Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Iraq
Iraq sentences killer of security expert Husham al-Hashimi to death, next step is appeals court
2023-05-08
[Rudaw] An Iraqi court in Baghdad on Sunday sentenced the convicted killer of Iraqi security expert Husham al-Hashimi to death three years after his liquidation which sparked public outrage at the time.

Hashimi was bumped off outside his house in east Baghdad’s Zayuna neighborhood in July 2020 by masked assailants. His liquidation was widely condemned by the Iraqi public and the international community.

"The Rusafa Criminal Court issued the death sentence
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
against the criminal (Ahmad Hamdawi Awaid) for the crime of killing the security expert (Husham al-Hashimi)," Iraq’s judiciary announced.

Born in Baghdad in 1973, Hashimi was a leading security expert, member of the Iraq Advisory Council, and former advisor to the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS). He also focused on the role of Shiite militias in Iraq, and was a strong, vocal supporter of the Tishreen protest movement that swept across Baghdad and Iraq’s southern provinces in October 2019.

Before his liquidation, Hashimi received death threats from hardline factions of the pro-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), his associates said at the time.

The main suspect in the trial, a policeman, was arrested in July 2021 and confessed to carrying out the liquidation. The conviction on Sunday came after eight court sessions were previously held on the crime since September 2021.

Former Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi - a close friend of Hashimi - said following his liquidation that "Iraq will not sleep until the murderers are brought to justice for the crimes they committed." However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
many more have been slain since then, with similar promises made to reveal their killers.

Iraqi activists are frequently targeted by militias and gangs in the country.

In its annual World Report 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said "the Iraqi government failed in 2021 to deliver on promises to hold to account those responsible for the abuse of protestors, activists, journalists."
Shafaq News adds:
In a long-awaited verdict, the Iraqi judiciary issued a death penalty
against the convicted murderer of prominent security expert Hisham al-Hashimi on Sunday, following ten consecutive postponements of the sentencing session.

According to a source from the Supreme Judicial Council, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, al-Rusafa Criminal Court handed down the death penalty by hanging to the individual found guilty of al-Hashimi's killing.

Al-Hashimi was assassinated on July 6, 2020, in front of his residence in the Zayouna district of the capital, Baghdad. He was shot by individuals riding a cycle of violence.

In July 2021, former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced the arrest of al-Hashimi's killers. Subsequently, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
aired confessions from the accused, a 36-year-old first lieutenant officer.

Hisham al-Hashimi's family fears overturning death verdict for killer, says masterminds still at large

[Shafaq News] An Iraqi police officer was convicted and sentenced to death Sunday in the killing of a prominent security analyst and frequent critic of powerful militias. The ruling came nearly three years after the analyst was bumped off outside his Baghdad home following militia threats.

The defendant, Ahmed Hamdawi al-Kinani, was convicted on a terrorism charge and sentenced to death by a criminal court, according to Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council. The case was referred to an appeals court. A video of his purported confession was released after his arrest two years ago.

Al-Hashimi, 47, was bumped off in July 2020 in front of his home in Baghdad by two attackers on a cycle of violence after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias. His killing was captured on a surveillance camera. The images stoked a climate of fear among activists who have accused the government of failing to rein in the powerful gangs.

Al-Hashimi had become well-known as an expert on the Islamic State group and advised the U.S.-led coalition during its years-long battle against the Death Eaters.

Following the territorial defeat of IS in December 2017, he became an outspoken critic of the growing influence of Iran-backed militias that helped to defeat IS. al-Hashimi reportedly received multiple threats from such groups in the period before his death.

Al-Kinani identified himself as a police officer with the rank of first lieutenant in the video aired on state media in 2021. Shortly after his arrest, two security officials speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that he was connected to a militia but did not specify which one.

His purported confession did not acknowledge any links to gangs.

Successive governments have been criticized for allowing militias to operate with impunity. Critics say many government and security officials have ties to such militias.

