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ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

A place to talk about domestic politics in Middle East (Iran, Iraq , Turkey, Syria) Also includes topics about Assyrian, Armenian, Chaldean .

Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:39 pm

11 Iraqi militiamen killed by ISIS

At least 11 fighters from Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) were killed in an ambush by the Islamic State (ISIS) group north of the capital on Saturday, AFP reported

ISIS militants attacked PMF forces east of Tikrit after dark, using light weaponry, according to AFP. Iraq’s Security Media Cell also confirmed the attack on its Telegram channel.

Heavy fighting took place between the PMF and ISIS in the al-Eith area of Saladin province, according to PMF channels on Telegram. A PMF commander in the province, Abu Alia al-Hasnawi, a leader in the Badr Organization, was among those killed in the clashes.

The PMF was created in 2014 when Sistani issued a fatwa (a religious call to action) urging young Iraqis to take up arms against ISIS. The loose coalition of militia groups was formally recognized as an Iraqi armed force by the parliament in 2016, enjoying similar privileges as the Iraqi Army.

Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in late 2017, the role of the PMF has increasingly been called into question, with demands to withdraw units garrisoned in northern areas and to fully integrate them into the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Others have fought to maintain the PMF’s autonomy in order to allow it to continue carrying out the military objectives of its backer, Iran.

PMF units close to Iran are widely accused of abducting and killing protesters during Iraq's recent wave of anti-government unrest. They are also believed responsible for a spate of deadly rocket attacks targeting US and coalition personnel stationed at bases across Iraq, most recently on Friday night.

Sistani-affiliated units, meanwhile, are not known to have fired on protesters, have a generally better human rights record in areas they occupy, and are not implicated in the targeting of foreign troops and infrastructure.

The United States Department of Treasury has sanctioned senior PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh "for his connection to serious human rights abuse," the Treasury said in a statement on January 8th.

This was followed by sanctions on Abu Fadak al-Mohammedawi, chief of staff of the Iran-backed PMF, who was added on January 13 to the US’ Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List of "individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries."

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/230120216
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Jan 25, 2021 6:08 pm

US financial aid will be given
directly to Peshmerga ministry


A top Peshmerga ministry official says financial assistance provided by the American government will be handed directly to the Peshmerga ministry to pay the salaries of the Peshmerga units under its control

“The international coalition to defeat Daesh (Arabic acronym for the Islamic State or ISIS) is helping the Peshmerga forces with equipment, as well as financial and moral support in the fight against Daesh,” Major-General Bakhtyar Muhammed, military advisor and member of the senior reform board in the Ministry of Peshmerga said in a Monday interview with Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman.

“The financial assistance will be directly given to the ministry from this month in a bank account opened for the Ministry of Peshmerga. This assistance will pay the salaries of the brigades of the Peshmerga ministry,” he added.

The US has provided military and financial aid, as well as training, to Peshmerga forces since 2014. It previously paid the KRG $20 million each month to pay the salaries of Peshmerga fighters.

The United States Department of Defense officially gave $12.5 million worth of military aid to Peshmerga forces at Erbil International Airport earlier this month. Vehicles were to be directly given to brigades under ministerial command, and not political parties, the coalition confirmed, saying the aid will be used in the fight against ISIS remnants

Peshmerga forces have consistently fought the terror group since it took swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and are a key ally for the coalition. At least 1,700 Peshmerga fighters were killed and around 10,000 injured in the fight against ISIS from 2014 onwards.

ISIS remnants continue to remain active, particularly in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

Two well-informed Peshmerga sources from the ministry confirmed to Rudaw English on Monday that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been informed by the Americans that the money they provide is for the joint brigades of the Peshmerga Ministry and not for politically-affiliated forces such as 70 and 80 Brigades, controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) respectively.

The Peshmerga Ministry has 14 brigades under its command that are supposed to be apolitical and serve the ministry. The US government has often provided assistance in forms of weaponry and stipends to the Peshmerga ministry, some of which has gone to the politically-affiliated units.

"The KRG officials told the Americans that the funds have been given to the Ministry of Finance to be added to the KRG income in order to pay the salaries of the civil servants," said another source within the ministry.

"The Americans met with KRG officials last month and questioned what happened to the funds provided for the joint Peshmerga brigades,” they added.

The new arrangement will only include the 14 joint brigades training centers in Duhok, Sulaimani and Erbil.

