Iraq

[angelburst29]

These first two articles are about the Cholera outbreak in Yemen. It's interesting to note - that the Cholera outbreak has been centered in the capital city of Sana'a and in three other provinces: Amran, Hajjah, and Al Hudaydah" all of which, are controlled by the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebel group."

In the second article, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick's main complaint is that "he's working on a shoestring budget" because the $1.1 billion donated in aid is "still tied up".

In simple translation, the U.N., the Red Cross, WHO and other "for profit" organizations are all lined up to cash-in - leaving the victims in Yemen, in the same state of affairs, as they left Haiti. The third article goes into more detail, on how Micro-financers and re-insurers, who are for-profit entities, (not charitable aid) are used to extract a portion of the financial aid for their own purposes.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived in Yemen on Sunday as the country’s unprecedented cholera outbreak ravages with one in every 45 Yemenis being expected to be infected with a disease by year-end.

ICRC President Arrives in Yemen Amid 'Unprecedented' Cholera Outbreak 23.07.2017
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707231055797827-icrc-president-yemen-cholera/

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived in Yemen today as the country’s unprecedented cholera outbreak ravages an alarming – and growing — percentage of the population. ICRC experts expect the current number of suspected cholera cases to at least double by the end of 2017 to over 600,000 — or one in every 45 Yemenis," the press release said.

According to the ICRC, the rapid spread of cholera has been caused by the countrywide destruction of sewage networks and water treatment stations with the health system unable to help those in need as less than 45 percent of Yemen's medical facilities are operational. The current humanitarian situation may lead to the spread of other diseases, including malaria or dengue.

"The great tragedy is that this cholera outbreak is a preventable, man-made humanitarian catastrophe. It is a direct consequence of a conflict that has devastated civilian infrastructure and brought the whole health system to its knees. I find this needless suffering absolutely infuriating. The world is sleep-walking into yet more tragedy… Further deaths can be prevented, but warring parties must ease restrictions and allow the import of medicines, food and essential supplies," Maurer said.

During the five-day trip, Maurer will visit Aden, Taiz and capital Sanaa, where he will discuss the humanitarian situation with communities and officials on all sides of the conflict and urge all warring parties to provide unconditional and immediate access to people in need.

The health situation in the country is aggravated by the ongoing civil war, which erupted in 2015 between the internationally recognized government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Shortly after the outbreak of the conflict, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries launched airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.

The cholera outbreak in Yemen was announced by the country's health authorities on October 6, 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 7.6 million Yemenis live in areas with a high risk of cholera transmission.

The Red Cross has reported that the cholera outbreak in Yemen has reached a rampant pace of growth, with more than 300,000 cases suspected in the war torn nation of 25 million.

Out of Control’: Cholera Infects More Than 300,000 in Yemen, Claims 1,700 Lives 11.07.2017
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707111055421745-yemen-cholera-outbreak-rampant-epidemic/

The International Committee of the Red Cross said that the cholera epidemic, which is growing by 7,000 new cases every day in just a fraction of the country, "continues to spiral out of control."

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 262,000 suspected cases and 1,587 deaths on July 2 — but officials were only able to collect data from 21 of Yemen's 23 governorates. On June 24, the WHO reported the number of cases at 200,000, a 50-percent increase in cases over just 16 days. During the initial outbreak in April, the WHO predicted that the 300,000 mark wouldn't be reached until autumn.

The death toll stands at 1,700, according to ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet.

The outbreak is centered in the capital city of Sana'a, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebel group. Poor conditions in the city brought on by a Saudi blockade have turned it into the "perfect storm for cholera" according to the WHO.

Cases are also concentrated in three other provinces: Amran, Hajjah, and Al Hudaydah. All are under Houthi control. However, the outbreak has also been reported in Saudi-backed, Hadi government-controlled areas, as well as areas controlled by al-Qaeda.

Humanitarian groups have reapportioned aid money away from food to cholera treatments to fight the epidemic, but this threatens to in turn lead to a famine. The United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick , said that most of the $1.1 billion donated in aid by sympathetic states is still tied up, and so he's working on a shoestring budget.

A groundbreaking March 2017 report from Slate revealed that newly released emails showed officials at the highest levels of the U.S. government were aware almost immediately that U.N. forces likely played a role in a cholera outbreak which may have killed tens of thousands.

Top US Officials Covered Up UN-Caused Cholera Outbreak in Haiti July 25, 2017 
http://disobedientmedia.com/2017/07/top-us-officials-covered-up-un-caused-cholera-outbreak-in-haiti/

Multiple federal agencies, from national security officials to scientists on the front lines, shielded the United Nations from accountability to protect the organization and themselves. Obama’s U.N. ambassadors, Susan Rice and Samantha Power dodged the issue as the administration danced between often contradictory goals of protecting human rights, asserting American dominance, and defending an institution central to its multilateral diplomacy.

Slate’s report continued: “Six days later, a senior analyst in the CDC’s Global Disease Detection Operations Center emailed his colleagues with a less scientific concern. The CDC’s job was to provide front-line medical responders with field and lab research to back up their work. As a standard CDC reference paper put it: “When outbreaks of disease occur, there usually is an urgent need to identify the source and/or cause of the problem as a basis for control.”

But the analyst, Rohit Chitale, wasn’t writing about finding the source. He was relaying a concern from higher up in the U.S. government that someone else already had.

There are many rumors circulating in the media and blogosphere that the origins of cholera in Haiti are from Nepalese or Bangladeshi UN soldiers,”
he wrote colleagues in four CDC departments, in an email disclosed under a Freedom of Information Act request. “This has been discussed on our CDC calls at least once, I believe. I heard from someone at the National Security Council that they are very concerned about this issue.”

CDC scientists in Atlanta were analyzing cholera samples at the time. “If the genomic data comes back indicating that this is true, we may want to have appropriate health [communication] materials ready,” Chitale wrote. “The last thing we would want is for Haitians to blame the UN soldiers in a pernicious way.”

“The available emails show that, whether by instinct or coordination, multiple government departments closed ranks to defend the U.N. In November 2010, an official from CDC’s Emergency Operations Center relayed a request from the Department of Health and Human Services for a one-paragraph summary of “why we don’t think you can tell where the strain came from even with genetic analysis.”

A December 2010 interagency memo to dozens of State Department, Defense Department, and USAID officials instructed press liaisons to tell any reporters who asked: “Bottom line is unless an investigation was done before the cholera spread … it cannot be said definitively that the source was a sanitation site at [the U.N.] camp.”

“There is a real crisis of unaccountability inside the U.N., of which the cholera crisis is only one example. Anthony Banbury, a longtime assistant secretary general who helped oversee peacekeeping, resigned in disgust last year, blasting the organization for allowing peacekeepers to rape and abuse people they were sent to help while protecting its own bureaucracy.”

Disobedient Media previously reported on the Haitian cholera outbreak that had killed over 10,000 Haitians. We discussed the UN’s admission of responsibility for the disaster after six long years of inaction. The scandal also exposed the involvement of finance groups had allowed micro-lenders and re-insurers to quickly move in, profiting where critics said aid organizations should have provided help. Micro-financers and re-insurers are for-profit entities, not charitable aid.

The scandal is the latest in a number of UN human rights abuses, including a sex ring run by Peacekeepers in Haiti which was exposed earlier this year, in addition to the Laura Silsby child trafficking scandal that took place in Haiti just after the same earthquake in 2010 which later gave rise to the cholera outbreak brought by UN peacekeepers.

 

[angelburst29]

The ISIL militants burned 10 members of the terror group, including one Saudi, in Iraqi town of Tel Afar 70 km Northwest of Mosul.

ISIL Burns 10 Own Members, Including One Saudi, in Northwestern Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960504001279

Brigadier General Mohammed al-Jubouri from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said that ISIL executed 10 of its members in the center of Tal Afar district in front of dozens of armed members of the militant organization and citizens of the district, Bas News reported.

"They told the crowd that they were traitors who tried to escape," he said.

ISIL burnt the militants blindfolded and handcuffed, said the official, noting that the execution was carried out in the square for oil products sales in the center of the town.

Al-Jubouri said that the ISIL leaders are telling the inhabitants of Tel Afar that their defeat in Mosul was the result of a betrayal of some of the group’s leaders and members who did not remain committed to the allegiance they had pledged to the organization and collaborated with the security and military forces.

A senior ISIL leader was arrested while attempting to flee western Mosul to the Eastern side of the city, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Iraq Ministry: Senior ISIL Leader Arrested in Eastern Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960504001197

The Ministry spokesperson Sa'ad Ma'an said the ISIL leader was arrested while crossing from the Western side to the East, carrying a fake ID. The apprehended militant had served as the ISIL’s so-called “tribal affairs bureau for Southern Mosul”, Iraqi News reported.

The Iraqi government said it cleared the city of Mosul from Islamic State members earlier this month, ending a three-year occupation by the militant group.

Since then, security forces have been combing the recaptured areas for dormant ISIL cells and for members fleeing among refugee groups. Many have been arrested from refugee convoys over suspicions of affiliation with ISIL, while others were either apprehended or killed trying to escape between both sides of the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki held a meeting, during which they underlined the need for the reinforcement of bilateral “economic” and “military-technical” relations.

Russia, Iraq Call for Closer Economic, Military Cooperation
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960504001496

Putin said that Russia and Iraq have set up “an intergovernmental commission” that is currently working “at full capacity”, as the meeting took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Tuesday presstv reported.

He added, however, that “a lot has yet to be done in terms of economic cooperation..., specifically military-technical cooperation. Russia is proactive in this area, and Iraq benefits from its assistance.”

