Iraq

[angelburst29]

As many as 15,000 people have been fleeing Mosul every day since the start of the US-led coalition's most recent offensive started on February 19, Melany Markham of the Norwegian Refugee Council told Radio Sputnik.

'Entire Homes Destroyed With Families Inside' – Refugees Report Mosul Horror
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703271052015272-mosul-iraq-airstrikes-civilians/

Iraqi defense officials in Mosul have reported that more than 200 civilians have been killed in a recent airstrike carried out by the US-led coalition.

According to reports, the airstrike was carried out March 17 in the neighborhood of Mosul al-Jadida, where Iraqi and coalition forces are battling Daesh militants.

Local residents have reported that the airstrike hit an explosive-filled truck used by Daesh, causing a massive explosion that collapsed nearby residential buildings.

Iraqi Vice President Osama Nujaifi called the incident a "humanitarian disaster" and UN officials said they were "profoundly concerned” by the attack.

On Saturday, the Pentagon admitted carrying out an airstrike in that location and opened an investigation into the reports.

As conflict rages in Mosul, as many as 15,000 people a day are arriving at refugee camps outside the city, where and aid organizations are struggling to provide the resources for all of them.

The UN initially estimated that 250,000 people would flee Mosul as a result of the recent anti-Daesh offensive, but it has since revised its prediction to half a million.

Melany Markham, Media Coordinator with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), told Radio Sputnik that there are a lot of conflicting reports about what is happening in Mosul. NRC receives reports from people fleeing the city to refugee camps.

"We have heard a lot of conflicting reports about the destruction occurring in Mosul and some of the people who have been displaced and who have been aided by NRC have described entire homes being destroyed with the families in them," Markham said.

"As to who is causing that or what is causing that destruction, it's very difficult to say. NRC doesn't work inside Mosul so it is very difficult for us to determine what is causing that level of civilian harm and level of destruction."

"However, the coalition has announced that they have opened an investigation into this recent incident which occurred on 17 March and the findings of that investigation should be determined over the next few weeks."

Refugees from Mosul have told NRC harrowing stories about what is happening there. It appears that as Daesh terrorists are losing control of the city, they are committing more crimes against the civilian population.

"We have heard some very distressing stories. One man who has fled Mosul told us that IS (Daesh) had invaded his home and said to the family, 'we're all going to die together.' There are very similar stories from almost family and every person who has fled," Markham said.

There are conflicting reports about the number of civilian casualties killed as a result of coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

On March 4, the Pentagon said that a total of 220 civilians had been killed by the US-coalition in Iraq and Syria since the start of operations in 2014.

However, the monitoring group Airwars disputed that figure, saying at least 2,463 civilians had been killed.

On Saturday, Airwars reported a surge in civilian deaths as a result of US-led airstrikes in March.

"Almost 1,000 civilian non-combatant deaths have already been alleged from coalition actions across Iraq and Syria in March — a record claim," Airwars said.

The US-led coalition has likely played a part in a recent strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul that resulted in high civilian casualties, coalition commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a briefing on Tuesday.

US Coalition Commander Says 'We Probably Had Role' in High Casualties in Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703281052053533-us-coalition-mosul-casualties/

Last week, media reported that at least 200 people, many of whom were civilians, were killed in recent airstrikes in Mosul.

"My initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties," Townsend told reporters when asked about the strike.

On March 17, an alleged US-led coalition airstrike targeting the militants and their equipment hit a building in al-Jadida neighborhood in western Mosul. The militants reportedly forced dozens of civilians into the structure and secured the building with explosives.

Iraqi media reported that up to 200 people, many of whom were civilians, were killed in the airstrike.

Townsend acknowledged the coalition targeted the particular area in Mosul, but noted it was still unclear if its strike was responsible for civilian deaths.

The commander also said US military personnel visited the site of the incident. The coalition has appointed Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler to lead the civilian casualty credibility assessment.

Townsend claimed the fact that the whole building collapsed after the strike contradicts US involvement.

"The munition that we used should not have collapsed an entire building," he stated. "My initial impression is the enemy had a hand in this. There is also a fair chance that our strike had some role in it."

Moreover, Townsend pointed out that accidental civilian casualties do not constitute a war crime.

"It is unfortunate, but it is not a crime, because these soldiers have to make these decisions in seconds sometimes, in circumstances that you cannot imagine unless you have experienced them," he added.

The spike in casualties during the operation in western Mosul was predictable, Townsend argued, because it is a much harder fight in closed urban terrain.

Townsend underscored that most civilians in Mosul are dying at the hands of the Islamic State, adding that the fight to liberate the city is the most significant urban combat since World War II.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum described in an interview to Sputnik earlier in March the situation in Mosul as a humanitarian catastrophe due to the civilian deaths, but urged to continue recapturing the city, since "it would not be sensible to leave the city to terrorists." He called for investigation into the mistakes made by US-led coalition airstrikes two weeks before to establish "whether there was a communication failure, whether the information was erroneous" and noted that the operation in that part of Mosul was postponed in order to find more appropriate methods to fight the militants.

 

[angelburst29]

US generals are irritated by the slow progress of coalition efforts to liberate Mosul in a campaign that is totally destroying the city, former US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

US Generals 'Frustrated' by Slow Pace of Operation to Retake Mosul From Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703291052063800-us-generals-frustrated-mosul-operation/

A US military spokesman said earlier this week that the United States was going to deploy an additional 200 to 300 more troops to Iraq to help with the offensive to liberate the city of Mosul.

"Certainly the long and slow slog that has been the retaking of Mosul has frustrated the US generals, and I think this frustration is playing out in increased attacks and force application, that is harming civilians and finishing the pretty much total destruction of Mosul," Kwiatkowski said on Tuesday.

Kwiatkowski expressed skepticism that the additional troops would have any significant positive impact on the Coalition campaign.

Beyond improved targeting and post-strike intelligence, capturing key members of Daesh that may have worked for the US in previous phases of the Iraq and Syria experience, and photos with remaining civilians in Mosul, I don’t think these troops have any purpose," Kwiatkowski said.

The city of Mosul has been effectively destroyed, the society that was east and west Mosul has been effectively displaced and impoverished, no city services remain, and the refugee crisis around the city apparently was not well planned for by either the Iraqi military, the US or the UN, Kwiatkowski claimed.

The second largest city in Iraq and an oil producing region has basically been vacated by all minority religions, and is a blank slate for rebuilding. If US foreign policy is maintained in its current direction, the rebuilding of the city will be a new area for US military involvement and spending," she said.

Kwiatkowski said US policymakers would likely entirely seek to transform Mosul, at the center of one of the world’s great oil–rich regions into a key center for their activities.

"I’m concerned about what is happening: I think the destruction of Mosul and the lack of care for its former residents who have been scattered to the four winds over the past year indicate that the US and her allies intend to remake Mosul as a company town, so to speak," she said.

However, Kwiatkowski said this week’s troop deployment was likely focused on the immediate goals of providing better targeting for US air attacks on Mosul as well as better media handling on the aftermath of strikes that have severe collateral damage causing significant civilian casualties.

The decision to send 200 more US troops to support the Iraqi Army in its drive to retake Mosul is part of Washington’s longstanding strategy to establish and maintain complete domination over the Middle East, analysts told Sputnik.

Sending Troops to Mosul, US Seeks to Establish Lasting Dominance Across Mideast
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703291052064530-us-mosul-dominance-mideast/

The US strategic agenda for the region could be clearly understood in a simple five point plan, University of Pittsburgh Professor of International Affairs Michael Brenner said on Tuesday.

Successive US presidents shared their determination to gain and hold “Permanent bases in Iraq and Kurdish Syria, [exercise] obedience to Israeli and Saudi strategic designs [and] topple the IRI [Islamic Republic of Iran],” Brenner said.

It's not very complicated: the same as it was in 2003. Establish American dominance — political as well as military — throughout the greater Middle East,” he explained.

Despite its claim to be fighting Islamist extremism throughout the Middle East, the United States continued to maintain supportive ties to groups including spin- offshoots of al-Qaeda, Brenner pointed out.

Middle East analyst and political commentator Dan Lazare told Sputnik that, the underlying pattern of US continued expansion of power and influence remain clear.

“No one knows what [US President Donald] Trump is up to in the Middle East, least of all Trump himself. But he is clearly adopting a more aggressive policy vis-a-vis Syria, Iraq, and Yemen,” Lazare said.

However, Lazare observed that Trump’s policies were making conflicts in the region worse rather than reducing or ending them.

“The trouble with aggression of this sort, though, is that it's self-reinforcing. The more troops he puts in, the more you'll want to up the ante in the hopes of eking out some sort of victory in the end. Yet US tactics are so fundamentally flawed that victory is always elusive,” Lazare explained.

Far from destroying al-Qaeda and the Islamic Sate Trump’s policies in Syria were helping them, Lazare insisted.

“By repeatedly violating Syrian sovereignty, he is undermining the only social force capable of defeating them. So he winds up fostering the social conditions in which such groups thrive,” he said.

Trump’s policies were therefore also backfiring in his support of Saudi Arabia and the Sanaa government in Yemen, Lazare continued.

“By backing the Saudi assault, he [Trump] is contributing to a policy of social pulverization that fosters civil war,” Lazare explained.

In Syria, Yemen and Libya US policy had been to destroy centralized government without providing anything to replace and this approach had failed repeatedly, Lazare recalled.

 

[angelburst29]

ISIS have burned three women who refused to slaughter fellow residents who had tried to flee areas held by the group in Mosul, eyewitnesses said.

ISIS burns woman in western Mosul for not executing civilians
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-burn-woman-in-western-mosul-for-not-killing-civilians/

Shafaaq news website quoted the witnesses saying that the group had sentenced a group of civilians to death for trying to flee Wadi Akab region. They ordered civilian women to execute the sentence, according to the sources. When three women declined, they burned them to death, they added.

News reports about atrocities affecting civilians under ISIS rule, though largely attributed to anonymous sources, have greatly been corroborated by accounts by civilians reported by aid agencies and U.N organizations.

Since emerging to the scene in Iraq in 2014 to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate”, ISIS members executed thousands of civilians for violating its extreme religious rules, collaborating with Iraqi security forces and attempting to flee its domains. The group has occasionally posted videos of heinous executions carried out by its members.

