houses inside it. In addition, satellite images do not show any demolition work in other nearby villages. If the demolition took place for the purposes of military necessity, it is expected that we will see widespread equal to demolition in the neighboring villages. "

 

 

[yota691]

, a US military commander says that it 's getting harder every day on the liberalization of Ayman Mosul

6 hours ago

 

 

Twilight News / A US commander said al Daesh strongly resist the western side of the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is still under control despite the losses incurred so far in the battle for the city.

Said Lt. Col. Patrick and hip commander of the Second Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, in an interview with Reuters Television in a artillery sites in northern Mosul, "it's getting harder every day here."

He continued saying that "inevitably there are no guarantees when fighting and there is no timetable. The enemy we face has the resolve and determination."

The United States provides air and ground support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces, who are trying to evict the organization from Mosul, which dominated in 2014.

And it ceased operation last month after control of the neighborhoods, which lies east of the Tigris River, which divides the city.

Preparations are underway to launch an attack on the west side, which is expected to be more difficult because of the population density and the narrow alleys and streets that can not pass through armored vehicles.

The Great Mosque in Mosul is a platform which declared him the organization of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliphate State in parts of Syria and Iraq.

York said, "We continue to put pressure on Daesh in the West on a daily basis, and narrow the noose on their resources and put pressure on the logistics command and control points and attack weapons."

And he took over the brigade led by hip and leadership in Mosul six weeks of the Second Brigade of the band by the 101st Airborne.

He said that the artillery support will be important in the next battle because it is possible to launch in all weather conditions, adding that US artillery sites were modified after a battle east of Mosul.

The US military around 5260 soldiers in Iraq, including 1700 paratroopers from the band and hip.

 

[yota691]

France’s most wanted Isis fighter reportedly killed in US air strike in Iraq

French national Rachid Kassim, known for his brief rap career before joining the caliphate in Syria, is linked to several high-profile terror attacks in his home country

• Bethan McKernan Beirut 
• @mck_beth 
• 4 hours ago
•  

 

Rachid Kassim threatens French President Francois Hollande in an Isis propaganda video from July 2016

One of France’s most wanted jihadis is thought to have been killed in a US air strike near the Isis-controlled city of Mosul in Iraq, the Pentagon has said.

Rachid Kassim, born in Roanne in 1987 to an Algerian mother and Yemeni father, was a high profile recruiter for Isis, encouraging attacks and linking up radicalised teenagers via his Telegram and Facebook accounts. 

The French authorities suspect him of coordinating the 2016 knife killings of a French police officer and his wife in their home, and the beheading of a priest.  He has been connected to several other failed plots. 

The fighter was the target of a US coalition strike near Mosul in northern Iraq last week, the Pentagon confirmed on Friday. 

“We are currently assessing the results of that strike,” Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway told reporters. French police sources, however, reported that Kassim was killed in the February 8 strike. 

In Paris, a high-ranking official involved in counterterror operations told AFP there was not “absolute confirmation” of his death, but that the probability was high.

Approximately 240 people have been killed in France by Isis-inspired attacks since the beginning of 2015. Kassim became radicalised after travelling to Algeria in 2011, the Counter Terrorism Project reports. On his return to France, he was barred from his local mosque for violent rhetoric, and turned instead to music, writing rap songs with titles such as “I’m a terrorist.” He left France for Syria in 2012, taking his wife and three children with him.

The country is a major part of the US-led coalition operations to drive Isis out of their territory across Iraq and Syria

[tigergorzow]

IS Intelligence Chief in Nineveh Killed

Four other senior IS officials were also killed in Mosul airstrikes  

 

16 February 2017

 

ERBIL — Five top officials of the extremist Islamic State (IS) organization were killed in the airstrikes conducted by international coalition forces in central Mosul, the War Media Cell reported Thursday.

According to the report, Abu Maha, IS intelligence official in Nineveh, Hamadi Ahmed Samaq, IS finance chief in Mosul, Hamed Ahmed Ibrahim, IS Mosul governor, and Abu Khaldun, chief for IS hotels were killed on Wednesday.

The report alludes to the death of Haqqi Ismael Ubeid, another IS official, with no reference to his position.

The five IS officials were killed in June 17^th neighborhood to the west of Mosul after IS vehicles were targeted by coalition jets. 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/330844

[tigergorzow]

US Commander Says 60,000 IS Members Killed in Two Years 

16 February 2017

 

 

ISTANBUL — An estimated 60,000 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed by US coalition military efforts in the last two years, Army General Raymond Thomas, commander of United States Special Operations Command said, according to a report by military.com.