Paying his third visit to Russia, Maliki said, “With every visit, we take yet another step toward the common goal of further improving our relations.”

Moscow and Baghdad have contacts in the energy, economic and the military-technical fields and are engaged in the implementation of a number of bilateral cooperation agreements, he noted.

Maliki also emphasized that Russia and Iraq “have very good potential for [further] cooperation, and our strategic choice is based on an understanding of the importance of the role of Russia in the region and Iraq.”

The Iraqi vice president further hailed Russia’s active role in the fight against terrorists operating in the region.

At least 26 Afghan soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Southern Kandahar province, the defence ministry said Wednesday, the latest blow to the country's struggling security forces.

26 Afghanistan Soldiers Killed in Taliban Attack on Kandahar Base
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960504001174

The militants "attacked an army camp in Karzali area of Khakrez district of Kandahar last night," MoD spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said, New Indian Express reported.

Afghan soldiers "bravely resisted", he added, killing more than 80 insurgents.

Residents in the area described an hours-long attack launched by a 30-strong convoy carrying "hundreds" of Taliban who assaulted the base from multiple directions.

Air support was called in, several residents told AFP, though that was not immediately confirmed by officials. The insurgents claimed the attack via their Twitter account.

The resurgent Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season when the warmer weather tends to spur an increase in militant attacks.

Afghan security forces, beset by a high death toll, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll -- have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Casualties among Afghan security forces soared by 35 percent in 2016, with 6,800 soldiers and police killed, according to US watchdog SIGAR.

The insurgents have carried out more complex attacks against security forces in 2017, with SIGAR describing troop casualties in the early part of the year as "shockingly high".

In April at least 135 soldiers are believed to have been killed on a base outside the Northern city of Mazar Sharif, one of the deadliest ever Taliban attacks on a military installation. Some sources put the toll as high as 200.

While in early March gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, the country's largest military hospital, in Kabul, killing dozens.

The Taliban have a heavy presence in poppy-growing Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks on security forces there, including multiple assaults on military bases in May which killed dozens of soldiers.

recent UN report showed Kandahar, which lies on the border with Pakistan, was also one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.

 

[angelburst29]

The head of the federal police of Iraq, Shakir Jaudat, announced that more than half of the territory of the Western shore of the Iraqi city of Mosul has been cleared of mines.

Iraqi Police Clear Majority of Mines in Western Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960507001144

According to him, 60 percent of the territory of the Western part of the city of Mosul is cleared and considered safe, RIA Novosti reported.

An official statement of the federal police states that 312 houses were inspected, and six bombs and two suicide bombers were eliminated.

Furthermore the police found two terrorist information centers, a factory for the manufacture of bombs, 11 bazooka grenade launchers, two SPG9 missiles and other weapons.

In addition, six Daesh terrorists who were hiding among civilians in the city were detained.

Earlier, Iraqi anti-terrorist forces found a bomb manufacturing plant on the West bank of Mosul, which was used by ISIL terrorists to produce bombs. A source in the forces told Sputnik in an interview that the Iraqi forces detonated the plant together with all of its bomb-making equipment.

According to the source, during an inspection of the apartment complex, the forces also found a warehouse that the terrorists used to produce explosive devices on an industrial scale.

Some of the photos retrieved show the industrial materials that the terrorists used to make bombs and mines.

An Emirati warship was targeted by the Yemeni naval forces and Ansarullah movement off the coast of Mukha port city in Ta’iz Province on Saturday.

Yemeni Forces Hit UAE Warship off Coast of Mukha
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960507001443

Local activists reported that the warship was in Yemen's territorial waters, near the port city of Mocha, when it came under attack by the allied forces confronting the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen.

According to reports, the Yemeni troops fired several rockets at the Emirati vessel after the ship sailed to the striking range of their forces.

Meantime, Al-Masireh TV Network quoted the Yemeni Naval forces and Ansarullah fighters as saying that the warship was destroyed by a "qualitative weapon".

A military source also confirmed late June that a Saudi-led coalition warship was targeted by the Yemeni forces off the coast of Mukha port city.

Meanwhile, Vice-Spokesman of the Yemeni Army Brigadier General Aziz Rashed also disclosed that the country's forces have used an advanced secret weapon in their recent attack on a Saudi-led coalition warship in the Southern waters of Yemen.

More than 10 warships have been hit by the Yemeni army and popular committees since the start of the military operations conducted in reaction to the Riyadh and its allies aggression.

Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters have also launched a retaliatory ballistic missile attack on a Saudi Arabia oil facility in the kingdom’s Western Yababu province days ago, while Riyadh's deadly air campaign continues to kill and wound more civilians in the war-torn country.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 14,300 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

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

Ottawa has expressed “deep concerns” over the Saudi kingdom’s apparent use of Canadian military equipment in its growing crackdown against its minority Shia citizens in the restive Eastern Province.

Saudi Arabia Using Canadian Armored Vehicles in Crackdown on Own People
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960507000937

Canadian daily Globe and Mail reported Friday that Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland “is deeply concerned about this situation and has asked officials to review it immediately,” citing Global Affairs Canada, a government agency that manages the country’s diplomatic relations.

“If it is found that Canadian exports have been used to commit serious violations of human rights, the minister will take action,” the report added.

The statement was issued after the daily published a story earlier in the day on the apparent use of Canadian-made combat vehicles in Saudi Arabia’s predominantly Shia-populated Qatif region, which has been the scene of protests since 2011 against the regime’s repressive policies and human rights abuses against the Shia population.

In recent months, Qatif has seen a hike in tensions, with Saudi regime forces, equipped with artillery and heavy weapons, launching frequent attacks against the besieged town of Awamiyah to quell the protests under the pretext of clashing with “militants” there.

The protesters in Awamiyah are angry at a plan by the regime to destroy the al-Mosara neighborhood, the old quarter of the town, and turn it into a commercial zone in defiance of warnings both by locals and the United Nations.

Some seven people have been killed by the Saudi military in the town over the past days.

The government in Ottawa “is actively seeking more information about Saudi Arabia’s current efforts to deal with its security challenges, the reports of civilian casualties, and the reports that Canadian-made vehicles have been used by Saudi Arabia in its current security operations,” Global Affairs spokesman John Babcock said, adding that “Canada will review all available information as it determines an appropriate course of action.”

“End use and end user of [military] exports, as well as regional stability and human rights, are essential considerations in the authorization of permits for the export of military goods from Canada,” he stressed.

According to the daily, video footage and photos have surfaced on social media showing for the first time that Saudi police forces using Canadian military hardware against Saudi civilians, prompting calls on Canada’s liberal administration to halt arms exports to the despotic regime. The report further cited experts as identifying the equipment appearing in the videos and photos as Gurkha RPVs, manufactured by Terradyne Armored Vehicles in Newmarket, Ontario, near Toronto.

The statement by Freeland’s department, the report said, came a day after the Trudeau government released a rare statement, slamming the escalating crackdown on Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority in the al-Qatif region by the regime’s Wahhabi-dominated rulers.

“Canada is concerned by the escalating violence in eastern Saudi Arabia, which has resulted in civilian and security-force casualties. We recognize that Saudi Arabia faces security challenges, but we urge local authorities to work with all communities to defuse tensions. All such challenges must be addressed in a manner that abides by international human-rights law,” the Canadian government announced as quoted in the report.

Local sources in the al-Awamiyah town in Saudi Arabia’s Shia-populated Eastern Province say the locals have been told to either leave their homes or face death at the hands of security forces.

Sources: Saudi Shias Told to Leave Awamiyah or Die
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960507000718

Since the early hours of Saturday, the Saudi forces have started taking the town under heavy shellfire, virtually barricading the public in their homes, presstv reported.

The sources added that sharpshooters were training their fire on various targets from atop rooftops and inside armored vehicles. Ali al-Debisi, the leader of a Europe-based Saudi rights body, said the locals are afraid of going out for fear of coming under sniper fire.

Regime forces, meanwhile, continued to evict people from their homes in the town, they stressed.

The Shia-dominated Eastern Province, particularly the Qatif region, has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 2011. Protesters, complaining of marginalization in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious discrimination against the oil-rich region.

However, the government has responded to the protests with a heavy-handed crackdown, but the rallies have intensified since January 2016 when Saudi Arabia executed respected Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the policies of the Riyadh regime. The provocative move further escalated tension across the province. Over the past years, Riyadh has also redefined its anti-terrorism laws so as to also target activism.

Member of the Taliban terrorist group, banned in Russia, have blown up a dam in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar leaving a swathe of agriculture land without water, local media reported Saturday.

Taliban Militants Blow Up Dam in Southern Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201707291055995404-afghanistan-taliban-dam-explosion/

The incident took place in the district of Shorabak in Kandahar province, the Khaama Press news agency reported.

Farmers fear that the land and the plants will be damaged since the dam provided water for the local irrigation system, a policeman told the news agency.

At least two policemen were killed amid Taliban attack on a police checkpoint in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

At Least Two Policemen Killed by Taliban Militants in S Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201707291055988641-afghanistan-taliban-policeman-death/

At least two policemen were killed after the militants of Taliban terrorist group (banned in Russia) attacked a police checkpoint in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, media reported Saturday, citing a spokesman of a local governor.

Ten other policemen were injured in the attack, The attack took place in Helmand's district of Nawa on Friday night, the news outlet added.

The number of casualties among the police servicemen could be higher, as some sources claimed that at least 10 policemen were killed as a result of the attack, the broadcaster added.

