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Iraq: Schools reopen in liberated Mosul areas

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A file photo of Iraqi children at a classroom

Scores of schools have resumed their activities in the recently-liberated areas of Mosul amid an ongoing military offensive to cleanse the entire northern city of  Daesh terrorists.

On Sunday, Iraq’s Shafaq News website quoted Iraq’s Education Ministry as saying that some 70 schools have officially reopened in Mosul.

Hessam al-Din Abar, a representative at Provincial Council in Nineveh, where Mosul is the capital, said Daesh’s presence had prevented the schools from running for two years and a half.

Only a handful of schools would operate under Daesh militants, according to reports.

The education centers had, instead, turned into places for the terrorists to barricade civilians in or train their new recruits and inculcate extremism in them.

Some families would preclude their young ones from attending schools while the terrorists were controlling such premises.

The outfit seized the city in 2014 after unleashing its terror campaign against the Arab country.

The terrorists have come under a concerted push by government and volunteer forces in the city, their last stronghold in Iraq, since last year.

The operation has liberated a good part of eastern Mosul, leaving the group largely in control of its west.

Speaking on January 9, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the counter-terrorism push against Daesh in Nineveh is in its final phase.

Daesh has named Mosul and the city of Raqqah in neighboring Syria as its so-called headquarters.

Their potential liberation would mean the ultimate blow to the terror group’s campaign of bloodletting and destruction in the Middle East

Iraqi forces battling Islamic State make further gains in Mosul moving into Nabi Yunus,

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Islamic state Daesh terrorists manufacture Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Members of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) have made further advances against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the strategic northern city of Mosul, pushing extremists out of three more eastern districts.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said the forces recaptured al-Jammasah neighborhood on Monday noon, and are moving to seize Nabi Yunus, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi special forces established control over al-Kandi and al-Qayrawan neighborhoods and raised the national flag over a cluster of buildings there.

Yarallah noted that government troops had inflicted heavy losses on Daesh ranks and military equipment during the operations.

Moreover, Federal Police forces managed to liberate Nabi Yunus Grand Mosque in central Mosul from the Daesh grip, and hoisted the Iraqi flag over it.

Members of the Iraqi Directorate of General Military Intelligence (DGMI) also uncovered a workshop in the Hodaba neighborhood of Mosul, which Daesh terrorists used to manufacture Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The DGMI announced in a statement that Iraqi forces found drones as long as six meters, which were to be loaded with explosive charges inside the building.

Iraqi correspondent, cameraman injured in Mosul

The correspondent and cameraman for the US-based Arabic-language al-Hurra television network also sustained gunshot wounds while covering the Iraqi army advances in eastern Mosul.

An unnamed security source said Abdulhamid al-Zebari and Yasser Salem were injured as Iraqi forces and Daesh Takfiris engaged in a fierce gun battle. The pair have reportedly been transferred to a local hospital to receive medical treatment.

Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from Popular Mobilization Units — commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi — and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

Violence killed nearly 7,000 Iraqi civilians in 2016: UN

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The United Nations says at least 6,878 Iraqi civilians lost their lives last year due to violence perpetrated by Takfiri terrorists in the Arab country.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement that 12,388 other civilians were injured in 2016.

UNAMI noted that the numbers “have to be considered as the absolute minimum,” citing its inability to verify civilian casualties in conflict areas as well as those who “died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care.”

Furthermore, the data did not include casualties among civilians in Iraq’s western Anbar Province for the months of May, July, August and December, it added.

The figures further showed that only in December 2016, a total of 386 civilians were killed and 1,066 more wounded in Iraq, with the worst affected areas being Nineveh Province and the capital city of Baghdad in descending order.

Violence had claimed the lives of at least 7,515 civilians in Iraq in 2015, according UNAMI figures.

Over the past months, Iraq has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks, mostly claimed by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The militants have recently increased their acts of violence across the country in revenge for the blows they have been suffering at the hands of Iraqi forces, particularly in the northern city of Mosul.

“This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price,” said Jan Kubis, the special representative of UN Secretary General in Iraq and UNAMI head.

Daesh began its campaign of terror in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi army soldiers and allied fighters are leading operations to win back militant-held regions.

Armenian “Havresc” A DAVID & GOLIATH STORY IN IRAQ: An Interview with Filmmaker David Ritter

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By Lucine Kasbarian.

The Iraqi village of Havresc (originally called “Hay Vrej,” the Armenian words for “revenge through survival”) was once populated with Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants.
 
