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Iraqi forces launch operation to free Tikrit from IS

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Iraq’s armed forces have attacked Tikrit in a renewed bid to free the city from the Islamic State (IS) group. Meanwhile, the UN has announced emergency aid for those fleeing 0,,17746971_303,00violence in the country.

 Iraqi forces, supported by Shiite volunteer militiamen, planned to attack the jihadist group’s militants from three different points in Tikrit’s south and west, security officials said.

Reuters news agency quoted an army major and a police captain as saying the government forces were advancing rapidly from the south but that they were slowed down by landmines, roadside bombs and IS snipers.

Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad, on the banks of the river Tigris, is the hometown of executed former dictator, Saddam Hussein.

The city was taken by jihadist fighters on June 11, and has been controlled since then mostly by Sunni militant groups, including former members of Saddam’s ruling Baath party.

Two previous attempts to retake the city have failed.

Strategic recapture

The new offensive comes after Iraqi and Kurdish forces seized the strategic Mosul Dam and some villages around it earlier on Monday. They were supported by US fighter jets and drones that launched 15 airstrikes near the area.

IS militants had seized control of the Mosul Dam on August 7, giving them control of major power and water reserves and putting them in a position from where they could deny supplies to the rest of the country.

Following the capturing of Mosul Dam, US President Barack Obama said that the airstrikes were part of a long-term plan to defeat the IS.

“We will continue to pursue a long-term strategy to turn the tide against IS by supporting the new Iraqi government and working with key partners in the region,” he said.

This was the first time Washington intervened in Iraq after it withdrew its troops in 2011.

Emergency aid announced

The UN refugee agency has meanwhile mounted a massive aid effort to help nearly 500,000 Iraqis fleeing IS militants. UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told Reuters: “Barring last-minute delays, an air, road and sea operation will begin tomorrow, startng with a four-day airlift using Boeing 747s from Aqaba in Jordan to Irbil, followed by road convoys from Turkey and Jordan, and sea and land shipments from Dubai via Iran over the next 10 days.”

Initial supplies include 3,000 tents, 200,000 plastic sheets, kitchen sets and jerry cans. Edwards said that the aid coming from outside would help to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people. “This is a major humanitarian crisis and disaster and it continues to affect very large numbers of people,” Edwards insisted.

The UNHCR estimates that nearly 1.2 million people have fled their homes across Iraq this year. Around 200,000 are temporarily living in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Those fleeing the IS include minority communities such as the Yazidis, who are being persecuted by the IS.

The IS is a splinter group of the al- Qaeda network. The organization’s Sunni members profess an orthodox version of Islam and rule of the Sharia law. The group seized large swathes of Iraq in June this year and is determined to establish an Islamic “caliphate” in the region.

mg/tj (dpa, Reuters)

Armenian Defense Minister on peacekeepers, attacks and presidential talks

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Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan commented on rumors about possible deployment of peacekeepers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone.

181356“Karabakh conflict zone is probably the only one, where the ceasefire is observed by the sides without any help from outside,” Minister Ohanyan said, adding that “we can resolve all the problems under our own steam.”

As to Artsakh war veterans, the minister said, they will always be inseparable part of Armenian armed forces and will defend the homeland in case of necessity. He described the communication between the servicemen and veterans as “extremely important and strengthening the morale of the army.”

“Azerbaijan is continuously preparing for war and Armenia should be ready to counteract anytime,” Ohanyan said.

He also said that during the recent day, the Armenian servicemen prevented over 20 cross-border attacks by the Azeri forces, Panorama.am reported.

Meanwhile, according to Raz.info, Minister Ohanyan also touched upon the upcoming Russia-hosted meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents and its impact on the current situation.

According to him, Azerbaijan is trying to escalate tensions before the talks and will hardly fully observe the ceasefire afterwards.

“That’s why Artsakh army should always be on alert,” he said.

As to the possibility to request assistance of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Minister Ohanyan said there is no need for that at the moment.

Azerbaijan no longer able to conceal losses suffered in attacks

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Azerbaijan is continuously suffering losses as a result of its own sabotage attempts regularly prevented by the armed forces of Artsakh and Armenia. According to the latest data, from 10 to 14 Azeris were killed and up to Conceal-18125330 wounded overnight.