Recent reforms have taken place within the ministry, including the restructuring of ministry employee and Peshmerga pensions.

Muhammed added that the ministry’s reform process “needs political support” from the parties of the Kurdistan Region and cooperative efforts “especially from the PUK and PDK.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/250120211
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Jan 25, 2021 6:12 pm

Iraq hangs 3 convicted of terrorism

Three Iraqis convicted of "terrorism" were hanged on Monday, a security source said, days after a deadly double suicide attack in a crowded Baghdad marketplace killed over 30 people

The reported hangings came after rights groups warned Iraq may authorise a spree of such executions in a show of strength following the bombings on Thursday, which were claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

"Three people convicted under Article 4 of the anti-terror law were executed on Monday at the Nasiriyah central prison," the security source told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

On Sunday, an official from Iraq's presidency told AFP more than 340 execution orders "for terrorism or criminal acts" were ready to be carried out.

"We are continuing to sign off on more," that official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another official from Iraq's presidency said Monday that all the orders were signed after 2014, most of them under ex-president Fuad Massum and at a time when ISIS occupied a third of the country.

Thursday's attack, which killed at least 32 people, was a jolting reminder of the persistent threat posed by ISIS, despite the government declaring victory over the jihadists in late 2017.

A 2005 law carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of "terrorism," which can include membership of an extremist group even if they are not convicted of any specific acts.

Rights groups have warned that executions were being used for political reasons.

"Leaders resort to announcements of mass executions simply to signal to the public that they're taking... (these issues) seriously," said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"The death penalty is used as a political tool more than anything else," she told AFP on Sunday.

‘Deeply troubling'

Since Baghdad officially declared victory over ISIS, Iraqi courts have sentenced hundreds to death for crimes perpetrated during the jihadists' 2014 seizure of swathes of the country and their brutal three-year hold over cities including Mosul.

Only a small proportion of the sentences have been carried out, as they must be approved by the president.

Barham Salih, who has held the post since 2018, is known to be personally against capital punishment, and has resisted signing execution orders in the past.

Some Iraqis took to social media to demand tougher action from Salih after Thursday's attack, accusing him of "not carrying out the sentences" and risking a prison break.

A protest is planned to take place on Tuesday in Nasiriyah, demanding that jihadists be executed in revenge for last week's double suicide attack in the capital.

Despite Salih's moderating influence, Iraq in 2019 carried out the fourth highest number of executions among nations worldwide, after China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International.

Judicial sources told AFP at least 30 executions took place in 2020.

They include 21 men convicted of "terrorism" and executed at Nasiriyah prison in November.

The move sparked condemnations from the United Nations, which described the news as "deeply troubling" and called on Iraq to halt any further planned executions.

Rights groups accuse Iraq's justice system of corruption, carrying out rushed trials on circumstantial evidence and failing to allow the accused a proper defence.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said late last year that given such gaps in Iraq's legal system, implementing capital punishment "may amount to an arbitrary deprivation of life by the State."

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/250120211
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:08 am

Baghdad against return of Iraqis

Iraq’s deputy minister of displacement and migration told Iraqi state media on Monday that Baghdad is against the “dangerous” return of Iraqis from al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Western Kurdistan)

“Al-Hol camp has fallen victim to the Islamic State (ISIS) and has become a main breeding ground for the re-emergence of the terrorist group,” Karim Nuri told state media, describing the camp as a “ticking time bomb.”

“A decision has not been made regarding the return of Iraqis displaced in al-Hol camp, and there has been refusal to repatriate them because of the danger they impose,” Nuri added.

Approximately 68,000 people – Syrians, Iraqis, and foreigners – are held in al-Hol camp in Hasaka province. Most are the wives and children of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters. Some 43,000 of them are children.

The camp is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has repeatedly warned of a volatile security situation and its limited capacity to control camp residents.

The United Nations (UN) on Thursday reported 12 murders had taken place at the camp in just over two weeks, sounding the alarm over an "increasingly untenable" security situation.

In regards to the SDF’s plans for Iraqis at the camp, the Rojava Information Center told Rudaw English in October that “the aim remains for there to be repatriation to Iraqi territory and they (Rojava administration) are appealing to the Iraqi government to act on this – the Iraqi government has not gotten back to them for a year.”

“The Western Kurdistan administration will not force anyone who does not want to, to leave the camp,” the center added.

