Iraq

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Iraqi joint forces start operation to free Anbar district

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/28/486736/Iraq-Anbar-Dolab-Daesh-Offensive

Government and volunteer tribal forces in Iraq have kicked off an offensive to recapture a district in the conflict-ridden western province of Anbar from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

Operations began to liberate the Dolab district on Wednesday, al-Sumeria news agency reports.

The news agency added that Iraqi forces are advancing on the Daesh-held district from four separate directions and have so far met no resistance by the Takfiri forces.

Dolab, which is located 10 kilometers west of the city of Hit, was occupied by Daesh forces in mid-2014 and used as a military base by the terrorist group to mobilize and launch terrorist attacks on people and security forces.

Elsewhere, volunteer forces known as Popular Mobilization Units captured a high-ranking Daesh commander in Makhoul Mountains, in the northern province of Salahuddin.

The Daesh commander was in possession of explosives and mustard gas.

Daesh terrorists have been a source of constant fear and violence in the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since they staged an offensive more than two years ago, seizing control of swathes of Iraqi territory.

The terrorists have carried out brutal crimes against men, women and children of all ethnic and religious groups residing in the regions under their control.

Iraqi army soldiers and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units are fighting to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

18 killed, ‘mostly civilians,’ in US drone attack in Afghanistan

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/28/486738/Afghanistan-Nangarhar-US-drone-attack

A US drone strike has killed 18 people in the eastern Nangarhar province, with Afghan sources saying that more than a dozen of those killed in the strike were civilians.

 

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Commander: US Army Refusing to Bomb ISIL Terrorists in Anbar

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950707001193

"The US forces refuse to target the ISIL gathering centers near al-Ratba town in the Western parts of al-Anbar under the pretext of the presence of Hashd al-Sha'abi (popular) forces in the region," Colonel Nazzem al-Juqaifi told al-Ma'louma news website on Wednesday.

He said that his forces are responsible for safeguarding the security of a highway which links the 160km region to al-Ratba town.

While the ISIL terrorists are preparing to attack the town, the coalition forces refuse to launch airstrikes on their gathering centers which have posed a serious threat to the Iraqi security forces near al-Ratba, Juqaifi said.

The Iraqi volunteer forces' commanders have continued to lash out at the US and its regional allies for continuing their military and logistical supports for the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Iraq all throughout the last two years.

"Washington still continues its military supports for the terrorists in Iraq," Spokesman of Iraq's Ansarullah al-Nujaba Movement Hashem al-Moussavi told FNA in April.

He reiterated that al-Nujaba Movement forces are collecting documents, photos and videos of supplies airdropped by the US-led coalition forces for the ISIL terrorists in Iraq.

"Our forces have filmed the US aircraft while dropping military aids for the besieged ISIL terrorists," al-Moussavi said.

Also, in December, Commanders of the Iraqi popular forces complained that the US is hindering the start of the final phase of the operation to regain control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

"The US bargains and pressures on the Baghdad government have prevented accomplishment of the Ramadi liberation operation," Abu Yousef al-Khazali, a commander of Seyed al-Shohada battalion, told FNA.

"The US has long been seeking to force the government to stop using the popular forces in military operations against ISIL, specially in the liberation operations conducted in different Iraqi regions," he added.

Also in the same month, a commander of the Iraqi volunteer forces complained that US meddling has hindered their victory over the Takfiri terrorist group and prevented them from taking control over the strategic cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

Commander of Imam Khamenei Battalion Haidar al-Hosseini al-Ardavi accused the US of taking maximum efforts to prevent mop-up operations by the popular forces in the province of Anbar.

According to him, the meddling will also affect the advances by the Iraqi forces against terrorists in other provinces.

 

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French fighter jets on mission against ISIL in Mosul

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/french-fighter-jets-mission-isil-mosul/

(AFP) French fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Friday for an operation against the ISIL Takfiri group in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, an officer said.

Eight jets took off from the carrier in the eastern Mediterranean, an AFP photographer on the flight deck reported.

The Charles de Gaulle is on its third mission since February 2015 in support of the US-led coalition which is allegedly fighting ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

It was not immediately clear whether the French jets were to carry out air strikes or were on a reconnaissance mission.

IS seized Mosul along with other areas in June 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from the Takfiri insurgents and are readying for an assault to retake Iraq’s second-largest city.

French President Francois Hollande announced in July that the Charles de Gaulle, which carries 24 Rafale jets, would be sent back to the region for bombing raids on ISIL targets.

The vessel’s latest mission is planned to end in late October, according to Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

 

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France has launched at least eight fighter jets from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to carry out operations against Daesh. The airstrikes were launched Friday over the city of Mosul, a stronghold for the extremists since June 2014.

France Strikes Daesh Stronghold From Charles de Gaulle Ahead of Mosul Offensive
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20160930/1045888231/france-strikes-daesh-mosul-offensive.html

French radio station RTL reported that 24 aircraft would take part in Friday’s strikes, with an average of one sortie launching every three minutes.

The offensive marks the third anti-terrorist operation in which the Charles de Gaulle has taken part since February 2015. The 38,000-ton ship is powered by two nuclear reactors and houses 1,900 crewmembers.

France has sustained a number of terror attacks from Daesh-linked groups in the last few years, including most recently July’s attack in Nice during Bastille Day celebrations. Some suggest that Paris is making its presence felt in Iraq in preparation to retake Mosul from the violent extremist group.The UN said Thursday that 700,000 Mosul residents will require assistance once the offensive begins.

Refugee Agency representative Bruno Geddo said that "Mosul has the potential to be one the largest… disasters of many, many years." according to Al Monitor.

The same day, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters "The battle for Mosul has not started yet. [The operations today] are the extension of our support for the coalition." He said that Paris is in talks with the US and other parties to organize the offensive.

"There will soon be the main attack," he said. French Rafale jets flew 32 missions in the past week, supporting Iraqi troops and destroying four targets. In the area around Qayara, about 30 miles south of Mosul, there are four Caesar artillery systems and about 150 members of the French military, along with logistic and medical teams. The Defense Ministry stated that they are training Iraqi troops and performing tactical missions, but not yet actively engaging in combat.

The addition of more than 600 troops in the coming weeks will bring the force management level to 5,262 US troops that will participate in the upcoming battle to capture the city of Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group, according to the statement of the US Army press service.

More than 5,200 US Forces Deployed in Iraq for Upcoming Battle to Retake Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160930/1045884688/us-forces-iraq-mosul.html

Some 5,262 US troops will be in place to support Iraqi forces in the upcoming battle to capture the city of Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group, the US Army said in a press release on Friday.

