Iraqi Shi&#39;ite militias said on Wednesday they had driven Islamic State fighters from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the Sunni group&#39;s supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq.

 
&quot;The airport of Tal Afar has been liberated,&quot; Yusif al-Kallabi, a spokesman for Popular Mobilisation, a coalition of mainly Iranian-backed militias, told Iraqi state TV.&nbsp;

 
The capture of the base, if confirmed, could be a significant development in the campaign to recapture Mosul, Islamic State&#39;s de facto capital since its forces swept through Iraq in 2014 and set up a self-declared caliphate in a swathe of Syria and northern Iraq.

 
Tal Afar lies about 60 km (38 miles) west of Mosul on the main road to Syria. Its seizure could also alarm Turkey, which is wary of Iraqi Shi&#39;ite involvement in the civil war in Syria.

 
&quot;Tal Afar will be the starting block for the liberation of all the area...to the Syrian border and beyond the Syria border,&quot; said Hadi al-Amiri, head of Badr Organisation, Popular Mobilisation&#39;s largest component, in a video clip.

 
While the Shi&#39;ite coalition is fighting Islamic State west of Mosul, regular army and police units are trying to advance from the other sides, backed by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters deployed in the north and the east.

 
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces breached Islamic State defences in east Mosul two weeks ago but have faced resistance from the militants, who have fought back with suicide car bombs, snipers and waves of counter-attacks.

 
The campaign that began on Oct. 17 with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition is the biggest military operation in Iraq in more than a decade of turmoil unleashed by the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

 
Popular Mobilisation, known locally by its Arabic name Hashid Shaabi, has said it plans to use Tal Afar base to take the battle against Islamic State into Syria, fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.

 
Although it officially reports to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, it is mainly trained and equipped by Iran.

 
Popular Mobilisation&#39;s advance towards Tal Afar, which had a mixed population of mainly Shi`ite and Sunni Turkmen before Islamic State captured it in 2014, has raised the prospect of sectarian strife and alarmed neighbouring Turkey.

 
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Turkey was reinforcing its troops on the border with Iraq and would respond if the militias &quot;cause terror&quot; in Tal Afar.

 
Iraq&#39;s Abadi has sought to calm fears that the operation to recapture Tal Afar would ignite sectarian tension or escalate problems with Turkey, saying the attacking force that would enter the town will reflect its religious and ethnic make-up.

 
The Nineveh region surrounding Mosul is a mosaic of ethnic and religious communities - Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, Sunnis, Shi&#39;tes - though Sunni Arabs comprise the overwhelming majority.

 
Kurds may keep territory 
The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) suggested on Wednesday it would try to expand the area it rules in northern Iraq to include surrounding villages and towns captured by Kurdish fighters from Islamic State.

 
Kurdish Peshmerga forces &quot;will not retreat from areas retaken&quot; from Islamic State militants in Iraq, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said, according to Rudaw TV station.

 
Barzani&#39;s comment could rile the central government in Baghdad, which opposes his plans to expand the autonomous area, even though the two sides have been fighting together against Islamic State in Mosul.&nbsp;

 
The collapse of the Iraqi army two years ago in the face of Islamic State allowed the KRG to extend its rule over the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.

 
The government forces have been fighting in a dozen of the roughly 60 neighbourhoods on the eastern part of Mosul, which is divided by the Tigris River. They have yet to enter from the northern and the southern sides.

 
Iraqi officials say the militants have used the city&#39;s more than one million remaining residents as human shields, firing from rooftops of inhabited houses and using a network of tunnels to launch ambushes in the midst of residential areas.

 
While the presence of civilians has slowed the advance, Iraqi officials say some of their operations have been assisted by information provided by residents about Islamic State military positions.

 
Trying to stop the flow of any information out of Mosul, the militants have cracked down on communications, banning the use of mobile phones and also confiscating satellite dishes to prevent people from seeing the progress made by Iraqi forces.

 
The group has also killed civilians suspected of helping the attacking forces, sometime putting their bodies on display around the city.

 
Iraqi military estimates put the number of Islamic State fighters in the city at 5,000 to 6,000. Facing them is a 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government forces, Kurdish fighters and Shi&#39;ite paramilitary units.

 
Iraqi authorities have not published a casualty toll for the campaign overall - either for security forces, civilians or Islamic State fighters. The warring sides claim to have inflicted hundreds of casualties in enemy ranks.

 
Nearly 57,000 people have been displaced because of the fighting from villages and towns around the city to government-held areas, according to U.N. estimates.

 
The figure does not include the tens of thousands of people rounded up in villages around Mosul and forced to accompany Islamic State fighters to cover their retreat towards the city.

&nbsp;

(Reuters)

The ousting of IS fighters from an air base west of Mosul has given Iraqi militia a chance to threaten the crucial supply route

Iraqi Shi'ite militias said on Wednesday they had driven Islamic State fighters from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the Sunni group's supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq. "The airport of Tal Afar has been liberated," Yusif al-Kallabi, a spokesman for Popular Mobilisation, a coalition of mainly Iranian-backed militias, told Iraqi state TV. The capture of the base, if confirmed, could be a significant development in the campaign to recapture Mosul, Islamic State's de facto capital since its forces swept through Iraq in 2014 and set up a self-declared caliphate in a swathe of Syria and northern Iraq. Tal Afar lies about 60 km (38 miles) west of Mosul on the main road to Syria. Its seizure could also alarm Turkey, which is wary of Iraqi Shi'ite involvement in the civil war in Syria. "Tal Afar will be the starting block for the liberation of all the area...to the Syrian border and beyond the Syria border," said Hadi al-Amiri, head of Badr Organisation, Popular Mobilisation's largest component, in a video clip. While the Shi'ite coalition is fighting Islamic State west of Mosul, regular army and police units are trying to advance from the other sides, backed by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters deployed in the north and the east. Iraqi counter-terrorism forces breached Islamic State defences in east Mosul two weeks ago but have faced resistance from the militants, who have fought back with suicide car bombs, snipers and waves of counter-attacks. The campaign that began on Oct. 17 with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition is the biggest military operation in Iraq in more than a decade of turmoil unleashed by the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Popular Mobilisation, known locally by its Arabic name Hashid Shaabi, has said it plans to use Tal Afar base to take the battle against Islamic State into Syria, fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran. Although it officially reports to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, it is mainly trained and equipped by Iran. Popular Mobilisation's advance towards Tal Afar, which had a mixed population of mainly Shi`ite and Sunni Turkmen before Islamic State captured it in 2014, has raised the prospect of sectarian strife and alarmed neighbouring Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Turkey was reinforcing its troops on the border with Iraq and would respond if the militias "cause terror" in Tal Afar. Iraq's Abadi has sought to calm fears that the operation to recapture Tal Afar would ignite sectarian tension or escalate problems with Turkey, saying the attacking force that would enter the town will reflect its religious and ethnic make-up. The Nineveh region surrounding Mosul is a mosaic of ethnic and religious communities - Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, Sunnis, Shi'tes - though Sunni Arabs comprise the overwhelming majority. Kurds may keep territory The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) suggested on Wednesday it would try to expand the area it rules in northern Iraq to include surrounding villages and towns captured by Kurdish fighters from Islamic State. Kurdish Peshmerga forces "will not retreat from areas retaken" from Islamic State militants in Iraq, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said, according to Rudaw TV station. Barzani's comment could rile the central government in Baghdad, which opposes his plans to expand the autonomous area, even though the two sides have been fighting together against Islamic State in Mosul. The collapse of the Iraqi army two years ago in the face of Islamic State allowed the KRG to extend its rule over the oil-rich region of Kirkuk. The government forces have been fighting in a dozen of the roughly 60 neighbourhoods on the eastern part of Mosul, which is divided by the Tigris River. They have yet to enter from the northern and the southern sides. Iraqi officials say the militants have used the city's more than one million remaining residents as human shields, firing from rooftops of inhabited houses and using a network of tunnels to launch ambushes in the midst of residential areas. While the presence of civilians has slowed the advance, Iraqi officials say some of their operations have been assisted by information provided by residents about Islamic State military positions. Trying to stop the flow of any information out of Mosul, the militants have cracked down on communications, banning the use of mobile phones and also confiscating satellite dishes to prevent people from seeing the progress made by Iraqi forces. The group has also killed civilians suspected of helping the attacking forces, sometime putting their bodies on display around the city. Iraqi military estimates put the number of Islamic State fighters in the city at 5,000 to 6,000. Facing them is a 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government forces, Kurdish fighters and Shi'ite paramilitary units. Iraqi authorities have not published a casualty toll for the campaign overall - either for security forces, civilians or Islamic State fighters. The warring sides claim to have inflicted hundreds of casualties in enemy ranks. Nearly 57,000 people have been displaced because of the fighting from villages and towns around the city to government-held areas, according to U.N. estimates. The figure does not include the tens of thousands of people rounded up in villages around Mosul and forced to accompany Islamic State fighters to cover their retreat towards the city. (Reuters)

Iraqi militia threatens Islamic State''s supply route to Syria

The anti-terrorist squad of India&#39;s northwestern state of Rajasthan has arrested an alleged Islamic State (IS) operative in Sikar district who was involved in collecting and transferring funds for the terror organisation from Dubai.

&quot;The accused identified as Jamil Ahemad (41) works in Dubai. He is a sympathiser and operative of ISIS. He had been raising funds from India, Bangladesh and UAE and transferring to the ISIS for the last two years through hawala,&quot; ADG-ATS Umesh Mishra said.

&quot;He was on our radar for some time. He came to India recently and visited his ancestral house in Fatehpur eight days back. He was picked up by us interrogation and was placed under arrest yesterday,&quot; he told PTI.

Ahemad was in touch with other ISIS operatives on social media platform. An MBA graduate, Ahemad was working as the Assistant Financial Manager at a reputed firm in Dubai since 2003.

He has a house in Mumbai where his wife and children live, Mishra said.

&quot;Our one team is in Mumbai and conducing searches at his house with the help of Mumbai ATS,&quot; he said today.

Mishra said that the accused, who has been arrested under prevention of unlawful activities act, has revealed his connections in the ISIS and says that he has no regret.

&quot;He is completely remorseless and supports the organisation. He said that those (terrorists) are fighting for a cause,&quot; the officer said, adding, that he is being interrogated.

(PTI)

The accused was allegedly involved in collecting and transferring funds for the terror organisation from Dubai

The anti-terrorist squad of India's northwestern state of Rajasthan has arrested an alleged Islamic State (IS) operative in Sikar district who was involved in collecting and transferring funds for the terror organisation from Dubai. "The accused identified as Jamil Ahemad (41) works in Dubai. He is a sympathiser and operative of ISIS. He had been raising funds from India, Bangladesh and UAE and transferring to the ISIS for the last two years through hawala," ADG-ATS Umesh Mishra said. "He was on our radar for some time. He came to India recently and visited his ancestral house in Fatehpur eight days back. He was picked up by us interrogation and was placed under arrest yesterday," he told PTI. Ahemad was in touch with other ISIS operatives on social media platform. An MBA graduate, Ahemad was working as the Assistant Financial Manager at a reputed firm in Dubai since 2003. He has a house in Mumbai where his wife and children live, Mishra said. "Our one team is in Mumbai and conducing searches at his house with the help of Mumbai ATS," he said today. Mishra said that the accused, who has been arrested under prevention of unlawful activities act, has revealed his connections in the ISIS and says that he has no regret. "He is completely remorseless and supports the organisation. He said that those (terrorists) are fighting for a cause," the officer said, adding, that he is being interrogated. (PTI)

Alleged Islamic State operative arrested in Rajasthan

The executive body of the global chemical weapons watchdog voted on Friday to condemn the use of banned toxic agents by the Syrian government and by the militant group Islamic State, a source who took part in the closed session said.

Roughly two-thirds of the 41 members on the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), endorsed a text compiled by Spain, sources told Reuters.

An initial US&nbsp;draft was replaced with a compromise text drafted by Spain, which dropped a reference to sanctions against those responsible for violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention, sources added.

The OPCW&#39;s Executive Council, which meets behind closed doors, seldom votes on such matters, generally operating through consensus. But this text was supported by 28 members, including Germany, France, the United States, and Britain.

It was opposed by Russia, China, Sudan, and Iran. There were nine abstentions. Russia and Iran are Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s main allies against rebels seeking to overthrow him. Western and Gulf Arab states back the rebels.

&quot;There is a clear determination across the international community to hold those who have used these heinous weapons to account,&quot; said British foreign minister Boris Johnson in a statement responding to the vote.

But a US-Russian split over Syria highlighted continuing divisions. It was these two countries that in 2013 took the lead in getting the Damascus government to join the OPCW and avert threatened US-led military intervention in Syria&#39;s civil war.

A 13-month international inquiry by the OPCW and United Nations concluded in a series of reports that Syrian government forces, including helicopter squadrons, were responsible for the use of chlorine barrel bombs against civilians.

The OPCW-UN&nbsp;mission found that the Syrian government carried out three toxic attacks in March and April of last year, while Islamic State militants had used sulphur mustard gas.

The findings set the stage for a U.N. Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain, and France over how those responsible for the attacks should be held accountable.

Syrian authorities deny having used chemical weapons in the conflict. Islamic State has not commented.

(Reuters)

Roughly two-thirds of the 41 members on the Executive Council of OPCW endorsed a text compiled by Spain

The executive body of the global chemical weapons watchdog voted on Friday to condemn the use of banned toxic agents by the Syrian government and by the militant group Islamic State, a source who took part in the closed session said. Roughly two-thirds of the 41 members on the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), endorsed a text compiled by Spain, sources told Reuters. An initial US draft was replaced with a compromise text drafted by Spain, which dropped a reference to sanctions against those responsible for violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention, sources added. The OPCW's Executive Council, which meets behind closed doors, seldom votes on such matters, generally operating through consensus. But this text was supported by 28 members, including Germany, France, the United States, and Britain. It was opposed by Russia, China, Sudan, and Iran. There were nine abstentions. Russia and Iran are Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main allies against rebels seeking to overthrow him. Western and Gulf Arab states back the rebels. "There is a clear determination across the international community to hold those who have used these heinous weapons to account," said British foreign minister Boris Johnson in a statement responding to the vote. But a US-Russian split over Syria highlighted continuing divisions. It was these two countries that in 2013 took the lead in getting the Damascus government to join the OPCW and avert threatened US-led military intervention in Syria's civil war. A 13-month international inquiry by the OPCW and United Nations concluded in a series of reports that Syrian government forces, including helicopter squadrons, were responsible for the use of chlorine barrel bombs against civilians. The OPCW-UN mission found that the Syrian government carried out three toxic attacks in March and April of last year, while Islamic State militants had used sulphur mustard gas. The findings set the stage for a U.N. Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain, and France over how those responsible for the attacks should be held accountable. Syrian authorities deny having used chemical weapons in the conflict. Islamic State has not commented. (Reuters)

Watchdog condemns Syrian government, IS use of banned chemical weapons

Elite Iraqi forces were engaged in &quot;intense&quot; fighting with jihadists in eastern Mosul on Saturday as they tried to fortify positions before advancing further into the city, an officer said.

Iraqi forces launched a massive operation to retake the country&#39;s second city from the Islamic State group on October 17, and the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) special forces have pushed the jihadists back from some Mosul neighbourhoods.

But there are still weeks if not months of fighting ahead in the battle to recapture the last IS-held Iraqi city.

&quot;The fighting is intense this morning. We&#39;re trying to fortify our positions in Arbajiyah before continuing our attack into Al-Bakr,&quot; said Staff Lieutenant Colonel Muntadhar Salem of CTS, referring to two Mosul areas.

CTS forces launched an assault on Arbajiyah the day before, and Salem said that they were in control of the area on Saturday.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained significant ground from the jihadists.

(AFP)

An officer said Elite Iraqi forces were fighting the Islamic State as they tried to fortify positions before advancing further into the city

Elite Iraqi forces were engaged in "intense" fighting with jihadists in eastern Mosul on Saturday as they tried to fortify positions before advancing further into the city, an officer said. Iraqi forces launched a massive operation to retake the country's second city from the Islamic State group on October 17, and the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) special forces have pushed the jihadists back from some Mosul neighbourhoods. But there are still weeks if not months of fighting ahead in the battle to recapture the last IS-held Iraqi city. "The fighting is intense this morning. We're trying to fortify our positions in Arbajiyah before continuing our attack into Al-Bakr," said Staff Lieutenant Colonel Muntadhar Salem of CTS, referring to two Mosul areas. CTS forces launched an assault on Arbajiyah the day before, and Salem said that they were in control of the area on Saturday. IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained significant ground from the jihadists. (AFP)

'Intense' fighting in east Mosul: Officer

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Iraqi government forces tortured and killed villagers south of Mosul, the first such report of alleged rights abuse in a US-backed campaign to retake the city from Islamic State.

The New York-based rights group said victims included &quot;up to six&quot; people found last month in the Shura and Qayyara sub-districts who security forces suspected of ties to the ultra-hardline jihadist group which seized a third of Iraqi territory in 2014.

&quot;Men in Federal Police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul,&quot; said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty&#39;s Beirut office.