SDF special forces arrested a smuggler on the Iraqi border trafficking ISIS members from the camp, the SDF’s Coordination and Military Operations Center tweeted on Monday.

Security guards often come under attack from camp residents, and Iraqis have also been targeted in a wave of attacks.

A 17-year-old was found dead by internal security forces (Asayish) on January 3. She had been shot in several areas “by unknown forces,” North Press Agency reported a medical source from the Kurdish Red Crescent as saying.

Two Iraqi refugees were killed in two different attacks in October, the SDF-affiliated Hawar News reported.

An Iraqi woman was found strangled with an electric cable in September. Her brother was allegedly also killed by ISIS women in the camp.

Another Iraqi refugee was killed with a silenced pistol after being shot four times on August 16, according to Hawar News. Three people were wounded in an “armed attack” on August 13, it added.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/250120212
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:48 pm

ISIS is regrouping, gaining strength

A Peshmerga ministry official warned on Tuesday of the Islamic State (ISIS) group’s growing strength and reorganization in Iraq, particularly in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad

“There have been around 15 activities from January 1 until now, most of them were in [disputed] regions like Diyala, Kirkuk, Salahaddin,” Deputy Minister of Peshmerga Sarbast Lazgin told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpy on Tuesday. “Some of these attacks were effective, they were strong attacks, they have become stronger than they were before.”

“They are reorganized. New people have joined them” who have entered Iraq from Syria, Lazgin claimed. They are “mostly seen south of [Mount] Qarachogh.”

He added that ISIS militants are sometimes spotted wearing the uniforms of Iraqi soldiers or federal police.

Despite the group's territorial defeat in Iraq in December 2017, remnants of the group have returned to earlier insurgency tactics, ambushing security forces, kidnapping and executing suspected informants, and extorting money from vulnerable rural populations.

Colonel Wayne Marotto, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) Spokesman, denies that ISIS is resurging in Iraq.

“Daesh (ISIS) is resilient, and remains a serious challenge, but relentless pressure by our partner forces in the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces), in the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), in Peshmerga forces will prevent a re-emergence of Daesh,” he told Rudaw's Snur Majid on Tuesday.

“I don’t see any kind of resurgence of Daesh” because of the work the coalition is doing in coordination with Kurdish and Iraqi forces, he noted.

    From January 1 to 22, “the ISF with the support of the support of the coalition has conducted 68 operations,” Marotto added
Srood Salih, a Peshmerga commander, detailed to Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Tuesday some of the ways ISIS wreaks havoc amongst residents of the disputed territories, where tensions between the government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have rendered security patchy.

“The people [in the disputed territories] are poor, they live on agriculture … if the farmer or the poor man doesn’t give them the money or help them, they will either kill them or burn their farms,” said the commander of how the group’s militants forcibly insert themselves into vulnerable communities, noting that they often demand the financial help in the name of Zakat (almsgiving).

He added that the Little and Upper Zab rivers have become a source of life for ISIS militants, who hide in surrounding forests, hunt, use their water. He also noted that the vastness and space of the Qaraj plains have made the militant's movements harder to find.

"If the Peshmerga is doing an operation they [ISIS militants] will go further down to Hamrin and Qaraj plains, if the Iraqi army is doing an operation they will come back up to that space again," said Salih.

A farmer from the disputed territories, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed on Tuesday of his experience at the hands of the insurgent group.

“Once the crops grow, they [ISIS] ask for money, and Kurds won’t give them money, and if you don’t they will burn your crops. They have burned them this year, last year, and the year before,” he said, adding that all the Kurdish villages west of Mount Qarachogh, where ISIS is mostly active, have been abandoned due to the insecurity.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad’s Tayaran Square on January 21 that left more than 30 dead and 110 injured.

According to its propaganda agency Amaq, the terror group carried out 1,422 attacks in Iraq in 2020, with the highest number of attacks recorded in Diyala province.

A total of 2,748 people were killed as a result, the agency said earlier this month.

Two ISIS militants were killed in an airstrike in Kirkuk province, the Iraqi military’s official media source said on January 3.

