Mosul update

[tigergorzow]

Federal Police kill 3 ISIS suicide bombers in Mosul

March 21 2017 03:31 PM

ISIS suicide bombers

Iraqi security forces killed three ISIS suicide bombers in southern Mosul, a Federal Police source said on Tuesday.
 

The source added in a press statement that the security forces killed three suicide bombers during their attempt to target civilians at Mosul al-Jadedah.
 

The security forces have launched a wide search campaign to eliminate ISIS remnants in the area, according to the source.

This comes as the Iraqi forces, in collaboration with US-led coalition, are continuing offensive against the terror group of ISIS to retake the rest of Mosul.

On February 19, prime minister Hiader Al-Abadi declared the start of a major offensive to wipe the terror group, which once controlled the city as part of its self-styled caliphate.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8429/Federal-Police-kill-3-ISIS-suicide-bombers-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

The coming Iran-US confrontation in Iraq

March 21 2017 05:46 PM

The coming Iran-US confrontation in Iraq

In June 2014, Mosul was seized by ISIS, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi soon afterward announced a caliphate from the city’s grand mosque. Now the caliphate is seemingly coming to an end, Al Monitor reported on Tuesday.

Iraqi government forces took the eastern part of Mosul from ISIS on Jan. 24 after three months of fighting. On March 15, a spokesman for Iraq's Counterterrorism Service said 60% of the western part of Mosul is under the control of Iraqi security forces. The day before, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said the operation is in its final stage, pledging the defeat of ISIS .

But military victory in Mosul is just the beginning of a more complicated phase for Iraq. Disparate forces have so far come together to pursue the common objective of expelling ISIS from Iraq. With the imminent achievement of this goal, many underlying and preceding power struggles will likely re-emerge. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that various external powers — including Iran and the United States — have become greatly involved in Iraq’s security-related affairs and expanded their spheres of influence within the country since ISIS' 2014 onslaught .

One key question is who will step in to fill the power vacuum in post-ISIS Mosul. Will the United States revert to its previous retreat from the Middle East, or will it opt to reassure its regional allies by keeping at least a part of its current forces in Iraq? Will Iran seek to establish a presence in northern Iraq, either directly or through its allies?

After having withdrawn in late 2011, the United States has once again become militarily engaged in the country, deploying over 5,000 troops and special forces, and spending more than $10 billion on combating ISIS in Iraq and Syria .

 

Meanwhile, al-Hashd Shiite Militias (IMIS) have gone through a process of state legitimization, becoming a part of Iraq’s security forces. Given that Tehran supports large parts of the IMIS both militarily and financially, the IMIS presence in the Mosul operation has undoubtedly caused concern in Washington about the possible expansion of Iran’s influence in Iraq. While Iranian officials reject the notion that Iran supports the IMIS with the purpose of increasing its regional clout and expanding its sphere of influence in Iraq, the support does indeed greatly serve Iranian interests. Thus, one of the key objectives of the United States in post-ISIS Mosul will likely be to seek to control and contain Iranian influence .

 

In other words, the IMIS may be on a collision course with the United States and its partners in northern Iraq .

 

In this equation, it should be borne in mind that Iran directly ties the security of its borders to the security and stabilization of Mosul. Brig. Gen. Iraj Masjedi, a senior adviser to Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force (the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), has called the fight against ISIS tantamount to defense of the security and geopolitical situation of Iran. Masjedi — Iran’s incoming ambassador to Iraq — said March 9 in Tehran that Iran will definitely support Iraq's territorial integrity. He further emphasized the importance of Iran's fostering Iraqi security forces after victory in Mosul and the defeat of ISIS in order to prevent the possible formation of other clandestine terrorist groups. He also expressed support for further security cooperation between Iran and Iraq, besides the ongoing military collaboration. In other words, Iranian officials see Iran's presence in Iraq as a matter of ensuring Iran’s own national security and not simply as part of a power struggle .

 

Mohammad Sadegh Koushki, a prominent Middle East expert at the University of Tehran, said that he believes Tehran does not have a clear-cut “special plan” for post-ISIS Mosul. He said, “Iran did not get directly involved in the Mosul operation, as the Iraqi government had not asked for it. Iran has only supported the IMIS indirectly in this operation, upon the official request of the Iraqi government. But the stability of Iraq is important for Iran, because the future of Iran's security is tied to it .”

 

The exact number of fighters serving with active Shiite militias in Iraq is not clear. But there are estimates of between 100,000 to 120,000 militiamen, most of them organized under the banner of the IMIS. Although the Iraqi parliament has passed legislation to make IMIS an official wing of Iraqi’s security forces, little is clear about the IMIS's future role within the country’s armed forces. The United States is worried about the political influence of the IMIS, as a large portion of it receives direct Iranian backing. IMIS representative Karim al-Nouri said that taking into account the role of IMIS militias in defending Iraq against ISIS, achieving long-term political goals is a legitimate demand on their part .