Spokesmen for the federal police and the Interior Ministry, to which they belong, could not be reached for comment.

The Mosul operation, involving a 100,000-strong alliance of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi&#39;ite Muslim militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes, has entered its fourth week but has so far gained just a small foothold in the city.

Amnesty&#39;s report described several incidents on or around October 21 in which separate groups of men were beaten with cables and rifle butts before being shot to death. In one case, a man&#39;s head had been severed from his body, it said.

Amnesty said that. without accountability, the alleged abuses risked being repeated in other towns and villages as the Mosul offensive continues.

(Reuters)

The rights groups said the victims included 'up to six' people whom security forces suspected of ties to Islamic State

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Iraqi government forces tortured and killed villagers south of Mosul, the first such report of alleged rights abuse in a US-backed campaign to retake the city from Islamic State. The New York-based rights group said victims included "up to six" people found last month in the Shura and Qayyara sub-districts who security forces suspected of ties to the ultra-hardline jihadist group which seized a third of Iraqi territory in 2014. "Men in Federal Police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office. Spokesmen for the federal police and the Interior Ministry, to which they belong, could not be reached for comment. The Mosul operation, involving a 100,000-strong alliance of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite Muslim militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes, has entered its fourth week but has so far gained just a small foothold in the city. Amnesty's report described several incidents on or around October 21 in which separate groups of men were beaten with cables and rifle butts before being shot to death. In one case, a man's head had been severed from his body, it said. Amnesty said that. without accountability, the alleged abuses risked being repeated in other towns and villages as the Mosul offensive continues. (Reuters)

Iraqi govt forces tortured, killed civilians south of Mosul: Amnesty

With the Iraqi Army&#39;s latest phase in the Mosul offensive to reconquer the last stronghold of the Islamic State (IS)&nbsp;in Iraq, the Counter Terrorism Forces (CTF) and the 9th armoured division of the Iraqi army claim to have liberated six neighbourhoods on the southeastern edge of the city.

Small lanes and tall buildings define Mosul, making it an ideal scenario for the kind of resistance the Islamic State puts on: snipers, urban guerrilla, car bombs and ambushes.

Iraqi forces are involved every day in heavy fighting&nbsp;against the IS that does not seem close to surrendering.

The latest attack by the forces is made up of daily raids from the Iraqi Army&#39;s advanced posts within the city borders.

They leave their temporary bases, enter the city, try to advance as far as possible and then return to base. The objective is to gain territory every day in order to move their temporary bases forward inside the cities. The army thus needs to fully secure every area it conquers, an action which can take days even for a few hundred metres. It is an intermittent advance.

The presence of many civilians contributes to the slow pace of advance: engaging in heavy fights in heavily populated areas involves the risk killing of many people who are not fighting any war.

For the Iraqi army, reconquering Mosul is also a matter of restoring a reputation they lost in 2014 when 30,000 Iraqi soldiers withdrew and the 1,000 militant-strong IS took control of the city, its international airport and all the military and civil facilities in a week.

Lieutenant-General Raed Shakir Jawdat declared on Saturday that Iraqi forces took control of Hammam al-Alil, a town located 15 km south of Mosul which prior to IS control was home to approximately 65,000 people.

Regarding the operation, Major-General Najm al-Jabouri informed the media that some 70 terrorists were posted in the town.

&quot;Our elite forces have reached an area just 4 km (a little more than 2 miles) from Mosul airport,&quot; he told Al-Hurra television channel. The general said his forces had destroyed 17 bomb-laden cars meant to target the troops while advancing.

The Islamic State has been using civilians as human shields, a strategy which already used in many other battles. When troops start advancing within their territory, IS militants force civilians to follow them to other areas they still control in order to avoid direct attacks during their movements.

The United Nations said that the militants transported 1,600 abducted civilians from Hammam al-Alil to the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, earlier this week and took another 150 families from the town to Mosul the next day. UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that IS terrorists force people to handover their children, especially young boys over nine years who could be used in the future as child soldiers.

Civilians, whenever possible, are now leaving their homes as soon as the Iraqi regular forces advance and travel towards the refugee camps that NGOs have set up for months in preparation to what could be a massive exodus. There are no certain figures, but according to William Lacy Swing, head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), after a week of fighting in Mosul, 31,000 persons left their homes.

(WION)

Iraqi forces have recaptured six areas of the city but their task is getting increasingly difficult as they march deeper into the city

With the Iraqi Army's latest phase in the Mosul offensive to reconquer the last stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, the Counter Terrorism Forces (CTF) and the 9th armoured division of the Iraqi army claim to have liberated six neighbourhoods on the southeastern edge of the city. Small lanes and tall buildings define Mosul, making it an ideal scenario for the kind of resistance the Islamic State puts on: snipers, urban guerrilla, car bombs and ambushes. Iraqi forces are involved every day in heavy fighting against the IS that does not seem close to surrendering. The latest attack by the forces is made up of daily raids from the Iraqi Army's advanced posts within the city borders. They leave their temporary bases, enter the city, try to advance as far as possible and then return to base. The objective is to gain territory every day in order to move their temporary bases forward inside the cities. The army thus needs to fully secure every area it conquers, an action which can take days even for a few hundred metres. It is an intermittent advance. The presence of many civilians contributes to the slow pace of advance: engaging in heavy fights in heavily populated areas involves the risk killing of many people who are not fighting any war. For the Iraqi army, reconquering Mosul is also a matter of restoring a reputation they lost in 2014 when 30,000 Iraqi soldiers withdrew and the 1,000 militant-strong IS took control of the city, its international airport and all the military and civil facilities in a week. Lieutenant-General Raed Shakir Jawdat declared on Saturday that Iraqi forces took control of Hammam al-Alil, a town located 15 km south of Mosul which prior to IS control was home to approximately 65,000 people. Regarding the operation, Major-General Najm al-Jabouri informed the media that some 70 terrorists were posted in the town. "Our elite forces have reached an area just 4 km (a little more than 2 miles) from Mosul airport," he told Al-Hurra television channel. The general said his forces had destroyed 17 bomb-laden cars meant to target the troops while advancing. The Islamic State has been using civilians as human shields, a strategy which already used in many other battles. When troops start advancing within their territory, IS militants force civilians to follow them to other areas they still control in order to avoid direct attacks during their movements. The United Nations said that the militants transported 1,600 abducted civilians from Hammam al-Alil to the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, earlier this week and took another 150 families from the town to Mosul the next day. UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that IS terrorists force people to handover their children, especially young boys over nine years who could be used in the future as child soldiers. Civilians, whenever possible, are now leaving their homes as soon as the Iraqi regular forces advance and travel towards the refugee camps that NGOs have set up for months in preparation to what could be a massive exodus. There are no certain figures, but according to William Lacy Swing, head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), after a week of fighting in Mosul, 31,000 persons left their homes. (WION)

Battle for Mosul: Dense population, narrow lanes play into IS hands

The United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have launched a massive operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State in Syria.

SDF on Sunday announced the beginning of Ghadab al-Firat (Anger of the Euphrates) campaign to liberate Raqqa.&nbsp;

The offensive will see nearly 30,000 soldiers advance towards Raqqa.

The US has promised to provide aerial support to the militia group, just like they did during the battle for Kobane in 2015.

People&#39;s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish-dominated force, is believed to be the backbone of the militia group. Some estimates suggest that 25,000 of the 30,000 fighters will be provided by the YPG.&nbsp;

The operation to reclaim Raqqa comes amid the ongoing offensive in Mosul, a major military operation bidding to reconquer the Iraqi capital of the Islamic State.

The coordinated attacks mean&nbsp;that the IS faces the prospect of losing its two key towns in Syria and Iraq.

In case of defeat in both towns,&nbsp;it will be very difficult for the jihadist&nbsp;organisation to sustain the caliphate narrative. IS had announced a caliphate after it captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria two years back.

Further, the battleground reversals will most likely affect the morale of their remaining fighters in the region.

American gambit

Washington&#39;s decision to support the Kurds comes despite a possible fallout&nbsp;with Turkey, which has been a crucial ally of the US in their fight against Islamic State.

Ankara is unhappy with YPG&#39;s role in the Raqqa offensive&nbsp;because it believes the group to have strong ties with Kurdistan Workers&nbsp;Party (PKK). PKK is an insurgent group that has been fighting with Turkey for autonomy of Kurdistan since the 1980s.

Turkey fears that a possible success in Raqqa would give the Kurds the international legitimacy to request for an autonomous region located in Rojava, a vast region in the north of Syria.

Rojava has been under the Kurds ever since they drove IS fighters out of the region in 2014.

The US&#39; alliance with Kurdish fighters come at a time when Turkey has launched a massive crackdown on pro-Kurdish voices in their own country.

The co-leaders of the left-wing pro-Kurdish group People&rsquo;s Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were recently arrested along with nine other members of the party for allegedly&nbsp;spreading terrorist propaganda&nbsp;in Turkey.

The alliance between the US and the YPG in&nbsp;Raqqa operation will leave Turkey isolated for the second time in their fight against IS, after&nbsp;Iraq recently disallowed Ankara&#39;s participation in the Mosul offensive.

With the US election&nbsp;around the corner, Washington chose the perfect time to declare the Raqqa operation. The announcement has given the US the opportunity to present&nbsp;itself as the most active actor in the fight against IS.

(WION)

30,000 soldiers will advance on the city, the US will provide air support

The United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have launched a massive operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State in Syria. SDF on Sunday announced the beginning of Ghadab al-Firat (Anger of the Euphrates) campaign to liberate Raqqa. The offensive will see nearly 30,000 soldiers advance towards Raqqa. The US has promised to provide aerial support to the militia group, just like they did during the battle for Kobane in 2015. People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish-dominated force, is believed to be the backbone of the militia group. Some estimates suggest that 25,000 of the 30,000 fighters will be provided by the YPG. The operation to reclaim Raqqa comes amid the ongoing offensive in Mosul, a major military operation bidding to reconquer the Iraqi capital of the Islamic State. The coordinated attacks mean that the IS faces the prospect of losing its two key towns in Syria and Iraq. In case of defeat in both towns, it will be very difficult for the jihadist organisation to sustain the caliphate narrative. IS had announced a caliphate after it captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria two years back. Further, the battleground reversals will most likely affect the morale of their remaining fighters in the region. American gambit Washington's decision to support the Kurds comes despite a possible fallout with Turkey, which has been a crucial ally of the US in their fight against Islamic State. Ankara is unhappy with YPG's role in the Raqqa offensive because it believes the group to have strong ties with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). PKK is an insurgent group that has been fighting with Turkey for autonomy of Kurdistan since the 1980s. Turkey fears that a possible success in Raqqa would give the Kurds the international legitimacy to request for an autonomous region located in Rojava, a vast region in the north of Syria. Rojava has been under the Kurds ever since they drove IS fighters out of the region in 2014. The US' alliance with Kurdish fighters come at a time when Turkey has launched a massive crackdown on pro-Kurdish voices in their own country. The co-leaders of the left-wing pro-Kurdish group People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were recently arrested along with nine other members of the party for allegedly spreading terrorist propaganda in Turkey. The alliance between the US and the YPG in Raqqa operation will leave Turkey isolated for the second time in their fight against IS, after Iraq recently disallowed Ankara's participation in the Mosul offensive. With the US election around the corner, Washington chose the perfect time to declare the Raqqa operation. The announcement has given the US the opportunity to present itself as the most active actor in the fight against IS. (WION)

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launch offensive to reclaim IS capital Raqqa

With Iraqi forces poised to enter the city of Mosul, the Islamic State&#39;s last bastion in Iraq, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on jihadists in the city to fight to the end in what is said to be his first message this year, reported AFP.&nbsp;

&quot;Do not retreat,&quot; he said in an audio recording that was released on the Internet yesterday. &quot;Holding your ground with honour is a thousand times easier than retreating in shame.&quot;

Iraqi forces, backed by US-led coalition air strikes, had launched a massive offensive to reclaim the city on October 17.

The recording, entitled &quot;This is what God and his messenger have promised us&quot; has not yet been authenticated but leading experts on the terror organisation said they did not doubt its veracity.&nbsp;

In his latest message, Baghdadi called for attacks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey and told his followers to aim for Libya while urging his fighters to stay united in adversity.&nbsp;

Self-declared caliph Baghdadi announced the creation of Islamic State in large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. But lately, his forces have lost a major chunk of their territory, including Fallujah in Iraq and Dabiq in Syria to Iraqi forces.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Iraqi forces are poised to enter the city, the last Islamic State bastion in Iraq

With Iraqi forces poised to enter the city of Mosul, the Islamic State's last bastion in Iraq, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on jihadists in the city to fight to the end in what is said to be his first message this year, reported AFP. "Do not retreat," he said in an audio recording that was released on the Internet yesterday. "Holding your ground with honour is a thousand times easier than retreating in shame." Iraqi forces, backed by US-led coalition air strikes, had launched a massive offensive to reclaim the city on October 17. The recording, entitled "This is what God and his messenger have promised us" has not yet been authenticated but leading experts on the terror organisation said they did not doubt its veracity. In his latest message, Baghdadi called for attacks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey and told his followers to aim for Libya while urging his fighters to stay united in adversity. Self-declared caliph Baghdadi announced the creation of Islamic State in large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. But lately, his forces have lost a major chunk of their territory, including Fallujah in Iraq and Dabiq in Syria to Iraqi forces. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Fight to the end, IS boss Baghdadi urges Mosul jihadists

Challenging online jihadist propaganda with counterarguments or shutting down extremist websites and social media accounts have little impact, and distract from the real threat, according to experts.

 
As the Islamic State group (IS) spread across parts of Iraq and Syria, it ramped up its outreach to youths.

 
Videos shared online depicting executions and others touting the creation of a caliphate became powerful recruiting tools, drawing hundreds of Western youths to the Middle East to join IS.

 
Experts who met this week in Quebec City to find ways to combat this threat agreed that IS has used online propaganda to extend the conflict zone like no other.

 
Western governments over the past two years have launched various initiatives to try to counter IS messaging.

 
&quot;We&#39;re doing counterpropaganda. The political fight begins with words. Our counterarguments count on youth being critical thinkers,&quot; Juliette Meadel, French Secretary of State for victims, told AFP.

 
Days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015, the French government launched a website (stop-djihadisme.gouv.fr) and a few months later accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

 
The initiative aimed &quot;to present arguments against extremism for youth who may be drawn to jihadist sites,&quot; said Meadel.

 
The American, British and Canadian governments have taken similar measures, and with the help of major Internet firms such as Twitter took down some 235,000 extremist accounts in the first six months.

&nbsp;Legitimation

 
But instead of quashing extremism, this only emboldened them.

 
&quot;Censorship doesnt work,&quot; said Google&#39;s global head of international relations, Ross LaJeunesse. &quot;You don&#39;t really change someone&#39;s heart and mind by just taking down what they said (in an online post). What you do is that you drive that underground.&quot;

 
&quot;Instead we want to engage... and change their mind,&quot; he said.

 
In fact, &quot;suspending Twitter accounts was seen as a legitimation, even as Shahada (the profession of Islamic faith), or martyrdom in Islam,&quot; said Amarnath Amarasingam, a fellow at George Washington University&#39;s Program on Extremism.

 
The researcher spends his days dissecting IS communications on the Telegram secure messaging network favored by jihadists. He follows 80 discussion groups and sees between 50 to 150 messages posted by extremists each day, and the flow is incessant.

 
&quot;You can&#39;t just focus on the way media are being used and forget about the Iraq invasion in 2003, about Shia-Sunni conflicts and others complex issues,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

 
It&#39;s useless to try to gain ground on the ideological front by countering jihadist propaganda, which is run &quot;by kids who grew up in the West and have perfectly mastered these online communication tools,&quot; he said.

 
Heading up a UNESCO initiative to compile any and all research on the subject, Toulouse University professor Seraphin Alava adds: &quot;There is no evidence of a direct link between radicalization of youth and online propaganda.&quot;

 
We must accept that &quot;some young people see a role for themselves in the world that IS offers,&quot; said Oslo University researcher Cristina Archetti.

 
&quot;It&#39;s unrealistic to think that you can de-radicalize (youth) with messages on the Internet. You have to address the real issues those youths face,&quot; said Amarasingam.

 
&quot;If we want to rid the Internet of jihadist propaganda, we must act in real life,&quot; agreed Meadel.