The number includes the 615 additional forces deployed by President Barack Obama earlier this week, the release explained.

The addition of more than 600 additional troops in the coming weeks will bring the force management level to 5,262 US troops," Director of US Department of Defense Press Operations Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in the release.

While most specific locations cannot be released for security reasons, Davis identified two air bases where the American troops will be sent with specific missions: Al-Asad Air Base in the Euphrates River Valley north of Baghdad, and Qayyarah Air Base near Qayyarah City.

The US troops will work in close coordination with the Iraqi government to provide capabilities, such as logistics and maintenance support, as well as provide advice and assistance teams for Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that his country's armed forces are now in the final stage of the operation for liberating the city of Mosul in Nineveh province.

Iraqi PM: Mosul Liberation Operation in Final Stage
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950709000807

"We have reached the last phase of seizing back the Mosul city," al-Abadi said on Friday.

The Iraqi prime minister reiterated that Iraq's joint military forces are in full coordination with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Al-Abadi also stressed that all troops participating in the Mosul offensive are from Iraq and no foreigners are among them.

Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, has been controlled by the ISIL group since 2014. Iraqi forces backed by popular forces are currently preparing an assault to liberate the strategic city.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, al-Abadi said that Turkey would play no role in the upcoming Mosul operation.

Iraqi Prime Minister said that international military and humanitarian support was needed before an offensive to liberate Mosul from the ISIL, and that Baghdad would decide the timing of the battle

“To begin the Mosul battle we have to get military and humanitarian support from the international community,” Abadi said, adding that “We will set the time to retake Mosul, when our forces are completely ready for that battle.”

Asked whether Turkish troops would play a role, he said they would not, and added that Iraq is not the place for Ankara to wage its battle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

“Turkey will have no role in retaking Mosul; and I ask the Turkish forces to leave Iraq. Iraq is not a place for the PKK and Turkey’s struggle,” he declared.

An airstrike in Northern Somalia left as many as 22 soldiers dead, local officials said, and one region said the United States had been duped into attacking its troops.

US Accused of Killing 22 Somali Soldiers in 'Misdirected' Airstrike
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950708001055

Galmudug's Security Minister Osman Issa said 22 of his region's soldiers had been killed in the areal raid, adding that the rival neighboring region of Puntland had requested it on the pretext that the men were al-Shabab militants, Business Standard reported.

"Puntland misinformed the United States and thus our forces were bombed," he said.

A US Defense Department official also said Washington had conducted "a self-defense airstrike" against al-Shabab.

"The airstrike was called in after Somali troops faced fire from militants," the official said. No evidence had been seen that the attack killed civilians or anyone other than al-Shabab militants, the official added.

A Puntland police officer said the attack had killed "more than a dozen" members of al Shabab, which is waging an insurgency against Somalia's Western-backed government and regional authorities.

Galmudug and Puntland regions have often clashed over territory.

The United States has launched many airstrikes in Somalia, usually against al-Shabab.

-Shabab denied that it had any fighters in the area of the latest incident. "We neither have a base nor forces in Galkayo area," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters.

Protesters in Galmudug's capital Galkayo burned US flags and images of President Barack Obama in protest, witnesses said. Shops closed because of the demonstrations.

Somalia is trying to rebuild after two decades of war. The conflict that began in 1991 left the Horn of Africa nation riven by clan rivalries and struggling with insurgency. Rival regions still sometimes take up arms against each other.

 

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At least five soldiers of the Afghan National Army special forces were killed in the airstrike of US forces in Farah province, according to media reports.

US Airstrike Allegedly Kills Five Afghan Soldiers
https://sputniknews.com/asia/20161001/1045905378/us-afghanistan-airstrikes.html

Several Afghan soldiers were allegedly killed in an airstrike, carried out by the US military forces in the western Afghanistan, local media reported on Saturday.

According to the Khaama Press, at least five soldiers of the Afghan National Army special forces had been killed in the airstrike in Farah province.

On September 28, at least 15 civilians were killed and 13 injured in a US drone strike in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, which was condemned by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency, while other extremist groups, such as the Islamic State, outlawed in many countries including the United States and Russia, have also expanded their activities both in the country and in neighboring states.

Three civilians were killed in a US drone attack intended to strike Daesh extremists in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Wednesday, local media reported, citing the province authorities' statement.

Three Civilians Killed in US Drone Strike in Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160928/1045791891/strike-drone-victims-civilians.html

According to the Pajhwok news agency, 18 Daesh militants including their commander Hamza were also killed in the strike.

The media reported that US military has acknowledged the allegations on civilian deaths. US military spokesman Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland reportedly said that Pentagon started reviewing all materials related to the strike. According to earlier media reports, at least 13 civilians have been killed and 14 others wounded, when a US drone struck a residential building.

 

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Iraqi Spokesman: ISIL Terrorists Fleeing Hawijah or Surrendering

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950710001377

"Based on classified intelligence, a large number of ISIL terrorists have escaped from Hawijah through tunnels or by-ways and reached Mosul," Hosseini told FNA on Saturday.

He said ISIL commanders have issued orders to execute those forces who have fled Hawijah, and added, "A number of militants have also surrendered themselves to the security or Peshmerga forces who are deployed near the city."

His remarks came after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that his country's armed forces are now in the final stage of preparations to start the Mosul Liberation Operation.

"We have reached the last phase of seizing back the Mosul city," al-Abadi said on Friday.

The Iraqi prime minister reiterated that Iraq's joint military forces are in full coordination with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Al-Abadi also stressed that all troops participating in the Mosul offensive are from Iraq and no foreigners are among them.

Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, has been controlled by the ISIL group since 2014. Iraqi forces backed by popular forces are currently preparing an assault to liberate the strategic city.

Saudi warplanes strike Yemen, 4 killed

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/01/487208/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-airstrikes-Sanaa-UN

At least four people have been killed and almost a dozen others injured in a fresh wave of airstrikes carried out by Saudi Arabia’s warplanes against residential areas across Yemen.

Saudi warplanes pounded Jabal al-Atan district of the capital Sana'a on Saturday, Yemen’s official Saba News Agency reported. Two people were killed in the strike.

Saudi jets also carried out at least two airstrikes against a local outdoor market in Nehm district, northeast of the capital.

Additionally, Saudi warplanes bombarded al-Zaher district in the northwestern province of Sa'ada. Two people were killed in the bombardment.