 

The United States and Iran look at the Iraqi parliament’s IMIS legislation through different lenses. Iran supports the Nov. 26 law. Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki in Tehran on Jan. 3 that the legislation was the result of the IMIS's constructive performance. Shamkhani further emphasized that the IMIS enjoyed a strategic potential in providing Iraq's future security .

 

Meanwhile, the United States wants to play an active role in determining the future of the IMIS and facilitating the demobilization or integration of the remaining IMIS units into the Iraqi security forces in order to manage its power, as it might influence US interests in Iraq. The integration of the IMIS into the existing security forces under the Defense Ministry and the Interior Ministry would prevent the buildup of strong institutions outside of the governmental structure, akin to the Iranian Basij. The United States is concerned that the IMIS may turn into a Hezbollah-type proxy of Iran, potentially escalating regional rivalries by antagonizing regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey .

 

Thus, the post-ISIS governance of Mosul — and the contribution of each of the involved forces in the distribution of power — appears likely to be the biggest challenge ahead. One of the possible scenarios is that Mosul will return to its pre-ISIS status, with the Iraqi central government assuming full authority over Ninevah province. Both Baghdad and Tehran support this scenario, although Sunni Arab communities and Kurds do not and believe that reverting to the previous situation will not solve security problems. Koushki said the favored US scenario is to turn Ninevah into a Sunni region like the Kurdistan region. He said the more serious US presence in Iraq in recent years shows that Washington’s purpose is to weaken the Iraqi central government and influence Baghdad’s political landscape. How Iran might respond to the latter remains unclear. The University of Tehran professor added, “While Iran advocates Iraq’s territorial integrity, it will support the decisions of the Iraqis .”

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8437/The-coming-Iran-US-confrontation-in-Iraq

[tigergorzow]

Mosul last librarian preparing for when city free from ISIS

March 21 2017 06:47 PM

.

The Independent

 

Once a treasure trove of Unesco-registered rare books, the central library of the University of Mosul is now a blackened husk, full of ash, "Independent" reported on Tuesday. 

Less than a year after it captured the city in the summer of 2014, Isis all-but destroyed the building and burned its books. University professors and officials were forced to flee – but one man, Mosul’s librarian-in-exile, is still fighting for its survival. 

A historian who taught at the university before it fell to Isis, he is the author of the “Mosul Eye” blog documenting life in the occupied city and, as a result, cannot be named for security reasons.

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, the historian said he hopes to collect at least 200,000 books, largely from international donations, to rebuild the university’s central library and others across the city.  

He described the period shortly after Isis entered Mosul, but before he was forced to flee, when a meeting was called for faculty at the university. 

“One of the instructors said to an Isis member appointed to the university: ‘What do we do with Shakespeare’s books? We need them to teach students English.’ The Isis member replied: ‘And what would Shakespeare offer to Muslims?’.

“From that moment I realised what Isis was up to,” he told The Independent. 

Isis ransacked the university library not long after. In 2015, reports said more than 100,000 rare manuscripts and documents spanning centuries of human learning were destroyed, including some which were registered on a Unesco rarities list. 


For the historian, the destruction of his country’s knowledge and culture was “devastating”, and he warned the loss to Iraq’s history was “dire”.

“Manuscripts that document the most important and critical phase of the history of modern Mosul may not be ever recovered. There will always be a black hole in the history of Mosul and Iraq as a result,” he said. 

“The university’s central library was my second home. It used to house a wealth of rare publications and unique manuscripts that were available nowhere else.” 

Over the two and a half years that followed Isis’ capture of the city, smaller libraries in Mosul were repeatedly targeted and looted. 

Controlling knowledge to reaffirm its grip on power, Isis aimed to “cleanse the libraries of all blasphemous literature and knowledge”, said the historian.  



Students, professors and residents of Mosul made several secret attempts to save the city’s manuscripts and hide them away from Isis’ reach but, the historian said, it was hard to estimate how much survived.

Now, he is turning his attention to the future, with a worldwide call for donations of books and publications of all kinds, about any subject and in as many languages as possible.

The books are being collected in the relatively secure Iraqi city of Irbil, where they are sorted, labelled and prepared for a more peaceful time when the libraries can be rebuilt.



“Voltaire said once, ‘let’s read and let’s dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world’. This is how we will create the future of Mosul,” the historian said. 

From music and literature to history and science, the Mosul Eye’s founder said teaching people about experiences of liberty and democracy around the world will help to fight extremism. 

He recognises people have other concerns. Last week alone, more than 40,000 were displaced amid the heaviest clashes yet between Iraqi forces and Isis fighters, since the start of a new push to regain control of the city. 

Despite the immediate need for food and medicine, he said he believed that by collecting books now, he could start to give hope to future generations. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8442/Mosul-last-librarian-preparing-for-when-city-free-from-ISIS

[tigergorzow]

US-led coalition hits 28 ISIS positions in Iraq, Syria

March 21 2017 06:37 PM

Coalition hits ISIS

US-led coalition military forces conducted 28 strikes consisting of 81 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq, US Central Command site announced.

