Iraq

[sToRmR1dR]

US Warplane Attacked School Near Iraqi Mosul, Casualties Reported - Russian MoD

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610281046846087-mosul-school-us/

A US Air Force jet attacked a school near the Iraqi city of Mosul, the Russian General Staff said.

"There are new cases of [US-led] coalition's airstrikes on civilian targets. On October 24, US Air Force's tactical aircraft launched missile and bomb strikes on a school building in the village of Tall Kayf located 14 kilometers north of Mosul at 3:35. As a result of the strike, there are dead and wounded," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, said.

"The activity of the coalition's strikes in this [residential] area has been further intensified, including using B-52 strategic bombers," Rudskoy added.

"The number of civilian casualties will only increase," Rudskoy noted.

On October 25, the Russian General Staff said that more than 60 civilians had been killed and 200 wounded in coalition airstrikes on Mosul residential districts during the last three days.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that the US-led coalition launched strikes on a funeral procession in the Iraqi town of Daquq near the city of Kirkuk, killing dozens of civilians.

On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to recapture Mosul from Daesh with the help of airstrikes by the US-led coalition.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that targeting mistakes by the member countries of the international coalition occur too often.

"Weddings, funerals, hospitals, police departments, humanitarian convoys and even Syrian troops, fighting against Daesh terrorists near Deir ez-Zor, become targets for coalition airstrikes," Konashenkov stressed.

 

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Saudi airstrikes kill 10 in southwest Yemen

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/29/491141/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Taizz-airstrikes

Saudi Arabian warplanes have bombed residential buildings in the southwestern Yemeni province of Ta’izz, killing at least 10 people.

The Saturday attacks targeted the province’s As Silw district, Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported.

Early reports had said that at least three women were among those killed.

Saudi aircraft also targeted the Nihm district in the Sana’a Province in west-central Yemen and another location in the Shabwah Province in the impoverished country’s south.

Separately, a blast was reported at a checkpoint in the Crater district in the southwestern province of Aden, leaving at least three people dead. The details of the attack are yet to be announced.

Saudi Arabia has been waging war on Yemen since March 2015. The war was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people, amid countless reports suggesting the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure by Saudi forces and mercenaries.

A Saudi-imposed naval embargo of Yemen, which is the Arab world’s poorest nation, has, meanwhile, led to a famine across much of the country.

The Middle East Eye news portal reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabian and Qatari army chiefs had met with their Algerian counterpart earlier in the month, asking Algiers to send its servicemen to Yemen. Riyadh had previously tried and failed to recruit Pakistan and Lebanon in the offensive.

Some observers say the war has cost Saudi Arabia so much in terms of financial and political capital that it seeks to diminish its own role while enlisting the services of allies to gradually fill in its shoes.

Riyadh has already been hit by a worsening economic crisis due to a sharp fall in oil prices, itself a result of the policies of the Saudi regime.

 

[angelburst29]

Deputy Chief of the Nineveh Provincial Council Noureddin Qablan announced that the US-led coalition warplanes have launched airstrikes on on army base in Nineveh province, killing several soldiers.

Iraqi Army Base Comes Under US Air Raid Again
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808001197

"The US fighter jets hit one of the military bases of Iraqi Army's 16th Division in a region North of Mosul, and the attack left four Iraqi soldiers dead," Qablan said. He said that the US army has confirmed the attack, calling it a "mistake".

Qablan said that it is not the first time the US warplanes hit the Iraqi army and volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) military positions, adding, "The US-led coalition has each time said that air raids were not deliberate."

On October 5, the US warplanes hit the military positions of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in the village of Kharaeb Jabr to the South of Mosul, killing 20 Iraqi volunteer forces and injuring five others.

In late September, a senior Iraqi lawmaker disclosed that the US fighter jets had pounded the military positions of the Iraqi volunteer forces in the Northern part of Babel province.

At least two people were killed and eight others wounded Saturday in a suicide bomb attack targeting a Shiite mourning tent in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said.

Iraq: At Least 2 Killed in Suicide Bomb Attack against Shiite Mourners in Baghdad
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808000768

The attack occurred before noon as a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest within the vicinity of a mourning tent in the Shiite neighborhood of Tobchi in the area of Eskan in central Baghdad, the source on condition of anonymity said, Xinhua reported.

The death toll may rise as ambulances and civilian vehicles evacuated the dead and wounded people to several nearby hospitals and medical centers, the source added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the ISIL, in most cases, is responsible for similar suicide attacks against civilians.

Ansarullah movement has strongly dismissed claims that the recent missile attack against Saudi Arabia was aimed at Islam's holiest and most revered site, emphasizing that the Saudi regime is restoring to media hype to justify its military aggression against its Southern neighbor.

Ansarullah: Saudis Resorting to Media Flimflam over Missile Attack
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808000379

Ansarullah spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam, in a statement released on Friday, said Saudi officials are looking for sympathy in the name of guardianship of the Masjid al-Haram in the holy city of Mecca, and availing themselves of media frenzy – something which nobody actually believes in, press tv reported.

Abdulsalam underlined that Saudi Arabia seeks to provoke Muslims worldwide through fabricated allegations that Ansarullah fighters sought to hit the Kaaba, calling on Muslims not to take note of lies being spread by the Saudi-led military coalition.

"The Yemeni nation needs no proof to show its Arab and Muslim identity. It has never targeted religious sites, and definitely treats religious rites with much greater respect compared to US mercenaries. Aggressors must end their attacks and siege against Yemen, embrace peace and observe the principle of good neighborliness," the Ansarullah spokesman pointed out.

Late on Thursday, Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired an indigenous Borkan-1 (Volcano-1) missile towards King Abdulaziz International Airport, located 19 kilometers North of the Western Saudi port city of Jeddah.

A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, later told the official Saba news agency that the 12.5-meter-long missile had hit its target accurately and left massive destruction at the airport.

Saudi media outlets, however, reported that the kingdom’s missile systems intercepted and destroyed the solid propellant and Scud-type missile before it could cause any damage.

They said the projectile was launched at 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) on Thursday from Yemen’s mountainous Northwestern area of Sa’ada.

The Saudi military also claimed that the Yemeni missile was fired toward the holy city of Mecca.

 

[angelburst29]

As a former soldier and war correspondent who has covered 14 conflicts, I look at all the media hoopla over tightening siege of Mosul, Iraq and shake my head. This western-organized “liberation” of Mosul is one of the bigger pieces of political-military theater that I’ve seen.

Paper Tiger ISIS Digs Into Mosul
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/10/eric-margolis/isis-paper-tiger/

Islamic State(IS), the defender of Mosul, is a paper tiger, blown out of all proportion by western media. IS is, as this writer has been saying for years, an armed mob made up of 20-something malcontents, religious fanatics, and modern-day anarchists. At its top is a cadre of former Iraqi Army officers with military experience.