The killings of activists and other critical voices became more frequent in Iraq during a crackdown on a mass protest movement that erupted in 2019, with many blaming Iran-backed militias.
Related:
Husham al-Hashimi: 2022-12-31 Trial of suspect in Iraqi security analyst assassination adjourned to March
Husham al-Hashimi: 2021-07-20 Iraqi army needs US training and support, but combat troops have to go: PM Kadhimi
Husham al-Hashimi: 2021-07-20 Commander of the force in control in al-Sadr City to be arrested by order of al-Kadhimi
Related:
Zayuna: 2022-12-31 Trial of suspect in Iraqi security analyst assassination adjourned to March
Zayuna: 2015-12-26 Somber Christmas for Iraq’s Christians under threat from ISIS
Zayuna: 2010-10-24 JAYSH AL-MAHDI Kidnap threat
Link


Iraq
Iraq court sentences ISIS plotter of 2021 Baghdad market bombing to death
2022-05-31


An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced to death an ISIS group member convicted of plotting a 2021 bomb attack that killed 32 people in a crowded Baghdad market.

It was the city’s first major suicide bombing in three years that ended a period of relative calm after Iraq declared the defeat of the extremist group in late 2017.

The man, who was not named, was found guilty of planning the January 2021 twin suicide bombing that hit the market at Baghdad’s Tayaran Square and also wounded 110 people.

A Baghdad court has sentenced the attack’s “primary perpetrator,” the Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement.

He had confessed to being part of ISIS since 2012 and to having equipped the two suicide attackers.

In the attack, one man drew a crowd by claiming to feel sick before he detonated his explosives belt, the interior ministry said at the time.

As more people flocked to the scene to help the victims, the second suicide bomber set off his explosives.

Iraq frequently hands down death sentences, usually for terrorism or murder convictions.

Amnesty International’s 2021 death penalty report ranks Iraq near the top worldwide in terms of death sentences and executions.

The London-based rights group recorded at least 17 executions in Iraq in 2021, down from 50 the previous year, but said death sentences “rose more than threefold from 2020.”

In April, eight people were sentenced to death in two trials, four over a car bombing and four for murder.

The last major ISIS attack in the capital came in July 2021, when a bomb ripped through the crowded al-Woheilat Market in the Sadr City suburb, killing more than 30 people.

The ISIS group has “maintained the ability to launch attacks at a steady rate in Iraq, including hit-and-run operations, ambushes and roadside bombs,” a UN report said in January.

Three teenagers and three policemen were shot dead in northern Iraq as they put out a crop fire last week, an attack that officials blamed on ISIS extremists.
Related:
Tayaran Square: 2021-05-21 Iraqi CTS announces the overthrow of ISIS prominent leaders
Tayaran Square: 2021-05-07 Counter-Terrorism Service delivers the final blow against ISIS in 'Southern Province', Statement says
Tayaran Square: 2021-01-24 Counter-terror forces raid ISIS networks day after deadly Baghdad bombing killed at least 32, injured mare than 100
Link


Iraq
Two persons with connections to ISIS arrested in Baghdad
2022-02-19


Iraqi military apprehended two persons with links to the terrorist organization of ISIS in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, earlier today, Friday.

A statement issued by the Baghdad Operations Command said that a person wanted in accordance with Article 4/1 Terrorism was captured by a force from the army's 42nd brigade near Husayniyat al-Maamel.

"A person wanted pursuant to Article 4/2 Terrorism was apprehended by a force from the same brigade in al-Sadr city, east of Baghdad, in cooperation with a force from the moral police," the statement said.

"A cache of kabooms from the remnants of ISIS terrorist groups was found by a force from the 22nd brigade near al-Sitta village, al-Moshahada sub-district," the statement added, "it included four anti-tank missiles, three Mortar shells, and other supplies."
Related:
Sadr city: 2021-12-19 Asayish shares confessions of terrorists plotting attacks in Kurdistan
Sadr city: 2021-07-20 Good Morning
Sadr city: 2021-07-20 Commander of the force in control in al-Sadr City to be arrested by order of al-Kadhimi
Link


Iraq
Asayish shares confessions of terrorists plotting attacks in Kurdistan
2021-12-19


The Kurdistan Region Security Council announced the dismantling of an ISIS cell in Erbil that was planning to launch attacks in the Region.

In a statement, the Council issued the confessions of the terrorists.

The Council said, "the cell consists of a security group that has recently formed a detachment in the city of Erbil to carry out suicide operations," noting that three jacket wallahs are working with the Cell.

The statement clarified that one of the suicide bombers went kaboom! on July 19, on the day of Arafa, the eve of Eid al-Adha
...a major Moslem holiday, marked by animal sacrifice and ritual rioting...
, in Sadr City, east of Baghdad.

The statement added, "This group purchased weapons and military equipment and sent them to Baghdad to launch suicide operations."

