Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter No 292

www.justiceforiraq.blogspot.co.uk

Newsletter No. 292 January 4th, 2016

Nine Iraqi soldiers killed by 'friendly fire' in US-led coalition airstrike The Guardian reports (December 19th): Nine Iraqi soldiers have been killed by “friendly fire” from US-led coalition aircraft during an assault on an Islamic State stronghold

Extremists' New, Evil Ways With Explosives, As They Withdraw Niqash reports (December 17th): In northern Iraq, it seems that the extremist Islamic State group's new mission is to come up with as many ways to hide as many bombs as possible, in everything from cars to fridges to books

Italy deploys troops to Isis frontline to protect company repairing Mosul dam IBT reports (December 16th): Italy is to deploy troops to Iraq to defend a strategic dam from the Islamic State (Isis) group, the government has announced. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the 450-strong military contingent will secure the Mosul dam on the Tigris River, providing protection for an Italian firm that has secured a contract to repair it.

Latvia to deploy soldiers to Iraq, Mali in February Xinhua reports (December 16th): Latvian soldiers might be deployed to Iraq and Mali to participate in multinational operations in February 2016, a representative of the defense ministry told members of the parliament's defense, interior and anti-corruption committee.

France uses cruise missiles against Islamic State for first time Reuters report (December 15th): France has used cruise missiles for the first time against the Islamic State during strikes in Iraq, the Defense Ministry said.

The fate of Mosul in Turkey's hands? Al Jazeera reports (December 15th): On December 4, less than two weeks into the standoff with Moscow over the downing of a Russian jet operating in Syria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, sent a convoy of several hundred Turkish soldiers, bolstered by tanks and armoured vehicles, deep into Iraq's territory, stirring another conflict in his country's troubled southern backyard.The incursion embittered relations between Ankara and Baghdad and increased tensions among Iraq's embattled communities. The dispute has also threatened to draw in the rest of Iraq's neighbours, who have high stakes in the war-torn nation.On Monday, some Turkish troops started leaving their camp in Iraq and moving north, a Turkish military source and a senior official said.

Iraq appeals to UN and demands Turkey withdraw troops from its northAP reports (December 12th): Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has called for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq in a national address, insisting no foreign forces are needed to fight the Islamic State group in his country

Jalawla: Iraqi city remains a ghost town after being recaptured from IsisThe Independent reports (December 12th): When the town of Jalawla was recaptured from Islamic State (Isis) many displaced families may have have harboured thoughts of returning. However, children did not return to their schools and the graffiti-covered, bomb-damaged bazaar did not reopen to great fanfare.Instead the liberators failed to agree over who would hold the town and the boarded-up shops and mosques remain closed. 

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Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter No 291

Iraq Occupation Focus www.justiceforiraq.blogspot.co.uk

Newsletter No. 291 December 9th, 2015

 

Iraq summons Turkish ambassador to demand withdrawal of troops

Reuters report (December 5th): Iraq’s foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to demand that Turkey immediately withdraw hundreds of troops deployed to northern Iraq, near the Islamic State controlled city of Mosul.

Sunnis suffer abuse in areas taken from ISIL Al Jazeera reports (December 4th): Sunni Muslims are facing forced evictions, abductions, and other serious human rights abuses in areas of Iraq freed from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) control, the United Nations said.

Gov't siege of Fallujah starving local population AlAraby report (December 3rd): Locals in the IS-controlled Iraqi city of Fallujah could soon starve to death if government forces continue a siege of the city, leaders in the city have said.

We don't need foreign troops to fight ISIL AlJazeera reports (December 2nd): Iraq has said that any deployment of foreign troops on its soil cannot happen without approval of its government.The Iraqi prime minister's comments came in response to the earlier announcement by Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, that the US will deploy "specialised" troops to Iraq to help fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq UN Security Council reports (December 2nd): Iraq has been engulfed in a wave of violence with dramatic consequences for children, states the second report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq, covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2015. Killing and maiming, acts of extreme violence, the abduction of close to 1,400 boys and girls, recurrent attacks on schools and hospitals, the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence used as a tactic of war by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are a few examples of the grim reality faced by the children of Iraq.