In Syria, jets of the coalition bombed 28 ISIS hotbeds.

Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three well heads and a pump jack, the military site added.

The coalition in Iraq conducted six strikes consisting of 53 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of against ISIS targets.

There, one strike destroyed an ISIS-held building near Tal Afar.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8441/US-led-coalition-hits-28-ISIS-positions-in-Iraq-Syria

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Security forces kill 15 ISIS snipers in Ramadi

March 21 2017 07:25 PM

ISIS snipers killed

Iraqi forces have thwarted a terror attack by ISIS on Ramadi city center, killing 15 snipers, council of Anbar province said on Tuesday.
 

Two weeks ago, ISIS operatives entered Ramadi's al-Sherka district and the Industrial district. But the security forces repelled the attack, Azal Ebaid, member of the council, said in a press release.
 

The Iraqi cities are witnessing a state of insecurity and chaos as terror attacks target civilians.
 

Terrorist groups like ISIS, IMIS and others are targeting those cities by booby-trapped cars, suicide bombs and other terrorist means in which the residents are feeling insecure and furious.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8444/Security-forces-kill-15-ISIS-snipers-in-Ramadi

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Abadi welcomes investigation into ISIS crimes in Iraq

March 21 2017 12:01 PM

Iraqi Prime Minister addresses USIP

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has asserted that he would "welcome" an independent investigation into atrocities committed by ISIS, but they should be conducted in Iraq.

Addressing the US Institute of Peace (USIP) during his first visit to the US, Abadi said he is discussing with the British government the possibility of establishing a tribunal with the support of the UK.

Abadi said the joint fight against ISIS has improved relations between Arabs and Kurds, especially their armed forces, which have been cooperating in the war.

The Iraqi premier deflected a question about long-held plans by the Kurdish Regional Government to hold a referendum, still unscheduled, on independence from Iraq.

Asked about what Baghdad reaction would be if Kurdistan declares itself a state, Abadi said "We will discuss it then."

Iraq future will depend in part on the larger power struggles it its neighborhood among Shia-led Iran, and the Sunni-dominated Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia. Abadi said extremist groups will garner too much support from those power struggles taking place along the Iraqi borders.

"You have Saudi Arabia on one side, who are eager to be a leader of the Islamic Sunni world. You have Iran on the other side, who is eager to become the leader of the Shia Islamic world or even beyond" said Abadi.

Iraq does not want to be part of that conflict, asserted Abadi, adding that "We are looking for our own interests". "We are eager to stop these regional conflicts", the premier noted.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8415/Abadi-welcomes-investigation-into-ISIS-crimes-in-Iraq

[tigergorzow]

Turkish Embassy in Baghdad to distribute aids to Mosul displaced

March 21 2017 02:01 PM

Turkish Aids

 

The Turkish Embassy in Iraq would distribute as many as 5,000 packages that contain water bottles in order to save the displaced people of Mosul who are suffering a sharp lack of food and water as military operations to capture the city are continued.



Iraqi Ministry of Education's media office said that the aids comes as a response to 'MA Nea'atsh'  campaign  or 'No thirsty'  which was launched by Minister of Education Mohamed Eqbal al-Saidhaly.



Turkish Embassy announced that the water shipment will be delivered to the displaced people in the embattled city of Mosul soon.


On February 19, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the operation on state TV, saying government forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from ISIS oppression and terrorism forever", using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
 

More than 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the western side of Mosul since the start of military operations. UN bodies expect the figure to double in the coming days with the Iraqi forces are about to control most of the city and chase out remnants of the terrorist group.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8423/Turkish-Embassy-in-Baghdad-to-distribute-aids-to-Mosul-displaced

[tigergorzow]

In pictures: ISIS fighters raid Iraqi Army outpost near the border with Syria

By

Chris Tomson

-

21/03/2017

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (2:45 A.M.) – Islamic State insurgents in western Anbar still represent a force to be reckoned with after jihadist raids continue to harass Iraqi Army bases in the largely uninhabited desert not far from Syria and Jordan.

Targeting an Iraqi Army outpost north of the junction town of Ar-Rutbah, ISIS militants carried out a deadly operation which saw their forces overrun the small military base.

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Meanwhile, clashes also continue in the northern city of Mosul where the Iraqi Armed Forces have deployed the bulk of their personnel, totaling over 100,000 troops.

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Once ISIS is defeat at Mosul, the Iraqi Army is expected to refocus its attention to Anbar province, known to be a hotbed for jihadist fighters.

The battle for Al-Qa’im will be especially important as it will allow Iraqi forces to push across the border into the Deir Ezzor governorate, an oil-rich region which the Popular Mobilization Units have vowed to liberate with support from Damascus.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pictures-isis-fighters-raid-iraqi-army-outpost-near-border-syria/

[tigergorzow]

ISIS captures nine Iraqi security officers, feared execution is inevitable

By

Paul Antonopoulos

-

21/03/2017

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:59 A.M.) – ISIS captured nine officers of Iraq’s security forces on Monday in western Mosul.