According to the Region's Security Council, one of the cell members, Adam Suleiman Saadi Suleiman, known as "Abu Islam," said that he got to know the Organization through its media channels and that his father was a member of Ansar al-Islam.

He confessed that he agreed with a friend to form a terrorist group in Erbil under the supervision of "Saif," an ISIS emir in the "state of north Baghdad," who asked them to attract more members and suicide bombers from Erbil and carry out an operation inside the City.

As for the other element, called Muhammad Abdul Karim Saeed, known as Bilal, he said that the idea of "jihad" was born in him by following the actions of ISIS and the speeches of their leaders.

Samir Shams al-Din, the third member, said that he met a person affiliated with ISIS and told him a year ago about "jihadist thought," so he agreed to join them.

Earlier, Kurdistan's Internal Security Forces (Asayish) announced that they thwarted a series of terrorist operations targeting the Region's capital city, Erbil.
Rudaw has photos of the five, and adds:
“This group bought weaponry and military equipment and were sending them to Baghdad,” KRSC wrote in a video confession of the group published on Facebook, adding that they were “planning to carry out more terrorist acts in the future.”

“They were a security group. They had set up checkpoints before in the city of Erbil and provided them with suicide bombers,” said the statement.

“One of the terrorist acts of this group is one of their suicide bombers, called Hidayat, blew himself up in Baghdad’s Sadr city” on July 19. That attack in Sadr City’s al-Wahilat market killed around 30 people.”

One of those arrested, Adam Sleman, known as Abu Islam from Erbil, said he got into “jihad” through ISIS-affiliated channels. “They trusted me; they knew my father who was in Ansar al-Islam before.”

He added that he sat down with a friend of his, Mohammed Shaaban known as Abu Hajar, who remains at large. “We sat down together to form a group inside Erbil that is affiliated with the Islamic State and works for the Islamic State.”

Multiple ISIS suspects have recently been arrested across the Kurdistan Region, including in Erbil. Last week, Kurdish counterterrorism forces conducted operations against ISIS in Erbil province, arresting two arms smugglers of the group.
Related:
Erbil: 2021-12-17 Two ISIS arms smugglers arrested in Erbil
Erbil: 2021-12-16 Iraq grants 420 return permits to migrants stuck in Belarus
Erbil: 2021-12-16 Turkey bombards sites in Duhok
Related:
Sadr City: 2021-12-08 Motorcycle Explosion in Southern Iraqi City Kills at Least 4
Sadr City: 2021-11-11 PM al-Kadhimi calls for launching a reconstruction campaign in Sadr City
Sadr City: 2021-09-12 Four dead in north Iraq attack near Mosul blamed on ISIS
Related:
Ansar al-Islam: 2021-04-23 New York Subway Bomber Sentenced to Life in Prison
Ansar al-Islam: 2020-03-27 Norway extradites Kurdish Islamist preacher to Italy
Ansar al-Islam: 2019-10-14 7 ABT members arrested from Narayanganj, Pabna
Related:
Wahilat market: 2021-07-26 Suspect in Sadr City bombing arrested in Erbil, jihadis planned more attacks
Link


Iraq
Motorcycle Explosion in Southern Iraqi City Kills at Least 4
2021-12-08
[An Nahar] At least four non-combatants were killed and four more maimed Tuesday in a cycle of violence bombing near a hospital in central Basra city in southern Iraq, security forces said.

Referring to "the earth-shattering kaboom of a cycle of violence", they said in a statement that "four citizens were killed and four others injured while two vehicles near the cycle of violence caught fire".

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the earth-shattering kaboom.

The blast hit at a crossroads in central Basra, near a hospital and a popular market, an AFP photographer reported.

Iraq has been torn by years of war and insurgency since a U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

In recent years, the city of Basra has mostly been spared such attacks.

But in recent weeks several deadly attacks claimed by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) group have targeted Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

IS established a self-proclaimed "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq from 2014 but lost its territories to offensives in both countries.

Iraq proclaimed its victory against the jihadists on December 9, 2017.

Today, IS maintains a largely clandestine presence in Iraq and Syria and conducts a sustained insurgency on both sides of the border, according to a U.N. report published early this year.

Across the two countries, IS is believed to retain some 10,000 active fighters, according to the report.

The last major attack claimed by IS in Iraq targeted a market in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in July and killed about 30 people.
Link


Iraq
PM al-Kadhimi calls for launching a reconstruction campaign in Sadr City
2021-11-11
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Link


Iraq
Four dead in north Iraq attack near Mosul blamed on ISIS
2021-09-12
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Four people, including members of Iraq’s security forces, were killed on Saturday in an attack by ISIS bully boyz near the northern city of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, officials said.

The attack occurred at night in the Makhmur region south of Mosul, the former stronghold of ISIS, a security official said on condition of anonymity.

It left dead four people, including the mayor of the hamlet, at least one police officer and a member of the pro-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) militia, the official added.

ISIS bully boyz had targeted a PMU position at around 2:00 am (2300 GMT), Salih al-Jiburi, an official from a nearby village, said.

They shelled and fired small arms during the attack, said Jiburi, who put the toll at four dead, including the mayor and militia fighter.

The attack comes less than a week after an ISIS assault near the northern city of Kirkuk killed 13 members of the Iraqi federal police.

The bully boy group also grabbed credit for a major attack in July that killed more than 30 people at a market in Baghdad’s Shia district of Sadr City.
Related:
Makhmur: 2021-09-11 Iraqi Army kills a prominent ISIS leader in Nineveh, gendermes ties up 5 turbans
Makhmur: 2021-09-04 Turkey attacks Makhmur Camp
Makhmur: 2021-06-06 Turkey bombs Makhmour camp, killing three: Peshmerga commander
Link


Iraq
Suspect in Sadr City bombing arrested in Erbil, jihadis planned more attacks
2021-07-26
[RUDAW.NET] A man suspected of involvement in the recent deadly suicide kaboom in Baghdad’s Sadr City was arrested in Erbil, the counter-terrorism directorate announced on Sunday. The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group (ISIS) has grabbed credit for the attack.

The suspect, who is originally from Hawija and is residing at Hassan Sham camp, will be handed over to federal authorities, the counter-terror directorate said.

The bombing in Sadr City's al-Wahilat market on Monday killed at least 35 people and injured more than 60. The market was crowded with shoppers preparing for the Eid al-Adha
...a major Moslem holiday, marked by animal sacrifice and ritual rioting...
holiday, which began the next day.

Iraqi authorities arrested a "terrorist network" behind the bombing that was planning other attacks in Baghdad. The suspects were arrested in Kirkuk and Anbar, according to Iraq’s Security Media Cell.

ISIS no longer holds any territory in Iraq, but the Lions of Islam remain a serious security threat, carrying out attacks on civilian and military targets. Earlier in April, a deadly boom-mobileing in Sadr City’s al-Habibiya neighborhood killed and injured 20 people and destroyed five vehicles. The Lions of Islam grabbed credit for the attack.

In the latest edition of its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, released Thursday, ISIS claimed it had conducted 22 attacks across Iraq between July 16 and 22, killing and injuring 147 people.
Al Ahram adds:
The Islamist faceless myrmidons believed to be behind last week's deadly suicide kaboom of a Baghdad market had planned more attacks during the Eid-al Adha festival, Iraq's interior ministry said Sunday.

The ministry released photos of five suspects arrested, including three brothers, after last Monday's attack that, according to the official toll, killed 30 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

"They were planning other attacks in other parts of Baghdad and other provinces during Eid," a ministry statement said.

Iraqi television broadcast overnight the "confessions" of the five, who were dressed in yellow prison suits, a common practice in major criminal cases in Iraq.

The bombing hit the al-Woheilat market in Sadr City, where many families were crowded on the eve of the Eid al-Adha, the most important Moslem holiday.
Related:
Woheilat market: 2021-07-25 Iraq arrests 'cell' over deadly bombing claimed by IS group
Link


Iraq
Iraq arrests 'cell' over deadly bombing claimed by IS group
2021-07-25
[AlAhram] Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi announced Saturday the arrest of a "terror cell" behind a Baghdad market bombing that killed dozens and was claimed by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group.

The attack sparked revulsion and renewed fears about the reach of IS, which lost its last territory in Iraq after a gruelling campaign that ended in late 2017, but retains sleeper cells in remote desert and mountain areas.

The bombing took place on Monday at al-Woheilat market in Sadr City, a Shia suburb in the capital, and officially killed 30 people, excluding the direct perpetrator.

"We have arrested all the members of the cowardly terrorist cell that planned and perpetrated the attack," Kadhemi said on Twitter, "and they will be put before a judge today."

The prime minister did not specify the number of people arrested, but a source at the interior ministry said the suspects were anticipated to make televised "confessions", a common occurence for major crimes in Iraq.

