Page 45 of 58 FirstFirst ... 35434445464755 ... LastLast
Results 881 to 900 of 1150

Thread: Iraq: Out of the desert into Mosul (closed)

  1. #881
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    My latest security report for 2nd week of Sep 2014. Attacks have been going down across Iraq since the beginning of August. However casualty figures remain extremely high as IS continues to carry out mass executions in areas under its control. Here's a link.

  2. #882
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    The Islamic State has been carrying out executions and mass killings since it took northern Iraq. Some of these are to eliminate opponents, others are to assert its control over the population, and there are some cases where the IS has attempted to wipe out groups like the Yazidis. Almost 3,000 people have died in these acts so far since June. Here's a link to the article.

  3. #883
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    3,169

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JWing View Post
    The Islamic State has been carrying out executions and mass killings since it took northern Iraq. Some of these are to eliminate opponents, others are to assert its control over the population, and there are some cases where the IS has attempted to wipe out groups like the Yazidis. Almost 3,000 people have died in these acts so far since June. Here's a link to the article.
    JWing,

    Do you have stats on how many Iraqi security forces have been killed since ISIS started attacking Mosul? I would like to see a comparison between Iraqi security force casualties and Iraqi civilian casualties if available.

  4. #884
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    Yes I've been tracking security incidents. I can get the numbers to you later today when I get a break from work.

  5. #885
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    Sep 13 new Iraqi premier Abadi ordered the Iraqi security forces to stop hitting civilian areas. This had been going on for months since fighting first broke out in Anbar in Jan. 2014. The ISF continues shelling Fallujah however pointed to Abadi's announcement being more for propaganda. Here's a link to the article.

  6. #886
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    JWING---whose supplying a vast number of tows and who provided the training?

    Based on the tow shooter videos the gunners have had extensive training and are even hitting fast moving targets something US military types always had problems with.

    It is having a severe impact on the Assad military right now as they are losing armored vehicle after vehicle and one MI8 along the way.

    Syrian rebels destroy a fast moving #Assad regime BMP with the TOW.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTTeFxtwCCs

  7. #887
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    So again is the Obama "red line" being used as it was intended to be a reason for bombing or again just another repeat of doing nothing in Syria?

    Agence France-Presse ✔ @AFP
    #BREAKING Syria's Assad has violated chemical arms pact by using chlorine gas: Kerry

    Here comes the bombing:
    Breaking: #SecDef Hagel tells Congress military leadership has signed off on strike plan for #ISIS targets in #Syria, awaiting POTUS ok

    More IS "successes" and we are sending arms right?
    #BREAKINGNEWS AN EXODUS OF KURDISH PEOPLE HAS STARTED TODAY AS #IS TAKES 21+ VILLAGES AROUND #KOBANE
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 09-18-2014 at 06:23 PM.

  8. #888
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Interesting cooperation between the IS and Turkey:

    pic.twitter.com/uozL7ItYWl

    + dozens of reports, #IS may use #Turkey for transfer + medevac

  9. #889
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    JWings--ever see reporting in this direction?

    From the UK bellingcat blog site.

    Who is Killing Iran’s Elite Revolutionary Guards?

    September 15, 2014

    By Robert Caruso

    For the past few weeks, a string of curious and deadly events has been taking place in Eastern Kurdistan.

    Salafi extremists have long been rumored to be operating inside Kurdistan with Iran’s support.

    It came as no great surprise to long-time observers, either, when Iran sent tanks across the border.

    This is standard fare for Iran–disruption, diversion, and deception.

    No, of greater importance are the spate of killings in Urmye, Bokan and Jwanro. These areas are either squarely inside Iran or Kurdistan, depending on who you ask. Starting in September, members of the moderate Kurdish opposition reported five members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “wearing Kurdish cloths” had been shot. A week prior, a member of IRGC reportedly operating in Urmye also lost his life. This is notable in that Iran’s clandestine services are adept at counter-surveillance.

    So what’s happening in Rojhelat, as the Kurds call it? It is likely these IRGC personnel were being surveilled by the moderate Kurdish opposition before their death. How interesting.

    In August, reports surfaced Iranian Pasadran were deployed to Kirkuk, territory regarded as Kurdistan by Kurds and ‘disputed territory’ by everyone even before Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) advances.

    The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, under Jalal Talibani is notoriously preferential to Iranian interests. While not representative of all Kurdish sentiments, the PUK unfortunately exercises significant control in Kirkuk and ‘disputed’ Iraqi provinces just outside Kurdistan. Therefore, it is unlikely they were killed by the PUK.

