Iraq

[Ca.]

Iraq Blacklists Tankers Transporting Kurdish Crude Oil
_https://gcaptain.com/iraq-blacklists-tankers-transporting-kurdish-crude-oil/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gcaptain+%28gCaptain.com%29
August 30, 2016 by Reuters By Dmitry Zhdannikov (Reuters)

Iraqi state oil firm SOMO has blacklisted three tankers involved in shipping crude from Kurdistan, stepping up pressure on the semi-autonomous region amid tense talks on sharing oil revenue.

Kurdistan has been exporting crude independently via Turkey since mid-2015 after saying Baghdad had failed to respect an oil revenue-sharing deal and transfer enough money to Erbil.

Baghdad, which exports most of its oil from the Gulf, has said Erbil was not exporting enough crude under the deal.

Last week SOMO sent market participants a letter – seen by saying it would no longer allow the ships Maran Centaurus, Four Smile and SN Olivia, which had been shipping Kurdish oil, to enter Iraqi ports or export its crude.

Baghdad has regularly sent such letters in the past. It had refrained from doing so in recent months as it was preparing for new talks on revenue-sharing with Kurdistan and had resumed shipping crude from the northern Kirkuk fields to Kurdistan.

SOMO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest letter.

The semi-autonomous region exports around 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of its own crude from the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Baghdad’s shipments to Kurdistan of Kirkuk crude, which it restarted earlier this month, have been only half the previously supplied 180,000 bpd.

Baghdad said last week it could divert the Kirkuk crude to Iran by truck instead of sending it to Kurdistan via pipeline if the talks on revenue-sharing broke down.

The move may further undermine Kurdistan, whose funds have been sapped by its fight against Islamic State militants. The region’s oil exports do not cover its budget needs.

Diverting oil to Iran could also damage the unity of Iraqi Kurdistan, which had been counting on additional crude from Kirkuk.

The only way SOMO could truck oil to Iran would be through the central Kurdish region of Suleimaniya, controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a rival of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani in Erbil.

“The move could be very divisive for the Kurds but also it could set a precedent for other political parties in Iraq to demand their own oil”,

a government source in Erbil said.

Sending crude to Iran would also involve significantly higher trucking costs – estimated at up to $20 per barrel – than sending oil by pipeline to the Mediterranean, thus further reducing revenues from oil exports.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)

© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Iraqi resistance movement slams US meddling Aug 30, 2016
PressTV News Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksyNF4BEv0o

The Secretary General of Iraqi Resistance Movement Hezbollah al-Nujaba has slammed what he calls the US meddling in the country under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
In an exclusive interview with Press TV, Akram al-Kabi said the Iraqi government had never asked for the US help in its fight against terrorists. Kabi criticized Washington and its so-called anti-Daesh coalition saying Iraq’s popular mobilization forces had rejected any type of cooperation with them because of "America’s inappropriate intentions". He also questioned the US-led aerial campaign against alleged Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in 2014. The resistance movement chief said the US campaign had only helped anti-Iraq groups such as Naqshbandi and Baath party create problems. Kabi also accused the US-led coalition of carrying out airstrikes near Iraq’s army bases on many occasions.

Iraq: Oil smoke shrouds Qayyarah days after IS' scorched earth tactics Aug 30, 2016

http://<iframe width="560" height="...WM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7mD-u83xc

Forces of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL) set fire to oil wells in Qayyarah as they withdrew from the area last week leaving the city covered in a pall of black smoke several days later.
Local residents dumped sand on slicks of oil on the city streets, Tuesday, after IS fighters had reportedly opened the taps of an oil pipeline and let them run. Black smoke billowed above buildings as the wells continued to burn.

ISIS behead 13 people in Kirkuk province, Iraq-8-31-16
_https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-behead-13-people-in-kirkuk-province-iraq/

ISIS terrorists have executed 13 people in Hawijah town Kirkuk province, a security source told al-Sumaria television on Tuesday night.
The charges were for assisting in the escape of families from areas under ISIS control to Salahuddin province..
Earlier on Tuesday, ISIS had abducted 40 people in Hawijah, but it is not known whether those beheaded were among those people.

Iraq on track to retake Mosul this year, U.S. general says
By News Desk - 31/08/2016
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraq-track-retake-mosul-year-u-s-general-says/
(Reuters)

Iraq is on track to meet its objective of retaking the city of Mosul from Islamic State later this year, should Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi choose to go forward as planned, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said on Tuesday.

“It’s the prime minister’s objective to have that done by the end of the year,” General Joseph Votel, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a news conference. “My assessment is that we can meet the … prime minister’s objectives, if that’s what he chooses to do.”

Two years since Islamic State seized wide swathes of northern and western Iraq, Votel said momentum had firmly shifted against the militant group as it loses territory in its self-proclaimed “caliphate”.

Mosul has been the largest urban center under the militants’ control, with a pre-war population of nearly 2 million. It was from Mosul’s Grand Mosque in 2014 that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a “caliphate” spanning regions of Iraq and Syria.

Votel said the battle for Mosul could present a mixed picture for war planners, with Islamic State retreating in some areas only to reinforce in others.

“ISIL is having to make hard decisions, because they’re being pressured in a variety of ways,” Votel said.

He pointed to the two-and-a-half month battle by U.S.-backed forces in Syria to take back the town of Manbij from Islamic State as an example of how fighting could become protracted.

“We should expect that in some places, perhaps in some parts of Mosul, they will cede that area to us, to the coalition, to the Iraqis. And then in other areas, they will fight harder to hold onto that,” Votel said.

Although Iraqi and U.S. officials have not announced a timetable for moving on the city, a senior Baghdad-based diplomat said last month Abadi wanted to bring forward the start of the Mosul campaign to October.

The U.N. estimates that under a worst-case scenario, more than 1 million people could be displaced from Mosul and another 830,000 from a populated corridor south of the city, adding to the burden of caring for 3.5 million Iraqis displaced by Islamic State’s 2014 onslaught and U.S.-backed Iraqi counter-offensives.

 

[angelburst29]

Ex-Recruiter from Al-Qaeda now works at George Washington University
http://katehon.com/news/ex-recruiter-al-qaeda-now-works-george-washington-university

The George Washington University hired a former recruiter of the Al-Qaeda. The ex-terrorist will act as an expert on national security issues, local media reported.

The new university employee is a former recruiter Jesse Morton, previously known as Younus Abdullah Muhammad. Deputy Director of the extremism program in the center of for Cyber and National

Security at the University, Seamus Hughes, believes that Morton would bring a “unique vision” of counter-terrorism activities, as he was “in that world” and got away. Hughes thinks that the ex-recruiter of the Al-Qaeda would help to understand how to reach to a person, who entered on the path of radicalization.

The issue of Morton’s hiring was previously discussed with representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), security sector, lawyers, etc. Hughes said that he fully trusts the new employee.

Takfiri Daesh militants have reportedly executed more than a dozen people in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk on charges of facilitating the escape of civilian families from an area under the extremists’ control.

Daesh terrorists behead 13 civilians in northern Iraq
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/31/482526/Daesh-execution-civilians-Hawijah-Kirkuk

A provincial security source, requesting anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network on Tuesday evening that Daesh terrorists decapitated 13 people in the Riyadh district of the town of Hawijah, located about 282 kilometers (175 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad.

The executions came over the allegation that the victims had helped local residents flee to other areas in the province or the neighboring Salahuddin Province.

The source added that Daesh is currently in a state of despair and dismay in the wake of heavy blows that the Iraqi army and volunteer forces have been inflicting on it.

Earlier in the day, Daesh Takfiris had abducted 40 residents of Hawijah on the same charges. It was not clear whether those decapitated on Tuesday were from among the abductees.

The developments came only three days after Daesh militants placed six handcuffed men inside a number of truck tires in Hammam al-Alil area, located some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of Mosul, and them set the tires ablaze.

The victims had been accused of espionage and collaboration with Iraqi government forces.

On Tuesday, Daesh terrorists reportedly sewed up the mouths of four Mosul residents with metal wire for discussing the success of Iraqi Army in the offensive anti-terrorist operations among themselves.

Daesh Stitch People’s Mouths With Wire for Mentioning Iraqi Army Victories
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160831/1044820821/daesh-iraq-stitch-mouths.html

A local resident of Mosul told Sputnik, that Daesh has spies around town who report on citizens who talk about the victories of the Armed Forces of Iraq. Anyone caught discussing the ‘enemy' is punished in public. The militants are seriously concerned by the growing belief amongst the public that Mosul is on the brink of liberation after a series of failures by Daesh in other cities around the country.

"Four of our residents were discussing the success of the army in a casual conversation about politics, when another man suddenly joined in. He casually discussed with them the defeat of Daesh and offensive operations in Nineveh. Later, all four people were caught. Right where they were standing, their mouths were sewn up with metal wire," said the resident, whose name has not been disclosed for obvious security reasons.