 

[angelburst29]

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and High Court judge Sir Duncan Ouseley dismissed a case that would have overturned the ruling which granted former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair immunity from criminal prosecution in connection with the Iraq War.

High Court Blocks Prosecution Bid Against Former British PM Tony Blair Over Iraq War
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960509001719

"In our opinion there is no prospect of the Supreme Court holding that the decision in Jones [UK upper house of parliament’s case from 2006 on invasion in Iraq] was wrong or the reasoning no longer applicable... Having formed the view that there is no prospect of the Supreme Court overturning the decision in Jones, it is our duty to refuse permission to bring the proceedings for judicial review," the High Court said in statement, Sputnik reported.

The prosecution bid was put forward by General Abdul Wahed Shannan Al Rabbat, a former chief of staff of the Iraqi army, who had accused Tony Blair of committing a "crime of aggression" by invading Iraq in 2003 to oust [former dictator] Saddam Hussein, and has since called for the former prime minister, as well as former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to be prosecuted.

Britain invaded Iraq in 2003 as a member of a coalition led by the US. Then-US President George Bush and then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of having weapons of mass destruction — however, these claims have never been proven.

In 2016, the criminal prosecution of Blair was blocked by Westminster Magistrates Court district judge Michael Snow. It was launched on the basis of revelations made in an official report by Sir John Chilcot on the United Kingdom's role in the Iraq invasion in 2003.

The 2 million-word Chilcot Inquiry was released in July 2016 after six years of deliberations. In a report, it was revealed that the UK government under Blair's leadership made a mistake invading Iraq, as the decision to join the war was made on the basis of flawed intelligence data and assessments.

The war in Iraq cost London approximately £9.6 billion and is believed to be one of the reasons for the ongoing conflict in the Middle Eastern country with ISIL's participation.

 

[angelburst29]

The Pentagon claims that in 2016, the number of American Troops in Iraq numbered around 5000. Military Times, through the Freedom of Information Act have discovered - the amount to be closer to 100,000 American personnel.

Video: Operations in Iraq more extensive than officials let on (Video - 1:36 min.)
https://www.airforcetimes.com/video/2017/08/01/operations-in-iraq-more-extensive-than-officials-let-on/#.WYKxrOwcvHo.mailto

According to a US senator, the United States can turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan with just 3,000 to 4,000 additional troops and boosted air capacity.

US Can Turn Tide of Afghan War With 3,000 Extra Troops, More Air Power - Senator
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708031056160335-us-afghanistan-war-troops/

The United States can turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan with just 3,000 to 4,000 additional troops and boosted air capacity, US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday.

"Three or four thousand American troops with some air capability we don't have today will turn the tide of battle," Graham told reporters.

President Donald Trump and his top advisers are currently immersed in an effort to craft a new strategy for Afghanistan.

Graham said Trump would do well to heed the advice of his generals, including National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

If we do not listen to General McMaster and people like him, who have been fighting this war for 15 years, and adapt our policies, we're going to fail in Afghanistan," Graham said.

The senator also said if the United States does not add the extra capability to the fight, the situation will get worse to the extent that the developments seen in Iraq will happen tenfold in Afghanistan.

US Senator John McCain said on Thursday that he would amend the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include a strategy for US forces in Afghanistan if President Donald Trump’s administration fails to come up with one by September.

McCain Vows to Add Afghan Strategy to US Defense Bill if Trump Fails to Do it
https://sputniknews.com/us/201708031056158361-mccain-afghan-strategy/

On July 14, Defense Secretary James Mattis said the US Defense Department was close to completing its policy review for a new strategy in Afghanistan.
Media reports later said that Trump was unsatisfied with the strategies presented to him and sent them back.

"I urge the President to… decide on a policy and strategy that can achieve our national security interests in Afghanistan and the region," McCain said. "If the President fails to do this by the time the Senate takes up the defense authorization bill in September, I will offer an amendment to that legislation, which will provide such a strategy."

Citing congressional testimony from Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, McCain blamed Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama for the United States not winning the war in the country.

The reason for this failure is a lack of successful policy and strategic guidance from Washington over many years, which has continued in the first several months of this new administration," McCain said.

The Iraqi Vice-President, Nouri al-Maliki, warned of the consequences of a referendum on independence in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, stressing that it will first harm the Kurds.

Iraqi VP: Referendum to Harm Kurds
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960511001059

"Referendum in Kurdistan region is illegal and will violate the constitution of integrated Iraq," he added.

Warning that certain figures want to seize the opportunity to introduce themselves as saviours of the Kurdish people, Maliki said, "Principally, the referendum will have no good benefit and will instead add to problems."

Stressing that the Iraqi officials should move in line with people's interests, he said that "separating from Iraq's integrated government will not be to the benefit of our Kurdish citizens".

Al-Abadi underlined that there is no opposition to the federalization of Iraq based on the constitution, and doubted if even one single problem of Kurdistan would be solved through separation from the central government.

Also, last month, Iraq's former National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie warned of the dire consequences of arranging a referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and said only Israel and Saudi Arabia agree with this plan.

"All the world states, from the EU and the US to the Middle-East countries, oppose the referendum for independence in the Kurdistan region and only Saudi Arabia and Israel have agreed with it to be used as a pressure leverage against Baghdad," al-Rubaie, now a senior Iraqi parliamentarian, was quoted as saying by al-Mayadeen news channel.

ISIL’s toxic gases expert was killed along with three of his guards while manufacturing missiles loaded with toxic gases, Southwest of Kirkuk, a security source said.

ISIL’s Toxic Gases Expert Killed in Huge Explosion Southwest of Kirkuk
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960512000722

“A blast occurred on Thursday at one of the ISIL sites in the military district in Hawija, Southwest of Kirkuk, which killed the group’s toxic gases expert called abul Qa’qa’ al-Muhajir along with three of his guards,” the source said, Al Sumariya reported.

“The explosion took place after the so-called toxic gases brigade was working on missiles loaded with toxic gases.

The source, who preferred anonymity, said “al-Muhajir, who is close to the group’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is considered one of the group’s prominent toxic gases expert.”

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces recaptured more ground around ISIL’s last stronghold in Nineveh province, a military officer was quoted saying Thursday.

Iraq's PMF Retakes 17 Villages East of ISIL Last Nineveh Stronghold
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960512000766

The vlunteer forces carried out a military operation East of Tal Afar, West of Mosul, said Cap. Jabbar Hassan from the Iraqi army in an statement, Iraqi News reported.

The offensives came as part of reinforcements in preparation to invade the town, he explained.

The PMF finished an operation to clear the road linking the regions of Adaya, West of Mosul, and ain al-Jahsh, Southeast of Tal Afar, Hassan added. The popular forces took control of 17 villages and roads interconnecting them, he revealed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last month that military plans were ready to invade Tal Afar, ISIL’s last haven in Nineveh, with the participation of mobilization forces. Abadi declared earlier this month that the city of Mosul, ISIL’s largest stronghold in Iraq, had been recaptured from the militant group.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan says that four American troops were wounded in the same suicide bombing near the city of Kandahar the previous day that killed two U.S. service members.

US: 4 wounded in Afghan attack that killed 2 US troops
http://www.airforcetimes.com/flashpoints/2017/08/03/us-4-wounded-in-afghan-attack-that-killed-2-us-troops/

The statement released in Kabul on Thursday says their injuries are not life threatening.

It followed an unprecedented delay in releasing the American casualty tolls in the attack in southern Afghanistan — reflecting an emerging disagreement on how the military should handle information about American casualties.

In Wednesday’s attack, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive laden car into a NATO convoy outside Kandahar. The Taliban quickly took responsibility for the attack.

Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has ordered the new procedure in releasing casualty tolls, prompting criticism of giving the public less information and transparency.

NATO-led Resolute Support mission said that one soldier died, while another five troops and an interpreter were injured in an attack on their patrol in Afghanistan.

One Coalition Soldier Killed, 6 Injured in Attack on Patrol in Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708031056164186-killed-injured-afghanistan-nato-patrol-attack/

One soldier died, while another five troops and an interpreter were injured in an attack on their patrol in Kabul Province, Afghanistan, NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a press release on Thursday.

"The patrol was conducting a partnered mission with the Afghan National Army when a personnel-borne IED [improvised explosive device] detonated," the release said. "All of the wounded are listed in stable condition."

The mission noted that the wounded are receiving treatment at the US military hospital at Bagram Airfield.

Another explosion took place in Kandahar on Wednesday, with the attacker targeting a security forces convoy carrying international troops.

NATO withdrew its military contingent from Afghanistan in 2014, replacing it with a non-military Resolute Support mission. Its objective is to train, advise and assist Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in preserving peace and stability in the country.

However, in 2015, Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia) expanded its presence in Afghanistan, destabilizing the situation there.

On Tuesday a US government oversight agency asked the Defense Department to declassify a report alleging that Afghan security forces had sexually abused children.

US Watchdog Asks Pentagon to Declassify Report on Afghan Child Sex Abuse
https://sputniknews.com/military/201708021056130572-us-watchdog-says-declassify-report/

The office of Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko sent a quarterly report to the Pentagon and Congress that not only discussed alleged abuses but considered "the extent to which the US holds Afghan security forces accountable" for those alleged actions.

According to SIGAR the classified section deals with violations of "Leahy law," a Foreign Assistance Act provision prohibiting the security forces of a foreign country guilty of "gross" human rights violations from receiving aid from the US.

SIGAR wrote ""Afghan officials remain complicit, especially in the sexual exploitation and recruitment of children by Afghan security forces."