 
It is therefore necessary to focus on &quot;education, supporting early childhood, promoting integration and inclusion, and provide job opportunities,&quot; she said.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

They say Islamic State has used online propaganda to extend the conflict zone like no other

Challenging online jihadist propaganda with counterarguments or shutting down extremist websites and social media accounts have little impact, and distract from the real threat, according to experts. As the Islamic State group (IS) spread across parts of Iraq and Syria, it ramped up its outreach to youths. Videos shared online depicting executions and others touting the creation of a caliphate became powerful recruiting tools, drawing hundreds of Western youths to the Middle East to join IS. Experts who met this week in Quebec City to find ways to combat this threat agreed that IS has used online propaganda to extend the conflict zone like no other. Western governments over the past two years have launched various initiatives to try to counter IS messaging. "We're doing counterpropaganda. The political fight begins with words. Our counterarguments count on youth being critical thinkers," Juliette Meadel, French Secretary of State for victims, told AFP. Days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015, the French government launched a website (stop-djihadisme.gouv.fr) and a few months later accounts on Facebook and Twitter. The initiative aimed "to present arguments against extremism for youth who may be drawn to jihadist sites," said Meadel. The American, British and Canadian governments have taken similar measures, and with the help of major Internet firms such as Twitter took down some 235,000 extremist accounts in the first six months. Legitimation But instead of quashing extremism, this only emboldened them. "Censorship doesnt work," said Google's global head of international relations, Ross LaJeunesse. "You don't really change someone's heart and mind by just taking down what they said (in an online post). What you do is that you drive that underground." "Instead we want to engage... and change their mind," he said. In fact, "suspending Twitter accounts was seen as a legitimation, even as Shahada (the profession of Islamic faith), or martyrdom in Islam," said Amarnath Amarasingam, a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. The researcher spends his days dissecting IS communications on the Telegram secure messaging network favored by jihadists. He follows 80 discussion groups and sees between 50 to 150 messages posted by extremists each day, and the flow is incessant. "You can't just focus on the way media are being used and forget about the Iraq invasion in 2003, about Shia-Sunni conflicts and others complex issues," he said. It's useless to try to gain ground on the ideological front by countering jihadist propaganda, which is run "by kids who grew up in the West and have perfectly mastered these online communication tools," he said. Heading up a UNESCO initiative to compile any and all research on the subject, Toulouse University professor Seraphin Alava adds: "There is no evidence of a direct link between radicalization of youth and online propaganda." We must accept that "some young people see a role for themselves in the world that IS offers," said Oslo University researcher Cristina Archetti. "It's unrealistic to think that you can de-radicalize (youth) with messages on the Internet. You have to address the real issues those youths face," said Amarasingam. "If we want to rid the Internet of jihadist propaganda, we must act in real life," agreed Meadel. It is therefore necessary to focus on "education, supporting early childhood, promoting integration and inclusion, and provide job opportunities," she said. (AFP)

Challenging jihadist propaganda online eggs on extremists: Experts

As Iraqi regular forces approach&nbsp;Mosul&#39;s&nbsp;eastern suburbs, Islamic State&#39;s&nbsp;last stronghold&nbsp;in Iraq, they got some good news.

Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff to Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, declared that IS chief&nbsp;&ldquo;Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of the whole [IS] system&rdquo;.

The self-proclaimed caliph, the de facto leader of the sunni terrorist&nbsp;organisation, remained hidden for almost a year, but opted to remain in Mosul while other IS senior leaders decided to leave and reach&nbsp;Syria. Many important figures have been killed during the last offensives to retake important cities like Fallujah and Ramadi.&nbsp;

The importance of Mosul for the terrorist organisation is not only a matter of military control but also a fundamental part of the narrative of being a&nbsp;state --&nbsp;losing it will surely represent a major psychological blow for the many who decided to fight within IS ranks. It will be difficult to sustain the propaganda of a newly born and strong state if the organisation cannot manage to&nbsp;defend its Iraqi capital.&nbsp;

The battle to reconquer the city of Mosul is far from&nbsp;over, it&nbsp;has just entered a new phase which is likely to be the toughest, characterised by urban-guerrilla and unconventional warfare. Iraqi forces reached the eastern border of the city, but there are still many villages especially on the northern side, which need to be conquered and secured before stating that the Islamic State is definitely surrounded.

The Islamic State is also putting up&nbsp;fierce resistance against the first small advance of the Iraqi army. &ldquo;Daesh (IS) is fighting back and have set up concrete blast walls to block off the Karama neighbourhood and [stop] our troops&rsquo; advance,&rdquo; said Major General Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces.

Fuad Hussein said &ldquo;it is obvious that they will lose, but not how long this will take to happen&rdquo;, and stated that the Peshmerga, the Kurdish regional forces, were surprised when they found an&nbsp;extensive network of underground tunnels which the Islamic State created in&nbsp;the villages and the towns surrounding Mosul.In several areas of the city, the terrorist organisation enjoys the protection&nbsp;of a part of the local population which will prove to be important.&nbsp;

Major General Najim Al-Jubouri, commander in chief of the Nineveh operations, told me in an interview: &ldquo;The most important part of the Mosul offensive is the people. If we bring here the Chinese army, they will not be able to win if they do not enjoy the support of the people, and I believe that the bad relation between the security forces and the people played a central role in the rise of the Islamic State.&rdquo;

The presence of al-Baghdadi in Mosul could make things harder, for many of its loyalists will surely fight until the very end to protect the city. While the&nbsp;eventual death&nbsp;of the&nbsp;man who is perceived by&nbsp;many to be&nbsp;the father of the Islamic State could result in several organisational problems, but it is something which should not be taken for granted.

Other terrorist organisations proved&nbsp;capable of&nbsp;substituting&nbsp;their leaders and continued&nbsp;their operations, such as al Quaeda, which did not dissolve after Bin Laden&rsquo;s died. Al-Baghdadi&rsquo;s decision not to leave Mosul and eventually die&nbsp;fighting, should he in fact be killed, could also turn out to set an example for the many terrorists still supporting the organisation. It could&nbsp;become a powerful instrument of propaganda on how a real Islamic State member should not fear death and martyrdom.&nbsp;

(WION)

IS is putting up fierce resistance, and even their leader's death might inspire them to fight harder towards martyrdom

As Iraqi regular forces approach Mosul's eastern suburbs, Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq, they got some good news. Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff to Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, declared that IS chief “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of the whole [IS] system”. The self-proclaimed caliph, the de facto leader of the sunni terrorist organisation, remained hidden for almost a year, but opted to remain in Mosul while other IS senior leaders decided to leave and reach Syria. Many important figures have been killed during the last offensives to retake important cities like Fallujah and Ramadi. The importance of Mosul for the terrorist organisation is not only a matter of military control but also a fundamental part of the narrative of being a state -- losing it will surely represent a major psychological blow for the many who decided to fight within IS ranks. It will be difficult to sustain the propaganda of a newly born and strong state if the organisation cannot manage to defend its Iraqi capital. The battle to reconquer the city of Mosul is far from over, it has just entered a new phase which is likely to be the toughest, characterised by urban-guerrilla and unconventional warfare. Iraqi forces reached the eastern border of the city, but there are still many villages especially on the northern side, which need to be conquered and secured before stating that the Islamic State is definitely surrounded. The Islamic State is also putting up fierce resistance against the first small advance of the Iraqi army. “Daesh (IS) is fighting back and have set up concrete blast walls to block off the Karama neighbourhood and [stop] our troops’ advance,” said Major General Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces. Fuad Hussein said “it is obvious that they will lose, but not how long this will take to happen”, and stated that the Peshmerga, the Kurdish regional forces, were surprised when they found an extensive network of underground tunnels which the Islamic State created in the villages and the towns surrounding Mosul.In several areas of the city, the terrorist organisation enjoys the protection of a part of the local population which will prove to be important. Major General Najim Al-Jubouri, commander in chief of the Nineveh operations, told me in an interview: “The most important part of the Mosul offensive is the people. If we bring here the Chinese army, they will not be able to win if they do not enjoy the support of the people, and I believe that the bad relation between the security forces and the people played a central role in the rise of the Islamic State.” The presence of al-Baghdadi in Mosul could make things harder, for many of its loyalists will surely fight until the very end to protect the city. While the eventual death of the man who is perceived by many to be the father of the Islamic State could result in several organisational problems, but it is something which should not be taken for granted. Other terrorist organisations proved capable of substituting their leaders and continued their operations, such as al Quaeda, which did not dissolve after Bin Laden’s died. Al-Baghdadi’s decision not to leave Mosul and eventually die fighting, should he in fact be killed, could also turn out to set an example for the many terrorists still supporting the organisation. It could become a powerful instrument of propaganda on how a real Islamic State member should not fear death and martyrdom. (WION)

Islamic State facing trouble in Mosul, but not finished yet

US-backed Iraqi forces were set to enter Mosul Monday after two weeks of fighting Islamic State militants on the outskirts of the city.&nbsp;

Lieutenant Colonel Muntadhar Salem said the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) had recaptured Bazwaya, one of two IS-held villages standing between Iraqi security forces and the eastern edges of Mosul.&nbsp;

&quot;Tonight, if everything is secured, we will be 700 metres from Mosul,&quot; Salem said.

Some 50,000 Iraqi soldiers, policemen, and Kurdish peshmerga are advancing on Mosul, backed up by US-backed coalition airstrikes.&nbsp;

International news agencies AFP and Reuters reported that fighting was underway in Karama district, which troops invaded on Monday.&nbsp;

Iran-led Shi&#39;ite fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) joined the battle two days ago but they will not be entering Mosul. Instead, they will head to Tal Afar in the west to cut off Islamic State&#39;s supply lines between Mosul and the Syrian border, AFP reported. &nbsp;

Colonel Mustafa al-Obeidi told AFP via radio, &quot;They&#39;re fleeing, the jihadists are fleeing into Mosul,&quot; as Iraqi forces approached Bazwaya.&nbsp;

CTS troops also entered Gogjali, the second village held by IS.&nbsp;

Senior CTS commander Abdelwahab al-Saadi told AFP the Iraqi troops were still 2.5 kilometres away from Mosul.&nbsp;

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the troops were closing off all escape routes.&nbsp;

&quot;God willing, we will chop off the snake&#39;s head, they have no escape, they either die or surrender,&quot; Reuters quoted him as saying.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Troops capture one of two Islamic State-held villages standing between them and the city, enter the other

US-backed Iraqi forces were set to enter Mosul Monday after two weeks of fighting Islamic State militants on the outskirts of the city. Lieutenant Colonel Muntadhar Salem said the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) had recaptured Bazwaya, one of two IS-held villages standing between Iraqi security forces and the eastern edges of Mosul. "Tonight, if everything is secured, we will be 700 metres from Mosul," Salem said. Some 50,000 Iraqi soldiers, policemen, and Kurdish peshmerga are advancing on Mosul, backed up by US-backed coalition airstrikes. International news agencies AFP and Reuters reported that fighting was underway in Karama district, which troops invaded on Monday. Iran-led Shi'ite fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) joined the battle two days ago but they will not be entering Mosul. Instead, they will head to Tal Afar in the west to cut off Islamic State's supply lines between Mosul and the Syrian border, AFP reported. Colonel Mustafa al-Obeidi told AFP via radio, "They're fleeing, the jihadists are fleeing into Mosul," as Iraqi forces approached Bazwaya. CTS troops also entered Gogjali, the second village held by IS. Senior CTS commander Abdelwahab al-Saadi told AFP the Iraqi troops were still 2.5 kilometres away from Mosul. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the troops were closing off all escape routes. "God willing, we will chop off the snake's head, they have no escape, they either die or surrender," Reuters quoted him as saying. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Mosul frontline: Iraqi forces set to enter city

Saudi Arabia has arrested at least eight suspected militants plotting killings and a car bombing, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.&nbsp;Authorities were pursuing other accomplices.

According to the ministry statement,&nbsp;those arrested included Islamic State suspects, who had planned to killi&nbsp;security officials in the Shaqra district north of the capital Riyadh.

Other militants had planned to attack civilians in the eastern city of Qatif and stage a car bomb attack on a visiting United Arab Emirates (UAE) football team at a stadium in the western port city of Jeddah, the statement said.

The statement said the eight arrested suspects were from a variety of countries, including:&nbsp;two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese. The statement also said that eight Saudis and a Bahraini were among the suspects still at large.

Saudi security forces have grappled with sporadic attacks by adherents to the ultra-hardline Islamic State militant group, which is based in Iraq and Syria, and say they have arrested hundreds of its members.

Local Saudi affiliates of Islamic State have carried out several deadly shootings and bombings in the conservative kingdom, the world&#39;s largest&nbsp;oil exporter. Many of the attacks have targeted security personnel and Shi&#39;ite Muslim mosques.

The Sunni Islamic State is bitterly hostile to the Gulf Arab monarchies, and is seen to be trying to stoke Sunni-Shi&#39;ite sectarian confrontation in Arabian peninsula countries to destabilise and ultimately overthrow them.

(Reuters)

Those arrested included Islamic State suspects who had planned killings of security officials in Riyadh. Suspects are still at large

Saudi Arabia has arrested at least eight suspected militants plotting killings and a car bombing, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. Authorities were pursuing other accomplices. According to the ministry statement, those arrested included Islamic State suspects, who had planned to killi security officials in the Shaqra district north of the capital Riyadh. Other militants had planned to attack civilians in the eastern city of Qatif and stage a car bomb attack on a visiting United Arab Emirates (UAE) football team at a stadium in the western port city of Jeddah, the statement said. The statement said the eight arrested suspects were from a variety of countries, including: two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese. The statement also said that eight Saudis and a Bahraini were among the suspects still at large. Saudi security forces have grappled with sporadic attacks by adherents to the ultra-hardline Islamic State militant group, which is based in Iraq and Syria, and say they have arrested hundreds of its members. Local Saudi affiliates of Islamic State have carried out several deadly shootings and bombings in the conservative kingdom, the world's largest oil exporter. Many of the attacks have targeted security personnel and Shi'ite Muslim mosques. The Sunni Islamic State is bitterly hostile to the Gulf Arab monarchies, and is seen to be trying to stoke Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian confrontation in Arabian peninsula countries to destabilise and ultimately overthrow them. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia says arrests Islamic State suspects plotting attacks

A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group targeted Shiite Muslims in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding 16, security and medical officials said.

IS issued a statement claiming the attack in which it boasted that the bomber had successfully passed security checkpoints to carry the attack.

The bomber targeted a tent in the Iskan area of western Baghdad where Shiites were distributing food and drinks to pilgrims making their way to the shrine city of Karbala, south of the capital.

The Sunni extremist group considers Shiites to be heretics and frequently targets them with bombings in Baghdad.

The latest attack comes as Iraqi forces close in on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the territory that the jihadists had overran in 2014.

But even their ouster from the northern city of Mosul is unlikely to bring an end to IS bombings, and the jihadists may increasingly turn to such attacks as they continue to lose ground.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The latest attack comes as Iraqi forces close in on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country

A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group targeted Shiite Muslims in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding 16, security and medical officials said. IS issued a statement claiming the attack in which it boasted that the bomber had successfully passed security checkpoints to carry the attack. The bomber targeted a tent in the Iskan area of western Baghdad where Shiites were distributing food and drinks to pilgrims making their way to the shrine city of Karbala, south of the capital. The Sunni extremist group considers Shiites to be heretics and frequently targets them with bombings in Baghdad. The latest attack comes as Iraqi forces close in on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the territory that the jihadists had overran in 2014. But even their ouster from the northern city of Mosul is unlikely to bring an end to IS bombings, and the jihadists may increasingly turn to such attacks as they continue to lose ground. (AFP)

Iraq: At least 4 killed, 16 injured in IS suicide bombing

Singapore&#39;s senior minister for defence and foreign affairs, Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, visited his Bangladeshi counterpart Shahriar Alam in Dhaka this week to discuss counter-terrorism efforts between the two countries among other bilateral issues.

Singapore has deported at least 37 Bangladeshi workers after the country&#39;s internal security department found incriminating materials linking them to jihadist ideologies.

Last May, the security department detained eight Bangladeshis suspected of being members of &quot;Islamic State in Bangladesh&quot;.&nbsp;

Singaporean investigators said members of the terror outfit intend to join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. &quot;However, as they felt that it would be difficult for them to make their way to Syria, they focused their plans instead on returning to Bangladesh to overthrow the democratically-elected government through the use of force, establish an Islamic State in Bangladesh and bring it under ISIS&#39; self-declared caliphate,&quot; says a press release issued by the Singapore&#39;s ministry of home affairs.

Bangladeshi authorities however, said they have not found link of the group with any of the existing terror outfits in the country.

&quot;We didn&#39;t get any connection with those who were deported from Singapore with the killers in our country,&quot; Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh&#39;s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime told WION.

He continued, &quot;They were workers in Singapore. They have been working there for a long time. Some of them have stayed there for three to eight years. Before going to Singapore they were not radicals. We think it was someone from Singapore who played a key role in radicalising these people. &quot;

Investigators told WION that members of Neo Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh have been waging attacks in the country by pledging their allegiance to Islamic State while another group Ansar Al Islam with affiliation to Al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has been carrying out attacks in the home soil.

At least 30 people, including atheist bloggers, academicians, clerics of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian faiths, an LGBT activist&nbsp;and&nbsp;and policemen have been killed in machete attacks across Bangladesh since 2013.

