Five years later .. Nujaifi reveals the "real cause" of the fall of Mosul

[tigergorzow]

WFP Concerned over Humanitarian Conditions in West Mosul 

 

Mira Rojkan

31/05/2017 - 01:10

Iraq

 

 

 

LEEDS — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) released a report on Tuesday, expressing its concerns about the humanitarian conditions inside western Mosul’s Old City, as around 180,000 are currently living in miserable conditions. 

According to the WFP report, there have been worrying signs of an increase in the rate of malnutrition among recently displaced children from western Mosul. As a result of the ongoing military operations in western Mosul, the situation has deteriorated and civilians are arriving at the emergency camps tired and hungry, the Iraq Representative and Country Director Sally Haydock said. 

However, the organisation has provided food packages along all escape routes from western Mosul, in order to support the nutritional needs of children and civilians fleeing the areas. Despite the lack of reliable information in regards to the situation in western Mosul, the WFP has spoken to a number of newly displaced families about the supplies shortage in the area. According to them, only a very little food is still available in the shops and most people survive on just one meal a day.   

In addition, Haydock appealed to all parties involved in the ongoing operations "to facilitate immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to all Iraqis in need of assistance." The organisation has reached more than 1.6 million people, providing food supplies for their immediate needs since the start of the operation against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq 

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/354240

[tigergorzow]

Peshmerga General Command Says Peshmerga's Presence in Liberated Areas "Beyond Dispute"

 

Basnews English

30/05/2017 - 20:49

Kurdistan

 

 

 

ERBIL— In a statement Peshmerga General Command on Tuesday warned that no force has the power and consent to step into Kurdistan Region, adding people of the Kurdish dominated town of Sinjar will determine their future.

The statement was issued over the recent developments in Sinjar by the Shi'ite Popular Mobilization or Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries have made in the area.

The general command for the Kurdish forces stated Peshmerga forces "successively" played their role in the major operation to free Nineveh province under the tripartite agreement signed by the US, Iraqi government and Kurdistan Region.

The statement said under the same deal, Peshmerga has stayed in the areas which they liberated by their own blood before the launch of the operation on October 17, 2016 and their presence is "beyond any dispute."

At the same time, for the same issue, Peshmerga General Command also demanded a "new deal" that all parties can agree on and one that can ensure the security of all the components of liberated areas.

Commenting on the violations by Hashd forces, Peshmerga General Command warned though Kurdistan Region will commit to its policy of defeating Islamic State (IS) as long as the organization endures, it will not allow for "some people in Hashd and some Kurdish hirelings to exploit the war against IS in these areas [in west of Mosul, Tal Afar, and Sinjar] to create issues for their residence and Peshmerga."

Contrary to the tripartite agreement and to the dismay of Kurdistan authorities, Hashd militias moved into areas close to central Sinjar and its bordering vicinities with Syria. They have also set up trenches that are only 100 meters away than those of Peshmerga.   

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/354200

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi police take over IS “commando school” in western Mosul, evacuate more civilians

 

by Mohamed Mostafa May 30, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Military vehicles of federal police are seen during a battle with Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani – RTS11N8V

 

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com)  Iraqi Federal Police forces made more gains against Islamic State militants in western Mosul on Tuesday, taking over a commando training facility run by the extremist group.

The force’s chief. Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said in statements that his troops took over the so-called “commandos school” in Zanjili, adding that they also continued to open safe exits for thousands of civilians stranded in the battlefield.

Police forces have been bombarding Zanjili with heavy artillery and Grad rockets to facilitate advances by ground troops, said Jawdat.

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Earlier on Tuesday, a security source was quoted by Shafaaq News website saying that the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service evacuated the civilians from Zanjili, one of a last three districts adjacent to IS’s last bastion in western Mosul: the Old City.

Iraqi government troops regained control over eastern Mosul in January after three months of fighting. Operations for the western side of the city launched in mid February, and Iraqi generals say a few hundreds of IS fighters remain in the Old City as a last refuge.

The densely populated and narrowly structured Old City was the place where IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of the group’s rule in Iraq in 2014.

 

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-police-take-commando-school-western-mosul-evacuate-civilians/

[tigergorzow]

Mosul to be liberated in week, PM Abadi orders celebration preparations: Sources

 

by Nehal Mostafa May 29, 2017, 2:09 pm

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The Iraqi flag.