The terrorists put their victims into the open trunk of a car, showing their sewn up mouths to everyone, in an attempt to intimidate the population and prevent and talk of the victories of the government troops and the people's militia. At the same time, a local source in Hit, a city in Al-Anbar province, told Sputnik about the execution of two civilians, who secretly helped families to escape from Daesh-controlled areas on the outskirts of the city.

Press TV has talked to peace activist and former US Marine, Ken O’Keefe, to get his take on the remarks made by the Secretary General of the Iraqi resistance movement Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN), saying the Middle East region’s woes have only worsened ever since the onset of the US “war on terror”.

US intends to break up Iraq for Israel’s interests: Activist
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/31/482529/Iraq-US-war-on-terror-Daesh-alQaeda-Israel-Middle-East

Here is a rough transcription of the interview:

Press TV: These are sentiments that have been echoed by many more than just this gentleman. Your thoughts.

O’Keefe: I have to say the language “inappropriate intentions” to describe the US policy in Iraq is very generous indeed. The intention of America effectively as a stooge for Israel is to break up Iraq. This is very well known. If we go back to Oded Yinon's strategy for Israel in the 1980s, the effective Balkanization of the entire Middle East region that surrounds Israel, so Israel can ultimately expand, this is all part of the plan. It is not an inappropriate intention; it is a direct and intentional means to commit mass murder and crimes against humanity in order to expand Israel. So this is the intention.

Israel has never been attacked by ISIS (Daesh) as we all know. It has never been attacked by al-Nusra Front. It has never been attacked by al-Qaeda. How is it possible that it could never be attacked if somehow it is an enemy? It is so laughable that it is hard to believe anybody bought any of this stuff ever.

Press TV: What kind of positive achievements has the US accomplished since the Iraq invasion?

O’Keefe: The positive achievements are that the country's infrastructure has been destroyed; that it is breaking into three parts or more by this ongoing chaos; it has been the birthplace of so-called ISIS. I say that is positive because that is the actual plan. That is what they intend to do.

Now if we are talking about what the opposite of what they say they are going to do is, it is completely horrendous. But the idea that it is accidental or it is just mistakes - what the experts today are pushing is that the United States is not learning its lessons and it just never seems to learn. This is ridiculous. They know exactly what they are doing. And their role is to expand Israel and the way to do that is to basically set the Middle East alight to get the Arabs to “bleed each other.” This is largely what we have seen. But thank God, there are people in the Middle East and around the world who can see this more and more for what it is; and that the Iranian influence, the genuine patriots of Iraq, Shia and Sunni, among them Kurds, there are people in this area who are learning this, understanding this. And thank God we have a real chance of getting rid of this scourge. But make no mistake about it. This whole monstrous thing that we know as al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Nusra and so on, these are stooges. They work for the CIA and Mossad and we need to know that.

Press TV: And ultimately you mentioned partitioning Iraq. But I want you to elaborate a little bit more on that. What is it going to take for the US to close a chapter in Iraq, pack up and go home?

O’Keefe: The plan for the Middle East is to break apart the entire region, to sow the seeds of sectarian hatred. and in this weak and fractured state with no strong leadership it is in that context that Israel will easily be able to create a provocation that will justify expansion based on the need for security of its citizens and so on and so forth. It is the same pattern over and over again, so this is how they are going to do it. They are trying to eliminate any strong leadership.

We can look very clearly at the case of Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was a murderer and a tyrant all the while. We knew that. He was gassing Kurds and Iranians all through the Iran-Iraq war. This man was a patent criminal and a stooge for the United States to punish the Iranian people for the audacity to get rid of our puppet the Shah of Iran. All of this is very self-evident if you are going to pay attention to it. So Iran and others in the region who are genuinely fighting ISIS, all of us in the West owe you a debt of gratitude for having done this, because our influence is just monstrous, the whole way around.

 

[angelburst29]

[...]
Dead Body of ISIL's Females Battalion Commander Found in Tigris River
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950608001503

"Um Qazanfar was one of the highest-ranking members of the ISIL who was very close to the terrorist group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed source as saying.

"She was also the first female intelligence commander in charge of collecting security information from the opponents of the ISIL in Mosul," the report said.

ISIL had earlier declared that Um Qazanfar's disappearance was "suspicious".

The ISIL found Um Qazanfar's dead body near the fourth bridge over the Tigris River in the center of Mosul.

In early August, the local sources in Nineveh province disclosed that masked men attacked a house in the center of Mosul where ISIL's female terrorists worked, and abducted a number of them.

"Over 25 women, some from Libya, Yemen and European countries, were working in ISIL's Hasaba (monitoring-security system) in a house in Mosul city center when unknown men attacked the house and kidnapped them," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed military source as saying on Tuesday.

No group had claimed responsibility for the abduction yet.

I know this might sound far fetched but the incident above is being reported as occurring "in early August" and this odd report was released on August 7th? Could there be a connection?

Turkish border patrol found US intelligence officer, who asked her command for rescue and headed to the Syrian-Turkish border two days ago, according to local media.

Turkish Border Patrol Finds US Agent After Two Days of Searches by Military
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160807/1044030207/syria-turkey-broder.html

Turkish border patrol found on Sunday a US intelligence officer who US and Turkish military had been searching for two days, Turkish media reported.

Injured while on mission in Syria, the officer asked her command for rescue and headed to the Syrian-Turkish border, the Hurriyet newspaper said. Reportedly, US and Turkish military launched a search and rescue operation, involving helicopters and drones, but failed to find the intelligence agent.

On Sunday, the woman was found by Turkish patrol officers near the Syrian-Turkish border and brought to the Incirlik base. Her condition is unknown, the newspaper added.

I always loved "puzzle's" - here's another piece?

Sputnik Exclusive: ‘Russian Female Spy’ Causes Stir in Daesh Ranks
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160901/1044864276/syria-woman-spy.html

Daesh has declared a search for the former wife of its member, but it turns out she was actually a spy!


A local source in Mosul told Sputnik that Daesh declared search for a woman named Um Hafsa, who was living in the ranks of Daesh as a spy and was passing information to Iraqi intelligence services.

The source explained that Um Hafsa has Russian roots, but her exact name is not known. Details of her links to Iraqi intelligence also remain unknown.

“She was married to a Daesh militant in Mosul. They lived in the Seth area, when she suddenly disappeared, along with three other women from Daesh,” the source said.

According to him, the militants in Mosul arrested dozens of people, who somehow could be associated with her or are in contact with her. The terrorists realized that she was an undercover spy after she left her apartment an hour before an air strike by the coalition struck her house.

When militants carried out interrogations of the surviving civilians it turned out that Um Hafsa warned residents about the air strike before leaving and asked all the residents to leave their houses immediately.

She warned everyone except the militants. In addition to this, Um Hafsa was the organizer of setting young Yezidi girls free by allowing them to escape sexual slavery from Daesh. The girls were taken as slaves following an attack on the town of Sinjar in 2014.

According to local residents, the Seth area and its surroundings are filled with Daesh militant patrols that are searching and interrogating local residents in order to find any evidence regarding whereabouts of the escaped spy.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

ISIL Terrorists Escaping Frontlines after Filing Fake Sick Notes

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950611000574

"The ISIL militants in al-Sharqat region, Northern Salahuddin, file sick notices to convince their commanders that they are suffering incurable diseases, to remain outside the frontlines of war against the Iraqi security and popular forces," Jabbar al-Ma'mouri, the commander of Hashd al-Sha'abi (popular forces), said on Thursday.

He added that the trick was used after the ISIL sustained heavy losses in Salahuddin that has significantly lowered the morale of the ISIL members and their trust in their commanders.

Informed Iraqi sources disclosed last month 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.

In a relevant development 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.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Blast at arms depot shakes Baghdad

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/02/482798/Iraq-Baghdad-bombings

Explosions rock northeastern neighborhoods of Baghdad as tens of thousands from across Iraq and abroad converge on a shrine to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of a Shia Imam.

Police initially said at least two people were killed and 11 others wounded after mortar rounds or rockets hit three areas near the vast Shia neighborhood of Sadr City on Friday.

But other officials said an explosion at a weapons depot had caused three rockets to spray across the neighborhood.

The blasts came as many faithful descended on the Kadhimiya shrine in Baghdad to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Mohammad al-Jawad, the ninth Shia Imam and a grandson of Prophet Mohammad.

A column of smoke billowed over Obaidi, a Shia neighborhood where the storage is located.

Since 2014, the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh has been ravaging Iraq. Army and volunteer forces have been fighting the militants back.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 691 Iraqis lost their lives in violence in Iraq last month, and 1,016 others were injured.