“After fierce clashes in Western Mosul, Daesh [ISIS] terrorists took nine police officers, including a colonel, as captives,” the Iraqi Interior Ministry said in a statement.

“The operation took place in the Bab al-Jadid neighbourhood in western Mosul, where ISIS was able to prevent the Iraqi forces from advancing into its final stronghold in the key city,” head of Nineveh media centre Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News.

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The abduction of the officers was only possible after intense clashes, with the security forces running out of ammo.

ISIS have a strict policy of brutally executing rival fighters.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-captures-nine-iraqi-security-officers-feared-execution-inevitable/

[tigergorzow]

What are the ISIS prospects in 2017?

By

Ivan Lapkin

-

21/03/2017

 

 

Last year the Islamic State terrorist group has faced a series of violent attacks and offensives from both US-led coalition and Syria-Russia-Iran axis as well as predominantly Kurdish SDF and Turkish army\FSA proxies. Suffering from heavy bombardment, artillery, drone, missile strikes all over the “caliphate’s” territory, total economic blockade and finally massive ground offensives all the year, ISIS experienced a number of important setbacks but has eventually survived in 2016 unlike many experts’ predictions.

First of all during long and tough countryside warfare with Iraqi security forces, mainly newly-formed and US-trained and supplied “Golden division”, the terrorist group has lost control of the so-called “sunni triangle” north-west of Baghdad – the provincial capital of Anbar – Ar-Ramadi, the region of Hit and the notorious city of Al-Fallujah. This loss makes it totally impossible for IS to conduct large military operations and raids on and near  Baghdad also finally dispelling the group’s plans of general battle for the ancient Middle East city in order to make it “caliphate’s” capital like it was in Abbasids era.

 

Secondly, due to large Turkey military  operation in northern Syria – the “Euphrates shield”, IS was driven out of the important region in north-eastern Aleppo province also known as Azaz-Jarablus-Al-Bab triangle. The retreat from Jarablus and eventually Al-Bab marked the end of group’s presence along the Syrian-Turkish border which means not only the end of any previous Erdogan-IS cooperation but also a full cut of the “Islamic State” ties with various “humanitarian” Saudi and Qatar funds located in Turkey.

The same time mainly because of new US president Donald Trump’s anti-IS strategy which has removed all restrictions of US supplying SDF units, the former were able to make large gains in northern Syria, strongly isolating the IS self-proclaimed capital of Ar-Raqqa and nearly connecting with their fellow men in Afrin canton.

The group’s held large areas in vast Syrian desert were also vulnerable for Damascus attacks despite the fact that no major gains were made by government forces. Now the Syrian desert or eastern Homs warfare as mostly concentrated round the ancient city of Tadmor (Palmyra), lately recaptured by SAA and Russia once again.

Furthermore SAA’s 3d armoured division alongside 4^th division’s special operations branch and some units of ruling Baath party have made attempts to widen a buffer zone with IS near Christian town of Al-Qaratayn and Saiqal military airbase in eastern Damascus. These movements put the local IS units in danger of being expelled from the Damascus province and even isolated from their bases in east Homs if strategic Barida crossroad is captured.

However all aforementioned setbacks still don’t let us say that the group is on verge of collapsing.

Despite the fact that war on IS is widely covered by many MSM, non-government and analysis organizations, independent experts and journalists, we can’t be sure of real group’s casualties numbers since IS has shown solid skills in camouflaging convoys and bases, hardly fortifying real ones and even producing fake targets like wooden vehicles, tanks and car bombs. Also we should consider that withdrawal from Al-Bab or Ramadi, for instance,  may be not a sign of heavy losses in the group’s ranks, but a tactical or strategic move to save fighting capabilities for coming operations while there is no chances to overcome strong resistance, fire and bombardment of their rivals in big cities and towns. The idea may be sustained with the fact that IS leaders have been making their decisions mostly on the assumption of biggest profits and real state of things in each case since the “Islamic State” was established.

So we may suggest that IS still can form and send quite massive reinforcements in any area of escalated fighting.

On the other hand almost all IS losses in 2016 are heavy populated areas and big military installations like Al-Qayarah military airbase, Mosul airport and its surroundings. Losing these sites means losing important strongholds to operate at the frontline and enemy’s rear offensively as well as losing huge weapon\ammunition depots and training camps. Thus the group is likely to turn their attention to consolidating previous gains and building large defense lines in last vital places – Ar-Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zour, Al-Bukamal and Al-Qaim in 2017. In other words the thing we may be sure in is that the spread of the “caliphate” throughout Syria and Iraq is finally over.

The same time during 2016’s battles with Iraqi\Syrian governments, Turkey, FSA mercenaries, and Al-Nusra Front (currently named as “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”) IS clearly demonstrated that fighting it all mentioned powers are fighting a state, not just rich and large terrorist group.

