Al Qaeda victory! Obama lost again! 2nd largest Iraqi City fell

[nkfnkfnkf]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-in-Iraqi-city-Mosul/articleshow/36349067.cms

Militants seize provincial headquarters in Iraqi city Mosul
AP | Jun 10, 2014, 03.25 PM IST
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Militants seize provincial headquarters in Iraqi city Mosul
The insurgents seized the government complex — a key symbol of state authority — late on Monday, following days of fighting in the country's second-largest city.
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BAGHDAD: Iraqi police and army forces abandoned their posts in the northern city of Mosul after militants overran the provincial government headquarters and other key buildings, dealing a serious blow to Baghdad's efforts to control a widening insurgency in the country, a provincial official and residents said Tuesday.

The insurgents seized the government complex — a key symbol of state authority — late on Monday, following days of fighting in the country's second-largest city, a former al-Qaida stronghold situated in what has long been one of the more restive parts of Iraq. The gunmen also torched several of the city's police stations, freeing detainees held in lockups.

The fighters are believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida splinter group that is behind the bulk of the bloody attacks in Iraq and is among the most ruthless rebel forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad in neighboring Syria. The group has also tried to position itself as a champion for Iraq's large and disaffected Sunni minority.

Several worried Mosul residents reported seeing the gunmen hoisting the black flags inscribed with the Islamic declaration used by ISIL, al-Qaida and other jihadist groups.

As the militants worked to consolidate control over Mosul, a powerful blast struck a funeral in the central city of Baqouba, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad. The city, a onetime flashpoint between insurgents and US forces, is home to both Sunnis and Shiites.

Police said the explosion targeted mourners gathered for the funeral of a Sunni university professor killed a day earlier, killing at least 15 and wounding 27. A hospital official confirmed the casualties.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

In Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, in Ninevah province, the insurgents appeared to be in control in several parts of the city, residents said over the telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Detainees set free form the police stations were seen running in the streets in their yellow-jumpsuits, they said.

Um Karam, a government employee who lives about two kilometers (just over a mile) from the provincial headquarters, said her family decided to flee the city early on Tuesday after hearing about the government building's fall.

"The situation is chaotic inside the city and there is nobody to help us," the Christian mother of two said, using a nickname out of concern for her safety. "We are afraid ... There is no police or army in Mosul."

The militants' push comes as Iraq's embattled Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, struggles to hold onto power following parliamentary elections in late April that left him with the most seats but short of a majority needed to form a new government outright.

Many Iraqi Sunnis feel they have been marginalized under al-Maliki's leadership over the past eight years in power and see him as too closely aligned to Shiite conservatives and neighboring Shiite powerhouse Iran.

Ali Mahmoud, the media official for Ninevah province, said insurgents armed with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers stormed the provincial headquarters building in Mosul late on Monday night.

Mahmoud said they were able to overpower the building guards after a short firefight. He confirmed accounts by Mosul residents that many of the police and army forces that had been stationed in the city had disappeared by Tuesday.

Provincial governor Atheel al-Nujaifi was in a nearby guest house but managed to escape from the area unharmed, Mahmoud said. Atheel al-Nujaifi is the brother of Iraq's parliament speaker, Osama al-Nujaifi.

On Monday, the governor had urged residents to fend off the attackers.

"I call upon the men of Mosul to stand firm in their areas and to defend them against the strangers and to form public committees in their districts to help their people and to protect their areas," he said in a transcript of a speech posted online.

The governor himself has since left the city and is monitoring the situation, Mahmoud said.

Iraq has been grappling with its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006 and 2007.

ISIL insurgents and their allies remain in control of Fallujah and other parts of Anbar province, which neighbors Ninevah province and like it shares a long and loosely controlled border with Syria. The militants have also managed to launch frequent coordinated attacks in the capital, Baghdad, and in other parts of the country.

Insurgents last week launched an attack on the Sunni-dominated city of Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) from Baghdad. They killed several members of the Iraqi security forces and took control of several districts before eventually being repelled.