Voskanapat.info reported Friday, Aug 1, that no less than 14 Azeri saboteurs were killed in clashes that took place in the direction of Martakert and Askeran areas of Artsakh, where Armenian soldiers laid an ambush after receiving intelligence data about the planned sabotage.

“Our soldiers performed their duty courageously, killing no less than 14 and wounding 30 rivals and I do not think that all of those injured will recover,” Voskanapat.info quoted a colonel in an Artsakh army unit as saying.

He also said that the situation at the border is currently rather calm.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has reported about 8 killed, publishing their names and partially stepping back from the habit of concealing the real number of losses it suffered in its own attacks.

The Azerbaijani armed forces attempted Thursday to attack the defense positions of a Nagorno Karabakh military unit located in the northern direction of the contact line, killing two soldiers of the NKR army – Ararat Khanoyan, 20, and Ashot Asoyan, 20. The attack was rebuffed, with the rivals suffering heavy losses. Investigation is under way.

Karabakh Defense Ministry presents proof of Azerbaijani attack

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STEPANAKERT. – Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh presented the evidence of the attack by Azerbaijani group on a military outpost on Thursday.

proof“In response to our statement as of July 31, the Azerbaijani side categorically dismissed the reports on attack. In addition to the previously made statement and in response to Azerbaijani allegations, we present a part of the evidence of Azerbaijan group’s attack on a military outpost,” the Ministry said in a statement.

The photos are attached to the statement. report news.am

There is 31 years old fell 5 fighters Armenians Lisbon in an attack against the Turkish Embassy

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There are just 31 years old, July 27, 1983, a commando of 5 Armenians claiming ARA (Armenian Revolutionary Army) died in an attack against the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon. These five members of the Armenian arton101815-293x220commando were named Vatche Daghlian, Sarkis Aprahamian, Ara Kerdjelian, Setrak Adjemian and Simon Yahneian.

Attempted hostage of Armenian commando ended tragically with the death of five young revolutionaries who demanded Ankara recognition and repair of the Armenian genocide of 1915. Attempt hostage-in which had also found death the wife of a Turkish administrative attaché and a policeman-Portuguese had failed and ended in tragedy. 5 Armenians unto death.

31 years after their heroic death, “5 Lisbon” as they are now called have not seen their hero status in Armenia. Historian Simon Safarian recalled on July 25 in Yerevan. At the same press conference, Samvel Tatevossian, director and veteran of the war of liberation of Karabakh recalled that those who had been appointed by the international media as “terrorists” were actually heroes who gave their lives on altar dedicated to the fight for truth and justice of the Armenian people. Remains to Armenia to recognize its fallen heroes in Lisbon children there more than three decades on the road to freedom and dignity of the Armenian people.

Krikor Amirzayan

Armenian clerics injured in Tbilisi’s Surb Etchmiadzin Church attack

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A pre-planned attack, motivated by ethnic and religious hatred, was perpetrated on the representatives of the Armenian Church of Surb Etchmiadzin in Tbilisi, the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church 180911in Georgia said.

According to the Democracy and Freedom Watch, on July 19, at around 4 pm, a provocation was organized on the church-adjacent territory.

A woman was trying to drive her car out of the area adjacent to the church, but was unsuccessful and started to express dissatisfaction towards the cleric at the Armenian Church claiming his car was blocking the way for her own to car in the parking area.

At that moment, two aggressively disposed men approached and helped to get the car out. The cleric entered the administrative building of Armenian Church.

Then there were young deacons in the yard, who heard that the men were verbally insulting Armenians. They protested. A man left the car, took a baton and a stone and again insulted and attempted to hit the representatives of the Armenian Diocese.

Hearing a noise from outside, other clerics came out into the yard in order to defuse the situation, when the man hit one of clerics on his back. A short fight followed.

Two hours after the incident, the man returned with a group of about 50 men. Some of them were armed with cold weapons. They approached the church and got into a scuffle with the clerics and employees of the diocese, while verbally insulting Armenians. People attending a Christening ceremony inside the church came out into the yard and the men attacked them too.

“Women and children, shocked by what they had seen, hid in the church,” the statement reads.

As a result of the attack, clerics and employees of the Armenian Diocese got physical injuries. One of the men tore a cross off one priest and walked away with it.