Saudi Arabia buys drones from China

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-buys-drones-china/

Saudi Arabia and China have agreed on a deal for the purchase of an unspecified amount of Wing Loong or medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned drones, according to the Wahhabist kingdom’s Al-Watan newspaper.

The drones are capable of carrying two air-to-ground missiles and are effective surveillance gatherers.

According to the Global Times, the Kingdom is the first Arab country to obtain such types of drones, which were developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.

The drones can fly more than 4,000km in 20 hours and is equipped with laser-guided sensors.

 

[angelburst29]

4,245 Killed in Iraq During the month of August.

Over 4,000 Killed And 658 Wounded During The Month Of August In Iraq
http://novorossia.today/137921-2/

4,245 people were killed and 658 were wounded during August. In comparison, July’s figures were 2,695 killed and 1,352 wounded. These figures are only estimates. Due to the nature of the conflict, precise numbers are unavailable, and the true numbers may never be known.

At least 678 civilians were killed and 493 more were wounded in attacks. The number of wounded is likely to be higher.

One British national was killed and another was wounded in a de-mining accident. At least 13 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) were killed in Turkish cross-border operations. Four Turks were killed and nine were wounded, when the P.K.K. launched a cross-border mortar attack from Iraqi territory. Iraq executed 47 people on terrorism charges on three separate dates.

Security forces lost 134 personnel, and another 141 were wounded, but these figures are undoubtedly too low. Accounts from a cemetery in Najaf suggest that Shi’ite militias alone could be losing about 100 members per day.

About 3,416 militants were killed, and another 115 were wounded. Those figures were mostly reported by the Iraqi government, which could be exaggerating the numbers or even counting civilians deaths as militant ones. However, large-scale operations in Khalidiya and Qayara must have left significant casualties.

In other news:

Human Rights Watch issued a warning that children in their mid-teens are being recruited by Sunni tribal militias to fight against the Islamic State.

Iraq used its new F-16 fighters to launch an airstrike against militants in the Qaim area. The airbase at Qayara will apparently require about six months of repairs before it can be used in the upcoming operation against Mosul. It was heavily damaged by retreating militants.

Leader of Yemen's Houthi Movement Abdelmalik al-Houthi blasted the US for providing cover-up for Saudi Arabia in Yemen's attacks.

Houthis' Leader: US Helping Saudi Arabia in Massacring Yemeni Civilians
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950612000798

"The United States plays a major role in the aggression, including logistical support for air and naval strikes, providing various weapons and providing complete political cover for the aggression, specially protection from pressure by human rights groups and the United Nations,” al-Houthi said.

He further lambasted the negotiators loyal to the resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, for the failure of the UN-brokered peace talks on the Yemeni conflict in Kuwait last month, arguing the Saudi-backed delegates did not understand the meaning of real dialogue.

“The hurdle facing negotiations and dialogue is that the other party wants to achieve through the talks what it wanted to achieve through war, not understanding that the path of dialogue and peace is different from the path of war,” al-Houthi pointed out.

Houthi’s remarks came on the same day that Saudi military aircraft launched two separate airstrikes against residential neighborhoods in Yemen, killing nearly a dozen civilians.

At least four women and five children lost their lives on Friday after Saudi fighter jets struck an area in the Arhab district of the western Yemeni province of Sana'a.

Earlier on Friday, a civilian was killed and three others were wounded after Saudi warplanes pounded a cultural center in the adjacent coastal province of Hudaydah.

Fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition hit residential area in Saada Province, and killed 16 civilians as Riyadh's air campaign against the Arab country has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis.

Yemen: Members of 3 Families Killed in Saudi-Led Coalition Airstrike
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950611000374

The bombs landed on a residential house in the Saada Province, killing the members of three families, mostly children and women, the Saba news agency reported citing a source in the province.

According to latest reports, Saudi-led airstrikes are intensified on several cities in Yemen, destroying civilian targets and vital infrastructures of the country.

At least 20 people have lost their lives and many others sustained injuries in a number of Saudi airstrikes against residential neighborhoods across Yemen.

According to reports, Saudi fighter jets pounded al-Rawdah Village and the Nihm district in the Yemeni province of Sana’a in addition to an area close to a military academy in the capital, Sana’a, leaving four people dead and scores of others injured.

Also, Sixteen people, mostly women and children, also lost their lives and a number of others were wounded when Saudi warplanes pounded houses in the Sahan district of Yemen’s Northwestern mountainous province of Sa’ada.

Saudi bombers also launched an aerial attack against a gas station in the Northwestern city of Hajjah. There were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage caused. The Mustaba district in Hajjah Province was also hit, though no reports of casualties were available.

Separately, seven people were injured in an airstrike against a courthouse in Yemen’s Northwestern province of Amran.

At least 15 people have been killed and more than four dozen others injured in a series of bomb explosions and a rocket attack at residential neighborhoods across the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Rocket attack, bombings leave 15 dead, over 50 wounded in Iraqi capital
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/02/482856/Iraq-Baghdad-rocket-attack-bomb-explosions

Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said five people lost their lives and 15 others sustained injuries when three rockets landed onto a weapons storage facility in eastern Baghdad on Friday.

A bomb struck a shopping street in the capital's western neighborhood of Ghazaliya, killing two civilians and injuring eight others.

Elsewhere in western Baghdad, three civilians were killed and eight others injured when a bomb blast ripped through a commercial district.

Additionally, two bomb attacks on fruit and vegetable markets across Baghdad killed five people and wounded 20 others.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the assaults yet, but such incidents are usually blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iraq: ISIL Executes 17 Fugitive Members in Mosul

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950613001354

"The ISIL executed 17 fugitive members after they escaped the battlefield during clashes near al-Qayyara region in Southern Mosul," an official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said on Saturday.

The official said that the ISIL terrorists were killed at Bab al-Toub square in Mosul by a death squad.

Local sources in Kirkuk disclosed last month that the ISIL has executed, at least, 48 citizens in the city of Hawija who were trying to flee the terrorist-held regions.

"At least 48 Iraqi citizens who intended to escape from Hawija city were executed by the ISIL," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed local source in Kirkuk province as saying last Saturday.

Earlier Kirkuk Deputy Governor Mohammad Tamim had announced that the ISIL had executed 25 young people who were kept in ISIL's secret prisons.

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

ISIL Arrests Large Number of Own Terrorists for Fleeing War

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950613001083

“One of the ISIL's Saudi terrorists, nom de guerre Abu Hazifeh, committed suicide by jumping from a high building in the center of al-Sharqat city after escaping from ISIL’s jail where he was kept for fleeing the battlefield,” al-Mamouri said.

He noted that Abu Hazifeh tried to escape from al-Sharqat to Mosul after the ISIL failed to capture the Syrian army’s military positions in al-Sharqat over the past five weeks and the terrorist group sustained high casualties, but he was arrested.

Al-Mamouri reiterated that tens of the ISIL terrorists who have lost their morale and fled the war have been jailed in al-Sharqat’s main jail.

In late August, Commander of Salahuddin Liberation Operations Major General Jomeh Enad announced that “the ISIL-controlled al-Sharqat city has fallen in military terms as the city is under the Iraqi forces' siege and the number of terrorists has considerably declined there.

"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 circumstances that it will soon be forced to flee after few more clashes."

Also in August, 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.

Also last month, 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.

Source: ISIL Fearful of Veiled Women

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950613000939

“The ISIL has recently prohibited the entry of veiled women to its security centers in Mosul city after several attacks on ISIL’s sensitive centers by veiled women,” the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed local source as saying on Saturday.

The source noted that the ISIL is feeling serious threat in its most important military bases in Iraq and this comes after a rise in the attacks carried out over the past several months which resulted in the death of a number of senior ISIL commanders and terrorists.

In early August, local sources in Nineveh province said unidentified assailants gunned down two terrorists in the center of Mosul city.

The unknown gunmen killed the ISIL terrorists with handguns equipped with silencers in Bab al-Sara market in Mosul city center and fled the scene.

Other ISIL terrorists who were present on the scene started beating up the nearby shop-owners after the assassination of their comrades.

The assassination attempts against the ISIL terrorists have considerably increased after the liberation of Fallujah as the people's morale to confront the ISIL has been boosted.

Also in late May, masked armed men assassinated a senior ISIL commander in Salahuddin province in Northern Iraq.

Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Anbari and his bodyguard were killed in in the city of al-Sharqat by gunmen using handguns equipped with silencer, the Arabic-language Sumeria News quoted an unnamed security source as saying.

Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Anbari was in charge of ISIL's security in al-Sharqat city.

Al-Sharqat has been under ISIL's control since June 2014.

In early May, the Iraqi army and popular forces continued their advances in Anbar province in Western Iraq, and killed over half a dozen ISIL terrorists, including one of their most wanted leaders.