The group sis currently losing ground and personnel in a wide-scale, U.S.-backed security campaign by the Iraqi government at Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq. The campaign has entered a sixth month and is believed to need a few more months to eliminate militants from the city. The Iraqi government is expected to move to other smaller ISIS pockets outside Mosul once the offensive is concluded.

A child found with an explosive belt wrapped around his body had the device safely removed by an anti-ISIS Iraqi fighter.

VIDEO: Iraqi forces dismantle suicide bomb strapped by ISIS onto a child in Mosul
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-iraqi-forces-dismantle-suicide-bomb-strapped-by-isis-on-a-child-in-mosul/

Families fleeing the intense fighting between ISIS and the Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul noticed a child alone, in which they notified the Iraqi Army once reaching the safety of a government controlled checkpoint.

The boy would not speak on who his family is or reveal his name, kept pointing towards his stomach when being spoken to.

It was revealed that an ISIS fighter, who was only known to the boy as Amo, a term to refer to older men as an uncle as a sign of respect, had given the boy the device to carry out a suicide mission against Iraqi soldiers.

Aid groups providing assistance to displaced families fleeing fighting between Iraqi forces and Daesh in the western side of Mosul say terrified parents drug their children with sedatives or tape their mouths to avoid discovery as they try to escape.

Mosul parents sedate kids to avoid discovery by ISIS
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/mosul-parents-sedate-kids-to-avoid-discovery-by-isis/

“Families often leave at night and in the early hours of the morning and have to walk with their children. The kids get tired and if they cry it’s very difficult,” Hala Jaber of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

She added, “Families are sometimes putting duct tape on their children’s mouths or even giving them Valium or tranquilizers just to keep them quiet so that they are not found out by Daesh and captured or shot.”

Jaber said Iraqi children in Mosul have seen and been through the things that are beyond what any human being should see, adding, “They’ve witnessed hands being cut off, beheadings and killings. A lot of them are in shock.”

Meanwhile, Amy Christian, a spokeswoman for the UK-based international charity, Oxfam, in Iraq, said civilians reaching reception centers for refugees are “very traumatized, hungry, dehydrated and completely exhausted.”

Some had given their children sedatives to protect them against terror as they fled, she noted.

My family gave drugs to the young children,” teenager Noor Muhammed told Oxfam after escaping Mosul with 27 other people.

“Parents gave sleeping medicine to their children so they wouldn’t be horrified by the fighting, and when they ran at night under the darkness, they wouldn’t be found because of the children,” Muhammed said in a statement provided by Oxfam.

 

[angelburst29]

The US, Iraqi and Kuwaiti militaries conducted a trilateral exercise in the northern Persian Gulf, the first of its kind since 2011, the US Navy said in a press release on Friday.

US, Iraq, Kuwait Conduct First Trilateral War Games in Persian Gulf Since 2011
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052169415-us-iraq-kuwait-drills-persia-gulf/

The exercise involved 11 ships and US Navy guided-missile destroyer Mahan, and included defensive navigation tactics, gunnery training, ship boarding and search-and-rescue.

"The trilateral exercise concept was driven by the desire of the three partner nations to cooperatively address threats that exist in the [Persian] Gulf," the release stated.

A new trilateral format will replace separate US-Iraq and US-Kuwait bilateral monthly exercises and be conducted quarterly, the Navy explained. The exercises are driven by the three nations’ desire to cooperatively address threats that exist in the Persian Gulf.

NATO has decided to train paramedics and maintain tanks and armoured vehicles in Iraq, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.

NATO to Train Iraq Paramedics, Maintain Tanks - Stoltenberg
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052169043-nato-iraq-paramedics/

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washinghton is currently reviewing the possibility of increasing NATO’s participation in stabilization of Iraq and in the fight against Daesh.

Tillerson arrived in Brussels to participate in the NATO ministerial earlier in the day.

"Today we decided to step up our efforts inside Iraq, including with military medicine courses to train new paramedics and help to maintain tanks and armoured fighting vehicles," Stoltenberg told a press conference.

The announcement comes amid the Iraqi operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh with the support of the US-led coation.

The United States is passively following Saudi Arabia’s lead in boosting military assistance to the Riyadh-led collation seeking to suppress rebel forces in Yemen, ex-US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Chas Freeman told Sputnik.

US Now Reduced to Passively Backing Failing Saudi Strategy in Yemen - Ex-Envoy
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052146762-us-follow-saudis-yemen/

Freeman, who also served as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said, "Riyadh, not Washington, now leads."

The US Defense Department is considering increasing its support for Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies in their support for the government of Yemen seeking to suppress Houthi rebel forces, according to US media reports this week.

The US government no longer broadly engaged Saudi Arabia on a wide range of political, economic and cultural issues, but instead the relationship had degenerated into passive support for increasingly aggressive Riyadh policies, Freeman maintained.

"The US-Saudi relationship, which used to embrace a rich menu of political, economic, cultural, and military programs of cooperation, is basically down to intelligence and military support for independent Saudi foreign policies," he said.

President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized the alleged failure of his predecessor President Barack Obama to confront terrorism and Islamist extremists sufficiently energetically across the Middle East, but in Yemen Trump was continuing the same kinds of policies, Freeman said.

"As for the significance of stepping up support for the Saudi and Emirati-led bombing campaigns in Yemen, these are simply a continuation of previous counter-terrorism strategy," he said.

Trump, like Obama before him, failed to realize that increasing the scale of massive air strikes that disrupted and destroyed civil societies across wide ranges of the Middle East radicalized local populations and destroyed their cohesion, Freeman explained.

This made it far easier for extremist forces to grow rapidly and take control, he pointed out.

US counter-terrorism strategy therefore "resembles a plan to reduce hornet stings by poking at hornets' nests," Freeman explained.

Chas Freeman is a lifetime director of the Atlantic Council and served as US Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires at the US embassies in Beijing and Bangkok. Freeman also held several senior level positions at the Defense Department.

Russia does not only provide coordination support to Iraq in the fight against terrorism, but also supplies arms and trains military personnel, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.

Russia Provides Practical Support to Iraq in Anti-Terror Fight, Deputy PM Says
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052146328-russia-iraq-terror-fight-support/

The current operation to recapture Mosul carried out by the Iraqi troops backed by the US-led international coalition began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of the eastern part of the city this January. However, fighting in the western areas of Mosul continues.

"We wish our Iraqi friends success in the fight against the terrorist threat and the swift liberation of Mosul from extremists. In that respect we not only have coordination and an exchange of opinions, but also [provide] practical support in the form of arms deliveries and the preparation of personnel along our defense ministry lines," Bogdanov said in an interview with RT.

On Thursday, a police spokesperson told Sputnik that Iraqi security forces had managed to approach the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul.

The mosque is a symbolic place for the Daesh terrorist group, banned in Russia, as in 2014, Daesh leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, during his public preaching there, proclaimed a caliphate across the territories controlled by the terrorist group both in Iraq and Syria.

 

[angelburst29]

Russia was outraged by US top military commander's remarks on Moscow alleged support of Taliban terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) and expressed its indignation during recent NATO-Russia Council (NRC) meeting, Russian envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said Friday.

Russia Outraged by US Claims on Moscow Alleged Support to Taliban - Grushko
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201704011052180966-russia-outrage-taliban-us/

The relevant claims were made by Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations Curtis Scaparrotti last week. In particular, he accused Russia of arms supplies to Taliban.

We were outraged when the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said that we allegedly support the Taliban in Afghanistan. And we raised this issue at the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council," Grushko told reporters.

He noted that all consultation and work carried out by the Russian side was done with direct participation of Afghanistan's government.

Grushko stressed that a peace conference on Afghanistan, set for April 14, would include all regional players "without whom no lasting political settlement in Afghanistan could be possible."

On Monday, Russian Defense Ministry denied claims of Russian arms supplies to the Taliban, calling the allegations "absurd." According to ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Scaparrotti should "require from his employees to spend more time on the quality planning of operations against Taliban instead of justifying failures in Afghanistan by the mystic influence of ‘the hand of Moscow.'"

Taliban is an Islamist terror organization that seeks to establish a strict Sharia law in Afghanistan.

Moscow is being forced to assume a confrontational stance in relations with NATO, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Russia Being Forced to Enter Confrontation With NATO - Moscow
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201703311052175826-russia-nato-confrontation/

According to the ministry, NATO is not ready to return to practical cooperation with Russia in countering real threats to regional and global security.

We are being practically pressured to assume a confrontational paradigm of relations based on the logic of a military standoff," the ministry said in a statement commenting on the results of the recent Russia-NATO Council meeting at the level of ambassadors in Brussels.

Only fundamental changes in the nature of NATO could lead to eventual improvement of the European security, the ministry said.

"Once again, NATO showed that it puts its ideological dogmas ahead of real work on resolving global problems," the ministry said in a statement commenting on the results of the recent Russia-NATO Council meeting at the level of ambassadors in Brussels.

"The conclusion is that only a fundamental change of the nature of the Alliance, which has been hopelessly stuck in its own past, could bring about a chance for improvement of the European security situation," the statement said.

A meeting of NATO-Russia Council (NRC) took place on Thursday in Brussels. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the meeting substantial and noted a progress in relations between the alliance and Moscow, pointing out though that more transparency was needed.

Russian envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said after the NRC meeting that NATO military buildup on its "eastern flank" was an attempt to draw demarcation lines in Europe that could lead to a new round of an arms race. He also highlighted that Russia-NATO information exchange on military activity was not enough to ensure the improvement of the security situation in Europe.

Turkey opposes an initiative by Iraqi Kurdistan authorities to hold a referendum on the region’s independence, Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Friday.

'Wrong Move': Ankara Disapproves Iraqi Kurdistan Plans to Hold Independence Vote
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052178077-turkey-iraqi-kurdistan-independence-vote/

On Thursday, Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani, told the Rudaw media outlet that Barzani had informed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the referendum on gaining independence from Iraq "at the earliest time."

We believe that such a move would be wrong especially during such delicate period … We disapprove mentioning such a matter during times of high security risks," Kalin said, as quoted by the Daily Sabah media outlet.

He reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq.

"Iraq's possible separation according to ethnic and sectarian lines would not only be limited within the territory of Iraq but rather be spread over the region and everyone will pay the price for such a move," Kalin added.

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. In the latter two nations, the Kurds are fighting against the Daesh terror group, outlawed in Russia, while in Turkey, they are engaged in a conflict with state authorities.

 

[angelburst29]

Brig. Gen. Shaker Alwan Khafaji, one of Iraqi Federal Police heads, stated that US-led coalition did not carry out strikes on civilian population in Mosul.

Daesh Behind Deaths of Civilians in Mosul, Not US-Led Coalition Strike
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704011052187879-iraq-daesh-mosul-daesh-airstrike/

The incident with the death of civilians in Iraq's Mosul was not caused by the US-led coalition's airstrike, but by the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh, outlawed in Russia) terrorists’ truck bomb attack, Brig. Gen. Shaker Alwan Khafaji, one of Iraqi Federal Police heads, told Sputnik on Saturday.

Earlier this week, media reported that at least 200 people, many of whom were civilians, were killed in recent airstrikes in Mosul.

"Strikes on the civilian population are not carried out. What happened was that a SCANIA truck loaded with explosives blew up, that's what led to what happened," Khafaji said.

Brig. Gen. Shaker Alwan Khafaji, one of the Iraqi Federal Police heads, stated that Mosul's liberation from the Daesh terrorists will take weeks.

Iraq's Interior Ministry Says Mosul to Be Liberated From Daesh by End of Spring
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704011052188062-iraq-mosul-daesh-liberation/

The operation to liberate the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group (ISIL or Daesh, outlawed in Russia) will be completed by the end of spring, Brig. Gen. Shaker Alwan Khafaji, one of the Iraqi Federal Police heads, told Sputnik on Saturday.

"The IS currently controls 25-30 percent of western Mosul's territory. We continue to liberate new districts… Mosul's liberation will take weeks. This spring you will hear the news [of Mosul's liberation]," Khafaji said.

Media sources said that with the precarious situation for ISIL in Mosul, strong suggestions have been made that the terrorist group is now beginning to run low on ammunition and weapons.

Iraq: ISIL Begins to Run out of Ammunition, Weapons in Battle of Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960112000218

Al-massdar news reported that photos released by the ISIL-affiliated Amaq Agency showed ISIL using homemade rockets to repel the heavy attack of the Iraqi Army in the Northern city and former ISIL's stronghold of Mosul.

The latest reports from sources in Iraq suggest that there are only around 1,000 ISIL fighters in the city, bogged down and concentrated in the Northwestern sector.

This sector accounts for approximately 15% of the city, meaning that Iraqi forces control the remainder.

At the beginning of the operation to liberate Mosul in October, ISIL had approximately 7,000 fighters, in which the majority have been decimated.

The restive Eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan once again witnessed artillery shelling from the other side of the Durand Line as dozens of shells landed in its two districts in the past twenty four hours.

Over 70 Rockets Fired on Afghanistan's Kunar from Pakistan in One Day
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960110000436

Local officials were quoted by Khaama press as saying that, the artillery shelling took place on Sarkano and Khas Kunar districts.

Provincial police Spokesman Faridullah Dehqan confirmed that more than 70 artillery shells landed in the vicinity of the two districts.

He said no human loss or collateral damage was reported as a result of the shelling.

This comes as the Afghan government earlier this month wrote a formal memo to the United Nations Security Council to file a complaint regarding the growing artillery shelling by the Pakistani military in Eastern provinces of the country located along the Durand Line.

The Afghan government in its memo mentioned regarding the 1,266 artillery shells fired on Eastern provinces since January that has inflicted casualties to the residents besides causing collateral damage.

The memo also contained information regarding the displacement of more than 400 families due to the shelling.

Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad intensified following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in both the countries.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan claim that the attacks are plotted and carried by the militants having safe havens in the two countries.

 

[angelburst29]

The Russian Foreign Ministry explained the crucial difference between its operation in Aleppo and the US-led coalition's actions in Mosul.

Russian MoD Explains Difference Between Operations in Aleppo and Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704021052206530-russia-aleppo/

Russian Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov pointed out on Sunday differences between the Russian operation in Syria’s Aleppo and the US-led coalition’s operation in Mosul, saying that Russia did not use the Aerospace Forces and focused on humanitarian issues.

“The Russian Aerospace Forces were not used in Aleppo at all. The attention focused on the work of humanitarian corridors as well as delivering and providing humanitarian aid for local residents. In Mosul, according to the coalition’s spokesman Joseph Scrocca, despite civilian casualties, the coalition is not going to retreat even when fighting becomes heavy,” Konashenkov said.

He added that it is impossible to speak about humanitarian aspects of the US-led coalition’s operation in Mosul.

Iraqi government forces continue to liberate the city of Mosul from Daesh militants block by block, and the terrorists are forcing civilians to act as human shields, the city's residents told RIA Novosti.

Daesh Terrorists Cower Behind Human Shields as Iraqi Troops Advance in Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704021052206048-mosul-human-shield/

Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) fighters are terrorizing residents in Mosul, preventing them from fleeing areas under jihadist control and forcing them into buildings under attack from government forces and the US-led coalition, the city's residents told RIA Novosti.

Civilians trying to flee terrorist-held areas are regarded as "defectors," by Daesh, who shoot them in the back as they flee.

"We lived on the outskirts of the city and when government forces approached our district, Daesh came to us and demanded that we move to the center of the city. They brought us here by force in order to use us as human shields," Vaad Abbasi, an elderly Mosul resident, told RIA Novosti.

He said that terrorist snipers often fill buildings with innocents before using the windows to fire at Iraqi helicopters and ground forces.

"After they shoot at a helicopter or a soldier, a few minutes later military aircraft appear in the sky and the house is bombed or hit by a missile. Civilians are dying," Abbasi said.

In October, an Iraqi-led operation was launched to recapture Mosul from the terror group. The Iraqi army is working with Shiite militia, Kurdish Peshmerga forces and federal police, with aerial backing from the US-led coalition.

In January 2017 the Iraqi government announced it had retaken eastern Mosul from the terror group, which had controlled the city since 2014. However, Daesh fighters remain entrenched in western Mosul, where they are attacking civilians and using them as human shields.

On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said that between February 17 and March 22 at least 307 civilians had been killed and 273 wounded in western Mosul. The terrorist group is forcing civilians into houses from which they attack government forces and shooting residents in the back as they try to flee.

"This is an enemy that ruthlessly exploits civilians to serve its own ends, and clearly has not even the faintest qualm about deliberately placing them in danger. It is vital that the Iraqi Security Forces and their Coalition partners avoid this trap," al-Hussein said.

Iraqi and US forces have been criticized for not doing more to avoid civilian deaths.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said that the motives behind attempts of the US-led coalition to conceal war crimes committed by the Daesh terrorists in Iraqi Mosul are unclear.

Unclear Why US Tries to Conceal Crimes by Daesh Terrorists in Mosul - MoD
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704021052203945-us-mosul-daesh/

The motives behind attempts of the US-led coalition to conceal war crimes committed by the Daesh terrorists in Iraqi Mosul are unclear, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday in a statement.

"What motives is the US command driven by when they hide the war crimes of terrorists from the international community behind the veil of secrecy?…Why does the US-led international coalition, with this information, using their "smart bombs" still carry out airstrikes on buildings with civilians, knowingly condemning them to a terrible death?" Konashenkov said.

The Pentagon’s absurd statements justifying mass civilian casualties of US bombing in Iraq reveal the real level of operations’ planning, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement on Sunday.

The Pentagon’s absurd statements justifying mass civilian casualties of US bombing in Iraq tell more words about the real level of planning operations and alleged superiority of the US ‘smart bombs,’” he said.

The leader of the Daesh terrorist group may be surrounded by Iraqi government forces in Mosul, a source in the Iraqi government forces told Sputnik on Sunday.

Daesh Leader Baghdadi May Be in Iraqi Mosul Surrounded by Government Forces
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704021052205942-iraq-daesh-mosul/

According to the source, ten days ago terrorists on 40 SUVs with the support of a few tanks made an attempt from Syria to penetrate to Tal Afar, located on the road to Mosul.

"They tried to break the blockade [and reach] Daesh militants surrounded in Tal Afar, in order to significantly consolidate there and then to break through the encirclement to Mosul. All of them were destroyed by the Shiite militia. According to our analysts, such attempts may be associated with either the desire to withdraw remaining militants from Mosul, or to evacuate their leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi. We do not rule out that he could be here," the source said.

The military also did not rule out that Baghdadi could have got wounded during one of the airstrikes of the coalition on the border of Syria and Iraq in March.

A total of 543 Iraqi civilians have been killed with another 561 wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in the country, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said Sunday.

Over 500 Iraqi Civilians Killed, Some 550 Wounded in March - UN
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704021052210997-iraq-civilians-death/

Nineveh province, where the city of Mosul is located, was the most affected region with with 541 casualties (367 killed, 174 injured) followed by Baghdad with 84 killed and 246 injured respectively.

The terrorists have used every possible wicked way to inflict casualties on civilians. Two car bombs killed or wounded many in the Baghdad area last month. In western Mosul, Daesh terrorists [Islamic State, outlawed in Russia] have forcibly transferred civilians, holding them as human shields as they retreated or at strategic locations in densely populated areas. In cases, Daesh has placed civilians in booby-trapped buildings that its terrorists used to launch attacks on government forces, shot at civilians attempting to flee to Iraqi security lines or deliberately shelled civilian areas," Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq, Mr. Jan Kubis said, commenting on the figures.

The Iraqi Army has suspended their push to recapture the city of Mosul from Daesh terrorist after US-led airstrikes killed at least 150 people in a single district.

No Accountability: UN Doesn’t Hold US Liable for Civilian Deaths in Iraq
https://sputniknews.com/us/201703291052060740-us-bombing-iraq-civilian-casualties/

International outrage is mounting over bombing raids in Iraq, with the attack on the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood considered one of the deadliest atrocities for civilians since the US invasion of the country in 2003.