These former officers of Saddam Hussain are bent on revenge for the US destruction of their nation and the lynching of its late leader. But IS rank and file has no military training, little discipline, degraded communications, and ragged logistics.

In fact, today’s Islamic State is what the Ottoman Empire used to term, ‘bashi-bazouks,” a collection of irregular cut-throats and scum of the gutter sent to punish and terrorize enemies by means of torture, rapine, looting, and arson.

What has amazed me about the faux western war against ISIS is its leisurely nature, lack of élan, and hesitancy. In my view, ISIS was mostly created by the US and its allies as a weapon to be used against Syria’s government – just as the Afghan mujahadin were used by the US and the Saudis to overthrow the Soviet-backed Afghan government. Israel tried the same tactics by helping create Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both were cultivated to split the PLO.

ISIS is an ad hoc movement that wants to punish the West and the Saudis for the gross carnage they have inflicted on the Arab world.

Western and Kurdish auxiliary forces have been sitting 1.5 hours drive from Mosul and the IS town of Raqqa for over a year. Instead, western – mainly US – warplanes have been gingerly bombing around these targets in what may be an effort to convince breakaway ISIS to rejoin US-led forces fight the Damascus regime.

Note that ISIS does not appear to have ever attacked Israel though it is playing an important role in the destruction of Syria. Some reports say Israel is providing logistic and medical support for IS.

The siege of Mosul is being played up by western media as a heroic second Stalingrad. Don’t be fooled. IS has only 3-5,000 lightly armed fighters in Mosul and Raqqa, maybe even less. The leaders of IS are likely long gone. IS has few heavy weapons, no air cover at all, and poor communications. Its rag-tag fighters will run out of ammunitions and explosives very quickly.

Encircling Mosul are at least 50,000 western-led soldiers, backed by heavy artillery, rocket batteries, tanks, armored vehicles and awesome air power

The western imperial forces are composed of tough Kurdish peshmerga fighters, Iraqi army and special forces, some Syrian Kurds, Iranian ‘volunteers’ irregular forces and at least 5,000 US combat troops called “advisors”, plus small numbers of French, Canadian and British special forces. Hovering in the background are some thousands of Turkish troops, supported by armor and artillery ready to ‘liberate’ Iraq – which was once part of the Ottoman Empire.

For the US, current military operations in Syria and Iraq are the realization of an imperialist’s fondest dream: native troops led by white officers, the model of the old British Indian Raj. Washington arms, trained, equips and financed all its native auxiliaries.

The IS is caught in a dangerous dilemma. To be a political movement, it was delighted to control Iraq’s second largest city. But as a guerilla force, it should not have holed up in an urban area where it was highly vulnerable to concentrated air attack and being surrounded. This is what’s happening right now.

In the mostly flat Fertile Crescent with too few trees, ground forces are totally vulnerable to air power, as the recent 1967, 1973 Israel-Arab wars and 2003 Iraq wars have shown. Dispersion and guerilla tactics are the only hope for those that lack air cover.

IS forces would best advise to disperse across the region and continue their hit-and-run attacks. Otherwise, they risk being destroyed. But being mostly bloody-minded young fanatics, IS may not heed military logic and precedent in favor of making a last stand in the ruins of Mosul and Raqqa.

When this happens, western leaders will compete to claim authorship of the faux crusade against the paper tiger of ISIS.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iraqi Army Base Comes Under US Air Raid Again

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808001197

"The US fighter jets hit one of the military bases of Iraqi Army's 16th Division in a region North of Mosul, and the attack left four Iraqi soldiers dead," Qablan said.

He said that the US army has confirmed the attack, calling it a "mistake".

Qablan said that it is not the first time the US warplanes hit the Iraqi army and volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) military positions, adding, "The US-led coalition has each time said that air raids were not deliberate."

On October 5, the US warplanes hit the military positions of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in the village of Kharaeb Jabr to the South of Mosul, killing 20 Iraqi volunteer forces and injuring five others.

In late September, a senior Iraqi lawmaker disclosed that the US fighter jets had pounded the military positions of the Iraqi volunteer forces in the Northern part of Babel province.

"The Iraqi warplanes struck the equipment warehouses of Hashd al-Shaabi in al-Nasr region in Northern Babel," Mohammad Naji said.

He noted that the US was trying to prevent the Iraqi popular forces from making advances against the ISIL and the most important proof to that is that it struck Hashd al-Shaabi's warehouse in mid-September.

In June 2015, Fighter jets of the US-led coalition against ISIL once again struck the Iraqi forces' positions in the province of Anbar, in Western Iraq.

The US-led coalition warplanes hit the bases of Iraqi army's Hezbollah battalions in Fallujah in Anbar province, killing 6 soldiers and injuring 8 others.

In early May, the anti-ISIL coalition forces struck the position of Iraq's popular forces near Baghdad, killing a number of volunteer forces.

The US-led coalition warplanes hit an arms production workshop of the popular forces near the Iraqi capital, destroying the workshop and its ammunition completely.

Two members of Iraq's popular forces were killed in the attack.

The US has repeatedly struck the popular forces' positions in different parts of Iraq.

On March 29 2015, the US fighter jets struck the positions of Iraq's popular forces during their fierce clashes with ISIL terrorists near Tikrit, injuring a number of fighters.

The US and coalition forces conducted eight airstrikes near Tikrit, but they hit the popular forces' positions instead of ISIL.

In February 2015, an Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that the US airplanes still continue to airdrop weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL terrorists.

"The US planes have dropped weapons for the ISIL terrorists in the areas under ISIL control and even in those areas that have been recently liberated from the ISIL control to encourage the terrorists to return to those places," Coordinator of Iraqi popular forces Jafar al-Jaberi told FNA.

He noted that eyewitnesses in Al-Havijeh of Kirkuk province had witnessed the US airplanes dropping several suspicious parcels for ISIL terrorists in the province.

"Two coalition planes were also seen above the town of Al-Khas in Diyala and they carried the Takfiri terrorists to the region that has recently been liberated from the ISIL control," Al-Jaberi said.

Meantime, Head of Iraqi Parliament's National Security and Defense Committee Hakem al-Zameli also disclosed that the anti-ISIL coalition's planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces.

In January 2015, al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL's survival in Iraq.

"There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition's military aid to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes)," he told FNA at the time.

Security Source: US Sending Arms Cargo to ISIL in Iraq's Diyala

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808001424

Al-Waqt news website quoted a security source as saying that last week two military helicopters of the US-led coalition unloaded the weapons and equipment near Lake Hamrin in Tal Salimeh region of Diyala province after which a number of terrorists on board several boats arrived from across the Lake loaded the arms and ammunition to carry them to the ISIL operation zone.

According to the source, the militants on board the boats were affiliated to the ISIL terrorist group.

The US has a long record of blatant support for the terrorist groups in Iraq.

In February 2015, an Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that the US airplanes still continue to airdrop weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL terrorists.

"The US planes have dropped weapons for the ISIL terrorists in the areas under ISIL control and even in those areas that have been recently liberated from the ISIL control to encourage the terrorists to return to those places," Coordinator of Iraqi popular forces Jafar al-Jaberi told FNA.

He noted that eyewitnesses in Al-Havijeh of Kirkuk province had witnessed the US airplanes dropping several suspicious parcels for ISIL terrorists in the province.

"Two coalition planes were also seen above the town of Al-Khas in Diyala and they carried the Takfiri terrorists to the region that has recently been liberated from the ISIL control," Al-Jaberi said.

Meantime, Head of Iraqi Parliament's National Security and Defense Committee Hakem al-Zameli also disclosed that the anti-ISIL coalition's planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces.

In January 2015, al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL's survival in Iraq.

"There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition's military aid to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes)," he told FNA at the time.

Yemen’s Hadi rejects UN peace proposal to end war

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/29/491226/Yemen-Hadi-Houthi-Ansarullah-UN-Ould-Cheikh-Ahmed-Saudi-Arabia

The resigned president of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, has rejected a peace proposal by the United Nations special envoy for Yemen aimed at ending the 19-month war on the impoverished Arab country, saying the plan “rewards” the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is backed by Yemeni people.

Hadi, who resigned and fled the capital, Sana’a, in March last year, made the remarks during a meeting with the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ould Cheikh Ahmed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday.

“The Yemeni people have condemned these ideas and the so-called road map out of belief that the deal is a gateway to more suffering and war,” a statement from Yemen’s Saba news agency quoted Hadi as saying, adding that the peace plan “only carries the seeds of war.”

Details of the roadmap, which include security and political arrangements, have not been made public, but according to informed sources, the proposed peace roadmap gives the Houthis, who are in control of large swathes of the country, including Sana’a, a share of the future government.

The plan also shrinks the president’s powers in exchange for the Houthis’ withdrawal from several major cities, including the capital, and the handover of their heavy weapons to a third party.

The president must also transfer power to the vice president, who in return appoints a new premier to form a new government, in which the Houthi-controlled north and the pro-Hadi south would have equal representation.

The Houthis are yet to comment on the peace proposal.

The UN envoy submitted the peace plan to Yemeni warring sides during a three-day visit to Sana’a, with aims to end the conflict. Ahmed has also held meetings with the Houthis and the General People's Congress to get their support for a return to a cessation of hostilities to allow aid deliveries.

Peace talks, which were held between Yemen’s opposing parties in Kuwait, ended in deadlock in August.

The Riyadh regime resumed its deadly airstrikes on Yemen on October 23, hours after a three-day truce in the conflict-ridden country expired.

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

In support of Hadi, the Saudi military has been pounding its impoverished southern neighbor since March last year to undermine Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Hadi.

Nearly 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s military aggression, which lacks any international mandate.

 

[angelburst29]

The ISIL is using hundreds of female terrorists from different world countries to drive suicide vehicles of their husbands during the Mosul liberation operation by Iraq's joint military forces, media reports said.

Iraq: Hundreds of Foreign Female Terrorists Driving ISIL's Suicide Vehicles
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808001352

Most of ISIL's foreign terrorists and their wives have enrolled for suicide attacks," the Arabic-language media quoted a local force as saying.

He reiterated that a sum of 450 ISIL terrorists and their wives who are mostly French or from the former Soviet republics have registered their names to take part in the suicide missions.

"The women have been ordered to drive the bomb-laden vehicles of their husbands to help them get closer to the Iraqi troops, while their husbands spray bullets at the Iraqi forces," the source added.

Earlier on Saturday, Hashd al-Shaabi started its long-waited offensive against the ISIL West of the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

“The operation aims to cut supplies between Mosul and Raqqah (in Syria) and tighten the siege (against the ISIL) in Mosul and liberate (the town of) Tal Afar,” Ahmad al-Assadi, a spokesman for the forces said.

The Riyadh government has evacuated over half of its rural areas along the kingdom's border with Yemen, media reports said Saturday.

Saudi Arabia Evacuates 60 Percent of Villages Along Border with Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950808001497

"More than 60 percent of Saudi Arabia's villages located along Saudi Arabia-Yemen border have been evacuated by the kingdom's border guards," the Arabic-language al-Ahad news website reported.

Lieutenant Commander of al-Arezeh Border Guards in Jizan Province Ali al-Amri said that the evacuation of the villages took place at the order of senior Saudi officials.

He reiterated that the Saudi border guards are doing their best to facilitate the evacuation of citizens from border villages.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni Army and their popular allies captured a strategic point near Yemeni-Saudi border region after a fierce clash with the Saudi army and border guards.

Yemeni forces continue to penetrate into Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi aggression which has seen thousands of civilians killed by their airstrikes.

On Sunday, the Yemeni army and popular forces hit hard the gathering centers of the Saudi troops in Southern Saudi Arabia with Katyusha rockets, inflicting heavy losses on the Kingdom's army.

"The Yemeni forces hit the gathering centers of the terrorists in al-Raheh village in Jizan province on Sunday morning," the Arabic-language al-Massira new channel quoted a military source as saying.

The Saudi forces sustained heavy casualties in the Yemeni rocket attacks on their positions in Jizan province.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iraq denies US claim of ‘pause’ in Mosul operations

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/30/491287/Iraq-Mosul-pause-in-operations-USled-coalition-Abadi

Iraq has denied a recent claim made by the US-led coalition supposedly targeting Daesh in the Arab country that there was going to be a “pause” in Iraqi military operations to liberate the northern city of Mosul.

Coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorian had alleged on Saturday that the suspension was aimed at helping the forces to “regroup.”

“We believe that [regrouping] will take two days before continuing the advance towards Mosul,” he had said in Baghdad.

Later in the day, however, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said via the country’s al-Iraqiya television network that, “Since the beginning of the operation to date, Iraqi forces have liberated a large number of districts, villages, and towns [in Nineveh Province, of which Mosul is the capital], and this trend is to continue as scheduled.”

The operation, he said, would last until the liberation of the province in its entirety.

The Iraqi premier said obstructive efforts by infiltrators and ill-wishers would not hamper the efforts to liberate Mosul.

Lieutenant General Abdul Wahhab al-Saadi and General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, commanders with Iraq’s elite counter-terror force, have also rejected the remarks by the US-led coalition spokesman.

Together with dozens of its allies, the coalition has been pounding what it says are the positions of the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh since 2014. It is not clear if the strikes have done anything to dislodge the terrorists, however.

Reports have, meanwhile, pointed to alleged instances of obstruction or non-cooperation by the US-led coalition in the operations for Mosul, whose potential liberation would mean a severe blow to Daesh in Iraq.

The coalition reportedly stopped operations in the areas lying to the south of Mosul just as the push was gathering momentum since its launch on October 16.

Separately, some Iraqi Special Forces’ commanders said the coalition had withheld its support as the Mosul operation was going through one of its toughest embryonic stages.

Iraqi Armed Forces have also blasted the US-led forces for downing a drone belonging to its rapid reaction forces in Mosul’s general area at one point during the operation.

Mosul has been under Daesh control since 2014. The terrorist group has described the city as its so-called headquarters in Iraq.

Also on Saturday, Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi forces opened a new front in the Mosul operations to cut Daesh’s supply lines between the city and neighboring Syria.

The Hashd al-Shaabi volunteer forces also seek to retake the town of Tal Afar on the western side of the city, the only site where the Armed Forces are yet to be deployed to.

Hashd al-Shaabi fighters, meanwhile, freed the route connecting the Hamam al-Alil and Bou Hamad Badri to the west of Mosul. Popular forces also liberated two more villages in the same area.

On Sunday, the first military aircraft landed at the main airport in the town of Qayyarah, located 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Mosul, following its liberation from the terrorist group, which had been holding it for two years, Iraq’s al-Sumariah TV network reported.

Saturday witnessed the liberation of 14 more villages near Mosul, as well as the al-Shourah district, which was of strategic importance to the terrorists.

Arab coalition air strike kills 45 in Yemen: relatives, sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-strike-idUSKCN12U03R

Arab coalition warplanes struck a prison in the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, killing 45 people including inmates, a local official, relatives and medical sources in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port said on Sunday.

The prison in the city's al-Zaydiyah district was holding 84 prisoners when it was struck three times late on Saturday, the sources said.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels since March 2015 to try to restore to office internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was sidelined from power by the Iranian-allied group in late 2014.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition.

At least 17 civilians were killed in the southwestern province of Taiz on Saturday by a coalition air strike that struck a house, officials and residents said.

The exiled Hadi on Saturday rejected a U.N. peace proposal to end the turmoil saying the deal would only be a path to more war and destruction.

Speaking after meeting U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheickh Ahmed in Riyadh, Hadi said the agreement would "reward the rebels and penalize the Yemeni people and legitimacy", according to the government-controlled Saba news agency.

According to a copy of the proposal seen by Reuters, the plan would sideline Hadi and set up a government of less divisive figures.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iran: Use of US weapons against Yemeni civilians a war crime

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/30/491418/iran-us-yemen-denies-arms-qasemi

Iran has denied claims by a senior US naval official that the country has been sending arms and missiles to Yemen's Ansarullah Movement.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Sunday rejected the allegations made by the head of US Naval Forces Central Command Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan.

Donegan recently claimed that the US and partner nations had intercepted five shipments of weapon headed from Iran towards Yemen.

Qassemi stressed that these false claims are being made as the West continues to sell deadly arms to Saudi Arabia.

“Everyday, an uncountable number of lethal weapons, bombs and US missiles are dropped by Saudi Arabia on the defenseless and oppressed civilians in schools, hospitals, jails and homes,” noted Qassemi.

He went on to stress that these actions are nothing short of “war crimes.”

Qassemi also criticized Saudi Arabia's reelection as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, describing it as a catastrophe and a bitter tragedy.

He stressed that Riyadh’s reelection in the council is even more “regrettable” than the Saudis' atrocities upon its impoverished neighbor.

Saudi Arabia has been launching airstrikes in Yemen since March 2015. The war was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president. The UN puts the death toll from the military aggression at over 10,000.

A basis for talks

Meanwhile, Yemen's Ansarullah movement has announced that a United Nations-proposed peace plan could be used as a "basis for discussion" but that it still contains "fundamental flaws."

The Houthi fighters noted that the plan, proposed by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, lacked in details and had timeframe flaws and also did not include a "total, permanent ceasefire" or refer to the lifting of the blockade against the impoverished country.

Ansarullah said it would relay the objections to the UN envoy during his upcoming visit to Sana’a.

On Saturday, Hadi turned down the UN peace proposal. He said the plan “rewards” the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The UN envoy submitted the peace plan to Yemeni warring sides during a three-day visit to Sana’a, with an aim to end the conflict. Ahmed has also held meetings with the Houthis and the General People's Congress to get their support for a return to a cessation of hostilities to allow aid deliveries.

Peace talks, which were held between Yemen’s opposing parties in Kuwait, ended in deadlock in August.

Yemeni forces launch rocket attack at Saudi mercenaries’ positions

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/31/491464/Yemen-mercenaries-arms-depot

Yemen’s army and volunteer Popular Committees have fired rockets at the positions of Saudi-backed mercenaries near the capital, Sana’a, destroying a weapons warehouse used by them.

Yemen’s al-Masirah website reported that the Yemeni forces’ rocket attack destroyed the weapons warehouse in the Fardhat Nihm district, northeast of Sana’a, at dawn on Monday.

A military source said the attack on the arms depot caused heavy explosions and a massive fire.

A vehicle of the militants was also destroyed in the area as the Yemeni troops targeted it with a missile.

On Sunday night, the Yemeni forces had destroyed a military vehicle of the Saudi-backed mercenaries in the same area. A military source told al-Masirah that Yemeni forces fired a rocket at the military vehicle in Fardhat Nihm, also killing those on board.

Also on Sunday, Yemeni forces launched rocket attacks at the positions of the mercenaries in the central province of Ma’rib.

A military source said the Yemeni forces fired Katyusha rockets at the militants’ positions and vehicles behind the Salb Mountain in Ma’rib on Sunday night, inflicting heavy causalities and losses on them.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s War Media on Sunday published footage showing Saudi-backed mercenaries retreating from the al-Buqa border crossing in Saudi Arabia’s Najran region.

According to the report, the Yemeni forces thwarted an attempt by the mercenaries to advance toward the crossing.

The footage shows the bodies of the mercenaries who were killed left behind as their comrades fled the area.

Saudi Arabia has been waging war on Yemen since March 2015. The war was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people, amid countless reports suggesting the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure by Saudi forces and mercenaries.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

ISIL Executes 50, Cuts off Ears of 20 Members for Fleeing Mosul Battle

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950810001520

The ISIL has executed 50 of its own members after they fled their positions on the outskirts of Mosul amid a military operation to retake the last stronghold of the terrorists in Iraq, local media reported.

The Arabic-language Al-Sumeriya broadcaster citing unnamed sources said all the accused were charged with apostasy. The execution was carried out in a military camp in the West of Mosul.

The ISIL militants also reportedly cut off ears of at least 20 other members of the group, including a Chinese and a French, who attempted to flee the Mosul battleground.

The battle for Mosul has entered a sensitive stage as the Iraqi Army managed to enter the strategic al-Karama region in Southeastern Mosul on Monday.

Al-Karama is the first region of Mosul city that the Iraqi army has entered after the city fell to the ISIL terrorists in July 2014.

Earlier on Monday, Iraq's joint military forces kicked off a new round of military operations from three directions towards the Eastern parts of Mosul after seizing control over a vast swathe of land in the surrounding areas of the city in Nineveh province.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced on October 17, the start of a military operation to recapture Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq which fell to the ISIL since 2014.

Army: US Hindering Iraqi Forces' Advance in Mosul

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"The US army troops have disrupted communication among Iraqi forces participating in the Mosul liberation operation," the Iraqi army reported.

Iraq's joint military forces, including the Hash Al-Shaabi (popular forces), started their military operation in Western Mosul on Saturday to recapture Tal Afar and also prevent terrorists from fleeing to Syria.

The Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee, meantime, confirmed that the advances of the Iraqi volunteer forces to the West of the city of Mosul has foiled the US plot to help the ISIL terrorists to flee to Syria.

"Hashd al-Shaabi's efforts in the biggest military operation in Mosul city blocked the US aid to senior ISIL commanders' escape to Syria from the Western part of Mosul city.

The parliamentary committee underlined that Washington intended to repeat the Fallujah scenario and help the ISIL commanders to escape to Syria.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, the first units of the Iraqi army entered the strategic al-Karama region Southeastern Mosul.

Al-Karama is the first region of Mosul city that the Iraqi army has entered after the city fell to the ISIL terrorists in July 2014.

Earlier on Monday, Iraq's joint military forces kicked off a new round of military operations from three directions towards the Eastern parts of Mosul after seizing control over a vast swathe of land in the surrounding areas of the city in Nineveh province.

"The Iraqi forces started moving towards the Eastern bank of the Tigris river near Mosul city," the Arabic-language media reported.

The military operation towards the Eastern part of Mosul started on the 15th day of the Mosul liberation operation.

Meantime, the Iraqi sources disclosed that the ISIL has laid mines and stationed snipers on the Eastern bank of the Tigris river.

On Sunday, Spokesman of the Iraqi Volunteer Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) Ahmad al-Assadi announced that the country's joint military forces had seized back tens of villages since the start of the Mosul liberation operation about two weeks ago.

"Iraq's joint military forces have seized back 100 villages from the ISIL on the West of the city of Mosul," al-Assadi said.

He noted that a sum of 20 bomb-laden vehicles of the ISIL have also been destroyed to the West of Mosul over the past 12 days.

Also on Sunday, local sources said ISIL has broadly planted bombs in toys and other attractive objects for children and civilians in areas they leave as Iraqi joint forces continue their advances in the military operations to liberate Mosul from the terror group grip.

“ISIL used toys because they know the Peshmerga will not touch it, but children will,” said Colonel Nawzad Kamil Hassan, an engineer who says his unit has cleared more than 50 tons of explosives from areas once controlled by the militants.

In the areas where ISIL rules for, the group has attempted to plant bomb before its retreat. A toy, a playing card and an abandoned watch are all detonators designed to spark the acquisitive curiosity of a returning civilian, who would be maimed or murdered by the explosion.

Iraqi Army Discovers US-Made Missiles in ISIL's Military Base in Mosul

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"Several US-made missiles were found in al-Shoura region to the South of Mosul," a local source said on Monday.

The Iraqi army and popular forces had found US-made missiles in Anbar province several times before. Provincial officials confirmed that the US-made weapons were sent by the US-led anti-ISIL coalition airplane for the ISIL terrorists in Anbar province.

Meantime, Iraqi security officials announced that the ISIL has sent US-made military equipment to Tal Afar region in the last two days to stand strong against Iraqi popular forces' impending attack to capture the region.

"The ISIL terrorists have sent US-made TOW anti-tank missiles to Tal Afar and it is quite evident that they are preparing for a long-term war," the Arabic-language media quoted an Iraqi security official as saying on Monday.

In late August 2015, a senior Iraqi intelligence official revealed that the US helicopters drop weapons and other aids for the ISIL terrorists in the Western province of al-Anbar.

"The fighters present at the forefront of fighting against the ISIL always see US helicopters flying over the ISIL-controlled areas and dropping weapons and urgent aids for them," the official who called for anonymity told FNA.

Yet, he said the helicopters could have also been sent from Turkey or Israel.

He added that in addition to dropping aids, the helicopters transfer the ISIL ringleaders and wounded members from the battleground to some hospitals in Syria or other countries which support the terrorist group.

The official cautioned that such assistance further prolongs the conflicts in Anbar, adding that when the Iraqi army and popular forces purge the terrorists from Anbar province, the US helicopters will transfer the ISIL ringleaders to other regions to prevent the Iraqi forces' access to ISIL secrets.

Also in March 2015, a group of Iraqi popular forces known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi shot down the US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons for the ISIL in the Western parts of Al-Baghdadi region in Al-Anbar province.

Meantime in February 2015, a senior lawmaker disclosed that Iraq’s army had shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province.

“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” al-Zameli said.

 

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Mosul: US Planes Flying over Iraqi Popular Forces, Imaging Positions, Movements

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"The imaging operation of a US military plane over our forces' positions is suspicious. Our forces are worried about a possible attack on their positions by the US warplanes," Arabic-language Ma'aloumeh news quoted Spokesman of Asa'eb Ahl al-Haq Jawad al-Talibawi as saying.

Reports said earlier today that Iraqi Army troops and Hashed al-Sha'abi continued to drive ISIL terrorists out of more villages and positions in Western Nineveh, inflicting a heavy death toll on the militants.

"The Iraqi government forces, on the 16th day of the Mosul Liberation Operation, struck ISIL's positions and pushed the terrorists back from the villages of Ferferah, Imam Hamzeh, Um Sijan, al-Sayad and Abu Hajireh," the sources said.

ISIL suffered a heavy death toll and its military equipment sustained major damage in the attacks.

Iraqi soldiers and popular forces are engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL in the Central street of Koukjeli region in Mosul city.

Iraqi Popular Forces Cut off ISIL's Escape Paths From Mosul

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"Hashed al-Sha'abi forces have significantly advanced towards the town of Tal Afar and have taken back more regions in Western Mosul. They continue their advances towards Tal Afar," the source said.

"The ISIL terrorists in the villages bordering Tal Afar have retreated from their potions after their commanders escaped," the source said.

"Hashed al-Sha'abi fighters also destroyed four ISIL positions in the village of al-Fas West of Mosul," the source added.

Field sources said earlier today that Special forces of the Iraqi Army troops have completed siege of ISIL terrorists in the strategic al-Karama district in Southeastern Mosul city, adding the district as well as the Radio and Television building have fallen into hand of the government forces.

"Only a few number of ISIL terrorists have remained in al-Karama district and the rest have retreated the district under the heavy offensive of the Iraqi army soldiers," the sources said.

"Unknown snipers gunned down three ISIL commanders in al-Karama," the sources added.

"Scores of ISIL commanders are fleeing Mosul in non-military vehicles to evade airstrikes," they added.

Iraq: ISIL Evacuates Injured Members from Mosul's Hospitals

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"A number of buses transferred tens of ISIL's injured members from Mosul to unknown militant-held regions," the source said.

"The injured ISIL members will be relocated possibly to Raqqa's hospitals in Syria," the source said.

"ISIL has also dispatched its medical staff with the buses. ISIL may establish field hospitals in remote regions under its control," the source added.

Reports said earlier today that a notorious commander of ISIL and seven other terrorists were killed in Iraqi airstrikes on their hideout in the Central part of the city of Mosul.

Iraqi Air Force, tipped off by the intelligence agents, targeted heavily a secret meeting of ISIL in Mosul, killing at least eight terrorists, including Abu Tariq al-Hayali.

In the meantime, Iraq's Popular Badr Forces said in a statement that its forces discovered the longest tunnel network of ISIL in Western part of Mosul.

The statement added that the tunnel was equipped with a central radar system and a large depot of explosive material.

A field source in Nineveh said for his part that concentration centers of ISIL in three neighborhoods in Mosul came under the joint attacks of Iraqi army and popular forces, adding that ISIL's gatherings near the banks of the Tigris River in Mosul also came under attack by the popular forces.

PMF Commander: Iraq's Popular Forces Awaiting Abadi Order to Attack Turkish Troops

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Hashd al-Sha'abi's deputy commander, Abu Mahdi Muhandis, stated on Tuesday that the presence of the Turkish troops in Nineveh province is considered a transgression against the Iraqi sovereignty, BAS News reported.

Hashd al-Sha'abi's mission is to protect Tal Afar town in Western Mosul and control the main way between Mosul and Syria to prevent the ISIL militants from crossing into Raqqa, he said.

Muhandis also revealed that the popular forces are waiting for PM's order to attack the Turkish military stationed in the camp in Bashiqa district in Northern Mosul.

The Turkish troops are tasked with training the Nineveh Guards forces, a military group led by the Nineveh former governor Atheel al-Nujaifi. Most of its members are former members of the security apparatus of Nineveh which was defeated by ISIL in June 2014.

Ankara and Baghdad have been locked in disputes over the presence of the Turkish military in Northern Iraq since Turkey is strongly opposing the participation of the popular forces in the assault.

 

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Military operation by the Iraqi military forces to liberate the city of Mosul continued on Tuesday as reports said special units of the Iraqi Army have eventually come in control of a district in Mosul and seized the city's radio and television building.

Battle for Mosul Day 16: First District of Mosul Falls into Hands of Iraqi Army
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First District of Mosul Falls Militarily into Hands of Iraqi Gov't Forces

Special forces of the Iraqi Army troops have completed siege of ISIL terrorists in the strategic al-Karama district in Southeastern Mosul city, field sources said minutes ago adding the district as well as the Radio and Television building have fallen into hand of the government forces.

"Only a few number of ISIL terrorists have remained in al-Karama district and the rest have retreated the district under the heavy offensive of the Iraqi army soldiers," the sources said.

"Unknown snipers gunned down three ISIL commanders in al-Karama," the sources added.

"Scores of ISIL commanders are fleeing Mosul in non-military vehicles to evade airstrikes," they added.

A leading member of Iraq's Nineveh Provincial Council announced that the ISIL executed 300 civilians and former security members, North of Mosul.

ISIL Executes 300 People by Fire Squad North of Mosul
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“ISIL members executed 300 persons for collaborating with security forces,” Hossam al-Din al-Abbar, member of Nineveh Provincial Council, said in a press statement, Iraqi News reported.

“The ISIL was detaining them in its prisons, and executed them by firing squad in Moshairefa village, North of Mosul,” he pointed out.

“ISIL filmed the execution after the group's court issued the death sentence in Wilayet Nineveh,” Abbar added.

The ISIL executed thousands of Mosul residents after capturing the city in June 2014, on different charges, especially for collaborating with Iraqi security forces.

The International Criminal Court, ICC, could open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Afghan war, including those allegedly committed by American troops.

ICC to Probe US War Crimes in Afghanistan
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Citing “several knowledgeable sources,” the Foreign Policy magazine said the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, will launch a thorough and comprehensive investigation into violations in conducting war that could implicate US soldiers, Taliban insurgents and, possibly, the Afghan government, RT reported.

If indeed launched, the investigation would be the first of its kind. The ICC has never considered bringing war crimes charges against American army personal for acts committed in Afghanistan before.

While the investigation will be neatly timed to forgo the US presidential elections, it is expected to be set up by no later than the end of this year, Foreign Policy says. The report adds that a US delegation allegedly made a recent trip to The Hague, which hosts the ICC, to find out more about the possible scope of the probe.

It remains unknown if the prosecution would go so far as to charge American servicemen with war crimes, as such allegations need to be backed by a preponderance of incriminating evidence, which the ICC does not boast as of now.

To proceed with the investigation, the prosecutor would have to establish that the allegations have not been properly dealt with by American authorities, but the ICC has already slammed US authorities responsible for oversight for being reluctant to bring serious charges against servicemen involved in the ill-treatment of detainees.

If all of the conditions are met, a three-judge panel would decide if the court will take on the issue, as no member-state, but only the prosecutor herself, has requested that the proceedings be launched.

In its report on Preliminary Examination Activity from November of last year, the court pointed out that the US Committee against Torture, which was specially established to look into multiple reports of CIA operatives and service members torturing and abusing detainees in Afghanistan following 9/11, might have been too lenient in punishing those implicated in committing war crimes.

The report says that, despite the US government’s claim that the Pentagon has conducted “thousands of investigations since 2001 and prosecuted or disciplined hundreds of service members for mistreatment of detainees and other misconduct,” the charges were “administrative,” not “criminal,” and those “higher than the brigade commander level” were never subjected to disciplinary measures. Moreover, some of the investigations found excuses for the mistreatment of the suspects in “unclear policy guidance,” “insufficient training,” or “command failures.”

Based on the evidence available, the court concluded “that victims were deliberately subjected to physical and psychological violence” committed “with particular cruelty.”

Washington has long claimed that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the US, and, therefore, its citizens are not subject to its rulings, as the US has never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court in the first place.

However, the court argues that, since Afghanistan ratified the Rome Statute in February 2003, all crimes committed on its territory or by its nationals since then fall under its jurisdiction.