Chief commander of the military operations in Anbar Ismail Mahlavi confirmed that senior ISIL commander Shaker Wahib al-Fahdavi has been killed in an Iraqi army operation in the town of Rataba in the Western part of Anbar province.

Mahlavi added that seven other ISIL commanders were also killed in the Iraqi army's operations in Rataba town.

The confirmation by the Iraqi army comes while Fahdavi was reported dead eight times before.

The Iraqi army, meantime, announced that ISIL's war strategist was killed in the village of al-Asouja in Makhmour region in Nineveh province.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

12 Notorious ISIL Commanders Killed in Al-Khalediya Island

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950614000902

According to al-Soumeriya news website, among the dead is the ISIL's commander responsible for loading the suicide cars with explosives, Abu Talha al-Tunisi.

"During the operations carried out by the Iraqi security and popular forces in al-Khalediya Island, important documents about the ISIL were discovered in a secret room in a building which will accelerate the terrorist groups' annihilation," a source said.

Late last month, the commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, Hadi al-Ameri, announced that the number of the ISIL terrorists killed in the recent battle of al-Khalediya has exceeded 1,200.

"Around 1,200 to 1,500 terrorists have been killed in fierce clashes with Iraq's joint military forces in al-Khalediya battle," al-Ameri said.

He noted many ISIL terrorists have also been arrested, including some runaway notorious prisoners of Abu Ghraib prison.

"Some of the captured commanders were foreigners, including women who had military uniform on," al-Ameri added.

On August 20, 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.

Saudi Dissident Leader: Riyadh Supporting ISIL in Iraq through Envoy

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950614001108

"Saudi Arabia is sponsoring the ISIL through Samer al-Sabhan, the country's ambassador to Baghdad," Abu Yousef, also the former prayers leader of Riyadh Grand Mosque, wrote on his twitter page on Sunday.

He said that Sabhan is supporting the ISIL in Iraq to please Saudi King Salman, adding that Sabhan is betraying Iraq through his presence in Baghdad.

Abu Yousef called on the Iraqi government to cut its relations with Riyadh as soon as possible to prevent more losses.

Last Sunday, the Iraqi foreign ministry called on Saudi Arabia to change al-Sabhan.

"Baghdad has asked Riyadh to replace its ambassador al-Sabhan with another envoy," the Arabic-language al-Soumeriya News quoted Iraqi Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmad Jamal as saying.

In mid-June, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ebrahim al-Jafari announced that al-Sabhan was interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and what he did was beyond his ambassadorial duties.

Al-Jafari slammed Saudi ambassador's remarks about Iran’s role in the Arab country, including its advisory assistance to fight Takfiri militants.

Al-Jafari's remarks came in reaction to al-Sabhan's meddling in his country's internal affairs.

"The Saudi envoy's comments represent flagrant meddling in Iraq's domestic affairs and run counter to standard diplomatic norms,” al-Jafari said.

In a Twitter post, Sabhan wrote that Iranian military advisers were in Fallujah to incite sectarian violence and change the demographic composition of the city.

The Saudi ambassador's repeated meddling in Iraq's internal affairs came after Iraqi troops retook Fallujah from the Saudi-backed ISIL militants on Friday and prepared to retake Mosul, the last Takfiri bastion in the country.

The Iraqi foreign ministry summoned Sabhan “to inform him of its official protest regarding his divisive statements.” The ministry said Baghdad would not allow anyone to stoke divisions in the country through making sectarian comments.

Baghdad also said it would not allow Riyadh to draw Iraq into the kingdom's conflict with Tehran.

Iraqi officials have at times stated that Iranian military advisers are in the Arab country at the request of Baghdad.

Riyadh Training 5,000 Militants in Eritrea for War in Yemen

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950614000572

"The terrorists, some of whom are from the Al-Qaeda, will be dispatched to Najran, Jizzan and Asir provinces to fight against the Yemeni army and popular forces and prevent their further advances in Southern Saudi Arabia," the sources stated on Sunday.

They added that the Yemeni forces' advances deep inside the Saudi territories have frightened the Saudi officials more than the ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.

Also, Hossein al-Houthi, a commander of the Yemeni popular forces, told FNA that his forces have managed to retake control of several villages from the Saudi mercenaries and destroyed five of their tanks, their military outposts and a command room of the Saudi-led coalition in Ta'iz province.

Reports said on Friday that Yemen's long-range home-made missile dubbed as Borkan-1 (Volcano-1) hit deep inside Saudi Arabia in response to the kingdom's massacre of civilians in the impoverished nation.

Borkan-1 has a range of 800 kilometers and is a new generation of Yemen's domestically-made missiles, Yemen's Defense Ministry announced in a statement.

The Yemeni defense ministry did not mention the exact location of the targets that Borkan-1 missile has hit.

It, however, said that the warhead of Barkan-1 missile has been designed to destroy the Saudi military base structure with respect to the materials used in their construction.

On Wednesday, the Yemeni army and popular forces hit the Saudi military positions in the kingdom's Najran province with a Zalzal-3 ballistic missile in retaliation for the Saudi airstrikes on residential areas across Yemen.

The Yemeni missile attack inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi troops in Najran province.

Early reports indicated large casualties on the Saudi forces in the missile attack. The Saudi army and its coalition members have lost, at least, over a hundred troops each time they have come under a ballistic missile attack by Yemen.

The Saudi-led forces' armored vehicles were destroyed during the Yemeni missile attack.

Riyadh warplanes attack Yemen 80 times, kill more civilians

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/04/483121/Saudi-Yemen-Bombing

Several Yemeni civilians, including a child, have been killed as Saudi warplanes carried out more than 80 airstrikes on different areas across its southern neighbor.

According to Yemen’s al-Masirah television, Saudi military aircraft targeted residential areas in the Yemeni provinces of Sana’a, Ta’izz, Hajjah, Mahwit, Omran and Hudaydah around 50 times in the early hours of Sunday.

Riyadh’s air raids on the al-Sabain district of Sana’a Province killed one child and wounded over 20 others.

An unspecified number of civilians also lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets attacked residential areas north of the Ta’izz airport.

The Saudi air force also bombed the districts of Midi and Haraz in Hajjah Province some 30 times, with no immediate reports of casualties.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Saturday airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in Baqim district, south of Sana’a, reached nine.

In response, Yemeni forces also fired missiles on Saudi military vehicles in the kingdom’s border region of Jizan.

The Tawal-Harad border crossing was also hit by Yemeni mortar shells. Reports say a Saudi soldier was killed in the retaliatory attack.

Several Saudi forces also sustained in similar Yemeni raids on Saudi Arabia’s Najran Province.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000.

The offensive was launched in an attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as president in 2014 and fled to Riyadh.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

US Trained Tajik Special Operations Fighter Becomes Top Daesh Commander in Iraq

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160905/1044964776/gulmuro-khalimov-isis-commander-iraq.html

Former Tajikistan Special Forces colonel Gulmurod Khalimov becomes the top Daesh (ISIS) battlefield commander in Iraq after defecting last year and swearing jihad against the West.

Daesh forces in Iraq welcome a new battlefield commander to their ranks who is all too familiar to US military and intelligence officials – American trained former Special Forces colonel Gulmurod Khalimov from Tajikstan received the promotion within the terrorist organization after defecting last year.

The US State Department responded by the new by placing a $3 million bounty on Khalimov pursuant to the Rewards for Justice Program. The former Tajikistan military sniper pledged jihad against the West appearing in propaganda videos calling publicly for acts of violence against American forces and civilians.

Khalimov has been a concern for US officials for some time with the US State Department labelling him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 on September 29, 2015 designed to prevent the transfer of currency to select individuals known to hold leadership roles in terror organizations.

The United Nations Security Council Resolutions and al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee further added Khalimov, who is also a fugitive wanted by the Government of Tajikstan, to its sanctions list in February 2016.

The former paramilitary unit commander of the Tajikistan armed forces received his battlefield training from American advisors and even came to the United States on several occasions to receive special counterterrorism training through the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security/Anti-Terrorism Assistance program prior to his defection into the jihadist organization.

Daesh refused to officially announce that Khalimov had been promoted to the top ranks of the terrorist organization out of concern that he would become a high-priority target of US led strikes in Iraq, but Iraq’s Al Sumaria news agency exposed the promotion through a source in Nineveh province.

"There’s information in the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) that Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov was named the new chief military commander of ISIS, after the murder of the previous leader Abu Omar al-Shishani"

Shishani, known as the:Chechen" was killed in July during fighting in the Iraqi city of Shirqat although Washington initially boasted that they killed the former Daesh commander in Iraq with a targeted drone strike – a claim that turned out to be incorrect.