A day later, militants occupied a university in Anbar province, taking dozens hostages before later releasing later on. Authorities in Anbar said Monday that about 15 staffers are still missing, likely held by a group of gunmen in a campus building.
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http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-emergency-mosul-captured-20140610-story.html

Al Qaeda group seizes control of Iraq's second largest city
IRAQ-UNREST-MOSUL-JIHADISTS-FILES
An image taken from a video released in January by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant allegedly shows ISIL fighters. ISIL gunmen seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. (AFP/Getty Images)
the Associated Press
IraqBaghdad (Iraq)Wars and InterventionsAl-Qaeda
Al Qaeda splinter group seizes control of Iraq's second largest city
Gunmen burn police stations and free prisoners as they seize control of Iraq's second largest city

Iraq's prime minister has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency over a militant attack in Mosul.

Nouri al-Maliki made the call in a televised news conference Tuesday.

Militants effectively seized control of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday.

Iraqi security forces abandoned their posts and militants overran the provincial government headquarters and other key buildings, dealing a serious blow to Baghdad's attempts to tame a widening insurgency in the country.
lRelated 5 U.S. soldiers killed in apparent friendly-fire strike in Afghanistan

Afghanistan & Pakistan
5 U.S. soldiers killed in apparent friendly-fire strike in Afghanistan

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The gunmen torched several of the city's police stations, freeing detainees held in lockups.

The fighters are believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida splinter group that is behind the bulk of the bloody attacks in Iraq and is among the most ruthless rebel forces in Syria.
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

 

[nkfnkfnkf]

Well done again Ang Moh suckers!

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/06/10/5_us_troops_killed_by_friendly_fire_in_afghanistan.html



5 U.S. troops killed by ‘friendly fire’ in Afghanistan
The U.S.-led international coalition said the service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident.

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Coalition forces have confirmed five Americans were killed in what could be a case of air support mistakenly firing on the wrong fighters.
By: Rahim Faiez Associated Press, Published on Tue Jun 10 2014

KABUL—Five Americans troops were killed in an apparent coalition airstrike in southern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday, in one of the worst friendly fire incidents involving United States and coalition troops since the start of the nearly 14 year war.

The U.S.-led international coalition said the service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident, which an Afghan official said was an airstrike in southern Zabul province. A statement said all five soldiers died on Monday but did not give further details on the attack.

“Five American troops were killed yesterday during a security operation in southern Afghanistan. Investigators are looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these fallen,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

If confirmed, it would be one of the most serious cases involving coalition-on-coalition friendly fire during the war.

“The casualties occurred during a security operation when their unit came into contact with enemy forces. Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved. The incident is under investigation,” the coalition said in an earlier announcement.

One of the worst such incidents came in April 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed by an American F-16 jet fighter which dropped a bomb on a group of troops during night firing exercise in southern Kandahar.

A senior police official in southern Zabul said the coalition soldiers were killed when they called for close air support.

Provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rooghlawanay said there was a joint operation by Afghan and NATO troops in the area’s Arghandab district early Monday. After that operation was over, the troops came under attack from the Taliban and called in air support, he said.

“After the operation was over on the way back, the joint forces came under the attack of insurgents, and then foreign forces called for air support. Unfortunately five NATO soldiers and one Afghan army officer were killed mistakenly by NATO air strike,” Rooghlawanay said.

There was no way to independently confirm Rooghlawanay’s comments. The coalition would not comment and NATO headquarters in Brussels also declined to comment.

The only U.S. troops now involved in combat operations are usually Special Operations Forces that mentor their Afghan counterparts. They often come under fire and are responsible for calling in air support when needed. Because of constraints placed by outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, such air strikes are usually called “in extremis,” or when troops fear they are about to be killed.

