Iraq

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With the UK already facing a legal challenge over its continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia, senators in the US have proposed blocking the latest sale of weapons to the Gulf kingdom, raising questions about the future of Western military support for Riyadh.

Western Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Under Threat Amid Plans to Block US Deal
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160815/1044284886/us-saudi-arms-sales-block.html

Less than a week after the US government approved the possible sale of US$1.15 billion worth of tanks, machine guns and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia, Republican senator Rand Paul is now considering blocking the deal.

"Saudi Arabia is an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record. We should not rush to sell them advanced arms and promote an arms race in the Middle East."

Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis Paul's stance comes amid an increase in concern over the humanitarian situation in Yemen, with reports over the weekend suggesting at least 10 children were killed in an alleged Saudi airstrike against a school in the country's north.

UN estimates for the 16 month-long Saudi-led offensive against Houthi rebel groups put the death toll at more than 6,400, with the majority of those civilians.

On top of the thousands of deaths, the conflict has forced 2.8 million people from their homes and created a disastrous humanitarian situation in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population is in need of aid.

Despite Washington's longstanding military support of Riyadh, Paul's push to block the latest sale of arms does have some support, with fellow Senate foreign relations committee member, Democrat Chris Murphy, also critical of the US' policy towards Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

If you talk to Yemeni Americans, they will tell you in Yemen this isn't a Saudi bombing campaign, it's a US bombing campaign," Murphy said, while speaking in the Senate in June.

"Every single civilian death inside Yemen is attributable to the United States. We accept that as a consequence of our participation," he added.

Lawmakers in the US have 30 days after any arms deal is agreed to try and block it.

UK Also Facing Backlash for Saudi Arms Sales While senators in the US are leading the charge to try and block the country's latest proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia, the UK is undergoing similar protests, as lawmakers and campaign groups push for Britain to step back from its tight alliance with Riyadh.

Following reports and allegations that British-made weapons have been used against civilian targets in Yemen, the UK High Court will hear a case brought forward by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), who have called for London to halt all arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid concerns over breaches in international law.

​CAAT officials have described the UK's arms sales relationship with Saudi Arabia as its "most shameful."

"Not only does it brutally repress its own population, it has used UK weapons to help crush democracy protests in Bahrain; now UK-made warplanes are playing a central role in Saudi Arabia's attacks in Yemen," a statement from the group said.

​"The UK has continued to support Saudi air strikes in Yemen and provide arms despite overwhelming evidence of repeated breaches of international humanitarian law," CAAT added.

"The UK should never have been arming repressive Saudi Arabia in the first place. Our military support for the Saudi regime makes us complicit in its wrongs. The government refuses to act, so we have to."

 

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Iraq allows Russia access to their airspace

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraq-allows-russia-access-airspace/

Iraq has given the Russian Air Force full access to their airspace in order to combat the terrorist forces like the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) that are occupying eastern Syria.

This move by the Iraqi government came just hours after the Russian Air Force landed their first fighter jets at the Hamedan Airbase in Iran.

Access to Iraqi airspace is critical to the Russian Air Force because they will be conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State forces that are operating along the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Russia has already fired long-range missiles over Iraq; however, they have never used Iraqi airspace to attack the Islamic State terrorists in Syria.

Iraqi gov’t will execute 36 ISIS terrorists for 2014 Speicher Massacre

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-govt-will-execute-36-isis-terrorists-2014-speicher-massacre/

The Iraqi government will execute 36 members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), who were found guilty of carrying out the 2014 Speicher Massacre that killed 1,700 Iraqi Army soldiers.

This heinous massacre reportedly took place on June 12th, 2014, when the Islamic State terrorists entered Camp Speicher near Tikrit and rounded up the soldiers by their religious denomination.

ISIS would then summarily execute all of the Shi’i soldiers, posting videos of their fighters dumping some of the bodies in the Tigris River after shooting the victims in the head.

Following Tikrit’s liberation in early 2015, the Iraqi Army unearthed the bodies of hundreds of soldiers that were executed by the Islamic State terrorists in June of 2014.

The Iraqi Armed Forces captured nearly 50 ISIS members that were believed to have helped carry out this massacre, trying them in a court of law immediately after liberating Tikrit.

Of the 47 captured ISIS members that were tried in February 2016, 40 were sentenced to death for their participation in the Speicher Massacre.

The Iraqi president Fou’ad Massoum immediately approved the death penalty for the guilty terrorists; this led to the execution of 4 ISIS members earlier this year.

The remaining 36 terrorists will be hanged by the Iraqi authorities some time this week; however, no date or time was given.

Iraqi forces recapture four villages south of Mosul from Daesh

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/17/480399/Iraq-security-forces-liberation-village-Qayyarah-Nineveh-Daesh

Iraqi government forces have managed to gain more ground in the troubled northern province of Nineveh as they are pushing to drive Takfiri Daesh terrorists from the strategic militant-held city of Mosul, which is located in the province.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, in a statement released on Tuesday, announced that elite counter-terrorism forces had gained control over the villages of Huwaysh, al-Jawa’enah, Jebelah and al-Ghaziyah, which lie in the Qayyar region and more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Mosul.

The statement did not provide the exact number of casualties among Daesh terrorists, only saying that dozens of them had been killed during the battles.

The development came on the same day that Iraqi F-16 fighter jets carried out several airstrikes against Daesh positions in the Riyadh region of the town of Hawijah, situated about 282 kilometers (175 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, killing scores of the extremists.

Also on Tuesday, Iraqi military aircraft pounded a Daesh hideout in Hassan Koi Village on the outskirts of Tal Afar city, situated 63 kilometers (39 miles) west of Mosul, killing all terrorists who had been holed up inside.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in Iraq in June 2014. The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in the Arab country, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization units have been engaged in joint operations to retake militant-held regions.

Largest Province in Afghanistan May Fall to Taliban ‘Any Time’

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160817/1044346961/afghanistan-helmand-siege.html

As Lashkar Gah, the besieged capital of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, is suffering a major humanitarian catastrophe, officials warn that it may not be long before the whole province falls to the Taliban, Nasima Naiazi, a member of the provincial legislature, told Sputnik.

“There is heavy fighting going on in Helmand where the Taliban militants have resumed their offensive in Hermsar and Lashkar Gah. The situation is changing every hour, but the Taliban controls the southern districts of the province,” Nasima Naiazi said.

She added that with the local airport in Lashkar Gah was now closed, dozens of flights had been cancelled and the roads all blocked by the militants; there was virtually no access to Kabul from Helmand.

“Even though the Afghan Air Force keeps pounding the enemy positions, the effect of these airstrikes is minimal and Lashkar Gah can fall to the Taliban any time,” Nasima Naiazi warned.

She also said that Helmand’s proximity to Pakistan allowed the Taliban fighters to easily cross into the neighboring country’s border regions and then move back.

“I have no proof of Pakistani nationals fighting alongside the Taliban militants but many say they are. The government forces can’t afford letting Helmand fall because this could set off a chain reaction and Uruzgan and Herat provinces could follow suit. Liberation of Helmand is absolutely imperative if we want to preserve the territorial integrity of our country,” she emphasized.

An estimated 30,000 people have already fled the southeastern and southern parts of the province and moved to Lashkar Gah.

“Many of them need medical help, but their predicament has been largely ignored by the government. Helmand province was not an economic powerhouse before this war broke out, but now the situation here is worse than ever,” Nasima Naiazi said in conclusion.

The militants have seized areas just a few kilometers away from Lashkar Gah and control all roads leading to the city.
If Lashkar Gah falls to the Taliban, it would be the second provincial capital captured since being ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, fighting a continuing Taliban insurgency, with other extremist groups such as Daesh, expanding their activities in the country as well.

 

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Airstrikes Launched by Iraqi Army Hit 30 Daesh Oil Tank Trucks Near Mosul

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160818/1044400641/daesh-mosul-oil.html

Airstrikes launched by the Iraqi army hit a convoy of 30 Daesh oil tank trucks near the city of Mosul, local media reported on Thursday, citing a source in the national security forces.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — While driving across Ninawa province, the oil tank trucks came under fire some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Mosul, the provincial center and Daesh stronghold in Iraq, the source added.

"The entire convoy has been destroyed. A total of 12 Daesh terrorists were killed, several more were wounded," the source was cited by Al Sumaria broadcaster as saying.

Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq and with a population of 500,000 people, has been controlled by Daesh terrorist grou for two years. Iraqi forces backed by Kurdish Peshmerga militia are currently preparing an assault on Mosul.

Houthi forces advance on key Saudi city

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-advance-key-saudi-city/

Najran, Saudi Arabia (11:00 A.M.) – The Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, have advanced more than 15 km deep into Saudi Arabia, seizing several points from the Kingdom’s army along the way.

On Thursday morning, the Houthi forces delivered a powerful blow to the Saudi Army after launching two Tochka ballistic missiles towards the latter’s military camp inside Najran city.

The Houthi missile attack resulted in the destruction of several Saudi Army vehicles, while also killing a significant number of military personnel.

Following this missile strike, the Houthi forces made another imperative advance, capturing the remaining points near the Saudi Army’s “Green Zone” in Najran.