The placement of Khalimov to lead the terror organization’s Iraqi forces is a bit unusual for Daesh who normally maintain only "second and third ranking commanders who lead militants in [Nineveh] province," according to the source. These Daesh militants tend to keep a low-profile to prevent being "detected and destroyed" by US Forces who remain in a support function in Iraq explained the source.

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Iran ready to boost security cooperation with Iraq: Envoy

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/05/483231/Iran-Danaeifar-security-cooperation-Iraq

The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad says the Islamic Republic is prepared to further strengthen cooperation with Iraq in the fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

During a meeting with Secretary General of Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday, Hassan Danaeifar, the Iranian envoy, said Tehran seeks to broaden its amicable relations and cooperation with Baghdad in all spheres, including security issues and the campaign against Daesh.

He also congratulated Iraq on the recent liberation of the western city of al-Khalidiya from the grip of Daesh.

On August 27, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the full liberation of Khalidiya, which is located about 83 kilometers (50 miles) west of Baghdad, stating that Iraqi forces had dealt a “humiliating” defeat to Daesh Takfiris with the liberation.

Iraqi Lieutenant General Rashid Falaih also announced that over 1,000 Daeshis had been killed during the Iraqi army’s operations to free the strategic town.

During the Sunday meeting, Maliki, for his part, emphasized that Iraqi security forces, fighters from the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are resolute to put an end to Daesh’s presence in Mosul and eventually eliminate the terrorists from Iraqi soil.

The Iraqi politician also praised the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for his country in the fight against terrorism.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive there more than two years ago.

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.

Saudi warplanes use cluster bombs in airstrikes on Yemen

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/05/483243/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-cluster-bombs

Saudi Arabia has intensified its airstrikes on Yemen, using internationally-banned cluster bombs in its air assaults against the impoverished country.

The Yemeni news agency SABA said Saudi fighter jets dropped cluster bombs on several areas in the district of Baqem in the northern province of Sa’ada on Sunday.

The attacks came in defiance of international laws, which prohibit the use of such weapons.

The United Nations (UN)’s human rights office has recently called for an independent international investigation of cases of human rights violations in the Saudi war on Yemen, confirming the use of banned cluster bombs by Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s residential areas.

On May 6, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the United States for selling cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia.

The UK was also rapped by Amnesty International over supplying Riyadh with British-made cluster bombs, which have likewise been used against civilians in Yemen.

Elsewhere in Sa’ada, Saudi warplanes launched air raids on the district of Shada on Sunday.

Three Saudi air strikes also hit al-Nahdin district in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a Province.

However, there were no immediate reports of causalities from the air raids.

Also on Sunday, at least a woman was killed and two other people were wounded in Saudi airstrikes on residential areas in the Matun district of Jawf Province.

Saudi warplanes also destroyed the building of Doctors’ Syndicate in the western province of Hudaydah overnight. Two civilians were injured in the air raids, one of them critically.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni army and Popular Committees on Sunday managed to take control of several positions held by Saudi-backed mercenaries on the outskirts of the border region of Midi, leaving more than 40 militants dead and several others injured, according to Yemen’s al-Masirah website.

A military source said the Yemeni forces destroyed the militant’s armored vehicles and inflicted heavy losses on them, adding that a number of mercenaries were forced to flee while others were captured.

Separately, Saudi-backed mercenaries fired mortar shells at a market in the Bir Basha area in the southwestern province of Ta’izz early on Monday, killing and injuring a number of Yemenis.

Also in the early hours of Monday, a heavy explosion hit the entrance to the central prison in Mansoura district in the province of Aden in southern Yemen, killing and injuring an unspecified number of people.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000. The offensive was launched in an attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as Yemen’s president. That prospect has so far proven out of hand for the Riyadh regime.

 

[angelburst29]

At least 18 Iraqi soldiers and civilians have been killed in an explosion at a booby-trapped house in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh.

Explosion at booby-trapped house kills 18 in Iraq’s Mosul
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/05/483222/Iraq-Mosul-alAwsajah-boobytrapped-house

A security source from Nineveh police told DPA news agency on Sunday that 10 Iraqi soldiers and eight civilians were killed in the explosion of the bombs that had been planted by the Daesh terrorist group inside a house in al-Awsajah Village in the district of Qayyarah in southern Mosul, 400 kilometers north of the capital, Baghdad.

Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Jabouri added that four other people were also injured in the blast.

There was no clear information about how the explosion was triggered, but it must have happened when the Iraqi soldiers and civilians entered the house, touching off the explosives.

The Iraqi army discovered an ISIL bomb-making workshop in an area they have just seized back from the terrorist group in the vicinity of the city of Fallujah on Monday.

Iraqi Army Seizes Bomb-Making Workshop Near Fallujah City
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950615001114

"The workshop was used for manufacturing bombs and suicide bombs in Anbar province, the Iraqi defense ministry announced in a statement.

The defense ministry said that mortar shells, mines, sniper rifles and all types of equipment needed for conducting terrorist attacks were manufactured in the workshop.

Two ISIL militants who had secretly slipped into Kirkuk were arrested by security forces who had obtained prior information about the infiltration, a police source in Kirkuk said.

Two ISIL Members Arrested in Iraq's Kirkuk
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950615001153

“We arrested two ISIL militants after receiving prior intelligence about them,” said Kirkuk police chief Col. Sarhad Qadir, Rudaw reported.

“The age of the two militants is between 20 to 25 years old. One is from Haweija and the other from Kirkuk city. Both secretly infiltrated into Kirkuk.”

Qadir added that ISIL desertions had increased due to battlefield failures suffered by the militants in recent months. He said some try to slip into the cities.

“Because of their continuous failures on the frontlines, the number of escaping ISIL militants has increased in Kirkuk,” Qadir said. He said the two detainees were being interrogated.

Iraqi forces have discovered a graveyard that hosts the bodies of hundreds of slain ISIL militants in the city of Fallujah in Anbar province, a high-ranking military commander announced.

ISIL Graveyard Found in Fallujah City
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950615001064

“The graveyad found near a school in the Center of Fallujah city contains 550 bodies of the ISIL terrorists, including foreign militants,” the Arabic-language media quoted Iraqi Army Commander Brigadier General Jalil Abdolreza as saying on Monday.

Brigadier General Abdolreza said that the tombstones erected on the graves indicate that most of the ISIL terrorists had been killed in Fallujah liberation operation in late June, 2016.

Fallujah, located some 42 miles west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, was liberated in late June. The city is regarded one of the largest cities in the Anbar province. ISIL has been in control of the city since 2014.

Thousands of people in Iraq, including government employees, have staged a two-day walkout along with a hunger strike in protest at the Baghdad government’s inability to fight state corruption.

Iraqis stage mass strike against corruption
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/04/483127/Iraq-Muqtada-alSadr-strike-corruption

The strike was launched on Sunday in different governmental organizations in the Iraqi capital of Bagdad as well as Karbala, Najaf and other major cities, following a statement that had been issued by prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr two days earlier calling for the protest action.

The governor of Iraq’s western province of Anbar has been dismissed by provincial officials over alleged corruption as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is pushing not-so-successful attempts against the misappropriation of public funds and administrative incompetence.

Governor of Iraq’s Anbar Province dismissed over ‘corruption’
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/08/29/482212/Iraq-governor-Anbar-Sohaib-alRawi-corruption

Brigadier General Aziz Khalaf al-Tarmouz, a security adviser, told al-Sumaria television on Monday that members of the Anbar Provincial Council held a meeting in the city of al-Khalidiya and decided to relieve Sohaib al-Rawi of his duties.

Tarmouz added that 19 members of Anbar’s 30-strong provincial council voted against Rawi.

Over the past few months, hundreds of Iraqis have gathered at Tahrir (Liberation) Square in the capital, Baghdad, and elsewhere in the country, urging the containment of corruption and the formation of a technocrat government in the country.

The establishment of such a government has been stalled by persisting differences among factions in the Iraqi parliament and the lack of due government authority.

Members of the largest Iraqi political bloc have elected the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) Party as their new leader.

Ammar al-Hakim appointed head of Iraq’s largest political parliamentary bloc
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/05/483259/Iraq-Ammar-alHakim

An informed source said on Sunday that Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the ISCI, has been appointed the head of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) for one year, Iraq’s al-Sumaria news website reported.

The appointment came at the end of a meeting held by the alliance’s members to discuss a number of political and security issues on Sunday.

Hakim will now be replacing Iraq’s Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari as the head of the alliance.

The INA, which comprises Shia political parties, has the majority of seats in the parliament and accordingly has the right to form the government and appoint the prime minister.

The alliance includes four political parties, namely the State of Law Coalition, headed by Nouri al-Maliki, the ISCI, the National Reform Trend Party, headed by al-Jaafari, and the Sadrist Movement, with prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as its leader.

Iraq has been seeing protests over the Baghdad government’s inability to fight state corruption.

