Washington, United States | AFP | The Iraqi military’s hard-fought victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul marks a defining moment not just for them. It is also a key win for the US doctrine behind it. Instead of putting large numbers of American boots on the ground, the …
Read More »Mosul victory imminent, US says, as Iraqi forces celebrate
Mosul, Iraq | AFP | Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in areas they control. The Islamic State group seized Mosul in a lightning offensive on June 10, 2014 …
Read More »‘Baghdaddy’: New York turns Iraq war into musical
New York, United States | AFP | The Iraq war may not sound like musical comedy, but an Off-Broadway revival is spinning intelligence failures and tragedy into a farce that offers potent messages for Donald Trump’s America. “Baghdaddy” officially opens on Monday, telling the true story of an Iraqi defector, …
Read More »Russian jets mistakenly bomb US-backed forces in Syria
Washington, United States | AFP | Russian warplanes bombed US-backed fighters in several small villages in northern Syria after they mistakenly thought Islamic State forces were in the area, a US general said Wednesday. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said Russian and Syrian regime aircraft attacked the villages to the …
Read More »In name at least, ISIL is defeated
Washington, United States | AFP | ISIL is no more. At least, that’s the case in the hallways of the Pentagon, where military officials have done an about-face and started calling the Islamic State group ISIS, not ISIL. The latter acronym, standing for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, …
Read More »ECOMOG’s Gambian gamble
THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda The likely dangers of the Western African states’ attempts to impose a solution on The Gambia The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to send a military force (ECOMOG) into The Gambia apparently to achieve three interrelated objectives: first to …
Read More »Iraqi forces battle car bombs with commercial drones
Salahiyah, Iraq | AFP | On the Mosul front lines, Iraqi forces have found a new tool to counter the Islamic State group’s suicide car bombs: small commercial drones. “It’s a car bomb!” Mohammed Salih alerted his forces after checking the live feed from a drone his men were flying …
Read More »The battle for Mosul: What we know
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Elite Iraqi forces are facing tough resistance as they battle the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul. Here are some facts about the country’s biggest military operation in years: Where are the Iraqi forces? Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service pushed into the Al-Karama area of eastern …
Read More »Turkey deploys tanks, artillery near Iraq border
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | The Turkish military has deployed tanks and artillery to southeastern districts near the Iraqi border, military sources said Tuesday. The 30-vehicle convoy left Ankara for Silopi, the sources told AFP, adding that it was now close to Adana province in southern Turkey. The deployment came …
Read More »Iraq forces fight way into Mosul
Bartalla, Iraq | AFP | Iraqi forces fought their way into jihadist-held Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, as a top commander declared the “true liberation” of the city from the Islamic State group had begun. Just over two weeks into the massive offensive to retake Mosul — IS’s last …
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