Posts
Unlike the Guardian, the Telegraph is doing some actual reporting.
Here is its timeline - I have weeded out all the blow-by-blow commentary of the western political class.
Iraq crisis: ISIS militants push towards Baghdad - live refuses to send troops to Iraq, but won’t rule out air strikes
RT,
13
June, 2014
The
Iraqi official confirmed numerous eyewitness reports that the
militants flew a captured helicopter
20.50
Interesting
if true. It is not a one nutter show according to Mosul governor.
Although he is perhaps not in the best position to speak freely.
Mosul
governor points out not all fighters are #ISIS
, many anti American and anti Maliki Sunnis joining them
#skybreaking
#Iraq
20.05
A
new New
York Times article
paints a picture of the Iraqi government in crisis, appealing for the
US for help, threatening Iran will fill the gap if they refuse.
“If
you’re in an antique shop there’s a sign, ‘If you broke it, you
bought it,' ” the official, who is an adviser to Prime
Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, said. “I am not saying the Americans
are responsible for everything, but they did not leave a well-trained
army and they left us without any real air support, and the Obama
administration really shares much of the blame.”
The
Maliki adviser said that the Iraqi government wanted air support and
intelligence sharing in particular from the United States. So far,
the adviser said, he was not aware of any direct Iranian role in
Iraq, nor the presence of any Iranian units on Iraqi territory. “What
changes this is if the U.S. does not help, Iran will come in and this
is really dangerous,” he said. “If they don’t help I don’t
think Iran will let the Iraqi government collapse, they will fight
and fight very hard.”
- ISIS fighters have surrounded the Baiji oil refinery — having captured the town on Wednesday — but have not yet moved into the complex. It should be noted that Obama said today that if ISIS seized control of major refineries the that other oil producers in the Middle East would need to help “pick up the slack”.
Long
before the city's dramatic fall, ISIS, which formed in April 2013,
and its precursor, al Qaeda in Iraq, were operating openly for years
in Mosul, killing civilians like Bahnam with impunity, manipulating
the justice system, and even collecting so-called "jihad taxes"
from local businesses. And yet Iraq's extensive military and security
apparatus did almost nothing.
A
Foreign Policy feature describes
how ISIS was wreaking havoc in Mosul long before it took over the
city.
Also,
following the money, NPR's Alice Fordham in April showed
how ISIS has run protection rackets and extorted Iraqi citizens in
Mosul to fund its operations in Syria.
18.21
ISIS
have tweeted the decapitated head of what appears to be an Iraqi
policeman with the sentence 'This is our football, it's made of skin
#World Cup', followed by a boast of having slaughtered 1,700
soldiers.
18.04
Maliki
has said Iraqi security forces have begun clearing cities of
"terrorists". Security forces "began their work to
clear all our dear cities from these terrorists," Maliki said in
a statement, without giving details of where or when operations had
started.
Maliki
travelled to the embattled city of Samarra today, areas of which
militants took last week and sought to advance into again on
Wednesday
17.37
Iran
has sent about 500 Revolutionary Guard troops to fight alongside
Iraqi government security forces in Diyala province, a senior
security official in Baghdad told CNN.
16.47
Bob
Tait, our correspondent in Jerusalem,
reports that several prayer leaders in Iran said today that the
Islamic Republic is prepared to fight against ISIS forces in Iraq:
Prayer
leaders delivering sermons throughout Iran delivered a unified
message on Friday. Ayatollah Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, Friday
prayer leader in the northern city of Tabriz, said Iran was ready
drive the ISIS forces from Iraq, calling them a danger to holy Shia
shrines in the country. "We will clear Iraq of terrorist and
excommunicated groups if the supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
Iran's highest cleric and most powerful figures] allows us to do so,"
he told worshippers.
Iran's
official IRNA news agency reported today that former members of the
powerful Revolutionary Guard have also announced their readiness to
join the battle against ISIS.