The Yemeni army and popular forces pounded Saudi Arabia's strategic air base in Najran province, destroying tens of tanks, armored vehicles, drones and Apache military helicopters.

Over 100 Saudi Tanks, Armored Vehicles, Drones, 2 Apache Helicopters Destroyed in Yemen's Missile Attack
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950615000383

At least 100 tanks and armored vehicles of the Saudi army were destroyed after Yemen's ballistic missiles hit Ein al-Thourin military base in Najran province in the Southern part of the kingdom.

The Yemeni missile attack also destroyed 25 rocket-launching vehicles, several drones, two Apache military helicopters and 3 fuel tankers.

The Yemeni army, backed by popular forces, took control of several military bases in Saudi Arabia's Asir province.

The military bases which are located in the Western part of al-Rabou'a city were taken after intense clashes between the Yemeni and Saudi forces.

The images released after the operation showed the Saudi military men leaving their armored vehicles and fleeing the battlefield.

Nearly 1,000 civilians returned to their localities, despite of destroyed houses and public service infrastructure, after the Iraqi security forces ousted ISIL from Qayyarah, South of Mosul.

1000 Civilians Return to Qayyarah after ISIL Expulsion
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950614001424

“Nearly 1,000 families have so far returned to their homes in Qayyarah, where the residential buildings and city infrastructure have been almost turned to ruins,” said member of Nineveh provincial council, Barakat Shamo, Iraqi News reported.

“The families who have returned were left homeless during the liberation operations in Qayyarah. They were received by Kurdistan Region and sheltered in Dibaga IDP camp,” Shamo added.

“Qayyarah’s liberation, has further arose a hope for the citizens of Mosul. Stepping up the efforts to free Central Mosul will encourage more people to rehabilitate their areas,” he added further.

Shamo also called on the Iraqi government to provide immediate assistance to the city as the public service infrastructure and thousands of civilian properties are destroyed due to the confrontations.

Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a major Iraqi Shiite resistance movement fighting the ISIL, warned of Washington's attempts to establish a permanent military base in Mosul.

Leader of Iraqi Popular Forces: US Attempting to Set Up Permanent Base in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950614001288

"The Americans are after setting up a permanent military base in Mosul and their plots will be foiled only when the popular forces participate in the operations to liberate the important city of Mosul," Kaabi said in a meeting with Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council (EC) Mohsen Rezayee in Tehran on Sunday.

He underlined the necessity for participation of Hashd al-Shaabi (popular forces) in the operations to take back Mosul from the ISIL, and said that "the enemies are after weakening the Hashd al-Shaabi" to implement their plots against Iraq.

A senior military official disclosed in April that the US army may open new military bases in Iraq as the Arab country prepares to retake the Northern city of Mosul from the ISIL.

“There may be a situation in which there is another base that is opened or reopened from years past that would be used… as a fire-support base behind the front lines,” Rear Admiral Andrew Lewis said.

The announcement by the vice-director for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff Operations came after US officials said they were considering to “greatly increase” the number of American special forces in Syria.

In March, the US army set up an outpost, initially known as the Fire Base Bell and currently renamed to the Kara Soar Counter Fire Complex, outside the town of Makhmour, Southeast of Mosul.

Also, Kurdish sources said last month that the US has set up a new military base in Hasaka, Northeastern Syria, under the pretext of demining the region.

"The US has deployed tens of its marines in Mabrouka village in the Western parts of Hasaka province under the pretext of demining Ra's al-Ain city which is now under the control of Kurdish forces," sources told FNA.

According to the Kurdish sources, the US forces have set up their base in one of the buildings of Syria's power department in Mabrouka named Housh al-Kahroba.

Reports in December said that the US experts are reconstructing and equipping a desolate airport special to carrying agricultural products in the region controlled by the Kurdish forces in Hasaka region to turn it into a military base.

The Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper reported at the time that a number of US experts have entered the region since 50 days ago to develop and prepare the runways with 2,500m length and 250m width to be used by fighter jets.

Abu Hajar airport which has not been used since 2010 is located in Tal al-Hajar region in the Eastern countryside of Hasaka which is controlled by the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG).

The airbase is located Southeast of the town of Rimelan, which is one of the YPG’s main strongholds and “largest arms and ammunition depots”.

The US has not received or even asked for a permission from Damascus for reconstructing the airbase. The United States does not have a UN mandate for intervening in the Syria war.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Over 90,000 People Displaced Form Iraq's North Since Mid-June

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160906/1045019931/iraq-conflict-displacement.html

More than 90,100 Iraqis were displaced from Salah al-Din (Baiji and Al-Shirqat districts) and Ninewa (Al-Qayara sub-district) between 16 June and 5 September 2016, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Over 90,000 people were displaced from Iraq's northern governorates from June 16 to September 5 in addition to more than 3.3 displacements across the country since January 2014, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday.

"More than 90,100 Iraqis have been recently displaced from Salah al-Din (Baiji and Al-Shirqat districts) and Ninewa (Al-Qayara sub-district) between 16 June and 5 September 2016… These displacements are in addition to the more than 3.3 million Iraqis already displaced across the country since January 2014," IOM said in a press release.

Due to severe lack of shelter arrangements for the overwhelming numbers of displaced Iraqis, IOM has deployed relief teams on site, according to the press release.

"The teams conduct infrastructure maintenance, training for IDPs and awareness campaigns in order to strengthen community participation. CCCM [IOM Shelter and Camp Coordination and Camp Management] mobile teams are operating in Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Erbil and Anbar governorates," the organization added.

The Iraqi government is carrying out anti-Daesh operations in the country's north. Daesh, a jihadist group outlawed in many countries, including Russia, overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014 amid the ongoing civil war in Syria.

US Sends 200 Military Troops to Western Iraq

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950616000961

"200 US troops and military advisors entered al-Assad air base in al-Anbar province," General Nezam al-Juqaifi, a commander of Hashd al-Sha'abi (popular forces) told al-Ma'louma news website.

"The US military advisors have held long meetings with al-Anbar security commanders," he added.

US media had reported last month that about 400 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will deploy to Iraq as part of the military's effort to set up a logistics base at an airfield South of Mosul.

The soldiers are part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and are among the 560 additional troops that President Barack Obama approved for the Iraq mission in July, FOX news reported.

The US troop authorization for Iraq is 4,647. The Pentagon says there are about 3,800 US forces there, not including hundreds who are on temporary duty and not included in the official count.

Yemeni Army Destroys Saudi Military Hardware in Jizan, Kills 20 Militias in Ma'rib

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950616000956

The army and popular forces destroyed two armored vehicles of the Saudi troops in Jizan province.

The Yemeni forces also attacked the pro-Saudi forces' military positions in Sarawah region of Ma'rib province, killing at least 20 militias and injuring 30 others.

The Yemeni army's artillery units also attacked the Malteh region and Alab border passage where the Saudi troops sustained several casualties.

The Yemeni attacks came in response to Saudi Arabia's continued air raids on the civilian population across the impoverished nation.

The Saudi fighter jets hit more than 11 times the Yemeni people's houses in Sarawah region.

The residential areas in Sa'ada and Hajjah also came under the Saudi air raids.

On Monday, the Yemeni army and popular forces tightened their grip on the Western part of Ma'rib province as the Saudi military bases in Jizan province came under their artillery attacks.

"The Yemeni forces are now in control of more lands in the Western part of Ma'rib province," Senior Ansarullah Commander Ali al-Houthi told FNA.

Meantime, the Yemeni army's missile units pounded the military sites of the Saudi troops in Jizan province in the kingdom's Southern part.

The pro-Saudi forces also came under attack in al-Jawf province. Scores of pro-Saudi forces were killed and wounded in the Yemeni army offensives.

On Sunday, the Yemeni army and popular forces continued their military offensives against the Saudi troops in the Southern part of the kingdom, inflicting heavy losses on them.

At least 30 Saudi troops were killed and tens of others were wounded in the Yemeni army's artillery attacks on al-Tawwal and al-Mosfeq military bases in Southern Saudi Arabia.

Also on Sunday, the Yemeni forces pounded Saudi Arabia's strategic air base in Najran province, destroying tens of tanks, armored vehicles, drones and Apache military helicopters.

At least 100 tanks and armored vehicles of the Saudi army were destroyed after Yemen's ballistic missiles hit Ein al-Thourin military base in Najran province in the Southern part of the kingdom.

The Yemeni missile attack also destroyed 25 rocket-launching vehicles, several drones, two Apache military helicopters and 3 fuel tankers.

The Yemeni attacks came in response to Saudi Arabia's continued air raids on the civilian population across the impoverished nation.

On Sunday, several Yemeni civilians, including a child, were killed as Saudi warplanes carried out more than 80 airstrikes on different areas across its Southern neighbor.