Last July, Bangladesh experienced the deadliest terror attack in which 20 civilians including 17 foreign nationals were killed at an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Singapore has deported at least 37 Bangladeshi workers after finding incriminating materials linking them to jihadist ideologies

Singapore's senior minister for defence and foreign affairs, Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, visited his Bangladeshi counterpart Shahriar Alam in Dhaka this week to discuss counter-terrorism efforts between the two countries among other bilateral issues. Singapore has deported at least 37 Bangladeshi workers after the country's internal security department found incriminating materials linking them to jihadist ideologies. Last May, the security department detained eight Bangladeshis suspected of being members of "Islamic State in Bangladesh". Singaporean investigators said members of the terror outfit intend to join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "However, as they felt that it would be difficult for them to make their way to Syria, they focused their plans instead on returning to Bangladesh to overthrow the democratically-elected government through the use of force, establish an Islamic State in Bangladesh and bring it under ISIS' self-declared caliphate," says a press release issued by the Singapore's ministry of home affairs. Bangladeshi authorities however, said they have not found link of the group with any of the existing terror outfits in the country. "We didn't get any connection with those who were deported from Singapore with the killers in our country," Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime told WION. He continued, "They were workers in Singapore. They have been working there for a long time. Some of them have stayed there for three to eight years. Before going to Singapore they were not radicals. We think it was someone from Singapore who played a key role in radicalising these people. " Investigators told WION that members of Neo Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh have been waging attacks in the country by pledging their allegiance to Islamic State while another group Ansar Al Islam with affiliation to Al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has been carrying out attacks in the home soil. At least 30 people, including atheist bloggers, academicians, clerics of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian faiths, an LGBT activist and and policemen have been killed in machete attacks across Bangladesh since 2013. Last July, Bangladesh experienced the deadliest terror attack in which 20 civilians including 17 foreign nationals were killed at an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. (WION)

Singapore and Bangladesh officials discuss counter-terrorism efforts in Dhaka meeting

When Barack Obama was running for office in 2008, he was determined to redirect US military efforts away from the &ldquo;bad war&rdquo; in Iraq and toward the &ldquo;good war&rdquo; in Afghanistan. This commitment to extricate the US military from the dismal aftermath of a botched exercise in regime change earned Obama the exaggerated designation of &ldquo;peace candidate.&rdquo;

Jump ahead eight years and listen to how history rhymes. Today, the Obama administration is reluctant to pour more resources into a failed regime change effort in Syria and far more intent on confronting the Islamic State (IS) in the battle for Mosul and, ultimately, its capital of Raqqa. Once again, the &ldquo;good&rdquo; war competes for attention with the &ldquo;bad&rdquo; war.

Meanwhile, the candidate that challenged Obama as too naive and peace-loving back in 2008 is poised to succeed him as president. Once again, Hillary Clinton has staked out a more hawkish position. And this time she has a large chunk of the foreign policy elite behind her. As Greg Jaffe&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/washington-foreign-policy-elites-not-sorry-to-see-obama-go/2016/10/20/bd2334a2-9228-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html">wrote recently</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;The Washington Post:

&ldquo;In the rarefied world of the Washington foreign policy establishment, President Obama&rsquo;s departure from the White House &mdash; and the possible return of a more conventional and hawkish Hillary Clinton &mdash; is being met with quiet relief.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

&ldquo;The Republicans and Democrats who make up the foreign policy elite are laying the groundwork for a more assertive American foreign policy, via a flurry of reports shaped by officials who are likely to play senior roles in a potential Clinton White House.&rdquo;

The foreign policy elite is mercurial and amnesiac. It wasn&rsquo;t that long ago that this elite expressed not-so-quiet relief at George W. Bush&rsquo;s departure from the White House and the return of a more conventional and dovish Barack Obama. And what of the more assertive policy of Hillary Clinton? Now that the truly apocalyptic threat of Donald Trump is receding, the lesser catastrophes of a Clinton administration beckon: perhaps Libya II or an expanded role in Yemen.

Still, as Jaffe points out, plenty of Obama&rsquo;s foreign policy advisors continue to warn of the considerable risks of greater US military involvement in the region. And, as Josh Rogin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/will-hillary-clinton-deliver-on-her-promise-to-ramp-up-us-involvement-in-syria/2016/10/23/1f2788e4-97bd-11e6-bc79-af1cd3d2984b_story.html?utm_term=.5ffa715cbd04">suggested</a>&nbsp;this week in his&nbsp;Post&nbsp;column, even Clinton&rsquo;s Middle East advisors are divided on this question. So, as it turns out, the foreign policy establishment has not quite established its position.

The headlines are full of the ongoing tragedy of Aleppo and the upcoming showdown in Mosul. But then there&rsquo;s the battle that determines the battle. Forget the inanities of Trump for a few moments to consider what&rsquo;s taking place behind the scenes. The latest skirmish over the future of US foreign policy in the Middle East is about to begin.

Is there still a chance to influence the trajectory of the hawk as she leaves behind the corpses of her challengers and wings her way to the White House?

NO GOOD SOLUTIONS

It&rsquo;s remotely possible that the United States and its allies, if they&rsquo;d acted quickly and with maximum power, could have helped to dislodge Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad during the Arab Spring by funding militias on the ground and providing them with air support.

However, even if the Obama administration had embraced such a strategy, which then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported, Assad and&nbsp;his&nbsp;allies might have fought back to achieve the same kind of stalemate that prevails in Syria today. Or, if Assad had fallen, Syria might have descended into the same kind of maelstrom that has enveloped Libya. The cautionary example of Iraq, a truly poisonous gift from the Bush administration, no doubt helped to stay Obama&rsquo;s hand.

The options on offer today are no better than in 2012. The Obama administration backed a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plan to arm several thousand &ldquo;moderate&rdquo; rebels to fight their way to power in Syria, and the CIA wants to increase the flow of weaponry. At best, these rebels have managed to achieve a punishing stalemate. At worst, as one unidentified US official&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plans-to-send-heavier-weapons-to-cia-backed-rebels-in-syria-stall-amid-white-house-skepticism/2016/10/23/f166ddac-96ee-11e6-bb29-bf2701dbe0a3_story.html">told</a>&nbsp;The Washington Post, the units are &ldquo;not doing any better on the battlefield, they&rsquo;re up against a more formidable adversary, and they&rsquo;re increasingly dominated by extremists.&rdquo;

Sending more weapons for a ground offensive wouldn&rsquo;t do much, since the conflict is waged most effectively at the moment by air. Providing more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons to the rebels would risk opposition from Turkey and escalation by Russia.

Clinton, meanwhile, has proposed a &ldquo;no-fly zone&rdquo; in northern Syria that would presumably create &ldquo;safe havens&rdquo; for Syrians fleeing the conflict zones and facilitate humanitarian relief to those stuck in places like Aleppo. For Americans weary of a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and turned millions into refugees, such a proposal has a certain appeal. Finally, the US would be doing something robust to increase the peace.

But such a zone, as Clinton herself has admitted, is no pacifist solution. It would &ldquo;kill a lot of Syrians,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/10/21/hillary-clinton-admitted-in-2013-that-a-no-fly-zone-would-kill-a-lot-of-syrians-but-still-wants-one/">she said back in 2013</a>, and draw both the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) more deeply into the military conflict. And then there&rsquo;s the problem of World War III when US planes start shooting down Russian bombers. Ben Rhodes&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/politics/axelrod-axe-files-ben-rhodes-syria/">listed</a>&nbsp;the Obama administration&rsquo;s reasons for opposing such a zone:

&ldquo;If you had an area of geography in Syria where planes couldn&rsquo;t fly over it, people would still be killing each other on the ground. ISIL [Islamic State] doesn&rsquo;t have planes, so that doesn&rsquo;t solve the ISIL problem. They would still be able to massacre people on the ground. And we would have to devote an enormous amount of our resources &mdash; which are currently devoted to finding ISIL and killing them wherever they are &mdash; to maintaining this no-fly zone.&rdquo;

A third option would be to focus less on Assad in Syria and more on the Islamic State, which has emerged as Obama&rsquo;s preferred strategy. But that plan has its own problems. The administration has emphasised the role of Iraqi forces in liberating their own city of Mosul. But the campaign relies heavily on US air strikes as well as the participation of half of the 5,000 American troops that are still on the ground in Iraq. The recapture of Mosul, even if successful, could drag on for many months, and the Islamic State is not the kind of entity that sues for peace.

There will be&nbsp;<a href="http://lobelog.com/mosul-and-americas-quixotic-search-for-the-decisive-battle/">no &ldquo;mission accomplished&rdquo; moment</a>&nbsp;for the Obama administration or its successor. Returning to its stateless mode if and when Raqqa falls, IS could prove even more dangerous for the United States and its allies as the terrorist outfit redirects its energies toward inflicting pain on its distant tormentors.

HILLARY CLINTON AND THE MEATHEADS

The Obama administration, for all its use of military force over the last eight years, at least has acknowledged the limited utility of that force. The president has time and again said that military intervention should not be the first tool deployed from the national security toolbox. Despite all the &ldquo;just war&rdquo; realism he included in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, Obama has pushed back against his more gung-ho advisors, including Clinton, who have clung to the notion that the US military can determine facts on the ground.

Like Trump, the foreign policy elite in Washington yearns to be unshackled. After a mere eight years in which diplomacy narrowly edged out militarism, this elite has forgotten the lessons of the Bush era. Historically, this is no surprise. John Kenneth Galbraith&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=TXdWbwEPIO0C&amp;pg=PA112&amp;lpg=PA112&amp;dq=The+foreign+policy+elite+was+always+the+world%27s+biggest+collection+of+meatheads&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=JOtS_fiyUO&amp;sig=0tJDWWjy-8aQKG82zhCb7e8coUs&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjmzq2-m_TPAhVFPCYKHVnvCycQ6AEIHzAA#v=onepage&amp;q=The%20foreign%20policy%20elite%20was%20always%20the%20world's%20biggest%20collection%20of%20meatheads&amp;f=false">once said</a>: &ldquo;The foreign policy elite was always the world&rsquo;s biggest collection of meatheads.&rdquo; As an economist, Galbraith knew a meathead when he saw one. Such meatheads are doomed to repeat the history that they didn&rsquo;t understand even as they were living through it.

It&rsquo;s relatively easy to point out the flaws in the various options available to the Obama administration in Syria and Iraq. In order to preserve the better parts of the Obama legacy&mdash;the nuclear deal with Iran, the elevation of diplomacy, the willingness to lead from behind&mdash;what can be done short of cordoning off the entire Middle East and retreating into a fortress of solitude?

First of all, the next administration should widen its engagement with Iran beyond the narrow focus on nuclear issues. Any sustainable solution in Syria and Iraq will require the involvement of Iran&mdash;the posturing of the&nbsp;<a href="http://lobelog.com/for-the-middle-east-its-the-center-for-american-regress/">recent Center for American Progress report</a>&nbsp;on US policy in the Middle East notwithstanding. Pursuing economic and political engagement with Tehran must include a place at the table for the Rouhani administration in negotiations on Iraq and Syria. It&rsquo;s time to stop complaining about Iranian &ldquo;meddling&rdquo; and instead take advantage of the country&rsquo;s cross-border influence.

The United States also has to rebuild a working relationship with Russia. I&rsquo;m no fan of Vladimir Putin, and I&rsquo;ve devoted several columns to what I find objectionable in Russian policy in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere. But if the US could negotiate important agreements with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, surely we can find a&nbsp;modus operandi with the current residents of the Kremlin. Finding common ground in the Middle East can have additional spillover benefits for arms control and perhaps even reducing tensions in eastern Europe.

Regime change in Syria is a mirage at the moment. Assad is not going anywhere as long as he can count on the firm support of Russia and Iran. Yes, he&rsquo;s a war criminal. But to prevent the further commission of war crimes, sometimes it&rsquo;s necessary to make a deal with the devil. His punishment will come eventually&mdash;just as it did for Slobodan Milosevic six years after the Dayton Accords. In the meantime, Washington has to pursue a diplomatic deal that stops punishing ordinary Syrians every day.

The Islamic State, however, is not a force that is subject to negotiations. I don&rsquo;t foresee a non-military solution to the specific problem of the would-be caliphate&rsquo;s territorial ambitions. But the US should not head up this fight. IS wants nothing better than an epic confrontation with America. Syrians and Iraqis must take the lead against IS, with Turkey, Iran and even the Gulf states playing crucial roles. In the best-case scenario, admittedly a long shot, the terrorist faction inadvertently reduces the conflict between the Shia and Sunni states that cooperate in its annihilation.

The CIA plan, the no-fly zone, the military focus on IS&mdash;these are not long-term strategies. They are proposals that satisfy a bipartisan foreign policy elite that bays for &ldquo;something to be done.&rdquo; The true challenge for the next administration is to resist the call of the meatheads.

But that won&rsquo;t happen without a counterforce that brings together a set of nongovernmental organisations working for peace in the region, some sympathetic politicians and officials, and a group of foreign policy experts who have not fallen prey to the amnesia that periodically descends upon the Beltway concerning the destructive impact of US military intervention.

Donald Trump is almost history. The far more complex challenge of Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s Middle East policy awaits.

IS wants nothing better than an epic confrontation with America

When Barack Obama was running for office in 2008, he was determined to redirect US military efforts away from the “bad war” in Iraq and toward the “good war” in Afghanistan. This commitment to extricate the US military from the dismal aftermath of a botched exercise in regime change earned Obama the exaggerated designation of “peace candidate.” Jump ahead eight years and listen to how history rhymes. Today, the Obama administration is reluctant to pour more resources into a failed regime change effort in Syria and far more intent on confronting the Islamic State (IS) in the battle for Mosul and, ultimately, its capital of Raqqa. Once again, the “good” war competes for attention with the “bad” war. Meanwhile, the candidate that challenged Obama as too naive and peace-loving back in 2008 is poised to succeed him as president. Once again, Hillary Clinton has staked out a more hawkish position. And this time she has a large chunk of the foreign policy elite behind her. As Greg Jaffe wrote recently in The Washington Post: “In the rarefied world of the Washington foreign policy establishment, President Obama’s departure from the White House — and the possible return of a more conventional and hawkish Hillary Clinton — is being met with quiet relief. “The Republicans and Democrats who make up the foreign policy elite are laying the groundwork for a more assertive American foreign policy, via a flurry of reports shaped by officials who are likely to play senior roles in a potential Clinton White House.” The foreign policy elite is mercurial and amnesiac. It wasn’t that long ago that this elite expressed not-so-quiet relief at George W. Bush’s departure from the White House and the return of a more conventional and dovish Barack Obama. And what of the more assertive policy of Hillary Clinton? Now that the truly apocalyptic threat of Donald Trump is receding, the lesser catastrophes of a Clinton administration beckon: perhaps Libya II or an expanded role in Yemen. Still, as Jaffe points out, plenty of Obama’s foreign policy advisors continue to warn of the considerable risks of greater US military involvement in the region. And, as Josh Rogin suggested this week in his Post column, even Clinton’s Middle East advisors are divided on this question. So, as it turns out, the foreign policy establishment has not quite established its position. The headlines are full of the ongoing tragedy of Aleppo and the upcoming showdown in Mosul. But then there’s the battle that determines the battle. Forget the inanities of Trump for a few moments to consider what’s taking place behind the scenes. The latest skirmish over the future of US foreign policy in the Middle East is about to begin. Is there still a chance to influence the trajectory of the hawk as she leaves behind the corpses of her challengers and wings her way to the White House? NO GOOD SOLUTIONS It’s remotely possible that the United States and its allies, if they’d acted quickly and with maximum power, could have helped to dislodge Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad during the Arab Spring by funding militias on the ground and providing them with air support. However, even if the Obama administration had embraced such a strategy, which then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported, Assad and his allies might have fought back to achieve the same kind of stalemate that prevails in Syria today. Or, if Assad had fallen, Syria might have descended into the same kind of maelstrom that has enveloped Libya. The cautionary example of Iraq, a truly poisonous gift from the Bush administration, no doubt helped to stay Obama’s hand. The options on offer today are no better than in 2012. The Obama administration backed a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plan to arm several thousand “moderate” rebels to fight their way to power in Syria, and the CIA wants to increase the flow of weaponry. At best, these rebels have managed to achieve a punishing stalemate. At worst, as one unidentified US official told The Washington Post, the units are “not doing any better on the battlefield, they’re up against a more formidable adversary, and they’re increasingly dominated by extremists.” Sending more weapons for a ground offensive wouldn’t do much, since the conflict is waged most effectively at the moment by air. Providing more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons to the rebels would risk opposition from Turkey and escalation by Russia. Clinton, meanwhile, has proposed a “no-fly zone” in northern Syria that would presumably create “safe havens” for Syrians fleeing the conflict zones and facilitate humanitarian relief to those stuck in places like Aleppo. For Americans weary of a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and turned millions into refugees, such a proposal has a certain appeal. Finally, the US would be doing something robust to increase the peace. But such a zone, as Clinton herself has admitted, is no pacifist solution. It would “kill a lot of Syrians,” she said back in 2013, and draw both the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) more deeply into the military conflict. And then there’s the problem of World War III when US planes start shooting down Russian bombers. Ben Rhodes listed the Obama administration’s reasons for opposing such a zone: “If you had an area of geography in Syria where planes couldn’t fly over it, people would still be killing each other on the ground. ISIL [Islamic State] doesn’t have planes, so that doesn’t solve the ISIL problem. They would still be able to massacre people on the ground. And we would have to devote an enormous amount of our resources — which are currently devoted to finding ISIL and killing them wherever they are — to maintaining this no-fly zone.” A third option would be to focus less on Assad in Syria and more on the Islamic State, which has emerged as Obama’s preferred strategy. But that plan has its own problems. The administration has emphasised the role of Iraqi forces in liberating their own city of Mosul. But the campaign relies heavily on US air strikes as well as the participation of half of the 5,000 American troops that are still on the ground in Iraq. The recapture of Mosul, even if successful, could drag on for many months, and the Islamic State is not the kind of entity that sues for peace. There will be no “mission accomplished” moment for the Obama administration or its successor. Returning to its stateless mode if and when Raqqa falls, IS could prove even more dangerous for the United States and its allies as the terrorist outfit redirects its energies toward inflicting pain on its distant tormentors. HILLARY CLINTON AND THE MEATHEADS The Obama administration, for all its use of military force over the last eight years, at least has acknowledged the limited utility of that force. The president has time and again said that military intervention should not be the first tool deployed from the national security toolbox. Despite all the “just war” realism he included in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, Obama has pushed back against his more gung-ho advisors, including Clinton, who have clung to the notion that the US military can determine facts on the ground. Like Trump, the foreign policy elite in Washington yearns to be unshackled. After a mere eight years in which diplomacy narrowly edged out militarism, this elite has forgotten the lessons of the Bush era. Historically, this is no surprise. John Kenneth Galbraith once said: “The foreign policy elite was always the world’s biggest collection of meatheads.” As an economist, Galbraith knew a meathead when he saw one. Such meatheads are doomed to repeat the history that they didn’t understand even as they were living through it. It’s relatively easy to point out the flaws in the various options available to the Obama administration in Syria and Iraq. In order to preserve the better parts of the Obama legacy—the nuclear deal with Iran, the elevation of diplomacy, the willingness to lead from behind—what can be done short of cordoning off the entire Middle East and retreating into a fortress of solitude? First of all, the next administration should widen its engagement with Iran beyond the narrow focus on nuclear issues. Any sustainable solution in Syria and Iraq will require the involvement of Iran—the posturing of the recent Center for American Progress report on US policy in the Middle East notwithstanding. Pursuing economic and political engagement with Tehran must include a place at the table for the Rouhani administration in negotiations on Iraq and Syria. It’s time to stop complaining about Iranian “meddling” and instead take advantage of the country’s cross-border influence. The United States also has to rebuild a working relationship with Russia. I’m no fan of Vladimir Putin, and I’ve devoted several columns to what I find objectionable in Russian policy in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere. But if the US could negotiate important agreements with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, surely we can find a modus operandi with the current residents of the Kremlin. Finding common ground in the Middle East can have additional spillover benefits for arms control and perhaps even reducing tensions in eastern Europe. Regime change in Syria is a mirage at the moment. Assad is not going anywhere as long as he can count on the firm support of Russia and Iran. Yes, he’s a war criminal. But to prevent the further commission of war crimes, sometimes it’s necessary to make a deal with the devil. His punishment will come eventually—just as it did for Slobodan Milosevic six years after the Dayton Accords. In the meantime, Washington has to pursue a diplomatic deal that stops punishing ordinary Syrians every day. The Islamic State, however, is not a force that is subject to negotiations. I don’t foresee a non-military solution to the specific problem of the would-be caliphate’s territorial ambitions. But the US should not head up this fight. IS wants nothing better than an epic confrontation with America. Syrians and Iraqis must take the lead against IS, with Turkey, Iran and even the Gulf states playing crucial roles. In the best-case scenario, admittedly a long shot, the terrorist faction inadvertently reduces the conflict between the Shia and Sunni states that cooperate in its annihilation. The CIA plan, the no-fly zone, the military focus on IS—these are not long-term strategies. They are proposals that satisfy a bipartisan foreign policy elite that bays for “something to be done.” The true challenge for the next administration is to resist the call of the meatheads. But that won’t happen without a counterforce that brings together a set of nongovernmental organisations working for peace in the region, some sympathetic politicians and officials, and a group of foreign policy experts who have not fallen prey to the amnesia that periodically descends upon the Beltway concerning the destructive impact of US military intervention. Donald Trump is almost history. The far more complex challenge of Hillary Clinton’s Middle East policy awaits.