16.34
More
on the social media blackout being reported by Iraqi internet users -
technicians from two major service providers have confirmed that
Iraq's communications ministry has ordered internet and mobile
companies to block websites and apps including YouTube, Facebook,
Twitter, WhatsApp and Viber.
The
ministry has not commented but it is thought that officials believe
ISIS militants are using social networks to coordinate attacks.
15.56
Iraq's
foreign minister has drawn parallels between the retreat of the
country's security forces in the face of the ISIS onslaught to the
collapse of Saddam Hussein's army in 2003, in an interview published
in Asharq al-Awsat newspaper today.
"It
is the same collapse that happened in the ranks of the Iraqi armed
forces when American forces entered Iraq," Hoshyar Zebari said.
They
"took off military uniforms and put on civilian clothes and went
to their houses, leaving weapons and equipment" behind, he said.
Security
forces have resisted the militants in some areas but in others, such
as the city of Mosul, abandoned their posts and vehicles, threw away
their uniforms and fled.
Mr
Zebari also noted that ISIS has collaborated with other militant
groups in the offensive.
ISIS
is coordinating "with the Naqshbandiya Order and some extremist
Islamist factions and Ba'ath leaders from the former army," he
said, referring to Saddam's forces.
Earlier,
Saddam's daughter Raghad Saddam Hussein told a London-based Arabic
newspaper that former aides, army officers and Ba'athists loyal to
her toppled late father had played a key role in the capture of
Mosul.
Children
play with a Iraqi army helment left behind by fleeing forces in Mosul
15.22
Observers
say the call to arms issued by the influential Shia cleric, Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is of enormous significance and will
reverberate throughout tjhe country as well as the wider world of
Shia Islam. Conservative MP Rory Stewart comments on Twitter that
"Sistani is the key player and has always been cautious. This
call for Shia to take arms will have an immense impact in Iraq."
Meanwhile Ali Riazi of NGO the International Rescue Committee, warns
that the call "will foment further sectarian violence and
jeopardise civilians".
Shia
tribal leaders in Baghdad chant anti-ISIS slogans
15.03
It
is impossible to confirm at present whether the ISIS claim on Twitter
to have executed 1,700 Shia soldiers in Iraq is accurate, or an
exaggeration intended to create fear among the Shia populace. But
earlier, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay,
expressed "extreme alarm" at the situation and spoke of
verified reports of "summary executions and extrajudicial
killings". Some of the reports cited suggest that Iraqi security
forces are being purged, though it is unclear whether there is an
ethnic dimension to all of the killings.
According
to the UN mission in Iraq, "the number of people killed in
recent days may run into the hundreds and the number of wounded is
said to be approaching one thousand," Rupert Colville, Ms
Pillay's spokesman, said in Geneva.
He
said UN had received reports of horrific abuses after the capture of
Iraq's second city Mosul, one such case involving the "summary
executions of Iraqi soldiers (and) of 17 civilians" thought to
have been working for the police, in one particular street in Mosul
on 11 June.
A
court employee and 12 people believed to have been serving with Iraqi
security services or police had been executed in the central Mosul
neighbourhood of Dawasa, he added.
Mr
Colville also pointed to reports that ISIS militants had freed and
armed prisoners, who were now out searching for those they believed
were responsible for their incarceration to exact revenge.
In
one case, former prisoners reportedly "went to Tikrit and killed
seven former police officers who had worked in the prison," he
said.
"There
are also reports that ISIL check points are specifically targeting
former soldiers and police, especially one from one particular tribe
- the Jarobi tribe - which is perceived as being close to the
government," he added.
Mr
Colville also reported the suicide of four women in Mosul who had
reportedly either been raped or forced to marry ISIS militants.
Ms
Pillay "will be warning parties to the conflict that they are
obliged under international law to treat members of the armed forces
who have laid down their arms or are hors de combat humanely,"
he said.
"Murder
of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture constitute war
crimes," he added.