Saudi military aircraft targeted residential areas in the Yemeni provinces of Sana’a, Ta’iz, Hajjah, Mahwit, Omran and Hudaydah around 50 times in the early hours of Sunday, Al-Masirah reported.

Riyadh’s air raids on the al-Sabain district of Sana’a Province killed one child and wounded over 20 others.

An unspecified number of civilians also lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets attacked residential areas North of the Ta’iz airport.

The Saudi air force also bombed the districts of Midi and Haraz in Hajjah Province some 30 times, with no immediate reports of casualties.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Saturday airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in Baqim district, south of Sana’a, reached nine.

In response, Yemeni forces also fired missiles on Saudi military vehicles in the kingdom’s border region of Jizan.

The Tawal-Harad border crossing was also hit by Yemeni mortar shells. Reports say a Saudi soldier was killed in the retaliatory attack.

Several Saudi forces also sustained in similar Yemeni raids on Saudi Arabia’s Najran Province.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000.

The offensive was launched in an attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as president in 2014 and fled to Riyadh.

 

[angelburst29]

France says it has deployed artillery to Iraq and is preparing to dispatch an aircraft carrier to the Arab country as part of reinforcements for a major operation in the strategic northern city of Mosul.

France sends military equipment to Iraq for Mosul operation
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/06/483476/France-Iraq-Mosul-Qayyarah

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the deployment in an address to a gathering of defense and military officials in Paris on Tuesday.

"We decided to bolster our support of the Iraqi forces this autumn with the aim of recapturing Mosul," he said, adding, "At this very moment, artillery is arriving close to the front line.”

Le Drian further noted that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier would soon leave for the Middle East.

France is a member of the US-led coalition that has been conducting air raids against purported positions held by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Iraq since August 2014. The aerial assaults, however, have failed to disband the extremists.

The Iraqi army is gearing up for an offensive in late September to purge Daesh from Mosul, the last remaining bastion for the terror group in the north of the country. The Iraqi army and its allies have gradually taken up positions around the city over the past few weeks.

UN distributes food aid in Iraq’s Qayyarah

Also on Tuesday, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said it had delivered food supplies to over 30,000 Iraqis in the town of Qayyarah, which was retaken from Daesh in a three-day operation led by Iraqi special forces on August 25.

The WFP said in a statement that Qayyarah had been "inaccessible for over two years," with food stocks "running dangerously low" and drinking water as well as medical services remaining "almost impossible to access."

It further warned that the Iraqi town is "in a dire state" with "black smoke" billowing from nearby oil fields that were set ablaze by terrorists.

"The people of Qayyarah ... are suffering extreme hunger with scarce access to food supplies," said Sally Haydock, WFP's country director for Iraq.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the religion of Iran and most of the Muslim world is nothing like that of Saudi Arabian Wahhabis.

Iranians Islam different from what Saudi terror masters preach: Zarif
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/06/483503/zarif-tweet-saudi-arabia-muslims

“Indeed; no resemblance between Islam of Iranians & most Muslims & bigoted extremism that Wahhabi top cleric & Saudi terror masters preach,” Zarif posted on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

Zarif made the remark in response to a top Wahhabi cleric saying that Iranians were not Muslims.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al ash-Sheikh told an Arabic language newspaper that Iranians are not Muslims and have a deep animosity towards Sunnis.

The Mufti’s remarks were made after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei criticized those in charge of Hajj over last year’s Mina tragedy.

On September 24, 2015, a deadly crush occurred after two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads in Mina during the symbolic ceremony of the stoning of Satan in Jamarat.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but Iranian officials say about 4,700 people, including more than 460 Iranians, lost their lives in the tragedy. The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. According to an Associated Press count based on official statements from the 36 countries that lost citizens in the disaster, more than 2,400 pilgrims were killed in the incident.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman dismisses the recent anti-Iran allegations by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, saying the kingdom’s rulers are evading liability for a deadly crush during last year’s Hajj pilgrimage in the country.

Saudi rulers refuse responsibility for Mina tragedy: Iran
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/06/483495/Iran-Saudi-Arabia-Bahram-Qassemi-crown-prince-Mina-hajj

“The Saudi crown prince, who places such emphasis on the importance of ensuring the security of the Hajj [pilgrims], must remember his government’s failure to guarantee security during last year’s Hajj [rituals] and stand accountable to the bereaved nations of the painful Mina incident,” Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday.

He rejected “hackneyed” claims by the Saudi crown prince and said the rulers in Riyadh are playing a blame game.

Qassemi added that Saudi leaders are still leveling baseless allegations by claiming that Iran seeks to politicize Hajj in a bid to shirk their heavy responsibility one year after the Mina incident.

The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that Saudi rulers who claim to be safeguarding the teachings of Islam must put more effort into prosecuting the culprits behind the tragedy and those who prevented the formation of a fact-finding international committee on the disaster.

He lamented the Saudi crown prince's unwise remarks, saying that Saudi rulers lacked competence and efficiency for holding the Hajj rituals and were responsible for the occurrence of this disaster.

Not only have the Saudi rulers refused to express regret over the death of thousands of pilgrims, but they are also directly and indirectly sacrificing the Muslim nations in the region to their deceptive political ploys, Qassemi said.

In statement released through the Saudi Arabia's state news agency, SPA, on Tuesday, the Saudi crown prince accused Iran of endangering the security of all Hajj pilgrims.

Bin Nayef also accused Iran of trying to politicize Hajj by using it as an opportunity to violate the teachings of Islam and disturb the security of pilgrims.

The tragic Mina incident took place when two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads during the symbolic ceremony of the stoning of Satan in Jamarat.

Video of a daily prayer service at the Saudi Arabian Masjid al-Ḥarām, the largest mosque in the world, reveals a top Saudi imam calling for the killing of Shia Muslims, Jews, and Christians. This as the West continues to send billions of dollars worth of military aid to Riyadh.

Top Saudi Imam Calls for Killing Shia, Jews, Christians in Prayer Broadcast
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160907/1045036482/saudi-imam-calls-death-shia-jews-christians.html

Masjid al-Ḥarām, also known as the Sacred Mosque, or the Great Mosque of Mecca, surrounds the holiest place in Islam, the Kabba, in the city of Mecca. It is the center toward which Muslims globally pray, and the primary destination for pilgrimages.

“O Allah, grant victory, dignity and empowerment to our brothers Mujahideen (Jihadists) in Yemen,” the imam sings in Arabic. “In Sham (Syria), and Iraq, and everywhere. O Lords of the Worlds grant them victory over the godless Rafidah (Shia Muslims).”

The prayer was broadcast live on Egyptian TV channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas. “Grant them victory over the treacherous Jews, and over the spiteful Christians, and over the untrusted hypocrites,” the imam intones. “O Allah, grant them victory, help and strength.” Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir appeared on CNN on Tuesday, lecturing Syria on human rights, as Riyadh continues to bomb civilians and hospitals in Yemen.

On August 15, at least 11 people were killed and 19 injured in a Saudi-led airstrike that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital. The week prior there were attacks on a food processing plant and a school.

Since 2010, after then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a large donation from the Saudi government, the US authorized a record $60 billion in military sales to the nation. Over $48 billion in weapon sales have already been made. This is more than triple the $16 billion authorized under George W. Bush.

In 2015 the Saudi government received permission to buy hundreds of air-defense missiles for $5.4 billion in September, four military ships for $11.25 billion in October, and 22,000 smart and general-purpose bombs for $1.29 billion in November, according to Reuters.

Earlier this month, the Obama Administration proposed the sale of another $1.15 billion in tanks, machine guns and other US military equipment to Saudi Arabia, leaving many lawmakers asking who the regime would kill with the weaponry.

"Saudi Arabia is an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record," Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), told Reuters. "We should not rush to sell them advanced arms and promote an arms race in the Middle East. I will work with a bipartisan coalition to explore forcing a vote on blocking this sale."

House representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) of California is also vocally opposing arms sales to the kingdom.

Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) called the arms deal “the last thing the US should do.”

"Saudi Arabia's dangerous and reckless use of cluster munitions and other weapons has already harmed and killed countless innocent civilians. The last thing the United States should do is sell them more than a billion dollars' worth of additional arms and military equipment," he says.

Congress will have a 30-day window to block the sale after reconvening from a summer break next month.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Two Blasts in Baghdad Kill Three, Wound 13

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950618000846

"An explosion went off at a traditional market in the Sab' Albour area in northern Baghdad, killing one and wounding eight others,” said the source, Rudaw reported.

In a second report, the source said that another simultaneous explosion in the Furat neighborhood of the capital “killed two people and wounded five others.”

On Tuesday, a car bombing in Baghdad near Abdulmajeed Hospital of the capital’s Karrada neighborhood, killed 15 people and wounded 32.