Karzai blamed a similar airstrike called in by special forces mentoring an Afghan operation for killing a dozen civilians during an operation in northern Parwan province. The U.S. military vehemently denied the charge, saying that two civilians were killed in crossfire with Taliban militants and that airstrike was called in when forces thought they were about to be killed by insurgents.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack against the joint force in Zabul.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said a battle took place on Monday night between foreign troops and Taliban fighters in the Arghandab district. Ahmadi claimed a “huge number” of NATO soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting. The Taliban often exaggerate their claims.

Separately, a NATO statement said a service member died Monday as a result of a non-battle injury in eastern Afghanistan.

The deaths bring to 36 the number of NATO soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, with eight service members killed in June.

The insurgents have intensified attacks on Afghan and foreign forces ahead of the country’s presidential election runoff Saturday. Officials are concerned there could be more violence around the time of the vote, although the first round in April passed relatively peacefully.

Casualties have been falling in the U.S.-led military coalition as its forces pull back to allow the Afghan army and police to fight the Taliban insurgency. All combat troops are scheduled to be withdrawn from the country by the end of this year.

 

[nkfnkfnkf]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/s...ol-of-the-second-city-and-its-province-539322


State of Emergency in Iraq as Jihadists Gain Control of the Second City and its Province

World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: June 10, 2014 22:39 IST
State of Emergency in Iraq as Jihadists Gain Control of the Second City and its Province

Representational Image
Baghdad: Jihadists seized Iraq's second city of Mosul and its surrounding province on Tuesday, in a major blow to a government apparently incapable of stopping militant advances.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responded by asking parliament to declare a state of emergency and announcing that the government would arm citizens to fight the militants.

"All of Nineveh province fell into the hands of militants," parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi told journalists in Baghdad, adding that the gunmen were heading south towards neighbouring Salaheddin province.

An army brigadier general told AFP that hundreds of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched an all-out assault on the security forces late on Monday.

An interior ministry official said Mosul "is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants."

He said some soldiers and police took off their uniforms and fled the city, where the security forces have been involved in deadly clashes with the militants since Friday.

The militants announced over loudspeakers that they had "come to liberate" the city of some two million people and that "they would fight only those who fight them," the official added.

Exodus of civilians
Troops first pulled back from the east of the city, regrouping in the west before pulling out altogether, along with thousands of residents, he said.

An AFP journalist, himself fleeing the city with his family, said shops were closed, a police station had been set ablaze and that numerous security force vehicles had been burned or abandoned.

The journalist saw hundreds of families leaving Mosul. Some were on foot, carrying what they could, others in vehicles with their belongings piled on the roofs.

One east Mosul resident said his neighbourhood had been taken by the militants in just an hour of heavy gunfire.

The assailants seized the provincial government headquarters and the Nineveh Operations Command as well as the airport, the general said.

They also freed hundreds of prisoners from three jails.

The Turkish consulate in Mosul said ISIL fighters had captured 28 Turkish truck drivers as they were unloading a cargo of fuel oil from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun.

A foreign ministry official said Ankara was hoping that the drivers would be released once the oil had been unloaded at a power station in Mosul.

"But we don't know if the situation in the city will make it possible or if ISIL will change their mind," the official added.

Maliki said the cabinet had decided to arm citizens to fight the militants.

It has "created a special crisis cell to follow up on the process of volunteering and equipping and arming", he said in televised remarks.

Maliki said the cabinet also decided to reorganise the security forces, and to ask parliament to announce a state of emergency.

State television later reported that parliament had received a joint request from Maliki and the president's office to declare a state of emergency -- the procedure laid down in the constitution.

Jihad in Syria and Iraq
Predominantly Sunni Muslim Nineveh province has long been a militant stronghold and one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq.

ISIL, the most powerful militant group in Iraq, is also a key force in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria. In April, it launched a new campaign in Syria's Deir Ezzor province, which borders Nineveh, aimed at carving out an Islamic state along the frontier.

Mosul is the second city to fall from government control this year. Militants and allied tribesmen also control Fallujah, west of the capital.

Violence struck other areas of Iraq on Tuesday.