Warplanes also pounded Ham area in Matun district of the northern province of Jawf.

Yemen has been under almost daily airstrikes by Saudi Arabia since March 2015. International sources put the death toll from the aggression at almost 10,000. According to the UN, Saudi airstrikes are to blame for 60 percent of civilian deaths in Yemen.

Earlier this week, the United Nations Human Rights Council failed to set up an independent international inquiry into Saudi rights violations in Yemen.

The offensive was launched to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemen's former president who has resigned and fled the capital.

In June, the UN raised controversy by dropping Saudi Arabia from its annual blacklist of child killers, only a week after blacklisting the monarchy for overwhelmingly violating children’s rights in Yemen. The decision came after Saudi Arabia and its allies threatened to cut off funding to UN programs if the body kept the kingdom on the blacklist.

Saudis Fail to Win Control of Wadi al-Rabia, Yemenis Attack Hadi Supporters in Shabwah

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950710001434

"The Saudi mercenaries sought to enter regions in the Southern parts of Wadi al-Rabia but their attempts were thwarted by the army and popular committees," Ali al-Houthi told FNA on Saturday.

He also said that the Yemeni army launched missile attacks against a military base of Mansour Hadi supporters in Assilan town of Shabwah province.

The Saudi military has been pounding Yemen since March 2015 to undermine Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and to restore power to the former fugitive President Mansour Hadi.

Over 11,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s military aggression which lacks any international mandate.

The UN human rights office said in August that the Saudi military is using cluster bombs against residential areas in Yemen in violation of international law, blaming the Riyadh regime for most of the civilian casualties in its impoverished southern neighbor.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the United States in May for selling cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom had used various types of US-made cluster munitions in its war against Yemen despite evidence of mounting civilian casualties.

Ansarullah Spokesman Discloses UAE's Plot to Disintegrate Yemen

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950710001352

"In addition to its role in the aggression against Yemen, the UAE is also seeking to disintegrate the country," Mohammad Abdolsalam wrote on his twitter page on Saturday.

A few months ago, Abdol Jamil al-Makhlafi, a prominent analyst of Yemen crisis, had also made similar remarks, adding that Abu Dhabi welcomes separation of Southern Yemen from the country.

Also in July, Arab sources disclosed Saudi Arabia's plot to disintegrate Yemen into three countries, one in the North and two in the South.

The sources underlined that based on the plan, a government will be formed in the Northern parts of Yemen. Another one will be established in the Yemeni border province of Hadrarmout which will also include al-Mohrah and certain parts of Shabout, while a third state will be established in the other Southern provinces with Aden as its capital.

Also according to the Saudi plan, different Riyadh-backed terrorist groups will continue war against the Yemeni army and popular committees in the Southern provinces and al-Qaeda will be strengthened to keep the popular Ansarullah movement busy with fighting against terrorism in Marib and the Northern provinces.

 

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The ISIL is mutilating and selling the body organs of Iraqi children to compensate for its financial loss and shortages.

ISIL Trading Iraqi Children's Body Organs
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711000904

Local sources reported that after starting the academic year in Iraq, 11 children were kidnapped in different parts of al-Qae'm town in the Western parts of al-Anbar province and their families then found their mutilated bodies with no heart, kidneys, eyes and other transplantable organs.

The sources added that none of the parents of these children dare to file a lawsuit against the ISIL or report the abduction of their child for the fear of the terrorist group's retaliatory measures.

Media reports also said in March that the ISIL terrorist group is using organ harvesting as a way to finance its operations and save the lives of injured members.

The Spanish daily El Mondo reported that facing the increased number of wounded members in the Syrian army and popular forces' attacks, the ISIL is using the body organs of its captives for transplantation.

According to the report, the ISIL also forces the prisoners in Mosul jails to donate blood and postpones the execution of those sentenced to death to use their blood as much as possible.

The ISIL doesn’t merely use the organs of its captives and prisoners' bodies for transplantation to its members but it sells them to other countries as a lucrative business, it added.

Medical sources told El Mondo that the personnel in one of hospitals in Mosul have seen corpses of at least 183 people whose organs had been taken out of their bodies.

According to the report, the ISIL has set up a medical team in Mosul headed by a German physician which exports the body organs to Syria and the Iraqi Kurdistan region for transplantation to its members or selling.

Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Alhakim had made the same revelations last year, saying that the ISIL is trafficking human organs and has executed a dozen doctors for failing to go along with the program.

Alhakim based his claim on the discovery of dozens of bodies left in shallow mass graves near the city of Mosul, currently an ISIL stronghold. Surgical incisions, along with missing kidneys and other body parts lead to an inescapable conclusion. "We have bodies. Come and examine them. It is clear they are missing certain parts,” Alhakim revealed. He further described the carnage:

"When we discover mass graves, we look at the bodies. Some of those bodies are killed by bullets, some of them by knives. But when you find pieces of the back is missing and the kidneys is missing, you will wonder what it is."

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,003 Iraqis and wounded 1,159 others in September across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said.

UN: Over 1,000 Killed in Violence, Armed Conflicts in Iraq in September
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711000717

The figures included 609 civilians killed and 951 wounded, with 394 security members killed and 208 wounded, the UNAMI said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

The casualties in Iraq's Western province of Anbar were excluded, as the casualty figures there for the month were unavailable due to the volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services, the statement said.

"It is a very sad state of affairs that the numbers of Iraqis killed and injured remain very high and unacceptable. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence," the statement quoted the UN envoy to Iraq and the UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying.

In light of a bill passed by the US Congress allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, Iraqis have asked their parliament to demand compensation for the US invasion of Iraq.

Iraqis Use 9/11 Bill to Demand Compensation from US for 2003 Invasion
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161002/1045919157/iraqis-compensation-911-iraq-invasion.html

After the US Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which overrides the principle of sovereign immunity to allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi group has requested parliament to prepare a lawsuit seeking compensation from the US for the invasion of Iraq.

The "Arab Project in Iraq" lobby group "sees their opportunity to ask for compensation from the United States over violations by the US forces following the US invasion that saw the toppling of late President Saddam Hussein in 2003," the Al-Arabiya news channel reported on Saturday.

"It urged for a full-fledged investigation over the killing of civilians targets, loss of properties and individuals who suffered torture and other mistreatment on the hand of US forces."

The Iraqi group is the first to take advantage of the precedent set by JASTA in overturning the principle of sovereign immunity.

