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Coalition hands over Besmaya base to Iraqi Security Forces
[Rudaw] The Global 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 Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (ISIS) on Saturday officially handed the Besmaya military base near Baghdad to Iraqi Security Forces, the latest of several military bases to be transferred to Iraqi control. "Iraqi forces trained here were critical in the liberation of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... three years ago. Besmaya serves as a shining example of Iraqi military capability," said the coalition's deputy commander for strategy Maj. Gen Gerald Strickland, according to a statement circulated by the coalition. The handover comes less than 24 hours after a rocket attack targeted the base on Friday afternoon, causing material damage to the site. No group has grabbed credit for the incident. The is the seventh base to be transferred to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) this year, according to the statement. Troops will be withdrawn from the base "in the coming days." The coalition says it is repositioning its forces across Iraq due to the ISF’s "success in the campaign against ISIS," using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. The base, located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, was mostly led by Spanish forces, who trained nearly 50,000 Iraqi military personnel at the site, according to the coalition. Approximately 450 personnel were based at the site. The troop withdrawal from the base was announced earlier this month. "CJTF-OIR will continue to relocate and consolidate personnel and equipment from Iraqi bases throughout 2020, in cooperation with the Government of Iraq," the statement added. Related: Besmaya: 2020-03-18 Two missiles fired against security troops site in Bismaya, south of Baghdad Besmaya: 2017-09-14 Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin Besmaya: 2017-02-18 US-led coalition trains 5,000 Iraqi forces to join anti-ISIS campaign in Mosul Posted by: trailing wife 2020-07-26 |
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