IS is the only Middle East jihadist force (except partly recognized Hezbollah) to set up massive production and effective usage of armed drones and SVBIEDs – suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices or car bombs. Some other hardline islamists (e.g. Al-Nusra front, Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa) has also used it around Syrian cities of Aleppo and Daraa and in Hama northern countryside, but all them  didn’t manage to produce such vehicles on an industrial scale, use people of any nationality to drive it and use it day by day to crush enemy’s frontline. The usage and production of armed drones which has actively started around three months ago also shows an industrial approach and seems to be elaborated as a doctrine, not just for some concrete cases.

Dawawins or state institutions of IS – Dawawin al-Jund (“defense ministry), Dawawin at-Taalim (“educational ministry”), Dawawin Fay val Ganaim (“spoils of war ministry”), Dawawin al-Amni al-Umm (“internal ministry”) and others, are likely not just handsome titles but working structures producing weapon, food, electricity, soldiers, engineers, experienced field commanders and “living bombs”. The latters should be considered vivid examples of IS techniques to work with the area’s population and use it “on its full capacity” as not only hundreds of middle-aged men are launching such attack on daily basis in every part of the “caliphate”, but also foreigners, elderly people and even kids from 12 to 17 years old. Furthermore, we may suggest that a very solid part of that people isn’t hardly made launch these suicide missions as there were no serious uprisings or protests clearly recorded across the ISIS lands in Syria and Iraq. Thus some kinds of mental pressure should be used to cause at least dozens persons of ripe years and their children monthly blow themselves up among SF gatherings. Also it’s important to note many of aforementioned bombers haven’t previously fought alongside IS militants but lived as civilians

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Examples: IS suicide bomber from Poland who detonated himself while Eastern Aleppo battle

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

IS suicide bomber Abu Maliha from Canada who also attacked ISF in western Mosul

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Abu Usama from Ireland attacked Iraqi PMU units south of Mosul

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

British suicide bomber Abu Zakariya previously released from Guantanamo

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Youngsters who blown themselves during battles with ISF

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Elderly people who went on a suicide mission in Mosul

One more astonishing thing created by IS is its numerous media outlets and services, which not only cope with problem of locals loyalty to IS, but also play very important role in recruiting foreigners, encouraging muslims join IS or contribute to it with their money and ties, and spreading the idea of “personal jihad” or lone-wolf attacks, which are striking Turkey, Europe and US since 2015. Productions of these media centres include feature films, documentaries, daily TV, radio, photo,  social networks and newspapers reports on different aspects of life under the “Islamic State”, infographics, magazines, books and nasheeds.

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

IS infographics on drone usage from 2^nd to 11^th February 2017 shows 79 people killed or wounded, 27 vehicles destroyed by armed drones attacks

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

IS-affiliated Amaq News Agency infographics shows alleged Iraqi army casualties on the third week of Mosul battle

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Ivan Lapkin | Al-Masdar News

Photos showing social activities: cash distribution and school in Raqqa, Medical Centre near Tigris in Iraq, normal life in embattled Mosul city and judgement in Yarmouk basin

IS media agencies and outlets used to concentrate on showing normal life and social activities by IS services as well as civilians’ casualties caused by airstrikes or artillery shelling last months. It means people are consistently told not only the terrorist group is destroyed by coalition, Syria\Iraq, Russia efforts but the whole sunni population in the area threatened. Unfortunately, such claims have been proved many times by cruelty, looting and revenge acts conducted by anti-IS forces time to time as a normal feature of war.

 

 

Finally unlike many other participants in the conflict, IS has set up massive collection of “ganima” (spoils of war) to mete out later and programs of rebuilding, renovating or constructing armoured vehicles like tanks and personnel carriers.

Therefore all members of anti-IS efforts should consider fighting a powerful, clearly structured and determined enemy who has been owning the initiative in the war and in some ways representing wishes of people’s majority throughout his territory till now.

Despite this, the resources IS can use are decreasing day and night unlike IS rivals. Consequently the group is made to slowly abandon attacked sites e.g. Mosul and maybe Ar-Raqqa. In such a way it seems that in 2017 IS will be finally expelled from majority of big cities it controls now. But as we can see, terrorists have already began to change their strategy and tactics from large, Mosul-2014 and Raqqa-2013 style offensive to endless, grueling guerrilla war in desert. Simultaneously, no anti-IS alliance in Syria and Iraq is well-prepared for such kind of war up to now.

These means that even after been driven out of large urban zones and key town\villages the group is unlikely to disappear or give up their insurgency. On the contrary we may suggest IS will try hard to prolong its existence in Iraq and Syria especially in vast, remote desert areas like some Iraqi\Syrian tribes did it before 2011. The growing tensions between different groups fighting IS (e.g. Iraqi kurds and Baghdad)  will apparently help islamists survive for more than one year.