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Military sources have said that liberation of Mosul will not last for more than one week to prevent battling in the city after June 10, which marks the day on which Mosul fell to hands of the Islamic State militants in 2014, reports mentioned.

News websites quoted sources as saying that Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi gave instructions to prepare for celebrations in the country after liberation of Mosul, which will be declared through him and not in military statements like what happened with other cities when freed from IS.

Elimination of IS militants in Mosul killed and injured more than 30,000 civilians,most of whom were women and children, over the past eight-month old battle, which started in October, the sources added. Hundreds of violations were recorded by local and foreign organizations. The total count of losses and destruction of more than eighty percent of the city was estimated to be more than US$50 billion.

Iraqi generals had earlier predicted recapturing the city in mid-May before start of the holy month of Ramadan, which began on Saturday.

Iraqi commanders say they at least 90 percent of territories in western Mosul is under Iraqi troops control, predicting to retake the city before the end of May. Only two districts besides the Old City are under IS control.

Iraqi forces have been sweeping through northwestern neighborhoods over the past few weeks in a way to invade the strategic Old City, after finding it hard to invade from the south.

The eastern side of Mosul was retaken in January after three months of battles. Another major offensive was launched in February to recapture the western flank of the city

 

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/mosul-liberated-week-pm-abadi-orders-celebration-preparations-sources/

[tigergorzow]

More Peshmerga fighters defect to Iraqi ranks amid massive border offensive

By

Chris Tomson

-

30/05/2017

1

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (0:00 A.M.) – On Sunday, another batch of Kurdish troops left the Peshmerga in order to join the predominately Shiite ‘Popular Mobilization Units’ (PMU) instead. Their defection was approved by PMU chief Haider Al-Ameri himself.

The Peshmerga unit in mentioned is composed of Ezidi fighters from the Sinjar region and calls itself “Mum Qasim Shafan”. Some of the Kurdish volunteers appeared to be very young although their exact age remains unbeknownst to Al-Masdar News.

Less than two weeks ago, the exact same thing happened with another Kurdish unit in western Nineveh, suggesting defections from the Peshmerga to be a common theme after the Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq decided to largely stop clashing with ISIS in November last year.

 

According to an Iraqi source close to Al-Masdar News, a large portion of the regional Ezidi population is unhappy with the Peshmerga leadership and its close ties to Turkey, prompting widespread demonstrations in the Sinjar region in recent months. Most Ezidis tend to prefer the YPG and PKK instead, the source added.

Earlier today, the PMU officially reached the border with Syria in the Nineveh governorate amid a massive desert blitz offensive which secured some 30 kilometers of territory in barely 24 hours.

 

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/peshmerga-fighters-defect-iraqi-ranks-amid-massive-border-offensive/

[blueskyline]

Very interesting Tiger . Thank You 

[tigergorzow]

Maey‏ @MaeyCat 42m42 minutes ago

 

 

#Iraq: France’s special forces are hunting French militants fighting for Daesh in #Mosul https://www.wsj.com/articles/frances-special-forces-hunt-french-militants-fighting-for-islamic-state-1496090116 … via @WSJ

8:06 PM - 30 May 2017

[tigergorzow]

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The Strategy Bridge‏ @Strategy_Bridge 52m52 minutes ago

 

Carthage vs. Mosul: The Utility of Tactical Theory | @BA_Friedman #TheBridgeWrites #Mosul #ISIS #Daesh http://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2017/5/30/carthage-vs-mosul-the-utility-of-tactical-theory …

pic.twitter.com/LAacff4zX2

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

[tigergorzow]

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Iraqi Day  🇮🇶‏ @iraqi_day 9h9 hours ago

 

One of the reasons that #Iraq security forces banned "Niqab" in #Mosul is because #ISIS fighters (Males) using it to hide among civilians.

pic.twitter.com/S1IAd3AeuX

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

[10 YEARS LATER]

WOW ! Another week . . . late last week I figured 1 more week of fighting - of course that's going by the probably not so very accurate maps ( war is a fluid thing ). Yet another week, eh.

That would push this out to the Back Wall of June 4, 2017 of Abadi's " within 2 months released from Ch7 " statement issued 4 April, 2017.

