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Iraq sends more troops north for planned offensive to retake Mosul

February 22, 2016 By administrator

Iraqi army forces. Photo: Wikimedia

BAGHDAD,— Iraq sent more troops north on Sunday to prepare for an offensive the government has pledged to launch this year to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

Hundreds of forces from the army’s 15th division have already massed at Makhmour base, 70 km (45 miles) south of Mosul, and more forces, including Sunni Muslim tribal fighters, were expected to arrive in the coming days.

Accompanied by a large number of Humvees and armored vehicles, hundreds of troops of the army’s 71st Brigade left Taji camp, north of Baghdad heading for Makhmour as military build-up continues ahead of the offensive.

“We are here today to bid farewell to Mosul liberation troops. This is the first batch of 71st brigades. The troops are heading to Nineveh preceded by three battalions, which are based at Makhmour camp. Thank God, preparations are on and the morale of fighters is high. The movement of troops will continue,” said Minister of Defense Khaled al-Obeidi who oversaw the movement of troops.

Obaidi told Reuters last month that Iraq would launch the Mosul operation in the first half of the year and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said 2016 would see the “final victory” against the militants.

Some U.S. officials have endorsed that assessment, but a top U.S. intelligence officer told Congress last week any operation to retake Mosul would be long and complex and unlikely to finish this year.

Asked if the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) known in Arabic as Hashid Shaabi would take part in the Mosul offensive, Obeidi said the decision has to be made by Abadi in his capacity as the general commander of the armed forces.

“The decision is up to the general commander of the armed forces. He has the final say. If he sees a need for Hashid, they will take part and if not, they will not take part,” he said.

Hashid Shaabi, is a loosely knit coalition of mostly Iran-backed Shiite militias set up to fight IS. The government sidelined the PMF in the Ramadi battle to ensure air support from the U.S. which is reluctant to be seen fighting on the same side as the Iranian-backed militias.

With more than a million people still living there, Mosul is the largest city controlled by IS, which declared a ‘caliphate’ in swathes of territory it seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.

Retaking it would be a huge boost for Iraqi forces who, backed by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition, reclaimed the western city of Ramadi from IS in late December.

Mosul, however, is a far larger city with a populace made up of many sects. And even in Ramadi, Iraqi forces are still working to secure that city and its environs.

Iraqi forces retake refinery town of Baiji, military says

October 20, 2015 By administrator

Iraqi forces and volunteer fighters have managed to liberate a major northern town from the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, military officials say.

The spokesman of Iraq’s Joint Military Command Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said on Tuesday that army troops and paramilitary fighters, known as Popular Mobilization Forces, retook the town of Baiji in Salahuddin Province earlier in the day.

Baiji is located about 180 kilometers (112 miles) south of the major city of Mosul, which fell to the Takfiri militants in June 2014. The town, which is home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery, has been the scene of fierce clashes between terrorists and pro-government forces over the past weeks.

Footage aired by the state-run TV showed Iraqi troops waving flags from rooftops in Baiji as thick black smoke billowed into the air.

Iraqi officials announced the liberation of the oil installations in Baiji last week.

Baiji is the second most significant area recaptured in Salahuddin over the past months as pro-government forces retook the provincial capital of Tikrit in late March after weeks of clashes with the militants. The liberation of Baiji could be a prelude to Iraq’s highly-anticipated offensive into Mosul, which has served as the de-facto capital of Daesh in Iraq.

The allied Iraqi forces are also fighting against Daesh in the western province of Anbar, where reports have indicated significant advances by the army around positions of the terrorist group in the provincial capital of Ramadi.

Kurds retake Syria’s Kobani after Islamic State attack

June 27, 2015 By administrator

Syrian Kurdish fighters said they had fully secured the town of Kobani near the Turkish border on Saturday and killed more than 60 Islamic State militants, two days after the hardline group launched an incursion with suicide bombers, according to Reuters.

Further east, Islamic State pressed another assault on government-held areas of Hasaka city, clashing with the Syrian army after blowing up a security building late on Friday and triggering a government appeal for residents to take up arms.

“The people of the governorate and its surroundings continue to sign up with the Syrian Arab Army in its fight against terror,” state television said in a news flash on Saturday and played archive footage of soldiers set to rousing music.

Hasaka’s governor described the situation as “fine” but also called on residents to defend it in a phone call with state TV.

The twin assaults on Kobani and Hasaka came after Islamic State suffered two weeks of defeats at the hands of Kurdish-led forces, supported by U.S.-led air strikes.

Redur Xelil, spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia, said Kobani was quiet and the YPG was combing the town for any hidden Islamic State fighters.

The YPG blew up a school building used by Islamic State in the town earlier on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said, and plumes of smoke could be seen from the Turkish side of the border rising into the air.

The Observatory said a U.S-led airstrike killed at least 18 Islamic State fighters near Kobani. Islamic State killed around 200 civilians since the assault which started on Thursday, the Observatory said, describing it as one of the worst massacres committed by the group in Syria.

Reuters. Kurds secure Syria’s Kobani as Islamic State targets northeast

Iraqi troops retake full control of Baiji

November 8, 2014 By administrator

Iraqi troops have taken control of the strategic northern town of Baiji from the Takfiri ISIL terror group, Iraqi media report.

The army succeeded in fully liberating the town after heavy clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

The development came shortly after Iraqi soldiers recaptured the country’s biggest oil refinery on the outskirts of Baiji, which is in Salahuddin Province.

Iraq’s flag was raised over major buildings, including the police headquarters, in Baiji.

Iraqi forces began their operation in Baiji in late October. The town had been under ISIL control for months.

Baiji is located on a main road to the northern city of Mosul, which is being controlled by the ISIL militants. The liberation of the town is expected to choke off the militants’ supply lines.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the Iraqi air force had carried out “effective strikes” on ISIL positions in the oil-rich town.

The ISIL terrorists are in control of large areas across eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq.

The Iraqi army has so far managed to make numerous gains in the fight against the ISIL militants, pledging to continue the battle against the extremist group.

The ISIL militants have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.