    To the moderate Kurdish opposition forces of PJAK, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, or PDK-I, make no mistake: this is definitely Kurdistan and if you are Persian, you are not welcome. In fact, PDK-I regularly draws comparisons between ISIL and Iran on social media.

    Iranian backed Shia militias beheading their opponents in Iraq. No difference between ISIS and #Iran & its cronies: https://t.co/21E6sobiXD — PDKI (@PDKIRAN) September 6, 2014

    Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian recently proclaimed Iran “would not wait for any international coalition to fight against terrorism”. Additionally, Amir-Abdollahian stated the international summit to combat the threat of ISIL being held in Saudi Arabia this past Sunday “a show”.

    Iran maintains a sizable paramilitary presence in Eastern Kurdistan, to include political warfare and alignment elements of Qods Force. Alignment is not Farsi but a euphemistic reference to what Qods does worldwide: align the unaligned, to Iran’s preference.

    Also present inside Iraq but lesser known are Iran’s IRGC-Saberin, the special operations forces of IRGC Ground Forces (IRGC-GF). Saberin are a highly agile and flexible force, capable of executing cross-border operations lasting weeks at a time with a limited logistical tail. The first Iranian casualty inside Iraq in engagements with ISIL this fall was a member of a Saberin unit.

    In 2009, local Iranian media reports said the Ayatollah [Khamenei] ordered the formation of Saberin units in the late 20th century, with a specific mandate to go on the offensive against Sunni elements, even boasting Saberin would be operationally postured “to hunt the enemy outside [Iran’s] borders.” Iran is petrified of the situation on the ground, as evidenced by this BBC Persian report:

    this new situation has fueled an unprecedented new cosmetic particularly among the various forces in the four countries, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran […] resistance units with Kurdistan Regional Government consent entered into battle with forces of the Islamic State.

    Traditionally, IRGC’s subordinate ground units in concert with autonomous elements of Qods Force have focused on practicing to seize key terrain, airfields, storage and fuel facilities, and capturing or killing adversaries of Iran.

    Saberin personnel have conducted offensive operations against PJAK, the moderate Kurdish opposition group on Iran’s western border. Saberin and MOIS [intelligence] personnel are also rumored to be combating the People’s Resistance Movement of Iran, on Iran’s eastern border.

    Mohsen Karimi has commanded the Saberin for approximately 18 months. Before assuming command of the Saberin, Karimi’s area of responsibility were the Diyala, Wasit, and Maysan provinces inside Iraq. Recent events along the eastern border of Kurdistan could be a sign Iran is a taking a more active role in shaping conditions than previously believed. Iranian information warfare and paramilitary activities inside Iraqi Kurdistan could endanger US and NATO personnel in or on their way to Kurdistan. From a human rights standpoint, there’s a long history of Iranian forces capturing and killing Kurds in what Kurds call Rojhelat.

    Clandestine actions perpetrated by Iran would complicate efforts to unify and sustain a moderate Kurdish opposition. The introduction of IRGC-GF—Ground Forces, not unlike America’s 82nd Airborne, as opposed to the plainclothes and nominally clandestine Qods Force, or IRGC-QF—could be a precursor to conventional Iranian military activities inside Iraq. This would be a significant escalation particularly in light of the ongoing nuclear talks and Iran’s history of targeting US and UK personnel for death by assassination.

    Policymakers, observers, and media organizations should be aware IRGC maintains a robust military deception capability, and will not hesitate to disavow and deceive to maintain operations security. In other words, even flat-out denials from Iran are rarely a denial; it is a deception cycle, running in perpetuity, intended to deceive heads of state and journalists alike. Is Iran sending paramilitaries into Kurdistan to spur destabilization, as its partner has done in Ukraine? It is unlikely we will know until Iranian personnel are captured by the moderate Kurdish opposition.


    @PDKIRAN only the Kurds can bring down the murderous Mullahs of Iran!! Long live Peshmergas from All of Kurdistan! — Ibo (@Ibrahim_Ariyan) August 16, 2014

  10. #890
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    This is an interesting take---is in fact the massive support to the development of Shia militias by Iran just as large a threat as is the IS --especially coupled with the recent Iran threat against the US to stay out of Iraq and the Russian threat that US bombing in Syria is an act of aggression seconded by Iran as well.

    http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article..._islamic_state

  11. #891
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
    JWing,

    Do you have stats on how many Iraqi security forces have been killed since ISIS started attacking Mosul? I would like to see a comparison between Iraqi security force casualties and Iraqi civilian casualties if available.
    Here are the numbers I've collected by going through the papers each day. Started in Jan 2014 when fighting broke out in Anbar to give context to those post-Mosul.