 

Coming down to the wire on this one gang. I hope THIS deadline doesn't come and go. Well, we've been chasing the years, dates, deadlines, months, weeks, in a few days and back to another week. . .  exhausting ain't it ?

 

Would it be an embarrassment ? Not sure, especially with the Liberation of Mosul in the mix.

 

Freedom ain't an easy win and this sure is an example in the modern day. Perhaps Iraq will be a much stronger and unified nation in time because the struggle has cost them so dear, yet they have prevailed.

 

[tigergorzow]

 🇮🇶Iraq Live Update‏ @IraqLiveUpdate 4m4 minutes ago

 

Iraqi Army 3rd Brig 16th Div soeze Three 'armoured' car bombs filled with over a ton of explosives near #Mosul

pic.twitter.com/dIJOLfUAW4

 

 

 

9:04 PM - 30 May 2017

[fringe on lamps]

Congratulations on the wonderful news!!!

[Synopsis]

Here is an update on the remaining ISIS militants left in West Mosul:

 

https://isis.liveuamap.com/en/2017/31-may-estimation-there-are-500-to-1000-isis-fighters-left

 

So, OK. They whack a bunch of ISIS militants and say there are 1,000 remaining. Then they whack another 500 ISIS militants and a few more and say there are 200 to 300 remaining in West Mosul. Then another estimate higher than 200 to 300. Then a bunch of ISIS militants get whacked (Hurray!!!) and then there are 350 ISIS militants left in West Mosul. So, a group of 119 ISIS militants get whacked and now there are 500 to 1,000 ISIS militants left in West Mosul?

 

Where are all the ISIS militants coming from? I thought the remaining ISIS militant held area in West Mosul was surrounded???!!!

 

Maybe they should concentrate on eliminating the ISIS militant factories and not as much on the Vehicle IEDs or munitions factories???!!!

 

 

 

[Synopsis]

This map seems to show some more territory taken along with an ISIS "Commandos School". Well, hey, with all the ISIS militants being whacked, there is likely not enough "students" to keep school in session anyway especially with the ultra high failure rate of the "graduating classes"???!!!

 

      

 

https://southfront.org/iraqi-security-forces-captured-isis-commandos-school-in-mosul/

[nannab]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEaWWWWWWWWWWWWW, What the dickens was that ? fellowship of the ring?

 

 

Great map Synopsis it is just a speck in the sand now.

Thank ya kindly Sir.

[Synopsis]

1 minute ago, nannab said:

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEaWWWWWWWWWWWWW, What the dickens was that ? fellowship of the ring?

 

 

Great map Synopsis it is just a speck in the sand now.

Thank ya kindly Sir.

 

Yeah, NannaB, pretty gross, huh? Yep. Lord Of The Rings. If I remember right, it was from The Fellowship of the Ring.

 

Hope Your Day Is Going Your Way Otherwise! 

 

Hopefully, it was the recently taken al-Zinjili ISIS "Commando School" that was producing these wretched creatures and production has been stopped. No more creating ISIS militants! YAY!!!!

 

Go Moola Nova!

[tigergorzow]

Exclusive: Map reveals latest developments in battle for Mosul

May 31 2017 07:06 PM

Iraqi Security Forces

 

A map showing the latest development in the battle aiming to regain the right bank of Mosul city from ISIS was obtained by the Baghdad Post on Wednesday.

The areas in green illustrate the completely regained ones, areas in orange show the areas currently witnessing clashes while the areas in white are still controlled by ISIS terrorist group.

In a statement, the Center said it renews its commitment to neutrality when covering stories of the battles and the other issues. Our aim is nothing but the truth, the statement concluded. 

Publishing the maps relating to the progress of the Iraqi forces in Mosul is done after contacts with multiple military sources and local officials, it added.




On Wednesday, Iranian Militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS) were spotted looting houses in 17 Tamouz neighborhood in Mosul city and other neighborhoods in broad daylight, eyewitnesses said. 