Circa 1970, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s military destroyed villages, such as Havresc, that were minority strongholds, and pushed their inhabitants into cities in order to assimilate them. 
 
Following Saddam’s death in 2006, persecuted Iraqi Armenians with family roots in Havresc decided to return to the village.  With the rise of nearby ISIS forces several years later, Havresc became a safe haven. The Armenians were later joined by Assyrians and Yezidis.
 
Against all odds, this village of 150 families blossomed thanks to the leadership of Mayor Aslan Murad Vartanian, a Havresc native. He and Armenian elders persuaded compatriots to come back and rebuild the village. Sporting a handlebar moustache reminiscent of fedayee predecessors, Murad is now father and protector to all in Havresc.  Once a career special unit sniper in the Iraqi army, he today heads a citizen militia with support from neighboring Kurdish groups.  Murad’s home functions as an arsenal where, astonishingly, he and others restore and convert guns from WWI and WWII – some purchased, some found while farming – into modern weapons.
 
Heavily outnumbered, the Havresc militia has nevertheless beaten back ISIS on many occasions.  We know of their acts of bravery thanks to independent filmmaker David Ritter’s documentary, HAVRESC: Stand on Courage. 
 
Following is an interview with Ritter conducted by Lucine Kasbarian.
 
Lucine Kasbarian: Tell us about your professional and religious background.
 
David Ritter: I’m a filmmaker/documentarian who studied photography and video production. I come from a Roman Catholic background and eventually found myself as a “Roaming Catholic,” which means I visit and respect various Christian denominations and communities. Throughout my experiences and while befriending Middle Eastern Christians, the Orthodox sects became a fascination for me. Little of Christian Orthodox history and culture is known to the greater Christian community. I gravitate towards the Orthodox and see value in their rich history throughout the world. 
 
Kasbarian: How did you find and come to be interested in the people of Havresc?
 
Ritter: My time in Havresc was a result of my anger and frustration at what was happening to many religious and ethnic minorities over the past five years in Syria and Iraq. I resented that the “social justice crowd,” whose doctrines dominate our schools and media, had little to say about the horrors so many people there were and are facing. I was disgusted that world leaders and governments initially dismissed the attacks by ISIS and acted as if there was no threat from such groups. I wanted to support the Christian militias of Iraq and volunteer my services to them and their communities.
 
Through my channels, I was introduced to Jeff Gardner, a photojournalist who has spent much time in the Middle East.  

Jeff knew about my background as a filmmaker documenting the demographics of racial and ethnic minorities. My last feature-length film was entitled German Town: The Lost Story of Seaford Town, Jamaica. 

So Jeff felt that I should visit Havresc.  He had visited Havresc in 2013 and was gob-smacked by how amazing these people were, especially their leader, Aslan Murad. We agreed that this village and its story deserved documentation.
 
Kasbarian: Though the U.S. Congress unanimously approved and, as a result, the Obama Administration adopted in 2016 the term “genocide” to describe the horrors suffered by Christians and Yazidis at the hands of ISIS, would you speculate why mainstream media has made so little of the modern-day genocide of Christians in the Middle East?  
 
Ritter: To be fair, the Obama administration has spent the majority of its time stating that ISIS was not a threat, and the U.S. mainstream media followed its lead.
 
Most mainstream media have an agenda.  If I had to speculate, it is because they usually care about an issue only when the governments, corporations and special interests they cater to can benefit.
 
I think the obsession with political correctness is also part of this conversation. For instance, much of the media on the Progressive Left want people to think that owning a gun or arming yourself is intrinsically wrong. But guns are a safeguard in situations such as Havresc’s.  Armenians – as victims of state-sponsored genocide on their native lands – know very well how dangerous it can be for a civilian population to be prohibited from possessing arms.
 
My documentary spotlights Havresc men explaining that guns saved their families and community.
 
Obviously, the concept of gun control is highly problematic in such situations.
 
Indeed, most mainstream media want people to see militiamen as dangerous to society. True, some militia members are threats, but others are not.  It  depends on the circumstances and the militia’s purpose. A gun in the hand of a responsible person can be used to defend and save endangered lives rather than harm innocent people.
 
Kasbarian: Why do you think Middle Eastern Christians – the oldest Christians on record – have been largely abandoned by their Christian brethren around the world?
 
 
Ritter: There are a few reasons.  One is “political correctness” – that is, Westerners defending co-religionists elsewhere is viewed as a bit chauvinist.  
 