President Obama had attempted to veto the legislation, but his veto was overturned by the Senate on Wednesday. By passing JASTA and allowing 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia, the Senate has also made the US vulnerable to legal action seeking compensation for its foreign policy activities across the world.

The day after the Senate vote, former Republican Senator Larry Pressler expressed fear that as a veteran of the Vietnam War, he could now face legal action. "As a Vietnam combat veteran, I could almost certainly be sued by the Vietnamese government or by a Vietnamese citizen," Pressler wrote in The Hill. "The Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan War veterans are more protected by constitutional congressional actions, but we Vietnam veterans will be raw targets if Americans can sue Saudi Arabia."

On Saturday the first US lawsuit was filed under JASTA, alleging that Saudi Arabia provided material support to al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. The complaint was filed by Stephanie Ross DeSimone, who was widowed when her husband, a Navy Commander, was killed at the Pentagon on 9/11. The lawsuit is also filed on behalf of the couple's daughter, who was born after his death.

Saudi Arabia denies any culpability for the 9/11 attacks, and has warned that it might be forced to sell off billions of US assets to avoid sanctions if JASTA became law, a move which would destabilize the US dollar.

"Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the US Congress in March, the New York Times reported.

As Congress attempts to override a presidential veto of legislation that would allow US citizens to sue foreign governments over terror attacks, an organization representing Iraqis killed or wounded by the US military is threatening to sue the American government for war crimes.

Obama’s Nightmare: Iraqis Set to Sue US Government for War Crimes
https://sputniknews.com/us/20160927/1045766921/iraqi-lawsuit-us-war-crimes.html

The Iraqi National Project has stated that the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow 9/11 victims and families to sue Saudi Arabia over the nation’s role in the attacks, has opened a pathway for lawsuits against foreign governments.

The White House claims that the bill was vetoed because it would open the floodgates for other nations and organizations to sue the US, which is exactly what the Iraqi group wants to do.

“In light of the majority vote by the US Congress and Senate in support of the 9/11 bill removing the sovereign immunity rights of Saudi Arabia and other countries accused of being implicated in terrorism—and in spite of President Obama’s veto on September 23rd 2016—we hereby declare that if this bill is actually passed and becomes a law, then it constitutes a window of opportunity for millions of Iraqis who have lost their sons and daughters in military operations by US military forces and US contracted forces since the US invasion in 2003 to pursue compensation from the US government for what they have endured,” a letter published by the Iraqi National Project states, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Saudi warplanes carried out a series of fresh airstrikes against residential areas across Yemen, leaving a number of people dead and causing more material damage in the impoverished Arab country.

Civilian Targets Hit in Fresh Saudi Airstrikes in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711001076

Two fishermen lost their lives and more than 10 others suffered injuries on Sunday, when Saudi fighter jets struck an area in the Red City of Mokha, situated 346 kilometers South of Yemen's capital city of Sana'a, Al Masirah reported.

Saudi military aircraft also bombarded an area in the city of Sirwah, which lies about 120 kilometers East of the capital, as well as Nihm district in the capital province of Sana’a, but there were no immediate reports on possible casualties and extent of damage.

Also on Sunday, Yemeni army soldiers launched several missiles at a gathering of Saudi-backed militants loyal to former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Sirwah, leaving an unspecified number of them killed and injured.

The developments came a day after two people were killed and five others injured in a Saudi aerial attack against a district in Sana’a.

The Yemeni army and popular forces have fully taken control of four strategic regions in three Saudi provinces, a source said on Sunday.

Yemeni Forces in Control of 4 Key Mountains in Saudi Arabia
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711000898

The Yemeni forces are now in full control of Jabal (Mount) al-Doud in Jizan province, Jabal (Mount) al-Dokhan in Jizan, Jabal (Mount) al-Sar in Najran province and Jabal (Mount) al-Rahwa in al-Rabou'a region of Assir province, Ahd al-Jadid wrote on its Twitter page.

Ahd al-Jadid said that the mountains that are under Ansarullah's control are overlooking Jizan, Najran and Assir provinces and for the same reason Saudi Arabia is now in a very critical situation meaning that Riyadh has earned nothing and rather lost territory in the last 18 months of war on Yemen.

Ahd al-Jadid called on those who claim that Saudi Arabia is still in control of these mountains to release a video on areas under their control.

Informed military sources said that an African country had provided the Yemeni army with intelligence about the Emirati warship that was targeted and destroyed near Bab al-Mandab on Sunday.

Source: Yemeni Army Tipped Off by African Country on UAE Warship
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711000832

"The UAE warship was hit by Yemeni army's surface-to-surface missile in al-Mukha coastal waters in Ta'iz province," a Yemeni army source said.

The source noted that the Emirati warship was an HSV-2 Swift type of warship that had been used by the US navy in several military operations since 2003 when the US attacked Iraq.

"The UAE warship was attacked after the Yemeni army received accurate information about the vessel from an African country," he added.

The source did not mention the name of the African country, but said that Djibouti that was once an ally of the Saudi and UAE forces and helpt them in the war on Yemen has come at odds with them after a dispute occurred between Djibouti air force commander and several Emirati diplomats in late April 2015.

He said that after the dispute, the Saudi and UAE troops were expelled from Djibouti and were transferred to neighboring Eritrea.

Earlier on Sunday, military sources in Sana'a confirmed that nearly two dozen Emirati military men have been killed in the Saturday missile attack by the Yemeni army and popular forces on a UAE warship in the waters near Bab al-Mandab. "At least 22 Emirati troops were killed after the Yemeni missiles hit a UAE warship in al-Mukha coastal waters in Ta'iz province," a military source said.

The sunken ship had repeatedly fired rockets at residential areas in Ta'iz province, inflicting casualties and destruction there.

Other Saudi-led battleships that were approaching Yemen's coasts retreated fast following the attack.

At least seven civilians were killed in an explosion in the Afghanistan's Southern Helmand province, local officials said Sunday.

Explosion Kills 7 Members of Family in Afghanistan's Helmand Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950711000488

The incident took place in the vicinity of Lashkargah city, the provincial capital of restive Helmand province, Khaama Press reported.

Provincial governor’s spokesman Omar Zwak confirmed that a civilian vehicle struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the militants in Bolan area of the city.

He said four children and two women were among those killed in the incident and the victims were all members of a single family.

On the other hand reports suggest at least 11 civilians were killed in the incident but the local officials have not confirmed the report so far.

No group including the Taliban insurgents have so far claimed responsibility for the incident.