 

 

Iraqi Forces launched a major offensive on 19th of February to retake the western part of Mosul after declaring total control of the eastern part of the city on 24th of January as part of the military operations to liberate the city that started on 17th of October 2016.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/11386/Exclusive-Map-reveals-latest-developments-in-battle-for-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Pentagon: Clashes between IMIS, Peshmerga in Mosul 'imminent'

May 31 2017 06:09 PM

Kurdish Peshmerga forces

 

 

 

The Pentagon on Tuesday warned IMIS militias fighting alongside Iraqi forces to liberate the ISIS-held city of Mosul to fall in line behind commanders in Baghdad, amid rising sectarian tensions between Iranian-backed Shia militias and Kurdish peshmerga in the war-torn country, according to the Washington Times.

 

“Everyone needs to follow [Baghdad‘s] lead and fall in behind them,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said, regarding rising tensions between Shia paramilitaries known as Iranian Militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS), and Peshmerga.
 

Capt. Davis acknowledged the challenges facing Iraqi and coalition commanders in managing such a diverse fighting force. But he reiterated the chain of command in the fight against the group known as ISIS in Iraq runs through Baghdad, and all participants in that fight needed to respect that fact, he said during Tuesday’s briefing at the Pentagon.
 

His comments come as tensions have come to a head in the Yazidi enclave of Sinjar in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province this month, as IMIS miitias continue to clear ISIS-held territory in and around the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, roughly 50 miles east of the terror group’s besieged Iraqi capital of Mosul.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/11383/Pentagon-Clashes-between-IMIS-Peshmerga-in-Mosul-imminent

[tigergorzow]

ISIS loses 80% of its suicide bombers forces – Iraqi commander

May 31 2017 03:28 PM

ISIS terrorists

 

ISIS has lost 80 percent of its suicide bombers forces, aka al-Inghimasiyeen, Federal Police Forces Command confirmed on Wednesday.  

In a statement, Lieutenant-General Raed Shaker Jawdat, the Federal Police Forces Commander, noted that the forces continue their advancement in al-Zanjili neighborhood, located in Mosul's Old City.  

These forces have seized dozens of booby-trapped bikes, he stated.

He revealed that ISIS is currently losing its suicidal bombers because a large number of them has been killed in the past weeks.

The terrorist group is splitting into scattered cells overwhelmed by confusion, he said, adding that the group's terrorists are currently hiding with civilians in very narrow and branching alleys. 

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/11370/ISIS-loses-80-of-its-suicide-bombers-forces-Iraqi-commander

[tigergorzow]

Senior army officer killed in clashes in Mosul's right bank

May 30 2017 01:25 PM

senior officer

 

A army senior officer was killed while participating in the military operations to liberate Mosul city from ISIS terrorist group, a press source told The Baghdad Post.

LT. Refaq Abdul Baqi Al-Qatrani serves in 3rd Brigade in the army, the source added.

ISIS terrorists targeted Qatrani's patrol with a heat-seeking missile near Grand Nouri Mosque in the Old City, the source further said, noting that he was admitted to hospital before he breathed his last.

 

 

Since February 19th, the Iraqi army in partnership with the US-led international coalition, has launched the 'We Are Coming, Nineveh' operations that started on February 19th to oust ISIS from the right bank of Mosul.

Mosul fell to ISIS in 2014. 

Iraqi army announced it liberated more than 95 percent of the city.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/11326/Senior-army-officer-killed-in-clashes-in-Mosul-s-right-bank

[tigergorzow]

Intl Coalition Command Concerned over Hashd "Violations"

 

Basnews English

31/05/2017 - 20:06

Kurdistan

 

 

 

ERBIL— The Commanding General of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve voiced his concerns over the violations against the tripartite agreement that the US, the Iraqi government and Kurdistan Region worked out for liberating Nineveh province from the Islamic State (IS).  

 Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend made the comment as he visited Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani in Salahaddin Resort, Erbil, on Wednesday, according to a statement published by Kurdistan Region Presidency.

Townsend, heading a delegation of US army advisors and officers, discussed with Barzani the recent developments in the war against IS in Nineveh.

The US delegation described the violations against the tripartite deal to liberate Nineveh as threats against the stability and peace in the liberated areas of the province.

Under the deal, the Shi'ite militias of Hashd al-Shaabi were not supposed to take part in retaking central Mosul and to approach the areas safeguarded by Kurdistan Peshmerga forces.

However, the paramilitary forces not only entered Mosul but also set up several bases in the Sunni dominated city which is yet to be fully controlled.

Recently, Hashd (or Popular Mobilization Forces) made advances in some areas close to the Kurdish Yezidi populated town of Sinjar (Nineveh) which is under Peshmerga's control and continued till they reached the Syrian border, a move strongly opposed by Kurdistan authority.

Townsend stressed that they observe the situation from close and take necessary measures to avoid further violations.

The official also expressed his contentment with the "strong" coordination between the Iraqi army and Peshmerga in the battle against IS.

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/354453

[tigergorzow]

Grand Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul Surrounded by IS Militants 

 

Shoguna B. Sobir

31/05/2017 - 19:30

Iraq

 

 

 

 

MOSUL — The Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul wherein the Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had announced the establishment of the self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014 has been surrounded by IS militants. The streets around the Mosque have been closed, according to local residents.

For the past two days, residents have been witnessing IS militants taking up positions around the famous mosque located in the Old City neighborhood in western part of the city. It is this neighborhood which has been difficult to penetrate, requiring the opening on a new front from the northern side earlier this month after the advancement from the southern side stalled.

Currently about 200,000 people are residing in IS controlled areas of the town.

The operation to oust IS militants from the city began on October 17, 2016. Eastern half of the city was declared liberated in January, with the Iraqi and the US-led international coalition forces advancing into the western side in February. 

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/354446

[tigergorzow]

IS Executes 9 Own Leaders of Multiple Nationalities in Tal Afar

 

The group is facing internal conflicts

• 
   

Basnews English

31/05/2017 - 16:37

Iraq

 

 

 

 

MOSUL — The Islamic State (IS) executed on Wednesday nine prominent members of the group in Tal Afar district which is still under the control of the militant group west of Mosul.

Mutaz Idris al-Hamdani, an officer from the Iraqi army told BasNews that the IS organization carried out executions against nine of its leaders of different nationalities including foreigners and Arabs in al-Qal’a (castle) court building in the center of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul.

The information provided by a number of residents of Tal Afar to the security forces shows growing divisions within the extremist group. In addition to this, internal disputes and conflicts have led to intra-IS clashes in the area, according to the source.

The group executed nine senior leaders of Russian, British, Turkish and Syrian nationalities, and among them are the wali (mayor) of Tal Afar Abu Othman al-Suri (Syrian) and the Head of the group’s police of the district Bisan Ata’allah.

These executions and splits are the result of the successive defeats the militants are facing in west of Mosul, said Hamdani.

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/354414

[danielchu]

 

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[tigergorzow]

French jihadis assassinated abroad deserve their fate: government spokesman

 

by Mohamed Mostafa May 31, 2017, 5:32 pm

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File photo: A member of Iraqi Rapid response forces takes position during clashes with Islamic State fighters in north west of Mosul, Iraq, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

 

(Reuters) French-born jihadis fighting for Islamic State in Iraq who get targeted for assassination deserve their fate, France’s government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that French citizens had been killed by Iraqi artillery and ground troops using location coordinates and other intelligence supplied by French special forces during the battle to drive the extremist group from city of Mosul.

About 700 French nationals are fighting in Islamic State ranks in Iraq and Syria. French officials have in the past said their priority was to eradicate them to prevent them from returning to their homeland to carry out attacks.

“I say this to all combatants who join Daesh (IS) and who go abroad to wage war; Waging war means taking risks, and they need to take on board those risks,” Government spokesman Christophe Castaner told reporters after being asked whether the new administration was comfortable with targeted killings.

Like Castaner, France’s foreign ministry on Tuesday did not deny the story, but said Paris was “carrying out its actions within the respect of international law.”

France contributes about 5 percent of air strikes to the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State. It also has artillery units in Iraq and special forces operating in both Iraq and Syria.

The WSJ said Paris has for some time enlisted Iraqi soldiers to hunt and kill French fighters and the aim to some degree is to keep as many as possible from returning to France where several have already launched deadly attacks.

Former President Francois Hollande had previously said that French strikes against Islamist militants irrespective of their nationality was legitimate self-defense.

Hollande was also quoted in a book written by Le Monde reporters last year as saying that he had ordered the French secret service to carry out four executions as part of the fight against Islamist militancy.

 

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/french-jihadis-assassinated-abroad-deserve-fate-government-spokesman/