If the Saudi Army loses Najran to the Houthi forces; this will be the biggest victory for the latter during this war.

Saudi Air Force launches 60+ airstrikes over northern Yemen

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-air-force-launches-60-airstrikes-northern-yemen/

Over the last 24 hours, the Saudi Royal Air Force has conducted at least 60 airstrikes in the Saada Governorate of Yemen, killing a number of civilians as a result of their indiscriminate bombardment.

These airstrikes over the Saada Governorate were launched by the Saudi Air Force in retaliation for the Houthi forces’ latest advance in the contested Jizan Region.

Yemen’s Saada Governorate is located along Saudi Arabia’s southern border; it has long been an anti-government stronghold.

Staff From 6 Hospitals to Be Evacuated in Yemen Amid Saudi Airstrikes

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160818/1044410028/hospitals-evacuation-yemen.html

Employees of six hospitals in Yemen run by an international humanitarian group the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) will be evacuated to safety amid recent airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition, the group said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The aid group took steps for evacuation of its staff after an airstrike partially destroyed the hospital in Hajjah run by the group, killing 14 people on Monday.

According to the humanitarian group, "indiscriminate bombings" carried out by the coalition which often targets medical institutions prompted MSF to make such a decision.

Since 2014, Yemen has been gripped by the conflict between the Sunni government and the Shia Houthi rebel movement backed by some factions within the Yemeni army.

Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at the Yemeni government's request despite a ceasefire agreed in April.

 

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26 more slain in fresh Daesh atrocities against Iraqi civilians

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480733/Iraq-Daesh-Takfiri-militants-mortar-attack-Asmida-Baiji-Salahuddin-execution-Mosul

More than two dozen Iraqi civilians have lost their lives and scores of others sustained injuries as members of the Takfiri Daesh militant group continue perpetrating crimes against humanity in various parts of the conflict-stricken Arab country.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 12 civilians were killed and 35 others injured on Thursday, when Daesh militants fired a barrage of mortar shells at a gathering of refugee families in al-Asmida area north of the oil-rich city of Baiji, located some 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of the capital Baghdad.

The source noted that the victims had fled clashes in the city of Shirqat, located some 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Baghdad, and the surrounding regions.

The roads through which refugee families flee are dangerous as Daesh extremists have placed improvised explosive devices along them, and several civilians have lost their lives in such roadside bombings, the security source added.

Separately, Daesh members brutally murdered 14 prisoners by locking them in a metal cage and lowering them into a swimming pool in their stronghold of Mosul.

A local source, requesting not to be named, said the executions were carried out in the city's Faisaliyah district, and the victims had been charged with spying and collaboration with Iraqi government and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

On August 11, Daesh extremists placed 25 local residents of the town of Hawijah, located about 282 kilometers (175 miles) north of Baghdad, inside a booby-trapped house and then detonated the building.

The development came only a few days after the Takfiris executed six people in Mosul.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014. The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have been engaged in joint operations to retake militant-held regions.

Hospitals in Yemen's Taiz Register Rise in Civilian Casualties - MSF

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160819/1044446361/yemen-taiz-civilian-casualties.html

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)-supported hospitals in the war-torn Yemeni city of Taiz have registered a many-fold increase in numbers of wounded civilians admitted for treatment, MSF said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Fighting between forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Ansar Allah movement's Houthi rebels has intensified over recent days. Airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led Arab coalition caused the evacuation of MSF staff from six hospitals in the north of the country on Thursday after an airstrike partially destroyed an MSF-supported hospital in the Hajjah governorate killing at least 19 people on Tuesday.

Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government and the Houthi opposition movement, who are supported by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, since March 2015. The Arab coalition has been providing government troops with air support since March 2015. The coalition has been accused by the United Nations and humanitarian organizations of indiscriminately bombing civilians and killing hundreds of children.

Over 3,700 civilians have been killed and over 6,500 have been injured as a result of the conflict, according to the United Nations.

Houthi forces fire 20+ rockets into Saudi stronghold

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-fire-20-rockets-saudi-stronghold/

The Houthi forces continued their onslaught in southern Saudi Arabia on Friday, striking several Saudi Army targets in the key city of Najran this morning.

According to local reports in the Saada Governorate, the Houthi forces fired more than 20 rockets from their Soviet manufactured Katyusha launcher, causing severe damage to a Saudi military post in southern Najran.

This latest barrage of rockets to hit Najran were fired by the Houthi forces at the southern outskirts of the city.

Despite Saudi Arabia’s best efforts to win the war in Yemen, they have found themselves in serious trouble as the Houthi forces now have access to large chunks of the Saudi-Yemen border.

Incessant Saudi airstrikes kill 11 in Yemen

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480752/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-aggression-air-strikes-Jawf-Hudaydah

Nearly a dozen civilians, including two children, have been killed and several others injured when Saudi military aircraft mounted a raft of fresh airstrikes on various residential areas in crisis-plagued Yemen.

A civilian, identified as Abdullah al-Sharif, lost his life along his two children as Saudi fighters struck their house in the al-Matammah district of the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf on Friday afternoon, Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported.

Saudi warplanes also pounded an outdoor market in the province's Khabb wa ash Sha'af district, leaving at least two people dead and nine others injured. Local sources said the number of casualties would further rise due to the extent of the damage caused.

Elsewhere in Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah, four people were killed and a number of others injured when Saudi jets hit al-Khawkhah district.

Furthermore, Saudi warplanes targeted a vehicle traveling along a road in Baqim district of the northern mountainous province of Sa’ada, killing the two occupants of the car.

Earlier in the day, Yemeni soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, launched a number of artillery rounds at the Nahouqah military camp in Saudi Arabia’s southern border region of Najran. There were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage inflicted.

A Saudi military vehicle was also destroyed east of al-Rabouah city in Asir region when Yemeni forces fired an anti-armor guided missile.

Yemen has seen almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015, with internal sources putting the toll from the bloody aggression at about 10,000. The offensive was launched to crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement and their allies and restore power to the resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The Houthi fighters took state matters into their own hands after the resignation and escape of Hadi, which threw Yemen into a state of uncertainty and threatened a total security breakdown in the country, where an al-Qaeda affiliate is present.

Yemen forces cut off Saudi supply line

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480714/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-main-supply-route-Aden-Taizz

Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters and allied army units have cut off the main supply route used by invading Saudi Arabian forces between the Aden and Ta’izz provinces in the impoverished country’s southwest.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television reported the development on Friday, saying that the pathway had been being used as the main channel by the invaders to procure arms and ammunitions.

Separately, in west-central Yemen, the Yemeni forces recaptured the areas that had been seized by Saudi mercenaries in the Ma’rib Province.

Sources, meanwhile, reported that a Bahraini trooper fighting alongside the Saudi forces had been killed during border clashes between the Yemeni forces and the Saudi military in northwestern Yemen. The soldier has been identified as Issa Abdullah Badr Aid.

Also on Thursday, two Saudi unmanned aerial vehicles went down in the Nihm district of the Sana’a province, similarly located in west-central Yemen, and the Sa’ada province in the country’s extreme northwest.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015. The war was launched in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has stepped down as Yemen’s president but is now seeking to grab power by force.

The aerial campaign, carried out without any international mandate, has killed about 10,000 people, most of them civilians, according to local Yemeni sources.

Recently, Paris-based relief agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen, following a recent Saudi bombing of an MSF-run hospital in Yemen.

The international charity organization said it could not get assurances that its hospitals will not be bombed Saudi Arabia again.

Subsequently, the Saudi-led troops’ central command expressed “deep regret” over the MSF’s decision and said it was trying to set up “urgent meetings” with the medical aid group.

Saudi Arabia has several times targeted MSF-run hospitals. The most recent case was carried out on Monday on the Abs Hospital in Yemen’s Hajjah Province. The airstrike killed at least 19 hospital staff and patients and wounded 24 others.

 

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While the Obama Administration has presented its (already-stalled) drawdown in Afghanistan as “ending” the war and bringing the number of US forces down in the country to very small levels, they rarely discuss the substantial number of American defense contractors still in the country.

With Less Media Coverage The Obama Regime Can Hide The Real Count On Foot Soldiers, 30,000 Contractors In Afghanistan
http://novorossia.today/136192-2/

While the US officially has just 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, they also have some 29,000 contractors stationed around the country. Two-thirds of the contractors are said to be foreign nationals, with the Pentagon saying they are mostly involved in logistics and maintenance for the ongoing war.

The US has long used large numbers of contractors as a way to have more boots on the ground than the officially publicized figures. This has tended to be rough parity between the two forces, however. At the peak of the Afghan War, the US had 88,000 troops and 117,000 contractors.

Now that ratio is more than 3:1, which underscores administration efforts to present the drawdown as far more substantial than it actually has been. The contractors tend to be quite expensive compared to regular ground troops, but also tend to attract much less press coverage.

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri plans to make an official visit to Tehran to hold talks with senior Iranian officials.