Also some points indicate that more attention will be shifted to IS remote “willayas” – areas in Yemen, Afganistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Africa, central Asia, north-western China and Caucasus. Terrorists’ leaders may attempt to transport in some ways high-aimed and experienced fighters alongside weapons and exchequer to one of its “willayas” and try start the Iraqi scenario once again. As the 2013 proved any hard tensions inside mentioned countries may give IS remnants one more chance to renew their “state” in another area.

All things considered, even slowly disappearing as an effective state and military structure in Syria and Iraq, the “Islamic State” will potentially remain in history and political\military studies as a great example of self-built war and economical machine started at a prison sell and finally tried to challenge world’s mightiest powers.

Special thanks to @Terror_Monitor, @CT_operative and @siteintelgroup

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-prospects-2017/

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Iraqi forces control more facilities in central Mosul, 3 bombers killed

 

by Mohamed Mostafa Mar 21, 2017, 3:43 pm

Whatsapp

 

Iraqi rapid response members prepare to cross the route to avoid being hit by Islamic State snipers in western Mosul, Iraq March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

 

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces controlled more government and commercial facilities in central Mosul on Tuesday, while three suicide bombers were killed by the troops, according to police sources.

Cap. Amir Watheq, from the Nineveh police force, told BasNews that security forces took over some citizens’ services, commercial and telecommunication facilities in central Mosul after recapturing the Nineveh, Bata and al-Kotob streets.

Meanwhile, col. Khodeir Saleh told the website that three suicide bombers belonging to the Islamic State were killed before they targeted civilians in Mosul a-Jadida district.

 

 

Mosul al-Jadida district in western Mosul (Google Maps)

Iraqi government troops launched a major offensive in February to retake western Mosul from Islamic State militants. The troops recaptured the eastern side of IS’s largest stronghold in Iraq in January.

Since launching the offensive on western Mosul, Iraqi forces recaptured the city’s government complex, airport and biggest military base from militants, claiming control recently over at least 60 percent of territory.

Troops’ commanders said one day ago they became much closer to the city’s grand mosque where IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the establishment of the group’s rule in Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi commanders had admitted that battles in western Mosul were tougher compared to the east as IS fighters positioned in the middle of densely-populated and narrowly-structured residential areas, relying on snipers and booby-traps to hold off the advancing security forces. Bad weather has also slowed down operations over the past few days and forced troops to change tactics.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-forces-control-facilities-central-mosul-3-bombers-killed/

[tigergorzow]

Destroyed by Islamic State, ancient winged bull to rise again in London

 

by Loaa Adel Mar 21, 2017, 6:51 pm

Whatsapp

 

 

Artist Michael Rakowitz stands beside a scale model of his sculpture ‘The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist’ at the National Gallery, after it won the competition to become one of the pieces to be displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, in central London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

 

(Reuters) An ancient Assyrian winged bull sculpture destroyed by Islamic State fighters in 2015 is to be remade from empty Iraqi date syrup cans and displayed in Trafalgar Square in London.

The work by U.S. artist Michael Rakowitz has won the next commission for the square’s unoccupied Fourth Plinth, upon which a series of 11 new artworks have been displayed since 1999, organizers said on Tuesday.

The original winged bull, a protective deity known as the Lamassu, stood from about 700 BC at a gate of the ancient city of Nineveh on the outskirts of the modern-day Iraqi city of Mosul, a former Islamic State (IS) stronghold now being besieged by Iraqi forces.

The bull was destroyed by the militants along with other artifacts in Mosul Museum.

“It’s the first time this project has been situated in a public space, and it’s happening when we are witnessing a massive migration of people fleeing Iraq and Syria,” said Rakowitz in a statement.

As part of a U.S.-led coalition, Britain participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, justified at the time by allegations that dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

The Iraq war became deeply unpopular over time in Britain, and many critics of then Prime Minister Tony Blair have blamed the 2003 invasion and its bloody aftermath for the later rise of IS. Blair has resisted this interpretation of events.

Rakowitz started working in 2007 on a project in which he uses recycled Middle Eastern food packaging to recreate artifacts damaged or destroyed during the looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad in 2003. He now also includes objects destroyed by IS.

 

 

Artist Michael Rakowitz stands beside a scale model of his sculpture ‘The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist’ at the National Gallery, after it won the competition to become one of the pieces to be displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, in central London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Trafalgar Square is one of London’s main focal points, attracting thousands of tourists every day. It has been the scene of countless official celebrations and ceremonies, but is also a venue of choice for mass protests.

The Fourth Plinth was erected in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, but money ran out and it remained empty for 158 years until a program of special commissions was launched.

Rakowitz’s Lamassu will be unveiled next year and will follow on from the sculpture on display now, a giant thumbs up by David Shrigley called “Really Good”.

The Lamassu will remain on display until 2020, when it will be replaced by “THE END” by British artist Heather Phillipson, which consists of a giant whirl of cream topped by a cherry, a fly and a functioning drone.