The Armenian Church called on law enforcement bodies to thoroughly investigate the Saturday incident as a crime committed on ethnic and religious grounds.

The Armenian Church called on the media to avoid promoting anti-Armenian attitudes in society, urging Georgia’s Orthodox Church to publicly condemn any actions based on ethnic and religious hatred.

“For many centuries, we have been concerned with the internal stability of Georgia and interethnic and interreligious relations, and we call on the Georgian government to take all necessary measures in order to avoid ethnic and religious separation of Georgian society.”

Turkish mayor says 5 wounded in attack on his car after Erdoğan rally

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TODAYSZAMAN

Five people, including three police officers, were wounded in southeastern Turkey, a pro-government mayor said on Monday, when suspected Kurdish militants attacked his car as he southeastern Turkey-car-attacreturned from a presidential campaign rally for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ceylanpınar Mayor Menderes Atilla said a car bomb detonated as his car drove through the town of Ceylanpınar in Şanlıurfa province late on Sunday, injuring the policemen. The attackers then opened fire, causing minor injuries to his driver and a bodyguard.

“There was a blast from a car loaded with explosives… as I was returning from the prime minister’s rally. We came under fire from another car by gunmen using long-barreled weapons. The gunmen’s car left the scene after firing a few rounds,” Atilla told reporters, adding that he believed terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were behind the ambush.

There has been no word from the PKK since the attack, but if their involvement is confirmed it would be a blow to efforts aimed at bringing an end to a 30-year insurgency that has haunted the Southeast and left an estimated 40,000 people dead.

Only last week, Parliament passed a bill that for the first time legally recognizes the government’s negotiations to bring a permanent halt to hostilities with PKK terrorists, who have for decades been demanding greater autonomy and rights from Ankara.

Erdoğan is campaigning to become Turkey’s first directly elected president in the Aug. 10 election, a position that could give him stronger executive powers to pursue his political plans. He hopes his efforts to end the insurgency will earn him significant support from Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

Şanlıurfa province could be a key electoral battleground in the coming weeks. Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) narrowly won local polls there in March, but the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) contested the result, stirring a week of violent clashes between BDP supporters and security forces.

Meanwhile, the police detained two suspects regarding the incident following the campaign rally in a raid they conducted on Monday morning. The suspects, identified as O.F. and H.D., were taken to the Şanlıurfa Police Department where they were to be questioned.

Baku Says It Is Ready to Attack Armenia

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BAKU (ArmInfo)—On the eve of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces Day, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov gave an interview to the state news agency AzerTAG, Turan reported.

zakir“We have every opportunity to hit any object and settlement on the territory of Armenia. However, for the current situation the peaceful Armenian population is not to blame and it constrains us,” said Hasanov

Referring to tensions on the front line, the minister said that the reason for this is the continued “occupation of the territory” of Azerbaijan by Armenia. “Armenians fire on our positions, trying to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage attacks; they fire at our civilians and damage farmland,” he said. “Therefore, the enemy must be spoken to in its own language, and we do it; the enemy is losing and we take revenge for our martyrs,” said Hasanov.

Speaking about the relationship of forces, the minister said that in the last year, Azerbaijan’s military budget has increased by 20 times. “Military spending this year exceed that of 2013 by 7.1%,” Husanov said.

“At the same time, Armenia’s military expenditure in 2014 was 5.3 times smaller than our military budget. ”

The arms acquired over the past 10 years have created a serious advantage for Azerbaijan. At the same time it has substantially developed and strengthened the military-industrial complex of Azerbaijan.

Among Azerbaijan’s modern arms, the minister mentioned Smerch systems of various modifications, variations tactical missile systems like Tochka-U, artillery systems MSTA-S, TOS-1A, the newest T-90 tanks, and others.

Isis fighters attack Iraq’s biggest oil refinery

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Isis fighters attack Iraq’s biggest oil refinery
Baiji oil refineryIslamist militants launch assault in Baiji as Iran raises prospect of military intervention

by Mark Tran
theguardian.com, Wednesday 18 June 2014 06.19 EDT

The Baiji oil refinery, 155 miles north of Baghdad, is under attack by Isis. Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

Islamist militants have attacked Iraq‘s largest oil refinery in the city of Baiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, as Iran raised the prospect of direct military intervention to protect Shia holy sites.