14.52
There
are widespread reports coming in via Twitter that the Iraqi
government has blocked access to Facebook in parts of the country, in
an apparent attempt to prevent it being used by ISIS to coordinate
attacks. Users in several cities have reported being redirected to a
page which says the site has been blocked by the Iraqi ministry of
communications. Some say Twitter access is also down. The blocks do
not appear to be countrywide, however.
14.47
BREAKING: Iraqi
army helicopters have fired rockets at a mosque in Tikrit, according
to local officials and witnesses cited by Reuters.
13.48
A
Twitter account believed to belong to ISIS has claimed that the
militants have executed 1,700 Shia soldiers in Iraq. Meanwhile the
group has allegedly pardoned 2,500 Sunni soldiers. This cannot be
independently confirmed, but the UN says it has received reports of
summary executions. We will report more on this claim as we have it.
Charles Lister of the US think-tank the Brookings Institution tweets:
12.18
We
have more now from on the call to arms from the influential Shia
cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during Friday prayers in the
city of Karbala.
"Citizens
who are able to bear arms and fight terrorists, defending their
country and their people and their holy places, should volunteer and
join the security forces to achieve this holy purpose," a
representative announced on behalf of the elderly cleric, who rarely
appears in public.
"He
who sacrifices for the cause of defending his country and his family
and his honour will be a martyr," he added.
The
Iraqi government says it will arm any civilian who volunteers to join
it in its battle against ISIS militants, and in Baghdad willing
residents have been seen pouring onto army trucks.
Sistani
is highly influential in the Shia Muslim world and is adored by
millions.
12.09
Richard
Spencer, Middle East Correspondent,
has delved into the complexities of the global jihadist movement to
look at how ISIS has emerged from the al-Qaeda ranks: Iraq
crisis: Is ISIS part of al-Qaeda?
He
writes:
The
sudden rise of ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham – is
the result of a crisis in the worldwide jihadist movement that has
set the two most powerful heirs to the mantle of Osama bin Laden at
loggerheads and led to the group's formal split from al-Qaeda.
Ayman
al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian long-time deputy to bin Laden, is still
technically the head of al-Qaeda. But after more than a decade in
hiding – presumably, like bin Laden himself, somewhere in Pakistan
– and at constant risk of suffering the same fate at the hands of
an American hit squad, his direct control over the organisation is
limited to the release of missives of support and instruction which
he does not have the same authority to enforce.
Ayman al-Zawahiri (AFP)
The
work on the ground is done by units claiming loyalty to the cause led
by powerful fighting emirs around the Middle East – from Al-Qaeda
in the Maghreb in North Africa to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
It
was perhaps inevitable that one of these leaders would eventually
challenge the leadership. It is no surprise to jihad-watchers that it
was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose predecessor as head of Iraqi
operations, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was also at variance with Zawahiri
over strategy before being killed by an American air strike in 2006.
Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi (AP)
Such
is the divide that Baghdadi and ISIS have been formally disavowed by
Zawahiri, meaning that purists would no longer say that ISIS are part
of al-Qaeda.
The
argument is partly about tactics: Zawahiri seems to believe that the
brutality of the Iraqi operation, which became famous for its
beheadings and other grisly, videoed displays of force, alienated
local Sunni populations.
It
is also about strategy: al-Qaeda Central, including both bin Laden
and Zawahiri, wanted jihad to be a worldwide competition of ideas
designed to undermine the West.
A
representative of Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric, Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has urged the country's citizens to take up
arms and defend their country from the threat of ISIS militants.
Sheikh
Abdulmehdi al-Karbalai was delivering the sermon at Friday prayers in
the city of Kerbala. More detail to follow.
11.27
The
daughter of the toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has said she is
"very happy" with the takeover of several Iraqi cities by
Sunni Islamist fighters
Speaking
to Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based Arabic newspaper, Raghad Saddam
Hussein credited the fall of Mosul to Izzat al Douri, an aide to her
late father who has been linked with a band of former Iraqi army
officers and Ba'athists who joined ISIS militants in their assault on
the city.