Iraqi parliament speaker due in Iran for talks
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480773/Iran-Iraq-Turkey-Salim-alJabouri-Ali-Larijani-Zarif

Jabouri will arrive in Tehran on Saturday and is scheduled to meet Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The Iraqi parliament speaker, who is also the head of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU), will also travel to Turkey and discuss bilateral cooperation and issues pertaining to the IIPU.

The military preparations for the liberation of the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists will be top on the agenda of Jabouri’s talks with Iranian and Turkish officials.

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the Iraqi army was engaged in the final stages of planning the latest operations aimed at ridding the Nineveh provincial capital city of Mosul from the Daesh terrorists, who overran the country’s second largest city in the summer of 2014.

Iran has been supporting Iraq in its fight against Takfiri Daesh terrorists. On August 10, Abadi hailed the presence of Iranian military advisors in the country’s battle against Daesh terrorists and said the Iranian advisors are present in Iraq on Baghdad’s request.

Nearly a dozen civilians, including two children, have been killed and several others injured when Saudi military aircraft mounted a raft of fresh airstrikes on various residential areas in crisis-plagued Yemen.

Incessant Saudi airstrikes kill 11 in Yemen
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480752/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-aggression-air-strikes-Jawf-Hudaydah

A civilian, identified as Abdullah al-Sharif, lost his life along his two children as Saudi fighters struck their house in the al-Matammah district of the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf on Friday afternoon, Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported.

Saudi warplanes also pounded an outdoor market in the province's Khabb wa ash Sha'af district, leaving at least two people dead and nine others injured. Local sources said the number of casualties would further rise due to the extent of the damage caused.

Elsewhere in Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah, four people were killed and a number of others injured when Saudi jets hit al-Khawkhah district.

Furthermore, Saudi warplanes targeted a vehicle traveling along a road in Baqim district of the northern mountainous province of Sa’ada, killing the two occupants of the car.

Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters and allied army units have cut off the main supply route used by invading Saudi Arabian forces between the Aden and Ta’izz provinces in the impoverished country’s southwest.

Yemen forces cut off Saudi supply line
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480714/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-main-supply-route-Aden-Taizz

Yemen’s al-Masirah television reported the development on Friday, saying that the pathway had been being used as the main channel by the invaders to procure arms and ammunitions.

Separately, in west-central Yemen, the Yemeni forces recaptured the areas that had been seized by Saudi mercenaries in the Ma’rib Province.

Sources, meanwhile, reported that a Bahraini trooper fighting alongside the Saudi forces had been killed during border clashes between the Yemeni forces and the Saudi military in northwestern Yemen. The soldier has been identified as Issa Abdullah Badr Aid.

Also on Thursday, two Saudi unmanned aerial vehicles went down in the Nihm district of the Sana’a province, similarly located in west-central Yemen, and the Sa’ada province in the country’s extreme northwest.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it is evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen, saying it cannot get assurances that its hospitals will not be bombed again by Saudi warplanes.

MSF leaving Yemen after Saudi airstrikes on hospitals
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480666/Yemen-MSF-Saudi-Hajjah-Hadi-Houthis

The decision was “never taken lightly,” said the Paris-based relief agency in a statement on Thursday, condemning the Saudi “indiscriminate bombings and unreliable reassurances”.

“Given the intensity of the current offensive and our loss of confidence in the Saudi-led coalition to prevent such fatal attacks, MSF considers the hospitals in Sa'ada and Hajjah governorates unsafe for both patients and staff,” it added.

The MSF decision to pull its staff out of the war-torn country was made following a number of deadly Saudi airstrikes on MSF-run hospitals, the most recent of which was carried out on Monday on Abs Hospital in Hajjah province. The airstrike killed at least 19 hospital staff and patients and wounded 24 others.

In a report released on May, the international aid agency said at least 100 staff members, patients and caretakers had lost their lives and 130 others had sustained injures due to the Saudi aerial attacks on over 80 MSF-supported and run health structures in 2015 and early 2016.

The MSF said that it had held two meetings with high-ranking Saudi officials involved in the war on Yemen in the past eight months and had been assured that attacks on hospitals would end.

“Aerial bombings have however continued, despite the fact that MSF has systematically shared the GPS coordinates of hospitals in which the organization works with the parties involved in the conflict,” the statement further read.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015. The war was launched in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has stepped down as Yemen’s president but is now seeking to grab power by force.

The air campaign, carried out without any international mandate, has killed about 10,000 people, most of them civilians, according to local Yemeni sources.

 

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Iraqi forces retake town in Anbar province from Daesh

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/19/480794/Iraq-Ramadi-Anbar-Khaldiyah-Daesh

Iraqi government forces have flushed Daesh Takfiri terrorists out of a town in the western province of Anbar, in the latest of a series of victories against the terror group in the past few months.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced in a statement that counter-terrorism forces had managed to retake Khaldiyah town, located some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, on Friday evening.

The provincial capital city of Ramadi was liberated in December last year after being occupied for some seven months by the terror group. The key city of Fallujah, also in Anbar, fell to Daesh in January 2014 but was fully retaken by Iraqi forces on June this year.

After these two landmark victories, Iraqi forces further tightened the noose around Daesh in the volatile province and began retaking more towns and villages, leaving Daesh with a sparse presence in Anbar.

The government forces are now largely heading north, preparing for a highly-anticipated offensive against Daesh in Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern Nineveh province, and the terror group’s last remaining urban bastion in Iraq and its de facto capital in the Arab country.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014. The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in the Arab country, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have been engaged in joint operations to retake militant-held regions.

Iraqi forces begin important offensive in ISIS bastion

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-forces-begin-important-offensive-isis-bastion/

The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd Al-Sha’abi) kicked off the second phase of their offensive to liberate the last two Islamic State bastions in east Al-Ramadi.

The military commander of the Al-Anbar operations told Sumariya TV on Friday that the Popular Mobilization Forces stormed the Albu Kanaan region, where they are currently involved in a fierce battle with the Islamic State terrorists.

Albu Kanaan and Kartan are the two remaining Islamic State bastions in the eastern countryside of Al-Ramadi that have not been liberated by the Iraqi Armed Forces.

As long as those two areas remain under Islamic State control, the imperative Jazirat Al-Khalidiyah region will not be full cleared of the terrorist group.

Explosion Hits Afghan Military Convoy in Kabul

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160820/1044454441/explosion-kabul-military-convoy.html

An explosion of the Afghan army’s military vehicle in the Afghan capital due to a roadside bomb has claimed the life of at least one soldier and injured at least one more, local media reported Saturday citing sources.

MOSCOW, August 20 (Sputnik) — According to the Khaama Press news agency, the improvised explosive device was planted in the army vehicle before it exploded in the Qala’e Zaman Khan district of Kabul.

The Taliban extremist group has already claimed responsibility for the attack on the military convoy.

Afghanistan is experiencing significant political, social and security-related instability, as radical extremist organizations, including the Taliban, continue to stage attacks against civilian and state targets. The Taliban now controls more territory than at any time since 2001, according to the United Nations.

Pentagon withdraws assets from Riyadh amid mounting death toll in Saudi-led Yemen war

https://www.rt.com/news/356571-pentagon-withdraws-riyadh-yemen/

The US forces assisting the Saudi-led coalition in coordinating air strikes in Yemen have largely withdrawn from Riyadh in an apparent move to distance themselves from the mounting civilian death toll in the 17-month long conflict, Reuters has learned.

In addition to withdrawing air support personnel, Lieutenant Ian McConnaughey, a US Navy spokesman in Bahrain told Reuters that the Pentagon also “sharply reduced” its “Joint Combined Planning Cell” (JCPC) staff to under five people.

The JCPC, which was established in March last year when the Saudi-initiated its air campaign, at its peak devoted some 45 members to coordinate US military and intelligence support with Riyadh.

The withdrawal which took place in June is an attempt by Washington to distance itself from the responsibility of the rising death toll in Yemen, which now stands at over 6,500 people, mostly civilians. While both warring parties are to blame for the death toll, the Saudi-led coalition has been repeatedly accused of conducting “indiscriminate bombings.”

“At no point did US military personnel provide direct or implicit approval of target selection or prosecution,” Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said in a statement after Reuters disclosed the withdrawal.

As the Pentagon admitted of largely wrapping up its effort to advise the Saudi-led coalition on steps to prevent civilian casualties, the Stump did acknowledge the growing US concern over the death count.

“Even as we assist the Saudis regarding their territorial integrity, it does not mean that we will refrain from expressing our concern about the war in Yemen and how it has been waged.”

The Saudi-led coalition did not comment on withdrawal but said that their relationship with the US continues to bear a “strategic” character.

“The relationship between the kingdom and the US is a strategic one. If true, this move reflects something at a tactical level,” spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri told Reuters. “The US may move its assets, but that doesn’t have any impact on the bilateral relationship between the countries.”

An anonymous US official meanwhile told the news outlet that US will still provide limited support and intelligence sharing for the coalition, as the Saudi-led forces continue to rely on US military for an average of two refueling sorties a day.

 

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ISIL Executes Own Emir in Kirkuk over Audio File Urging Terrorists' Withdrawal

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950530001196

The volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) Commander Jabbar al-Ma'amouri said that major differences have arisen among ISIL commanders after they suffered major defeats in al-Hawija in recent months which has also led to a rise in the number of executions of the ISIL commanders.