"We're making great progress against this enemy," Thomas said.

"I'm not into morbid body counts, but that matters," Thomas emphasized. "So when folks ask, do you need more aggressive [measures], do you need better [rules of engagement], I would tell you that we're being pretty darn prolific right now,” said Thomas.

The figure is about 10,000 higher than the previous report in December which had estimated the number to be 50,000.

However, the significance of the body count in terms of progress of the operations is uncertain because the total number of IS militants itself is not certain or exact and may oscillate depending on their recruitment efforts.

According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights there were 100,000 IS fighters in Iraq and Syria, but in the summer of 2016, the Pentagon estimated the number to be about 15,000 to 20,000.

The number of IS killed so far does not pertain only to Iraq and Syria. Just recently, about 1,500 IS militants were killed in Sirte, Libya as well.

The United States Special Operations Command oversees various Special Operations Component Commands of the US Armed Forces, such as the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/middle-east/330833

[tigergorzow]

26 ISIS operatives killed in airstrike in Mosul

February 16 2017 05:51 PM

US-led coalition bombs ISIS

26 elements in the ranks of ISIS terrorist group on Thursday were killed in an air raid on Mosul right bank, a security source said.

The US-led coalition jets have carried out air raids on the command positions of ISIS in Al-Somod district in Mosul right bank, killing 14 terrorists, the source added in a press release.

Three of the terror group's headquarters were also destroyed in the airstrike, he added.

According to the source's remarks, the coalition also bombed ISIS hotbeds in Al-Islah Al-Zeraei neighborhood, neutralizing 12 of the terror group's elements.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6142/26-ISIS-operatives-killed-in-airstrike-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

ISIS works on "a scorched earth" plan to counter Mosul's right bank op.

February 16 2017 02:44 PM

ISIS militants in Iraq

The self-proclaimed ISIS or Daesh terrorist group has reportedly intensified its preparations to counter the Iraqi forces that are intending to liberate the right bank of Mosul city that is still under the control of the barbaric group.

"ISIS fortified the regions under its control with barricades, beefed up its checkpoints across the western bank of Tigris river that is dividing the embattled city," a security source in Nineveh governorate told Baghdad post on Thursday.

"The terrorist organization has booby-trapped several entrances of residential districts and several streets were blocked with concrete blocks to cut the main roads to the city," he added.

"Child fighters dubbed as "Junior Caliphs Or Rulers" were seen deployed at the rooftops of residential apartments with small and light arms", according to the source.

The source explained that ISIS has outlined "Plan B" as "Pillars of several government buildings were partly demolished as to be ready for its collapse upon retreat of ISIS elements, or to be used against the storming forces."

"Adopting such strategy makes it clear that ISIS breathes its last with demolition of government buildings and infrastructure, which is a plan code-named 'The scorched earth strategy'," he added.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6132/ISIS-works-on-a-scorched-earth-plan-to-counter-Mosul-s-right-bank-op

[tigergorzow]

Museum for Peshmerga Relics Opened in Barzan

The museum is to keep the memory of the Peshmerga sacrifices in the fight against IS 

16 February 2017

 

 

ERBIL— A museum for the relics of the Peshmerga fighters martyred in the battle against the Islamic State (IS) opened in Barzan district in the Kurdistan Region.

To keep the memory of the Peshmerga who lost their lives in the fight against the IS organization, a museum containing the remaining belongings of those Peshmerga opened by the Directorate of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs in Barzan.

The collected possessions of Peshmerga kept in the museum include military uniforms, daggers, bags, blankets, mobile phones, watches, boots, bids, knives and so on.

Rebwar Ramazan, the Head of the directorate, said the foreign delegations, while visiting the museum, will witness the tremendous sacrifices Peshmerga have made for defending their homeland and independence.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/330794

[tigergorzow]

HRW: Hashd Al-Shaabi Destroys Villages West of Mosul

HRW says militiamen have destroyed and looted homes west of Mosul 

16 February 2017

 

 

ISTANBUL— The Human Rights Watch (HRW) is accusing the People's Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and Hashd al-Shaabi of unnecessarily looting, damaging and destroying homes in certain villages after freeing them from the Islamic State (IS) militants.

"There was no apparent military necessity for the demolitions, which may amount to war crimes," according to the HRW, which referred to the destruction that they say occurred between November 2016 and February 2017.

"Absent a legitimate military objective, there is no excuse for destroying civilian homes," said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at the HRW.

"All the destruction does is to keep civilians from going home," Fakih continued.