ISIL terror group claimed responsibility for that attack shortly afterwards.

Saudi airstrike leaves nine civilians dead in Yemen

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/08/483743/Saudi-aggression-air-strike-Amran-civilians-killed-injured

Saudi warplanes have bombed a residential neighborhood in Yemen’s northwestern province of Amran, killing at least eight civilians and leaving several others injured.

The new airstrike on Thursday took place in the Souq Najar district, some 53 kilometers (33 miles) northwest of the capital Sana’a, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

Yemeni army forces and fighters from allied Popular Committees targeted the Kofel military camp in the central province of Ma'rib, with reports of casualties among militiamen loyal to resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi Arabia has stepped up its attacks, especially against Sana'a, since the Yemenis unveiled a council to administer the country.

On Wednesday, Saudi warplanes struck the Razih district in Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada, leaving a child dead and six others injured.

Saudi military aircraft also carried out three airstrikes against the Baqim district, and bombarded a school in the Sahar district of the same Yemeni province. There were no reports about possible casualties and the extent of damage.

Additionally, four civilians sustained injuries on Wednesday when Saudi warplanes pounded the Fisheries Building in the southern Yemeni port city of Mokha, situated 346 kilometers (214 miles) south of Sana’a.

Yemen has been under airstrikes by Saudi Arabia since March 26, 2015. The Saudi war was launched in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president but seeks to forcefully return to power.

Ansarullah fighters took over state matters after Hadi’s resignation and his escape from the capital.

The UN puts the death toll from the 18-month conflict in Yemen at about 10,000. UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said last month the toll could rise even further as some areas had no medical facilities, and that people were often buried without any official record being made.

 

[angelburst29]

Despite the fact that Daesh (also known as ISIS/Islamic state) is losing its grip on territories it seized in Iraq in 2014, the terrorist group still controls the city of Mosul, an extremist stronghold that government forces, backed by American troops, plan to retake by the end of this year.

Set for a Siege: Battle for Iraq’s Mosul to Start Soon, US General Reveals
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160909/1045110664/mosul-liberation-starts-month.html

Over the past year, Daesh has been swept from several cities in northern and western Iraq, including Tikrit, Sinjar and Ramadi, as well as Fallujah.

In July, Iraqi forces cleared the Qayyarah airbase, some 60 kilometers from Mosul, preparing for a major offensive on the city, which the violent extremist group declared the Iraqi capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014.

Now, preparations for the retaking of Mosul are on full display. US forces have set up a logistics center south of the city and the United Nations is bracing for a complicated humanitarian mission.

Newly-appointed commander of the US-led anti-Daesh campaign, Gen. Stephen Townsend, told the Wall Street Journal that the offensive against Daesh could begin as early as October.

Following that report, Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for US forces in Iraq, refused to confirm the dateline at a Department of Defense briefing, saying only that “if the desire is to try to get it done around the end of the year, we're going to have to start soon."

At least 3,000 Daesh fighters are said to remain in the city, of which a third is “the hardest-core” group, according to Gen. Townsend. He adds that retaking Mosul will be difficult to achieve quickly. “We’re preparing for a hard fight, a long, difficult fight” Townsend said on Wednesday. “Really, it’s a siege I’m talking about here.”

Major General Najm al-Jabouri, the Mosul operation commander for Iraqi forces, claimed, however, that it would be “easy” to take the city by the year end. He said that many Daesh commanders have been recently killed in coalition airstrikes, while others have fled to Syria.

Al-Jabouri added that government forces are ready to clear the west of Iraq from Daesh prior to the beginning of 2017. "We will go to Mosul, they will go to Tel Afar. We will go to Tel Afar, they will go to Baaj," Al-Jabouri said. "We will go to Baaj, maybe. It depends on the situation in Syria. They can get to Syria but the situation there is not like before. It is not a safe haven for them now."

The UN has expressed concern that the offensive will result in a massive humanitarian crisis that the government is not prepared for. Under some assessments, up to a million people could flee the city during the offensive, but there are said to be resources to accept only 450,000.

"If there is mass displacement, there could be shantytowns in the disputed border areas because the plan for camps doesn't accommodate them all," said Tom Robinson, director of the Rise Foundation, in analyzing Iraq's humanitarian crisis.

Two bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital on Thursday killed three civilians and wounded 13, a police source in Baghdad said.

Two Blasts in Baghdad Kill Three, Wound 13
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950618000846

"An explosion went off at a traditional market in the Sab' Albour area in northern Baghdad, killing one and wounding eight others,” said the source, Rudaw reported.

In a second report, the source said that another simultaneous explosion in the Furat neighborhood of the capital “killed two people and wounded five others.”

On Tuesday, a car bombing in Baghdad near Abdulmajeed Hospital of the capital’s Karrada neighborhood, killed 15 people and wounded 32. ISIL terror group claimed responsibility for that attack shortly afterwards.

Over 90,000 more Iraqis were displaced by war since mid-June, adding to the estimated 3.3 million who have fled their homes since 2014, when ISIL forces stormed across Iraq, a UN report said.

UN: 90,000 More Iraqis Displaced by War since June Alone
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950618000833

The report by the UN’s International Organization for Migration said that the new displacements took place between June 16 to Sept. 5, Rudaw reported.

It said the new internally displaced persons (IDPs) come from the Northern Iraqi provinces of Salaheddin and Nineveh, where ISIL has been beaten back from towns and villages by Kurdish Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi Army and Coalition air strikes for the past several months.

“Displacement continues in Iraq as military operations are ongoing; more than 90,100 Iraqis have been recently displaced,” the report said, adding that the task of caring for the growing number of IDPs is becoming overwhelming.

“The humanitarian community is unable to provide sufficient shelters for the overwhelming numbers of displaced Iraqis, with more than 545,000 living in critical shelter arrangements,” the report said.

Afghanistan police said on Thursday Heavy clashes are underway in provincial capital of Southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgents have launched a coordinated attack to take control of the key district.

Afghanistan Reports Heavy Clashes as Taliban Attempts to Capture Uruzgan Capital
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950618000771

Provincial police chief Wais Samimi said clashes between the Afghan forces and the Taliban insurgents are underway since several days but the gun battle intensified earlier today, Khaama Press reported.

Officials in the provincial council have warned that the control of the provincial would soon fall if additional troops and logistics were not provided soon.

The Taliban militants group however have claimed that they have taken control of several security posts as the provincial capital is under the siege of the group.

In the meantime, the association of free journalists of Afghanistan have said the lives of at least 26 journalists are under the threat as the Taliban group threatens the provincial capital.

Steve Goose, the arms director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), stated that Houthis and their allied forces used landmines that caused civilian casualties.

Watchdog Slams Houthis in Yemen for Laying Landmines Causing Civilian Casualties
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160908/1045093641/hothis-landmines-hrw.html

Landmines used by Houthi forces in Yemen have caused many civilian casualties, including among children, and the mine-laying should stop, an international watchdog said Thursday.

"Houthi and allied forces are showing cold-hearted cruelty toward civilians by using landmines," Steve Goose, the arms director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said. The death of 11 civilians in a landmine explosion in the west of Taiz region on August 9, 2016 was reported to HRW by a local activist. The total number of the casualties is not known at the moment, but there have been a number of similar reports from the region.

 

[angelburst29]

More than 400 additional US troops have been deployed to Iraq in recent days as government forces together with volunteer fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are gearing up for a major offensive to retake the strategic northern city of Mosul from Takfiri Daesh militants.

Over 400 new US soldiers in Iraq ahead of Mosul offensive
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/09/483905/US-soldiers-arrival-Iraq-offensive-liberation-Mousl-Takfiri-Daesh-terrorists

Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the so-called US-led coalition allegedly fighting Daesh in Iraq and Syria, said that the number of American soldiers in Iraq has increased from about 4,000 a week ago to 4,460.

Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the so-called US-led coalition allegedly fighting Daesh in Iraq and Syria, said that the number of American soldiers in Iraq has increased from about 4,000 a week ago to 4,460.

Dorrian said an estimated 3,000 to 4,500 Daesh militants are currently in Mosul, located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, noting that it is hard to say how many of them are “hardcore” militants.

He, however, stopped short of providing information about the task that the American soldiers would undertake in Iraq.

France says it has deployed artillery to Iraq and is preparing to dispatch an aircraft carrier to the Arab country as part of reinforcements for a major operation in the strategic northern city of Mosul.

France sends military equipment to Iraq for Mosul operation
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/06/483476/France-Iraq-Mosul-Qayyarah

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the deployment in an address to a gathering of defense and military officials in Paris on Tuesday.

"We decided to bolster our support of the Iraqi forces this autumn with the aim of recapturing Mosul," he said, adding, "At this very moment, artillery is arriving close to the front line.”

Le Drian further noted that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier would soon leave for the Middle East.