 

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A total of 1,792 Iraqis were killed and another 1,358 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in October 2016, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

UN: 3150 Iraqis Killed, Wounded by Violence in October 2016
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“The number of civilians killed in October was 1,120, including 15 federal police, Sahwa civil defense, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department, and the number of civilians injured was 1,005, including 08 federal police, Sahwa civil defense, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department,” the UNAMI said in a report published on its website, Iraqi News reported.

“A total of 672 members of the Iraqi Security Forces including police engaged in combat functions, Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army, not including Anbar Operations were killed and 353 were injured not including casualties from Anbar,” UNAMI added.

The UNAMI also revealed that Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,075 civilian casualties, including 268 killed and 807 injured. Nineveh 566 killed and 59 injured, Kirkuk 58 killed and 112 injured, Salahuddin 16 killed and 2 injured, and Diyala, 4 killed and 2 injured.

According to information obtained by UNAMI from the Health Directorate in Anbar, the province suffered a total of 227 civilian casualties , including 206 killed and 21 injured, in October 2016.

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG) Jan Kubis said, “With the military operations in Mosul and other areas of Nineveh underway while ISIL continues to apply its terrorist tactics using civilians as human shields and executing those that resist, civilians are once again in harm’s way.”

“Figures show high numbers of deaths among the civilian population. The United Nations again emphasizes that all actions necessary must be undertaken to ensure the protection of the civilian inhabitants from the effects of armed conflict and violence,” Mr. Kubis added.

A member of Knesset revealed that 122 US and Israeli officers and pilots are stationed in Faisal bin Abdul Aziz airbase in Saudi region of Tabuk under a US-Saudi military agreement.

Israeli Knesset Member Reveals 122 US, Israeli Officers Stationed in Saudi Air Base
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The deployment of these officers indicates the extent of the development of military relations between the Saudi Arabia and Israel, Al Manar reported.

Leading member of the Israeli party Meretz in Knesset, Zahava Gal-on, said that the agreement includes the installation of the “Iron Dome” air defense system in Saudi Arabia, hoping to catch up with what the American Patriot system has failed do.

Zahava Gal-on explained that the area, where the US and Israeli officers were deployed in, is being under the custody of the Americans and the Israeli security members, while Saudis are not allowed to enter, stating that the Israel has no problems with the Saudi authorities, but conceding that the problem lies within what she called as the extremist ideas in the Saudi society.

Gal-on exposed the agreement because she objects the dispatch of Israeli officers to the Saudi airbase, saying: “Given that Saudi Arabia decided through a secret agreement with Israel to hand over the islands of Sanafir and Tiran to Israeli army soon, we do not have the need to send our specialized officers to the King Faisal air Base in Tabuk. I declare that this reckless decision by Benjamin Netanyahu will drag us to the trap of Saudi terrorism sooner or later.”

The leader of Meretz party has also published the names of the 122 officers operating in Tabuk air base.

 

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Iraqi Popular Forces Retake Control of Int'l Nineveh-Raqqa Road

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"Capturing this road will prevent ISIL's escape from Mosul to Syria," al-Hosseini told Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel on Wednesday.

Hashd al-Sha'abi (the popular force) deputy commander Abu Mahdi Muhandis had stated on Tuesday that Hashd al-Sha'abi's mission is to protect Tal Afar town in Western Mosul and control the main way between Mosul and Syria to prevent the ISIL militants from crossing into Raqqa.

Also, a local source in Nineveh province said on Tuesday that rapid advances of Iraqi government forces have caused the ISIL terrorist group to evacuate its wounded members from Mosul's medical centers, relocating them to unknown destinations.

"A number of buses transferred tens of ISIL's injured members from Mosul to unknown militant-held regions," the source said.

"The injured ISIL members will be relocated possibly to Raqqa's hospitals in Syria," the source said.

UN: 3150 Iraqis Killed, Wounded by Violence in October 2016

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“The number of civilians killed in October was 1,120, including 15 federal police, Sahwa civil defense, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department, and the number of civilians injured was 1,005, including 08 federal police, Sahwa civil defense, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department,” the UNAMI said in a report published on its website, Iraqi News reported.

“A total of 672 members of the Iraqi Security Forces including police engaged in combat functions, Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army, not including Anbar Operations were killed and 353 were injured not including casualties from Anbar,” UNAMI added.

The UNAMI also revealed that Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,075 civilian casualties, including 268 killed and 807 injured. Nineveh 566 killed and 59 injured, Kirkuk 58 killed and 112 injured, Salahuddin 16 killed and 2 injured, and Diyala, 4 killed and 2 injured.

According to information obtained by UNAMI from the Health Directorate in Anbar, the province suffered a total of 227 civilian casualties , including 206 killed and 21 injured, in October 2016.

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG) Jan Kubis said, “With the military operations in Mosul and other areas of Nineveh underway while ISIL continues to apply its terrorist tactics using civilians as human shields and executing those that resist, civilians are once again in harm’s way.”

“Figures show high numbers of deaths among the civilian population. The United Nations again emphasizes that all actions necessary must be undertaken to ensure the protection of the civilian inhabitants from the effects of armed conflict and violence,” Mr. Kubis added.

HRW Urges US to Suspend Saudi Arms Supplies instead of Condemning Attacks

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The demand by HRW was made after the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power during her remarks to the UNSC, called on Riyadh to halt its airstrikes on schools, hospitals and other civilian targets, presstv reported.

"Ambassador Power's remarks, calling for an end to unlawful strikes that kill civilians and hit protected civilian objects, are certainly welcome. But the US has repeatedly failed to acknowledge its own role providing vital support to those airstrikes by refueling coalition planes and continuing to supply Saudi Arabia with US weapons," HRW’s senior emergencies researcher Priyanka Motaparthy was quoted by ABC News as saying on Tuesday.

She noted that the rights group has on multiple occasions called on Washington to stop selling arms to the Saudis and to stop fueling their jets.

“It's time for the government to go beyond just statements and suspend their support," she added.

During her remarks, Power condemned a Saudi airstrike on a funeral procession that killed more than 312 people in Sana’a in October. Following an investigation, the Saudis admitted they carried out the strike based on what they referred to as bad information. At the time, the investigation led by HRW found that the bomb used in the attack was US-made.

In September, Amnesty International also reported that a US manufactured bomb had been used in a Saudi strike against a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah which claimed the lives of 19 people.

Saudi Arabia has been launching airstrikes on Yemen since March 2015. The war was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president. Several sources put the death toll from the military aggression at over 11,800.

Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi reconnaissance aircraft: Report

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/11/02/491761/Yemen-Saudi-drone-Asir-Nehm-Taizz

The Yemeni army, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, has reportedly shot down a Saudi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on an espionage mission near the country’s airspace.

According to a report by Yemen’s al-Masirah television, the Saudi spy drone was downed by Yemeni forces over Alab border region in the kingdom’s Asir Province Tuesday night.