- NEW DRONE ATTACK-
An armed drone targeted a military base in Iraqi Kurdistan that hosts American troops, without causing casualties, the US-led coalition said Saturday.

It was the latest in a spate of attacks on US military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq.

Iraqi Kurdish media outlets said the attack targeted a base at al-Harir, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

US interests in Iraq have been hit by 50 rocket and drone attacks so far this year -- assaults Washington consistently blames on Tehran-backed factions operating within Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance.

The Iraqi Resistance® Coordination Committee on Friday threatened to continue the attacks unless the US withdraws all its forces and ends the "occupation".

Most of the American troops deployed in the coalition, which helped defeat IS in Iraq in 2017, were withdrawn under former US president Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
Those that remain are officially classed as advisers and trainers for Iraq's army and counter-terrorism units.

Kadhemi is expected to meet US President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run....
in Washington on Monday to discuss a possible full US troop withdrawal from Iraq.

But analysts say events in the wake of the 2011 US withdrawal from Iraq -- notably the rise of IS -- may make Biden reluctant to authorise a full pullout, for fear of giving the jihadists rooms to regenerate once more.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US aerial assault kills three in Syria's Hasakah
2021-07-23
[EN.ALGHADEERTV.NET] A helicopter affiliated to the US occupation forces has targeted a house in northeastern Syria, killing three people and injuring many others inside. Citing local sources, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported the deadly US strike in Jamous Village, east of the city of Hasakah, on Wednesday.

The report added that the house had been circled by Washington-backed Lions of Islam from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of mainly Kurdish forces fighting against Damascus, for several hours before the US air raid.

The SDF hard boyz had cordoned off the house and called on those inside to surrender, but they resisted, resulting in an exchange of fire, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The US-led warplanes intervened and bombarded the house, the SOHR said, claiming that the victims were suspected members of the ISIS terrorist group.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011, with the US and its allies aiding Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
terrorist outfits.

The United States has deployed forces and military equipment to Syria without any authorization from Damascus or the UN. It has long been training Lions of Islam and stealing Syria’s oil, ignoring repeated calls by Damascus to end its occupation of the country.

The SDF Lions of Islam have also been illegally holding control over Syria’s northern areas.



Related:
Jamous: 2018-04-23 Gaza death toll reaches 40
Jamous: 2016-01-31 U.S.-led coalition bombs ISIS oil facility north Syria
Jamous: 2014-04-27 Gunfight Erupts between Two Families in Dahiyeh
Related:
Hasakah: 2021-07-19 Turkish intelligence cell admits of targeting headquarters in Syria's Raqqa
Hasakah: 2021-07-10 Turkish forces and their armed opposition factions targeted a number of villages in the countryside of Hasakah
Hasakah: 2021-06-29 Unidentified persons killed two Syrian IDP sisters in al-Hole
Related:
Syrian Democratic Forces: 2021-07-18 SDF arrests gunrunners in Syria's Deir ez-Zor
Syrian Democratic Forces: 2021-07-16 US forces continue task in combating ISIS in Syria, Iraq
Syrian Democratic Forces: 2021-07-14 ISIS leader arrested in Deir ez-Zor: SDF
Related:
Observatory for Human Rights: 2021-07-20 Multiple explosions attributed to Israeli airstrikes near Aleppo in As-Safira, Al-Nairab Airport
Observatory for Human Rights: 2021-07-19 US drone destroys truck with food and ammo
Observatory for Human Rights: 2021-07-08 Will Turkey Transfer it's Mercenaries from Libya to Afghanistan?
Related:
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Philippine Troops Kill Suspect from Islamic State-Affiliated Group
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Good Morning
ISIS: 2021-07-21 30 Civilians Killed And More Than 50 Others Wounded In Sadr City Explosion
Link


Iraq
ISIS Attack Kills Two Soldiers in Iraq's Salahuddin Province
2021-07-23
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Two Iraqi soldiers have been killed and three others injured in an ISIS attack in Iraq’s northern province of Salahuddin, a police officer said on Wednesday.

"Unidentified button men believed to be affiliated with the ISIS terror group attacked the headquarters of the 66th Army Brigade in the Mutaibija area in the northern part of the province," the source said.

He added that reinforcements were dispatched to the site as ISIS members fled the area.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in 2017, however, the group continues to launch attacks against army and PMF positions, leaving casualties and causing material damages.

According to security experts, ISIS remains active in Diyala, Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
and Salahuddin.

