The Pentagon is planning to send more combat troops into Iraq
Andrew Tilghman, Military Times 12:45 p.m. EDT March 25, 2016
The Pentagon will likely send more troops into Iraq in the coming weeks to support operations against Islamic State militants in Mosul, the military's top officer said Friday.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter will recommend to the White House expanding the U.S military footprint there as Iraqi forces undertake a complicated, large-scale offensive to oust ISIS from its stronghold in the country's north.
“We have a series of recommendations that we will be discussing with the president in the coming weeks to further enable our support for the Iraqi security forces,” Dunford said during a press briefing. “The secretary and I both believe that there will be an increase to the U.S. forces in Iraq in the coming weeks but that decision hasn’t been made."
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Trapped civilians stall Iraqi forces battling IS in Anbar
Susannah George, The Associated Press
The Canadian Press
April 1, 2016
BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands of trapped Iraqi civilians have stalled the government's advance in the battle against the Islamic State group in the western Anbar province, the spokesman for Iraq's elite counterterrorism said Friday.
The civilians are trapped between the Iraqi forces' lines and the IS extremists hunkered down in the centre of the town of Hit, 85 miles (140 kilometres) west of Baghdad, the official told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, IS claimed responsibility for two suicide car bombings that killed 11 security forces late Thursday night southeast of the city of Mosul, which is controlled by IS.
Early Thursday morning, Iraqi forces re-launched an offensive on Hit under cover of heavy U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, said the counterterrorism chief, Sabah al-Numan. Over the past week the coalition launched 17 airstrikes in and around Hit, according to Pentagon statements.
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Iraqi police find 2 mass graves in Islamic State-free Ramadi
By Sinan Salaheddin (Associated Press) | Updated April 20, 2016 - 3:47am
BAGHDAD — Iraqi police on yesterday unearthed two mass graves in the western city of Ramadi, with bodies of about 40 people killed by Islamic State militants during the militant Sunni group's reign of terror in the city, officials said.
The officials said IS militants who were captured and arrested after Iraqi forces routed the extremists from the Anbar provincial capital led authorities to the site of the mass graves, inside the city's soccer stadium.
Bodies of women and children were among those found in the two graves, along with bodies of men in civilian clothes, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
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Iraqi forces claim victory over the Islamic State in Fallujah
By Loveday Morris and Mustafa Salim June 17 at 2:16 PM
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday declared victory over the Islamic State in Fallujah after a day of rapid advances as security forces pushed deep into the city center, dislodging the militants who have controlled it for nearly 2½ years.
In a televised address, Abadi said that some “pockets” of resistance remained in the city, about 45 miles west of Baghdad, but that it was largely under the control of security forces. Earlier in the day, Iraqi forces raised the country’s flag over the local council building, while commanders reported that they had retaken a string of neighborhoods as the militants abandoned their positions.
The Islamic State has been “broken” in the city, said Col. Abdelrahman al-Khazali, a police spokesman.
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Go war marketeers!Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered security services on Sunday to stop using fake bomb detectors at checkpoints after a bombing killed at least 120 people in Baghdad in an attack claimed by Islamic State.
Reacting after the deadliest attack so far this year, Abadi also ordered a new investigation at the interior ministry into "corrupt deals" to buy ADE 651 devices developed as lost golf balls finders and sold to Iraq and other nations as hand-held bomb detectors.
A police officer earlier confirmed to Reuters that these devices, commonly known as the "magic wand", were still in use five years after the scandal about the sale to Iraq broke out.
The British businessman who sold the detectors to Iraq and other countries, James McCormick, was sentenced in 2013 in Britain to 10 years in jail for endangering lives for profit.
McCormick earned more than $40 million from sales in Iraq alone, British police said at the time. His customers also included the United Nations ...
HRW: Iraqi militias recruiting children ahead of Mosul push
The Canadian Press
August 30, 2016
IRBIL, Iraq — Iraqi militias are recruiting children from camps for civilians displaced by conflict ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake militant-held Mosul, according to a report from Human Rights Watch Tuesday.
Citing testimony from witnesses and relatives, HRW said two tribal militias in the Kurdish region of Iraq recruited children from a camp south of Irbil and drove them away to a town near Mosul.
The group said the recruits are intended to reinforce frontline positions against the Islamic State group in Nineveh province, where Mosul is located.
IS uses children as both frontline fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq and Syria. The group maintains an army of child soldiers, which it calls "cubs of the caliphate." Islamic State videos have shown boys killing IS opponents through beheadings and shootings.
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tomahawk6 said:If that happens the real losers will be the civilian population.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/17/middleeast/mosul-isis-operation-begins-iraq/
Parliament in Iraq has voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, with backers of the move arguing that its availability contradicts Islam and is unconstitutional.
Opponents argue that the vote infringes constitutional guarantees of freedom of religious belief for minority groups such as Christians.
They say they will appeal against the surprise decision in the courts.
An official said that the ban was a last-minute move by conservatives.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, activities perceived to be contrary to the moral code of Islam have come under repeated attack, with alcohol shops targeted in Baghdad and other cities.
While alcohol is not commonly found in restaurants and hotels in Iraq, correspondents say its consumption is relatively widespread in the scores of small shops and bars in Baghdad.
Correspondents say the new law has been passed at a time when attention is focused on the battle to wrest control of Mosul from the militant group known as Islamic State ...
SeaKingTacco said:Well, who would have seen that coming?
Iraqi President Fuad Masoum has refused to approve the law banning alcohol which has recently been passed by the parliament.
Ameer Kinani, an advisor to the Iraqi president, said in a press conference that after the bill of prohibiting alcohol was passed by the Iraqi parliament, it was sent to the Iraqi president for approval. The president, however, has refused to approve the law, he said, noting that the president is defending the rights and freedom of the Iraqi people as prescribed in the federal constitution.
The Iraqi parliament passed a law on October 22 which prohibits the import, production and sales of alcoholic beverages. The law however angered many in the country’s Christian community who rely on the business ...
Sounds like a bit of an optimist.daftandbarmy said:BBC: UK ambassador - Gulf crisis 'could last 10-15 years'