At least 11 fighters from Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) were killed in an ambush by the group in Tikrit on Saturday, AFP reported.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/27012021
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Jan 28, 2021 4:47 pm

Senior ISIS commander
killed in intelligence operation


A senior Islamic State (ISIS) commander has been killed in an intelligence-led operation, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced on Twitter

“We promised and fulfilled. I gave my word to pursue Daesh [ISIS] terrorists, we gave them a thundering response. Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” Kadhimi said in a tweet.

Abu Yaser Al-Issawi was one of the leading commanders of ISIS in Iraq, and referred to himself as the deputy to the caliph of Iraq.

His death comes just one week after a deadly suicide bombing struck Baghdad, killing more than 30 people in the city's Tayaran Square.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/280120213
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:58 pm

Seven ISIS militants killed in Kirkuk

Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Services (ICTS) killed seven Islamic State (ISIS) militants, among them ISIS officials, “in direct clashes” in southern Kirkuk province on Wednesday

Three ISIS engineering, medical and communications officials, as well as four fighters, were killed at dawn on Wednesday in the Wadi al-Shay region in southern Kirkuk province, the counter-terror force said.

A Peshmerga ministry official warned on Tuesday of ISIS’ growing strength and reorganization in Iraq, particularly in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

ISIS claimed in its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba that it had killed and injured at least 40 people in 30 operations in Iraq from January 15 to January 21, including deadly suicide bombings in the capital Baghdad.

Peshmerga officials say their activity is lower than claimed, however.

“There have been around 15 activities from January 1 until now, most of them were in [disputed] regions like Diyala, Kirkuk, Salahaddin,” Deputy Minister of Peshmerga Sarbast Lazgin told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpy on Tuesday.

Though ISIS was declared militarily defeated in Iraq in December 2017, remnants of the terrorist group have been able to continue conducting attacks in territory disputed between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), where security is patchy. Kirkuk was under Kurdish control until October 2017, when Iraqi forces retook the disputed territories following the KRG’s failed independence referendum.

Kirkuk province constitutes part of the territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

The absence of the Peshmerga in some parts of the disputed territories has “intensified problems,” deputy Iraqi parliament speaker Bashir al-Haddad said on January 4.

Two ISIS militants were killed in an airstrike in Kirkuk province on January 3.

Peshmerga Affairs Minister Shorsh Ismail said his ministry is looking forward to reaching “a political agreement” with the Iraqi government to return the Peshmerga forces to the disputed territories.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/270120212
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Feb 03, 2021 3:27 am

Planners of Tayaran bombing killed

Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced late Tuesday the killing of two Islamic State (ISIS) group members, who allegedly planned the fatal double suicide bombings in Baghdad's Tayaran last month

“The terrorist Abu Hassan al-Gharibawi, the so-called leader of southern Iraq in Daesh, and the terrorist Ghanem Sabah Jawad, who is responsible for transporting suicide bombers, were both eliminated today, in addition to other terrorist elements,” tweeted the premier, without specifying how the ISIS members were killed.

This comes the same day five members of Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) were killed in a clash with Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Diyala province on Tuesday, according to the paramilitary network.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/020220214
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:34 am

SDF arrests tens of ISIS suspects

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday announced the arrests of tens of Islamic State (ISIS) suspects in Deir ez-Zor in the past 24 hours, the first day of a new military operation launched in retaliation for the recent assassination of two female municipal employees

“Due to the escalation of Daesh [ISIS] operations and attacks in the Deir ez-Zor area, a wide operation was launched on February 4 with the participation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, People's Protection Units, Women’s Protection Units, and local security forces,” said the SDF in a statement on Friday.

The new operation is in retaliation for the deaths of “two revolutionary women,” the SDF added, referring to the assassinations of two municipal council women in Hasaka, northeast Syria (Rojava) late January. Hind Latif al-Khadir was head of the economy committee in the administration of the town of Til Shayir, and Sa’da Faysal al-Hermas was co-chair of the town’s people’s council. ISIS claimed responsibility.

The killings drew international condemnation.

The SDF said they have made tens of arrests and confiscated large amounts of ammunition in the first day of the ongoing operation.

    The large scale operation against ISIS is continuing on the second day along the Iraqi border and Deir al-Zour desert. So far YPG and YPJ Anti-Terror units and SDF CT forces arrested more than a dozen terrorists and confiscated ammunition belonging to the cells. pic.twitter.com/xOltraUILb
    — People’s Defense Units (@DefenseUnits) February 5, 2021
ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019. The militants, however, remain a threat on both sides of the border, carrying out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions.