In Baquba, north of Baghdad, two bombs killed 20 people near a funeral procession for a teacher who was shot dead the night before.

In the capital, nine people died in attacks.

Gunmen have launched major operations in Nineveh, Salaheddin, Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad provinces since Thursday, killing scores of people and highlighting both their long reach and the weakness of security forces.

Militants seized swathes of the city of Samarra for hours before being driven out in heavy fighting and took hundreds of hostages at a university in Ramadi.

Violence is running at its highest levels since 2006-2007, when tens of thousands were killed in sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority.

Officials blame external factors for the rising bloodshed, particularly the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

But analysts say widespread Sunni Arab anger with the Shiite-led government has also been a major factor.

 

[nkfnkfnkf]

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/10/world/meast/iraq-violence/

Iraqi soldiers, police drop weapons, flee posts in portions of Mosul
By Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jomana Karadsheh and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
June 10, 2014 -- Updated 1636 GMT (0036 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Report: Militants have kidnapped 20 Turkish truck drivers
Iraqi PM asks parliament to declare a state of emergency amid Mosul violence
Iraq parliament speaker cites "total occupation" of Nineveh province by militants
The gunmen are thought to belong to extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

(CNN) -- Militants seized control of the airport, TV stations and the governor's offices in Iraq's second-largest city as police and soldiers ran away from their posts Tuesday, a stunning collapse of the security forces that has raised questions about Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ability to hold the country together.

Thousands of people -- some carrying plastic bags, others pushing carts -- have fled the fighting in Mosul, creating a humanitarian crisis that has caught the government off guard.

The militants are believed to be members of the extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an al Qaeda splinter group also known by its acronym ISIS. Many foreign fighters are believed to be among their number, senior police officials said.

The fighting that began five days ago culminated with the militants taking control of security checkpoints, military bases and a prison, where they freed up to 1,000 prisoners, authorities said.
Gunman seize Iraqi university
Iraq violence leaves more than 100 dead

In a live national address that aired on Iraqi state television, al-Maliki described the Mosul unrest as a dangerous security situation requiring immediate measures to protect civilians.

He called for all state resources to be mobilized to fight terrorism, and asked all men to volunteer to join the army.

"This requires all efforts, both civilian and official, to confront this ferocious attack that harms all Iraqis, from a deteriorating security situation to a humanitarian crisis," he said.

He also urged the international community, the United Nations and the Arab League to support Iraq in the fight against terror.

Gunmen use Iraqi students as human shields

Speaker points finger at security forces

Earlier, the speaker of Iraq's parliament said that a "foreign invasion" of the country was under way by "terrorist groups" and that the northern province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, was under "total occupation."

Speaking at a news conference in Baghdad, Osama al-Nujaifi appeared to point the finger at the central government, accusing security forces of abandoning Mosul when the fighting began.

Al-Nujaifi said security forces "abandoned their weapons, their tanks and their bases and left them to terrorist groups, even Mosul airport." He also said gunmen had taken over ammunition storage facilities.

The speaker, whose brother Atheel al-Nujaifi is the governor of Nineveh province, said the central government had been warned over the past few weeks that militant groups were gathering but had taken no preventive action.

"It will not stop at the borders of Nineveh but will reach all of Iraq," he said.

Also criticizing the central government was Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, who blamed security forces for allowing militants to take control of portions of Mosul.

"Over the last two days, we tried extremely hard to establish cooperation with the Iraqi security forces in order to protect the city of Mosul. Tragically, Baghdad adopted a position which has prevented the establishment of this cooperation," he said in a written statement.

One move too far: How al-Maliki overreached in Anbar

Militant stronghold

Power, water and telephone lines have been cut in large swaths of Mosul, residents told CNN.

Meanwhile, 20 Turkish truck drivers hauling fuel were abducted from an electricity plant in the Mosul region by militants believed to ISIS, the semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported Tuesday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is looking into the claims, it reported.