Many Western churches function like businesses.  Defending Christians overseas does not increase their bottom line.
 
And some of these churches and their leaders are afraid.  They have seen what happens when people confront Islamic extremists:  media outlets are bombed and journalists killed.  Fear holds people back.
 
But there are clergy, churches and Christians who are doing all they can to aid the Christian communities of Iraq.  I met them while I was there, few as they are.  In my travels, Christians have stepped forward to help the Syrian and Iraqi people.  More would follow suit if they had the leadership and information to do so. 
 
Kasbarian:  We hear about Middle Eastern Christians avoiding refugee camps for fear of abduction and abuse and, moreover, not approaching the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) nor applying for immigration status because they feel they will largely be passed over. In this context, one can better understand why some Christians would prefer to endure or resist in endangered zones. Please speak about this phenomenon.
 
Ritter: The truth is these Christians would, indeed, most likely be passed over. It took nearly five years for anyone to acknowledge that Christians and Yazidis were even an endangered people in the Middle East. They were – and still are – the primary targets for ISIS and Jihadist violence.
 
For me to explain the attitudes of Western leaders who create policies that are unmindful of Christians, I would have to adopt the mindset of a globalist. I refuse to do that. 
 
These policies may also have some basis in simple ignorance.  I have met many non-governmental organization (NGO) workers and United Nations members over the years, most of whom meant well.  But the isolation within which many of them exist on the ground, and their lack of understanding of the inner politics and cultures of the countries in which they work, is stunning. Poor management may also play a role.
 
There could also be more pernicious reasons. For example, many EU leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the Obama administration, seem fixated on supporting more Islamic migration into Europe and the U.S. – but not Christian or Yazidi refugees. 
 
Kasbarian:  An aid worker predicts that Havresc will grow. Do you agree? Could publicizing Havresc attract greater threats?  One viewer at a screening said that beating back ISIS is a short-term solution and that in the long run, the villagers should move to Armenia. Expediency may encourage one to flee. But attachments may dictate otherwise. Is it crucial to relocate to foreign lands – or to Armenia, for that matter – when the people already there are unemployed and conditions are uncertain? 
 
Ritter: I’m not certain about Havresc’s future, but so far much has been done in a short period of time.  Havresc actually faced more attacks when the village was getting no media coverage at all, so neither Murad nor I think media exposure will hurt. Being in the open can be a better tactic than having nobody know about you.
 
ISIS is just one of many threats and risks to villages such as Havresc.  But even running away may not work.   Would you necessarily be safer in North America? Germany? France? England? Have we not seen massive attacks in those places on an almost weekly basis?
 
During the San Bernardino, California shootings in 2015 where Pakistani-American extremists killed 14 people and injured 22 at a county employee event in what the FBI called an act “inspired by foreign terrorist groups,” I was in Havresc with Murad in his living room watching the news. Murad pointed to the TV, looked at Jeff and me, and said, “You see? Now it’s coming to you in America. It won’t stop. This is their plan.”
 
Kasbarian:  You have been present at your U.S. film screenings from coast to coast. What’s next? And why do you think the general topic of your film is of interest primarily to Assyrian and Armenian circles but ignored by the mainstream media?  
 
Ritter: I’m hoping for many more screenings in the U.S., Canada and Europe. But in the end, my goal is to go back to Iraq and/or Syria to help while there’s still a need.  When I address the issues of radical groups like ISIS, too many people I know who follow mainstream media will express apathy, become defensive or change the subject.  Sometimes they claim that “Christians are just as violent as ISIS.”  
 
This is what their media has led them to believe, I suppose. Then again, I have met people across the political spectrum – from the Left to the Right – who agree that ISIS and Islamic extremism is a serious threat to the world.  I also think most Americans agree that radical Islamic Jihadists are a real danger. 
 
However, American and European mass media is more interested in demonizing Syrian President Assad than ISIS.  Mainstream media function as gatekeepers of information. If they cannot control the narrative and the people relaying the information, then they ignore or discredit the people relaying the information. 
 
There is a trend in globalist mass media to diminish the relevance of racial, ethnic, cultural and religious differences among peoples.  On the other hand, other media and some progressives call Western people racist or xenophobic when they show a love for their heritage or religion.
 
Could there be people in high places who enjoy seeing certain cultures and religions wiped out?  I have met such people.  
 
The Havresc documentary, however, shows men and women holding strong to their Christian faith and ethnic identities. They are proud of their Armenian and Assyrian ancestries and all that comes with it. 
 