In a relevant development last week, the ISIL executed several of its own militants by forcing them to inhale kitchen gas, another bizarre method used by the lunatic group to show its savagery.

"The ISIL tied up hands and feet of its militants, put them inside a closed-door car with all the windows rolled up and opened gas hose sent into the car until they died," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed source in Mosul as saying.

The ISIL is resorting to different intimidation methods to prevent its own militants from fleeing the battlefield.

Also last Sunday, the Iraqi forces discovered a mass grave in al-Khalediya Island in Anbar province believed to contain the bodies of 200 ISIL terrorists.

“The mass grave found in al-Malahema region of al-Khalediya Island contains about 200 bodies of the ISIL terrorists,” the Arabic-language media quoted unnamed local sources as saying.

It is not yet clear if the terrorists had been killed in tough battle with the Iraqi joint military forces or executed by their comrades.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi army took control of three more strategic villages from the ISIL in Anbar province in Western Iraq, and destroyed the terrorists' military operations room in Albu Jarish region.

The Vinij, Haroun Baraziyeh and Omirieh in the Northwestern part of al-Anbar province are now under the Iraqi army's control.

The ISIL's military operations room in Albu Jarish region was also destroyed by the Iraqi army.

Meantime, tens of ISIL terrorists surrendered themselves in Albu Bali and Albu Obeid regions.

The Iraqi army also killed at least 70 terrorists, including snipers in the military operations in Anbar province on Monday.

The Iraqi joint military forces also destroyed three suicide vehicles in Anbar province over the past two days.

Reports last month that commanders of the ISIL terrorist group have ordered their forces and family members to leave their last bases and strongholds in Western Iraq as Iraq's military forces are preparing to launch massive military operations in the region, local sources said.

"The Iraqi military forces are preparing to capture the last ISIL strongholds in Western Iraq and the military equipment for these operations have been fully supplied and transferred, and we are waiting for the final order by the joint operations command center to attack al-Khalediya Island and Heet town in the Western parts of al-Anbar province," Head of the Security Committee of al-Anbar province's Council Rajeh al-Issawi said.

Mosul: ISIL Executes 14 Caged Civilians by Drowning in Water

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950530001096

"A sum of 14 Iraqi civilians were arrested in al-Fasilieh district in the center of the city of Mosul on spying charges for the government and Peshmerga forces, and were later submerged in iron cages," the Arabic-language media quote an unnamed sources as saying.

The ISIL terrorists filmed the execution of the Iraqi civilians while they were caught in iron cages.

In a relevant development earlier this week, the ISIL executed several of its opponents in a brutal manner in the city of Mosul in Nineveh province.

A video released by the terrorists shows 3 militants of M resistance movement (an opponent group of the ISIL) were shot in the head by the ISIL and 3 others were beheaded by the terrorist group on Sunday.

The video showed the ISIL terrorists shooting in the head of their opponents from close range.

The ISIL also beheaded three others on spying charges and for filming the terrorist groups' military positions and vehicles.

Also earlier in August, the ISIL terrorists executed tens of civilians in Kirkuk province as they were trying to escape from Takfiri militants.

Hassan Mahmoud al-Soufi, a commander of popular forces, told the Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network that terrorists executed 61 people, among them a woman, by firing squad at a militant base on the outskirts of the town of Hawijah.

An earlier report provided by the UN refugee agency UNHCR had disclosed that the ISIL terrorists may have captured up to 3,000 fleeing Iraqi villagers.

The report followed a statement on Thursday from the Iraqi Observatory for Human rights, which said about 1,900 civilians had been captured by an estimated 100-120 ISIL terrorists.

The observatory said ISIL was using people as shields against attacks by Iraqi security forces, adding scores of civilians had been executed, and six burnt.

The report said the Takfiri group had captured the internally displaced people from villages in Hawijah District in Kirkuk Governorate trying to flee to Kirkuk city.

The Iraqi army and volunteer forces are preparing for a final push to dislodge ISIL from Mosul.

Saudi warplanes strike mass rally in Yemeni capital

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/20/480887/Saudi-warplanes-strike-mass-rally-in-Yemeni-capital

Saudi warplanes on Saturday struck a rally in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, where people had gathered to support the Supreme Political Council.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis had gathered in Tahrir Square for the demonstration, when the Saudi aircraft bombed the nearby streets.

No casualties were reported.

The Supreme Political Council is a coalition between the Houthi Ansarullah movement and the General People’s Congress party, led by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The council was formed after peace talks in Kuwait ended inconclusively between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed delegation loyal to Yemen’s Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the president who has resigned and fled the capital.

The airstrikes were apparently meant to disperse the huge crowd.

During the demonstration in Sana’a the protesters denounced the legitimacy of the Hadi administration. They waved Yemen’s flags and chanted slogans such as, “We will sacrifice our souls and blood for the sake of Yemen.”

The demonstrators also carried placards with messages that read in Arabic, “Reforms are the most efficient popular force in the face of enemies.”

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since late March 2015, when the regime in Riyadh launched its deadly campaign against the impoverished country in an attempt to crush the Houthis and restore Hadi.

 

[angelburst29]

Saudi warplanes strike mass rally in Yemeni capital

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/20/480887/Saudi-warplanes-strike-mass-rally-in-Yemeni-capital

Saudi warplanes on Saturday struck a rally in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, where people had gathered to support the Supreme Political Council.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis had gathered in Tahrir Square for the demonstration, when the Saudi aircraft bombed the nearby streets.

No casualties were reported.

Update:
Pro-Houthi Rally of 100,000 in Yemen’s Capital (VIDEO
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160821/1044475480/saudi-arabia-bombs-houthis-yemen.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoIA-Rzv5Dw

The strike resulted in an “unknown number of casualties” according to the news agency although eyewitnesses say that at least three civilians were killed and dozens were wounded.

"Suddenly, they started bombing and the crowd started running. I basically bolted out of the area," said Hisham al-Omeisy to the BBC. "People started screaming… because everybody’s very well armed, they started shooting their AK-47s and their machine guns into the sky."

The Iraqi Air Force on Saturday killed 19 commanders of the Daesh terrorist group in the northern country's city of Mosul, the Iraqi Army’s information bureau said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

Iraqi Air Force Kills 19 Daesh Commanders in Mosul
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160820/1044471975/daesh-mosul-iraq-airforce.html

"Air Force fighter jets carried airstrikes against the [Daesh] group's headquarters in Mosul's al-Misaq quarter, when there were high-ranking commanders of the group. As a result of a successful airstrike all the militants in the number of 19 in the headquarters were killed," the statement said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with Iraq's Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Tehran on Saturday blasted certain Arab countries for taking Israel's side in regional disputes, and vowed to keep on supporting the Iraqi government and nation in their ongoing fight against terrorism and extremism.

Iran Vows to Continue Support for Iraq As Some Arab Regimes Continue Colluding with Israel
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950530001355

"Iran will remain beside the Iraqi nation and government till the end of the fight against terrorism, as it has done so far," President Rouhani said at the meeting today.

He pointed to terrorism as a problem for the entire region and the world, and said, "Unfortunately, some regional countries are paving a wrong path under the influence of different factors, including the Zionists, while nations want these countries to work for the development of the region by standing beside each other."

President Rouhani underlined the importance of expanding mutual cooperation between the two countries, specially in the economic field, and said, "The post-sanctions era has provided a suitable opportunity for the broadening of bilateral ties in all areas, including economy, which need to be used (by both countries) and the two parliaments can facilitate such relations."

The Iraqi parliament speaker, for his part, said that the two nations favor deepening of economic cooperation, and said, "We should open new horizons in mutual cooperation through finding new ways for strengthening cooperation.

He said that the Iraqi parliament supports the development of mutual cooperation between Iran and Iraq.

 

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A fire at a Baghdad hospital maternity ward left at least 11 newborn babies dead on Wednesday, CNN reported, citing the Iraqi Health Ministry.

Fire in Baghdad's Maternity Ward Leaves 11 Newborn Babies Dead
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160810/1044119294/fire-baghdad-newborn-babies.html

The babies suffocated after the fire broke out in the pre-term birth unit in Yarmouk Hospital, the CNN broadcaster reported with reference to the ministry's spokesperson.

An electrical short circuit caused the fire, according to the broadcaster. Other babies have been transferred to other hospitals in the city.

Iraq arrests ‘gang’ behind hospital blaze

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/08/20/Iraq-arrests-gang-behind-hospital-blaze-.html

An eight-member gang, who set fire to one of the biggest hospitals in the capital Baghdad leading to the killing of 13 premature babies, has been arrested, an Iraqi security committee said on Saturday.

The security committee in Baghdad’s provincial council said the gang was arrested for “setting fire” in Al-Yarmouk hospital and stealing 100 million Iraqi dinars ($84,602).

“There was information that 100 million dinars were in the [hospital’s] contract room,” member of the committee, Saad al-Matlabi, told the Iraq-based Al-Sumaria News website.

Matlabi said security cameras had captured images of the gang who were seen “entering the hospital identifying themselves as an audit team or something of that sort, and they put on masks when they stormed the room.”