The SDF has conducted multiple operations against ISIS sleeper cells, often in coordination with the global coalition against ISIS. They arrested four ISIS suspects in Deir ez-Zor and al-Shadadi on Wednesday, with American air support.

Last summer, the SDF arrested scores of ISIS suspects in operations in Deir ez-Zor province.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/05022021
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:12 pm

Increased ISIS threats

Peshmerga forces have been deployed to a part of Iraq’s disputed territories because of “increased threats” of attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS), the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) peshmerga ministry said on Wednesday

Peshmerga have been deployed to the Makhmour and Qarachogh areas as a result of security threats imposed by ISIS, and not to face off with Iraqi forces, the Ministry of Peshmerga said on Wednesday.

“We announce that no illegal deployment of the Peshmerga forces has been made to face Iraqi forces,” read a statement from the ministry.

“What happened was as a result of a recent increase of ISIS threats in the Mount Qarachogh and Makhmour areas.”

Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, ISIS remains active in Iraq – particularly in territory in the north and west of the country that is disputed by Erbil and Baghdad.

The extremist militants claimed in its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba published on Thursday that it had killed and injured at least 176 people in 19 attacks in Iraq from January 21 to January 27.

According to ISIS propaganda outlet Amaq, the terror group carried out 1,422 attacks in Iraq in 2020, with the highest number of attacks recorded in Diyala province. A total of 2,748 people were killed as a result of the attacks, Amaq said earlier this month.

Iraq’s state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) said that five of its members were killed in a clash with ISIS militants in Diyala province on Tuesday. At least 11 PMF fighters were killed in an ISIS ambush on January 23.

After ISIS claimed responsibility for the double suicide bombing in Baghdad of January 28 that killed more than 30 people, Iraqi prime minister and commander in chief of the country’s armed forces Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced the launch of operation “Revenge of the Martyrs”.

Iraqi forces have since killed three ISIS leaders in the span of one week – among them Abu Yaser al-Issawi, who referred to himself as the deputy caliph and ISIS' so-called governor, or Wali, of Iraq.

Issawi's killing was to fulfill a promise to the "families of the dead in Tayaran Square, and the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces]," Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for Kadhimi in his capacity as commander in chief, told state media last week.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/04022021
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:45 pm

Threats Iraqi to holy sites

Members of the Peace Brigades (Saraya al Salam in Arabic) militia, followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, have been deployed in droves to several Iraqi cities after receiving information about "threats" to holy sites, according to advisors to Sadr

A statement circulated by Telegram channels affiliated with the Peace Brigades stated that "Abu Yasser," the “jihadist aide” to Sadr, held an urgent meeting on Monday in which he declared "complete readiness" to defend holy sites, following a tweet from Sadr's spokesperson, Saleh Muhammad al-Iraqi, about a possible threat to holy sites in Iraq.

"We have received almost certain information that there is an agreement with Baathists, ISIS [Islamic State], and infiltrators to attack some holy sites in Najaf, Holy Karbala and the capital, Baghdad," Iraqi tweeted.

The claim follows protests in Najaf on Friday, where activists chanted “Muqtada is the enemy of Allah” – prompting Iraqi to threaten action against demonstrators.

“These slogans were issued by a group of Baathists and Daesh [ISIS] members, or people imitating the West and loving the Zionist enemy," Iraqi said, adding "We will act in other social and legal ways, and we will make those people an example for all."

Saraya al-Salam militia forces were deployed in the streets Baghdad, as well as the provinces of Karbala and Najaf, according to footage shared to Telegram. Videos on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) Telegram channels showed masked and armed men setting up security checkpoints to search cars in the capital.

“We will not give up on state building and its prestige...building is not done by encroaching on religious and national symbols, striking institutions, and blocking roads, but with state support," Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi tweeted on Monday evening.

“We will not tolerate transgressors," he added.

The militias are accused of various human rights violations against protesters.

Militia forces affiliated with Sadr raided a number of activists' houses in Najaf province on Saturday night, activists told Rudaw English.

This came a day after a ceremony was held by activists in Najaf, to mark the one year anniversary of a massacre in Najaf's Sadrayn square where Sadr supporters stormed an anti-government protest camp.

Twenty-three people were killed and more than 182 wounded, according to AFP.