The HRW is advising the Iraqi authorities to investigate all allegations and complaints and for other countries that are assisting in the fight against the Islamic State to put pressure on the Iraqi government to do so.

"The United States and other countries providing military assistance to the Iraqi Security Forces should press the government to carry out these investigations," the HRW stated.

Representatives of the PMF responded to these allegation stating that "some buildings were used as artillery positions by [IS] while other houses were booby-trapped by [IS] in order to detonate around advancing PMF forces. They also said the PMF slowed their advance for nearly two days to avoid destroying infrastructure and private property and that after being pushed out, [IS] forces continued to aim artillery fire at the villages."

However, according to the HRW, the evidence does not support the PMF claims that the demolitions were militarily necessary.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/330870

[ChuckFinley]

Thank you Tiger for the updates. 

[tigergorzow]

Intl. watchdog accuses IMIS militias of destroying Sunni homes in Mosul

February 16 2017 08:45 PM

IMIS terror

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused the terrorist organization of IMIS, trained by Iran, of destroying homes of hundreds of Sunni Arabs in Mosul.

Spokesman for IMIS denied the accusations, asserting that 'extremists' are behind this destruction.

The international watchdog confirmed that IMIS terrorists destroyed 345 homes in western parts of Mosul after recapturing it from ISIS.

The demolitions took place in November 2016 and February 2017 with no apparent military necessity. And these acts may amount to be 'war crimes', the HRW said in a statement.

These subversive acts will prevent the families who fled their homes due to the ongoing fighting from returning to their villages, Lama Fakih, deputy director of HRW Middle East Division said.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6145/Intl-watchdog-accuses-IMIS-militias-of-destroying-Sunni-homes-in-Mosul

[gregp]

Obummer....

[tigergorzow]

Islamic State forces western Mosul’s residents to feed its combat detachments

by Loaa Adel Feb 16, 2017, 8:56 pm

 

 

 

Members of the Islamic State. File photo.

 

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province that the Islamic State group forced some residents of western Mosul to provide food to its combat detachments, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.

The source said, “The Islamic State forced the residents of western Mosul to feed its combat detachments in the neighborhoods of the area.”

“The Islamic State considered the presenting food to its detachments as a support for the group,” the source explained. “The group threatens to punish anyone who violate its instruction,” the source added.

The source also declared that the extremist group could not provide food to its fighters, so they started to threaten residents and force them to provide food.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/islamic-state-forces-western-mosuls-residents-feed-combat-detachments/

[tigergorzow]

Islamic State closes all Sharia Courts in western Mosul

by Loaa Adel

Feb 16, 2017, 6:57 pm

 

 

 

Islamic State’s members.

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province declared that the Islamic State group closed the so-called Sharia Courts in western Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.

The source said, “The Islamic State closed the remaining Sharia Courts in western Mosul, and started to evacuate its alternative headquarters immediately.”

“The authority of Sharia Courts was transferred to the field’s Emirs, with the approaching offensive in western Mosul,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

Islamic State’s Sharia Court is a very important entity in the group, and has many authorities including arrest warrants.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/islamic-state-closes-sharia-courts-mosul/

Edited February 17, 2017 by tigergorzow

[yota691]

Zebari's "The Independent": Mosul will be destroyed and will not return populated

Political

 Since 17/02/2017 13:20 pm (Baghdad time)

Baghdad balances News

Finance Minister article and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Hoshyar Zebari, said the West would destroy the city of Mosul as a result of the fighting and battles.

 Zebari said in an interview with the newspaper "The Independent" British, "I think that will destroy western Mosul," referring to the great devastation in eastern Mosul, which is dominated by government forces recently. "

 He said Zebari, said that "the terrorist has Daesh deliberate intention to fight fiercely," adding that "so far there is no final deadline for the government to resume the attack on the west of Mosul, but he predicted that the fighting will be fiercer than ever before."

In response to a question about the number of victims, Zebari said that "significant losses in the ranks of the Iraqi forces, but the government rejected the announcement official figures for the number of victims."

 And the government's account about the murder of 16,000 elements Daesh, Zebari said that "the true number may be between 1500 to 2000 among 6000," he said.

Zebari predicted "the destruction of the city of Mosul in the coming battle, a possible order, because the past three years in Iraq and Syria has deepened sectarian and ethnic hatred as a result of the massacres carried out by the organization Daesh against Yazidis and Shia."