Kasbarian: Speaking of mainstream media in the U.S. and Europe depicting national or ethnic pride as xenophobia, how can Westerners deal with this?
 
Ritter: It is important not to conflate patriotic ideals and non-extremist forms of nationalism with supremacist ideas. You can love Armenian, Greek or German culture and desire to protect your culture and nation without possessing a desire to harm others.  Our media and educational institutions throw around words such as “racist” and “xenophobic” too loosely.  
 
People must ask themselves whether such strong terms are always appropriate, or whether they instead induce a Pavlovian response that stigmatizes the targets of these terms.
 
Words are being used as if they are “Newspeak” – the controlled language created by the totalitarian state in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984.  Governments, advocacy groups, media and people alike should define their grievances and positions rather than stigmatize the views of others with loaded terms. 
 
Kasbarian: As an independent filmmaker, what’s your take on mainstream media attempting to silence truth tellers and freedom of expression by disparaging independent and alternative news media by calling their reportage fake?  
 
Ritter: The term “fake news” is being used by many to attack independent reporting whose facts and opinions conflict with mainstream narratives and with people and institutions in high political positions.
 
Note that politicians who voted for wars and conflicts like the invasion of Iraq – and used false information to sway the public into agreement – peddled fake news.  For example, the public was told about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction.”  These weapons were never found.  The public was told ISIS was not a threat by these same politicians and their media outlets. That itself was fake news.
 
There is such a thing as fake news. It circulates throughout the Internet, sometimes created by paranoid people on grass roots levels. But far more fake news comes from mainstream media outlets that are government and corporate-sponsored. 
 
Let us not conflate fake news with dissent and genuine questioning. Hillary Clinton claimed she was once under “sniper fire” in Bosnia.  That turned out to be fake news.
 
Why are citizen journalists the ones being attacked for fake news when politicians, government outlets and mass media have been caught throughout the years fabricating news or simply not reporting the facts?
 
Kasbarian: Aslan Mourad says, “We Armenians live like the lion and if necessary, we will die like the lion.” His words speak to the moral courage and dignity of the Armenians. Can the story of Havresc empower others? 
 
Ritter: I hope this documentary inspires all minorities and majority nations and groups to take a stance to protect themselves, their culture and religion from people who wish to harm them and destroy the things they love. I think people should have militias and guns even if they are not endangered – just as we have fire extinguishers in our homes. We do not buy a fire extinguisher after our home has turned to ash. We buy it before that happens so we can stop a fire before it destroys everything. 
 
Kasbarian: Imagery of Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, is prevalent in Aslan Murad’s home in northern Iraq, which is in the Kurdish 
region.  Is having such imagery a matter of basic survival for Murad and Havresc?
 
Ritter: I cannot comment on Murad’s political connections, but he is working with many Kurdish people – a reality of living and working in Iraqi Kurdistan  – where all operate under Kurdish authority and work together for a bright future.  In order to have a functioning security force, Havresc has to go through proper political channels. That’s the law and reality now. No Christian community in Kurdistan can operate as an island unto itself. 
 
Kasbarian:  How can we support Havresc?
 
Ritter: Anything sent to www.Echo612.org goes straight to Havresc.  I am funding this film screening tour from my own pocket and from the money we collect at events from DVD and admission sales and the donations from institutions that host the events.  I give 30 percent of what we make at each event to Echo612 to help Havresc.   The donations will purchase food, medicine and basic aid for residents until things are secure and stable. It is not a long-term program. The people of Havresc do not want to be on a welfare system. They want to be independent and self-sustaining. 
 
The next screening of Havresc: Stand on Courage will be in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on January 19, 2017: 
 
To invite the filmmaker to screen this documentary in your area, contact David Ritter at: ritter.david.david@gmail.com
 
For details, visit: http://havresc.com/
 
To donate to the village of Havresc, visit: http://www.echo612.org/
 
About the interviewer:

Lucine Kasbarian is a syndicated journalist and political cartoonist. Visit: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Lucine_Kasbarian


 

Havresc: An Armenian Christian Village in Northern Iraq resisting Islamic State to survive

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Havresc: An Armenian Christian Village in Northern Iraq Standing Down ISIS

Filmmaker David Ritter has shot a documentary about a remarkable Armenian village somewhere in Iraq with about 200 to 500 people. It is surviving through courage, faith, fortitude and about 22 dedicated men against the massive force of the Islamic State group. Its name, Havresc, translates to big revenge, and its history dates back to 1915, when survivors of the Genocide constructed it, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.