Local residents said more than 100 civilians, including women and children, were killed on March 17, the result of a massive strike by the US-led coalition on the heavily populated district of al-Jadida, which some reported had previously been used as a sniper position by Daesh fighters.

"The excuses and the justifications to such bombing are not convincing anyone," Alberto Garcia Watson, a former senior correspondent for HispanTV, told Radio Sputnik's Brian Becker.

Even the United Nations are totally stunned by this strike and by the amounts of casualties."

He added that insurgents fighting in the area reportedly did not carry heavy weapons and the massive bombardment that "has caused the whole world to condemn this act" was not necessary.

According to Watson, one of the reasons why, in violation of international law, the US government is not taking adequate protective measures as it helps Iraqi forces battle Daesh, is that there is no accountability for certain UN member states.

It seems like the United Nations has resolutions and laws and the Geneva Convention for certain amount of countries, but other countries, like the United States and Israel, don't need to apply this kind of international legislation," he said during the Loud & Clear broadcast.

"Nothing happens when they take these kinds of measures. We saw it in Korea, we saw it in Vietnam, we see it now in Iraq."

Watson recalled another "massacre," by the US-led coalition in Syria, just one day before the bombing of al-Jadida. The airstrike hit a mosque in the northern province of Aleppo, leaving 46 people dead and more than 100 injured.

​According to Watson, there is no real necessity for the US to take to such measures and call it "liberation," especially "in areas where they haven't been invited."

"The US invites itself in wars, commits these massacres and gets away without any punishment," he said.

"This is all about the natural resources. If Iraq did not have oil, crude oil or gas or any kind of natural resource, the United States would not have five presidents involved in bombing and destroying their country."

He recalled how the UN didn't hesitate to condemn Russia when it was bombing terrorists in Aleppo. But when the US causes catastrophic levels of civilian casualties, they call it "collateral damage."

The coalition has said they carried out the attack on March 17 "at the request of the Iraqi security forces," and has launched a formal investigation into reports of casualties.

Moscow has requested consultations at the UN Security Council concerning the developments in Mosul.

Russia Requests Consultations on Situation in Iraq's Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703241051931331-russia-mosul-unsc/

Russia has requested consultations at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the situation in the Iraqi city of Mosul, UNSC Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom Matthew Rycroft said on Friday.

"Russia requested an AOB [Any Other Business] on Mosul and as it’s their right, and we look forward to having that discussion," Rycroft stated.

The city of Mosul has been occupied by Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia, since 2014. The operation to retake it began on October 17, 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January, but fighting continues in the city's western areas. The operation to liberate it started on February 19.

The Iraqi Joint Operations Room said in a statement that around 200 ISIL terrorists were killed in Iraqi air raids over the Al-Ba’aj region in Western Iraq in recent days.

200 Terrorists Killed in Iraqi Airstrikes amid ISIL Assault to Break Tal Afar Siege
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960113000291

The statement said airstrikes were conducted in response to a large batch of ISIL reinforcements arriving in Western Nineveh from across the border, massdar news reported.

The jihadist militants were spotted mobilizing for an assault ultimately looking to lift the siege of Tal Afar city.

Iraqi ground troops stationed West of Tal Afar killed scores of ISIL terrorists upon encountering the newly arrived militants.

Iraqi authorities said the second-in-command of the ISIL terrorist group was killed in an airstrike in Western Iraq.

Airstrike Kills ISIL Second-in-Command in W. Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960113000440

In a televised statement, the Iraqi Air Force Command said Abu Yahya, the ISIL's war minister, was killed along with two other group leaders in the strike that targeted an ISIL's site in al-Qa'em town in the Western Anbar province, Anadolu reported.

There was no comment from ISIL on the claim.

Representatives of the Kurds two main parties - the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) - will meet on Sunday to discuss the issue of a referendum on independence, local media reported Saturday, citing a PUK member.

Two Major Kurdish Parties to Meet on Sunday to Discuss Independence Referendum
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704011052200375-kurds-parties-meeting-independence-referendum/

Member of the PUK politburo Adnan Mufti told Rudaw news that the meeting would take place in the Iraqi city of Pirmam.

Earlier in the day, PUK said in a statement that it was ready to form a special committee, responsible for preparing the referendum.

At the same time, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said he viewed Iraq's disintegration as objectionable and noted that Kurds' potential separation would only harm them.

In January, PUK and KDP unveiled plans to create a committee tasked with discussing Kurdish independence and a referendum with Baghdad, as well as Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, concerning the so-called disputed areas.

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, seeking creation of independent Kurdistan. In Iraq and Syria, the Kurds are fighting against Daesh terror group, outlawed in Russia, while in Turkey, they are engaged in a conflict with state authorities.

Turkey opposes an initiative by Iraqi Kurdistan authorities to hold a referendum on the region’s independence, Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Friday.

'Wrong Move': Ankara Disapproves Iraqi Kurdistan Plans to Hold Independence Vote
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703311052178077-turkey-iraqi-kurdistan-independence-vote/

On Thursday, Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani, told the Rudaw media outlet that Barzani had informed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the referendum on gaining independence from Iraq "at the earliest time."

"We believe that such a move would be wrong especially during such delicate period … We disapprove mentioning such a matter during times of high security risks," Kalin said, as quoted by the Daily Sabah media outlet.

He reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq.

"Iraq's possible separation according to ethnic and sectarian lines would not only be limited within the territory of Iraq but rather be spread over the region and everyone will pay the price for such a move," Kalin added.

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. In the latter two nations, the Kurds are fighting against the Daesh terror group, outlawed in Russia, while in Turkey, they are engaged in a conflict with state authorities.

 

[angelburst29]

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, flew to Iraq with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford on Monday.

Kushner arrives in Iraq with Joint Chiefs chairman for visit
http://www.breitbart.com/news/kushner-arrives-in-iraq-with-joint-chiefs-chairman-for-visit/

Kushner’s travel plans initially were revealed late Sunday by a Trump administration official who said Kushner wanted to see the situation there for himself and show support for Baghdad’s government.

The official said Kushner had already arrived. But when presented with information indicating that was not accurate, the official said the timing of his arrival was unclear but confirmed that Kushner was scheduled to be in Iraq Monday. uch visits from high-ranking officials are typically kept secret out of security concerns.

The administration official who provided the information late Sunday wasn’t authorized to speak about confidential meetings by name and demanded anonymity.

Kushner’s arrival in mid-afternoon Monday, local time, with Dunford and Thomas P. Bossert, a presidential assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, was announced by Capt. Greg Hicks, a spokesman for Dunford.

“Gen. Dunford invited Mr. Kushner and Mr. Bossert to meet with Iraqi leaders, senior U.S. advisors, and visit with U.S. forces in the field to receive an update on the status of the counter-ISIS (an acronym for the Islamic State group) campaign in Iraq and Syria,” Hicks said. The spokesman added that Kushner was “traveling on behalf of the president to express the president’s support and commitment to the Government of Iraq and U.S. personnel currently engaged in the campaign.”

Kushner’s West Wing portfolio is robust. He has been deeply involved with presidential staffing, recently launched a task force meant to modernize government using lessons drawn from the private sector, and has played the role of shadow diplomat, advising on relations with the Middle East, Canada and Mexico.

And though Kushner had no previous diplomatic or government experience, Trump also tasked him with trying to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

“If you can’t produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can,” Trump told Kushner at a gala a few days before his inauguration.

Kushner was also the latest Trump associate to be swept up into the ongoing probe into contacts with Russian officials. The White House confirmed last week that he had volunteered to be interviewed by the Senate intelligence committee. North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the committee’s chairman, said that Kushner would likely be under oath and would submit to a “private interview” about arranging meetings with the Russian ambassador and other officials.

Kushner is married to Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka. He was expected to have a major role in meetings later this week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump’s winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Iraq trip was first reported by The New York Times.

Kushner’s trip began against a backdrop of an ongoing investigation into civilian deaths in an area of Mosul near the site of an air-strike by U.S.-led coalition forces last month.

His visit marks an early foray for the Trump administration into the situation in Iraq and came just two weeks after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he was assured by the president the U.S. will accelerate its support for his country’s struggle against the Islamic State group.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently presented Trump with the outlines of a comprehensive approach to defeating IS and other extremist groups on a global scale, but specifics have yet to be worked out. Officials have indicated that the approach is unlikely to depart radically from the Obama administration’s strategy, at least with regard to ongoing efforts in Iraq and Syria.

Iraq was part of the Trump administration’s original travel ban but was removed from the revised version after a request from the Pentagon and the State Department highlighting Iraq’s key role in fighting the Islamic State. The second travel ban, which restrictions immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, has been halted by a federal court. The U.S. Justice Department has announced an appeal.

According to reports, Iraqi armed forces have slowed down the pace of their offensive near Old Mosul to avoid civilian casualties.

Iraqi Forces Slow Old Mosul Offensive to Avoid Civilian Casualties
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704031052227720-iraq-mosul-offensive/

Iraqi armed forces have slowed down the pace of their offensive near Old Mosul to avoid civilian casualties, a government forces source told Sputnik on Monday, noting that the troops are preparing to surround terrorists there.

"We changed tactics, slowing down the pace of the offensive as we entered the area of the Old City with its dense buildings," the source said.

The source said, "we are mainly working with snipers, small arms, and if we direct artillery or rockets, then only after confirmation from our informants inside the city that there are no civilians in this or that house."

The source in the Iraqi armed forces said their plan to encircle entrenched terrorist fighters near Old City was meeting fierce resistance "in order not to let themselves be outflanked."

"However, when the ring begins to close, they will inevitably leave these areas, moving to neighboring ones. This is their invariable tactic and we are counting on it, it will help avoid many victims," the source said.

Reports said the ISIL terrorists have begun deploying women snipers to hold off advancing Iraqi troops in some areas of Western Mosul, while exhibiting fierce resistance at one district.

ISIL Deploys Women Snipers, Resists Harder in Remaining Western Mosul Districts
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960114000610

Security sources have been quoted saying snipers from ISIL’s notorious “al-Khansaa” women battalion had been deployed above tall buildings to shoot at security troops, but did not name the exact districts where the step was taken, Iraqi News reported.