Sadr has been a vocal supporter of reform and anti-corruption campaigns for years. When anti-government protests broke out in October 2019, he sent members the Peace Brigades to protect the demonstrators. But Sadr changed his position and by February 2020, his militias were involved in suppression of the protests.

Activist Raed al-Daami was kidnapped in Karbala on Sunday by what he believes was a Sadr-aligned militia.

A video clip published to social media showed two men forcing Daami into a car before driving him to an unknown destination.

"I was taken to an abandoned place while I was blindfolded, and I was investigated about the reasons for my participation in the annual anniversary organized by the Najaf activists in the Writers Union two days ago. This indicates that the kidnapping party is affiliated with the Sadrist movement," Daami told Rudaw English.

Daami said that he was tortured for more than three hours and was threatened not to participate in any further demonstrations.

Killing and kidnappings are taking place elsewhere in Iraq. Ali Imad, an activist in Nasriyiah, survived an assassination attempt at dawn on Monday, when he was shot four times. Demonstrations were revived in response, activists told Rudaw English.

Videos that went viral on social media on Monday showed protesters in Nasiriyah blocking main roads in the city with burning tires to denounce the assassination attempts against activist Imad, threatening to escalate their protests if the local government and security forces do not provide adequate protection for activists.

"We will keep escalating unless the government and security forces provide protection for the demonstrators and activists in Nasiriyah." Muhammad Yasir, an activist from the city told Rudaw English on Monday.

In November 2020, protesters in the city’s Habboubi Square were forced out of their tents and shot at by Sadr supporters, leaving at least seven people dead and scores wounded. Protesters moved back into the square a week later and vowed to continue protesting.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/080220212
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:03 pm

ISIS still a major threat

The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs secretary general warned on Tuesday that the Islamic State (ISIS) is still a major threat, joining a chorus of officials warning of the group’s continued devastating effects in Iraq

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“We have said this many times, ISIS is still a threat to the region because of the terrorist attacks they conduct,” Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs secretary general Jabar Yawar told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Tuesday. “What ISIS lost in 2017 when then-Prime Minister of Iraq Haidar al-Abadi announced their defeat, was only their alleged caliphate, however ISIS is still out there conducting attacks.”

Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, ISIS remains active across the country, especially in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

According to data provided by Yawar, in disputed areas outside the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) administration, ISIS has conducted 230 attacks in 2020 alone, during which 812 people have been either killed, injured, or kidnapped as a result.

“In January alone, ISIS has conducted 14 attacks and 150 people have been killed and injured,” Yawar said, emphasizing that the reason for the high number of attacks were security gaps stemming from disputes between the governments.

On Thursday, ISIS claimed in its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba that it had killed and injured at least 22 people in 8 attacks in Iraq from January 28 to February 3.

According to ISIS propaganda outlet Amaq, the terror group carried out 1,422 attacks in Iraq in 2020, with the highest number of attacks recorded in Diyala province. A total of 2,748 people were killed as a result of the attacks, Amaq said earlier this month.

PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced the killing of Abu Yaser al-Issawi, who referred to himself as the deputy caliph and ISIS' so-called governor, or Wali, of Iraq, as part of operation "Revenge of the Martyrs” in late January.

Issawi's killing fulfilled a promise to the "families of the dead in Tayaran Square, and the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces]," military spokesperson Yehia Rasool told state media, where the double suicide bombing on January 28 left at least 32 people dead and 100 others injured.

Less than a week later, he announced the killing of two Islamic State (ISIS) group members allegedly involved in the January fatal double suicide bombings in Baghdad's Tayaran Square.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/090220211
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:49 am

ISIS returning to Syrian towns

The Islamic State (ISIS) group has launched more than 100 attacks in north-eastern Syria over the last month alone and is terrorising many towns and villages at night

The violence is concentrated in the largely desert province of Deir al-Zour.

Syrian researcher Ali (his real name, along with the name of the non-governmental organisation he works for withheld for his own protection) has been compiling statistics on the attacks. He says the violence is taking many forms.

"Beheadings, bombings, motorcycle suicide, assassination and kidnappings - and we're just talking about a small area east of Deir al-Zour city."

Ali says civilians are most vulnerable after sundown, when ISIS fighters move into what's fast becoming a security vacuum.

"At night they are in fear [and] in the hands of ISIS fighters. They used to go to the authorities [for protection] but nobody responds. They always say we don't have enough arms to fight them, so they evacuate. After sunset all the soldiers related to the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] leave the town."

