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The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition
 14 die in ISIS artillery attack Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Fourteen civilians were killed and 13 others were injured on Tuesday when Islamic State militants bombarded residential areas in eastern Mosul recently recaptured by government forces. DPA quoted Dureid Saeed, a colonel from the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that five Katyusha rocket fired by the extremist group had landed von the districts of al-Zerai and Mohandessin in the northeast of the city. The development comes as Iraqi forces continue to clear a handful of areas witnessing a presence by militants in the east, amid conflicting statements regarding the full recapture of that region. A statement by the Defense Ministry’s media service, the War Media Cell, said brigades from the 15th and 9th division had invaded and recaptured the villages of Baawiza, Shreikhan, Baisan and a so-called “Nineveh dairy plant”. The latest military advancement comes hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the defense ministry said Monday that the eastern region of Mosul had become totally free from IS extremists, an announcement that was dismissed by a spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command who said troops were still fighting the militants at a few regions. Military commanders are reportedly making preparations to move onwards to western Mosul, a region that is predominantly under IS control and a home to nearly 750.000 civilians. ISIS evacuates HQ in Tal Afar Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province revealed that the Islamic State group evacuated its headquarters, and burnt tons of its archives in Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday. The source said, “The Islamic State group evacuated its alternative headquarters that substituted its main ones after the launch of the battles to liberate the city of Mosul three months ago.” “The group also burnt tons of its archives amid strict procedures,” the source explained. Noteworthy, al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces were assigned to liberate the western part of Mosul, after liberating many areas and villages, including Tal Afar, west of Mosul. ISIS Big Turbans remove logos from vehicles Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State vigilantes in the western side of Mosul are obscuring any signs identifying them, fearing that they might make them obvious targets for security forces. A local source in Nineveh told Alsumaria News on Tuesday that members of the extremist group’s Hisbah (vigilantism) bodies began to remove the service’s logos from their vehicles, fearing that they could make them easy targets for security forces-guided drones that have killed many members recently. Hisbah committees are Islamic State’s religious law enforcement arm, which arrests violators of the group’s rules and carries out sentences issued against them. IS militants have occupied Mosul since they emerged in 2014 to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq. A three-month-old military campaign by Iraqi joint government forces, backed by troops and advisers from a U.S.-led coalition, has managed to recapture the eastern section of the city, and is preparing to cross the Tigris River, which bisects the city, to recapture the western region, where militants still maintain a majority of districts inhabited by nearly 750.000 civilians. The extremist group has lost many of its senior leaders and personnel over the past three months, and reports of infighting and division within its ranks have been recurrent. ISIS imposes curfew on Hawija following abduction Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Kirkuk Province revealed that the Islamic State imposed a curfew in Hawija after the abduction of one of its leaders, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday. The source said, “An unidentified armed group abducted one of the Islamic State’s prominent leaders in Hawija.” “The abducted leader is the execution official of the areas southwest of Kirkuk,” the source added on condition of anonymity. “The group imposed a curfew in the district after the abduction of its leader,” the source further added. Noteworthy, Hawija District and the areas of Rashad, Zab, Riyad and Abbasi, southwest of Kirkuk were captured by the Islamic State in June 2014. ISIS recovers 30 troops' bodies from Tigris Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh revealed that the Islamic State group recovered the bodies of 30 members belonging to the group, who were killed by a coalition air strike few days ago, from the Tigris River in western Mosul, Alsumaria reported on Tuesday. The source said, “The Islamic State group recovered the bodies of 30 members from the Tigris River in western Mosul.” “Those members were killed by a coalition air strike that also destroyed dozens of boats that were carrying the Islamic State’s members,” the source added on condition of anonymity. Yesterday, member of Nineveh Provincial Council Hossam al-Din Abbar announced that dozens of the Islamic State’s leaders fled from the city of Mosul toward Syria. Posted by: badanov 2017-01-25 |
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