Iraqis think the U.S. is in cahoots with the Islamic State, and it is hurting the war Washington Post reports (December 1st): On the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State, suspicion of the United States runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing U.S. helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion.Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion — one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis — that the United States is supporting the Islamic State for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting U.S. control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and, perhaps, its oil.

US Special Operations Forces Expanding in Iraq to Battle ISIS CBC reports (December 1st): Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress that the U.S. would establish a special operations "targeting force" in Iraq as part of the intensified military effort to fight ISIS.

Civilian deaths reported in Iraqi army shelling Al Jazeera report s (November 30th): At least five civilians including a child have died following Iraqi army shelling on residential areas in and around the city of Fallujah, medical sources say.

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Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter No 290

Iraq Occupation Focus

www.justiceforiraq.blogspot.co.uk

Newsletter No. 290

December 1st, 2015

U.S. Military: Iraq Air Strike Likely Killed Four Civilians, Including Child Reuters report (November 20th): A U.S. air strike that targeted an Islamic State checkpoint in Iraq in March likely killed four civilians, one of whom may have been a child, the U.S. military said in a rare statement acknowledging the death of civilians.

Iraq's paramilitaries demand more cash for Islamic State fight, testing PM Reuters report (November 19th): Iraqi paramilitaries seen as essential in fighting Islamic State are resisting moves to rein in their budget, highlighting the challenge of imposing government authority on one of the country's most powerful forces.

ISIS Pursuing Chemical Weapons, Say Iraqi and U.S. Officials AP report (November 19th): Iraqi and U.S. intelligence officials say the Islamic State group is aggressively pursuing development of chemical weapons, setting up a branch dedicated to research and experiments with the help of scientists from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the region.

A doctor killed and three others wounded in coalition aircraft bombing south of Mosul NINA report (November 17th): A doctor was killed and three others doctors were wounded in the bombing of a health center by international coalition aircraft south of Mosul, according to local residents.

There are signs Canadian commandos are battling ISIS in northern Iraq CBC report (November 16th): Canadian special operations forces are continuing to advise and assist Kurdish forces as they battle ISIS in a major offensive in the northern part of Iraq, an operation that brings with it the strong likelihood Canadian commandos are in combat today.

Continue to read the Newsletter No. 290 
Iraq occupation Focus Newsletter No 289
Iraq occupation Focus Newsletter No 288

Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter No 287

Iraq says it was not warned about Russian missiles crossing its airspace Washington Post reports (October 9th): Iraq’s Defense Ministry said it was not informed when Russia launched more than two dozen cruise missiles across its airspace this week, and it described the lack of coordination in the region’s increasingly cluttered skies as “dangerous.”

Iraq forces retake areas around Ramadi AFP report (October 7th): Iraqi forces have retaken several areas north and west of Ramadi as efforts to close in on the Anbar provincial capital seized by jihadists in May intensify, officials said.

Iraq PM open to Russian airstrikes on Islamic State militants France 24 reports (October 2nd): Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told FRANCE24 in an exclusive interview broadcast that he is open to allowing Russia to carry out air strikes against Islamic State group militants in Iraq.

A family of seven members killed in bombing by the International Coalition aircraftsouth of Kirkuk NINA reports (September 28th): A security source told the National Iraqi News Agency "that an international coalition aircraft bombed a residential house at the entrance to Al Yarkon village in al-Rashad district south of Kirkuk, which led to the killing of an entire family of seven members of men, women and children.”

Shocking Truth Of UK Involvement In The Deaths of 6-8 million in Iraq and Afghanistan True Publica reports (September 29th): Landmark research proves that the US-led ‘war on terror’ has killed much higher numbers than previously reported and this is only a fraction of Western responsibility for deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two decades.