On December 8, the Zohrab Information Center hosted Ritter, who has spent months in the village, who presented his documentary titled, “Havresc, Stand on Courage”, to a large audience, detailing the daily struggles of Armenian and Assyrian Christian Iraqis and the village they have built on the edge of IS-controlled territory.

Ritter was introduced by the Zohrab Center’s executive director, the Very Rev. Daniel Findikyan, who related that this issue “transcends ethnic interests. One doesn’t have to be Armenian to care about others.”

Before showing the film, Ritter who is not Armenian, commented that he was “filled with rage at the plight of the Christians, not about ethnicity,” he said, and praised the leader of the 22 soldiers, Murad Vartanian, whom he called “one of the most amazing men I have ever met, a man of conviction, courage, tenacity, and also a poet and an artist, a natural born leader.”

The documentary detailed the history of the Genocide with disturbing graphic images of death and destruction. It was a group of survivors from that tragedy that went to Iraq and built villages, including the mostly agricultural village of Havresc. In time, other persecuted Christians – Assyrians and Yezidis – also settled there. In 1975, many Christian villages were destroyed, including Havresc, with the villagers fleeing. One of the only buildings that remained were the ruins of the original school.

In 2006, many of the people of Havresc returned, and decided to rebuild their homes, churches and schools. Armenians also came from abroad and helped in the construction. Vartanian, who was originally born in the village, led the effort, and with other villagers created a communal system where goods are shared. They also erected a monument to the victims of the Genocide.

Today, it is 22 young and old men led by Vartanian, who protect the village 24 hours a day against ISIS. Kurdish militias are also helping these 22 soldiers. The film showed Murad’s home which is the headquarters of the militia, and houses an armory of weapons. Also seen are the villagers tending to their flocks of sheep and peacefully farming the land. In the future, a small airport will be built.

Shortly after the film was completed, Vartanian was shot by IS. He is now recovering, and has said, “Even trees need water to live. We are like these old trees. We never give up. Let us live like lions, and if need be, die like lions.”

Ritter was born to a Roman Catholic family in Haiti. He is a documentarian who has gone to areas of the world where Christian communities are in danger, and filmed their struggles. He is currently traveling to Armenian communities and showing this documentary of Havresc . He announced that 30 percent of the proceeds of the DVD will go back to Havresc. Already, he said, $2,000 has been raised.

Source: https://zohrabcenter.org/2016/11/22/havresc-an-armenian-christian-village-in-northern-iraq-standing-down-isis/

Presstv Report: US airstrike in Mosul leaves 90 Iraqi troopers dead

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This file photo shows two US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets supporting the operations against Daesh terrorists, after being refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iraq. (Photo by AFP)

At least 90 Iraqi soldiers have lost their lives when fighter jets from the United States Air Force (USAF) mistakenly struck their position in Mosul as government forces and allied fighters are trying to flush Daesh terrorists out of the strategic northern city.

An Iraqi army source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Saturday that the airstrike had targeted soldiers from the 9th Armored Division of the Iraqi army the previous day, destroying eight infantry fighting vehicles as well as four Humvee military trucks. Some 100 soldiers were also wounded as a result of the attack.

On Saturday, the commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said in a press statement that Iraqi counter-terrorism forces had managed to free the entire neighborhoods of al-Qadisiyah and al-Morour in the eastern quarter of Mosul from Daesh.

Yarallah added that security forces had also raised the Iraqi flag over several buildings in both districts, and inflicted heavy human and material losses on the terrorists.

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) also stated that Iraqi F-16 fighter jets had carried out airstrikes on designated targets inside Mosul, destroying three bomb-making workshops and as many arms depots.

Iraqi army soldiers, pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, also known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched joint operations on October 17 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

The Iraqi forces’ advance has, however, been slowed down due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom are prevented from leaving Mosul by Daesh.

The United Nations says more than 82,000 civilians have experienced forced displacement in the wake of Mosul operation.