In another development, Yemeni army forces destroyed the positions of Saudi mercenaries in Salo region in the southwestern province of Ta’izz, killing an unspecified number of them.

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters also took control over Seid region and Hasab village in Salo.

Elsewhere in Sana’a Province, Yemeni armed forces targeted vehicles belonging to Saudi mercenaries with missile attacks in the Nehm district.

No let-up in Saudi assaults

Separately, reports said Saudi warplanes pounded the international airport in the western province of Hudaydah as well as Razeh district in the northwestern province of Sa’ada.

Saudi mercenaries’ sniper fire also killed two women in Sabr district of Ta’izz on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the toll at 10,000. The offensive was launched to reinstate the former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and undermine Ansarullah.

International alarm has been growing over airstrikes that have hit civilian targets, including a recent one that hit a funeral in Sana’a and killed over 140 people last month.

In pictures: Houthi forces capture Saudi Coalition positions in Ta’iz Province

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pictures-houthi-forces-capture-saudi-coalition-positions-taiz-province/

The Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, continued their military operations inside the Ta'iz Governorate Tuesday, capturing several sites from the Hadi loyalists and Saudi-led Coalition.

According to the Yemeni Republican Guard's official media wing, the anti-regime forces managed to seize several enemy positions in the Al-Salo area of the Ta'iz Governorate.

This powerful attack attack on Tuesday led the Houthi forces to seize more ground in the villages of Al-Seed and Al-Hasab.

The images above show the enemy weapons captured, along with the fighters killed by the Houthi forces in the Ta'iz Governorate on Tuesday.

 

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Iraqi Security Forces Seize Chemical Weapons from ISIL in Anbar

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A security source said that Iraqi army forces found five rockets and a stockpile of mortar shells as well as IED (improvised explosive devices) production plants used by ISIL in al-Ramadi Island in the Western Iraqi province.

The source added that Iraqi forces have found many rockets improvised by ISIL militants themselves, in addition to 1,500 standard conventional rockets and mortars rounds apparently supplied to the militants by their supporters or seized by them from the Iraqi Army.

The Iraqi security forces have been conducting a massive operation to purge the Anbar province of ISIL militants; the operation has entered a different chapter after Iraqi Army and its allies started the military campaign to liberate the major city of Mosul from the ISIL control.

 

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PMU’s commander Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandis warns Turkey

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pmus-commander-abu-mahdi-al-mohandis-warns-turkey/

PMU's (Popular Mobilization Units) commander advices the Turkish government to withdraw from their bases in Bashiqa. Following the recent statements of Turkish government officials that they want to be part of the groundforces that are going to liberate Mosul from Daesh elements.

Currently, Iraqi forces are heavily occupied with fighting Daesh in Mosul as they are almost going to enter the city centre. There are however no specific foreign boots on the ground as the Iraqi PM and FM have mentioned explicitly that the Iraqi people can liberate their own land without having help on the ground from other countries.

Iraq, on the other hand, receives support from an international coalition. Which is more a facilitating role from these countries and does not involve boots on the ground. Last few days the Iraqi PM 'Haidar Al-Abadi' and Turkish President 'Recep Erdogan' exchanged some heavy words about the battle of Mosul, where Turkish President mentioned that Mosul was part of Turkey, and Iraqi PM mentioned that Turkey belonged to Iraq as part of the Abbysid empire.

Turkish Army sends more tanks to Iraq

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkish-army-sends-tanks-iraq/

The Turkish Army sent several tanks and armored vehicles to the Iraqi border amid the ongoing offensive for the Iraqi forces at Tal Afar near Mosul, the Reuters News Agency reported on Friday.

While the Iraqi Army looks to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), Turkey has expressed disapproval over the ongoing operations at Tal Afar.

Turkish forces have actively targeted the Kurdish-led "Kurdistan Workers Party" (PKK) in northern Iraq, despite Baghdad's disapproval and condemnation.

Baghdad has repeatedly asked the Turkish regime to pull back their forces; however, it has been to no avail, thanks in large part to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's refusal to comply with the Iraqi government's request.

Commander: Saudi-Backed Forces Using Yemeni Civilians as Human Shield in Ma'rib

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"After heavy defeats in Ma'rib, the Saudi mercenaries that are part of the Riyadh-led coalition forces have stationed innocent civilians near their military bases to be used as human shields against the Yemeni army and popular committees' attacks," Ali al-Houthi told FNA on Friday.

Noting that the Yemeni forces have started operations to rescue the civilians, he said, "During the fierce clashes which continued until noon, 21 Saudi mercenaries were killed and tens of others were wounded."

He also said that 8 Yemeni army forces were killed in the clashes.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 12,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.

Yemeni Army Attacks Saudi Forces in Sana'a with Ballistic Zelzal-2 Missiles

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The Saudi forces' gathering center in Malah region of Sana'a came under attack by the Yemeni army's home-made ballistic Zalzal-2 missile, an army source said today.

"It was a precision missile strike and hit the target," the source said without explaining about the damage and toll inflicted on the Saudi forces.

The development came after a prominent analyst said that the Yemeni forces are developing their missile power to target Riyadh and Dubai in the future.

"The Yemeni forces have increased their missile and military capabilities and expanded the range of their military operations against the enemies," Seyed Sadeq al-Sharafi said.

Noting that continued war in Yemen will further complicate the situation of the Saudis and make the Yemeni forces stronger, he said, "The range of the army and popular committees' missiles has increased to hit targets in Jeddah, meaning that they are likely to hit targets in Riyadh and beyond as well as Dubai and other sensitive regions soon in future."

Sharafi expressed confidence that the balance of power is changing and the Saudis' failure is imminent, and said, "The Saudis are moving towards full collapse, while the Yemeni nation is going towards victory and gaining more power in the military and defense fields."

His remarks came after the Yemeni army and popular forces launched a Borkan-1 ballistic missile attack from Sa'ada province to a Saudi Airbase in Jeddah late in October.

Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a Borkan-1 (Volcano-1) missile towards King Abdulaziz International Airport, located 19 kilometers North of the Western Saudi port city of Jeddah, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, later told the official Saba news agency that the 12.5-meter-long missile had hit its target accurately and left massive destruction at the airport.

Saudi media outlets, however, reported that the kingdom’s missile systems intercepted and destroyed the solid propellant and Scud-type missile before it could cause any damage.

They said the projectile was launched at 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) on Thursday from Yemen’s mountainous Northwestern area of Sa’ada.

The Saudi military also claimed that the Yemeni missile was fired toward the holy city of Mecca, but the Ansarullah movement rejected the claim.

An informed Ansarullah source said that the missile was aimed at King Abdulaziz International Airport close to Jeddah, which hosts the kingdom’s royal forces.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 12,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.