Phillipson said the work represented “hubris and impending collapse” and was designed to respond to the political and physical aspects of Trafalgar Square.

The square is home to Nelson’s Column, a giant monument celebrating Horatio Nelson, victor of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar against combined French and Spanish forces, as well as other bronze statues of figures from British history.

http://www.iraqinews.com/features/destroyed-islamic-state-ancient-winged-bull-rise-london/

[tigergorzow]

Joint forces liberate several areas in western Mosul

 

by Loaa Adel Mar 21, 2017, 7:48 pm

Whatsapp

 

 

Iraqi security forces. File photo.

 

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Forces from al-Hashd al-Shaabi, backed by the 9th armored brigade and Army Aviation, resumed military operations to reinforce the western side of Badush vicinity and its surrounding areas.

According to a statement released by the media office of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, the operations resulted in the liberation of the residential complex, the villages of al-Jadida and al-Damerji al-Saghira and Arheiya area, as well as recapturing a communication system belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group.

Furthermore, the operations also destroyed four booby-trapped vehicles, before reaching their targets, in addition to killing and wounding a number of militants by a rocket attack launched by al-Hashd al-Shaabi.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/joint-forces-liberate-several-areas-western-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

Inherent Resolve‏Verified account @CJTFOIR 8h8 hours ago

 

On Mar. 20 #CJTFOIR conducted 28 strikes consisting of 81 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria & Iraq. MORE: http://ow.ly/rw3830a6Qan 

pic.twitter.com/VyCsWLtBfz

https://twitter.com/CJTFOIR

5:17 AM - 21 Mar 2017

[tigergorzow]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Danger 6‏ @Danger6_1ID 11h11 hours ago

 

.@2BCT_Falcons & #Iraqi #Soldiers working together on #UAV operations in support of the fight in #Mosul. @CJTFOIR @CENTCOM @FORSCOM #OneTeam

pic.twitter.com/SMnGi2hkUb

https://twitter.com/CJTFOIR

 

[tigergorzow]

 

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Iraqi Day  🇮🇶‏ @iraqi_day 2h2 hours ago

 

#Mosul map update. Green= liberated and under #Iraqi forces control. Orange= frontline clashes. White= #ISIS controlled areas.

pic.twitter.com/foZbNY2hCu

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul 

[tigergorzow]

ISIS leader killed in Mosul

Peshmerga forces' counterterrorism service declared Tuesday a senior ISIS, along with his wife, was killed in an air raid conducted in the right bank of Mosul.

The deceased ISIS terrorist, called Hassan Mahmoud al-Farhan al-Afiri, was the terror group's official in charge of artillery brigade in the city, a statement released by the service said.

The airstrike targeted the terrorist and his wife, called Eman al-Tokhi and bearing a French citizenship, near Omer Ibnel-Khattab Mosque in Mosul's Tank neighborhood, it added.

Since February, the Iraqi forces are in battle to retake the right bank of Mosul from the terror group of ISIS, which seized large swaths in 2014 but lost most of them as an international coalition has been formed to end the terrorists' crimes.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8449/Senior-ISIS-leader-his-wife-killed-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

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حسن العراقي‏ @hasn_irq 26m26 minutes ago

 

RT Hashd_Shaabi_iq: Security forces evacuates hundreds of displaced people from the old city of #Mosul #iraq #for…

pic.twitter.com/SEPEYsJbpT

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

[tigergorzow]

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WarLeak‏ @WarLeak 1h1 hour ago

 

#ISIS captures nine #Iraq-i security officers including a colonel on Monday in western #Mosul. #warleak

pic.twitter.com/ePDiCXFy0Y

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

[tigergorzow]

FRONTLINE‏Verified account @frontlinepbs 13m13 minutes ago

"I spoke to the defense minister myself. He said militias are now more powerful than the [Iraqi] govt" -a Sunni politician #IraqUncoveredPBS

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

 

فیضانِ خستہ‏ @CheikhFaizan 11m11 minutes ago

 

فیضانِ خستہ Retweeted FRONTLINE

Because Iraqi Shia Militias/Shia Army are acting on orders of Iran's Regime to commit genocide of Sunnis. #Iraqis #Mosul #IraqUncoveredPBS

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

Edited March 22, 2017 by tigergorzow

[tigergorzow]

 

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Department of State‏Verified account @StateDept 6h6 hours ago

 

Tomorrow, Secretary Tillerson will host foreign ministers & senior leaders of the @Coalition working to defeat ISIS. https://go.usa.gov/xXKe5 

pic.twitter.com/OJTSFG3hFH

https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk

 

[ChuckFinley]

Thanks Tiger.

[NoviceInvestor]

14 hours ago, tigergorzow said:

Mosul last librarian preparing for when city free from ISIS

 

March 21 2017 06:47 PM

.

