Iraq's war against IS terrorism | Updates and Discussions

[TheCamelGuy]

24 T-50 Golden eagle jets are about to be delivered in one batch, will increase air force capability a lot

 

[Hindustani78]

Iraqi security forces advance during fighting against Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 28. 2017. (AP Photo)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...lamic-state/story-VnPEvmqBzF0dQKNnzSJ7OI.html

US-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State’s hands, a general and residents there said, trapping the militants in a dwindling area within the city.

The army’s 9th Armoured Division was within a kilometre of Mosul’s “Syria Gate”, the northwestern entrance of the city, a general from the unit told Reuters by telephone.

“We effectively control the road, it is in our sight,” he said. Mosul residents said they had not been able to travel on the highway that begins at the “Syria Gate” since Tuesday.

The road links Mosul to Tal Afar, another Islamic State stronghold 60 km (40 miles) to the west, and then to the Syrian border.

Iraqi forces captured the eastern side of Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting and launched their attack on the districts that lie west of the Tigris river on Feb. 19.

If they defeat Islamic State in Mosul, that would crush the Iraq wing of the caliphate declared by the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014.

The U.S. commander in Iraq has said he believes U.S.-backed forces will recapture both Mosul and Raqqa, Islamic State’s Syria stronghold in neighbouring Syria, within six months.

 

[Hindustani78]

37th Brigade Engineer Battalion , 2nd Brigade combat team, 82nd Airborne Division. Hamam Al Alil , Iraq Feb 22 2017

http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/scores-of-daesh-militants-killed-amid-mosul-operation/761625

Scores of Daesh militants were killed in western Mosul on Tuesday as part of a major offensive to drive the terrorist group from the northern city, according to an Iraqi military commander.

General Abdul Amir Yarullah, commander of the Mosul operation, said Iraqi forces killed 52 militants in the city’s western part.

“The forces destroyed 12 car-bombs and cleared army-captured areas from explosives,” he said in a news briefing.

Meanwhile, 64 Daesh militants were killed in airstrikes by Iraqi air force in western Mosul on Tuesday, Yarullah said, adding that U.S.-led coalition airstrikes also killed 35 militants in the area.

In mid-February, Iraqi army forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging remaining Daesh terrorists from Mosul’s western districts.

Iraqi forces have reportedly captured four major districts in western Mosul since the offensive began.

The anti-Daesh offensive is part of a wider operation launched last October to retake the entire city, which the terrorist group overran -- along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq -- in mid-2014.

************

http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/ira...-entirely-surrounding-the-western-part/761800

Iraqi forces have recaptured a strategic road linking the northern city of Mosul to Tal Afar, an Iraqi military source said Wednesday.

“Iraqi joint forces have established control over the road linking western Mosul to the besieged city of Tal Afar,” Musa Hasan Julaq, a leader of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi forces, told Anadolu Agency.

Tal Afar lies roughly 80 kilometers to the west of Mosul.

According to Julaq, the road’s capture means that those parts of western Mosul still held by the Daesh terrorist group will now be entirely surrounded by the army.

In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging remaining Daesh terrorists from Mosul’s western districts.

The offensive comes as part of a wider operation launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran -- along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq -- in mid-2014.

*************

 

[ultron]

Mosul battle update

https://twitter.com/x/status/836979944840445958

 

[Malik Alashter]

 

[Hindustani78]

A member of the US Army take position at the US section of a base for Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga forces in Makhmour, southeast of Mosul, Iraq, December 23, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-commander-downplays-big-iraq-syria-troop-hike-2017-3
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Wednesday downplayed the chances that the United States would deploy a large number of additional coalition forces to battle Islamic State, even as President Donald Trump weighs options to speed the campaign.

Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend also appeared to deliver a robust defense of Kurdish fighters that have been America's strongest allies on the ground in Syria and signaled some role for them in an upcoming offensive for the city of Raqqa, even though Turkey has expressed concerns that they pose a threat.

The United States now fields less than 6,000 troops in both Iraq and Syria, a far cry from a peak of about 170,000 to Iraq under President George W. Bush.

Iraqi special-forces soldiers stand in a house during a battle with ISIS militants in Mosul, Iraq, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

"I don't foresee us bringing in large numbers of coalition troops, mainly because what we're doing is, in fact, working," Townsend told a Pentagon news briefing, speaking via video conference from Baghdad.

"But in that event that we bring in any additional troops, we'll work that with our local partners, both here in Iraq and Syria, to make sure that they understand the reasons why we're doing that and to get their buy-in of that."

Trump has made defeating Islamic State — which has claimed responsibility for attacks on American soil, in Europe and elsewhere — one of the key themes of his presidency, and his administration received a draft Pentagon plan on Monday to accelerate the campaign.

 

[TheCamelGuy]

 

[TheCamelGuy]

So far western mosul battle has been fierce, leaving 'soft' infrastructure badly damaged.

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

@TheCamelGuy

How long after the last areas of Mosul and Western Anbar have been liberated, can we expect to see positive developments in regards to occupied/stolen territories by the usual suspect (Biji Biji) in Northern Iraq, in particular Kirkuk and other areas? This should be a top priority as soon as possible.