He added that "there is considerable evidence from other may suggest that the connector will not return populated as it is in other Sunni areas, which had been restored in Iraq, where there are nearly 70% of homes in Ramadi, destructive, and even homes are not destructive, such as those in Fallujah, for example, owners can not Iqtnoha again due to the loss of basic services, and the reason for this is due to the government in Baghdad wants to break the back of Sunni resistance in the face, so people will not be able to return again, ".anthy 29 / d 24

[pokerplayer]

16 hours ago, tigergorzow said:

US Commander Says 60,000 IS Members Killed in Two Years 

16 February 2017

 

 

ISTANBUL — An estimated 60,000 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed by US coalition military efforts in the last two years, Army General Raymond Thomas, commander of United States Special Operations Command said, according to a report by military.com.

"We're making great progress against this enemy," Thomas said.

"I'm not into morbid body counts, but that matters," Thomas emphasized. "So when folks ask, do you need more aggressive [measures], do you need better [rules of engagement], I would tell you that we're being pretty darn prolific right now,” said Thomas.

The figure is about 10,000 higher than the previous report in December which had estimated the number to be 50,000.

However, the significance of the body count in terms of progress of the operations is uncertain because the total number of IS militants itself is not certain or exact and may oscillate depending on their recruitment efforts.

According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights there were 100,000 IS fighters in Iraq and Syria, but in the summer of 2016, the Pentagon estimated the number to be about 15,000 to 20,000.

The number of IS killed so far does not pertain only to Iraq and Syria. Just recently, about 1,500 IS militants were killed in Sirte, Libya as well.

The United States Special Operations Command oversees various Special Operations Component Commands of the US Armed Forces, such as the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/middle-east/330833

Got to love these " feel good " articles. Just wish the number was way higher.

pp

[pokerplayer]

16 hours ago, tigergorzow said:

ISIS works on "a scorched earth" plan to counter Mosul's right bank op.

 

February 16 2017 02:44 PM

ISIS militants in Iraq

The self-proclaimed ISIS or Daesh terrorist group has reportedly intensified its preparations to counter the Iraqi forces that are intending to liberate the right bank of Mosul city that is still under the control of the barbaric group.

"ISIS fortified the regions under its control with barricades, beefed up its checkpoints across the western bank of Tigris river that is dividing the embattled city," a security source in Nineveh governorate told Baghdad post on Thursday.

"The terrorist organization has booby-trapped several entrances of residential districts and several streets were blocked with concrete blocks to cut the main roads to the city," he added.

"Child fighters dubbed as "Junior Caliphs Or Rulers" were seen deployed at the rooftops of residential apartments with small and light arms", according to the source.

The source explained that ISIS has outlined "Plan B" as "Pillars of several government buildings were partly demolished as to be ready for its collapse upon retreat of ISIS elements, or to be used against the storming forces."

"Adopting such strategy makes it clear that ISIS breathes its last with demolition of government buildings and infrastructure, which is a plan code-named 'The scorched earth strategy'," he added.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/6132/ISIS-works-on-a-scorched-earth-plan-to-counter-Mosul-s-right-bank-op

Would not expect anything different from these vermin.

pp

[pokerplayer]

8 hours ago, tigergorzow said:

Islamic State forces western Mosul’s residents to feed its combat detachments

by Loaa Adel Feb 16, 2017, 8:56 pm

 

 

 

 

Members of the Islamic State. File photo.

 

 

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province that the Islamic State group forced some residents of western Mosul to provide food to its combat detachments, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.

The source said, “The Islamic State forced the residents of western Mosul to feed its combat detachments in the neighborhoods of the area.”

“The Islamic State considered the presenting food to its detachments as a support for the group,” the source explained. “The group threatens to punish anyone who violate its instruction,” the source added.

The source also declared that the extremist group could not provide food to its fighters, so they started to threaten residents and force them to provide food.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/islamic-state-forces-western-mosuls-residents-feed-combat-detachments/

 

Start feeding them Pork Chops !

pp

[tigergorzow]

Kirkuk: Peshmerga, Coalition Forces Foil IS Plan to Attack

A group of IS snipers killed 

17 February 2017

 

KIRKUK — Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the US-led coalition airpower on Friday foiled an Islamic State (IS) attack in Kirkuk province, killing several extremists.

After noticing IS military mobilizations near the western Kirkuk frontline, Peshmerga intelligence units and coalition warplanes organized heavy airstrikes on their positions which led to thwarting their plan to attack, said the Peshmerga command in the area.

The airstrikes took place at 12:37 local time (09:37 GMT), according to an official statement which also revealed that a group of IS snipers were targeted in a building with none of them surviving.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/330968