Amira (not her real name) has relatives in the SDF, a Kurdish-led force which spearheaded the fight against ISIS in the region with the support of a US-led coalition, driving it out of territory the jihadists had captured and controlled. She says her town is now a terrifying place after darkness falls.

"In the area that I live in at night it's almost under the ISIS members' control. They are moving around, attacking houses and threatening people. It's frightening... as [the] SDF almost has no control over the city at night... but also during the day even. There is no day passing without one or two people getting killed."

Killed without warning

Amira says that anyone thought to have links with either the Damascus government or the SDF are most at risk. The former are often told by ISIS members to quit their jobs or face the consequences. Those believed by the jihadists to have connections with the SDF are often killed without warning.

Shopkeepers and other businesspeople are also being targeted, usually via threatening texts or phone calls. They're told to pay large sums, sometimes as much as $5,000 (€4,200; £3,700), or face family members being killed or kidnapped.

Some local criminals are now taking advantage of this climate of fear by pretending to belong to ISIS and demanding money using similar threats.

Amira says that because local security forces have failed to stop this, some people have resorted to calling on the jihadists themselves for help.

"Recently three men were threatening people, saying they were from ISIS. But instead of paying them the people asked the jihadists if they were really were members of theirs. ISIS said they weren't and killed all three of them."

At the height of its success, the self-proclaimed ISIS "caliphate" stretched across vast areas of Syria and Iraq, and was the about the size of the UK. But after a series of defeats the jihadists lost their last piece of territory in March 2019.

At the time, America's then president, Donald Trump, announced that the group had been "100 per cent defeated", but that assertion has proved to be well wide of the mark. Last year, ISIS claimed to have carried out nearly 600 attacks in Syria and more than 1,400 in neighbouring Iraq.

Fertile ground

There are around 10,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq, UN experts believe, and its Under-Secretary General for Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Voronkov, fears that the group is once again a growing threat.

"After their territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria in 2019, ISIS started to reconstitute in a covert network, and this strength has continued," he told the BBC.

Some fear that with much of the world preoccupied with the Covid-19 pandemic the situation could get even worse.

Among them is Amira. She insists that unless more effort is put into fighting the jihadist threat, growing numbers of local people may take the view that if you can't beat them, join them.

"If the situation continues as it is, I think people will go back to actually supporting ISIS in the area. Because when ISIS was in control, yes it was scary and yes, they were killing people, but there was some kind of safety in a way, compared to the current situation."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55887870

I know that many Sunni supported ISIS because they protect them from Shia atrocities, not realising that ISIS themselves were becoming even more violent. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The world community has not made matters any better by pouring weapons into both sides of the conflict. A conflict that has been ongoing since the death of Mohammed.
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:31 pm

ISIS demands $100,000 for body

Islamic State (ISIS) militants are asking for $100,000 from the family of a Kurdish car trader killed by an ISIS sleeper cell in northeast Syria on Friday in exchange for returning his body, his family told Rudaw on Sunday

Abbas Khidr Cuma was a Kurdish car trader in Hasaka province. He and an Arab friend were ambushed and killed by ISIS on their way to Shaddadi – where locals have recently spoken of their fear of ISIS returning to power after arrests of militants in the area.

Cuma was shot in the head by ISIS militants, who filmed his execution and sent to his wife. ISIS has said it will send back his body if his family pays $100,000.

“They spoke to me on WhatsApp and said they are ISIS. I did not respond because I was scared and I threw away the phone. They called me again and said, “answer the phone, we will tell you what has happened to Abbas.” I answered the phone and they said if I want Abbas’ corpse I must send them $100,000. I couldn’t continue the call any more, I was shocked,” said Abbas’ wife Jiyan on Sunday.

Cuma is survived by two young sons. His family are asking for his body to be retrieved and the militants arrested.

“Abbas was killed unfairly. He is now in the hands of ISIS. I hope they get him back,” said Ciyan Aziz, one of his relatives.

‘It’s not right for the body to be left behind in the desert. He said he was a Kurd: that’s why he was killed. We spill our blood for this land,” said Abba’s sister Ilham Khidr.