According to an agency statement, the classified portion "concerned allegations of sexual abuse of children by members of the Afghan security forces, and discusses the extent to which the US holds Afghan security forces accountable. SIGAR has requested that DOD declassify the report so that it can be released to the public," Military.com reported.

There have been incidents in the past where US troops received disciplinary action for confronting Afghan police and army officials who were sexually abusing children.

One incident saw Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland on the brink of being discharged after admitting he beat up an Afghan police commander who allegedly sexually abused a young boy in 2011 while deployed in Kunduz province. According to Martland, the boy’s mother was beaten for seeking the help of US soldiers.

Special Forces Capt. Dan Quinn helped Martland confront the commander while they were deployed in the Kunduz province and ended up leaving the US Army, while Martland claimed he was being forced to retire from service because of his involvement.

Martland’s expulsion was put on hold after House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) placed a phone call on his behalf to John McHugh, who was Army Secretary at the time.

"Out of respect for Chairman Thornberry's continued strong support for our military, and his personal appeal, Secretary McHugh has agreed to postpone Sgt. First Class Martland's discharge from the Army for 60 days to allow him to file an appeal with the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records," the service said in a statement.

The decision to discharge Martland was eventually be reversed in April 2016.

Annual human rights reports from the US State Department consistently list child sex abuse as a serious problem in Afghanistan, with a 2014 report saying "there were reports security officials and those connected to the ANP [Afghan National Police] raped children with impunity," and that often the abusers are not arrested.

 

[angelburst29]

The Taliban terrorist group (outlawed in numerous countries) attacked an Afghan Border Police outpost in the province of Zabul on Thursday evening, killing at least 15 policemen and injuring two others, local media reported Friday, citing sources.

At Least 15 Border Policemen Killed in Taliban Attack in Southern Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708041056176314-taliban-afghanistan-attack/

The clashes in the Shemalzai district of Zabul started on Thursday evening and lasted until Friday morning, the TOLO news broadcaster reported. According to one of the media outlet's sources, about 10 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting. A High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) belonging to the Afghan Border Police was destroyed in clashes.

The Afghan authorities have not yet confirmed the incident.

The Taliban terrorist group has recently intensified its activity in Afghanistan. Earlier in the day, at least five Afghan servicemen were reportedly killed in a car bomb explosion in the province of Helmand in southern Afghanistan. On Thursday, an explosion occurred in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, killing at least three civilians.

 

[angelburst29]

ISIL lost no less that 70 percent of its assets before being defeated by Iraqi troops in Mosul, a local source from the city said on Sunday.

Source: ISIL Lost over US$ 60 Million in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960515001244

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source, who followed on the ISIL assets in Mosul between 2014-2016, said “most probably, the group lost no less than US$60 million or even more,” Iraqi News reported.

The group, according to the source, used to deal with with unknown individuals for trading at the safe places it hold in Iraq. Those individuals used to work for the group without being doubted to be involved with the militants.

ISIL depends on its so-called finance department to collect money, in addition to fines and taxes imposed on civilians at the regions that were held by the group throughout the past three years.

On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25000 militants were killed throughout the campaign.

Despite declaring the victory over ISIL in Mosul in July, observers say ISIL is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

The UAE government is attempting to gain full control over the oil and gas fields in Yemen's Shabwa province by sending more forces and mercenaries to the region.

UAE Attempting to Fully Control Yemen's Oil, Gas Fields in Shabwa Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960515001447

"The UAE has occupied the two towns of Azan and Haban in Shabwa in Eastern Yemen and has dispatched 3,000 forces to Dahar region in the province to take full control over Shabwa oil and gas," Saudi social media activists revealed on Sunday.

Noting that the UAE sends mobs to Yemen to stir chaos in the regions that it wants to occupy, they said the UAE mercenaries don’t dare to approach regions that are controlled by Ansarollah movement like Assilan and Bayhan and they are more active in regions under the control of the tribal and Sunni groups.

In February, a Yemeni economic expert disclosed that Saudi Arabia is stealing his country's crude reserves in bordering regions in collaboration with the French energy giant, Total. "63% of Yemen's crude production is being stolen by Saudi Arabia in cooperation with Mansour Hadi, the fugitive Yemeni president, and his mercenaries," Mohammad Abdolrahman Sharafeddin told FNA.

"Saudi Arabia has set up an oil base in collaboration with the French Total company in the Southern parts of Kharkhir region near the Saudi border province of Najran and is exploiting oil from the wells in the region," he added.

Sharafeddin said that Riyadh is purchasing arms and weapons with the petro dollars stolen from the Yemeni people and supplies them to its mercenaries to kill the Yemenis.

A coalition of rights groups issued a joint letter to key US agencies calling for a review of allegations of abuse by US-allied UAE forces in Yemen.

Rights Groups: US 'Must Review Abuses' of UAE Forces in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960515001134

The rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), has sent the joint letter to the US Department of Defence, FBI and CIA calling for a review of allegations of abuse by US-allied UAE forces in Yemen, New Arab reported.

In June, an Associated Press investigation revealed that the United States was interrogating hundreds of men who were tortured by UAE prison guards in the secret sites.

Senior US military personnel confirmed their involvement, but denied any knowledge of human rights abuses.

Interrogating the victims of torture is illegal under international humanitarian law, as it is seen as complicity.

At least eighteen separate secret prisons were found to be in operation across South Yemen, all either run or supported by the UAE, with the US allegedly providing coalition forces with a list of most-wanted men to detain.

Family members of those detained said that some prisoners were transferred from UAE or Yemeni custody to UAE-run military bases in Eritrea.

US agencies must make public to the "fullest extent possible" any reviews into "allegations that US-allied forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and UAE-backed forces in Yemen have been responsible for serious abuses in Yemen", the letter issued on 2 August said.

Militants killed up to 40 civilians in the village of Mirza Oland located in the northern Afghanistan's Sare Pol province, Mohammad Zahir Wahdat, the provincial governor, said Sunday.

Militants Massacre Up to 40 Civilians in Northern Afghan Village
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708061056235290-afghanistan-massacre-40-dead/

On Saturday, the insurgents established control over Mirza Oland and started killing civilians and servicemen in the captured settlement both by beheading them and by shooting them dead.

"The insurgents, after capturing the village, took dozens of civilians hostage. So far no contact has been established with the hostages… Alongside the military personnel, up to 30 or 40 civilians including the women and children and old men have been killed by the insurgents after they captured the Mirza Olang village," Wahdat said, as quoted by the TOLOnews broadcaster.

The official added that he urged the central government to carry out an operation to free hostages in Mirza Oland.

According to TOLOnews, no group has claimed responsibility for the massacre yet.

A group of NATO military advisers from Romania on Saturday thwarted an insider attack near the airfield of the southern Afghanistan's city of Kandahar, NATO’s mission to Afghanistan said.

NATO Servicemen Thwart Attack Near Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708051056216665-nato-afghanistan-kandahar-airfield/

Earlier in the day, a member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police attacked the advisers from Romania. "Romanian soldiers, who were providing security, along with Train, Advise and Assist Command – South advisors returned fire in self-defense and killed the gunman," the statement added.

According to the statement, one Romanian soldier, as well as one Afghan police officer were injured and sent to medical facilities.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraqi Vice-President Nouri al-Maliki condemned the recent US strikes against Hashd al-Shaabi (popular forces), and urged an immediate probe into the hostile action by Washington troops in his country.

Iraqi VP Urges Immediate Probe into US Attack against Popular Forces
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517001429

"We call for immediate probe and formation of a high committee to stand up to such acts as well as punishment of those who have carried out the attack," Maliki was quoted as saying by the Arabic-language al-Sumeria news website on Tuesday.

He further questioned why the US attacks come at a time when the Iraqi armed and popular forces have embraced major victories against ISIL.

Dozens of Hashd al-Shaabi forces were killed by the US shelling near Iraq’s border with Syria, the group said Tuesday.

In a statement, the Sayed al-Shuhada Brigade said the US artillery attack would “not go unpunished”, and called on the Iraqi government to launch an investigation.

A source within the brigade, a faction of the Hashd al-Shaabi, said a convoy of its fighters was targeted inside Southern Syria across the border from al-Rutba district in Iraq’s Anbar province.

“At least 36 fighters were killed and 80 others injured in the attack,” the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

The bodies of those killed in the strike arrived at Baghdad airport late Monday, the source added.

The Iraqi Air Force crushed Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) strongholds in the city of Tal Afar as part of a major push on Mosul.

Iraqi Aircraft Crush ISIL Strongholds in Tal Afar as Part of Offensive on Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517001344

The Iraqi Air Force struck a number of ISIL strongholds in the center of Tal Afar city on the basis of militia's intelligence data and bombed the bridges used by the Daesh militants for relocation inside the city," local militia announced in a statement. The militants reportedly withdrew from the Southern outskirts of Tal Afar, destroying the paved road to hinder the Iraqi army's advance toward the city.

A high-ranking Iraqi military commander had predicted days ago a relatively easy victory for government forces in the forthcoming operation to retake the Northern city of Tal Afar from the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group as the militants are worn out and demoralized.

Iraqi Security forces arrested a ISIL intelligence official on Tuesday in the Eastern side of Mosul, local media said.

Iraqi Security Forces Arrest Senior ISIL Intelligence Official in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517001263

A security source said that the National Security Forces, in coordination with the Nineveh police, have managed to arrest Ahmed Sabhan Abdel Wahid al-Dulaimi, a senior ISIL intelligence official, in the Eastern side of Mosul, Shafaaq News reported.

“The detainee was an ISIL leader, who was responsible for the intelligence units in Eastern Mosul before liberating the city,” the source added.