"I
am very happy with the victories (which) were achieved by my father’s
men," she said.
Saddam
Hussein with his daughter Raghad during his time as Iraq's president
10.47
As
the Iraqi government seeks to bolster Baghdad's defences in the face
of the ISIS offensive, civilian residents of the capital have been
volunteering to fight alongside the national army against the
al-Qaeda-inspired fighters:
Iraqi
civilians board army trucks as volunteers in the fight against ISIS
10.30
The
Iraqi government says it has boosted Baghdad's defences as ISIS
militants advance towards the capital.
"We
put in place a new plan to protect Baghdad," Brigadier General
Saad Maan, an interior ministry spokesman, told AFP.
"The
plan consists of intensifying the deployment of forces, and
increasing intelligence efforts and the use of technology such as
(observation) balloons and cameras and other equipment," he
said.
"We
have been in a war with terrorism for a while, and today the
situation is exceptional," the spokesman added.
10.24
The
Telegraph's Middle
East Correspondent, Richard Spencer,
says that while ISIS has Baghdad in its sights, it is questionable
whether the militants really have the power to take the capital:
ISIS's
spokesman says the battle for Iraq will move to Baghdad and beyond,
to Karbala. That is a highly inflammatory statement, even by his
standards - Karbala is the focal point of the Shia faith, the place
where its founding imam, Hussein, was killed by the troops of the
original Sunni Caliphate at the start of the Sunni-Shia divide.
Whether
ISIS gets there is another matter. ISIS has a reputation for doing
exactly as it threatens, but Baghdad ought to be a different
challenge from Mosul. Unlike Mosul, it has large Shia areas which are
still loyal to the government, and perhaps more importantly Shia
troops, volunteers and militias defending them will be fighting for
their families and sect, not just the nation state and its unpopular
leader, Nouri al-Maliki.
Iranian
forces are already said to be in Baghdad too. A large-scale western
presence means that key installations, such as the large and
well-fortified airport compound, are also protected by western
security contractors.
10.17
In
the midst of the chaos, the prospect has been raised of an unlikely
alliance between Iran and the US as both seek to counter a common
enemy.
A
senior Iranian official has told Reuters that the leadership of the
Shia state is discussing possible cooperation with Washington in
providing support to Iraq government in its battle with
al-Qaeda-inspired militants.
The
Islamic Republic is reportedly planning to send its neighbour
advisers and arms, although probably not troops, to help Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki push back fighters from ISIS, the breakaway
Sunni al-Qaeda group.
"We
can work with Americans to end the insurgency in the Middle East,"
the official said, referring to the crisis in Iraq.
"We
are very influential in Iraq, Syria and many other countries."
ISIS
is one of the key players in the battle to overthrow Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, a key Iranian ally, and its regional rise has
rattled Tehran.
"The
danger of extremist Sunni terrorist in Iraq and the region is
increasing ... There have been several high-ranking security meetings
since yesterday in Tehran," the official said.
"We
are on alert and we also follow the developments in Iraq very
closely."
Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday condemned violence perpetrated
by insurgent groups in the Middle East.
"Today,
in our region, unfortunately, we are witnessing violence, killing,
terror and displacement," Mr Rouhani said.
"Iran
will not tolerate the terror and violence ... we will fight against
terrorism, factionalism and violence."
Brigadier-General
Mohammad Hejazi said Iran was ready to supply its neighbour with
"military equipment or consultations," the Tasnim news
agency reported. "I do not think the deployment of Iranian
troops would be necessary," he added.
Washington
so far has been cautious in its response to the Iranian comments,
possibly due to concerns that Iran could try to use its regional
influence with respect to the crisis as leverage in ongoing
negotiations over its nuclear programme and international sanctions.