Meanwhile, Anadolu Agency quoted security commanders saying that IS fighters were fighting back fiercely at al-Yarmouk district, where intense battles between the group and security forces have been undergoing over the past few days. They added that battles left casualties on both sides.

Brig. Gen. Mostafa al-Khazraji, from the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response forces, told the agency that ISIL launched three booby-trapped cars towards security forces at Yarmouk, leaving three members dead and a few others wounded.

He said the suicide attacks were followed by gun and mortar assaults, forcing troops to retreat to the outskirts of Yarmouk waiting for a aerial intervention that would pave the way for a fresh ground invasion.

Meanwhile, 32 ISIL members and eight security troopers were killed in an attack on Federal Police and Rapid Response troops in Orouba region, southwest of Mosul, Lt. Dergham Khafaji todl Anadolu Agency. He added that the fighters were attempting to tap into bad weather to carry out the attack which lasted for more than three consecutive hours.

The Afghan security forces arrested a suicide bomber and confiscated a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in Southeastern Khost province of Afghanistan.

Afghan Forces Arrest Suicide Bomber, Seize Car Bomb in Khost Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960114000503

According to the local government officials, the suicide bomber was identified and arrested in the vicinity of Bak district, Khaama Press reported.

The district administrative chief of Bak, Abdul Hai Zazai, said the suicide bomber attempted to detonate the car bomb but failed in his attempt which resulted into minor injuries in his legs.

He said the car bomb was also partially damaged but the explosives placed inside it did not go off. According to Zazai, several kgs of explosives and at least sixteen mortar rounds were placed inside the vehicle.

There are no reports regarding the possible target of the bomber which came a day after a suicide bomber targeted the Afghan forces in Domanda district.

 

[angelburst29]

Why are we bombing Mosul?
http://www.bollyn.com/#article_15881

The U.S.-led bombing campaign in Mosul in northern Iraq raises some important questions, such as, why are we doing it? The U.S. has been at war continuously with, or in Iraq since January 1991 - now more than 26 years! Twenty-six years of war against one country? What are we there for?

If President Trump has a plan to end the war and get out of Iraq, I would like to hear it. He must know that fighting the fraudulent War on Terror is no path to greatness, as we can see from the previous four administrations. The U.S. presence in Iraq has certainly not benefited the Iraqi people - nor the American people. So, why are we there?

To understand why U.S., Canadian, and British forces are waging war in Iraq it is necessary to understand the master plan, the Zionist plan behind the chaos in the Middle East - the Yinon Plan.

A recent article, "Bombed in their homes, civilians in Mosul blame reckless coalition forces", describes the suffering of civilians in Mosul:

question the timing and methods of the operation in Mosul.

"The Dawa'ish [Islamic State militants] were everywhere, and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it," said Mohammed, a resident of the Hay al-Dhubbat district who lost several relatives in a coalition airstrike. "If you challenged them, they would kill you. They ran this city for two and a half years, and they were rarely targeted during all that time... Why now [are they] destroying our homes with our families inside, just to eliminate two or three Dawa'ish on the roof?"
- "Bombed in their homes, civilians in Mosul blame reckless coalition forces," Chicago Tribune, March 31, 2017

The plan may to be to liberate Mosul (and Raqqa in Syria) from ISIS and allow it to be part of the Kurdish independent area in the north. The Israelis have long had a strategic plan for decades to break Iraq into pieces, exactly as was done to Yugoslavia in the 1990s:

THE YINON PLAN: The Zionist Plan for the Middle East

The idea that all the Arab states should be broken down, by Israel, into small units, occurs again and again in Israeli strategic thinking. For example, Ze'ev Schiff, the military correspondent of Ha'aretz (and probably the most knowledgeable in Israel, on this topic) writes about the "best" that can happen for Israeli interests in Iraq: "The dissolution of Iraq into a Shi'ite state, a Sunni state and the separation of the Kurdish part" (Ha'aretz 6/2/1982). Actually, this aspect of the plan is very old.
- Israel Shahak, from the foreword of his translation of "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties" by Oded Yinon, June 13, 1982

Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon. In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north.
– Oded Yinon, "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties", Kivunim, A Journal for Judaism and Zionism; February 1982

Sources: The Yinon Plan: The Zionist Plan for the Middle East, translated by Israel Shahak, 1982
www.informationclearinghouse.info/pdf/The%20Zionist%20Plan%20for%20the%20Middle%20East.pdf

"Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, if you're an American you ought to be concerned about the strategy of the United States in this region. What is our aim? What is our purpose? Why are we there? Why are Americans dying in this region? That is the issue."
– General Wesley Clark, Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, October 3, 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7NsXFnzJGw (8:14 min.)

Global Research Editor's Note

The following document pertaining to the formation of "Greater Israel" constitutes the cornerstone of powerful Zionist factions within the current Netanyahu government, the Likud party, as well as within the Israeli military and intelligence establishment. (article first published by Global Research on April 29, 2013).

In recent developments, President Donald Trump has confirmed his support of Israel’s illegal settlements and his opposition to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which confirms the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Greater Israel": The Zionist Plan for the Middle East
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815

According to the founding father of Zionism Theodore Herzl, “the area of the Jewish State stretches: “From the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates.” According to Rabbi Fischmann, “The Promised Land extends from the River of Egypt up to the Euphrates, it includes parts of Syria and Lebanon.”

When viewed in the current context, the war on Iraq, the 2006 war on Lebanon, the 2011 war on Libya, the ongoing wars on Syria and Iraq, the war on Yemen, the process of regime change in Egypt, must be understood in relation to the Zionist Plan for the Middle East.

The latter consists in weakening and eventually fracturing neighboring Arab states as part of an Israeli expansionist project.

Bear in mind this design is not strictly a Zionist Plan, it is an integral part of US foreign policy, namely Washington’s intent to fracture and balkanize the Middle East.

“Greater Israel” consists in an area extending from the Nile Valley to the Euphrates. According to Stephen Lendman, “A near-century ago, the World Zionist Organization’s plan for a Jewish state included:

• historic Palestine;

• South Lebanon up to Sidon and the Litani River;

• Syria’s Golan Heights, Hauran Plain and Deraa; and

• control of the Hijaz Railway from Deraa to Amman, Jordan as well as the Gulf of Aqaba.

Some Zionists wanted more – land from the Nile in the West to the Euphrates in the East, comprising Palestine, Lebanon, Western Syria and Southern Turkey.”

The Zionist project supports the Jewish settlement movement. More broadly it involves a policy of excluding Palestinians from Palestine leading to the eventual annexation of both the West Bank and Gaza to the State of Israel.

Greater Israel would create a number of proxy States. It would include parts of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the Sinai, as well as parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. (See map).

According to Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya in a 2011 Global Research article, The Yinon Plan was a continuation of Britain’s colonial design in the Middle East:

“[The Yinon plan] is an Israeli strategic plan to ensure Israeli regional superiority. It insists and stipulates that Israel must reconfigure its geo-political environment through the balkanization of the surrounding Arab states into smaller and weaker states.

Israeli strategists viewed Iraq as their biggest strategic challenge from an Arab state. This is why Iraq was outlined as the centerpiece to the balkanization of the Middle East and the Arab World. In Iraq, on the basis of the concepts of the Yinon Plan, Israeli strategists have called for the division of Iraq into a Kurdish state and two Arab states, one for Shiite Muslims and the other for Sunni Muslims. The first step towards establishing this was a war between Iraq and Iran, which the Yinon Plan discusses.

The Atlantic, in 2008, and the U.S. military’s Armed Forces Journal, in 2006, both published widely circulated maps that closely followed the outline of the Yinon Plan. Aside from a divided Iraq, which the Biden Plan also calls for, the Yinon Plan calls for a divided Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria. The partitioning of Iran, Turkey, Somalia, and Pakistan also all fall into line with these views. The Yinon Plan also calls for dissolution in North Africa and forecasts it as starting from Egypt and then spilling over into Sudan, Libya, and the rest of the region.

Greater Israel” requires the breaking up of the existing Arab states into small states.

“The plan operates on two essential premises. To survive, Israel must 1) become an imperial regional power, and 2) must effect the division of the whole area into small states by the dissolution of all existing Arab states. Small here will depend on the ethnic or sectarian composition of each state. Consequently, the Zionist hope is that sectarian-based states become Israel’s satellites and, ironically, its source of moral legitimation… This is not a new idea, nor does it surface for the first time in Zionist strategic thinking. Indeed, fragmenting all Arab states into smaller units has been a recurrent theme.”

Viewed in this context, the war on Syria and Iraq is part of a process of Israeli territorial expansion.

 

[angelburst29]

With this recent news making headlines:

Steve Bannon Removed From Trump's National Security Council
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-05/steve-bannon-kicked-trumps-national-security-council

According to Reuters, Bannon's removal from the NSC was seen as a boost to national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who officials said has struggled to work together with Bannon.

McMASTER has made it clear inside WH that he wants NSC to be non-political, especially as he crafts NSC strategy for admin...

I did a curiosity check on National Security adviser H.R. McMaster, for I have no knowledge of him/his background, other than, Trump just appointed him.

Feb 21, 2017 - President Donald Trump on Monday appointed Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster to be his new national security adviser, announcing a replacement for Mike Flynn, who was asked to resign last week.

What to Know About President Trump's New National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
http://time.com/4676669/donald-trump-general-hr-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/

Here's what to know about McMaster:

He comes from a military background - McMaster, 54, is the latest military leader to join Trump's administration, which already includes two retired generals, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

McMaster, who is director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, will remain on active military duty while serving as national security adviser, the Associated Press reported.

He graduated from West Point and earned a doctorate in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He was critical of the Vietnam War -McMaster wrote a well-known book in 1997, titled Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam. He criticized the U.S. government for the Vietnam War and argued that the Joint Chiefs should have pushed back against President Lyndon B. Johnson.

"We must address the question of responsibility for one of the greatest American foreign policy disasters of the twentieth century," he wrote in the book.

McMaster served twice in Iraq - He earned a Silver Star after commanding a unit during one of the most significant battles of the Persian Gulf war in 1991, the New York Times reported. He later returned to Iraq from 2005 to 2006, leading an operation to regain control of Tal Afar and serving as special adviser to the top U.S. commander in Iraq, according to the AP.