Source: http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/12/10/497297/Iraq-US-airstrike-Mosul-

Los Angeles: Reunion of Iraqi Homenetmen members of Baghdad, Mosul & Kirkuk “Video”

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homenetmen-honorary-members-740

By Wally Sarkeesian

Los Angeles: December 4th, 2016 former Iraqi Homenetmen members under sponsorship of Homenetmen USA Western Region organized a reunion event devoted to “Iraqi Homenetmen Past & Present” and appreciation to honor Iraqi
Homenetmen executive members. Iraqi Homenetmen was established in Baghdad, 1956 and expended to Mosul and
Kirkuk. During its more than 60 years of existence, Homenetmen has experienced trials and tribulations as well as maturity and growth. Main sports included within the various Homenetmen programs include:
football
basketball
volleyball
track and fields
cycling
Since its establishment in 1918-Homenetmen has played an essential role in helping to shape the character and leadership capabilities of generations of Armenian youth. Through its scouting and athletic programs Homenetmen has
preserved the Armenian spirit and addressed the needs of Armenian communities in the diaspora.

Homenetmen was founded in 1918 in Constantinople by Shavarsh Krissian, Hovhannes Hintliyan and Krikor Hagopian. The first Homenetmen Executive Committee was formed on December 16, 1918. Four Homenetmen chapters were
soon opened in various Constantinople neighborhoods.
Today, Homenetmen is a worldwide organization with over 25,000 members on five continents. These Homenetmen families are governed by a Central Executive Committee which includes representative members from the major continents. Through the years Homenetmen has sponsored numerous international athletic events and tournaments and has held scouting jamborees in Greece-Canada-France-Bulgaria-Armenia-and the United States.

Source: www.gagrule.net

Iraqi Special Forces win back 3 districts in eastern Mosul

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Iraqi government forces have established full control over three more neighborhoods in the eastern quarter of Mosul as they try to drive Takfiri Daesh terrorists out of the northern city in joint operations with allied fighters and Kurdish Pershmerga forces.

On Friday, Iraqi Special Operations Forces managed to liberate the neighborhoods of Adl, al-E’lam and al-Ta’mim in the eastern part of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, and raised the national Iraqi flag over a number of buildings there, Arabic-language al-Forat news agency reported.

Scores of Daesh members were killed and injured during the fierce exchanges of gunfire between government forces and the extremists.

The development came on the same day that pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, also known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, defused a car bomb in the strategic Tal Abtah region west of Mosul.

Additionally, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that Iraq’s Air Force fighter jets had carried out a string of airstrikes against Daesh positions in the eastern and western flanks of Mosul, killing dozens of the Takfiris in the process.

Iraqi warplanes pounded a missile depot in Mosul’s eastern neighborhood of Rashidiya, before targeting a workshop for booby-trapping vehicles and manufacturing bombs near a train station in western Mosul.

Another Daesh position was bombarded in Mosul’s western al-Mansour district as well.

Separately, Iraqi jets, based on information from the Directorate General for Intelligence and Security, launched precision strikes against a Daesh arms depot in Qadisiyah district.

Iraq: 1,600 Kurdish fighters killed in the fight against IU

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kurd-fighterSome 1,600 Kurdish fighters (peshmergas) have been killed since June 2014 in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq, Kurdish officials said.

Halgord Hekmat, spokesman for the ministry in charge of these forces in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, had initially said that this assessment applied to the offensive launched on October 17 on the jihadist stronghold of Mosul before correcting his remarks . The ministry’s secretary-general, Jabar Yawar, confirmed that this assessment has been applied to fighting against the IE in two and a half years.

Monday, December 5, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Iraqi forces say nearly 1,000 Daesh terrorists killed in Mosul

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Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) commander, Major General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, gestures as he talks during an interview in the town of Bartella east of Mosul, Iraq, November 27, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) commander, Major General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, gestures as he talks during an interview in the town of Bartella east of Mosul, Iraq, November 27, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Nearly 1,000 Daesh terrorists have been killed by the Iraqi special forces six weeks into a major operation to liberate the northern city of Mosul, a top commander says.

Major General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, one of the commanders of the special forces, said on Monday that more than 992 terrorists had been killed in the fighting in eastern Mosul.

Assadi said the fighting against the terrorists was in progress but at a slower pace due to a change of tactics.

“We have made changes to plans, partly due to the changing nature of the enemy … Daesh is not based in one location, but moving from here to there.”

The commander stressed that the tactics were also changed to protect civilians.

“Progress was faster at the start. The reason is we were operating before in areas without residents, we have arrived in populated districts. So how do we protect civilians? We have sealed off district after district,” he said.

Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

Mosul fell into the hands of Daesh more than two years ago, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in northern and western Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the last stronghold of the Daesh terrorists in the Arab country, will be fully recaptured by year-end. 1