Jen Psaki, the US State Department spokeswoman, said: "Clearly,
we've encouraged them in many cases to play a constructive role. But
I don't have any other readouts or views from our end to portray here
today."
09.58
Witnesses
have reported that ISIS militants are preparing for a fresh assault
on the city of Samarra, home to the Shiite shrine whose 2006 bombing
prompted the upsurge in sectarian violence known as the Iraqi civil
war.
Residents
in the Dur area, between the ISIS-controlled city of Tikrit and
Samarra, said they saw "countless" vehicles carrying the
fighters south overnight.
In
Samarra, witnesses reported that insurgents were grouping to the
north, east and southeast of the city, which lies just 70 miles north
of Baghdad.
A
tribal leader said that ISIS fighters had spoken with security forces
in Samarra, asking them to withdraw and promising not to harm the
Al-Askari shrine, according to AFP. But the security forces refused
to leave, setting the stage for a full-blown attack.
ISIS
has already made two attempts to take control of Samarra, one on
Wednesday and one late last week, but were pushed back by Iraqi
troops.
The
bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in February 2006 sparked two years of
bloody sectarian conflict between the country's Shiite majority and
Sunni Arab minority which claimed tens of thousands of lives
09.25
Watch
the latest Telegraph video from Iraq: ISIS fighters stage a parade of
American Humvee patrol cars seized from a collapsing Iraqi army in
the two days since its fighters overran the northern city of Mosul.
09.00
Iraqi
troops are battling ISIS militants advancing towards Baquba, the
capital of Diyala province just 30 miles north of Baghdad, after the
insurgents took control of a number of towns and villages in the area
overnight.
Clashes
were reported on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah, 23 miles northeast of
Baquba, as ISIS made territorial gains in the ethnically mixed
province, said to be one of the incubators for Al-Qaeda-linked
activity in the last two years.
Diyala
province has a mixed Arab, Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite population and
suffered much of the worst sectarian violence during Iraqi civil war
of 2006-2008.
The
militants have already captured two provincial capitals this week -
Tikrit in Salaheddin province and second city Mosul in Nineveh.
ISIS
spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani has vowed its fighters would press
on to the capital and, further south, to the Shiite shrine city of
Karbala, visited by millions of pilgrims from around the world each
year.
ISIS
fighters at a checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul
07.55
The
UN says that some half a million people have fled their homes since
Monday, fearing violence, kidnapping and rape as ISIS militants
tighten their grip on large parts of the country's north. Most have
headed for the autonomous Kurdish region and workers were yesterday
busy expanding the Khazer checkpoint in the area known as Kalak to
cope with the flood of refugees.
One
man told the Associated
Press how
fighters had come to his home and threatened his family:
"Masked
men came to our house and they threatened us: 'We will get to you.'
So we fled," said Abed, a labourer who abandoned his home on the
edge of Mosul "They kidnapped other people. They took away some
people for interrogation."
The
young man said rumors were quickly spreading that Islamic State
fighters - as well as masked bandits taking advantage of the chaos -
were seizing young women for rape or forced marriage.
"They
are destroying the honor of families," said Abed, who, like many
of the displaced, wouldn't give his full name, fearing the Islamic
State fighters.
Many
of the displaced said they were on the move because they feared
retribution by Iraq's military - underscoring the grave sectarian
tensions that have allowed the Islamic State fighters, who are Sunni
extremists, to conquer so fast and deeply.
Women
flee Mosul for the Kurdish autonomous region
07.45
ISIS
fighters have gained more ground overnight, taking two towns in the
eastern province of Diyala after security forces abandoned their
posts. Reuters cited security sources as reporting that the towns of
Saadiyah and Jalawla have now fallen to the militants, who have also
moved into several villages around the Himreen mountains, long a
sanctuary for insurgent groups.
Iraqi
troops launched artillery rounds at the two towns, causing many
families to flee towards Khaniqin, close to the Iranian border, the
sources said.
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