“They took the money and then set the room on fire to hide the theft of money,” he added.

But “the [contract] room was adjacent to the premature babies’ lobby, and the fire spread from the contracts room to the lobby through AC channels which led to the disaster.”

The initial investigation found the presence of flammable materials at the site.

On August 14, the health ministry spokesman said arson was behind the unfortunate incident.

Houthi forces cut last regime supply line to Taiz

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-cut-last-regime-supply-line-taiz/

Taiz City, Yemen (2:00 A.M.) – The Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, managed to cutoff the Hadi loyalists last supply route to the key city of Taiz on Saturday after a fierce day-long battle.

Houthi forces and their allies were able to cutoff this key Hadi supply line from Aden after advancing towards the nearby Lahj Governorate in southeast Taiz.

With this supply line cutoff from the Aden Governorate, the Hadi loyalists are now completely surrounded inside of Taiz City.

Taliban militants seize district in Afghanistan's Kuduz Province

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/20/480846/Afghanistan-Kunduz-Pronince-Kabul-Khanabad-Taliban-militants-Mohammadullah-Bahej

Taliban militants in Afghanistan have captured the Khanabad district of the restive Kunduz Province in the northeast of the country following fierce clashes with Afghan security forces, local officials say.

A local lawmaker and some other authorities confirmed the fall of Khanabad to Taliban on Saturday while Mohammadullah Bahej, the spokesman for the provincial police chief, was cited as saying that the seizure came after the militants launched attacks on the district headquarters from multiple directions.

Bahej further stated that local and national security forces were planning an operation to recapture the district as the fighting led to the closure of the main highway connecting Kunduz to the northeastern Takhar Province.

This is while the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also confirmed the seizure of the entire district by the militants, adding that weapons and military vehicles were also captured during the armed assault.

The fall of Khanabad came as the foreign-backed Taliban elements intensified their attacks on Kunduz and launched numerous offensives on key districts of the province during the past several months.

The militants have also attempted on several occasions to take control of the strategic Kunduz city, which was briefly seized by the group last year before being driven out in a counteroffensive by Afghan military forces.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb blast in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday struck an army vehicle in Qala-e-Zaman Khan area of the city, killing at least one person and injuries few others, according to officials cited in local press reports.

Police authorities in Kabul confirmed the incident but did not elaborate on the number of casualties in the attack.

Taliban spokesman, meanwhile, has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

The military invasion removed Taliban, but militants still seek to wrest control over the war-ravaged country.

Afghan forces retake district in Kuduz Province

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/21/480977/Afghanistan-Taliban-Khanabad-Kunduz

Security forces in Afghanistan have retaken control of a northeastern district in the country that had fallen to Taliban militants hours earlier.

Security officials in Afghanistan confirmed late Saturday that government forces recaptured the Khanabad district in the restive Kunduz Province from the Taliban militants.

The militants had overrun the district in fierce clashes with security forces earlier in the day.

The district is a strategic one, connecting Kunduz to Takhar and other northern provinces. Afghan officials had cited a lack of ammunition and reinforcement as the main reason for the district’s fall.

“All checkpoints around us collapsed. We did not have sufficient weapons to fight and food to eat for four days. Finally, our check posts collapsed and we evacuated the area and arrived in the center of Kunduz,” said Serajuddin, an Afghan National Police (ANP) officer.

Local reports said hundreds of civilians from the area had fled to the east, toward Takhar Province following the Taliban offensive to take the area.

The officials have not provided any details about the number of casualties in clashes between security forces and the militants.

Taliban militants have intensified their attacks on Kunduz and launched numerous offensives on key districts of the province during the past several months.

The militants have also attempted on several occasions to take control of the provincial capital city of the same name. They did seize it briefly last year before being driven out in a counteroffensive by Afghan military forces.

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The military invasion removed the Taliban from power, but their militancy continues in the country.

 

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ISIL Executes Own Emir in Kirkuk over Audio File Urging Terrorists' Withdrawal
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950530001196

Mosul: ISIL Executes 14 Caged Civilians by Drowning in Water
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950530001096[/quote]

Informed sources in Nineveh province disclosed that the ISIL executed two residents of the city of Mosul in front of their children's eyes by pushing them from the roof of a tall building.

ISIL Execution New Style: Free Fall from Tall Buildings
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001177

"The ISIL executed four people, including two of its own members, in the center of the city of Mosul on sodomy charges, by throwing them from the roof of an insurance company building in Bab al-Toub region and then threw their bodies in al-Khafaseh well in the Western part of Mosul city," the Arabic-language Sumaria News quoted an unnamed source as saying.

The pictures released from the execution ceremony clearly shows that the ISIL executed all of them in front of their children's eyes.

On Saturday, the ISIL terrorist group executed over a dozen Iraqi citizens by putting them in iron cages and drowning them in water in Nineveh province.

"A sum of 14 Iraqi civilians were arrested in al-Fasilieh district in the center of the city of Mosul on spying charges for the government and Peshmerga forces, and were later submerged in iron cages," the Arabic-language media quote an unnamed sources as saying.

The ISIL terrorists filmed the execution of the Iraqi civilians while they were caught in iron cages.

Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of Hezbollah al-Nujaba, underlined that the US seeks to absolve terrorists of crimes they have committed in Iraq and Syria by changing their name from the al-Nusra Front to Fatah Al-Sham Front.

Iraq's Hezbollah Al-Nujaba: US Seeks to Exonerate Terrorists by Renaming Al-Nusra Front
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001310

The Al-Nusra Front was renamed after the US and Russia's agreement on the crisis in Syria and the Americans want to remove clothing of terrorism from the body of al-Nusra Front and bring it back on the scene in disguise and in the clothes of moderate dissidents," al-Kaabi said on Sunday.

Stressing that there is no difference between the al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups operating in Syria and Iraq, he said the al-Nusra Front is attempting to find a place for itself among the dissidents favored by the US.

Elsewhere, Kaabi referred to the operations to retake the strategic city of Mosul in Nineveh province back from the terrorists, and said liberation of Mosul means annihilation of the ISIL.

Yemen's Ansarullah movement and militiamen loyal to fugitive resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi exchanged nearly three dozen prisoners captured during clashes between the two sides.

Yemen's Ansarullah, Pro-Hadi Forces Swap 30 Prisoners
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001334

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ansarullah had released 15 men in exchange for as many inmates freed by Hadi loyalists in the al-Maton district of the northern al-Jawf Province, located approximately 110 kilometers north of Sana’a, al-Masirah reported reported.

More than two months ago, Ansarullah announced the release of 276 prisoners loyal to the Saudi-backed resigned president in a gesture of goodwill.

Ansarullah officials said in June that 200 of the prisoners had been set free in Rada'a city in the southwestern Province of al-Bayda, and the rest in the nearby Dhamar Province.

The prisoners were released only a day after Ansarullah and forces loyal to Hadi conducted another prisoner swap. Hadi loyalists released 118 prisoners, while Ansarullah freed 76 detainees, who had been captured during the battle for the southern city of Ta’izz.

Incessant Saudi airstrikes against Yemen

Meanwhile on Sunday, Saudi fighter jets struck a bridge in the Mudhaykhirah district in the Central Province of Ebb. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Scores of people were also killed and wounded when Saudi warplanes pounded passenger cars traveling along a road in the al-Matammah district of al-Jawf Province.

Saudi Arabia has pounded Yemen almost daily since March 2015, with internal sources putting the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000. The offensive was launched to crush the Ansarullah movement and their allies and restore Hadi to power.

The Iraqi air force dropped tens of thousands of leaflets over Mosul in Western Iraq calling on the residents of the Western city to prepare themselves for the its imminent seizure.

Iraqi Military Planes Drop Thousands of Leaflets over Mosul Vowing to Liberate City Soon
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531000731

"We have informed Mosul citizens that the ISIL's end is near as it is spending its last days and they should prepare themselves for welcoming the Iraqi troops," the Iraqi army announced in a statement on Sunday.

Iraq's joint military forces are now behind the gates of the city of al-Qayyara which is 63 kilometers from Mosul and ready to start the third phase of the liberation operations of Mosul city and its surrounding areas.

On Saturday a senior military commander announced that Iraq's joint military forces have completely seized back a strategic island to the East of al-Ramadi in Anbar province.

The Iraqi fighter jets pounded a command center of the ISIL in the city of Mosul, killing several terrorist commanders.

19 ISIL Commanders Killed in Mosul in Iraqi Air Strikes
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531000565

At least 19 ISIL terrorists were killed in the Iraqi air raids Meisaq district of Mosul city.

The ISIL commanders had gathered for a meeting in Mosul city's Meisaq district.

On Saturday, informed security sources in Nineveh disclosed that over two dozen oil tankers of the ISIL terrorist group have been destroyed in an airstrike in the Southern part of the province.

"The airstrikes destroyed an ISIL convoy of vehicles compromising 30 oil tankers near al-Qayyara region, 45 kilometers South of Nineveh, killing 12 terrorists and injuring many others," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed provincial security source as saying.