The latest violence in Mosul, a predominantly Sunni city about 560 kilometers (350 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad, will surely be a blow to central authorities, who already are struggling to contain an insurgency in central Anbar province.

Mosul was called the last stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq by the U.S. military and also is considered one of the main entry points for foreign fighters coming into the country by way of Syria.

Iraqi security forces said Saturday that they had killed more than 50 ISIS fighters in clashes in the west of the city.

Grisly scene in Iraq: 'See these children?'

Meanwhile, at least 31 people were killed and 28 others injured Tuesday when a series of roadside bombs detonated at a cemetery on the outskirts of the central city of Baquba, according to police officials.

Iraq has been beset with political and sectarian violence for months, often pitting Sunnis -- a minority in Iraq -- against Shiite Muslims, who came to dominate the government after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.

Tensions are fueled by widespread discontent among the Sunnis, who say they are marginalized by the Shiite-led government and unfairly targeted by heavy-handed security tactics.

The United Nations said 2013 was the deadliest year in Iraq since 2008, with more than 8,800 people killed, most of them civilians.

Nearly 500,000 people are estimated to have been displaced this year in fighting, primarily in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, the United Nations refugee agency said last week. That number is expected to climb.

Thousands flee intense Falluja shelling

Opinion: Why Iraq elections can't fix chaos

 

[Sinkie]

Only USA and its allies are worried about Al Qaeda..............that includes tiny Singapore becasue of our affiliation with USA.

Russia and China rule.........this is the 21st century. USA can go fly kite.

 

[obama.bin.laden]

Only USA and its allies are worried about Al Qaeda..............that includes tiny Singapore becasue of our affiliation with USA.

Russia and China rule.........this is the 21st century. USA can go fly kite.

Indeed and USA is so frightened.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...hin-iranian-striking-distance-official-warns/

US military base within Iranian striking distance, official warns

By Lisa Daftari
Published June 10, 2014
FoxNews.com
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iranianthreat.jpg

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser Mojtaba Zonnour boasted that Tehran's missiles could hit a U.S. military base.

A top Iranian defense official's claim that a U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean is now within missile range served both as a threat to American interests and a revelation that, if true, Tehran has doubled its striking distance.

"In the event of an irrational attack by the U.S., America's military bases will not be safe from our missiles, whether in Bahrain or at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean," the senior official, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser Mojtaba Zonnour, was quoted as saying to Iran's "Defa Moghadas," or Holy Defense.

"They are not negotiating and never have negotiated in good faith. They are taking us for fools."

- Claire Lopez, Center for Security Policy

The U.S. Navy operates a naval ship and submarine support base, military air base, space-tracking facility at Diego Garcia, an atoll some 1,000 nautical miles off the southern tip of India. If the regime in Tehran really can hit Diego Garcia with its ballistic missiles, it means they have a range of at least 3,100 miles -- more than double current estimates. And the boast came even as Iranian officials were in Switzerland, meeting with their Western counterparts to finalize a nuclear deal.

Zonnour spoke in response to boilerplate U.S. assertions that “all options are on the table,” regarding efforts to force Iran to comply with international efforts to curb its nuclear program. But it was the first time Iran has mentioned Diego Garcia, particularly in the context of a potential missile strike. The base was used to launch sorties into both Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.

"Diego Garcia is a very critical base in the Indian Ocean," said Claire Lopez, vice president for research and analysis at the Center for Security Policy.

Although Iranian military leaders have often made improbable boasts about their ability to strike at the U.S., Lopez said Zonnour's claim is not so outlandish.

"The Pentagon has more than once issued open-source reports that the Iranian [intercontinental ballistic missiles] would be able to reach the continental U.S. by next year," she noted. "So Diego Garcia may not be such a stretch."

Missile range, coupled with nuclear capability, could make Iran a major threat to its enemies. Western officials accuse the Iranian regime of wanting to maintain a uranium enrichment capability exceeding the limits appropriate for civilian nuclear power stations, while the Iranian regime maintains its program is for peaceful purposes.

U.S. and Iranian officials reconvened in Geneva this week in hopes of breaking the present deadlock regarding a permanent deal with Iran ahead of the July 20 deadline. The P5+1, including the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, agreed on Nov. 24, when the interim deal was announced, to allow for an extension of up to six months if a final deal could not be reached. It was that interim deal that allowed Iran to wriggle out of crippling sanctions imposed by the West.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already mentioned a possible six-month extension if the deadline passes.

"We hope to reach a final agreement but, if this doesn't happen, then we have no choice but to extend the Geneva deal for six more months while we continue negotiations," Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iran's state news agency IRNA. "It's still too early to judge whether an extension will be needed."

The U.S. raised the possibility of limiting Iran's missile program as part of the talks two months ago, prompting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to say it would be "stupid and idiotic" to expect Iran to comply. Subsequently, he ordered that Tehran's defense contractors to increase production of the missiles, according to reports. The U.S. appears to have scrapped the idea of limiting Iran's missile capabilities, with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stating that the P5+1 is focused only on Iran's nuclear program.

The latest threat, coming even as negotiations proceed, is part of Iran's long history of duplicity, said Lopez.

"They are not negotiating and never have negotiated in good faith," she said. "They are taking us for fools. Their nuke program at home continues apace, and whatever is being said in Geneva is irrelevant."

As for the threat, Lopez said the U.S. should listen.

"It's a little foolish not to take seriously a country that not only continuously threatens genocide against Israel, but the U.S. as well, all while developing the means to carry out the threat," she said.

Lisa Daftari is a Fox News contributor specializing in Middle Eastern affairs.

 

[Force 136]

Only USA and its allies are worried about Al Qaeda..............that includes tiny Singapore becasue of our affiliation with USA.

Sorry.... its Pinky's subservience to the USA......

 

[Force 136]

Iconic photo of US evacuation of Saigon in 1975, fleeing from victorious Vietcongs

waiting for iconic pics of US evacuation of Iraq and Afghanistan 2014.........

 

[nkfnkfnkf]

USA defeated again and again. One more city fallen.


http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaki...-saddam-husseins-home-town-tikrit-633150.html


Iraq: Militants seize Saddam Hussein's home town Tikrit

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - 06:19 PM

Al Qaida-inspired militants have seized control of Saddam Hussein’s home town of Tikrit.

The insurgents expanded their offensive closer to the Iraqi capital as soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts following clashes.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control a day earlier of much of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in a major blow to the authority of the country’s Shiite government. An estimated half a million residents fled the economically important city.

Residents in Sunni-dominated Tikrit said the Sunni militant group had taken over several police stations.

Iraqi security officials confirmed Tikrit was under the control of the ISIL and said the provincial governor was missing.

Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin province, is 80 miles north of Baghdad.

Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said the massive security failure in Sunni-dominated Ninevah province that allowed militants to seize Mosul was the result of a “conspiracy”, and that those members of the security forces who fled rather than stand up to the militants should be punished.

He stopped short of assigning direct blame, however, choosing to focus instead on plans to fight back – without detailing the specifics.

“Today, the important thing is that we are working to solve the situation,” al-Maliki said. “We are making preparations and we are regrouping the armed forces that are in charge of clearing Ninevah from those terrorists.”

The stunning assault by the al Qaida-inspired group saw black banner-waving insurgents raid government buildings, push out security forces and capture military vehicles as residents fled for their lives.

Mosul is the capital of Ninevah province. It and the neighbouring Sunni-dominated province of Anbar share a long and porous border with Syria, where the Islamic State is also active.

Ninevah governor Atheel al-Nujaifi told reporters that “Mosul is capable of getting back on its feet and getting rid of all the outsiders”, and said authorities planned to mobilise residents into popular militias that would play a role in retaking the city.