Republicans praised his appointment - Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has been critical of other aspects of Trump's administration, called McMaster an "outstanding choice" and a "man of genuine intellect, character, and ability."

“I could not imagine a better, more capable national security team than the one we have right now," said McCain, a veteran who was held for more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Note in the above - that McMaster served "twice in Iraq" and his last tour included "leading an operation to regain control of Tal Afar."

Notice also, that John McCain gave McMaster's a high approval rating, which with McCain's known background and dubious activities, sent up a red flag.

I came across an article, dated April 4, 2017 on a website that I'm not familiar with and have not cross referenced the information for verification with other sources.

US Army Investigator Accuses National Security Adviser McMaster of War Crimes in Iraq
_https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/foreign-policy/us-army-investigator-accuses-national-security-adviser-mcmaster-war-crimes-iraq/

Former commander in charge of US Army Military Police in Iraq says President Trump’s new National Security Adviser, Gen. H.R. McMaster, ‘ordered’ criminal abuse of hundreds of Iraqi detainees in 2005.

“Detainees were abused at Tal Afar under orders and command and control of H.R. McMaster,” said Col. Arnaldo Claudio, a retired senior U.S. Military Police officer who served as 18th Airborne Corps Provost Marshal and Chief of Police of the Multinational Coalition Forces in Iraq in 2005.

During his conversation with Scott Horton, managing director of the Libertarian Institute and host of the Scott Horton Show, Claudio elaborated on his recent interview with Univision News, where he first publicly revealed his accusations against Gen. McMaster. Claudio explained how in his capacity as chief of all Military Police in Iraq he was ordered by Gen. J.R. Vines to investigate complaints regarding the treatment of detainees made against the U.S. Army command fighting in Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq in 2005, led by President Trump’s current National Security Adviser, then-U.S. Army Col., H.R. McMaster.

Claudio and his team reported back to Gen. Vines, providing information and recommendations to the commanding general, dedicating a portion of their report to details of then-U.S. Army Col. McMaster’s violations of the Geneva Conventions and the Detainee Operations Standard Operating Procedures found at Tal Afar.

Presently, Claudio is the Technical Compliance Adviser (TCA), selected by the Department of Justice and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to oversee reform of their police forces, a position he has held since June 2014.

The Investigation Begins

Col. Claudio was stationed in Iraq from March 16, 2005 through late January 2006. He was tasked to ensure that all detainee operations were being conducted in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and Standard Operating Procedures in compliance with U.S. laws and military regulations.

Claudio told Horton that the number of admissions and releases of detainees from the small detention facility in Tal Afar didn’t seem to add up. It appeared the admitted number of detainees exceeded the maximum capacity. Claudio and his investigative team traveled to Tal Afar to investigate further, where they discovered detainees were held in conditions that were both shocking and illegal. Detainees were being deprived of food and water for days while bound together with plastic handcuffs. Hundreds were also being held without shelter. All of this was in violation of military law, according to Col. Claudio.

Claudio and his investigative team were given very specific orders by Vines. “If this guy is doing anything wrong, you need to report back,” Claudio was told. “And if he gets out of hand, just bring him back with you.”

Claudio did not mince words about his orders. “They were pretty simple. And remember, we just had gotten out of…the scandal of Abu Ghraib.”

The Abu Gharib prisoner abuse scandal of 2004 was a prime recruiting tool for Iraqi insurgents and other militant groups taking up arms against U.S. forces there. Claudio said that another similar scandal breaking so close to the significant Abu Gharib torture revelations “would have been devastating for our national security and it would be devastating for the Army, and to our nation as a whole.”

The Investigation in Tal Afar: “My God, what is this?”

Claudio’s interactions with McMaster were brief. “It was a very short conversation. He basically didn’t want me there. And he says, ‘Get on with your duty and get out of here.’”

But Claudio responded, “Not so fast. I’m here, I have orders, and if you are in fact violating the standards of how to take care of detainees, you’re going back with me. Period.”

In a detention camp designed to hold 250 detainees, Col. McMaster held over 900 people in brutal conditions, left outdoors without food, water, or shelter from the sun in their own feces and urine.

Claudio told Horton, “As I was approaching the area where the detainees were, I already knew something was really wrong.”

“There was about three to four hundred of them outside…As soon as I got outside of the vehicle, I mean, you could smell the urine and defecation in the atmosphere. It was like, ‘my God, what is this?’”

Alongside one of his medics, Claudio inspected the conditions of the hundreds of detainees before finding even more detainees kept in similarly poor circumstances in other tents being used as temporary detention facilities.

Through interviews with detainees and interpreters, Claudio and his team were told that detainees “had been beaten with sticks in order to take them to the latrine.”

Gerardo Reyes, in the story he first broke for Univision, reported that Claudio’s allegations were confirmed by another military officer who participated in the investigation, although he asked to remain anonymous.

“They weren’t only tied by the hands to each other, when they took them to the latrines they beat them with a stick,” the second source told Univision.

According to the commander of that operation, McMaster had ordered the “good detainee behavior program,” which meant that unless a detainee gave actionable intelligence to be used by the U.S. military, they were to be held indefinitely. Therefore, ironically, the so-called “good detainee behavior program” was in effect an indefinite program in violation of the law. Detainees were supposed to be released after fourteen days at the facility, either transferred to other authorities or set free, but McMaster was holding men for months in horrendous conditions.

According to Col. Claudio, there is no question that then-Col. McMaster himself gave the orders for the treatment of detainees at Tal Afar. “He knew because the orders of the ‘good behavior program’ were instituted by him,” Claudio told Horton.

About 120 detainees were released soon after Claudio’s team began restructuring the facility and taking care of the detainees’ basic needs, with hundreds more following over the next week.

Col. Claudio was unable to find Col. McMaster after he and his team surveyed the facilities. When pressed by Horton as to whether or not he would have arrested McMaster if he had been found, Claudio responded, “I would have asked him nicely to come with me. Because it never happened, I’m not going to speculate, but I’m pretty sure I would have done that.”

The Investigation Disappears

Claudio and his team reported back to Gen. Vines, providing information and recommendations and dedicating a portion of the report to detailing the violations of the Geneva Conventions and the Detainee Operations Standard Operating Procedures.

Apparently, the report was not investigated further. Claudio would not be involved again until he saw McMaster’s name on the list to be promoted to brigadier general in July 2008. Claudio then contacted the Inspector General of the Department of the Army. He resubmitted his report, and the Inspector General’s office conducted follow up interviews with Claudio and other eyewitnesses, including a U.S. Army Sergeant named John Savo. “I write and I tell him the story I’m telling you today. They did contact me. They contacted other eyewitnesses to that,” Claudio told Horton.

To the best of Claudio’s knowledge, nothing ever became of the Inspector General’s investigation.

Col. McMaster was promoted to brigadier general in August 2009, by his friend, Gen. David Petraeus.

President Donald Trump appointed Gen. McMaster as his National Security Advisor in February 2017.

 

[angelburst29]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the next phase of Operation Euphrates Shield may include a stint in Iraq’s Sinjar Region.

Erdogan:‌ Turkish Army May Enter Iraq for Next Phase of Euphrates Shield Operation
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960116001257

The Turkish leader emphasized that his armed forces will concentrate on both the ISIL and Kurdish-led “Kurdistan Workers Party”, these two groups are both fighting one another in the Sinjar Region of Iraq, Yeni Safak reported.

“There are around 2,500 PKK terrorists in the efforts to create this second Qandil,” Erdogan said, as quoted by

The Qandil Mountains, which are located in Iraq, have become the surrogate home for the PKK over the recent years, this is due to the constant harassment they face from the Turkish authorities.

The first phase of Operation Euphrates Shield concluded last month, when the Turkish Army and their allies seized the key town of Al-Bab in Eastern Aleppo.

On Thursday evening, two Iraqi pilots were killed upon impact in Mosul as ISIS militants shot down an Iraqi chopper with a MANPAD missile.

VIDEO: Iraqi military helicopter shot down by ISIS over Mosul
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-iraqi-military-helicopter-shot-isis-mosul/

The helicopter was hit amid an aerial sortie over the Old City of western Mosul. Seconds later, it crashed on a government-held residential area of eastern Mosul.

Nevertheless, the Iraqi Armed Forces are steadily advancing through Iraq’s second largest city amid incredibly fierce urban warfare that have killed thousands on both side of the battle zone.

Iraqi forces eliminated a senior ISIL militants in the city of Mosul, the Iraqi Federal Police said.

Iraqi Forces Kill Senior ISIL Leader in West Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960116001271

A source from the Iraqi Federal Police said the senior leader known as Abu Muhajir al-Rusi, who possibly of a Russian origin, was killed in an artillery strike on a command post located in the Old City in the Western parts of Mosul, Bas News reported.

Abdurrahman al-Abdin, advisor to the head of the Iraqi Federal Police further said that the artillery strike was guided by aerial drones that managed to kill the ISIL leader, including field commander nicknamed Abu Muhajir al-Rusi, as well as six of his aides.

A bomb attack at a café in the North of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killed at least 31 people.

Iraq: Bomb Attack Kills 31 in Baghdad
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960116001408

The bombing occurred at the Beiruti Café on Wednesday, also leaving an unknown number of people wounded, presstv reported.

Iraqi security forces have been fighting a terrorist campaign by Daesh since 2014. The terrorist group launched an offensive in June that year, overrunning territory and sending Iraqi troops on its path fleeing. But the Iraqi army later reorganized and managed to take back much of the territory from the Daesh terrorists. Popular defense groups also formed, joining the security forces in the operations to retake lost territory.

A last urban bastion under the control of Daesh is Mosul, where a large-scale operation is underway to dislodge the terrorists.

Iraqi special counterterrorism forces have completely recaptured the Yarmuk district of western part of Mosul city from Daesh, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, chief of the Joint Operations Command operations, said Thursday.

Iraqi Special Forces Liberate Western Yarmuk District of Mosul From Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704061052371537-iraq-mosul-daesh/

The Iraqi operation to recapture Mosul, the key stronghold of Daesh in the country, began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January. Fighting continues in the city's west.

In March, Iraqi government forces said that Daesh terrorist were completely besieged in Mosul as the army severed communications with its cells in Syria. According to the Iraqi forces, two thirds of the western part of Mosul have been recaptured.