 

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Saudi Arabia holds military exercises in Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/02/487312/Saudi-Arabia-Persian-Gulf-Sea-of-Oman

The Saudi military has held war games in the waters of Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.

The drills, which were conducted Sunday, involved ships, planes, marines and special units of the Royal Saudi Navy, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The report said that the maneuvers were aimed at “protecting the Saudi borders and international waters” as well as “preventing any possible terrorist attacks.”

Royal Saudi Navy Commander Abdullah al-Sultan said that the drills were part of a series of exercises carried out in the area seeking to raise combat readiness, gain the necessary skills and improve ability to perform essential services.

The maneuvers are held at a time that the Riyadh regime is grappling with the costs of its deadly military campaign gainst its southern neighbor, Yemen.

With much of its wealth dependent on oil revenues, the kingdom has been hardly hit by plunging oil prices, from $114 in June 2014 to currently around $50 a barrel of benchmark Brent crude.

 

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Taliban militants launch major attack on Afghanistan’s Kunduz

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487396/Afghanistan-Taliban-Kunduz

Taliban militants in Afghanistan have launched a major attack on Kunduz one year after briefly seizing control of the strategic northeastern city.

According to local officials, the Taliban militants began the “coordinated” assault from different directions in the early hours of Monday.

Government forces are engaged in fierce fighting against the militants in and around Kunduz, the capital of a province with the same name.

“We are putting all our efforts together to push them back,” said Sheer Ali Kamal, commander of the 808 Tandar police zone in the Afghan city.

Media reports said military helicopters were flying overhead and gunfire could be heard in the city.

A provincial official said militants have managed to reach the Se Saraka area of the city, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.

The source added that the Taliban have blocked some key routes to other districts of Kunduz.

On September 28 last year, the Taliban militant group overran Kunduz in a lightning advance. The city was the only provincial capital to have fallen into their hands since the 2001 US-led invasion.

They remained in full control of the city for two days and eventually announced they were withdrawing from its outskirts on October 15.

Nearly 290 people were killed and hundreds more wounded during the violence, according to UN sources.

Government control of the city has been shaky ever since and many of its residents have fled to other places.

Last October, a US airstrike during the battle to push the Taliban out of Kunduz hit a hospital operated by aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres, killing 42 people including patients and medical staff.

US-led forces overpowered the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of the so-called global war on terror.

The militant group lost its grip over Afghanistan in the US-led military invasion, but security has not been delivered to the country despite the presence of foreign boots on Afghan soil.

In July, UN monitors tallied 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injuries in Afghanistan in the first half of 2016. The records, it said, showed an unprecedented rise in civilian casualties.

 

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A string of bomb explosions has struck the Shia-majority areas of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40 others, security sources say.

Multiple bomb blasts claim lives of at least 15 civilians in Baghdad
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487457/Iraq-Shia-Muslims-Baghdad-Amil-Daesh-Mosul

Iraqi officials said on Monday that an attacker detonated his explosives in the southwestern Shia neighborhood of Amil, killing at least seven people and wounding over two dozen others.

Separately, at least five people were killed and 15 others wounded after another bomber detonated his explosives in the eastern neighborhood of Mashtal.

At least three more civilians were killed and 10 others wounded in a bomb explosion in a commercial area in the northern Sabi al-Bor area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet, but they bear the hallmarks of the Daesh Takfiri group.

Iraqi Police Commander Major General Rand Shaker Judat announced that his forces and the country's intelligence units have seized a truck full of banned chemical substances in the city of Baghdad.

Iraqi Police Seize 30 Tons of Illegal Chemicals in Baghdad
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950712001194

He noted that the truck contained 30 tons of illegal chemical materials in al-Qanat region of Baghdad city.

The police seizure of the hazardous chemical substances came as many people have been killed in terrorist attacks that are conducted in the city with the help of the explosive materials made with such chemical substances.

The Iraqi air force pounded and destroyed ISIL's main command center and the terrorist group's weapons and ammunition depot in Anbar province, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.

Iraqi Fighter Jets Destroy ISIL'S Command Center, Arms Depot in Anbar Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950712001374

The ISIL's command headquarters where the foreign and Arab suicide attackers of the terrorist group were also present came under surgical airstrikes of Iraq's Sukhoi fighter jets.

All the terrorists and their commanders were killed in the Iraqi air raid.

On Sunday, over two dozen members of the ISIL terrorist group were killed in airstrikes on their positions in Anbar province.

Major General Ismail al-Mahlawi, commander of the Anbar operations said that the military aircraft conducted a string of aerial attacks against designated targets in the Albu Ali Jassim area of Jazirah Ramadi region, killing at least 30 ISIL terrorists.

An unnamed security source in the Northern province of Kirkuk also said Iraqi fighter jets bombarded ISIL camps in the town of Haweija, situated about 282 kilometers North of the capital Baghdad, leaving scores of the militants dead and injured.

The source added that ISIL has beefed up its terror activities inside Haweija in the wake of the strikes, and transferred a large number of its wounded members to local hospitals and clinics

Iraq says Turkish forces will not be allowed to participate in military operations aimed at liberating Mosul, an Iraqi city that Daesh has declared as its so-called headquarters.

No Turkish forces allowed in Mosul operation: Iraqi Foreign Ministry
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487431/Iraqi-forces-Ramadi-Daesh

A spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Monday that recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the need for the participation of Turkish forces in the Mosul operation amounted to flagrant interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and were a breach of principles of good neighborliness.

“Such a statement strains the bilateral ties,” the spokesman said referring to Erdogan’s comments.

The Iraqi government has pledged to retake Mosul, which is Iraq’s second-largest city, this year but has not yet announced a precise date for the launch of the campaign.

The ministry spokesman also highlighted that Turkey has ignored Baghdad’s calls for the withdrawal of Turkish forces already deployed on Iraqi soil.

Ankara, in December 2015, first deployed about 150 soldiers equipped with heavy weapons and backed by two dozen tanks to Bashiqa, located on the outskirts of Mosul. It claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against Daesh. Baghdad rejected the claim, saying it did not need the Turkish military assistance in the fight.

On Saturday, Turkish lawmakers almost overwhelmingly approved the extension by another year of Ankara’s cross-border military incursions into Syria and Iraq. During the parliamentary session, Erdogan urged allowing his country’s troops to participate in the upcoming battle for Mosul, warning Baghdad and Turkey’s Western allies that Turkey must be involved in any operation and included in the decision-making process.

“Turkey cannot be left off the table. The others don’t have such a border [with Iraq]. They may want us to stay as spectators but that decision is also going to be made here,” the Turkish president said.