ISIL's notorious security commander Abu Fares Araqi was killed along with three of his aides in Iraqi Air Force attack in the town of Huweija, a local source confirmed on Tuesday.

Senior ISIL Commander Killed in Iraqi Air Raid
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517000913

The source reported that Abu Fares, the security commander of ISIL in Huweija, and his aides were killed in Iraqi airstrike on one of the command centers of the terrorist group in the central part of the town.

The source further added that ISIL went on alert and arrested three of its own members on charges of spying for Iraqi security forces after the air assault.

The source went on to say that ISIL's religious court sentenced the arrested members to death on betrayal charges.

An Iraqi army division received orders to leave Mosul and head towards the ISIL’s last stronghold in Nineveh preparing for anticipated operations to retake the region, a military source said.

Iraq Army Forces Ordered to Move from Mosul to Tal Afar Preparing for Invasion
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517000876

Safwan al-Assafi, a Defense Ministry official in charge of distributing military directives, said that the supreme command ordered the 9th division to immediately hand over security responsibilities in Mosul to local and Federal Police forces, and to get ready for heading to Tal Afar, now ISIL’s remaining holdout in the province, Iraqi News reported.

Meanwhile, Ahmed al-Jubouri, a colonel at the Joint Operations Command, revealed that intensive meetings are being held to lay down the axes of operations in Tal Afar, adding that operations are due within the next few days.

Earlier on Monday, the Defense Ministry said plans were ready for the invasion of the town.

The target area, according to Anadolu, is nearly 2400 kilometers of space, and consists of Tal Afar, Ayadiya, Mahalabiya and 47 scattered villages.

Tal Afar is 65 kilometers away from Mosul, and is home to a mixed Turkmen and Arab population. Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul, ISIL's former capital, early July after more than eight months of offensives.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, locally knwon as Hashd al-Shaabi, completed their last preparations for an offensive to liberate Tal Afar, a strategically important town 60 kilometers to the West of Mosul, one of the last large strongholds controlled by ISIL, a PMF commander said.

Iraq's PMF Prepares to Liberate Last Large ISIL Stronghold in Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960519000710

The Iraqi army and Hashd al-Shaabi units have completed their last preparations for the operation. We are waiting for the command of Iraq's Commander-in–Chief Haider al-Abadi to launch the offensive. Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga Forces won't take part in the operation. Iraq's government army will provide aerial support for the operation," said Ali Hasim Huseyni, one of the Hashd al-Shaabi commanders, RIA Novosti reported.

Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), commonly known as the Golden Division, which took an active part in the liberation of Mosul, will also play a key role in the liberation of Tal Afar.

The commander explained that Tal Afar remains one of the last large ISIL strongholds in Iraq. There are hundreds of terrorists there, predominantly natives of Iraq. The liberation of Tal Afar will signify a large victory in the fight against terrorism.

Tal Afar is also a strategically important city, as it is located 63 kilometers to the west of Mosul, 52 km to the East of Sinjar, as is not far from the border with Syria.

Tal Afar has been ISIL Daesh control since mid-2014, when the terrorists captured the town. Before the seizure, it was home to 750,000 people. Many civilians still reside in the city, Ali Hasim Huseyni said.

A rights group said the Saudi-led restrictions on Yemen’s airspace and the closure of its main airport in Sana’a have led to the deaths of over 10,000 people in the impoverished Arab nation over the past year.

Rights Group: Over 10,000 Yemenis Dead Due to Saudi Aerial Blockade
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960519000370

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) along with 14 other aid organizations called on warring parties in Yemen to reopen Sana’a International Airport, warning that the year-long closure hinders the flow of humanitarian aid and prevents thousands of patients from flying abroad for life-saving treatment, presstv rreported.

“Denial of access to travel has condemned thousands of Yemenis with survivable illnesses to death,” the NRC’s Director in Yemen Mutasim Hamdan said in a statement.

“Without access to safe, commercial travel, Yemenis are left with no way to access critical medical care,” further said the statement. “The result is devastating. Thousands of women, men and children who could have been saved lost their lives.”

The Saudi-led coalition has imposed a no-fly zone over Yemen amid its deadly bombing campaign against the country, which began in March 2015.

Riyadh’s warplanes heavily bombarded the Sana’a airport in April that year, causing severe damage to the facility’s only runway and passenger terminal.

On August 9, 2016, the Saudis shut down the airport in an attempt to tighten the noose on their opponent, the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is based in the capital. The move has left many Yemenis with no safe means of transport in or outside of the country.

Referring to UN figures, the NRC estimated that before the conflict, 7,000 Yemenis went abroad for medical treatment from Sana’a every year.

Over the past two years, the number of people in need of life-saving healthcare has increased to nearly 20,000 due to the ongoing conflict, the group noted.

Riyadh and its allies have been blocking aid delivery to Yemen. In July, the UN said the coalition prevented deliveries of jet fuel to UN planes carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid to Sana’a.

“Yemen’s public services are crumbling under the pressures of war,” said the NRC’s Hamdan.

“Hundreds of thousands more people are sick, injured or in need of services, but there are drastically reduced resources to meet them,” he said.

“It is critical that all channels of domestic and international air movement are reopened so Yemenis can get help, and help can get to Yemenis,” the activist added.

A Pentagon audit found that a British contractor in Afghanistan billed the US government more than $50 million for questionable items, including seven luxury cars, US Senator Claire McCaskill said.

Senator: Afghanistan Contractor Billed US Government for Luxury Cars
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960519000613

McCaskill wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis demanding answers on the "Legacy East" contract, a project to provide counter-insurgency intelligence experts to mentor and train the Afghan National Security Forces, Sputnik reported.

In her letter, McCaskill noted that a recent Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) review of the contract had called more than $50 million in expenses into question. The audit found that a subcontractor, New Century Consulting, billed over $50 million in questionable costs to the Army through its contractor, Imperatis.

"US Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today blew the whistle on a federal contract that left taxpayers on the hook for over $50 million in questionable costs, including seven luxury vehicles and $400,000 average salaries for significant others of corporate officers to serve as 'executive assistants,'" McCaskill's office said in a statement.

The items paid for included seven luxury cars, including Porsches, Alfa Romeos, a Bentley, an Aston Martin and a Land Rover, McCaskill said.

The audit also found that the significant others of the CEO and CFO were paid salaries of approximately $420,000 each to work as "executive assistants," though they worked from home and no documentation exists to prove they actually performed any work, McCaskill said.

The company also spent over $1,500 on alcohol and $42,000 in cash on automatic weapons, though the contract provisions prohibit such expenditures.

Other questionable expenses included severance payments, rent, unnecessary licensing fees, extensive austerity pay and expenses for air travel for personal reasons, McCaskill said.

The senator demanded that Mattis say who at the Defense Department managed the contract and explain what steps the Pentagon was taking to recover the questioned costs.

 

[angelburst29]

Tenacity, determination and combat is the motto of Kurdish women fighters in the south of Iraq’s Kirkuk province, half of which is controlled by terrorists of Daesh group.

Kurdish Women Take Up Arms to Fight Daesh on Iraqi Frontline
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708151056465801-kurdish-women-fight-iraq-daesh/

A Sputnik correspondent visited the fearless women at their combat positions near Hawija, where they are preparing to fight against terrorists. Some of them have already gained experience in battles outside Kirkuk, while others recently joined the groups of armed women. They talked about how they decided to resort to taking up arms and what they had been through at the frontline.

TRAIN HARD, FIGHT EASY - Hundreds of women have arrived from districts bordering Iran to defend Iraqi Kurdistan's borders Kurdistan's borders and liberate Daesh-occupied areas. Since 2014, the women have undergone vigorous training before and during their active service. It was that year when the Kurds, both men and women, decided to stand up against the "caliphate."

Khamanu Nakshabandi, an experienced Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighter, says that her parents joined the Kurdish Peshmerga in 1979, which inspired her to do the same.

Now, under the supervision of experienced fighters like her, young Kurdish women are refining their fighting skills daily and learning military discipline. They are preparing for a battle with an enemy they see every day from a few hundred meters away.

"After liberating this area in 2015, this point became the last one to be freed near Dubz. Right in front of us all you see is Daesh villages," Khamanu said, adding that this area is Kurdish and used to be populated by their ancestors.

She notes that over the past three years of war, she had learned not only how to fight but how to speak a new language.

"I have not spoken Arabic for 40 years of my life but the war and refugees fleeing from Daesh territories forced us to learn Arabic, so that we could understand the people turning to us as they escape death, murder and rape," the woman said. (Article continues.)

Iraq and Saudi Arabia are reportedly planning to open the Arar border for trade for the first time in nearly 30 years. The border has been shuttered since the two nations severed their relationship in 1990 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq to Reopen Border Crossing That’s Been Closed for 27 Years
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708151056492101-saudi-iraq-reopen-border-crossing/

Saudi local media reports that on Monday officials from both countries toured the area and spoke with religious pilgrims from Iraq, who have only had access to the area once a year, while making the hajj to Mecca, over the last 27 years.

Sohaib al-Rawi, governor of Anbar province in southwest Iraq, called the opening of Arar a "significant move" that would help strengthen ties between Baghdad and Riyadh, and that Iraq had sent troops to help protect the route leading up to the border.

Al-Rawi said, "This is a great start for further future cooperation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia."

This agreement follows the Saudi cabinet announcement on Monday that the Saudi kingdom and the Iraqi republic would be establishing a joint trade commission. Saudi Arabia, along with other regional powers like the United Arab Emirates, hope to counter growing Iranian influence in the Persian Gulf region by warming up to Iraq.

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iraq showed signs of improvement in June when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the kingdom for talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

After years of strained relations, Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was recently hosted by Sunni-led Arab Gulf countries, and his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman resulted in a $10 million aid package to Iraq from Riyadh with potential investments in southern Iraq’s Shi'ite areas, where Sadr holds considerable influence.

At least 31 people have lost their lives in one day during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, local media said.

31 Hajj Pilgrims Die in Saudi Arabia in One Day
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960524001444

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on that 31 pilgrims, all foreign nationals, had died on Sunday, without elaborating on the cause of their death, presstv reported.

The report said more than 620,000 pilgrims had thus far traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj rituals.

The kingdom organizes and administers the Hajj pilgrimage in the cities of Mecca and Medina.

New details emerged of Saudi Arabia’s kidnapping of three members of its royal family from Europe and the United States in order to silence their opposition to the ruling regime.

Details Emerge of Saudi Arabia’s Kidnapping of Defecting Royals
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960524001414

The BBC is to air a documentary titled “Kidnapped: Saudi Arabia’s Missing Princes” on Tuesday, offering details on the kidnapping of the princes, who have not been heard of since their disappearance. The Guardian had originally broke the story about the kidnappings back in March 2016.

Prince Sultan bin Turki - But a report on the BBC’s website used information from the documentary to provide more details.

According to the report, Prince Sultan bin Turki, the most senior of the three princes, was invited back in 2003 to a palace in Geneva, where a fellow royal urged him to return to the kingdom so they could resolve the dispute arising from his anti-regime criticism.

Upon his refusal, those in the room with Sultan left and masked men entered, injecting Turki with anesthetizing substance. The prince was then taken to an aircraft and flown to Riyadh. He spent time between prison and house arrest in Saudi Arabia but was allowed to leave again in 2010 to seek medical treatment in the United States.

He worked from the US to file complaints with Swiss courts over the assault back in Geneva, once again alarming Saudi officials.

In 2016, he boarded an aircraft presuming it was headed for Cairo, but midway, flight attendants took out weapons, subduing him and taking him to Riyadh.

A number of people, including foreign nationals, who were unwittingly accompanying Sultan had taken images before the assault on board the plane. They had had their phones seized and images erased, save one picture (seen above). They were then held for three days before being sent back to their countries of origin.

Turki had been critical of the country’s human rights record and corruption among princes and officials and had called for a series of reforms.

Prince Turki bin Bandar - A former official tasked with policing the royals, Prince Turki bin Bandar was another royal abducted, while trying to leave for France in Morocco. He was then imprisoned and returned forcibly to Riyadh.

He had posted videos on YouTube, calling for reform in Saudi Arabia.

Saud bin Saif al-Nasr - A bon vivant, Saud bin Saif al-Nasr was the least prominent of the three. He had openly called for a popular uprising against the Saudi ruling regime and urged the prosecution of the Saudi officials who had backed the overthrow of Egypt’s only democratically-elected President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

He had also endorsed two letters in which an anonymous Saudi prince had called for a coup to remove King Salman.

In 2015, he was flown to what he thought was a planned business meeting in Milan, but has not been heard of ever since.

A senior member of Ansarullah movement's political council warned that the Saudi-led coalition is trying to spread different diseases in Yemen to defeat the war-torn country.

Ansarullah Official: Saudi-Led Coalition Attempts to Spread Different Diseases in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960524000422

"The Saudi-led coalition has destroyed all infrastructures in Yemen and has fully laid siege on the country from the sea, air and ground and this has led to the spread of diseases in Yemen, including cholera," Zaifallah Shami told the Arabic-language al-Ahd news website on Tuesday.

Noting that the coalition makes intentional attempts to spread diseases in Yemen and prevents patients from receiving necessary medical care, he said, "They want to bring the Yemeni nation to its knees by spreading diseases after they failed to do so in the battleground."

His remarks came after UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Walad Sheikh Ahmed warned that the Yemeni people are now threatened with the danger of hunger and famine due to the long-term Saudi-led war against the poor country.

"Today, there is a fear for famine and hunger for 7 million Yemenis and they are in need of rapid humanitarian aid," Sheikh Ahmed told reporters in Tehran on Saturday after a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari.

Stressing the need for sending humanitarian aid to all parts of Yemen, he complained that the UN is facing difficulties in sending aid to certain regions, including Ta'iz province. "I use this opportunity to call for reopening Sana'a airport, specially for humanitarian affairs," Sheikh Ahmed said.

He also appreciated Iran's support for the establishment of peace and stability in Yemen, and stressed that the crisis in the Arab country has no military solution

The Yemeni army has used artillery to destroy an ammunition and arms depot belonging to Saudi Arabian forces in the southern Saudi province of Najran, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

Yemeni Army Reported to Have Destroyed Arms Depot in Southern Saudi Arabia
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708151056489357-yemeni-army-destroys-arms-depot/

The army, supported by militias, continued their operations against Saudi-led forces, shelling their positions in the province, the FARS news agency reported.

The media outlet added that the destruction of the facility in Najran's Taleh district was also confirmed by a military source close to the Yemeni army.

The Taliban terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) has released an open letter to US President Donald Trump, in which the groups calls for a complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, saying they provoke ongoing violence in the country, local media reported Tuesday.

Taliban Calls on Trump to Withdraw US Troops From Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708151056476728-taliban-us-afghanistan/

In their letter, the group has claimed that the ongoing violence in Afghanistan had a direct link to the presence of US forces, calling them "occupation forces" that provoke war in Afghanistan used by everyone in their own interest, Khaama Press news agency reported.

The group also accused the US-led coalition for the destruction of the country that has made Afghanistan one of the worst nations in terms of security, governance, and economy.

The Taliban has released the new letter amid the Trump administration's review of Afghanistan policy.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraq asked the UN Security Council for assistance in collecting evidence to prosecute militants of ISIL for possible crimes against humanity.

Iraq Asks UN to Collect Evidence to Prosecute ISIL Crimes
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960526000807

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that his government and the United Kingdom are working on a draft Security Council resolution seeking assistance, Kurdistan24 reported.

It was sent more than five months after human rights lawyer Amal Clooney urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send a letter to the council so it can vote to set up an investigation into crimes by IS militants in Iraq.

Clooney represents victims of ISIL rapes and kidnappings from Iraq's Ezadi community. The lawyer said in early March that the world's nations must not let ISIL "get away with genocide."

Amal Clooney welcomed al-Jaafari's letter as an important first step to bring ISIL members to justice. But she cautioned that it will only be meaningful if the Security Council acts promptly so evidence can be collected of crimes by ISIL.

"Ezadis and other ISIL victims want justice in a court of law, and they deserve nothing less," Clooney said in a statement. "I hope that the Iraqi government's letter will mark the beginning of the end of impunity for genocide and other crimes that ISIL is committing in Iraq and around the world."

Britain's deputy UN ambassador, Jonathan Allen, said the United Kingdom is delighted the Iraqi government's letter makes clear it wants accountability. He noted that Iraq, Britain and Belgium launched a campaign last September to prosecute ISIL crimes.

Allen said London will work to put forward a resolution to achieve accountability, "leaving no hiding place for ISIL anywhere."

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters: "Of course we'll support it, but we'll have to see the resolution."

Iraqi forces killed ISIL’s new mayor of Tal Afar town and the group’s area police chief while they were fleeing the enclave, a security source said.

ISIL’s Tal Afar Mayor, Police Chief Killed Fleeing Enclave
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960526000657

The source saying that army troops shot dead the so-designated mayor, Abu Fatema al-Jaafari, and the police chief, Zahed Khedr, along with six other companions while sneaking outside Tal Afar for an attack on the forces, NINA reported.

The news agency also said the group executed 20 members late Tuesday for attempting to flee the town, and had formed special patrols to capture and execute runaway militants.

Tal Afar is 65 kilometers West of Mosul, and is home to a mixed Turkmen and Arab population. Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul, ISIL’s former capital, early July after more than eight months of offensives.

Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi and his defense officials have marked Tal Afar as their next target of anti-ISIL action. Iraqi defense officials said recently that warplanes were carrying out raids on the enclave in preparation for the ground invasion which is yet to be scheduled.

Tal Afar has reportedly seen divisions among ISIL leaderships, with occasional news telling of power conflicts and dissents among leaders, as well as attempts by some militants to flee the anticipated battle field.

Turkey warned that plans of the leadership in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence could lead to civil war, in Ankara’s strongest warning yet against next month’s poll.

Turkish FM: Iraqi Kurds’ Independence Referendum Lead to Civil War
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"In that country, which has been through so many problems, a referendum on independence can make the situation even worse," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said, TRT Haber reported.

"God forbid, it could even bring it to civil war," he added.

Meanwhile, Next month’s planned referendum on Iraqi Kurdish independence violates Iraq’s constitution and will further destabilize the region, Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said on Aug. 15.

The KRG has said it will go ahead with the referendum on independence on Sept. 25 despite concerns from Iraq’s neighbors, and a US request to postpone it.

“The referendum would contribute to instability in the region,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said at a news conference after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, adding the decision to go ahead with the vote “violates the constitution of Iraq.”

The US State Department has said it is concerned that the referendum in northern Iraq will distract from “more urgent priorities” such as the defeat of the ISIL.

Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak also had said the referendum would harm energy cooperation with northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), which pumps hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day to Turkey’s Ceyhan export terminal.

 

[angelburst29]

US forces set up a military base in the vicinity of the besieged city of Tal Afar, West of Mosul, in an effort to join the Iraqi forces to liberate the city from ISIL.