There were no immediate estimates on how many people were killed in the assault but the rampage sent an estimated 500,000 people fleeing from the city and surrounding areas, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Some simply crossed to the eastern bank of the Tigris River to avoid the worst of the fighting, while others made their way to the Ninevah countryside or sought refuge in the nearby semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Getting into that area has grown trickier, however, with migrants without family members already in the enclave needing to secure permission from Kurdish authorities, according to the IOM.

Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said the fall of the major northern city to insurgents must push the country’s leaders to work together and deal with the “serious, mortal threat” facing Iraq.

Speaking on the sidelines of a diplomatic meeting in Athens, he said Iraqi troops and forces belonging to the Kurdish region’s government could work together to push the insurgents out.

“We can push back on the terrorists ... and there would be a closer cooperation between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government to work together and try to flush out these foreign fighters,” he said.

Mosul residents said gunmen went around knocking on their doors, reassuring locals they would not be harmed and urging civil servants to return to work.

In an eastern section of the city, 34-year-old Ali Sameer said mosques in his neighbourhood were calling on people to return to work, especially those in public services.

Mosul’s fall was a heavy defeat for al-Maliki amid a widening insurgency by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The group has been advancing in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria, capturing territory in a campaign to set up a militant enclave straddling the border.

Al-Maliki has pressed parliament to declare a state of emergency over the Mosul attack.

Echoing al-Maliki, Ninevah governor al-Nujaifi accused senior security force commanders of providing Baghdad with false information about the situation in Mosul and demanded they stand trial.
Speaking from the northern Kurdish city of Irbil where he took refuge, he said smaller armed groups had joined the Islamic State during the fight for control of the city.

Violence raged elsewhere in Iraq too on Wednesday.

Police and hospital officials said a suicide bomber set off his explosive belt inside a tent where tribesmen were meeting to solve a tribal dispute in Baghdad’s Shiite Sadr City neighborhood, killing 24 and wounding 41.

A car bomb struck Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala, killing four people and wounding 10, and another killed three people and wounded 12 in a town just south of Baghdad.

 

[nkfnkfnkf]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/opinion/mosul-falls-to-isis-endangering-iraqs-democracy.html?_r=0

The Army Alone Can’t Save Iraq
Mosul Falls to ISIS, Endangering Iraq’s Democracy

By NUSSAIBAH YOUNISJUNE 11, 2014

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Credit Anthony Russo
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — THE Obama administration must help the Iraqi government retake the city of Mosul from Islamists and stem their march toward Baghdad. But military aid will not be enough. For lasting success, the United States must compel Iraq’s divisive leadership to pursue government by reconciliation just as vigorously as it pursues battlefield victory.

We have learned the hard way that military counterinsurgencies that do not address political grievances always fail. Unless the Shiite-led Iraqi government adopts radical reforms that address the complaints of Iraq’s Sunni minority, an influx of American weapons will only add fuel to the fire consuming the country.

On Tuesday, Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, fell to Islamist militants led by a breakaway group of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. That puts ISIS, a leading force in the Syrian civil war, dangerously close to its goal: establishing a militant Islamist ministate straddling the two most violent countries in the Middle East. The United States simply cannot allow this, and the Obama administration is indeed responding by pouring military aid into Iraq.

The scope of the militants’ victory shows how desperate the situation is. When ISIS fighters swept into Mosul, a largely Sunni city, they faced virtually no resistance; the armed forces in and around the city shed their uniforms and fled. An estimated 500,000 residents also fled. Having consolidated control over Mosul, the militants then continued south. They captured the Qaiyara air base, the restive towns of Hawija and Salman Beg, and then the city of Tikrit, more than halfway to Baghdad itself.

The blitz shocked Baghdad and Washington, but Iraqi militant groups had been gaining ground for months. They have held the town of Falluja for half a year, despite Iraqi Army bombardments. In April, they seized a nearby dam on the Euphrates River and flooded surrounding areas to thwart any counteroffensive.