On Tuesday, Iraqi satellite TV network Al Sumaria reported that the Kirkuk Provincial Council had voted to hold a referendum on joining the Kurdish regional administration of Iraq. All Kurdish councilmen voted for the decision, while Arab and Turkmen members boycotted the vote.

'Hard Times Ahead': Is Iraq Sliding Back Into Civil War?
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704061052349321-iraq-kurds-vote/

Turkey does not like the idea of Kirkuk province becoming part of Iraqi Kurdistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

“Turkmens and Arabs did not take part in the vote. This adventurist move will benefit neither the regional leaders nor the Iraqi state as a whole,” he warned.

In an interview with Sputnik, Turkish political analyst Bora Bayraktar said that the Kirkuk independence referendum is fraught with a new civil war in Iraq.

“The lingering problem in Kirkuk goes back to the days of the 2003 US invasion on Iraq. Kirkuk’s status is unclear, there are many Turkmens living there, but even more Kurds and Arabs. Moreover, it accounts for a hefty 40 percent of the country’s oil revenues, that’s why the city is a bone of contention between the central government and the regional administration,” Bayraktar told Sputnik Turkey.

He added that the Kirkuk Council’s unilatreral decision to join the regional administration of Iraqi Kurdistan, and the destabilizing pressure being exerted on the central government and Iraqi Kurdistan’ president Masoud Barzani through [Iraqi ex-president Jalal] Talabani could reignite the civil war in Iraq. This could eventually lead to a Kurdish-Arab war that could also draw in Turkey.

“On the one hand, there is [Iraqi vice-president Nouri] al-Maliki, who will try to reassert himself during the upcoming regional elections. On the other, we have the Shiite leader Muqtada as-Sadr, but he is an Arab nationalsit. Neither of them will be sitting on their hands as both want to consolidate their positions. Besides, Barzani wants an independence referendum,” Bora Bayraktar noted.

He warned that all these factors could bring the situation to a head and spark an Arab-Kurdish war.

“This would have an impact on Syria, would create serious problems for Turkey and would once again make the global players influential power brokers in Iraq. In such a case Turkey and the region as a whole will be in for hard times.”

The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, seeking the creation of an independent Kurdistan.

These plans, however, find no favor either in Ankara or Baghdad, with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi warning that Baghdad will not allow Iraq to disintegrate and that the Kurds' potential separation would only harm them.

One of the most senior leaders of the ISIL terror group was reportedly killed in Eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

Most Senior ISIL Leader Killed in Eastern Afghanistan Nangarhar Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960117000477

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Syed Omar Bajawari, one of the most senior ISIL leaders has been killed in Eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.

Bajawari was killed along with at least 24 militants during the counter-terrorism operation in Achin district of the province.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraqi government spokesman Saad Hadithi said Baghdad is against any military operations by Turkey on Iraqi territory and hopes Ankara will withdraw troops from the camp in northern Iraqi town of Bashiqa after the victory over the Daesh terrorist group.

Baghdad Stands Firm against Any Turkish Combat Operations on Iraqi Territory
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960119001404

The Iraqi government will not allow any external side to carry out military operations on the ground, including Turkey or any other state. This is a clear and unchanged position," Hadithi told RIA Novosti.

According to Hadithi, Baghdad expects Ankara to keep its promise and withdraw its troops from Iraq after the elimination of Daesh (ISIL) threat.

"When the territories are cleared from ISIL [Daesh] militants, there will be no reasons for their presence [in Iraq]," the spokesman stressed.

Earlier in the day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Al-Jazeera broadcaster in an interview that the Turkish troops were ready to enter the Iraqi territory to fight against terrorist groups, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey.

Relations between Turkey and Iraq deteriorated after Turkey dispatched its troops in Iraq allegedly to fight the ISIL in late 2015. The Turkish government said its forces would participate in the operation on the liberation of Mosul, however, Iraqi authorities claim they have not given their consent for this participation.

Mosul Municipality Chief Abdul Sattar Habbo disclosed that ISIL militants are trying to leave the group's de facto capital in Iraq while hiding among civilians fleeing the war-torn city.

Iraq: ISIL Militants Escape from Mosul, Hide among Ordinary People
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960119000901

"ISIL militants are trying to leave the city along with civilians. This is one of the reasons for why they are not preventing civilians from leaving, they want to safely leave with them," Habbo said.

He added that up to 500,000 people have fled Mosul since the Iraqi government troops started an operation aimed at liberation of the city from the ISIL.

Eye-witnesses reported that ISIL has executed tens of civilians in Mosul, adding that the terrorist group has also carried out chemical attack on Iraqi forces' positions and residential areas in the newly-liberated districts of the city.

Iraq: ISIL Executes more Civilians, Uses Chemical Weapons in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960119000851

The sources said that tens of civilians that tried to leave Mosul for government-controlled regions were killed by the ISIL terrorists, adding ISIL has hanged a number of bodies of executed civilians up power poles across the city.

They added that ISIL has again used chemical weapons against the Iraqi forces and civilians in Mosul.

In the meantime, Iraqi Kurdistan's Security Council informed that 140 civilians have been killed by the ISIL in Mosul in recent days.

Pakistani National Security Advisor Nasser Khan Janjua underlined that his country does not have any plan to send military forces to Yemen

Nat'l Security Advisor: Pakistan Not Planning to Join Saudi-Led War on Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960119000809

"I cannot elaborate on the Saudi-led Coalition's measures, but I can ensure that Pakistan does not have any contract for dispatch of military troops to Yemen," Janjua said on Saturday, addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

He underlined that Pakistan has been depicted as a dangerous country to the international community, but it is not true, and said, "We are looking for the expansion of trade relations with different countries, not war."

Janjua said that his country has been entangled with financial problems since 40 years ago and on the other hand Pakistan's fragile economy has resulted in the country to turn into a center for terrorism, adding, "We are trying to remove this problem."

 

[angelburst29]

The Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi volunteer forces) announced in a statement that it has smashed 10 vehicles belonging to the ISIL terrorist group which were carrying weapons in Western Mosul.

Iraqi Volunteer Forces Destroy ISIL's Large Arms Cargo in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960121001440

According to Sumeria news channel, Hashd al-Shaabi underlined in its statement that its fourth unit attacked the ISIL bases in al-Hamra village in Western Mosul on Monday, destroying the vehicles and killing all the terrorists accompanying the convoy.

Earlier today, twelve ISIL militants were killed as Hashd al-Shaabi encountered an attack by the group against Talet Hassani region, West of Mosul.

“The fourth brigade troops encountered an attack launched by ISIL militants against Talet Hassani, Western Mosul,” Hashd al-Shaabi said in a statement.
“12 ISIL members were killed as the troops repelled the attack.”

Iraqi police said that several senior leaders of the ISIL terror group have fled Tal Afar District, while the group executed seven of its local leaders for fleeing battles, West of Mosul.

ISIL Leaders Flee Tal Afar toward Al-Ba’aj, Local Leaders Executed
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960122000589

A police spokesman, Captain Jassim Mohamed, said in a press statement that dozens of the ISIL leaders fled Tal Afar District toward al-Ba’aj District, West of Mosul, Iraqi News reported.

The ISIL group also executed seven of its local leaders, for trying to leave combat lines in al-Zangli area, West of Mosul, Jassim added.

Many members of the ISIL group started to flee different areas of the city of Mosul, due to the fierce battles launched by Iraqi security forces to recapture the city, after the announcement of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to start an offensive, in 19 February 2017, to retake the Western side of Mosul.

At least four children were killed and seven others were wounded in an explosion in Northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan.

4 Afghan Children Killed, 7 Wounded in Explosion in Kunduz Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960122000502

The incident, according to the security officials, took place in the vicinity of Chardara district, Khaama Press reported.

A spokesman for 808th Spinzar Zone of the National Police Forces Mahfuzfullah Akbari told reporters today that the incident took place around 6 pm local time in Qasab village.

He said the children were busy playing in an open area when an unexploded mortar round went off, leaving at least four children dead and seven others wounded.

The incident in Charadara took place hours after a gathering was organized in capital Kabul to mark the international awareness day regarding the mines and unexploded ordnances.

The government’s minister to deal with the emergency incidents Wais Ahmad Barmak said Monday around 1,000 kilometer square of the land is still covered with mines and unexploded ordnance.

He said the issue has become one of the major barriers for them to reach to the areas affected with the emergency incidents.

The event was organized by The Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA), one of the largest and oldest mine action programmes in the world which is operational for 27 years and brings together some 50 humanitarian and commercial organizations.

A security source in Nineveh Province revealed that the ISIL group launched an attack, using chlorine gas, on West of Mosul, killing four civilians and injuring six others.

ISIL Shells East of Mosul with Chlorine Gas, 10 Casualties
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960122000635

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Abdel Aziz al-Numani said that three rockets were launched on al-Hadba area, East of Mosul, killing four civilians and wounding six others, including women and children, with burns and suffocation, Iraqi News reported.

The initial reports revealed that the casualties suffered suffocation and burns caused by the toxic chlorine gas, Numani added.

He also pointed out that the engineering teams of the army’s 16th brigade are examining the remains of the rockets to determine the nature of the attack.

Numani also declared that the ISIL is responsible for the terrorist attack, which was launched from Hawi al-Kanesa area, in Western Mosul.

A number of the Taliban leaders and other militants suffered casualties during the ongoing Khalid security operations in Northern parts of Afghanistan, local reports said.

Several Taliban Leaders Killed in Security Operation in Northern Afghanistan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960122000607

The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces in the North said the militants suffered casualties in Sar-e-Pul and Faryab provinces in the past 24 hours, Khaama Press reported.

According to a statement by 209th Shaheen Corps, at least 16 militants including two local commanders of the group were killed and several others including a local commander of the group were wounded.

The statement further added that a local commander of the Taliban identified as Taj Mohammad was killed along with his 3 fighters during an operation in Sayad district of Sar-e-Pul.

Another Taliban leader identified as Sher Mohammad also famous as Ghazanfar was wounded along with two others.

At least 5 Taliban insurgents including a commander of the group identified as Mullah Rahim were killed in an airstrike in Pashtunkot district of Faryab.