Back in March this year, the Washington DC-based Physicians for Social Responsibility (PRS) released a landmark study concluding that the death toll from 10 years of the “War on Terror” since the 9/11 attacks is at least 1.3 million, and could be as high as 2 million. But still, the reality is much worse as the report concludes.

CIA, Special Ops Cooperate to Kill Extremists in Syria, Iraq ABC News reports (September 28th): With no regular American presence in the war theater, the U.S. has struggled to answer basic intelligence questions about the situation in Syria and Iraq, including the Islamic State group's fighting strength.

But one element is seen as a growing intelligence and military success: The combined effort by the CIA and the military's Joint Special Operations Command to find and kill "high value" targets from both al-Qaida and IS. Continue reading newsletter

Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter 286

4th October 2015
UK to extend surveillance aircraft use in Iraq and Syria BBC reports (September 26th): The UK is to extend the use of surveillance aircraft in Iraq and Syria until next year, the defence secretary has announced.

Deadlock in battle for Iraq refinery casts doubts on Mosul campaign Reuters report (September 24th): The Iraqi army's failure to recapture the country's largest oil refinery from Islamic State after 15 months of fighting is calling into question the government's plans to retake the northern city of Mosul from the jihadists.

Iraq political disarray slows Ramadi campaign USA Today reports (September 21st): Political disarray in Iraq appears to be undermining a critical offensive to retake Ramadi, a key city in Iraq’s Sunni heartland that was seized by Islamic State militants nearly four months ago.

Militia Abuses Mar Fight Against ISIS HRW report (September 20th): Iraqi government-backed militias carried out widespread destruction of homes and shops around the city of Tikrit in March and April 2015 in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said in a report.

Iraqi deserters fleeing front lines for life in Europe Globe and Mail reports (September 20th): Some Iraqi soldiers are abandoning their posts and joining a wave of civilian migrants headed to Europe, raising new doubts about the cohesion of the country’s Western-backed security forces in the fight against Islamic State militants.

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Iraq Occupation Focus Newletter no 285 dated 22/9/2015

Baghdad condemns Turkish incursion into Iraq AFP report (September 10th): Iraq condemned Turkey for sending ground troops onto its territory in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, calling it a "clear violation" of its sovereignty.

German intelligence confirms ISIS used mustard gas in Iraq, says news report AP report (September 9th): Germany’s foreign intelligence agency BND has reportedly collected evidence of mustard gas use by the Islamic State group. German daily Bild reported on Monday that BND intelligence agents collected blood samples from Kurds who were injured in clashes with Isis.

 

 Australian air strike may have caused civilian casualties in Iraq, US report says ABC reports (September 4th): An Australian air strike against Islamic State (IS) may have caused civilian casualties in Iraq, according to a document obtained by the ABC.

 

Civilian deaths claimed in 71 US-led airstrikes on Isis The Guardian reports (September 3rd): The US-led coalition’s bombing of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has been described as the “most precise ever”, faces allegations that civilians have been killed in 71 separate air raids.

 

Canadian airstrike in Iraq may have killed up to 27 civilians: Kurdish militia soldier The Star reports (September 3rd): A Kurdish militia soldier reported that an airstrike by Canadian fighter jets in Iraq in January may have killed up to 27 civilians, U.S. documents say.

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Iraq’s Identity Crisis

Matthew Schweitzer and Harith Hasan al-Qarawee write for Counterpunch (August 14th): In the land where history was first written, the complete erasure of over 8,000 years of cultural heritage, record, ethnic pluralism, and memory is underway. Although sidelined by the exigencies of war, those losses will impact Iraq’s potential to rehabilitate post-conflict. They represent an abrogation of a collective heritage: the world’s first legal code, writing system, and cities developed in Mesopotamia.

Read more:http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/14/iraqs-identity-crisis/