The Iraqi counterterrorism forces discovered ISIL's biggest jail in the city of Mosul in Nineveh province in Western Iraq.
Iraqi Forces Discover ISIL's Largest Prison in Mosul
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The prison contained separate solitary confinements for keeping men and women and also special rooms for torturing the inmates, the Arabic-language al-Mesleh news website reported on Monday.
The intelligence obtained from the people in the vicinity of the prison said the ISIL has imprisoned tens of civilians who have resisted against the terrorist group and refused to impellent its orders," Senior Iraqi Federal police commander Karim Ziyab said on Tuesday.
Ziyab reiterated that the ISIL had transferred all the prisoners of the jail to an unknown location after advances made by the Iraqi security forces.
In a relevant development in early November, informed sources in Nineveh province disclosed that the local residents had raided the ISIL's main prison in the Western part of Mosul city and set free nearly four dozen prisoners after killing the guards.
"The local residents attacked and captured ISIL's main prison in Western Mosul and released 45 prisoners after killing all the prison guards in bloody clashes," the Arabic-language al-Sumeria News Channel quoted a local security source in Nineveh province as saying.
Also in early November, a local official in Nineveh Province said that a large ISIL prison had been discovered by security forces South of the province, in the al-Shura area.
According to Nineveh Provincial Council member Hussam al-Din al-Abbar,
the underground prison, containing more than 1,000 inmates, among them captured Iraqi troops and police officers, was uncovered by joint forces providing security and removing explosives from the area.
"ISIL tortured and arrested thousands of Nineveh residents and committed many crimes against the citizens who violated its instructions," the official added. "The detainees were freed and transferred to a safe destination."
The Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) seized back two strategic villages West of Mosul city and imposed full control over the strategic Tal Afar-Tal Abta road.
Mosul: Hashd al-Shaabi Wins Back 2 Key Villages, Key Road
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"Hashd al-Shaabi seized back the villages of Ashvah (West of Tal Abta) and Husein Joma'a (West of Tal Afar) as the Iraqi volunteer forces were chasing the fleeing ISIL terrorists," Hashd al-Shaabi media center reported on Tuesday.
The Iraqi volunteer forces also destroyed two bomb-laden vehicles of the ISIL terrorists near Ashvah village and before the terrorists could explode them to inflict losses on the Iraqi forces.
On Monday, the Iraqi forces managed to liberate several villages near Mosul from the grip of the ISIL terrorist group as part of larger operations to fully recapture the city in Nineveh province.
The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said Hashd al-Shaabi, purged six villages, West of the city, of ISIL terrorists.
The Iraqi general added that ISIL terrorists lost the villages of Hazimiyah al-Janubiyah, Moshayrfat al-Jisr, Zaid al-Mos’ab, Yassin al-Halbous, Tal Maidan Qoly and al-Bota al-Gharbiyah.
Soldiers from the US-led coalition have arrived at the Iraq-Syria border for the first time, Anbar mayor Mabrouk Hamid told Sputnik.
Anbar Mayor Reports Arrival of US-Led Coalition Troops at Iraq-Syria Border
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Hamid said the soldiers have arrived in the west of Iraq's Anbar province for an anti-terror operation in a bordering region.
The soldiers are going to assist Iraqi government troops in preparation for an operation to liberate the small towns of Rava, Ana and El Kaim from Daesh terrorists. The towns are located on the border with Syria.
Hamid added that local forces have also requested weapons, as well as personnel and strategic assistance. He said that the local authorities are in constant contact with the US-led coalition, and are discussing the prospect of arming regional forces who want to fight Daesh.
The US-led coalition air forces launched six strikes near Iraqi cities of Kisik and Mosul and eight strikes near Syria's Ayn Isa and Deir ez-Zor against the Daesh targets, according to the Operation Inherent Resolve Joint Task Force.
US-Led Coalition Strikes Destroy Daesh Explosives Factory Near Iraq’s Bayji
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The US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) carried out 15 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on Monday, including one that destroyed a homemade explosives factory near the Iraqi city of Bayji, the Operation Inherent Resolve Joint Task Force said in a press release.
Six additional airstrikes near Iraqi cities of Kisik and Mosul engaged Daesh tactical units and destroyed their explosive devices facilities, tunnels, bridges and supply routes, the task force said.
In Syria, coalition forces carried out eight airstrikes near Ayn Isa and Deir ez-Zor. The strikes destroyed supply routes, Islamic State oil infrastructure and a command and control node, according to the release.
The operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Daesh terror group appears to have enabled thousands of Islamist fighters to flood toward central Syria, Russian analyst Sergei Demidenko told RIA Novosti.
US-Led Coalition's Mosul Strategy Allows Daesh Terrorists to Swarm Central Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612121048450508-daesh-militants-mosul-syria-palmyra/
On Sunday Russia's Center for Syrian reconciliation reported that the Daesh terror group was making plans to transfer up to 5,000 fighters from Mosul to the regions of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa in Syria.
The Iraqi army-led operation to liberate Mosul was launched in October. Iraqi armed forces are working in collaboration with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Shiite Popular Mobilization forces and federal police, and have the military backing of the US-led coalition. In early October a military source told RIA Novosti that
the US had agreed with Saudi Arabia to provide Daesh militants a safe passage from Mosul, if they were prepared to flee the city without a fight. The source said that Washington and Riyadh's plan envisages enabling the terrorists to attack towns in central and eastern Syria under the control of government forces.
"Over 9,000 Daesh militants will be transferred from Mosul to the Eastern regions of Syria for a subsequent major offensive, which intends to capture Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra," the source told the agency at the time.
The allegation seems particularly prescient in the wake of the recent terrorist assault on Palmyra, as a result of which Daesh militants recaptured important strategic areas of the ancient city on Sunday.
An intelligence report revealed on Tuesday that support by Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the extremists who follow the Wahabism movement in Germany has grown significantly.
Intelligence Report Confirms Growing Saudi, Qatari Support to Extremists in Germany
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The report pointed out that Riyadh and Doha had sent advocates “to spread the radical version of Islam,” Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.
According to the report, the Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) and the Constitution Protection Commission, Germany's Internal Intelligence, have wrote to the German government that religious organizations from the Persian Gulf have established mosques and educational institutions, as they had also sent advocates to Germany to “Spread the radical version of Islam.
They added that “this conclusion is based on the evidence that has been reached so far.
The report pointed out that there is no evidence on providing support deliberately to “Salafi structures and networks that are willing to use violence,” stressing that “it is expected to prepare a list contains well-known leaders and advocates in Europe to prevent them from traveling to the Schengen area countries.
10,000 Workers who were victims of labor abuse in Qatar were flown home during 2015, official government figures published on Tuesday revealed.
10,000 Labor Abuse Victims Sent Home from Qatar in 2015
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The number was released by the Persian Gulf state's Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs as
Qatar announced it had abolished its controversial "kafala" labor system from Tuesday, the Daily Star reported.
All the flights were paid for by the state, said officials, who gave no more details about the nature of the abuses or any measures taken against employers.
Human rights groups have long claimed that labor conditions in Qatar, the host of the 2022 football World Cup, leave vulnerable workers open to abuse.
Doha has introduced a new contract-based system for foreign workers from December 13, which it says will give more protection to workers and safeguard their rights.
Under "kafala", all foreign workers working in Qatar required a local sponsor, in the form of an individual or company, and needed their permission to switch jobs or leave the country.
Under the new system, workers will still need the permission of their employer to leave the country.
There are 2.1 million migrant laborers in Qatar, according to the ministry, from countries including Nepal, Bangladesh and India. Many are working on World Cup infrastructure projects.
The bodies of at least 150 foreign workers from India remained in mortuaries in Saudi Arabia for almost a year due to what was claimed as lack ability by their families to afford the steep bills to bring them home.
Bodies of Foreign Workers 'Piling up' in Saudi Morgues
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India's embassy in Riyadh has done little to change the situation, with letters and calls from the country's ministry of external affairs going unanswered, the Times of India reported.
For its part, the embassy has blamed its Saudi employees for mishandling communications.
According to a source who spoke to the Times of India, even when families manage to send coffins back to India the process is cumbersome and can take weeks.
Mohd Taher, an Indian computer programmer based in Saudi Arabia, says the process of transferring a body to India can take almost a year.
Mohd Taher, an Indian computer programmer based in Saudi Arabia, says the process of transferring a body to India can take almost a year.
Taher recalls the case of a woman named Asima who was allegedly tortured to death by her Saudi employer. Following an intervention by volunteers who helped expedite the process, her body was returned to Hyderabad on 20 May.
"This actually took less time. There are cases where bodies are lying in morgues for eight months as families can't pursue employers or MEA officials," said Taher. He added that in the case of an accident, it can take over a month to have a body returned.
"Since the procedures are so cumbersome, a woman who came to visit her son had to be buried in Saudi," Taher explained.
Due to Saudi laws, the bodies of murder and accident victims are only released after investigations are completed. According to Kalvakuntla Kavitha, an MP from the Indian state of Telangana, this can take between 60-90 days.
Kavitha disclosed this information to a constituent who was asking for assistance via Twitter in bringing home the body for a relative.
According to some local sources, Saudi employers also pose a huge obstacle to the repatriation process, since they are unwilling to shoulder the financial burden of transporting the bodied. This can cost around $5,900 to $8,800.
In order to have a body flown back to India, four letters must be sent to the Indian embassy in Riyadh. This communication should include the details of medical and police reports, consent and a declaration that monetary assistance will not be demanded from Saudi authorities or the employer.