Hillary Clinton: A hawk in the wings

White flags flying from their radio antennas, the pickup trucks laden with refugees and a few precious livestock snaked out of Tub Zawa after a day of heavy bombardment drove Islamic State fighters from the village on Mosul&#39;s eastern edge.

Around 700 people fled the village early on Tuesday, escaping the military operation to recapture Iraq&#39;s second biggest city from the jihadists who have controlled it for nearly two and a half years.

In the first 10 days of the Mosul campaign, the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by US-led air forces and troops have made steady gains through often depopulated villages east and south of Mosul.

But as they approach the city itself, still home to more than a million people, the advancing forces are pushing the frontlines into villages like Tub Zawa where residents had until this week stayed put.

That will make the fighting more difficult and deadly, and prompted a senior United Nations official in Iraq to say an exodus from Mosul, and a potential humanitarian crisis&nbsp;could be only a few days away.

Tub Zawa, close to the main road into Mosul from the east, is one of the first populated villages reached by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces after they cleared Islamic State last week from a Christian region which has been largely empty since 2014.

Abdul Bassit, an elderly shepherd from the predominantly Sunni Arab settlement, said he had sheltered for hours with a dozen relatives under the stairs of their house on Monday while the military bombarded the village for hours with mortars and air strikes, and the jihadists responded with car bombs.

When they fled their homes the next day, they took only their most important possessions with them, which in many cases was livestock.

Women and small children shared space with sheep, goats, calves and chickens in the beds of pickup trucks on their journey to a camp for displaced people at the Kurdish-controlled town of Hassan Sham, further east.

So far the number of people displaced since the Mosul campaign was formally launched on October 17 is relatively modest - the International Organization for Migration says just over 10,000 people have been uprooted.

Those who head into Kurdish areas, like the Tub Zawa families, are checked by Kurdish peshmerga on the road linking Mosul to the Kurdish city of Erbil, about 75 km (45 miles) away.

On Tuesday, the villagers parked their cars and pickup trucks along the Erbil highway, as the peshmerga sorted through them. Women and children were bussed quickly to the camp but men sat in vehicles for hours waiting to undergo security screening.

Some of them took the opportunity to shave thick beards they say Islamic State forced them to grow after seizing large swathes of northern and western Iraq in a bid to build a modern-day caliphate. Tufts of dark facial hair littered the road under one of the vehicle&#39;s side-view mirrors.

&quot;It was hell,&quot; said Abdul Bassit, describing life under the hardline Sunni Islamists. Smoking was forbidden and carried a punishment of 70 lashes, he said. Dress was strictly regulated, cell phones prohibited and women prevented from leaving the house.

The villagers said Islamic State fighters did not speak to them much and they avoided contact as much as possible. Most of them were Iraqi, they said, but one man recalled meeting a Kuwaiti fighter.

&quot;We would see them in the mosque for the five daily prayers, but that was about it,&quot; he said. The fighters were either killed in Monday&#39;s clashes with government forces or fled deeper into Islamic State-held territory.

Ahmed Kamel, 31, said the number of Islamic State fighters inside Mosul - estimated by the Iraqi military at up to 6,000 - was small but their insurgent tactics would make it difficult for the 30,000-strong Iraqi force to rout them.

&quot;It could take one month, one year, 10 days,&quot; he said of the offensive. &quot;I don&#39;t know, but I hope it is 10 days.&quot;

Iraq&#39;s elite counter-terrorism forces, which are spearheading the offensive, are now just a few kilometres from Mosul. Beyond Tub Zawa, only Bazwaia village, and some military camps separate them from the city&#39;s eastern limits.

But the troops paused their advance on Tuesday, a senior commander told Reuters, waiting for the other US-backed forces to close in from the south and northeast.

While the soldiers regrouped, one villager recounted his experiences of life under the Sunni militants now preparing to battle for the city.

Sixty-eight-year-old Ghazi Fathi, sitting alone in the driver&#39;s seat of a beat up sedan, raised his stained white galabiya to reveal about a dozen crude stitches above his waist and a large bandage on the left side of his abdomen.

&quot;They tortured me,&quot; he said of Islamic State, without explaining how. &quot;They asked me if I was sheltering my Shi&#39;ite neighbours and when I told them &#39;no&#39; they accused me of lying.&quot;

Fathi, writhing in pain on Tuesday, called through his car window for medical aid and water but a peshmerga guard said he had to wait until security clearance was complete. That process did not appear to have started as the sun began to set.

(Reuters)

Around 700 people fled the village early on Tuesday, escaping the military operation to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State

White flags flying from their radio antennas, the pickup trucks laden with refugees and a few precious livestock snaked out of Tub Zawa after a day of heavy bombardment drove Islamic State fighters from the village on Mosul's eastern edge. Around 700 people fled the village early on Tuesday, escaping the military operation to recapture Iraq's second biggest city from the jihadists who have controlled it for nearly two and a half years. In the first 10 days of the Mosul campaign, the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by US-led air forces and troops have made steady gains through often depopulated villages east and south of Mosul. But as they approach the city itself, still home to more than a million people, the advancing forces are pushing the frontlines into villages like Tub Zawa where residents had until this week stayed put. That will make the fighting more difficult and deadly, and prompted a senior United Nations official in Iraq to say an exodus from Mosul, and a potential humanitarian crisis could be only a few days away. Tub Zawa, close to the main road into Mosul from the east, is one of the first populated villages reached by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces after they cleared Islamic State last week from a Christian region which has been largely empty since 2014. Abdul Bassit, an elderly shepherd from the predominantly Sunni Arab settlement, said he had sheltered for hours with a dozen relatives under the stairs of their house on Monday while the military bombarded the village for hours with mortars and air strikes, and the jihadists responded with car bombs. When they fled their homes the next day, they took only their most important possessions with them, which in many cases was livestock. Women and small children shared space with sheep, goats, calves and chickens in the beds of pickup trucks on their journey to a camp for displaced people at the Kurdish-controlled town of Hassan Sham, further east. So far the number of people displaced since the Mosul campaign was formally launched on October 17 is relatively modest - the International Organization for Migration says just over 10,000 people have been uprooted. Those who head into Kurdish areas, like the Tub Zawa families, are checked by Kurdish peshmerga on the road linking Mosul to the Kurdish city of Erbil, about 75 km (45 miles) away. On Tuesday, the villagers parked their cars and pickup trucks along the Erbil highway, as the peshmerga sorted through them. Women and children were bussed quickly to the camp but men sat in vehicles for hours waiting to undergo security screening. Some of them took the opportunity to shave thick beards they say Islamic State forced them to grow after seizing large swathes of northern and western Iraq in a bid to build a modern-day caliphate. Tufts of dark facial hair littered the road under one of the vehicle's side-view mirrors. "It was hell," said Abdul Bassit, describing life under the hardline Sunni Islamists. Smoking was forbidden and carried a punishment of 70 lashes, he said. Dress was strictly regulated, cell phones prohibited and women prevented from leaving the house. The villagers said Islamic State fighters did not speak to them much and they avoided contact as much as possible. Most of them were Iraqi, they said, but one man recalled meeting a Kuwaiti fighter. "We would see them in the mosque for the five daily prayers, but that was about it," he said. The fighters were either killed in Monday's clashes with government forces or fled deeper into Islamic State-held territory. Ahmed Kamel, 31, said the number of Islamic State fighters inside Mosul - estimated by the Iraqi military at up to 6,000 - was small but their insurgent tactics would make it difficult for the 30,000-strong Iraqi force to rout them. "It could take one month, one year, 10 days," he said of the offensive. "I don't know, but I hope it is 10 days." Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces, which are spearheading the offensive, are now just a few kilometres from Mosul. Beyond Tub Zawa, only Bazwaia village, and some military camps separate them from the city's eastern limits. But the troops paused their advance on Tuesday, a senior commander told Reuters, waiting for the other US-backed forces to close in from the south and northeast. While the soldiers regrouped, one villager recounted his experiences of life under the Sunni militants now preparing to battle for the city. Sixty-eight-year-old Ghazi Fathi, sitting alone in the driver's seat of a beat up sedan, raised his stained white galabiya to reveal about a dozen crude stitches above his waist and a large bandage on the left side of his abdomen. "They tortured me," he said of Islamic State, without explaining how. "They asked me if I was sheltering my Shi'ite neighbours and when I told them 'no' they accused me of lying." Fathi, writhing in pain on Tuesday, called through his car window for medical aid and water but a peshmerga guard said he had to wait until security clearance was complete. That process did not appear to have started as the sun began to set. (Reuters)

Iraqi troop advance puts civilians on Mosul frontline

&ldquo;If you have this, no problem,&rdquo; says the driver, pointing at the wooden rosary hanging from the rearview mirror. He kisses it, looks up, and makes the sign of the cross.

&ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo;

&ldquo;If you are Christian in Kurdistan, checkpoint makes no problem&rdquo;

&ldquo;And if you are Muslim?&rdquo;

&ldquo;Depends. If Kurdish Muslim, no problem. If Arab Muslim, big problem.&rdquo;

This&nbsp;exchange&nbsp;reveals much about&nbsp;Iraq. This is a country where myriad tribes, religions, and ethnic groups coexist but the outlook of their members is shaped by the group they belong to.

A quick look at the armed groups currently fighting to reconquer Mosul, Islamic State&#39;s last stronghold in Iraq, gives one a fair idea of the matter.&nbsp;

The Peshmerga, Kurdish soldiers from the northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, are attacking the city&rsquo;s outskirts from the north. They are all Kurds but there are divisions within their ranks, based on the party with which they are affiliated. For example, there is&nbsp;the Kurdistan Democratic Party of President Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by the first non-Iraqi to be president of the country &ndash; Jalal Talabani &ndash; from 2005 to 2014. And the Kurdish Communist Party (PKK), an unofficial group based out of the mountains bordering Iran, has its own militia too.

The Iraqi regular army is attacking the city from the south. It is a national army, but there are deep divisions within its ranks. It has both Shia and Sunni components, a division that soldiers tend to display openly &ndash; it is common for example to come across Iraqi military vehicles flying Shia flags.&nbsp;

The Yazidis, an ethnic minority mainly based out of the western Iraqi Sinjar province, have their own militia, as do the Ka&rsquo;kais, a religious minority mainly based out of areas surrounding the city of Kirkuk.&nbsp;The Assyrian Christians too have their own militia, formed with the aim of protecting their villages once Islamic State is defeated.

&nbsp;

A melting pot, now divided

Iraq has always been a cultural mosaic. The country, like most of West Asia, has been a melting pot of all the major ancient civilisations. Living together for centuries, they gave rise to a rich cultural environment. One sees that clearly while walking the streets of Iraq&#39;s cities today &ndash; different faces, languages, clothes, sunni and shia mosques, churches, and temples.&nbsp;

One of the many problems Islamic State brought to the region was the threat it posed to&nbsp;Iraq&#39;s&nbsp;social fabric, the respectful coexistence of its&nbsp;different cultures. (Many identify the terrorist organisation as a product of the Sunni population, and commonly blame the entire community for its rise.)&nbsp;

The mistrust, if not racism, of many Kurds is directed at both Sunni and Shia Arabs. &nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean to be racist, but Arabs are not people you can trust,&rdquo; is a common sentence in Kurdistan.&nbsp;

The attitude is largely a consequence of Saddam&rsquo;s dictatorship, its systematic mass murders of Kurds and the attempt at a full Arabisation of Iraqi society. &nbsp; 
Christians seem to be tolerated, at least in Iraqi Kurdistan. But sections of the Christian population treat the Kurds in the same way the Kurds treat the Arabs. &ldquo;Before, when Saddam was here, he wanted us to become all Arabs. They changed the name of our ancestors&#39; cities. Now we are suffering the Kurd-isation of our society: the regional government wants us to be Kurds. We are not, we are Assyrian and they are trying to destroy our culture once again,&rdquo; says Ultra Khado, spokesperson of the Nineveh Plan Protection Unit, a Christian militia formed in 2014 after Islamic State took control of several Christian towns in the vicinity of Mosul, where the majority of their soldiers come from.

&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t trust the central government, because when the Islamic State came to our villages, there was no one to protect us.&rdquo;

The Arabs themselves are very divided, and not only into Shia and Sunni components. Iraq is also a highly tribal society and the outlook of the tribes adds to the already existing divisions.&nbsp;

The divergence between the Shias and Sunnis might have its origins in differeing interpretations of Islam, but politics has added to the hostility. After all, Saddam&#39;s Sunni-led regime&nbsp;oppressed all of Iraq&#39;s other groups for 30 years.

The 2003 US-led war divided Iraqi society further. It overthrew Saddam&rsquo;s regime without providing a reliable replacement, nor a plan to manage the country. That led to years of sectarian violence, dividing Iraqi society even more, and giving terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda and Islamic State the opportunity to present themselves as political alternatives to the chaos the Americans left in their wake.&nbsp;

So Kurds are suspicious of Arabs. (The several Kurdish parties exercise influence in different cities, and control different checkpoints.) Shiite Arabs are suspicious of Sunni Arabs. The Christians are suspicious of both Arabs and Kurds. And the Yazidi don&rsquo;t trust anybody. And every group has a well-armed militia ready to defend what they consider to be their land.