    NOTE: The figures for the ISF are MUCH higher than what gets in the press. When the summer offensive started both Baghdad and Irbil stopped reporting casualties. All those firefights with IS get virtually no casualty reports. Only the regular drive bys, car bombs, IEDs etc. get regular reporting on ISF casualties.

    Jan. 2014
    Killed 427 ISF, 69 Sahwa, 2 Asayesh
    Wounded 646 ISF, 48 Sahwa

    Feb 2014
    Killed 516 ISF, 58 Sahwa, 2 Peshmerga
    Wounded 702 ISF, 93 Sahwa, 3 Peshmerga

    Mar 2014
    Killed 567 ISF, 48 Sahwa, 2 Asayesh
    Wounded 631 ISF, 47 Sahwa, 1 Asayesh

    Apr 2014
    Killed 538 ISF, 46 Sahwa, 1 Asayesh
    Wounded 806 ISF, 53 Sahwa, 5 Peshmerga, 1 Asayesh

    May 2014
    Killed 506 ISF, 77 Sahwa, 1 Peshmerga
    Wounded 719 ISF, 50 Sahwa

    Jun 2014
    Killed 1,424 ISF, 31 Sahwa, 62 Peshmerga
    Wounded 750 ISF, 47 Sahwa, 198 Peshmerga, 1 Asayesh

    Jul 2014
    Killed 426 ISF, 28 Sahwa, 60 Peshmerga
    Wounded 738 ISF, 24 Sahwa, 175 Peshmerga

    Aug 2014
    Killed 281 ISF, 65 Sahwa, 299 Peshmerga
    Wounded 466, 20 Sahwa, 608 Peshmerga

    Sep 1-7
    Killed 38 ISF, 4 Sahwa, 6 Peshmerga
    Wounded 70 ISF, 3 Sahwa, 41 Peshmerga

    Sep 8-14
    Killed 83 ISF, 24 Sahwa
    Wounded 61 ISF, 12 Sahwa

  12. #892
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    Outlaw another article on the fighting between Kurdish groups and Iranian security forces

    http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/I...an-Army-/34533

  13. #893
    Council Member CrowBat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Haxbach, Schnurliland
    Posts
    1,563

    Default

    On the 'funny' side of this conflict...

    - The French flew their first strike against the Daesh, earlier today. Two Rafales were involved. According to official Paris, they hit their targets in northern Iraq and returned unmolested (no surprise here).

    Almost immediately, the Daesh claimed one Rafale shot down: actually hit appears to have been some sort of an UAV: it remains unclear if Iraqi or somebody else's.

    Anyway, reports about 'ISIS killed a Rafale' spread quite fast - so also to some of RSAF ready rooms... where there was a celebration...

    - Below are few photos of ex-IRGCASF Su-25s (some of them ex-Iraqi Air Force), now operated by the Iraqi Air Force... According to the C-in-C Ir...erm...I'Q'AF, they've flown 535 combat sorties since entering service in July this year.

    Ironically, all are camouflaged in a pattern known as 'Asia Minor', originally developed by the USAF for McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs sold to Iran in late 1960s (and still in use on IRIAF Phantoms).
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by CrowBat; 09-19-2014 at 10:27 PM.

  14. #894
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    3,169

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JWing View Post
    Here are the numbers I've collected by going through the papers each day. Started in Jan 2014 when fighting broke out in Anbar to give context to those post-Mosul.

    NOTE: The figures for the ISF are MUCH higher than what gets in the press. When the summer offensive started both Baghdad and Irbil stopped reporting casualties. All those firefights with IS get virtually no casualty reports. Only the regular drive bys, car bombs, IEDs etc. get regular reporting on ISF casualties.