A top security official told the Associated Press that fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) had begun their attack on the refinery late on Tuesday night. The attack continued into Wednesday morning, with militants targeting it with mortar shells, starting a small fire on the periphery.

The refinery accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s entire refining capacity, all of which goes toward domestic consumption – petrol, cooking oil and fuel for power stations. At the height of the insurgency from 2004 to late 2007, the Baiji refinery was under the control of Sunni militants who used to siphon off crude and petroleum products to finance their operations. Isis has used its control of oilfields in Syria to boost its coffers.

Any lengthy disruption at Baiji risks long lines at the petrol pump and electricity shortages, putting further pressure on the Shia-led government of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Iraq’s beleaguered prime minister has fired several top security commanders after Iraqi troops melted away before Isis militants as they captured the Mosul in the north, Iraq’s second largest city.

Jihadi rebel forces have reached Baquba, less than 40 miles north of Baghdad, while fighting continues to rage further north in the city of Tal Afar. State television late on Tuesday aired footage of army troops and armed volunteers disembarking from a transport C-130 aircraft at an airstrip near the city.

Isis and disaffected Sunnis have threatened to march to Baghdad, the capital, and the Shia holy cities of Kerbala and Najaf in the worst threat to Iraq’s stability since US troops left. The three cities are home to some of the most revered Shia sites. Isis has tried to capture Samarra, north of Baghdad, home to another major Shia shrine.

Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, warned that Iran would do whatever it took to protect the shrines.

“Dear Kerbala, Dear Najaf, Dear Kadhimiya and Dear Samarra, we warn the great powers and their lackeys and the terrorists, the great Iranian people will do everything to protect them,” he said, in a speech on Wednesday in Khoramabad, near the Iraqi border.

On Tuesday Rouhani mentioned petitions signed by Iranians who said they were willing to fight in Iraq “to destroy the terrorists and protect the holy sites”, which are visited by hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims annually.

“Thank God there are enough volunteer Shias, Sunnis and Kurds in Iraq to fight the terrorists,” he added.

Thousands of Iranians have volunteered to defend the shrines. Iran is 90% Shia, a group considered to be apostates by Isis and Sunni extremists. Rouhani said on Saturday that Iran had never dispatched any forces to Iraq and it was very unlikely it ever would, but Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was in Baghdad last week to give advice to Maliki.

Amid the fighting, the plight of foreign oil workers has become a concern. The Turkish embassy in Baghdad is investigating reports that a group of Turkish construction workers were among 60 people abducted by militants near Kirkuk. Isis seized 15 Turks who were building a hospital near the town of Dour, in Salahuddin province near Kirkuk.

The reported abduction came a week after 80 other Turkish nationals were seized by insurgents in Mosul, 49 of them from the Turkish consulate, including special forces soldiers, diplomats and children.

The Indian government has not been able to make contact with 40 Indian construction workers in Mosul, with the Times of India reporting that they have been kidnapped.

The foreign ministry spokesman, Syed Akbaruddin, said dozens of Indian workers were living in areas overrun by Isis and India was in contact with many of them, including 46 nurses. The nurses are stranded in Tikrit, which is under militant control, with many of them holed up in the hospital where they work. Nurses who spoke to the Indian media said they had been treating people injured in fierce street fighting.

The White House has indicated that it may be some days away from a decision on any US military intervention as senior Democrats expressed growing caution about the risks of being sucked back in to conflict in the country.

Amid signs that Barack Obama is treading warily over calls for air strikes, the administration spokesman, Jay Carney, said the president would “continue to consult with his national security team in the days to come”, and there would also be further consultations with members of Congress, including some closed briefings later this week.

Islamists attack St. Etchmiadzin Church in Mosul

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The jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has attacked the St. Etchmiadzin Church in Mosul, Iraq, religious leader of the Armenian community of Dohuk, Rev. Fr. Mosul ArmenianMasis Shahinyan told Lradou.com.

According to preliminary reports, fire broke out near the church.

Sources at the Armenian Prelacy in Iraq said that 65 Armenian families and a priest in Mosul were forced out of the city after Islamist militants raided the city and took control of Iraq’s second largest city.

Insurgents raised black flags over parts of the city on Tuesday, as soldiers fled their posts after Sunni extremists took the city after four days of heavy fighting against Iraqi forces.