US Forces Create Base Near Iraq’s Tal Afar
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960529000525

According to information received by Sputnik from sources in the Iraqi army, the US military is currently stationed in vicinity of the city of Tal Afar,
preparing for the battle.

Aydın Maruf, a Representative of the Turkmen Popular Front in Iraq spoke to Sputnik Turkey in an interview about how the US forces are preparing to participate in the liberation of Tal Afar.

“In preparation for the operation for the liberation of Tal Afar, the US is creating a military base near the city. The US military will take part in this operation and they will work together with the Iraqi army,” Maruf said.

“There is no single military force in the region. Tal Afar has been in a besieged position since the operation to liberate Mosul. We want the operation to start as soon as possible,” he added.

He further announced that more than 400,000 Turkmen, natives of Tal Afar, cannot return to their homes because of the presence of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) in the city.

“The UN, as well as other human rights and humanitarian organizations, should also initiate a process of providing assistance to the inhabitants of Tal Afar,” Maruf concluded.

Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi announced Sunday the beginning of the military operation for liberation of the Tal Afar city from the ISIL terrorist group.

A member of the Iraqi Parliament reported that human traffickers are taking $3,000 to $5,000 for transferring members of the ISIL from the Northwestern city of Tal Afar after the recent victories of the Iraqi forces.

ISIL Terrorists Paying Thousands of US Dollars to Human Traffickers While Fleeing Iraq
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Abbas al-Bayati said that based on intel the ISIL terrorists are paying $3,000 up to $5,000 to human traffickers to transfer them from Tal Afar that is on the verge of full liberation following the Iraq forces' liberation operation in the region.

He went on to say that the traffickers are those who have smuggled and sold the country's oil and historical monuments, stolen by the ISIL, to foreign countries.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi announced resumption of ground operation to liberated Tal Afar from ISIL earlier today.

President Donald Trump and his top national security aides did not reach a decision on a new approach to the nearly 16-year war and occupation in Afghanistan after meeting for hours at Camp David.

Trump, Aides Not Able to Decide on Afghanistan Policy at Camp David
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Trump returned to his private golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, after spending the day at the presidential retreat in Maryland, where White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said he was “briefed extensively by his national security team on a new strategy to protect America's interests in South Asia”, RT reported.

“The president is studying and considering his options and will make an announcement to the American people, to our allies and partners, and to the world at the appropriate time,” the White House said, according to Military.com.

Trump tweeted that he had a “GREAT meeting on National Security, the Border and the Military” on Friday.

No announcement was made on whether more troops would be committed to the region.

The president was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser HR McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, among others.

Earlier, Mattis told reporters at the State Department that the Trump administration “will move this toward a decision” on Afghanistan during the retreat at Camp David.

“We are coming very close to a decision, and I anticipate it in the very near future,” Mattis said.

In June, Mattis confirmed that Trump granted him the authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan. However, without the president signing off on a full strategy, the defense secretary has not made any changes to troop levels.

Mattis has reportedly been considering a plan from General John Nicholson, commander of US Forces-Afghanistan, who said the US needs an additional 3,000-5,000 troops to be successful in the region.

According to the Congressional Research Service, there were 9,800 troops in Afghanistan at the end of 2016.

Nicholson was not among the president’s national security aides at Camp David Friday.

When asked Monday if Trump has confidence in Nicholson, Mattis told the press to "Ask the president.”

"I will tell you right now, he is our commander in the field, he has the confidence of NATO, he has the confidence of Afghanistan, he has the confidence of the United States,” Mattis said, according to the Washington Post.

The White House has also considered a plan from Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm formerly called Blackwater, who proposed outsourcing the job of training and assisting Afghan forces to private contractors.

Prince’s plan was presented to Mattis by Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Lawmakers have been growing increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration over the lack of direction in Afghanistan. Last week, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, unveiled his own “strategy for success,” which he plans to bring to a vote when the Senate returns in September.

"Nearly seven months into President Trump's administration, we've had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened," McCain said in a statement. "We are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide."

Pence, McMaster Lead Call for Escalation

Trump Continues to Resist Pressure for Afghan Escalation
_http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/18/trump-continues-to-resist-pressure-for-afghan-escalation/

Friday’s Camp David talks on Afghanistan appear to have ended without a final decision by President Trump on troop levels, as he continues to resist pressure from top cabinet officials to sign off on a massive escalation of the 16-year-old conflict with thousands of fresh troops.

Trump had initially delegated the decision to Defense Secretary James Mattis, but Mattis found a cap limiting his maximum deployment too restrictive. Now, Vice President Pence and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster are also taking up the cause of large-scale escalation, pushing Trump to accept the recommendations of the commanders.

Pence and McMaster were at the Camp David meeting, but Blackwater founder Erik Prince, who has been pushing a “privatize the war” initiative, was blocked, apparently at the behest of McMaster. Trump aide Steve Bannon, another skeptic of military escalation, was sacked outright.

Thus it appears the strategy now is to whittle down Trump’s resistance by exposing him only to advocates of the escalation until he finally makes his decision, and keeping him carefully sequestered from any dissent.

The ever-hawkish Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) appears also to be pushing the narrative that it’s impossible for the war not to continue to be escalated, arguing that the US would have “another 9/11” if they stopped occupying Afghanistan a mere generation after the last terrorist attack.

Yemeni officials loyal to former President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, announced that Saudi Arabia has for the first time deployed troops to the Southwestern port city of Aden, where Riyadh and its ally, the UAE, are vying for a foothold.

Saudi Arabia Deploys Troops to Yemen’s Aden
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960529300110

The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Saudi forces had been stationed at Aden's presidential palace, port and airport, ABC News reported.

They are the first special Saudi forces in Aden since 2015, when Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign against Yemen in an attempt to eliminate the country’s Ansarullah movement and reinstall Riyadh-friendly Mansour Hadi.

Saudi Arabia receives backing in the war from a number of its client states, including the UAE. There have, however, been some indications that Saudi Arabia and the UAE disagree on a number of issues over the war on Yemen, among them the control of Aden International Airport.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 14,300 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

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

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster, as Saudi Arabia's deadly campaign prevented the patients from travelling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country.

The cholera outbreak in Yemen which began in April, has also claimed 2,000 lives and has infected 500,000, as the nation has been suffering from what the World Health Organization (WHO) describes as the “largest epidemic in the world” amid a non-stop bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia. Also Riyadh's deadly campaign prevented the patients from traveling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country.

According to reports, the cholera epidemic in Yemen, which is the subject of a Saudi Arabian war and total embargo, is the largest recorded in modern history.

A leaked UN report announced that Saudi-led coalition strikes have resulted in hundreds of Yemeni children being killed or maimed, as the paper urged that Riyadh and its allies be added to a black list of countries violating children's rights.

Leaked UN Report Could See Saudi Arabia Blacklisted Over Children Deaths in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960529000473

The confidential draft, which is yet to be presented by the UN Secretary-General but seen by Reuters and Foreign Policy (FP) magazine, alleges that Saudi forces and their [Persian] Gulf allies were complicit in more than half of the deaths and injuries of children in Yemen last year, RT reported.

“The killing and maiming of children remained the most prevalent violation” of children’s rights in Yemen, the 41-page paper said, as cited by FP.

“In the reporting period, attacks carried out by air were the cause of over half of all child casualties, with at least 349 children killed and 333 children injured,” it added.

The report, which is expected to be released next month, still requires the endorsement from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. It was reportedly drafted by Guterres’ special envoy for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba, acting on a request from the UN Security Council.

Citing “well-placed sources,” FP said Gamba notified high-ranking UN officials that she suggested the coalition – comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan and the UAE – be included in a black list of rogue countries responsible for killing and maiming children.

Similar attempts to put Riyadh on the rogue list failed last year, when then Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon caved in to Saudi Arabia's threats to cut millions international aid funds. The Saudis further threatened to initiate a walk-out by Arab countries from the UN.

This time, however, the US pressured the UN over the proposed move, urging the global organization to single out specific countries complicit in atrocities FP reported.

Gamba told the publication the report still needs to be finalized, adding that she was unaware of US pressure.

“None of what you indicate has reached me,” the official said.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 14,300 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

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

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster, as Saudi Arabia's deadly campaign prevented the patients from travelling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country.

The cholera outbreak in Yemen which began in April, has also claimed 2,000 lives and has infected 500,000, as the nation has been suffering from what the World Health Organization (WHO) describes as the “largest epidemic in the world” amid a non-stop bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia. Also Riyadh's deadly campaign prevented the patients from traveling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country.

According to reports, the cholera epidemic in Yemen, which is the subject of a Saudi Arabian war and total embargo, is the largest recorded in modern history.

 

[angelburst29]

A cameraman from the Iraqi Karbala TV channel was killed in a suicide attack while covering of the Iraqi army's offensive aimed at retaking the northern city of Tal Afar from the Daesh terror group (outlawed in Russia), a military source told Sputnik Saturday.

Iraqi TV Cameraman Killed by Militants While Covering Tal Afar Offensive
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708261056818150-iraqi-tv-cameraman-killed/

Cameraman Sujad Najm was killed in a suicide attack in the east of Tal Afar, the source said adding that his colleague Hussain Khafaji was injured.

The source also said that another local TV broadcaster’s cameraman had been killed during the clashes in the city’s west.

​Kerbela TV channel confirmed the death of its employee.

The Iraqi government forces started the military offensive in Tal Afar, the major Daesh stronghold near the Iraqi-Syrian border, on August 20. The city is located some 30 miles away from recently liberated Mosul.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said earlier on Saturday that the country’s army had already liberated 70 percent of Tal Afar from the terrorists.