Two days ago, an attack took place in a popular market in Sadr City, causing more than 100 deaths and injuries. The Iraqi authorities held the group responsible for the attack.


Related:
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Philippine Troops Kill Suspect from Islamic State-Affiliated Group
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Good Morning
ISIS: 2021-07-21 30 Civilians Killed And More Than 50 Others Wounded In Sadr City Explosion
Related:
Salahuddin: 2021-07-21 Philippine Troops Kill Suspect from Islamic State-Affiliated Group
Salahuddin: 2021-07-19 Top Lashkar terrorist who had deserted J&K police gunned down in Shopian
Salahuddin: 2021-07-16 With killing of 2 more Lashkar operatives, number of terrorists gunned down in J&K this year is 78
Link


Iraq
Iraqi Armed Factions Eye Controlling Strategic Town North of Baghdad
2021-07-23
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] A suicide kaboom at a crowded market in Baghdad’s Sadr City on Monday revived armed factions’ ambitions to restore their control over al-Tarmiyah town and its suburbs north of the Iraqi capital.

Sayyid of Martyrs Battalions Secretary-General Abu Ala al-Walai said that his forces were prepared to retake al-Tarmiyah and al-Mushahadah regions from the "claws of terrorism" within two days.

Leaders of armed factions in Iraq have repeatedly called for duplicating the reconquest of "Jurf Sakhar" in other parts of the Baghdad belt, starting with al-Tarmiyah.

Al-Tarmiyah enjoys a strategic location, as it extends on the Tigris River to connect four major cities, namely Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Diyala, and Anbar. More so, the town links two prominent Shiite shrines.

The market bombing sparked a wave of media reports about a "terrorist" group having emerged from one of al-Tarmiyah’s agricultural fields to stage the attack.

This type of reporting prompted activists close to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to demand the state-sponsored umbrella organization drives ISIS fighters and supporters out of the city.

"Acts of violence within the area come from various sources, including ISIS, which exploits the security void in orchards in the vicinity of the town," field sources reported.

Copying the reconquest of Jurf Sakhr in al-Tarmiyah means that locals will be uprooted, and extreme security vetting will be facing individuals entering and leaving the town.

Jurf Sakhr is now under the total control of some of the most influential PMF armed factions.

Like Jurf Sakhr, al-Tarmiyah will also become a hub for military camps and bases operated by armed factions.

"Enforcing security and imposing stability in any region, including al-Tarmiyah, must be subject to the contexts of the state, exclusively," a Victory Alliance consultant who requested anonymity told Asharq al-Awsat.

Armed factions have displayed an inclination towards going above and beyond fighting ISIS to securing total control over areas liberated from the terrorist group.

Local sources warn that the factions will not give up their plan to seize al-Tarmiyah, given its strategic location.


Related:
Sadr City: 2021-07-21 Good Morning
Sadr City: 2021-07-21 30 Civilians Killed And More Than 50 Others Wounded In Sadr City Explosion
Sadr City: 2021-07-20 Good Morning
Related:
Sayyid of Martyrs Battalions: 2021-07-12 Iranian-backed factions deploy rockets in Syria's Deir ez-Zor
Sayyid of Martyrs Battalions: 2019-08-13 Large explosion at an ammunition depot southwest of #Baghdad has injured 13
Related:
Abu Ala al: 2013-02-16 Thousands Demand Fall of Iraq Government
Related:
Al-Tarmiyah: 2021-06-04 How did the controversial ''Abu Ragheef'' become a nemesis for faction leaders?
Al-Tarmiyah: 2021-05-02 ISIS monitors the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in Baghdad, prepares to launch an attack, Intelligence says
Al-Tarmiyah: 2019-06-05 6 Iraqi security men killed in armed attack in Salahuddin
Related:
Popular Mobilization Forces: 2021-07-18 PMF controls ISIS military camp west of Al-Anbar
Popular Mobilization Forces: 2021-07-10 ISIS claims attacks on 68 electricity towers in Iraq
Popular Mobilization Forces: 2021-07-06 PMF surrounds ISIS terrorists in western al-Anbar, ISIS big turban tied up, more about air base attack
Related:
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Philippine Troops Kill Suspect from Islamic State-Affiliated Group
ISIS: 2021-07-21 Good Morning
ISIS: 2021-07-21 30 Civilians Killed And More Than 50 Others Wounded In Sadr City Explosion
Link



Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More