NGOs talk of an &ldquo;obstacle to return&rdquo; &ndash; families are refusing to return home because their towns or villages have been liberated by a faction that they consider hostile. Sunni families, for example, will not return if Shiite militias now control their homelands and&nbsp;vice versa.&nbsp;The situation is dangerously reminiscent of what happened in the Balkans after the fall of Yugoslavia.

For the time being, the one common enemy is keeping all the armed factions of Iraqi society together. But once it is defeated, everybody will raise a claim and it will not be easy to manage.&nbsp;

(WION) 
&nbsp;

After Shias, Sunnis, Peshmergas, Christians and Yazidis fight IS to reconquer Mosul, they need to come together. It will not be easy

“If you have this, no problem,” says the driver, pointing at the wooden rosary hanging from the rearview mirror. He kisses it, looks up, and makes the sign of the cross. “What do you mean?” “If you are Christian in Kurdistan, checkpoint makes no problem” “And if you are Muslim?” “Depends. If Kurdish Muslim, no problem. If Arab Muslim, big problem.” This exchange reveals much about Iraq. This is a country where myriad tribes, religions, and ethnic groups coexist but the outlook of their members is shaped by the group they belong to. A quick look at the armed groups currently fighting to reconquer Mosul, Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq, gives one a fair idea of the matter. The Peshmerga, Kurdish soldiers from the northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, are attacking the city’s outskirts from the north. They are all Kurds but there are divisions within their ranks, based on the party with which they are affiliated. For example, there is the Kurdistan Democratic Party of President Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by the first non-Iraqi to be president of the country – Jalal Talabani – from 2005 to 2014. And the Kurdish Communist Party (PKK), an unofficial group based out of the mountains bordering Iran, has its own militia too. The Iraqi regular army is attacking the city from the south. It is a national army, but there are deep divisions within its ranks. It has both Shia and Sunni components, a division that soldiers tend to display openly – it is common for example to come across Iraqi military vehicles flying Shia flags. The Yazidis, an ethnic minority mainly based out of the western Iraqi Sinjar province, have their own militia, as do the Ka’kais, a religious minority mainly based out of areas surrounding the city of Kirkuk. The Assyrian Christians too have their own militia, formed with the aim of protecting their villages once Islamic State is defeated. A melting pot, now divided Iraq has always been a cultural mosaic. The country, like most of West Asia, has been a melting pot of all the major ancient civilisations. Living together for centuries, they gave rise to a rich cultural environment. One sees that clearly while walking the streets of Iraq's cities today – different faces, languages, clothes, sunni and shia mosques, churches, and temples. One of the many problems Islamic State brought to the region was the threat it posed to Iraq's social fabric, the respectful coexistence of its different cultures. (Many identify the terrorist organisation as a product of the Sunni population, and commonly blame the entire community for its rise.) The mistrust, if not racism, of many Kurds is directed at both Sunni and Shia Arabs. “I don’t mean to be racist, but Arabs are not people you can trust,” is a common sentence in Kurdistan. The attitude is largely a consequence of Saddam’s dictatorship, its systematic mass murders of Kurds and the attempt at a full Arabisation of Iraqi society. Christians seem to be tolerated, at least in Iraqi Kurdistan. But sections of the Christian population treat the Kurds in the same way the Kurds treat the Arabs. “Before, when Saddam was here, he wanted us to become all Arabs. They changed the name of our ancestors' cities. Now we are suffering the Kurd-isation of our society: the regional government wants us to be Kurds. We are not, we are Assyrian and they are trying to destroy our culture once again,” says Ultra Khado, spokesperson of the Nineveh Plan Protection Unit, a Christian militia formed in 2014 after Islamic State took control of several Christian towns in the vicinity of Mosul, where the majority of their soldiers come from. “We don’t trust the central government, because when the Islamic State came to our villages, there was no one to protect us.” The Arabs themselves are very divided, and not only into Shia and Sunni components. Iraq is also a highly tribal society and the outlook of the tribes adds to the already existing divisions. The divergence between the Shias and Sunnis might have its origins in differeing interpretations of Islam, but politics has added to the hostility. After all, Saddam's Sunni-led regime oppressed all of Iraq's other groups for 30 years. The 2003 US-led war divided Iraqi society further. It overthrew Saddam’s regime without providing a reliable replacement, nor a plan to manage the country. That led to years of sectarian violence, dividing Iraqi society even more, and giving terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda and Islamic State the opportunity to present themselves as political alternatives to the chaos the Americans left in their wake. So Kurds are suspicious of Arabs. (The several Kurdish parties exercise influence in different cities, and control different checkpoints.) Shiite Arabs are suspicious of Sunni Arabs. The Christians are suspicious of both Arabs and Kurds. And the Yazidi don’t trust anybody. And every group has a well-armed militia ready to defend what they consider to be their land. NGOs talk of an “obstacle to return” – families are refusing to return home because their towns or villages have been liberated by a faction that they consider hostile. Sunni families, for example, will not return if Shiite militias now control their homelands and vice versa. The situation is dangerously reminiscent of what happened in the Balkans after the fall of Yugoslavia. For the time being, the one common enemy is keeping all the armed factions of Iraqi society together. But once it is defeated, everybody will raise a claim and it will not be easy to manage. (WION)

Iraq: Everyone has a claim, backed up by an army

Security forces battled for a second day on Saturday with Islamic State gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul.

A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements.

Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of Friday.

&quot;We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS),&quot; an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.

The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency.

The brigadier general said at least 25 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raid&#39;s leaders.

The large-scale &quot;inghimasi&quot; attack, a term describing jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard.

The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region some 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighbourhoods.

They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed &quot;caliphate&quot;, which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse.

&nbsp;

Distraction from Mosul&nbsp;

One attacker captured by the Kurdish security services on Friday claimed that the Kirkuk raid was planned by IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a diversion from the offensive on Mosul.

&quot;Today&#39;s attack was one of caliph Baghdadi&#39;s plans to demonstrate that the Islamic State is remaining and expanding and reduce the pressure on the Mosul front,&quot; he said, according to an AFP reporter who saw his initial interrogation.

A Kirkuk-based television journalist was shot dead by an IS sniper on Friday and the city remained under curfew on Saturday as the security forces battled jihadists holed up in several buildings.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced late Friday that he was sending reinforcements to Kirkuk but there was no sign of any major impact on operations around Mosul.

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter arrived in Iraq on Saturday to review the offensive, which his country and around 60 other nations support.

Mosul is much the most populous city in the &quot;caliphate&quot; Baghdadi declared in June 2014 and the operation to recapture it is Iraq&#39;s largest in years.&nbsp;

Its loss would deal a huge blow to IS and could mark the end of its days as a land-holding force in Iraq.

With 3,000 to 4,500 men facing tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by massive US-led air power, the outcome of the battle is in little doubt.

&nbsp;

Christian town

But jihadists have been launching dozens of suicide car bombs against advancing forces, slowing their progress and inflicting casualties in the process.

On Saturday, Iraqi federal forces moved into Qaraqosh, which lies just east of Mosul and was Iraq&#39;s largest Christian town before its population fled the jihadists in 2014, the joint operations command said.

Kurdish forces were also leading a major push northeast of Mosul but complained that air support from the US-led coalition was insufficient and leaving them exposed.

In his meetings in Baghdad on Saturday, the US defence secretary was expected to attempt to convince the government to lift its opposition to the participation of Turkish forces, who have a base north of Mosul.

Launched on Monday, the offensive is still in its early stages and is likely to involve a siege before elite forces enter the city and engage in street fighting with die-hard jihadists.

A French government source told AFP that entry into the city itself was still a month away.

A key concern is the presence in Mosul of up to 1.2 million civilians, who are trapped and unable to leave until forces move closer and safe corridors are opened.

According to residents contacted by AFP, living conditions are deteriorating by the day, with some food supplies running low and IS paranoia of informants higher than ever.

The number of civilians fleeing the fighting and the jihadists who have ruled them for two years was beginning to grow as Iraqi forces worked their way up the Tigris Valley.

Several thousand Iraqis displaced by this week&#39;s offensive have received assistance but aid groups fear hundreds of thousands could be forced to flee in the coming weeks.

With winter looming and relief organisations already stretched by the presence in the country of more than three million displaced people, the predicted exodus from Mosul would spark Iraq&#39;s worst humanitarian emergency in years.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

Special counter-terrorism teams are hunting down IS fighters who stormed the Kurdish-controlled city on Friday

Security forces battled for a second day on Saturday with Islamic State gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul. A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements. Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of Friday. "We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS)," an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP. The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency. The brigadier general said at least 25 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raid's leaders. The large-scale "inghimasi" attack, a term describing jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard. The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region some 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighbourhoods. They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed "caliphate", which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse. Distraction from Mosul One attacker captured by the Kurdish security services on Friday claimed that the Kirkuk raid was planned by IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a diversion from the offensive on Mosul. "Today's attack was one of caliph Baghdadi's plans to demonstrate that the Islamic State is remaining and expanding and reduce the pressure on the Mosul front," he said, according to an AFP reporter who saw his initial interrogation. A Kirkuk-based television journalist was shot dead by an IS sniper on Friday and the city remained under curfew on Saturday as the security forces battled jihadists holed up in several buildings. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced late Friday that he was sending reinforcements to Kirkuk but there was no sign of any major impact on operations around Mosul. Pentagon chief Ashton Carter arrived in Iraq on Saturday to review the offensive, which his country and around 60 other nations support. Mosul is much the most populous city in the "caliphate" Baghdadi declared in June 2014 and the operation to recapture it is Iraq's largest in years. Its loss would deal a huge blow to IS and could mark the end of its days as a land-holding force in Iraq. With 3,000 to 4,500 men facing tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by massive US-led air power, the outcome of the battle is in little doubt. Christian town But jihadists have been launching dozens of suicide car bombs against advancing forces, slowing their progress and inflicting casualties in the process. On Saturday, Iraqi federal forces moved into Qaraqosh, which lies just east of Mosul and was Iraq's largest Christian town before its population fled the jihadists in 2014, the joint operations command said. Kurdish forces were also leading a major push northeast of Mosul but complained that air support from the US-led coalition was insufficient and leaving them exposed. In his meetings in Baghdad on Saturday, the US defence secretary was expected to attempt to convince the government to lift its opposition to the participation of Turkish forces, who have a base north of Mosul. Launched on Monday, the offensive is still in its early stages and is likely to involve a siege before elite forces enter the city and engage in street fighting with die-hard jihadists. A French government source told AFP that entry into the city itself was still a month away. A key concern is the presence in Mosul of up to 1.2 million civilians, who are trapped and unable to leave until forces move closer and safe corridors are opened. According to residents contacted by AFP, living conditions are deteriorating by the day, with some food supplies running low and IS paranoia of informants higher than ever. The number of civilians fleeing the fighting and the jihadists who have ruled them for two years was beginning to grow as Iraqi forces worked their way up the Tigris Valley. Several thousand Iraqis displaced by this week's offensive have received assistance but aid groups fear hundreds of thousands could be forced to flee in the coming weeks. With winter looming and relief organisations already stretched by the presence in the country of more than three million displaced people, the predicted exodus from Mosul would spark Iraq's worst humanitarian emergency in years. (AFP)

Kirkuk: Iraqi forces in fierce clashes with Islamic State

At least 16 have been killed in a&nbsp;suicide attack by Islamic State militants at a power plant and several government buildings in Iraq&#39;s northern Kirkuk city, AFP reported.&nbsp;

The militants attacked the site of the plant in the early morning&nbsp;hours, Reuters quoted security officials as saying. The power plant was being built by an Iranian company.&nbsp;

Dibis&#39; mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi told AFP,&nbsp;&quot;three suicide bombers attacked the power plant at around 6:00 am, killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers and four Iranian technicians.&quot;

A police lieutenant confirmed the death toll. Security forces confronted the attackers and killed one of the bombers before he detonated his suicide&nbsp;vest. The other two blew themselves up when security forces surrounded them, al-Salehi added.&nbsp;

A few hours before this&nbsp;attack, at around 3:00 am, another group of suicide attackers, also armed with rifles, hit at multiple locations in Kirkuk, including the police&nbsp;headquarters,&nbsp;a Kurdish intelligence officer told AFP.&nbsp;

&quot;The security forces managed to shoot one of them dead, the other three blew themselves up,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in online statements.&nbsp;

The electricity supply and crude oil production were not targeted and supply continues, Reuters quotes the&nbsp;security&nbsp;sources as saying.&nbsp;

A total curfew has been imposed on the city.&nbsp;

This story will be updated as more&nbsp;information comes to light.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

Dibis' mayor said three suicide bombers attacked a power plant, killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers, and four Iranian technicians

At least 16 have been killed in a suicide attack by Islamic State militants at a power plant and several government buildings in Iraq's northern Kirkuk city, AFP reported. The militants attacked the site of the plant in the early morning hours, Reuters quoted security officials as saying. The power plant was being built by an Iranian company. Dibis' mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi told AFP, "three suicide bombers attacked the power plant at around 6:00 am, killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers and four Iranian technicians." A police lieutenant confirmed the death toll. Security forces confronted the attackers and killed one of the bombers before he detonated his suicide vest. The other two blew themselves up when security forces surrounded them, al-Salehi added. A few hours before this attack, at around 3:00 am, another group of suicide attackers, also armed with rifles, hit at multiple locations in Kirkuk, including the police headquarters, a Kurdish intelligence officer told AFP. "The security forces managed to shoot one of them dead, the other three blew themselves up," he said. The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in online statements. The electricity supply and crude oil production were not targeted and supply continues, Reuters quotes the security sources as saying. A total curfew has been imposed on the city. This story will be updated as more information comes to light. (WION with inputs from agencies)

IS suicide attack kills at least 16 in northern Iraq

Making further advances in their bid to capture Mosul from the Islamic State, Iraqi forces on Thursday gained control of the town of Bartalla, less than 15 kms from Mosul, AFP reported. They are, however, still some distance from city limits of Mosul, IS&#39;s last major stronghold in Iraq.

&quot;I announce to the people of Bartalla and Mosul we have complete control over Bartalla,&quot; Taleb Sheghati al-Kenani, commander of Iraq&#39;s battle-seasoned Counter-Terrorism Service, told the press from the town. &quot;Its residents, its churches and all of its infrastructure are now under the control of CTS.&quot;

The IS had seized the small Christian town when it established their &#39;caliphate&#39; in Iraq in 2014, forcing around 120,000 Iraqi Christians to flee their homes.

Further North, Kurdish peshmerga fighters opened a new front against the IS with a multiple-pronged assault on the town of Bashiqa.

&quot;The objectives are to clear a number of nearby villages and secure control of strategic areas to further restrict ISIL&#39;s movements,&quot; the peshmerga command said.

To the south, Iraqi forces were making steady gains, working their way up the Tigris Valley and meeting small numbers of fleeing civilians heading the other way. Dozens of men, women and children have escaped from the village of Mdaraj, south of Mosul, the smoke from the fires lit by IS to escape notice, providing them cover.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, meanwhile, announced in Paris that the four-day-old offensive was &quot;advancing faster than expected&quot;. France and Iraq were co-chairing the meeting on the future of Mosul, AFP reported.

&quot;We are advancing faster than we had expected and planned,&quot; he said by video link. French President Francois Hollande told the meeting that jihadists were already leaving for Raqa, their stronghold in neighbouring Syria, adding, &quot;We cannot allow those who were in Mosul to evaporate,&quot; Hollande said.

Mosul, Iraq&#39;s second largest city, was seized by IS in 2014.

Casualties

Iraqi forces and the peshmerga have not divulged casualty figures in this particular offensive, AFP reported. A US service member was killed north of Mosul after an improvised explosive device exploded on Thursday, the coalition said.

The IS, however, released a video on Thursday showing the bodies of what it claimed were two peshmerga, hung by their feet from a bridge in central Mosul.

UN warns of humanitarian crisis

The UN fears a humanitarian emergency once the almost a million people still trapped inside Mosul are forced to flee by the fighting, AFP reports. No major outflows of civilians have been reported so far.

Some Mosul residents who fled before the start of the offensive have crossed into neighbouring Syria and are now sheltered at a camp in Al-Hawl. Around 500 people had entered the camp in the past two weeks and 2,000-3,000 Iraqis were waiting at the border, AFP quoted a Kurdish official at the camp as saying.

The camp is being expanded to accomodate an estimated 30,000 displaced Iraqis when the Mosul battle intensifies, AFP reports.

IS&#39;s rule has seen some of the worst war crimes in recent history and the task of reconciling all the components of the area&#39;s complex religious and ethnic mosaic is daunting.

&#39;Revenge killing&#39; by the IS is likely to be an issue in the days and months ahead, AFP reports citing the findings of Soufan consultancy. &quot;A massive effort will be required to begin to heal what is a truly fractured city and society.&quot;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

&nbsp;

The counter-terrorism service, Iraq's most battle-seasoned force, retook full control of Bartalla, 15 kms east of Mosul

Making further advances in their bid to capture Mosul from the Islamic State, Iraqi forces on Thursday gained control of the town of Bartalla, less than 15 kms from Mosul, AFP reported. They are, however, still some distance from city limits of Mosul, IS's last major stronghold in Iraq. "I announce to the people of Bartalla and Mosul we have complete control over Bartalla," Taleb Sheghati al-Kenani, commander of Iraq's battle-seasoned Counter-Terrorism Service, told the press from the town. "Its residents, its churches and all of its infrastructure are now under the control of CTS." The IS had seized the small Christian town when it established their 'caliphate' in Iraq in 2014, forcing around 120,000 Iraqi Christians to flee their homes. Further North, Kurdish peshmerga fighters opened a new front against the IS with a multiple-pronged assault on the town of Bashiqa. "The objectives are to clear a number of nearby villages and secure control of strategic areas to further restrict ISIL's movements," the peshmerga command said. To the south, Iraqi forces were making steady gains, working their way up the Tigris Valley and meeting small numbers of fleeing civilians heading the other way. Dozens of men, women and children have escaped from the village of Mdaraj, south of Mosul, the smoke from the fires lit by IS to escape notice, providing them cover. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, meanwhile, announced in Paris that the four-day-old offensive was "advancing faster than expected". France and Iraq were co-chairing the meeting on the future of Mosul, AFP reported. "We are advancing faster than we had expected and planned," he said by video link. French President Francois Hollande told the meeting that jihadists were already leaving for Raqa, their stronghold in neighbouring Syria, adding, "We cannot allow those who were in Mosul to evaporate," Hollande said. Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, was seized by IS in 2014. Casualties Iraqi forces and the peshmerga have not divulged casualty figures in this particular offensive, AFP reported. A US service member was killed north of Mosul after an improvised explosive device exploded on Thursday, the coalition said. The IS, however, released a video on Thursday showing the bodies of what it claimed were two peshmerga, hung by their feet from a bridge in central Mosul. UN warns of humanitarian crisis The UN fears a humanitarian emergency once the almost a million people still trapped inside Mosul are forced to flee by the fighting, AFP reports. No major outflows of civilians have been reported so far. Some Mosul residents who fled before the start of the offensive have crossed into neighbouring Syria and are now sheltered at a camp in Al-Hawl. Around 500 people had entered the camp in the past two weeks and 2,000-3,000 Iraqis were waiting at the border, AFP quoted a Kurdish official at the camp as saying. The camp is being expanded to accomodate an estimated 30,000 displaced Iraqis when the Mosul battle intensifies, AFP reports. IS's rule has seen some of the worst war crimes in recent history and the task of reconciling all the components of the area's complex religious and ethnic mosaic is daunting. 'Revenge killing' by the IS is likely to be an issue in the days and months ahead, AFP reports citing the findings of Soufan consultancy. "A massive effort will be required to begin to heal what is a truly fractured city and society." (WION with inputs from AFP)

Iraqi forces reclaim town from IS, PM says Mosul offensive 'faster than expected'

As the US-backed Iraqi army closes in on Mosul, the last major stronghold of the Islamic State in Irqa, leaders of the jihadist group are fleeing the town, a US general said.

Major General Gary Volesky, who heads the US-led coalition&#39;s ground attack against the IS, said his army had &quot;seen a movement out of Mosul and that the leaders were being attacked as they fled.&nbsp; &quot;We are telling Daesh (IS) that their leaders are abandoning them. We&#39;ve seen a movement out of Mosul,&quot; he told the press in a video briefing from Baghdad.

He, however, refused to disclose when they fled or where they were headed.&quot;Where they are going, I will leave that to our (missile) targeteers to take care of,&quot; Volesky said.

He also predicted that mainly foreign fighters of the militant group would remain since they would have nowhere to go.

&quot;It&#39;s difficult for them to blend into the local population based on the number of different types of foreign fighters that there are,&quot; Volesky said.&quot;We expect that they will be the ones (who stay and fight), because they really don&#39;t have any other place to go.&quot;

He added that Iraqis would screen anyone leaving Mosul, and attempts by foreign fighters to blend in to an expected exodus of displaced people would be thwarted.

The tens of thousands of Iraqi forces vastly outnumber the 3,500 to 5,000 IS fighters in the Mosul offensive which began on Monday.

US President Barack Obama joins the voices who warn that though the US-backed forces are making quick progress, the battle would be tough. General Joseph Votel, who heads the US military&#39;s Central Command, warned that the battle would last for weeks to months, AFP reported.

Officials also warn that the IS may use the civilians still in the city as human shields. Military strategists also expect the IS to deploy rudimentary chemical weapons.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

&nbsp;

He also predicts that foreign fighters will end up forming a large contingent of jihadists remaining in the city

As the US-backed Iraqi army closes in on Mosul, the last major stronghold of the Islamic State in Irqa, leaders of the jihadist group are fleeing the town, a US general said. Major General Gary Volesky, who heads the US-led coalition's ground attack against the IS, said his army had "seen a movement out of Mosul and that the leaders were being attacked as they fled. "We are telling Daesh (IS) that their leaders are abandoning them. We've seen a movement out of Mosul," he told the press in a video briefing from Baghdad. He, however, refused to disclose when they fled or where they were headed."Where they are going, I will leave that to our (missile) targeteers to take care of," Volesky said. He also predicted that mainly foreign fighters of the militant group would remain since they would have nowhere to go. "It's difficult for them to blend into the local population based on the number of different types of foreign fighters that there are," Volesky said."We expect that they will be the ones (who stay and fight), because they really don't have any other place to go." He added that Iraqis would screen anyone leaving Mosul, and attempts by foreign fighters to blend in to an expected exodus of displaced people would be thwarted. The tens of thousands of Iraqi forces vastly outnumber the 3,500 to 5,000 IS fighters in the Mosul offensive which began on Monday. US President Barack Obama joins the voices who warn that though the US-backed forces are making quick progress, the battle would be tough. General Joseph Votel, who heads the US military's Central Command, warned that the battle would last for weeks to months, AFP reported. Officials also warn that the IS may use the civilians still in the city as human shields. Military strategists also expect the IS to deploy rudimentary chemical weapons. (WION with inputs from AFP)

IS leaders fleeing Mosul, US general claims

A suicide bombing targeting Shiite Muslims killed at least two people in Baghdad on Sunday, officials said, a day after the deadliest attack to hit the Iraqi capital in months.

The bombing in central Baghdad, which targeted a tent where Shiites distribute food as part of annual religious commemorations, also wounded at least four people, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting Shiites, whom it considers heretics.

The blast came a day after an IS-claimed suicide bombing at a funeral killed at least 34 people -- the deadliest attack in Baghdad since another IS suicide bombing left more than 300 dead in early July.

The attacks come as Iraqi forces prepare for an offensive in northern Iraq to retake Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the territory the jihadists seized in 2014 and 2015.

The launch of the operation is expected to be announced soon, but it will mark only the start of a battle that is likely to be the most difficult and complex yet in the war against IS.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The blast comes a day after an IS-claimed suicide bombing at a funeral killed at least 34

A suicide bombing targeting Shiite Muslims killed at least two people in Baghdad on Sunday, officials said, a day after the deadliest attack to hit the Iraqi capital in months. The bombing in central Baghdad, which targeted a tent where Shiites distribute food as part of annual religious commemorations, also wounded at least four people, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting Shiites, whom it considers heretics. The blast came a day after an IS-claimed suicide bombing at a funeral killed at least 34 people -- the deadliest attack in Baghdad since another IS suicide bombing left more than 300 dead in early July. The attacks come as Iraqi forces prepare for an offensive in northern Iraq to retake Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the territory the jihadists seized in 2014 and 2015. The launch of the operation is expected to be announced soon, but it will mark only the start of a battle that is likely to be the most difficult and complex yet in the war against IS. (AFP)

Suicide bombing in Baghdad kill at least two

While travelling to Qayyarah, a two-hour-drive from Mosul, WION had the chance to interview Iraqi Army Major General Najim al-Jabouri soon after he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. He is the commander of the Nineveh Operations, an offensive that aims to liberate south of Mosul. He is in-charge of the Mosul offensive and currently leads approximately 25,000 men.

WION: How are you preparing for the Mosul operation? 

General al-Jabouri: Our troops are ready to attack Islamic State in Mosul and retake the city. The coalition forces gave us good training, equipped us with modern equipment. We are just waiting for the prime minister&nbsp;to give us the order to attack. We are confident about the battle since we have liberated many cities, important cities in Nineveh (governorate), including Qayyara a few weeks ago. Right now, we are now coordinating with the Peshmerga (Kurdish military forces). Some brigades have already moved to the station areas near Mosul.

WION: How long will the battle last? And do you expect a large presence of IS&nbsp;fighters?

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;I think&nbsp;IS&nbsp;is not as strong as it was two months ago or six months ago. They have lost many good fighters. Many of them were killed, many of them got injured and many of them escaped.

IS is different from Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda believed in a cause but the majority of IS jihadists are like the mafia &mdash;&nbsp;they look for money, they look for women, they look for power.

A few months ago when we began the battle in Qayyarah, we faced strong fighters. The foreigners were especially strong. But the group has weakened. Now, we hardly lose our men even during intense gunfights. The last battle in Qayyarah, four or five days ago, we killed 66 people of theirs and lost not even a single one of ours. Also, we hardly face any foreign fighters anymore.

The local fighters are not that good because they are only interested in earning money. Such attitude is destroying the moral of IS.

The loss in Qayyarah was also financially damaging for IS. They are losing $1 million every day since they lost out in Qayyarah. When they were here, they stole oil and sold about a hundred trucks of it every day.

WION: How important will local support be&nbsp;in your battle for Mosul? 

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;Their (residents of Mosul) support&nbsp;is very vital. Even the strongest security force&nbsp;will be unable to defeat IS if they don&#39;t get support from the locals.

If the locals did not give IS a safe haven, it would have been impossible for them to grow in strength.

In my view, people were unhappy with the security forces in Iraq. This was one of the main reasons for IS to thrive in the area. We worked very hard to change this relationship, we built many bridges between us and the people. You are free to go&nbsp;to Qayyarah and to other villages and ask the people about us. Now, locals support us whenever we fight the IS. This will build the future of this area and Iraq.

WION: Will Shia militia organisation Hal Al-Hashd Al-Sha&#39;abi have any role during the Mosul Operation?

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;Maybe we will need their support. Only the commander-in-chief (the Iraqi prime minister) can decide on such matters. But they will not enter the city if we need them. They will have to go to the desert to cut off IS&#39; supplies. But the battle will be mainly fought by the Iraqi army, the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces and the police. The Peshmerga will help us as well.

WION: What do you make of Turkey&#39;s role? 

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;About the Turkish &hellip; I am a military commander, these are issues concerning the central (Iraqi) government and Turkey, but as an Iraqi &hellip; we don&rsquo;t need boots on the ground here. We don&#39;t even need the coalition forces. We depend on them for training, for advice&nbsp;and for launch air strikes on IS&nbsp;positions. If Turkey is part of the coalition forces, it works for me. If they do what the coalition forces&nbsp;say, I don&#39;t think there would be a problem. But we do not need anybody to act independently.

WION: Are you afraid that after Mosul, IS&nbsp;will launch suicide attacks across Iraq?

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;They do not have the capability to do such things.

WION: Do you plan to liberate Hawija before Mosul?

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;Hawija is not under my command, but I think the government is thinking about it. Mosul is the head of a snake, the last castle for the IS. But I think if we had retaken Mosul earlier, even before Ramani and before every other area, we would have wiped out Daesh (Islamic State) much earlier.&nbsp;

WION: So you think the strategy was wrong?

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;No, this is my view. I think the head of the snake is Mosul because it is a big city, it has good foundation, many factories and&nbsp;many resources. IS in Iraq and even in Syria rely on resources coming from Mosul.

WION: If IS&nbsp;fighters manage to escape Iraq and enter Syria, will the Iraqi army follow them and help Syrian forces fight them?&nbsp;

al-Jabouri:&nbsp;If my commander-in-chief gives me an order, I will follow them in Syria, in Nigeria, everywhere.&nbsp;

(WION)

Possibly the most important military person in West Asia, who is leading 25,000 men, spoke to WION about the fight against Islamic State

While travelling to Qayyarah, a two-hour-drive from Mosul, WION had the chance to interview Iraqi Army Major General Najim al-Jabouri soon after he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. He is the commander of the Nineveh Operations, an offensive that aims to liberate south of Mosul. He is in-charge of the Mosul offensive and currently leads approximately 25,000 men. WION: How are you preparing for the Mosul operation? General al-Jabouri: Our troops are ready to attack Islamic State in Mosul and retake the city. The coalition forces gave us good training, equipped us with modern equipment. We are just waiting for the prime minister to give us the order to attack. We are confident about the battle since we have liberated many cities, important cities in Nineveh (governorate), including Qayyara a few weeks ago. Right now, we are now coordinating with the Peshmerga (Kurdish military forces). Some brigades have already moved to the station areas near Mosul. WION: How long will the battle last? And do you expect a large presence of IS fighters? al-Jabouri: I think IS is not as strong as it was two months ago or six months ago. They have lost many good fighters. Many of them were killed, many of them got injured and many of them escaped. IS is different from Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda believed in a cause but the majority of IS jihadists are like the mafia — they look for money, they look for women, they look for power. A few months ago when we began the battle in Qayyarah, we faced strong fighters. The foreigners were especially strong. But the group has weakened. Now, we hardly lose our men even during intense gunfights. The last battle in Qayyarah, four or five days ago, we killed 66 people of theirs and lost not even a single one of ours. Also, we hardly face any foreign fighters anymore. The local fighters are not that good because they are only interested in earning money. Such attitude is destroying the moral of IS. The loss in Qayyarah was also financially damaging for IS. They are losing $1 million every day since they lost out in Qayyarah. When they were here, they stole oil and sold about a hundred trucks of it every day. WION: How important will local support be in your battle for Mosul? al-Jabouri: Their (residents of Mosul) support is very vital. Even the strongest security force will be unable to defeat IS if they don't get support from the locals. If the locals did not give IS a safe haven, it would have been impossible for them to grow in strength. In my view, people were unhappy with the security forces in Iraq. This was one of the main reasons for IS to thrive in the area. We worked very hard to change this relationship, we built many bridges between us and the people. You are free to go to Qayyarah and to other villages and ask the people about us. Now, locals support us whenever we fight the IS. This will build the future of this area and Iraq. WION: Will Shia militia organisation Hal Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi have any role during the Mosul Operation? al-Jabouri: Maybe we will need their support. Only the commander-in-chief (the Iraqi prime minister) can decide on such matters. But they will not enter the city if we need them. They will have to go to the desert to cut off IS' supplies. But the battle will be mainly fought by the Iraqi army, the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces and the police. The Peshmerga will help us as well. WION: What do you make of Turkey's role? al-Jabouri: About the Turkish … I am a military commander, these are issues concerning the central (Iraqi) government and Turkey, but as an Iraqi … we don’t need boots on the ground here. We don't even need the coalition forces. We depend on them for training, for advice and for launch air strikes on IS positions. If Turkey is part of the coalition forces, it works for me. If they do what the coalition forces say, I don't think there would be a problem. But we do not need anybody to act independently. WION: Are you afraid that after Mosul, IS will launch suicide attacks across Iraq? al-Jabouri: They do not have the capability to do such things. WION: Do you plan to liberate Hawija before Mosul? al-Jabouri: Hawija is not under my command, but I think the government is thinking about it. Mosul is the head of a snake, the last castle for the IS. But I think if we had retaken Mosul earlier, even before Ramani and before every other area, we would have wiped out Daesh (Islamic State) much earlier. WION: So you think the strategy was wrong? al-Jabouri: No, this is my view. I think the head of the snake is Mosul because it is a big city, it has good foundation, many factories and many resources. IS in Iraq and even in Syria rely on resources coming from Mosul. WION: If IS fighters manage to escape Iraq and enter Syria, will the Iraqi army follow them and help Syrian forces fight them? al-Jabouri: If my commander-in-chief gives me an order, I will follow them in Syria, in Nigeria, everywhere. (WION)

Iraqi army poised to retake 'Islamic State's last castle of Mosul', Major General Najim al-Jabouri tells WION

The Islamic State confirmed the death of its propaganda chief on Monday, who the Pentagon said was killed in a US-led air strike in Syria&rsquo;s Raqqa last month.

The jihadist group posted an online statement paying tribute to Wa&rsquo;il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Furqan.

The statement referred to him by his alias and did not disclose the details of his death, Reuters reported.

The Pentagon said last month that a US-led air strike on September 7 had killed al-Fayad.

