Mosul battle: EU ‘should prepare for returning jihadists’
The EU should be prepared for returning jihadists if the so-called Islamic State (IS) is driven out of its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, an official warns. Security Commissioner Julian King said even a small number of militants would pose “a serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for”. Iraqi forces say they have captured 10 villages […]
Mosul assault – a military Tower of Babel
Sunday night, Oct. 16, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, supported by a bevy of generals, announced that the military operation to recapture Mosul from its two-year occupation by the Islamic State had begun. Three formally approved participants are taking part in the operation, DEBKAfile’s military sources report: 1. American special operations, artillery and engineering units […]
How will new fighting in Iraq affect Trump v Clinton? Probably not much
In any other election year, a massive battle involving US force to seize a city of hundreds of thousands from the Islamic State might affect how voters choose their next president. But 2016, defense analysts and political advisers observing the mid-October campaign for Mosul point out, is no normal election year. Two years after […]
Battle for Mosul: Isis city under attack from Iraqi and Kurdish forces
A 35-year-old Mosul resident, using the pseudonym Abu Mohammed, has told Fazel Hawramy, reporting for the Guardian, that Isis forces are trying to mix into the population, and that civilians have seen “too many beheadings, people being drowned in cafes, thrown from buildings”. Everyone is staying at home because we don’t know what else […]
US-led coalition airstrike on chemical-weapons facility near Mosul
US-led coalition airstrikes continued to hit ISIS targets in northern Iraq in the first half of September, as Iraqi ground forces reportedly prepare to launch operations to retake the terrorist group’s biggest remaining city, Mosul. On September 12, three strikes hit an ISIS headquarters building that Operation Inherent Resolve officials have said was also […]
US led coalition airstrikes taunting ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria
US-led coalition airstrikes have continued to target ISIS positions and infrastructure in northern Iraq in recent weeks, as Iraqi ground forces move closer to the terrorist group’s stronghold in Mosul, the largest city it still controls. Now it seems that campaign has added a new rhetorical flourish. Officials added text saying “You can […]
Pentagon won’t reveal how many troops are fighting ISIS
The Pentagon has declined to say how many U.S. troops are actually on the ground in Iraq and Syria more than two years after the first deployments to fight the Islamic State. The military only shares the number of full-time troops deployed, known as the “force management level” or FML. That figure is […]
Trump: ISIS ‘salivating’ over Clinton presidency
Donald Trump on Saturday said the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “salivating” at the prospect of Hillary Clinton as president. The GOP presidential contender jumped on Clinton’s recent claim that she “short-circuited” when she misspoke in remarks about the FBI’s probe of her private email server. “The people of this […]
As ‘caliphate’ shrinks, Islamic State looks to global attacks
ISIS, losing territory and on the retreat in Iraq and Syria, has claimed credit for a surge in global attacks this summer, most of them in France and Germany. The wave of attacks followed a call to strike against the West during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in June and July, in an […]
Iraq war was illegal, says Blair’s former deputy
John Prescott, number two in the Labour government when Britain took part in the US-led invasion in 2003, made the remarks in a piece to be published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper. On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain’s role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before […]