 

[TheCamelGuy]

@TheCamelGuy

How long after the last areas of Mosul and Western Anbar have been liberated, can we expect to see positive developments in regards to occupied/stolen territories by the usual suspect (Biji Biji) in Northern Iraq, in particular Kirkuk and other areas? This should be a top priority as soon as possible.

Must overrun the trenches with large convoys in multiple areas, they likely would avoid confrontation. No air force to force scattering of such convoys as with IS which kept the KRG safe on their trenches. Exploit KDP-PUK disputes and tensions, easily done but Baghdad isn't very war hungry as it was under Saddam\


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Seems an Iraqi army unit helped American troops stuck under IS fire.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Midd...ls-Iraqi-soldier-returns-again-to-battle-ISIS

As the Iraqi military intelligence officer drove a Humvee in the contested Wadi Hajar district Tuesday, an IS sniper shot his turret gunner square in the forehead, killing him immediately. Misan was a close friend.

His team left the area, only to be interrupted by a distress call that prompted Mohamed to turn and drive back to aid an American armored vehicle stuck in a ditch and under mortar and sniper fire. During the rescue, IS sniper rounds smashed into Mohamed’s windshield and engine, but his team managed to pull the US rig out and guide it to safety.

“I didn’t leave the Americans until I arrived in Hamam al-Alil,” says Mohamed, referring to a safe staging area just south of Mosul. He recounts the incident just hours later, as I meet him late in the evening by the roadside near an Iraqi base in Qayarrah, 40 miles south of Mosul (see map). A hug of greeting – we have known each other since 2002, when The Christian Science Monitor started following his family as it dealt with the effects of the Iraq war – produces a puff of battlefield dust from his uniform of digitized camouflage.

“One of their [Iraqi] translators, when we arrived, he kissed me from here to here,” the usually soft-spoken Mohamed says, laughing as he gestured from cheek to cheek.

“I swear by God I saved their lives,” he says, suddenly sober, noting that the US Army colonel in charge of the American unit also sought him out to express his gratitude.

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

Must overrun the trenches with large convoys in multiple areas, they likely would avoid confrontation. No air force to force scattering of such convoys as with IS which kept the KRG safe on their trenches. Exploit KDP-PUK disputes and tensions, easily done but Baghdad isn't very war hungry as it was under Saddam\


-------------------------------------------------------------


Seems an Iraqi army unit helped American troops stuck under IS fire.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Midd...ls-Iraqi-soldier-returns-again-to-battle-ISIS

As the Iraqi military intelligence officer drove a Humvee in the contested Wadi Hajar district Tuesday, an IS sniper shot his turret gunner square in the forehead, killing him immediately. Misan was a close friend.

His team left the area, only to be interrupted by a distress call that prompted Mohamed to turn and drive back to aid an American armored vehicle stuck in a ditch and under mortar and sniper fire. During the rescue, IS sniper rounds smashed into Mohamed’s windshield and engine, but his team managed to pull the US rig out and guide it to safety.

“I didn’t leave the Americans until I arrived in Hamam al-Alil,” says Mohamed, referring to a safe staging area just south of Mosul. He recounts the incident just hours later, as I meet him late in the evening by the roadside near an Iraqi base in Qayarrah, 40 miles south of Mosul (see map). A hug of greeting – we have known each other since 2002, when The Christian Science Monitor started following his family as it dealt with the effects of the Iraq war – produces a puff of battlefield dust from his uniform of digitized camouflage.

“One of their [Iraqi] translators, when we arrived, he kissed me from here to here,” the usually soft-spoken Mohamed says, laughing as he gestured from cheek to cheek.

“I swear by God I saved their lives,” he says, suddenly sober, noting that the US Army colonel in charge of the American unit also sought him out to express his gratitude.

Once normality prevails those stateless kawlis and land grabbers must be dealt with the old-fashioned way. The Iraqi Arab way. They don't understand anything else. Sunni and Shia Arabs should give the occupiers a beating aided by Assyrians and Turkmens. Barzanistan has stolen too much land, destroyed too many villages and expelled too many people. Someone need to teach him and his gangs a lesson again.

 

[TheCamelGuy]

Once normality prevails those stateless Gypsies and land grabbers must be dealt with the old-fashioned way. The Iraqi Arab way. They don't understand anything else. Sunni and Shia Arabs should give the occupiers a beating aided by Assyrians and Turkmens. Barzanistan has stolen too much land, destroyed too many villages and expelled too many people. Someone need to teach him and his gangs a lesson again.

I and most Iraqis, I think we're all uninterested in retaking it all as that requires human resources to enforce rule in those areas. I think most of us only want to take back areas in Kerkuk and Nineveh and such. Barzanistan is very weak militarily not threat, it's easy to take it back far easier than taking back from IS.

Where are you at by the way, still studying in France or Denmark?