    Jan. 2014
    Killed 427 ISF, 69 Sahwa, 2 Asayesh
    Wounded 646 ISF, 48 Sahwa

    Feb 2014
    Killed 516 ISF, 58 Sahwa, 2 Peshmerga
    Wounded 702 ISF, 93 Sahwa, 3 Peshmerga

    Mar 2014
    Killed 567 ISF, 48 Sahwa, 2 Asayesh
    Wounded 631 ISF, 47 Sahwa, 1 Asayesh

    Apr 2014
    Killed 538 ISF, 46 Sahwa, 1 Asayesh
    Wounded 806 ISF, 53 Sahwa, 5 Peshmerga, 1 Asayesh

    May 2014
    Killed 506 ISF, 77 Sahwa, 1 Peshmerga
    Wounded 719 ISF, 50 Sahwa

    Jun 2014
    Killed 1,424 ISF, 31 Sahwa, 62 Peshmerga
    Wounded 750 ISF, 47 Sahwa, 198 Peshmerga, 1 Asayesh

    Jul 2014
    Killed 426 ISF, 28 Sahwa, 60 Peshmerga
    Wounded 738 ISF, 24 Sahwa, 175 Peshmerga

    Aug 2014
    Killed 281 ISF, 65 Sahwa, 299 Peshmerga
    Wounded 466, 20 Sahwa, 608 Peshmerga

    Sep 1-7
    Killed 38 ISF, 4 Sahwa, 6 Peshmerga
    Wounded 70 ISF, 3 Sahwa, 41 Peshmerga

    Sep 8-14
    Killed 83 ISF, 24 Sahwa
    Wounded 61 ISF, 12 Sahwa
    Much thanks for diving into this. I didn't realize the numbers were so high for the first 7 months of the year, so I have to assume the wounded are at least twice that? How long do you think they can sustain casualty rates like this? I should know this, but I don't. Do they have a draft or is it a volunteer army?

  15. #895
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Purported #Hezbollah drone as it hits an #IS base somewhere in #Lebanon.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQJ5LrEX90o

  16. #896
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Finally the NSA is good for something especially since they have the tools ie Snowden ---it has been reported that a massive number of IS twitter accounts have been either blocked and or closed down and hashtags usage stopped as well.

    This has been the IS primary line of global communication and radicalization for months and years after they shifted off of online uploaded videos--they may well shift back to that mode as it is easier to sidestep the NSA. It is though not as fast as twitter for spreading their info.

    Wonder why it took so long?

    We have seen the Russian trolls on the Ukrainian side effectively limit twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts by pro Ukrainian and western social media types. The usage of that blockage technique started about ten days by Russian trolls.

    It is an effective info war tool these days.

  17. #897
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    Outlaw,

    After the summer offensive started Ayatollah Sistani made a call for men to join the security forces. Supposedly tens of thousands signed up. The militias also mobilized and had been recruiting since around April of this year. I don't think the manpower is the issue, its the lack of training and competent officers to lead them. A recent U.S. military report said around half the army units were filled with militiamen showing their penetration into the ISF as well.

  18. #898
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    My latest article on the futile 13 security operations launched in northern Babil this year by the Iraqi forces with no apparent affects. In fact the Islamic State has expanded its operations to other regions of the province and hit southern Baghdad province as well. Babil like Anbar shows the lack of strategy on the part of the government. Here's a link.

  19. #899
    Council Member CrowBat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Haxbach, Schnurliland
    Posts
    1,563

    Default

    After reading that, I'm not surprised Iraqi officials are happy to announce arrival of additional IRGC-QF troops in the country.

    According to this report, 1,500 IRGC-QF arrived in Iraq via Basra, the last two days. They should be in the process of deploying on 'vital positions near Samarra, north of Baghbad and in Babylon.

    With this contingent, the total of IRGC troops in Iraq should have been increased to 3,600. About 50 were KIA in the last two months, 'many were injured'.

  20. #900
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,392

    Default

    My weekly security report for 3rd week of Sep. Reported attacks remain low but casualties have stayed high. The cause this week was the collapse of an army base in Saqlawiya outside of Fallujah which was under siege for a week by IS. Supposedly 300 soldiers were killed in the fighting. Total fiasco by the ISF. Here's a link.

Similar Threads

  1. The USMC in Helmand (merged thread)
    By Wildcat in forum OEF - Afghanistan
    Replies: 173
    Last Post: 11-12-2014, 03:13 PM
  2. What happens in Iraq now?
    By MikeF in forum Catch-All, OIF
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 07-21-2011, 04:17 PM
  3. Iraq: Strategic and Diplomatic Options
    By SWJED in forum US Policy, Interest, and Endgame
    Replies: 32
    Last Post: 12-02-2006, 11:36 PM
  4. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-20-2006, 07:14 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •