"Ό,τι η ψυχή επιθυμεί, αυτό και πιστεύει." Δημοσθένης (Whatever the soul wishes, thats what it believes, Demosthenes)
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Lone wolf or complex plot? Analysing the Manchester bombing
The use of an improvised bomb may suggest a more elaborate plan than other recent attacks
Economist
Britain
May 23rd 2017
DETAILS of the Manchester Arena bombing are slowly emerging. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. The police have confirmed that the murderous act last night was carried out by a single suicide-bomber who detonated an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel in a crowded foyer. He has been named as Salman Abedi, reportedly a Manchester-born 22-year-old with family of Libyan origin. Separately, a 23-year-old man has been arrested in a Manchester suburb in connection with the crime. Wrenching photos of the first young victims and missing concert-goers have been posted online.
What an Attack at an Ariana Grande Show Means for Teen Girls
By NATALIE SHUTLERMAY 23, 2017
The New York Times
The pink balloons, floating above the maelstrom of panicked concertgoers, are what struck me first. Images of innocence, bumping along above hordes of shrieking children, many of whom refused to release their balloons even as they fled the arena.
Do you remember your first pop concert? That first time you watched a female hero belt it out onstage without apologies? I was in eighth grade when my dad agreed to drive me and my best friend to see Garbage, a Scottish pop band led by the coolest woman of all time, Shirley Manson. Her anger, confidence and sexuality stood in for stirrings of teenage passion that I had no way to express. I was awkward and insecure — weren’t we all? — but when I stood in the presence of a woman who stared down the system with a growl in her voice, I forgot about how weird it felt to be 13.
The New York Times
The pink balloons, floating above the maelstrom of panicked concertgoers, are what struck me first. Images of innocence, bumping along above hordes of shrieking children, many of whom refused to release their balloons even as they fled the arena.
Do you remember your first pop concert? That first time you watched a female hero belt it out onstage without apologies? I was in eighth grade when my dad agreed to drive me and my best friend to see Garbage, a Scottish pop band led by the coolest woman of all time, Shirley Manson. Her anger, confidence and sexuality stood in for stirrings of teenage passion that I had no way to express. I was awkward and insecure — weren’t we all? — but when I stood in the presence of a woman who stared down the system with a growl in her voice, I forgot about how weird it felt to be 13.
British prime minister raises nation’s threat level, saying another attack ‘may be imminent’
The Washington Post
By Griff Witte, Karla Adam and Souad Mekhennet May 23 at 5:32 PM
MANCHESTER, England — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday night raised the nation’s threat level and deployed the military to guard concerts, sports matches and other public events, saying another attack “may be imminent” following a bombing Monday night that left 22 people dead.
The announcement, which takes Britain’s alert level from “severe” to its highest rating, “critical,” clears the way for thousands of British troops to take to the streets and replace police officers in guarding key sites.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Turkey strikes Kurds in Iraq, Syria, drawing condemnation
The Washington Post
By Suzan Fraser | AP April 25 at 2:26 PM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish rebel positions in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Baghdad and criticism from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which is allied with Kurdish factions in both countries.
Syrian activists said the attack killed at least 18 members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which is a close U.S. ally against IS but is seen by Ankara as a terrorist group because of its ties to Turkey’s Kurdish rebels.
By Suzan Fraser | AP April 25 at 2:26 PM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish rebel positions in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Baghdad and criticism from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which is allied with Kurdish factions in both countries.
Syrian activists said the attack killed at least 18 members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which is a close U.S. ally against IS but is seen by Ankara as a terrorist group because of its ties to Turkey’s Kurdish rebels.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Syrian army says it will press on against Islamic State near Aleppo
WORLD NEWS | Thu Feb 2, 2017 | 9:08am EST
Reuters
By John Davison and Tom Perry | BEIRUT
The Syrian army signaled on Thursday it would press on with operations against Islamic State northeast of Aleppo, in a veiled warning to Turkey which backs a separate military campaign in northern Syria.
Syrian government forces have rapidly driven Islamic State back in the last two weeks, advancing to within 6 km (4 miles) of the city of al-Bab that the jihadists are fighting to hold.
The army's gains risk sparking a confrontation with Turkey, which has sent tanks and warplanes across the border to support Syrian insurgents who are trying to seize al-Bab in a separate offensive.
Reuters
By John Davison and Tom Perry | BEIRUT
The Syrian army signaled on Thursday it would press on with operations against Islamic State northeast of Aleppo, in a veiled warning to Turkey which backs a separate military campaign in northern Syria.
Syrian government forces have rapidly driven Islamic State back in the last two weeks, advancing to within 6 km (4 miles) of the city of al-Bab that the jihadists are fighting to hold.
The army's gains risk sparking a confrontation with Turkey, which has sent tanks and warplanes across the border to support Syrian insurgents who are trying to seize al-Bab in a separate offensive.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Mosul battle: 'IS leader Baghdadi' urges no retreat
3-11-2016
BBC
The so-called Islamic State group has released an audiotape which it says is from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
If true, it would be the first public message from him in about a year and would dispel rumours that he is dead.
The voice on the audio calls on Iraqis to defend the city of Mosul against the Iraqi army, which is attempting to re-take it from the militants.
Baghdadi's whereabouts remain unknown. Some officials have said he may be inside Mosul alongside IS fighters.
It has not been independently verified that the voice in the audio belongs to Baghdadi. There have been repeated rumours of his death through the years, including last year when the Iraqi military said it had hit his convoy.
Mosul, the last IS urban stronghold in Iraq, is where Baghdadi declared a caliphate two years ago.
BBC
The so-called Islamic State group has released an audiotape which it says is from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
If true, it would be the first public message from him in about a year and would dispel rumours that he is dead.
The voice on the audio calls on Iraqis to defend the city of Mosul against the Iraqi army, which is attempting to re-take it from the militants.
Baghdadi's whereabouts remain unknown. Some officials have said he may be inside Mosul alongside IS fighters.
It has not been independently verified that the voice in the audio belongs to Baghdadi. There have been repeated rumours of his death through the years, including last year when the Iraqi military said it had hit his convoy.
Mosul, the last IS urban stronghold in Iraq, is where Baghdadi declared a caliphate two years ago.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Turkey will fight Isis in Mosul, President Erdogan says
Bitter row between Ankara and Baghdad over role of Turkish troops in battle to retake Mosul threatens future of operation, US says
Bethan McKernan Beirut
Independent
It is “out of the question” for Turkish troops to stay out of the US-backed Iraqi army offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul from Isis, the Turkish president has said.
“We will be in the operation and we will be at the table,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in a televised speech on Monday. “Our brothers are there and our relatives are there. It is out of the question that we are not involved.”
Mr Erdoğan's comments came as Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the long-awaited operation to reclaim the city has begun.
Bethan McKernan Beirut
Independent
It is “out of the question” for Turkish troops to stay out of the US-backed Iraqi army offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul from Isis, the Turkish president has said.
“We will be in the operation and we will be at the table,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in a televised speech on Monday. “Our brothers are there and our relatives are there. It is out of the question that we are not involved.”
Mr Erdoğan's comments came as Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the long-awaited operation to reclaim the city has begun.
The Iraqi army begins the liberation of Mosul
Even with backing from Kurds, Shia militias and an American-led international coalition, the campaign will be hard
Oct 17th 2016 | Middle East and Africa
The Economist
“THE time of victory has come…today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh [Islamic State].” With these words, broadcast at 2am on October 17th, Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, announced the start of the long-awaited offensive to liberate Mosul, the country’s second-biggest city, which was seized by IS in June 2014, and is the only significant place in Iraq that the jihadists still hold. Mr Abadi added: “The Iraqi flag will be raised in the middle of Mosul and in each village and corner very soon.” Across the rest of Iraq, following a series of victories this year, it already has been.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Kurdish Troops Advance on ISIS-Held Villages East of Mosul
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and TIM ARANGOOCT. 17, 2016
The New York Times
BADANA PICHWK, Iraq — Kurdish forces on Monday morning began advancing on a string of villages east of Mosul, the start of a long-awaited campaign to reclaim Iraq’s second-largest city from the Islamic State, which seized it more than two years ago, officials said.
About 4,000 Kurdish pesh merga troops are involved in the operation to retake 10 villages, the opening phase of a battle that could take weeks or months and could involve nearly 30,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops, with American warplanes providing air support. Iraqi counterterrorism forces, which work closely with American Special Operations commandos in Iraq, are also expected to join the Kurdish forces in the coming days.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
U.S. says foreign forces in Iraq should be there with Baghdad's approval
Tue Oct 11, 2016 | 4:36pm EDT
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Islamic State Strikes Oil, Gas Facilities in Iraq
Attacks at AB2 gas compressor station, Bai Hassan oil field kill at least five local workers
The Wall Street Journal
By SARAH KENT and GHASSAN ADNAN
Updated July 31, 2016 2:01 p.m. ET
BAGHDAD—Islamic State claimed twin attacks on oil and gas facilities in northern Iraq on Sunday that killed at least five local employees, the latest in northern Iraq by the extremist group, which relies on oil for a significant portion of its revenue.
Four suicide bombers hit the Bai Hassan oil field, prompting an hourslong standoff with local forces, said a colonel with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces that control the area. The field is one of the largest in the region of Kirkuk, producing more than 175,000 barrels a day, according to oil officials.
Three of the attackers were dead, he said, and one remained at large.
The Wall Street Journal
By SARAH KENT and GHASSAN ADNAN
Updated July 31, 2016 2:01 p.m. ET
BAGHDAD—Islamic State claimed twin attacks on oil and gas facilities in northern Iraq on Sunday that killed at least five local employees, the latest in northern Iraq by the extremist group, which relies on oil for a significant portion of its revenue.
Four suicide bombers hit the Bai Hassan oil field, prompting an hourslong standoff with local forces, said a colonel with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces that control the area. The field is one of the largest in the region of Kirkuk, producing more than 175,000 barrels a day, according to oil officials.
Three of the attackers were dead, he said, and one remained at large.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
ISIS Expands Reach Despite Military and Financial Setbacks
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, HELENE COOPER and NICHOLAS KULISHAPRIL 12, 2016
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
U.S. Captures ISIS Operative, Ushering in Tricky Phase
By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMARCH 1, 2016
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — An elite American Special Operations force has captured a significant Islamic State operative in Iraq and is expected to apprehend and interrogate a number of others in coming months, ushering in a new and potentially fraught phase in the fight against the extremist Sunni militant group.
American defense officials described the capture as a crucial development in battling the Islamic State but said it also raised questions about handling what is likely to be a growing group of detainees.
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — An elite American Special Operations force has captured a significant Islamic State operative in Iraq and is expected to apprehend and interrogate a number of others in coming months, ushering in a new and potentially fraught phase in the fight against the extremist Sunni militant group.
American defense officials described the capture as a crucial development in battling the Islamic State but said it also raised questions about handling what is likely to be a growing group of detainees.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Army's Delta Force begins to target ISIS in Iraq
Barbara Starr-Profile-Image
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2227 GMT (0627 HKT) February 29, 2016
CNN
Washington (CNN)The U.S. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN.
The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It's the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones.
Several Pentagon and military officials declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force with CNN.
But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon on Monday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions.
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2227 GMT (0627 HKT) February 29, 2016
CNN
Washington (CNN)The U.S. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN.
The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It's the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones.
Several Pentagon and military officials declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force with CNN.
But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon on Monday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
ISIS’s Harrowing Sexual Violence Toward Yezidi Women Revealed
Tessa Berenson @tcberenson
Dec. 22, 2014
ΤΙΜΕ
Militants
with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have enslaved and sexually
brutalized scores of women, selling them into marriage or giving them as gifts
to militant fighters, according to a new report.
Since
August, ISIS has captured hundreds, if not
thousands of Yezidi women and girls and taken them into sexual slavery as part
of an ethnic cleansing movement, the Amnesty International report says. The
Yezidis are a Kurdish ethnoreligious minority group that has been historically
oppressed by Sunni extremists.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Deadlock Blocks Iraqi Leadership Vote as ISIS Makes Gains Toward Baghdad
By ALISSA
J. RUBIN and SUADAD AL-SALHYJULY 13, 2014
The New
York Times
BAGHDAD —
As Iraq’s deadlocked Parliament was again unable to reach a deal to name a new
speaker on Sunday, Sunni militants carried out a raid near Baghdad, a
symbolically significant attack signaling their intent to move closer, even if
only by a few miles, toward the Iraqi capital.
Although
the pretext for the delay was a severe sandstorm that prevented northern Iraq ’s Kurdish lawmakers from flying to Baghdad , the real reason
appeared to be that last-minute deals between the largest Shiite bloc and the
Sunnis were falling apart.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group
(The Washington Post)
BY
ASSOCIATED PRESS July 2 at 12:33 PM
Omar
al-Shishani, one of hundreds of Chechens who have been among the toughest
jihadi fighters in Syria, has emerged as the face of the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant, appearing frequently in its online videos — in contrast to the
group’s Iraqi leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who remains deep in hiding and has
hardly ever been photographed.
Kurdish region is exploring whether to be part of Iraq or whether to be independent
The Washington Post
BY KAREN
DEYOUNG AND STEVEN MUFSON July 2 at 8:46 PM
But even if
a suitable government is formed in Baghdad — for Kurds, one that does not
include Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — “we are not ready to go back to
pre-June 9,” when Islamist militants began their advance across the northwest
part of the country, said Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to Massoud Barzani,
president of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Oil and the Iraqi Civil War: How Security Dynamics May Affect Oil Production
Brookings
Kenneth M.
Pollack | June 23, 2014 11:00am
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/06/23-oil-iraqi-civil-war-pollack
It should
be obvious that a key consideration for the United
States arising from the revived civil war in Iraq
is its potential to affect Iraqi oil production. Iraq is now the second largest
producer in OPEC. And although Americans are ecstatic about fracking, energy
experts have been warning that future oil prices are more dependent on
increasing Iraqi production than North American shale. In October 2012, the
International Energy Agency stated that, “The increase in Iraq ’s oil production in the Central Scenario of
more than 5 [million barrels per day] over the period to 2035 makes Iraq by far the
largest contributor to global supply growth. Over the current decade, Iraq accounts
for around 45% of the anticipated growth in global output.”
Friday, June 13, 2014
Can Iraq Survive?
By: Daniel
Benjamin
The Boston Globe
Opinion |
June 12, 2014
The news from Iraq has been so bad for so long, it has
become difficult to distinguish the merely depressing from the genuinely
disastrous. But the fall of Mosul, the country’s second largest city, to jihadi
forces this week provided a shock well above and beyond the quotidian misery —
one that looks like a turning point, or even an end point, for post-Saddam
Iraq.
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