Iraqi government forces managed to gain more grounds in the troubled Northern province of Nineveh to reach Qayyara entrance after capturing a strategic bridge just outside the city as they continue their campaign to retake the militant-held city of Mosul.

 

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EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi Army Wins Back 75 Percent of Nineveh's Al-Qayyara

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001436

The Iraqi forces have now imposed full control over 75 percent of the al-Qayyara city and have advanced from three directions deep inside the city.

Fierce clashes are currently underway in the Northern parts of the city as the ISIL terrorists are fleeing from the Northern parts to the Southern parts of the city.

The ISIL terrorists are currently under the siege of the Iraqi forces in the Southeastern and Western parts of al-Qayyara city.

Earlier on Sunday, Iraq's joint military forces approached the gates of al-Qayyara city which is 63 kilometers from Mosul and were ready to start the third phase of the liberation operations of Mosul city and its surrounding areas.

On Saturday a senior military commander announced that Iraq's joint military forces have completely seized back a strategic island to the East of al-Ramadi in Anbar province.

"The Iraqi security and Hashd al-Shaabi (volunteer forces) managed to fully liberate al-Khalediya Island 23 kilometers to the East of al-Ramadi and also take full control of the surrounding villages and regions of the island," Commander of Anbar Liberation Operations Major General Esmayeel Mahlawi said.

He noted that the liberation of al-Khalediya Island comes after recapturing of the Bu Kana'an region which was the last military base of the terrorists in Al-Khalediya Island area.

Meantime, Hashd al-Shaabi Command Center in a statement announced that over 150 terrorists from different countries, including two Americans, 7 Russians, 4 Chechens and many Saudis, were killed in the al-Khalediya Island liberation operation.

Also on Thursday, General Mahlawi said that the Iraqi forces killed 700 ISIL militants during an anti-terrorist offensive on Khalediya Island.

"Security forces so far have killed 700 ISIL members since the beginning of Khalidiya Island liberation battles," said General Mahlawi.

The final anti-terrorist offensive on Khalediya Island started in late July.

The city of Ramadi was occupied by ISIL militants in May 2014. The government forces succeeded in retaking the city after weeks of fierce fighting from December 2015 to February 2016.

ISIL is a terrorist group mainly operating in Syria and Iraq. The terrorists have also claimed responsibility for attacks in Europe. The group is deemed as terrorist entity by international bodies, including UN.

Report: ISIL Executes Several Own Commanders in Kirkuk for Defection

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001338

"The ISIL has executed two of its commanders and arrested over 30 other terrorists for fleeing the battlefields," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted Hashd al-Shaabi Commander Jabar al-Ma'amouri as saying on Sunday.

He said that some of the arrested terrorists are accused of planning to flee al-Hawija city.

"An ISIL emir was executed on Thursday after an audio file was released that contained his retreat command from al-Hawija city," al-Ma'amouri said.

The volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) Commander had informed on Sunday that major differences have arisen among ISIL commanders after they suffered major defeats in al-Hawija in recent months which has also led to a rise in the number of executions of the ISIL commanders.

In a relevant development last week, the ISIL executed several of its own militants by forcing them to inhale kitchen gas, another bizarre method used by the lunatic group to show its savagery.

"The ISIL tied up hands and feet of its militants, put them inside a closed-door car with all the windows rolled up and opened gas hose sent into the car until they died," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed source in Mosul as saying.

The ISIL is resorting to different intimidation methods to prevent its own militants from fleeing the battlefield.

Also last Sunday, the Iraqi forces discovered a mass grave in al-Khalediya Island in Anbar province believed to contain the bodies of 200 ISIL terrorists.

“The mass grave found in al-Malahema region of al-Khalediya Island contains about 200 bodies of the ISIL terrorists,” the Arabic-language media quoted unnamed local sources as saying.

It is not yet clear if the terrorists had been killed in tough battle with the Iraqi joint military forces or executed by their comrades.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi army took control of three more strategic villages from the ISIL in Anbar province in Western Iraq, and destroyed the terrorists' military operations room in Albu Jarish region.

The Vinij, Haroun Baraziyeh and Omirieh in the Northwestern part of al-Anbar province are now under the Iraqi army's control.

The ISIL's military operations room in Albu Jarish region was also destroyed by the Iraqi army.

Meantime, tens of ISIL terrorists surrendered themselves in Albu Bali and Albu Obeid regions.

The Iraqi army also killed at least 70 terrorists, including snipers in the military operations in Anbar province on Monday.

The Iraqi joint military forces also destroyed three suicide vehicles in Anbar province over the past two days.

Reports last month that commanders of the ISIL terrorist group have ordered their forces and family members to leave their last bases and strongholds in Western Iraq as Iraq's military forces are preparing to launch massive military operations in the region, local sources said.

"The Iraqi military forces are preparing to capture the last ISIL strongholds in Western Iraq and the military equipment for these operations have been fully supplied and transferred, and we are waiting for the final order by the joint operations command center to attack al-Khalediya Island and Heet town in the Western parts of al-Anbar province," Head of the Security Committee of al-Anbar province's Council Rajeh al-Issawi said.

Salahuddin Operations Commander: Sharqat Fallen Militarily

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001389

"Al-Sharqat city is besieged by Iraq's joint forces and a small number of the ISIL terrorists are there," Major General Enad said.

He underlined that al-Sharqat has been taken back from the ISIL in actual military terms, and said, "The ISIL is now under such circustances that it will soon be forced to flee after few more clashes."

On Saturday, informed sources in Salahuddin province disclosed that the ISIL has banned families of its commanders to leave al-Sharqat city.

"This decision by the ISIL came after the number of ISIL commanders and terrorists fleeing al-Sharqat increased sharply and the terrorist group is on the verge of collapse," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed source as saying.

The ISIL intends to use its commanders' families as human shield to block the future military advances by the Iraqi security forces.

Earlier on Saturday, informed Iraqi sources disclosed that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has pardoned a large number of terrorists jailed for fleeing the war zone in the city of al-Sharqat and sent them to the battlefields to make up for the shortage of militants.

"Al-Baghdadi has ordered tens of ISIL terrorists who had been arrested for disobedience and fleeing the war to be pardoned and sent to war with the Iraqi army," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed provincial source in Salahuddin province as saying.

The source reiterated that the ISIL is facing acute shortage of militants as it has lost a large number of them in tough battles with the government forces in different areas, including Hamreen.

Earlier in August, in formed sources disclosed that a group of senior ISIL commanders voiced their allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawaheri and staged a coup against Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the Southwestern parts of Kirkuk province.

"This move by the ISIL commanders in Kirkuk province will be a heavy blow to the ISIL," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed military sources as saying.

The source noted that the coup will paly an important role in widening the rift among the ISIL commanders in other Iraqi province, including Nineveh.

In mid-July, political analysts underscored that the death of Abu Omar al-Shishani, a top military adviser to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, will accelerate the terrorist group's complete break down in both Iraq and Syria.

"Al-Shishani was the top official in charge of planning and coordinating the ISIL's military operations in Iraq and Syria, recruitment of fresh forces in Caucasus, the top commander of thousands of ISIL fighters form Chechnya and the mastermind behind the capture of Mosul in Northern Iraq, therefore, his absence in leadership of ISIL will incur heavy costs on the groups," the analysts underlined.

"Al-Shishani was a charismatic figure amongst ISIL's top commanders. He was actually a symbol of ISIL's international plans to expand their territories across the historical lands of the so-called Islamic Caliphates," Russian expert Sergei Brustakov said, adding, "Death of al-Shishani will leave negative impacts on the unity of the terrorist groups affiliated to the ISIL, I mean the ISIL can not find a charismatic commander similar to al-Shishani to unite its forces."

"On the other hand, al-Shishani's absence will bring about very good opportunity for the other terrorist groups, mainly al-Nusra Front, to attract fresh forces without any serious rival," the Russian expert said.

Reports said in mid-July that the ISIL terrorist group eventually admitted that the murderous red-bearded militant, also known as Abu Omar al-Shishani, was killed.

The revelation, published by ISIL mouthpiece Amaq Agency, came four months after several sources publicly reported al-Shishani’s death.

Omar the Chechen was born in 1986 in Georgia, which was then still part of the Soviet Union, and had a reputation as a top military adviser to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Born with the name Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, the notorious militant once fought as a rebel in Chechnya before joining Georgia's military in 2006.

He fought against Russian troops before being discharged two years later for medical reasons, according to US officials.

He was arrested in 2010 for weapons possession and spent more than a year in jail, before leaving Georgia in 2012 for Istanbul and then Syria, a US official said. The militants then joined the ISIL group and pledged allegiance to Baghdadi and joined ISIL in 2013.

His death is one of the most successful operations to take out ISIL leadership in Iraq and Syria since May, when special operations forces killed the man who directed the group's oil, gas and financial operations.

Commander: Yemeni Army Close to Winning Back Entire Dhale Province

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531000880

"The Yemeni army backed by popular forces purged terrorists from a large number of villages in the Southern and Western parts of Dhale province," Yemeni Army Commander Brigadier General Abdollah al-Setri told FNA on Sunday.

The Yemeni commander reiterated that seizing back of Dhale province will be a heavy blow to the Saudi-led coalition.

Brigadier General al-Setri, meantime, noted that the Yemeni army and popular forces have inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi forces in Ma'rib and al-Jawf provinces.

He also said that the army and popular forces have purged terrorists from 245 square kilometers of areas in Southern Sana'a.

Saudi Arabia started the military campaign against its southern neighbor in March 2015. The war was launched in a bid to undermine the Ansarullah movement and to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has stepped down as Yemen’s president but is now seeking to grab power by force.

Nearly 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the military aggression.

Houthi missile attack kills 50+ Saudi soldiers in Najran

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-missile-attack-kills-50-saudi-soldiers-najran/

Najran, Saudi Arabia (12:15 P.M.) – The Houthi forces fired a Tochka ballistic missile towards a Saudi military camp in Najran city on Sunday, killing more than 50 Saudi soldiers and Hadi loyalists.

According to Al-Mayadeen News, the Houthi missile attack scored a direct hit on a Saudi encampment, resulting in heavy casualties and severe damage to the military installation in the Najran area of southern Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the casualties suffered from the Houthi missile strike in Najran, the Hadi loyalists and their Saudi counterparts lost another 50+ fighters this weekend after being cutoff by the anti-government forces in the Ta’iz Governorate.

Recently, the Saudi Army and Hadi loyalists have suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the Houthi forces and Yemeni Republican Guard; this has prompted the Saudi Air Force to intensify their airstrikes over the densely populated Sanaa and Saada governorates of northern Yemen.

Senior Taliban Leader Killed after Attacking Hesarak in Nangarhar

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950531001407

According to the local officials, the top Taliban leader, Naeem Khalid, was killed during the fierce clashes in Hesarak district, Khaama Press reported.

Provincial governor’s spokeman Ataullah Khogyani said Khalid was leading the coordiated attack on Hesarak district and was killed in an attack by the Afghan forces.

Khogyani further added taht the Taliban militants suffered heavy casualties during the clashes in Hesarak but did not provide the exact figures, only stating around 100 militants were killed or injured.

The provincial government also added that the Taliban militants have been pushed away from Hesarak district and the situation in the district is currently under the control.

The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the report so far.

The Taliban militants group in the meantime claim Saturday that they have taken control of Hesarak district but the local officials deny the Taliban claims as baseless.

Nangarhar is among the relatively volatile provinces where the Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to the ISIL terrorist group are actively operating in a number of its remote districts.

The coordinated attack by Taliban in Hesarak comes as the Afghan forces launched a major operation nearly a month ago to eliminate the loyalists of ISIL terrorist group from the districts where the terrorists are active including the restive Kot and Achin districts.

 

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Anbar Province: Iraqi Army Wins Back Key Region Near Ramadi City

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950601001155

The Iraqi army and volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) are now in full control of Albu Bali area, East of Ramadi city, as heavy clashes are underway in surrounding areas.

Scores of ISIL terrorists have been killed and wounded in tough battle with Iraq's joint military forces, battlefield reports said.

Albu Bali is located to the Northwest of the city of Fallujah on the bank of the Euphrates river. Al-Khalediya Island is also located to the East of Albu Bali while Albu Nasir and Albu Ubeid villages are located to the South and to the West of Albu Bali region.

Earlier on Monday, the Iraqi army and Hashd al-Shaabi continued their mop-up operations in al-Khalediya Island, and purged the ISIL terrorists from al-Asaleh factory.

The army and volunteer forces also managed to purge al-Bu Kan'an region on the western side of the Euphrates River of terrorists.

Scores of terrorists were killed and wounded in fierce clashes with the Iraqi army and volunteer forces.

On Saturday a senior military commander announced that Iraq's joint military forces had completely seized back the strategic al-Khalediya Island located to the East of al-Ramadi in Anbar province.

"The Iraqi security and Hashd al-Shaabi managed to fully liberate al-Khalediya Island 23 kilometers to the East of al-Ramadi and also take full control of the surrounding villages and regions of the island," Commander of Anbar Liberation Operations Major General Esmayeel Mahlawi said.

He noted that the liberation of al-Khalediya Island comes after recapturing of the Bu Kana'an region which was the last military base of the terrorists in Al-Khalediya Island area.

Meantime, Hashd al-Shaabi Command Center in a statement announced that over 150 terrorists from different countries, including two Americans, 7 Russians, 4 Chechens and many Saudis, were killed in the al-Khalediya Island liberation operation.

Also on Thursday, General Mahlawi said that the Iraqi forces killed 700 ISIL militants during an anti-terrorist offensive on Khalediya Island.

"Security forces so far have killed 700 ISIL members since the beginning of Khalediya Island liberation battles," said General Mahlawi.

The final anti-terrorist offensive on Khalediya Island started in late July.

The city of Ramadi was occupied by ISIL militants in May 2014. The government forces succeeded in retaking the city after weeks of fierce fighting from December 2015 to February 2016.

ISIL is a terrorist group mainly operating in Syria and Iraq. The terrorists have also claimed responsibility for attacks in Europe. The group is deemed as terrorist entity by international bodies, including UN.

Police thwart child bomber attack in Iraq’s Kirkuk (Video)

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/22/481093/kirkuk-kurds-explosive-belt-child

A Kurdish YouTube channel has released footage purportedly showing security forces neutralizing an explosive vest strapped to a young boy in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

In the footage which was captured and published by Kurdistan24 late on Sunday, two Kurdish police officers can be seen surrounding and restraining a child bomber while another defuses the explosives attached to his body.

After the bomb is successfully removed, the boy is arrested and taken away in a police car.

There is still no information on the child’s planned target or who was behind the thwarted terrorist operation.

The incident comes on the same day as the city was hit by two other bombing incidents, one just a few steps away from a mosque.

Earlier on Saturday, a child bomber targeted a wedding in Turkey’s Gaziantep, killing at least 51 people and injuring scores of others.

According to a report published by the Combating Terrorism Center early in the year, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group is increasingly using children in its attacks, as its ranks are being thinned out by anti-terror campaigns.

“The data unambiguously suggests that the Daesh’s mobilization of children and youth for military purposes is accelerating,” said the report.

“The rate of operations involving one or more child or youth is likewise increasing; there were three times as many suicide operations involving children and youth in January 2016 as the previous January,” added the report.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted their offensive in June 2014. The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

Yemeni Army Downs Saudi Arabia's Apache Military Chopper Near Najran Border

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950601001413

"Yemen's air defense system destroyed an Apache helicopter in Najran region," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed source as saying on Monday, August 22, 2016

There are no further details available on the incident.

Earlier on Monday, a senior Yemeni commander announced that the Yemeni army and popular forces inflicted heavy losses and casualties on the pro-Saudi forces in Ma'rib, Ta'iz and al-Jawf provinces.

"Over 20 pro-Saudi forces were killed in an ambush of the Yemeni army and popular forces," Senior Ansarullah Commander Ali al-Houthi told FNA.

Meantime, several Saudi forces were killed in an artillery attack of the Yemeni popular forces on their gathering center in the surrounding areas of al-Waziya region.

Several military vehicles of the pro-Saudi forces were also destroyed in the attack.

On Sunday, a senior Yemeni military commander announced that Yemen's Dhale province is on the verge of being fully liberated as the pro-Saudi forces have sustained heavy losses and casualties in Ma'rib and al-Jawf provinces.

"The Yemeni army backed by popular forces purged terrorists from a large number of villages in the Southern and Western parts of Dhale province," Yemeni Army Commander Brigadier General Abdollah al-Setri told FNA.

The Yemeni commander reiterated that seizing back of Dhale province will be a heavy blow to the Saudi-led coalition.

Brigadier General al-Setri, meantime, noted that the Yemeni army and popular forces have inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi forces in Ma'rib and al-Jawf provinces.

He also said that the army and popular forces have purged terrorists from 245 square kilometers of areas in Southern Sana'a.

Saudi Arabia hits another school in Yemen

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/22/481098/Yemen-school-Saudi-Arabia-school-Yemen

Saudi pilots have launched yet another airstrike on a school in the Yemeni province of Ta’izz, with no information immediately available on possible casualties.

According to Yemen’s al-Masirah television, the air raid hit the al-Rawd school in the district of Dabab in western Ta’izz early on Monday.

In the war Saudi Arabia has launched on Yemen, the Saudi forces have been targeting schools, hospitals, residential buildings, roads, markets and refugee camps.

The war was launched in late March 2015, killing about 10,000 people so far, according to internal sources.

Back in June, the United Nations (UN) put Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries that kill and maim children. It concluded in a report that Riyadh had been responsible for 60 percent of the 785 deaths of children in the Saudi war on Yemen in 2015. A few days later, however, the world body announced that Saudi Arabia would be taken off the list pending a joint review with Saudi Arabia.

In rare remarks after the de-listing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon admitted that the decision had been made under “undue pressure” from Saudi Arabia.

Cowardice in the skies

Reports by media outlets in the United States — which has offered intelligence support for the Saudi war by helping Saudi forces acquire “targets” — have pointed to the incompetence as well as cowardice on the part of the Saudi pilots conducting airstrikes as some of the reasons why indiscriminate bombing occurs in Yemen.