According to Pentagon, he was minister of information, overseeing IS&rsquo;s propaganda, and a key member of its leadership group. The IS statement referred to al-Fayad as head of its media arm.

al-Fayad was targeted &nbsp;while he was on a motorcycle outside his house, the Pentagon had said, Reuters reported.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

The Pentagon said last month that a US-led air strike on September 7 had killed Wa'il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad

The Islamic State confirmed the death of its propaganda chief on Monday, who the Pentagon said was killed in a US-led air strike in Syria’s Raqqa last month. The jihadist group posted an online statement paying tribute to Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Furqan. The statement referred to him by his alias and did not disclose the details of his death, Reuters reported. The Pentagon said last month that a US-led air strike on September 7 had killed al-Fayad. According to Pentagon, he was minister of information, overseeing IS’s propaganda, and a key member of its leadership group. The IS statement referred to al-Fayad as head of its media arm. al-Fayad was targeted while he was on a motorcycle outside his house, the Pentagon had said, Reuters reported. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

IS confirms death of propaganda chief

The man expected to be voted in as the next UN secretary-general tomorrow says 'migration is necessary, better to organise it'

“I’ve never seen a Portuguese taking care of my mother,” Antonio Guterres says, with a tinge of exasperation at the ongoing debate in Europe and North America about migration. His 93-year-old mother needed a caregiver, so he contracted one from a private agency. “They are all migrants,” he says. And then he drives home his point. “There is no way Europe, an ageing continent, can deal with the problems of the elderly people without migration.” Guterres would know. The 67-year-old is a former prime minister of Portugal and former United Nations high commissioner for refugees. In an exclusive interview in New Delhi on July 22, the day after he emerged as the front runner to become the next United Nations secretary-general -- he is expected to be formally voted in as the next UN chief on Friday -- Guterres insisted that migration is part of the solution to global problems. And he has a compelling argument against the insular, myopic and at times hypocritical debates, bordering, some would say, on xenophobia and racism, which have engrossed and agitated Britain, Hungary and France in Europe and across the Atlantic in the United States. The fertility rate in most European countries is below 1.5. In my country Portugal it is between 1.2 and 1.3. There is no way these countries can survive without immigration × Fertility rate is the ratio of births to the population, expressed per 1,000 population per year. “So if migration is necessary, (it is) better to organise it,” Guterres wonders aloud. He concedes that there may be some truth to the claims that smugglers and people traffickers are manipulating the migration of millions into Europe and that, in turn, is causing social tensions in local communities and aiding some terrorist organisations. But he is categorical that the alternative is not to say no to refugees. “Several leaders in Europe and North America say we don’t need Muslim refugees. This is the worst thing you can say in a country that has millions of Muslims. This is the best propaganda for Daesh,” Guterres says, taking the Arabic name for the so-called Islamic State. “Those that are saying these things are helping terrorists recruit people. They are telling Muslims that you don’t belong and this is absolutely crazy. Xenophobic populist leaders are the best allies of terrorist organisations,” he adds. Guterres has in the past said that the migration debate in Europe is irrational and schizophrenic. He wants migration to be made legal and structured. He is equally critical of some leaders in Europe and North America for failing to, what he calls, create "the conditions for Muslim communities to feel that they belong". He says the fight against the so-called Islamic State is a battle for values which needs to be waged on two fronts – by the Muslim and the non-Muslim worlds alike. On the one hand, the Islamic religious scholars and civil society should fight radicalism and the rise of extremist tendencies with as much intensity and effective propaganda as the terrorist organisations. On the other hand, governments must realise that if they “start discriminating against Muslims you are only helping these terrorist organisations". He cautions that the use of force against the so-called Islamic State “is legitimate (and) is necessary but it will not alone solve the problem". Guterres feels the need for a surge in diplomacy to make the UN a more effective organisation. “The Oslo accord and the Iran (nuclear) agreement are good examples of discreet diplomacy,” he says. “I see the need in today’s world for an honest broker; someone that is independent; someone that wants to cooperate with States and is at the disposal of the States, to create the bridges that are necessary. Today’s wars are wars that nobody wins.” He speaks about the centrality of prevention of conflicts as opposed to the policy of pre-emption, which some countries such as the United States have espoused and practised before. “The problem with prevention,” he says, “is that TV cameras are not there when prevention takes place. TV cameras are there when a crisis erupts. So prevention is normally not a political priority for parliaments, for governments and for international organisations.” “We also need to have a comprehensive approach to prevention. To invest in adaptation for climate change is a way to prevent conflicts. To make sure that human rights are respected is a way to prevent conflicts. Then there are inequalities of development. “We need to bring all of this together and then use the classical instruments of diplomacy and political dialogue to avoid conflicts and to make sure that parties are able to resolve their contradictions peacefully.” In sharp contrast, pre-emption is rooted in suspicion and miscalculation. “We need dialogue to prevent misunderstandings. Some countries believe that what some other countries are doing can be a threat to them but it can be completely false, it can be their imagination so they strike first. We need to avoid misunderstandings and misperceptions that have contributed to so many conflicts in the world.” So are Syria and Iraq among some of the UN’s failures? The diplomat ventures only so far as to say that they represent “a failure of the international community” and “to that extent they are also a failure of the UN. But the UN would never be able to solve the problem if those key stakeholders that have an influence on the parties to the conflict would not be able to come together and solve the problem.” In the straw poll conducted by the United Nations security council in New York on July 21, Guterres got 12 out of 15 votes. The Council is composed of five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General assembly currently consist of Angola, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela. There are 12 candidates in the fray, half of them women. In the UN’s 70-year history there have been eight secretary-generals, all male and none from eastern Europe. Eight of the 12 candidates this year hail from eastern Europe, including three women. So should the next secretary-general be a woman and/or from eastern Europe? Guterres has this to say: “I understand the symbolic value of having a woman secretary-general and if I have to be a victim of my own convictions in relation to gender equality I am ready to accept it. I believe that if elected I will be totally committed to gender parity in the organisation and to effective protection and empower of women in everything the UN does.” (WION)

Migration is a solution to global problems: Antonio Guterres

Militants attacked a police checkpoint north of Tikrit and then detonated a car filled with explosives near the city entrance,&nbsp;Iraqi police and military sources said. 
 
Twelve people, including four police officers, were killed in the twin attack. 
 
Gunmen opened fire at the checkpoint, killing four policemen. One of the assailants was killed as well. 
 
Two of the militants then drove on for about 7 km to the city limits before detonating the explosives in the pickup truck, killing eight civilians and wounding 23.&nbsp; 
 
This is the first attack since Baghdad was reclaimed from IS in April 2015. No militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet. 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

No militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet

Militants attacked a police checkpoint north of Tikrit and then detonated a car filled with explosives near the city entrance, Iraqi police and military sources said. Twelve people, including four police officers, were killed in the twin attack. Gunmen opened fire at the checkpoint, killing four policemen. One of the assailants was killed as well. Two of the militants then drove on for about 7 km to the city limits before detonating the explosives in the pickup truck, killing eight civilians and wounding 23. This is the first attack since Baghdad was reclaimed from IS in April 2015. No militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Iraq: 12 dead in Tikrit bomb attack

Terrorism charges were filed by&nbsp;Brazilian prosecutors on Friday&nbsp;against eight people, accused of plotting attacks and recruiting followers for terrorist organisations ahead of the Rio Olympics held last month.&nbsp; 
 
The eight Brazillian nationals were arrested in July for organising what the authorities described as an &quot;amateur&quot; terrorist cell that had sworn loyalty to the Islamic State, international news agency AFP reported today.&nbsp; 
 
The prosecutors reportedly asked a court to charge all eight accused, including two minors, with &quot;recruitment and promotion of a terrorist organisation.&quot; 
 
The&nbsp;police intercepted messages sent using the cell phone application Telegram in which the suspects discussed &quot;the idea that they had to step out of the virtual realm and start acting for real,&quot; prosecutor Rafael Brum told a news conference. The investigation was dubbed as Operation Hashtag.&nbsp; 
 
While there was no direct evidence of concrete plot or an actual link with the Islamic State group,&nbsp;the discussions included the possibility of staging an attack on the Games and tips on home-made bomb-making. But there was no evidence of a he added. 
 
The Brazilian authorities received an initial tip-off about the group from the FBI in the United States, prosecutors said.&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, six other suspects remain under investigation. 
 
The Olympics, which were held from August 5 to 21, went off without major incident despite security fears. Some 85,000 police and soldiers were deployed for the event. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The Brazillian nationals were arrested in July for organising what the authorities described as an 'amateur' terrorist cell

Terrorism charges were filed by Brazilian prosecutors on Friday against eight people, accused of plotting attacks and recruiting followers for terrorist organisations ahead of the Rio Olympics held last month. The eight Brazillian nationals were arrested in July for organising what the authorities described as an "amateur" terrorist cell that had sworn loyalty to the Islamic State, international news agency AFP reported today. The prosecutors reportedly asked a court to charge all eight accused, including two minors, with "recruitment and promotion of a terrorist organisation." The police intercepted messages sent using the cell phone application Telegram in which the suspects discussed "the idea that they had to step out of the virtual realm and start acting for real," prosecutor Rafael Brum told a news conference. The investigation was dubbed as Operation Hashtag. While there was no direct evidence of concrete plot or an actual link with the Islamic State group, the discussions included the possibility of staging an attack on the Games and tips on home-made bomb-making. But there was no evidence of a he added. The Brazilian authorities received an initial tip-off about the group from the FBI in the United States, prosecutors said. Meanwhile, six other suspects remain under investigation. The Olympics, which were held from August 5 to 21, went off without major incident despite security fears. Some 85,000 police and soldiers were deployed for the event. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Brazil prosecutors file terror charges against 8 accused of plotting attacks before Olympics

Twenty Islamic State militants were killed in Turkish air strikes in northern Syria on Saturday, the Turkish military said. 
 
Three buildings, one vehicle and a motorbike were targeted in the town of Tel el-Hawa as part of the attack. 
 
&lsquo;Operation Euphrates Shield&rsquo;, a Turkish incursion into Syria against the IS and Kurdish militia fighters was launched more than two weeks ago. The operation would &ldquo;continue decisively&rdquo;, local broadcaster NTV reported.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The air strikes targeted three buildings, one vehicle and a motorbike in the town of Tel el-Hawa

Twenty Islamic State militants were killed in Turkish air strikes in northern Syria on Saturday, the Turkish military said. Three buildings, one vehicle and a motorbike were targeted in the town of Tel el-Hawa as part of the attack. ‘Operation Euphrates Shield’, a Turkish incursion into Syria against the IS and Kurdish militia fighters was launched more than two weeks ago. The operation would “continue decisively”, local broadcaster NTV reported. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Turkish air strikes kill 20 Islamic State fighters in Syria

Two bomb blasts in a shopping mall in Iraq&rsquo;s central Baghdad killed at least 13 people and injured more than 30 on Friday night. 
One explosion came from a parked car and another was caused by a suicide bomber in a vehicle outside Nakheel mall on Palestine street, the police informed. 
 
The blast also shattered windows of nearby structures. 
 
Shops in the mall were likely to be open until late in the night ahead of Eid al-Adha festival on Monday. 
 
No one claimed immediate responsibility for Friday&rsquo;s bombing but the Islamic State had said that it had carried out the previous attacks in Baghdad&rsquo;s shopping centres. 
 
A car bomb had killed seven people on Tuesday in Baghdad&rsquo;s Karrada district and another suicide bombing in July had left more than 300 people dead. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The two blasts in a shopping mall follow a series of blasts that rocked the capital city in the last few months

Two bomb blasts in a shopping mall in Iraq’s central Baghdad killed at least 13 people and injured more than 30 on Friday night. One explosion came from a parked car and another was caused by a suicide bomber in a vehicle outside Nakheel mall on Palestine street, the police informed. The blast also shattered windows of nearby structures. Shops in the mall were likely to be open until late in the night ahead of Eid al-Adha festival on Monday. No one claimed immediate responsibility for Friday’s bombing but the Islamic State had said that it had carried out the previous attacks in Baghdad’s shopping centres. A car bomb had killed seven people on Tuesday in Baghdad’s Karrada district and another suicide bombing in July had left more than 300 people dead. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Blasts in Baghdad kill at least 13, injure more than 30

Three Islamic State-linked women, who were planning to launch a jihadist attack&nbsp;in France, were arrested on Thursday, French authorities said on Friday. 
 
The suspects were arrested after French police found a car laden with gas cylinders. 
 
A half-lit cigarette&nbsp;and a flammable material&nbsp;found in the boot of the car were used to launch the cylinder attack, investigators said. Fortunately, the women were unable to blow up the car. 
 
&quot;A terrorist cell made up of young women totally receptive to the deadly ideology of Daesh (IS) has been dismantled,&quot; France&#39;s anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said a press conference.&nbsp; 
 
France is on high alert after security services received warnings about a potential attack in railway stations. 
 
The incarcerated women were hiding in an apartment in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Paris&nbsp;suburb of Boussy-Saint-Antoine. 
 
One policeman was stabbed during the Thursday night operation. 
 
Prosecutors have also found&nbsp;links between one of the arrested women and IS. 
 
Nineteen-year-old Ines Madani, suspected to lead the radical group, was the fiancee of&nbsp;Larossi Abballa. Madani had also individually pledged her allegiance to the IS, prosecutors said. 
 
In June, 25-year-old&nbsp;Abbala had murdered policeman&nbsp;Jean-Baptiste S and his partner in Magnanville, a&nbsp;Paris suburb. 
 
Madani was then engaged to another IS jihadist&nbsp;Adel Kermiche who&nbsp;killed priest Jacques Hamel in July.&nbsp; 
 
The other two women have been idenified as 23-year-old&nbsp;Sarah H&nbsp;and Amel S, who is 39 years of age. Amel&#39;s daughter has also been taken to police custody. 
 
Sarah was the woman who stabbed the policeman in the Thursday swoop. 
 
The developments also demonstrated IS&#39;s willingness to use women to launch fatal attacks in France. 
 
(AFP)

Three radicalised women were 'determined' on launching an attack in the city, French investigators said

Three Islamic State-linked women, who were planning to launch a jihadist attack in France, were arrested on Thursday, French authorities said on Friday. The suspects were arrested after French police found a car laden with gas cylinders. A half-lit cigarette and a flammable material found in the boot of the car were used to launch the cylinder attack, investigators said. Fortunately, the women were unable to blow up the car. "A terrorist cell made up of young women totally receptive to the deadly ideology of Daesh (IS) has been dismantled," France's anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said a press conference. France is on high alert after security services received warnings about a potential attack in railway stations. The incarcerated women were hiding in an apartment in the Paris suburb of Boussy-Saint-Antoine. One policeman was stabbed during the Thursday night operation. Prosecutors have also found links between one of the arrested women and IS. Nineteen-year-old Ines Madani, suspected to lead the radical group, was the fiancee of Larossi Abballa. Madani had also individually pledged her allegiance to the IS, prosecutors said. In June, 25-year-old Abbala had murdered policeman Jean-Baptiste S and his partner in Magnanville, a Paris suburb. Madani was then engaged to another IS jihadist Adel Kermiche who killed priest Jacques Hamel in July. The other two women have been idenified as 23-year-old Sarah H and Amel S, who is 39 years of age. Amel's daughter has also been taken to police custody. Sarah was the woman who stabbed the policeman in the Thursday swoop. The developments also demonstrated IS's willingness to use women to launch fatal attacks in France. (AFP)

France foils IS-directed gas cylinder explosion in Paris

United Kingdom-based Anjem Choudary was handed a five-and-a-half year prison sentence today for mobilising support for Islamic State. 
 
Choudary was convicted by a UK court on July 28, 2016, for using his online lectures to influence &quot;impressionable&quot; youth to rally for the Middle East-based jihadist organisation. 
 
His associate&nbsp;Mohammed Mizanur Rahman was also slapped with the same sentence. 
 
Judge&nbsp;Justice Holroyde said the pair had &quot;indirectly encouraged violent terrorist activity&quot;. 
 
Choudary remained seated when the judge read out the prison sentence. The judgement was followed by cries of &#39;Allahu Akbar&#39; (God is great) from his followers sitting in the court room. 
 
Choudary ran into trouble in 2014 when his name appeared in an oath that legitimised the purpose of the Islamic State.&nbsp; 
 
Although the 49-year-old has denied his role in any militant activity, the police have long seen him as a key source in galvanising support for the IS and radicalising young Muslims to participate in the war against the West.&nbsp; 
 
Choudary gained notoriety for making incendiary comments in his videos. In one of them, he had spelled his desire to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The judge said Choudary and his confidant, who was also handed the same prison sentence, had "indirectly encouraged terrorist activity"

United Kingdom-based Anjem Choudary was handed a five-and-a-half year prison sentence today for mobilising support for Islamic State. Choudary was convicted by a UK court on July 28, 2016, for using his online lectures to influence "impressionable" youth to rally for the Middle East-based jihadist organisation. His associate Mohammed Mizanur Rahman was also slapped with the same sentence. Judge Justice Holroyde said the pair had "indirectly encouraged violent terrorist activity". Choudary remained seated when the judge read out the prison sentence. The judgement was followed by cries of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) from his followers sitting in the court room. Choudary ran into trouble in 2014 when his name appeared in an oath that legitimised the purpose of the Islamic State. Although the 49-year-old has denied his role in any militant activity, the police have long seen him as a key source in galvanising support for the IS and radicalising young Muslims to participate in the war against the West. Choudary gained notoriety for making incendiary comments in his videos. In one of them, he had spelled his desire to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque. (WION with inputs from agencies)

UK Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary jailed for supporting IS

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