An American journalist was killed in the country of South Sudan during fighting between rebel and government forces, according to multiple news reports.

American Journalist killed in South Sudan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960605001321

Christopher Allen, 26, was killed along with 18 others during fighting between government troops and rebels in Yei River state. Both sides claimed that fighting was initiated by the other side, and neither side took credit for killing Allen, who was wearing a jacket marked "PRESS", Hill reported.

Allen was a freelance journalist who has worked for several US news outlets. He had been embedded with rebels in Sudan for a week before he was killed.

According to Philly.com, Allen was also one of the first journalists on the scene of the Malaysian Airlines flight downed in Ukraine by Russia-linked rebels in 2014.

“On the ground, about 16 (bodies) have been found around the defensive position of the SPLA including this white man,” Santo Domic Chol, a military spokesman, told Reuters. Rebels in the area told the news service that Allen was there to "tell our story."

“We are sad for his family. He came here to tell our story," one rebel told Reuters.

A friend of Allen's family described the young reporter as someone with a passion for telling the stories of those afflicted by war.

“He had a passion for telling the stories of people touched by war,” Pat Hughes said. “He went to South Sudan for the same reason all good journalists go to trouble spots: to get the story and to bring that story to the world’s attention.”

South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011, descended into civil war in 2013 among ethnic lines. More than 300,000 are believed to have died in the fighting.

A US service member is missing after a Black Hawk helicopter fell into the water some 20 miles off the coast of Yemen on Friday during a routine training session.

US Soldier Feared Dead After Black Hawk Helicopter Crash in Yemen
https://sputniknews.com/military/201708271056821428-US-Soldier-Black-Hawk-Yemen/

According to Stripes.com, five other service members aboard the helicopter were rescued immediately following the crash, whose cause is unknown.

A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement, "This aircraft was based and launched from an overseas location [in support of] US Central Command operations."

A Centcom spokesperson stated, "When the incident took place the helicopter was not very high above the water," cited by Reuters.

US Central Command officials commented on the routine nature of military training programs.

"Training events such as this are routinely held by US forces within a theater of operations in order to maintain the proficiency within the operating environment," a Central Command official stated.

The US Centcom statement added: "Commanders deemed this location appropriate and safe for a routine training event, considering both the operational environment and weather conditions at the time."

The Department of Defense reports that a US civilian died in non-combat incident in Saudi Arabia.

Pentagon: US Civilian Dies in Saudi Arabia
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708261056803079-usa-civilian-dies-saudi-arabia/

A US civilian participating in Operation Inherent Resolve died in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 18, the Department of Defense said in a press release.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a civilian who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve," the release stated on Friday.

Daniel Hoadley, 54, of the US state of Colorado died from a non-combatant related incident, the release stated. The incident is under investigation, the release added.

Hoadley was working with the Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program in Saudi Arabia as a part of the Office of the Program Manager, the release stated.

Iraqi government forces supported by local militias have liberated all of Tal Afar's neighborhoods from Daesh just a week after the start of the counterterrorist offensive in the city, operation commander Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yaralla said Sunday.

Iraqi Forces Liberate All Neighborhoods of Tal Afar From Terrorists - Commander
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708271056830049-iraq-forces-liberation-terrorists-commander/

On Saturday, Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Najim Jubouri told Sputnik that the country’s military has liberated Tal Afar and its neighborhoods except for the Askari district.

"The entire neighborhoods of the capital city of Tal Afar district have been liberated," Yaralla said as quoted by the Rudaw news agency.

Yaralla added that Iraqi forces liberated the Askari neighborhood, several northern areas as well as Rahma village near Tal Afar on Sunday.

At least 13 people have been killed, and 19 other injured in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, local media reported Sunday.

At Least 13 People Killed After Explosion in Southern Afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708271056837144-afghanistan-attack-casualities-explosion/

The attacker detonated an explosive device near a military vehicle in Helmand's Nawa-I-Barakzayi district at around 6:30 p.m. local time [14:00 GMT], the TOLO broadcaster reported.

Among the victims there were reportedly civilians and military personnel.

Afghan Ambassador to Moscow Abdul Qayyum Kochai said Saturday that Kabul wants Russia's assistance in restoring peace in the war-torn country, not that of the United States and other Western nations.

Afghanistan Wants Russia, Not US to Help Restore Peace in Country - Ambassador
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708261056814201-afghanistan-us-russia-peace/

Kochai stressed Afghans want the relations with Russia to be "very good," despite the probems that stood in between the two nations throughout the history.

Speaking on the security situation in Afghanistan and Washington's new strategy in the country, the ambassador said that state forces are capable of combating the terrorist groups Daesh and Taliban (both banned in Russia) without help of the United States.

"We wanted the US troops and troops of other Western countries, which have close relations with Afghanistan, to leave Afghanistan long ago," Kochai stressed. "We have now very powerful troops. They fight against terrorism, against Taliban, against Daesh. We can do this."

The statement comes after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday Washington’s new strategy in Afghanistan. The president's plan presupposes, among other provisions, the expansion of the US military authority in the country. The United States, however, will not publicly announce any future military action plans in Afghanistan, Trump said.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraqi forces seized on Monday an ISIL prison in Tal Afar, West of Mosul, containing torture rooms and drugs as well.

Iraqi Troops Discover ISIL Prison with Torture Rooms in Tal Afar
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960607000634

Federal Police Chief Major-General Raed Shaker Jawdat said that the troops seized a prison of the ISIL organization in Western Tal Afar district, BasNews reported.

He noted in a statement that the federal police found a prison during the mopping-up operations in al-Saad neighborhood in western of Tal Afar.

He added that the prison contained rooms and cells to hold and torture citizens, noting that the troops found some quantities of drugs and Psychedelic pills.

The operation to liberate Ta Afar began on August 20 by the Iraqi forces to clear the district from ISIL militants.

A former Iraqi legislator revealed that a senior advisor to US President Donald Trump is in negotiations with the Baath leaders in Iraq to return the dissolved party to power under a new name.

Ex-Iraqi MP: Trump's Senior Advisor Attempting to Return Baath Party to Power
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960607000498

"A delegation of the dissolved Baath party is negotiating with the US officials, specially Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, to study the possibility for its return to Iraq's political process after changing its name," Kamel al-Dulaimi, also leader of the National Tashih Movement, was quoted as saying by Iraq's al-Rased website on Tuesday.

"We have access to certain intelligence which proves that the delegation is pursuing Baath party's return to power in Iraq under a new name," he added. Kushner visited Iraq with the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff in April.

Details about the trip to the Middle East with General Joseph Dunford were not released. An unnamed senior administration official said Kushner wanted to see the situation in Iraq for himself and show support for the Iraqi government.

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.

Kushner was also the latest Trump associate to be swept up into the ongoing investigation into contacts with Russian officials.

 

[angelburst29]

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced on Thursday the complete liberation of the city of Tal Afar and the whole territory of the Nineveh Province from ISIL terrorists.

Iraq PM Abadi: Iraq's Tal Afar, Entire Nineveh Province Liberated From ISIL
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960609000955

Abadi said as cited by local TV channel that Tal Afar, a strategically important city in northwestern Iraq, which is located near the border with Syria, was liberated after being held by ISIL for some three years,

After the fall of Mosul, Tal Afar became ISIL's last stronghold in the war-plagued country.

The Iraqi government forces' operation to retake the city was kicked off on August 20.The city was seized by militants in 2014. Before the seizure, it was home to 750,000 people.

The Iraqi federal police announced the end of the military operation to liberate the city of Tal Far on August 26.

Emir of the ISIL terrorist group in the town of al-Huweija has called on Baghdad officials for talks over their safe exit from the town, an Arab media outlet reported Wednesday.

ISIL Calls for Deal to Evacuate Al-Huweija without Clashes with Iraqi Army
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960608001031

The Arabic-language al-Sumeriyeh news quoted a local well-informed source in Kirkuk province as saying that ISIL's emir in al-Huweija has asked for talks with the Iraqi government over militants' safe exit from the town in Central Iraq.

The source further told al-Sumeriyeh that the emir's request has fueled fresh waves of riot and unrest among the ISIL terrorists, adding that some of the terrorists in al-Huweija have laid down arms and left their positions.

The demand came after the Iraqi army captured Mosul and the nearby town of Tal Afar near the border with Syria.

Mosul’s collapse effectively marked the end of ISIL’s “caliphate”, but the group remains in control of territory on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border, and of Hawija, a city between Mosul and Baghdad that Iraqi officials say is the next target. The group is also retreating in Syria, where it is facing separate offensives by the allied forces of Iran, Syria, Russia and Hezbollah.

Iraqi army warplanes killed 94 ISIL militants in Anbar, including a senior leader close to the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, military media said.

94 ISIL Militants Killed in Iraqi Airstrikes in Anbar, Baghdadi Aide Among Dead
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960609000363

The War Media Cell said that the air force, using intelligence services information, bombarded six ISIL locations in the town of Qaim. Several group entrenchments were destroyed in the strike, leaving 94 members dead, Iraqi News reported.

Those killed included Zafer (Abu Ayman) al-Rawi, a senior security commander, and Millat Hashem Farahat, a former commander in Tal Afar and a close aide to Baghdadi.

ISIL militants are still holding the towns of Qaim, Rawa and Anna, in Western Anbar, since 2014, when they occupied a third of Iraq to proclaim their self-styled “rule”. So far, there has not been a wide-scale campaign to retake those regions, but occasional offensives by government forces and allied Popular Mobilization Forces have managed to take over several surrounding villages.