The Independent

 

Once a treasure trove of Unesco-registered rare books, the central library of the University of Mosul is now a blackened husk, full of ash, "Independent" reported on Tuesday. 

Less than a year after it captured the city in the summer of 2014, Isis all-but destroyed the building and burned its books. University professors and officials were forced to flee – but one man, Mosul’s librarian-in-exile, is still fighting for its survival. 

A historian who taught at the university before it fell to Isis, he is the author of the “Mosul Eye” blog documenting life in the occupied city and, as a result, cannot be named for security reasons.

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, the historian said he hopes to collect at least 200,000 books, largely from international donations, to rebuild the university’s central library and others across the city.  

He described the period shortly after Isis entered Mosul, but before he was forced to flee, when a meeting was called for faculty at the university. 

“One of the instructors said to an Isis member appointed to the university: ‘What do we do with Shakespeare’s books? We need them to teach students English.’ The Isis member replied: ‘And what would Shakespeare offer to Muslims?’.

“From that moment I realised what Isis was up to,” he told The Independent. 

Isis ransacked the university library not long after. In 2015, reports said more than 100,000 rare manuscripts and documents spanning centuries of human learning were destroyed, including some which were registered on a Unesco rarities list. 


For the historian, the destruction of his country’s knowledge and culture was “devastating”, and he warned the loss to Iraq’s history was “dire”.

“Manuscripts that document the most important and critical phase of the history of modern Mosul may not be ever recovered. There will always be a black hole in the history of Mosul and Iraq as a result,” he said. 

“The university’s central library was my second home. It used to house a wealth of rare publications and unique manuscripts that were available nowhere else.” 

Over the two and a half years that followed Isis’ capture of the city, smaller libraries in Mosul were repeatedly targeted and looted. 

Controlling knowledge to reaffirm its grip on power, Isis aimed to “cleanse the libraries of all blasphemous literature and knowledge”, said the historian.  



Students, professors and residents of Mosul made several secret attempts to save the city’s manuscripts and hide them away from Isis’ reach but, the historian said, it was hard to estimate how much survived.

Now, he is turning his attention to the future, with a worldwide call for donations of books and publications of all kinds, about any subject and in as many languages as possible.

The books are being collected in the relatively secure Iraqi city of Irbil, where they are sorted, labelled and prepared for a more peaceful time when the libraries can be rebuilt.



“Voltaire said once, ‘let’s read and let’s dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world’. This is how we will create the future of Mosul,” the historian said. 

From music and literature to history and science, the Mosul Eye’s founder said teaching people about experiences of liberty and democracy around the world will help to fight extremism. 

He recognises people have other concerns. Last week alone, more than 40,000 were displaced amid the heaviest clashes yet between Iraqi forces and Isis fighters, since the start of a new push to regain control of the city. 

Despite the immediate need for food and medicine, he said he believed that by collecting books now, he could start to give hope to future generations. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8442/Mosul-last-librarian-preparing-for-when-city-free-from-ISIS

Ignorant Plunderers ...😞

[yota691]

Iraqi forces advancing central Mosul and the emancipation Badush

March 22, 2017

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A vehicle belonging to Iraqi forces in the old city of Mosul

 

Iraqi security source confirmed Wednesday achieving federal police and rapid response forces and elite progress in central Mosul city center.

The source added the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) that the Iraqi forces are trying to evacuate civilians from the old city to the connector so that it can fully cleanse those areas, noting that the organization takes the civilians as human shields.

Iraqi forces are moving cautiously in order to preserve the historical monuments of the city of Mosul, which date back hundreds of years, according to the source.

He announced a squad leader REACT Thamir Abu Turab al-Husseini that the Iraqi forces have reached "important places" in the old city of Mosul amid a major breakdown in the ranks Daesh fighters.

Anti-terrorism forces stormed the regions of the stoning of iron and Wadi eye central Mosul, killing three of the snipers Daesh addition to the bombers.

Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced that the ninth band forces in coordination with the popular crowd managed to free the entire hand Badush.

It said in a statement Wednesday to control the leadership of the organization center in the north of Mosul Badush area and killed 40 of its elements.

[yota691]

Defense Minister: Daesh 'remains his last breath'

March 21, 2017

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Iraqi Defense Minister Irfan Hayali

 

Iraqi Defense Minister Irfan Hayali said that Iraq won the war against terrorism, and stressed that Daesh ended.

The minister said in remarks to the channel "free" during a visit by Washington to be the rest of the areas under the control of Daesh will be fully restored soon, pointing out that the organization "can no longer occupy even a small building."

He continued, "Daesh either in Mosul or in other areas that were occupied over," pointing out that the organization "remains his last breath," and warning of the sleeper cells that will remain after the defeat.

He praised the Iraqi forces, and said that victories encouraged her to pursue Daesh from one place to another.

And the price of co-operation with the common people of Mosul, Iraqi forces have waged since the November / October 17 last military campaign, supported by the international coalition led by the United States to regain control of the city from Daesh.