ISIS sleeper cells killed two women in the Hasaka town of al-Dashisha last month. They were employees of Til Shayir municipality.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has captured two ISIS members said to be responsible for their murder

The remote areas between Deir ez-Zor and Hasaka have become a safe haven for ISIS sleeper cells

Earlier this month, the SDF announced the arrest of dozens of ISIS suspects in Deir ez-Zor during the first day of a new military operation launched in retaliation for the assassination of the two women.

The SDF has conducted multiple operations against ISIS sleeper cells, often in coordination with the global coalition against ISIS.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/16022021
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Re: ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:44 pm

ISIS gain strength

United Nations: The threat posed by ISIS to international peace and security is on the rise again and the terror group could regain the capacity to orchestrate attacks in different parts of the world in 2021, the UN counter-terrorism chief has warned the Security Council

In a briefing to the Security Council on Wednesday, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov cautioned that the world must be prepared to disrupt such new attacks.

"The threat posed by ISIS to international peace and security is on the rise again. It is crucial that Member States remain focused and united to counter it, despite the strains and competing priorities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said on the '12th Report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIS (Daesh) to international peace and security'.

Voronkov said while the dreaded terror group has not developed a purposeful strategy to exploit the pandemic, its efforts to regroup and to reinvigorate its activities gained further momentum in the second half of 2020.

"Its core in Iraq and Syria and its affiliates in other conflict zones have continued to take advantage of the disruption caused by the virus to step up their operations, with a number of high-profile attacks," he said, adding that ISIS fighters have maintained the ability to move and operate, including across unprotected borders.

As ISIS's regional affiliates entrench themselves and gain autonomy and strength, they could provide the group new capabilities and options to conduct external operations, he said.

"Member States warn that ISIS could regain the capacity to orchestrate attacks in different parts of the world in the course of 2021," Voronkov said, adding that ISIS's primary focus remains resurgence in Iraq and Syria, where the international community continues to grapple with the legacies of the group's so-called 'caliphate'.

Voronkov said that about 10,000 ISIS fighters, including foreign terrorist fighters in the low thousands, remain active in the region, the majority of them in Iraq, pursuing a protracted insurgency.

"These sizable remnants are assessed to pose a major, long-term and global threat. They are organised in small cells hiding in desert and rural areas and moving across the border between the two countries, waging attacks,” he said.

The UN official underscored the need to end the "scourge of terrorism" by defeating ISIS in cyberspace, disrupting new attacks globally and tackling the threat posed by its regional affiliates, especially in Africa.

"We must urgently solve the protracted issue of ISIS members…lest our failure enables the group's resurgence," he said, assuring that through the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, the UN system will continue to "stand by Member States as they rise to these challenges".

According to a report, ISIS is currently assessed to have between 1,000 and 2,200 fighters in Afghanistan spread across several provinces and is expected to continue to target Kabul and provincial capitals in future attacks.

Shihab al-Muhajir, announced as the group's new leader in June 2020, reportedly heads ISIS operations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and States in Central Asia. He is said to have had an earlier affiliation with and to maintain familial ties to the Haqqani Network.

Turning to Asia, the UN official said ISIS's affiliate in Afghanistan is assessed to still have between 1000-2200 fighters spread across several provinces.

"Despite degraded military capabilities, it has continued to exploit difficulties in the Afghan peace process, and claimed a number of high-profile attacks," he said.

ISIS also remains resilient in South-East Asia, with a number of factions. The involvement of women in suicide bombings has continued, with two such attacks in the Philippines in August 2020.

Noting that 2021 is the 20th anniversary of resolution 1373, which the Security Council adopted on countering terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the US, Voronkov urged Member States to recommit themselves under UN auspices to "multilateral action against terrorism".

UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Director (CTED) Head Michele Coninsx updated on the Secretary-General's 12th strategic-level report along with the UN's work in addressing ISIS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She pointed to the current "volatile and complex" security environment, which she maintained is highlighted by “generational challenges” from terror groups.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is the most urgent challenge," Coninsx said, noting that it has accelerated many underlying issues that are fuelling various threats and "leaving us in a precarious situation."

Among other things, it has diverted attention and resources away from combatting the spread of violence and extremism by terror groups and created obstacles for Member States to repatriate their nationals from Syria and Iraq, Coninsx said.

The UN remains “deeply concerned at the dire situation” faced by mostly women and children in camps that have no access to medicine, hygiene or shelter, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic's restrictions on humanitarian aid," she said.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 865171.cms
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