The 209th Shaheen Corps said 3 more militants were wounded and at least 14 vehicles belonging to Taliban insurgents were destroyed during the operations.

 

[angelburst29]

Reports said Iraq's federal police forces are engaged in fierce street battles against ISIL militants in the narrow alleys of Mosul's Old City as they are inching closer towards the al-Nuri Mosque in Western part of the Northern city of Iraq.

Iraqi Forces Battle towards Landmark Mosul Mosque
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960124000581

The al-Nuri Mosque is of great symbolic importance in the battle against ISIL as the terror group's ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his infamous sermon in 2014, NRT reported.

Iraqi forces backed their allied forces have retaken most of the city but are struggling to dislodge the militants from several districts in the West, including the Old City.

Earlier this week, Iraqi troops found an ISIL’ ammunition depot in Bab al-Jadid district containing almost 1,000 rockets and 1,000 bags of chemical material used to make bombs and explosives according to police Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Zghayer.

But the push against ISIL in Western Mosul is bogged down with Iraqi security forces fighting in a warren of small streets in the old part of the city.

ISIL has used hundreds of car bombs along with drones rigged with explosives in Mosul.

Iraqi forces killed at least 52 ISIL militants during operations aimed at purging West Mosul from the presence of the militants, reports said.

Iraqi Forces Kill at Least 52 ISIL Militants in West Mosul Operations
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960124000278

The forces raided al-Abar area, killing 17 ISIL members,” said Major Ali Mohsen, a commander of the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces (ICTF), presstv reported.

He added that six female ISIL members from various Arab nationalities were also detained during the operations.

“Troops liberated around 40 percent of al-Abar region,” he added, noting that Iraqi forces were still engaged in clashes with the terrorists.

A separate ICTF commander noted that the anti-terror forces had also carried out raids in al-Tanak, another district of the city.

A US-led coalition airstrike in Western Mosul claimed the lives of 13 civilians, an Iraqi air force pilot said.

At Least 13 Civilians Killed in US Airstrike in Western Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960124000260

The strike targeted several civilian homes in a residential area of Mosul’s al-Yarmouk neighborhood, which was recently liberated from ISIL, Anadolu reported.

"The strike also left 17 people injured, mostly seriously," the news agency quoted Yazan al-Duberdani, the Iraqi pilot, as saying.

The latest civilian causalities came just a day after three members of one Iraqi family were killed in a US airstrike in the city.

A key Taliban leader in charge of a group of at least 80 insurgents was arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives in North of Afghanistan

Key Taliban Leader Arrested in Northern Afghanistan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960124000632

The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), said the detained Taliban leader has been identified as Akhtar Mohammad who was also famous as Belal, Khaama Press reported.

A statement by NDS said Akhtar was arrested by the intelligence operatives from the vicinity of the Jawzjan province.

The statement further added that Akhtar was involved in major terrorist attacks including attacks on convoys, government officials and civilians, roadside bombings, and kidnappings.

Akhtar confessed that he was looking to join the ISIL terrorist group offshoot in Jawzjan under the leadership of Mullah Hekmatullah.

NDS said the attempt by Akhtar was reflecting the latest move by the Taliban insurgents to infiltrate the ISIL terrorist group and further expand their insurgency in the country.

Both the Taliban insurgents and militants loyal to ISIL terrorist group are active in some parts of Jawzjan province.

This comes as at least six employees of the International Committee of Red Cross were shot dead by militants in this province last week.

 

[angelburst29]

Dozens of civilian caught attempting to flee the ISIS-held city of Mosul in northern Iraq were killed by the terror group before their bodies were hanged on the city’s electricity poles in a clear message to warn others.

ISIS kills civilians attempting to flee Mosul, hangs bodies on electricity poles
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-kills-civilians-attempting-flee-mosul-hangs-bodies-electricity-poles/

Eyewitnesses reported that some of the mutilated bodies remained there for days before given a proper burial.

More than 300,000 civilians have fled Mosul since the Iraqi Army and Popular Mobilization Forces began a wide-scale offensive to liberate the ISIS-controlled city.

However, the military operation was temporarily halted due to the huge numbers of civilians taken as human shields by the death cult.

ISIL has been using women and children as human shields in the Western part of Mosul, field sources said, adding that the terrorist group is also using suicide attacks by means of vehicles loaded with incendiary materials to slow down Iraqi forces' advances in the city.

ISIL Terrorists Continue to Use Women, Children as Human Shields in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960128001283

Spokesman for Nineveh province's volunteer forces Mohammad Sourchi said that the ISIL has stationed its snipers on the roof of buildings in the Western part of Mosul, including al-Thowra and al-Tonk neighborhoods, adding that each group of snipers is accompanied by female hostages that are used as human shields in order to deter government troops' military attacks on ISIL snipers and buildings.

He further added that ISIL captures women and children and forces them to accompany them street by street to shield themselves against hostile fire.

Almost half a million people have been displaced since the start of the fight to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh.

Nearly 500,000 Civilians Displaced in Six Months of Mosul Campaign
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704171052713762-mosul-displace-people/

Nearly half a million people have been displaced in the six-month campaign to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from terrorists, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday, confirming local authorities' figures.

"Already, more than 493,000 people have left, leaving almost everything behind," Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande said in a statement.

Abdul Sattar Habbo, Mosul municipality chief, told Sputnik earlier this month that up to half a million people have fled Iraq's second-largest city.

A local source in Nineveh province reported that one of the most prominent aides of ISIL Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in an attack by unknown raiders in a town West of Mosul.

ISIL Chief's Top Aide Killed by Unknown Assailants in Northwestern Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960128001092

The source said that Hasabullah Qafqazi nom de guerre Emir Qafqazi, one of Baghdadi's most prominent aides, was killed by unknown attackers near his house in the Central part of Tal Afar town.

The source said that Qafqazi and some ISIL security officers were at the house when it came under attack.

The source who requested anonymity added that after the death of Qafqazi, who rarely appeared in the public, the ISIL terrorists went on alert and launched vast security operation in some neighborhoods of Tal Afar.

Reports said earlier today that the ISIL terrorist group carried out another chemical attack in a recently-liberated area in Western part of Mosul in Nineveh province to push back Iraqi government forces in the group's de facto capital.

According to reports, at least six Iraqi soldiers suffered inhalation problems following a chemical attack launched by ISIL on Sunday which occurred in a recently-liberated area of Mosul, where the Federal Police and Rapid Response forces are advancing towards the old city.

The Spokesman for the Joint Operation Command in Iraq, Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, said that six soldiers suffered breathing problems from the ISIL attack, adding that the victims are now being treated at a field clinic.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security sources disclosed that missiles loaded with chlorine were fired at al-Abar neighborhood, injuring at least seven troops.

The Islamic State unleashed a series of hit-and-run attacks on Iraqi outposts and checkpoints on the outskirts of Baiji beginning on Thursday morning in a seeming bid to divert government troops from their offensive in Mosul.

40 Iraqi soldiers killed by 5 ISIS suicide bombings near Baiji (+18 graphic pictures, video)
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/40-iraqi-soldiers-killed-5-isis-suicide-bombings-near-baiji-18-graphic-pictures-video/

Spearheaded by an astonishing five suicide bombers, ISIS insurgents infiltrated a number of Iraqi-held points north and west of Baiji, an Iraqi Army stronghold on the Tigris River.

According to Amaq Agency, ISIS operations in the Salahuddin governorate led to the destruction of 9 Hummer vehicles and three Iraqi Army tanks while some 40 government soldiers were killed on Thursday alone.

Meanwhile, ISIS militants fired a MANPAD missile upon an Iraqi chopper over Mosul city, causing it to plummet towards the ground, killing both its pilots in the process.

Iraqi troops killed over 60 Daesh fighters near the historic Great Mosque of al-Nuri over the past 24 hours, commander of the Federal Police Forces Lt. Gen. Raed Shaker Jawdat said Monday.

Iraqi Forces Kill Over 60 Daesh Terrorists Near Historic Mosul Mosque
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704171052715884-iraq-mosul-daesh-fight/

The Iraqi government troops also destroyed eight pieces of Daesh military hardware and prevented several suicide bombing attacks, Jawdat added.

The Iraqi federal police established control over the mosque, considered a symbolic place for Daesh since its leader proclaimed a so-called caliphate from there in 2014, on Sunday.

Fighting for the 800-year-old mosque is part of an operation by Iraqi forces to reclaim the IS-held Old City. Government forces backed by a US-led international coalition are pushing deeper into densely-populated neighborhoods in western Mosul after taking control over eastern districts across the Tigris river.

Taliban insurgents executed a child and three women after charging them with the alleged cooperation with the government in Northern Sar-e-Pul province, local reports said.

Taliban Kill Child, 3 Women over Alleged Cooperation with Govt in Northern Afghanistan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960128000951

According to the local government officials, the incident took place late on Sunday night in the vicinity of Sayad district, Khaama Press reported.

Provincial governor’s spokesman Zabiullah Amani confirmed the incident and said the women and the child were shot dead by the insurgents accusing them of helping the government.

In the meantime, the Taliban insurgents in a statement claimed that a mortar round landed on a residential house in Sayad, leaving three civilians dead.

The execution of the civilians by the Taliban insurgents comes as the group is accused of two thirds of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NTV on Tuesday that the next phase of Operation Euphrates Shield may include a stint in Iraq’s Sinjar Region.

Turkish Army may enter Iraq for next phase of Euphrates Shield operation: Erdogan
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkish-army-may-enter-iraq-next-phase-euphrates-shield-operation-erdogan/

The Turkish leader emphasized that his armed forces will concentrate on both the Islamic State (ISIL) and Kurdish-led “Kurdistan Workers Party” (PKK); these two groups are both fighting one another in the Sinjar Region of Iraq.

There are around 2,500 PKK terrorists in the efforts to create this second Qandil,” Erdogan said, as quoted by Yeni Safak.

The Qandil Mountains, which are located in Iraq, have become the surrogate home for the PKK over the recent years; this is due to the constant harassment they face from the Turkish authorities.

The first phase of Operation Euphrates Shield concluded last month, when the Turkish Army and their rebel allies seized the key town of Al-Bab in eastern Aleppo.