Even so, the fall of Mosul is a game-changer. The city is a commercial, political and military hub. The extremists have seized American-supplied weaponry, including armored vehicles. Mosul is at the heart of Nineveh Province, which has a 300-mile border with Syria. Across it, militants already exchange arms, money and men with comrades fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. A pipeline from Kirkuk, Iraq, to Ceyhan in Turkey is nearby. A long ISIS occupation could be ruinous for Iraq.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has called on Parliament to declare a state of emergency, which would greatly expand his powers. They could include imposing a media blackout, restricting movements of citizens, enforcing curfews and devolving sweeping powers to the military. He has called on civilians to join the army and may try to boost the army’s resolve by incorporating violent Shiite groups in his plans.

But such a move would only make the military situation worse. Iraq’s Sunnis have long felt sidelined in the Shiite-majority state, and a sense of being attacked by Shiite militants could well lead to a huge surge in Sunni support for ISIS.
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This crisis comes just two weeks after the results of a parliamentary election were announced, with a new government yet to be formed. Mr. Maliki’s coalition won more seats than any other group, but opposing parties have banded together, trying to oust him. Now the fall of Mosul may derail efforts to form a new government, leaving Mr. Maliki unlimited powers to silence political opponents.

The United States must use its assistance as leverage to prevent Mr. Maliki from becoming, in effect, a dictator. Many young Iraqis who join the Sunni militants already see the government as a sectarian oppressor. The Maliki government has targeted senior Sunni politicians, and failed to respond to Sunni demands for reform. Its exclusionary approach has helped enable extremism, and the United States must ensure that Mr. Maliki does not use the new outbreak of fighting to shore up his authority.

Moreover, the United States must compel the Iraqi Army to adopt a sensitive, population-centered approach to reversing the militants’ conquests. If the Iraqi Army sends Shiite militant groups or Kurdish forces to the heart of Sunni-dominated Mosul, or if it carpet-bombs the city and arbitrarily arrests or kills groups, it will alienate the hearts and minds essential to winning this battle.

ISIS is showing that it knows the importance of the Mosul population’s support. A contact of mine inside the city has quoted ISIS figures in the local mosque saying: “We are your brothers. There is nothing to be scared of. We are here to help you.” They encouraged residents to return to work, promised to protect them, and said they would to try to provide necessities like gasoline. Such efforts make it critical that the government’s military response is guided by a strategy to reclaim the confidence of Sunni Iraq.

The United States must also insist that Mr. Maliki’s forces shield the residents of Mosul during any counterattack, and that his government make concessions to Iraq’s Sunnis that he may deem unpalatable: radically easing the de-Baathification law, which Sunnis see as discriminatory; releasing Sunni prisoners held without charge; empowering Sunni politicians who have been sidelined; dropping charges against the popular Sunni leader Rafi al-Esawi; and moving toward letting Sunni regions become locally administered federal territories. However unpopular such reforms may be with non-Sunnis, the alternative is wave after wave of violence from a resentful and despondent Sunni constituency.

Even now, on the brink of a breakup of Iraq, the United States has an opportunity to stem the appalling growth of extremist militancy at the heart of the Arab world — but only if it remembers that wars of counterinsurgency must defuse political grievances.

Nussaibah Younis is a research fellow in the international security program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.

 

[tanwahtiu]

USArse shits cant even handle their own arm law and shootings are rampant in their own country.

Live with angmoh = live with failure people.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-in-Iraqi-city-Mosul/articleshow/36349067.cms

Militants seize provincial headquarters in Iraqi city Mosul
AP | Jun 10, 2014, 03.25 PM IST
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Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

these militants are probably financed by the West................

so US, UK and their kakis can come back to Iraq in large numbers.............

 

[emeritus CB]

these militants are probably financed by the West................

so US, UK and their kakis can come back to Iraq in large numbers.............

You so look up to the west ah?

Those financed by the western bankrupts had been defeated by militants loh. Killed or fled the cities already.

Western bankrupts wants suckers like PAP to finnance their failures, that's why PAP have to milk us more and more including losing our CPF moneys.