Iraqi advancements

In a separate development, Iraqi security forces have managed to retake a district in the strategic city of Ramadi from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

“The security forces managed today to liberate the district of Albu Ali al-Jassim… in northern Ramadi city,” Staff Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi, the head of the Anbar Operations Command, told al-Sumaria news website on Sunday.

He said at least 16 Daesh terrorists were killed in the operation.

The development comes as army troops, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been engaged in military operations to win back regions held by Daesh.

Daesh’s ringleader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has reportedly been poisoned together with three other commanders of the Takfiri terrorist group.

Daesh chief ‘poisoned’ in Iraq
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487401/Iraq-Daesh-Baghdadi-Nineveh-poisoned

Arabic-language Iraqi Media News Agency, WAA, cited a local source in the northwestern Nineveh Province as saying that “accurate information” showed Baghdadi’s food had been poisoned by unknown individuals.

Meals prepared for him and the other three for lunch had, according to the source, been poisoned in the Be’aaj district, located southwest of Nineveh.

The source added that the four are suffering from “severe poisoning” and “have been transferred to an unknown location under strict [cautionary] measures.”

Daesh has reportedly launched a campaign of arrests in an attempt to find those responsible for poisoning the food.

The US military paid a UK PR firm over half a billion dollars in the wake of the 2003 Iraq invasion to create fake terrorist videos in a covert operation probably launched to prolong its occupation, an investigation has revealed.

Pentagon paid UK firm $540mn to make fake Iraq terrorist videos
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487445/Pentagon-fake-terror-videos

PR firm Bell Pottinger worked with the Pentagon to make terrorist videos in the psychological operation, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported on Sunday. The Sunday Times also worked with the Bureau on the investigative story.

According to the report, both the White House and General David Petraeus, who was then commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, signed off on the content produced by the controversial firm.

Bell Pottinger's former chairman Lord Tim Bell confirmed to The Sunday Times that his firm had worked on the operation “covered by various secrecy agreements.”

The firm used to report to the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council on the project in Iraq, he stated. (Article continues.)

Taliban militants have reached the center of the Afghan city of Kunduz following fierce clashes with government forces, which broke out earlier in the day.

Taliban militants enter northern Afghan city of Kunduz
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/03/487479/Taliban-Kunduz-AK47-Helmand-Tarin-Kot-Lashkar-Gah

Militants, who had entered the city of Kunduz in the early hours of Monday morning, have seized parts of the city including its main square, police headquarters and governor compound.

The militants, who attacked the city from four directions, appear to have slipped through a defensive security line set up around Kunduz.

Local police and residents said that Taliban militants also took control of a central intersection in the volatile city.

Witnesses saw Taliban militants armed with AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns walking around deserted streets, entering homes and taking up positions on rooftops.

According to authorities in Kunduz, Afghan security forces are preparing to carry out an operation to push back terrorists from the city.

 

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Daesh militants are fleeing Mosul, the group's stronghold in Iraq, since a long-awaited large-scale operation aimed at freeing the second largest city in the country is expected to be launched in the coming days, Said Mamuzini, a press secretary for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, told Sputnik.

'Daesh in Panic': Commanders Fleeing From Mosul 'En Masse' Ahead of Major Op
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045990952/daesh-panic-mosul-offensive.html

As part of the operation the Iraqi Armed Forces and Peshmerga are shelling Daesh targets in the areas close to Mosul," he said. "Additional security measures have been taken on the border. According to our information, the militants are digging trenches around the city, as well as setting up traps using explosives and mines."

The spokesperson added that Daesh fighters have placed booby-traps in empty houses and left trucks rigged with explosives on the outskirts of the city that the brutal group captured in a blitz offensive on June 10, 2014.

"Daesh is in a state of panic ahead of the operation in Mosul," he detailed. "According to our sources, many fighters have left the city for Raqqa," the group's de facto capital. "Daesh commanders and their families have moved to Raqqa en masse."

According to Mamuzini, the brutal group has relocated its key forces to Syria. This offers hope that the city could be liberated sooner than expected.

"Daesh's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reportedly pursuing a new strategy with regard to Mosul. He told his fighters that if they are capable of fighting for Mosul, they should fight and if not, then they should leave booby traps and mines, destroy the city and flee," he said.

Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) vowed to confront the presence of the Turkish army troops in Iraq, and said that the increasing number of the US advisors in their country is also suspicious.

Iraqi Volunteer Forces Vow to Fight Turkish Military Presence in Iraq, Suspicious of Rise in Number of US Advisors
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713001403

"The presence of the Turkish forces in Iraq is deemed as illegal and Hashd al-Shaabi has the power to confront the Turkish occupying forces," Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi commander Javad al-Talibavi told FNA on Tuesday.

He reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces will not tolerate the presence of the Turkish troops in Iraq.

Meantime, media spokesman of Iraq's Jihad Battalions told FNA that the increasing the number of the US military advisors in his country is very suspicious.

"The US was indifferent when the ISIL had major parts of Iraq under its control and now that the ISIL is nearly finished the US is looking for increasing the number of its troops in Iraq," he added.

Ankara, in December 2015, first deployed about 150 soldiers equipped with heavy weapons and backed by two dozen tanks to Bashiqa, located on the outskirts of Mosul. It claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIL. Baghdad rejected the claim, saying it did not need the Turkish military assistance in the fight.

On Saturday, Turkish lawmakers almost overwhelmingly approved the extension by another year of Ankara’s cross-border military incursions into Syria and Iraq. During the parliamentary session, Erdogan urged allowing his country’s troops to participate in the upcoming battle for Mosul, warning Baghdad and Turkey’s Western allies that Turkey must be involved in any operation and included in the decision-making process.

“Turkey cannot be left off the table. The others don’t have such a border with Iraq. They may want us to stay as spectators but that decision is also going to be made here,” the Turkish president said.

On Sunday, the Iraqi volunteer forces warned against the US plan to increase the number of its troops in Iraq, and vowed harsh reaction to any such troops deployment. "Increasing the number of US military men is a source of concern and the Hashd al-Shaabi will not tolerate the US redeployment," Sayyed al-Shohada Battalions affiliated to Hashd al-Shaabi said.

On July 11, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that Washington would send 560 troops to Iraq to back up Mosul liberation operations.

On August 6, the US media reported that Washington will send another 400 soldiers to Iraq.

The US Department of Defense claims that there are less than 4,000 US troops in Iraq while a research by Washington Post newspaper shows that the number of US soldiers in Iraq exceeds 5,000.

On September 28, the US defense officials announced that Pentagon will dispatch another 600 ground troops to Iraq to help the country with Mosul liberation operation.

The US troops are now stationed in al-Qayyara military base located 65 kilometers to the South of Mosul.

The Iraqi volunteer forces are against the US deployment in Iraq.

Iraqi army sources announced on Tuesday that the military commander of ISIL terrorists in Mosul has been killed in an airstrike.

Iraq: ISIL's Senior Commander Killed in Air Assault North of Nineveh
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713001233

"Ibrahim Mohammad Halil, nom de guerre Abu Suleiman, was killed in an air raid in the terrorist-held city of Mosul," the sources said.

"In the meantime, Iraqi Army soldiers fended off ISIL's offensives on the Nineveh Operations Room in the Northern side of al-Qayyara, destroying their bomb-laden suicide vehicles," they added.

Local sources also said that ISIL has planed a large number of bombs, explosive traps and landmines across vital roads to Mosul, airport buildings and airport runway to confront the Iraqi government forces' impending large-scale operation to liberate Mosul.

On Monday, the Iraqi air force destroyed the building of ISIL's radio station in the city of Mosul.

The ISIL's radio broadcasting building came under the Iraqi fighter jets' raids, killing all ISIL terrorists inside the building, a security source in Nineveh province said.

The source said that the ISIL uses the radio building for its propaganda warfare.

 

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The commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, Hadi al-Ameri, vowed tough war against the Turkish army's military incursion in Iraq, warning that his forces will confront any Turkish aggressor the same way they stand against the ISIL.

Hadi Al-Ameri: Iraqi Volunteer Forces to Treat Turkish Army Like ISIL
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001229

"The Iraqi forces will treat any foreign troops who interferes in Mosul operations exactly as ISIL terrorists; Mosul should only be liberated by the Iraqi forces," al-Ameri said on Wednesday.

Commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces further warned the Turkish army to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi volunteer forces vowed to confront the presence of the Turkish army troops in Iraq.

"The presence of the Turkish forces in Iraq is deemed as illegal and Hashd al-Shaabi has the power to confront the Turkish occupying forces," Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi commander Javad al-Talibavi told FNA.

He reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces will not tolerate the presence of the Turkish troops in Iraq.

Ankara, in December 2015, first deployed about 150 soldiers equipped with heavy weapons and backed by two dozen tanks to Bashiqa, located on the outskirts of Mosul. It claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIL. Baghdad rejected the claim, saying it did not need the Turkish military assistance in the fight.

On Saturday, Turkish lawmakers almost overwhelmingly approved the extension by another year of Ankara’s cross-border military incursions into Syria and Iraq. During the parliamentary session, Erdogan urged allowing his country’s troops to participate in the upcoming battle for Mosul, warning Baghdad and Turkey’s Western allies that Turkey must be involved in any operation and included in the decision-making process.

“Turkey cannot be left off the table. The others don’t have such a border with Iraq. They may want us to stay as spectators but that decision is also going to be made here,” the Turkish president said.

Iraqi MPs called on the government to review its relations with Turkey and lodge a complaint against the “occupation” with the UN Security Council after Ankara’s decided to extend the stationing of its troops in a base Northof Iraq.

Iraq Demands Turkey Pull ‘Occupying’ Troops out of Base near Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001058

The majority of Iraqi legislators spoke out against the Turkish parliament’s decision to prolong the stationing of about 150 Turkish soldiers and some 25 tanks at the Bashiqa military camp in Iraq’s Northern Nineveh Province, 30 kilometers from Mosul, which is located at the forefront of the battle with ISIL, Rudaw reported.

In a written statement, the MPs decried the decision, appealing to the country’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to summon the Turkish ambassador and file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council that would designate Turkey’s military contingent as an “occupying” force.

Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) announced that they have shot down a drone that was spying on the Arab country's security forces in Nineveh province in Western Iraq.

Iraqi Forces Shoot Down ISIL's Spy Drone, Kill Notorious Commander in Nineveh Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001176

Iraq's popular forces announced that they have brought down a hostile surveillance aircraft over al-Raka'yee region in Nineveh province.

Elsewhere, ISIL's notorious commander, Ebrahim Mohammad Halil, nom de guerre Abu Suleiman, was killed in an Iraqi airstrike.

The Iraqi forces also managed to destroy six of ISIL's armored and bomb-laden vehicles in Nineveh province.

Iraqi army sources announced on Tuesday that Halil was ISIL commander in Southern Mosul.

"In the meantime, Iraqi Army soldiers fended off ISIL's offensives on the Nineveh Operations Room in the Northern side of al-Qayyara, destroying their bomb-laden suicide vehicles," the Iraqi sources said.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that the Czech Republic will send a group of military trainers and medical specialists to Iraq as a form of support in the fight against Daesh.

Czech Republic Giving Doctors, Trainers to Iraq to Help Fight Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161006/1046045816/czech-doctors-trainers-daesh-iraq.html

The Czech Republic will send a group of military trainers and medical specialists to Iraq as a form of support in the fight against Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh) extremists, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said.

The Czech Republic will send to Iraq a team of surgeons and army trainers in support of the fight against ISIS.This is another form of our active participation in the fight against terrorism," Sobotka wrote on Twitter.

The decision was approved by the Czech government on Wednesday. The first medical specialists from the Czech Republic should arrive in Iraq in December.

Informed Iraqi Sources in Nineveh Province disclosed that ISIL has started polling members to express their view about the fate of the terrorist cult once its notorious leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dies, a move that has stirred growing speculations that Baghdad might be already dead.

ISIL's Suspicous Worries about Post-Baghdadi Era Fueling Speculations about Leader's Death
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001463

"The ISIL has started asking members to express their visions of future of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant if they come to find out that Al-Baghdadi has been killed in an air or ground assault in Iraq," the Arabic-language al-Sumeriya News channel quoted an informed local source in Nineveh province as saying on Wednesday.

The source said that ISIL's preachers who propagate for the terrorist group in mosques and different places have focused attention on the question, raising it in various places and on different occasions to see fighters' reactions.

The source said ISIL militants and sympathizers are taken by surprise as soon as they are asked the question, while a common feeling of worry is prevailing over the ranks of the terrorist cult.

"The ISIL terrorists are probably preparing the grounds for declaring the death of their leader that has become a growingly difficult job, specially after the terrorist group's recent defeats," the source added.
On Monday, local sources told the Iraqi media that al-Baghdadi had been reportedly poisoned along with his three aides after they had eaten food poisoned by unknown individuals.

On Monday, local sources told the Iraqi media that al-Baghdadi had been reportedly poisoned along with his three aides after they had eaten food poisoned by unknown individuals/

Al-Sumeriya News cited a local source in the Northwestern Nineveh Province as saying that “accurate information” showed Baghdadi’s food had been poisoned by unknown individuals and the food was given to him in the Be’aaj district, Northwest of the Iraqi province of Nineveh near the Syrian border.

The source added that the four have been transferred to an unknown location under strict measures.

Iraq's joint military forces backed by the country's air force repulsed an attack by the ISIL terrorists on their defense lines in the Southern part of the city of Mosul.

Iraqi Forces Repel ISIL's Attack in Southern Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001434

The ISIL terrorists tried to attack the Iraqi volunteer forces' military positions in the Southern part of the village of Haj Ali from the nearby village of Kanouz.

Fierce clashes between the Iraqi forces and the ISIL terrorists lasted for several hours.

Several ISIL terrorists were killed and wounded in the ISIL's attacks.

Earlier on Wednesday, a local official in Mosul said that the ISIL militants are fleeing the city since a long-awaited large-scale operation aimed at freeing the second largest city in the country is expected to be launched in the coming days.

"As part of the operation the Iraqi Armed Forces and Peshmerga are shelling ISIL targets in the areas close to Mosul," said the press secretary for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, Said Mamuzini.

"Additional security measures have been taken on the border. According to our information, the militants are digging trenches around the city, as well as setting up traps using explosives and mines."

The US fighter jets pounded the military positions of Iraqi volunteer forces near the city of Mosul in Nineveh province on Wednesday, killing and injuring the anti-ISIL popular forces.

US Airstrike Kills 20 Iraqi Sunni Popular Forces, Injures 5 Others Near Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714000790

"A sum of 20 Iraqi Sunni tribal forces were killed and 5 others were wounded when the US warplanes hit their position in the village of Kharaeb in al-Qayyara region," a battlefield source said.

Al-Qayyara is located approximately 300 kilometers to the North of Baghdad.

The Iraqi volunteer forces had reportedly gathered at the site when the aerial attack took place.

The Iraqi volunteer forces had reportedly gathered at the site when the aerial attack took place.

The US airstrikes came as the Iraqi volunteer forces warned against the US plan to increase the number of its troops in Iraq, and vowed harsh reaction to any such troops deployment.

"Increasing the number of US military men is a source of concern and the Hashd al-Shaabi will not tolerate the US redeployment," Sayyed al-Shohada Battalions affiliated to Hashd al-Shaabi said.

 

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Turkish forces not part of coalition against ISIS in Iraq: US

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkish-forces-not-part-coalition-isis-iraq-us/

The Spokesperson for the Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve Council, Lt. Colonel John L. Dorrian, stated on Wednesday that the Turkish Army in northern Iraq is not part the coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) inside the country.

Furthermore, Lt. Colonel Dorrian went as far as to label the Turkish Army's incursion into northern Iraq as an "illegal" action that was permitted by the Iraqi government.

"The Turkish Army on Iraqi soil is illegal and has not entered the country with the official permission of the Iraqi government. Several countries that are part of the International Coalition Forces are in Iraq due to the permission of the Iraqi Government. These countries support the Iraqi Army in the fight against ISIS," Lt. Colonel Dorrian added.

This statement was released by the official media wing of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) on Wednesday; its authenticity was denied by the Daily Sabah.

 

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In an interview with Sputnik, a Kurdish Peshmerga commander in Iraq, Livan Hurettin, denied earlier reports about a military base allegedly being built by the US near Bashiqa, a town 25 kilometers from Mosul.

Kurdish Commander in Iraq Denies Reports of US Building Military Base Near Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161006/1046067119/iraq-us-base.html

“The information about the construction of a US military base in the area is not true. There are neither American soldiers nor any representatives of the US military command there,” Livan Hurettin said.

He denied rumors about Turkey allegedly having sent reinforcement to its troops already deployed near Bashiqa.

“There were only Turkish troops stationed there. Their number hasn’t changed,” he said, refusing to elaborate any further out of security considerations.

Meanwhile, the presence of Turkish troops near Bashiqa has sent Iraq-Turkey tensions soaring. According to local media reports, there are an estimated 600 Turkish troops currently stationed in Bashiqa, which is controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga units.

In a majority vote on Sunday, the Turkish parliament extended the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq by one year. The move invited an angry backlash from Iraqi MPs who called for the earliest possible withdrawal of the Turkish troops already in the country. Livan Hurettin said that it was not yet clear whether the Turkish soldiers were going to take part in the operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh terrorists. He added that the Peshmerga forces were now in the final stages of preparations for the operation that is expected to start shortly.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russian, Iraqi diplomats discuss situation in Iraq, anti-Islamic State efforts

http://tass.com/politics/904987?_ga=1.79913879.1081960895.1475302692

The situation in Iraq in the light of efforts against Islamic State (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) was in focus of a meeting brtween Russian president’s special envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iraq’s Ambassador to Moscow Ismail Shafik Mohsen, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The sides discussed current issues of the regional agenda, first of all the development of the situation in Iraq in the light on ongoing confrontation with Islamic State, as well as the settlement of the Syrian crisis," the ministry said. "The two diplomats also touched upon a number of practical aspects of further expanding Russia-Iraq comprehensive cooperation."

Iraq ready to battle occupying Turkish forces near ISIS-held Mosul

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraq-read-to-battle-occupying-turkish-forces-near-isis-held-mosul/

Iraqi security officials have warned the army may attack occupying Turkish forces if they intervene in the coming offensive to liberate ISIS-held Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, as reported by the Middle East Eye.

Baghdad “seeks to make clear that there is absolutely no role for Turkish forces in the Iraqi sphere,” a senior security source was quoted as saying on Thursday.

“Any movement or intervention by Turkish during the military operations (to retake Mosul), would be faced with a very strong response,” the official warned, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units have said they would target Turkish forces if they “insist on staying in Bashiqa or extend their presence in Mosul.”

“The presence of these troops (on Iraqi territory) is illegal and against the will of the Iraqi government, parliament and people,” Ahmad al-Assadi, the spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Units, told Middle East Eye.

“We consider them an occupation force and we will deal with them on this basis,” he said.” As long as they are seen as occupiers, we have a right to adopt all available means to deal with the occupiers.”