A March 13 article on The New York Times cited “American officials” as pointing to “the ability of Saudi pilots, who were inexperienced in flying missions... and fearful of enemy ground fire.”

“As a result,” the article read, “they (the pilots) flew at high altitudes to avoid the threat below. But flying high also reduced the accuracy of their bombing and increased civilian casualties, American officials said.”

“American advisers suggested how the pilots could safely fly lower, among other tactics. But the airstrikes still landed on markets, homes, hospitals, factories and ports, and are responsible for the majority of the [then] 3,000 civilian deaths during the yearlong war, according to the United Nations,” the Times article further read.

In the previous instance of indiscriminate bombing, scores of students were killed and injured in a Saudi airstrike against an elementary school in the province of Sa’ada less than a week ago.

On Friday, the US military said it had sharply reduced the number of its forces working with Saudi Arabia in the war on Yemen.

While some US officials have sought to distance the decision to downgrade military cooperation with Saudi Arabia from the rising outcry over the mounting civilian deaths caused in Yemen, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said on Friday that the US military support for the Saudi war on Yemen “does not mean that we will refrain from expressing our concern about the war in Yemen and how it has been waged.”

Saudi Arabia has invaded Yemen in an attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned from the presidency but seeks to grab power again through the Saudi military intervention.

Houthi Ansarullah fighters and allied military units are fighting back the Saudi invaders and their mercenaries.

In a separate incident on Monday, Saudi airstrikes completely destroyed the political security building in the province of Sa’ada. A local source said Saudi warplanes launched three airstrikes against the building, completely demolishing it. No human casualties were reported.

Source: Saudi Arabia Launches Chemical Attack on Sana'a, Killing Civilians

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950601000609

"A number of Yemeni people have been killed as a result of inhaling poisonous gases in the chemical attack," Military Expert Major General Abdel Sattar al-Sa'deh told FNA on Monday.

He reiterated that Sana'a's Ninth district has been under artillery attacks of the pro-Saudi forces, yet it seems that the Saudi forces have been recently supplied with chemical weapons to exert more pressure on the district.

Al-Sa'deh said that the Yemeni citizens felt weakness, unconsciousness and tiredness after the Saudi forces attacked them with artillery shells containing white-colored substances.

"This is for the first time that this kind of poisonous artillery shells are fired at residents of the Ninth district and the villages of Qoubareh, Qoul Ali, al-Ma'di, al-Asarat and al-Aqran," he added.

Al-Sa'deh reiterated that the chemical warfare used by Saudi Arabia only targets humans and animals.

On Sunday, fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition hit Sana’a during a massive rally that attracted millions of people rallied in strong support for a political body recently formed to run the country in the face of a Saudi military campaign to reinstate a former president.

During the demonstration, Saudi fighter jets bombed Yemen’s capital, including the area around the Presidential palace.

The bombardment resulted in an “unknown number of casualties,” local officials said. People on Twitter said that at least three civilians were killed and a number were wounded.

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly slammed for causing civilian casualties during its bombing campaign. In the latest case on August 13, at least ten children were killed in an airstrike blamed on the Saudi-led coalition that hit a religious school in Northwestern Yemen.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) confirmed that 28 youngsters were also injured in that attack. After Saudi jets hit their hospital, killing 19 people, MSF announced on Thursday that it was pulling its staff out of northern Yemen.

Just days after the airstrike on MSF hospital in Hajjah, the US military announced it has withdrawn from Saudi Arabia its personnel who were coordinating with the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen, and sharply reduced the number of staff elsewhere who were assisting in that planning.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Three Police Officers Injured in Blast Near NATO-Afghan Convoy in Afghanistan

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160823/1044539024/Afghanistan-blast-convoy.html

Three Afghan police officers were injured in a blast which occurred near the NATO-Afghan army partnered convoy in the northern Parwan province in Afghanistan, local media reported, citing authorities.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the Khaama Press news agency, the incident took place late on Monday in the Bagram district.

Afghan security officials have reportedly claimed that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber detonating a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and the NATO-led Resolute Support mission has said that an IED was the cause of the explosion.

The NATO mission also reportedly said it believed the attack targeted an Afghan army vehicle. The police officers were escorting the convoy at the time of the attack, the media reported.

None of the US personnel is said to have been injured in the attack.

No extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Afghanistan is experiencing significant political, social and security-related instability, as radical extremist organizations, including Taliban, continue to stage attacks against civilian, army and state targets.

Iran to build refinery in Afghanistan

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iran-build-refinery-afghanistan/

TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) – Deputy Iranian oil minister has voiced Iran’s readiness to construct joint oil refineries in the neighboring country of Afghanistan.
Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi said a new storage tank will soon come to stream in South Khorasan Province saying “Birjand Oil Tank Farm with a capacity of storing 100 thousand barrels of various oil products will start operation in the coming two months.”

He underscored that Iran is capable of supplying Afghanistan’s oil products demand for the next 30 years urging Afghan officials to enter into negotiations over pipeline construction.

Deputy oil minister, while expressing Iran’s readiness to meet the neighboring country’s demands, continued “construction of pipeline is not economically justifiable at the present time given the level of oil trade between the two states.”

Kazemi recalled that Iran has reached the stable capacity of export 400 thousand barrels of oil products per day which represents a remarkable record in the present circumstances.

“Building pipelines for transferring oil products to Afghanistan will gain economic justification only if the volume of oil exports experiences a significant growth,” said NIORDC managing director.

Abbas Kazemi also pointed to the arrival of a large number of oil tankers in southern Iranian terminals for shipping oil products concluding “upon further negotiations, Iran is also willing to establish a joint oil refinery complex inside Afghanistan.”

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iraqi City of Al Qayyarah Fully Liberated From Daesh Terrorists

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160823/1044565090/iraq-army-qayyarah-liberation.html

The Iraqi army fully liberated the northern city of Al Qayyarah from the Daesh terror group, according to official statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Iraqi armed forces said on Tuesday that they had fully liberated the northern city of Al Qayyarah from the Daesh terror group.

"Now Al Qayyarah is fully liberated… Iraqi joint forces raised the country’s flag over buildings and a hospital after they had been fully liberated from terrorism," the armed forces said in a statement.

The Iraqi army also told of a mass burial of victims of the Daesh near the city of Al Khalidiya in central Iraq.

Al Qayyarah is located about 50 kilometers (more than 30 miles) south of Mosul, which is the main Daesh stronghold in the country.

Al Qayyarah, Mosul, as well as a many other northern and western Iraqi cities and towns, were seized in 2014 during an offensive by the Daesh terror group, which is outlawed in Russia.

Houthi Negotiator Welcomes Iran's Support for Yemeni Supreme Political Council

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160823/1044565449/yemen-houthis-iran.html

Mohammad Abdul-Salam, a spokesman for Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah, held a meeting with Iran's ambassador to Yemen and thanked Tehran for endorsing the establishment of the Council, which had been agreed by Ansar Allah movement and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress party in late July.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Mohammad Abdul-Salam, a spokesman for Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah, has praised Iran for approval of the establishment of the Arab country's Supreme Political Council, strictly opposed by the governmental forces, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

In early August, the UN-brokered talks in Kuwait on Yemen’s reconciliation ended with the government and Houthi rebels failing to come to an agreement and the rebels forming the Supreme Political Council with a prospect of ruling the country.

According to the Tasnim news agency, Abdul-Salam, a senior official from the Houthi movement at Kuwait talks, has recently held a meeting with Iran's ambassador to Yemen and thanked Tehran for endorsing the establishment of the Council, which had been agreed by Ansar Allah movement and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress party in late July.

According to Abdul-Salam, the 10-member body is a milestone in reaching a political compromise to end the Yemeni civil war.

Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, which is the country’s main opposition force. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Saleh.

Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.

 

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Informed local sources disclosed that an ISIL commander who recruited children to train them for suicide attacks has been gunned down by unknown assailants in the city of Mosul in Nineveh province.

Mosul: ISIL Commander Recruiting Kids for Suicide Attacks Gunned Down
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950603000844

"Notorious ISIL commander, Abu Wasbeh al-Saudi, was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen in Mosul," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed local Source in Nineveh province as saying on Wednesday.

The source noted that Abu Wasbeh was in charge of recruiting children to train them for suicide attacks in Mosul city.

"Abu Wasbeh was shot dead when he was leaving a shop in Mosul city," he added.

The provincial security sources in Nineveh province declared that a notorious ISIL commander has been killed in tough battle with the Iraqi army in al-Qayyara region.

ISIL's Chechen Commander Abol Fotouh Shishani Killed in Army offensives in Al-Qayyara
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950603000983

Iraq's joint military sources killed the ISIL's Abol Fotouh Shishani who was the terrorist group's leader in al-Qayyara region," the Arabic-language al-Sumeria news channel quoted an unnamed provincial source as saying on Wednesday.

He noted that 10 ISIL suicide attackers were also killed in the Iraqi army attacks and over 20 suicide vehicles were also destroyed.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Iraqi armed forces declared the strategic city of Al-Qayyara was fully liberated from ISIL terrorists.