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

I and most Iraqis, I think we're all uninterested in retaking it all as that requires human resources to enforce rule in those areas. I think most of us only want to take back areas in Kerkuk and Nineveh and such. Barzanistan is very weak militarily not threat, it's easy to take it back far easier than taking back from IS.

Where are you at by the way, still studying in France or Denmark?

The stated goal of the current Iraqi government, the previous included, is to retake all currently occupied areas which is the only sensible option as anything else would be a defeat. Those lands are valuable in many ways aside from the oil fields in and around Kirkuk. Of course this cannot happen before ISIS is defeated and until the Iraqi army recuperates.

Fun, teasing and Barzanistan aside, this topic must be addressed otherwise Iraq's institutions will lose face and give other people silly ideas such as for instance Basra Province seeking potential autonomy. It always starts this way.

I care deeply about the situation due to familial reasons and historical ones and I have observed Barzanistans actions and know from sources on the ground that they have committed numerous crimes that they have not been held accountable of.

I was in Spain for my final semester. I finish my chemical engineering masters degree in May, thank God. Afterwards I must find out where to work or live whether Europe or go back to the Middle East.

How about you, are you still doing programming in the Netherlands and if so do you ever think about going to Iraq and working there?

I think that going back is not really such a bad option as the economies are on the rise and there is much unfulfilled potential. The problem is only security IMO. I can live with everything else.

 

[TheCamelGuy]

The stated goal of the current Iraqi government, the previous included, is to retake all currently occupied areas which is the only sensible option as anything else would be a defeat. Those lands are valuable in many ways aside from the oil fields in and around Kirkuk. Of course this cannot happen before ISIS is defeated and until the Iraqi army recuperates.

Fun, teasing and Barzanistan aside, this topic must be addressed otherwise Iraq's institutions will lose face and give other people silly ideas such as for instance Basra Province seeking potential autonomy. It always starts this way.

I care deeply about the situation due to familial reasons and historical ones and I have observed Barzanistans actions and know from sources on the ground that they have committed numerous crimes that they have not been held accountable of.

It starts once the major IS threat is dealt with, somewhere late this year. Whilst US troops will remain in Iraq for many years to come they're unlikely to care about these disputes. I don't know if Iraq and the US will become official allies as that requires legislative measures from both countries, but by the executive rulers they certainly seem allies.

I was in Spain for my final semester. I finish my chemical engineering masters degree in May, thank God. Afterwards I must find out where to work or live whether Europe or go back to the Middle East.

How about you, are you still doing programming in the Netherlands and if so do you ever think about going to Iraq and working there?

I think that going back is not really such a bad option as the economies are on the rise and there is much unfulfilled potential. The problem is only security IMO. I can live with everything else.

I am doing my graduate internship for computer science, receiving my bachelors degree this summer if everything goes right. Planning to do a masters then but not yet sure what subject of computer science, I think i'll also head abroad for some semester(s), kind of bored of the Netherlands by now.

What about the nuclear engineerings MsC, perhaps you can get that one later, in 5 or 10 years.

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

It starts once the major IS threat is dealt with, somewhere late this year. Whilst US troops will remain in Iraq for many years to come they're unlikely to care about these disputes. I don't know if Iraq and the US will become official allies as that requires legislative measures from both countries, but by the executive rulers they certainly seem allies.


I am doing my graduate internship for computer science, receiving my bachelors degree this summer if everything goes right. Planning to do a masters then but not yet sure what subject of computer science, I think i'll also head abroad for some semester(s), kind of bored of the Netherlands by now.

What about the nuclear engineerings MsC, perhaps you can get that one later, in 5 or 10 years.

Of course an attempt to regain those stolen lands military, if it cannot be solved politically, would only be attempted once those conditions I and you have mentioned are met.

Americans, at least under Trump, probably won't leave Iraq, especially with an Mullah-ruled Iran close by, but whether they will be indifferent in case of hostilities between Baghdad and Barzanistan, I do not know. Not sure at least.

Anyway this should be a simple matter. Territory that was under Iraqi control pre-ISIS should be returned to Iraq by Barzanistan. Nobody is talking about Arbil or Dohuk. In any case KRG is flooded by Iraqi Arab, Assyrian and Turkmen refugees and they should not go anywhere if those land disputes won't be solved.

All the best of luck. Taking a semester or two abroad is a good thing for your CV. I would highly recommend it.

I have thought about it but nothing that I have seriously considered of late. This is a limited field in the Middle East and job opportunities wise, while sparse and paid well, are limited to teaching and the civilian nuclear sector in KSA that is still in its infancy on many fronts.

Anyway Iraq is in need of programmers and you could easily find work for the state and likely private firms. Many Arab countries, especially, unfortunately, Iraq, have very outdated systems in place. Just take a look at official websites. It looks like something from the early 2000's and late 1990's although it has improved in recent times compared to what it was just a few years.

Anyway security is the key issue here. I think that you can adopt to everything else and in any case you can always return to the Netherlands or settle elsewhere if you got a good degree and the right work experience (CV). I would not worry overly but focus on my studies.

Anyway enough of personal stuff.

Curent situation in Mosul: