[Published here on November 18, 2016]
They are armed with wrenches instead of rifles and are rarely found on the front lines, but Mosul’s mechanics say they are indispensable to the fight against the Islamic State group.
Iraq
Foreign medics treat wounded children in Iraq’s Mosul | AFP
[Published here on November 16, 2016]
Foreign medics are helping Iraqi special forces personnel treat a growing number of children wounded by intense urban warfare inside the jihadist-held city of Mosul.
‘Take cover!’ Tackling IS car bombs in Iraq | AFP
[Published here on November 15, 2016]
It only takes a split second for the expression on the Iraqi soldier’s face to transform from relaxed contentment to absolute terror. “Car bomb!”
Mosul area retaken, but still danger of IS attack | AFP
[Published here on November 13, 2016]
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – A black Humvee speeds down a dusty road in eastern Mosul carrying two boys: one is dead, and the other’s leg has been torn open by the same mortar strike.
Iraqi troops listen in on IS walkie-talkies in Mosul | AFP
[Published here on November 12, 2016]
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – “Two grooms are coming,” a low voice crackles over the walkie-talkie, prompting a lanky Iraqi special forces soldier listening in Mosul to shout: “Boys! They’ve just dispatched two suicide bombers!”
With shovels and bulldozers, Iraq Kurds draw line in sand | AFP
[Published here on November 11, 2016]
Shaqouli (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Kurdish fighters are building a berm in the desert near Mosul that could demarcate a boundary of the state they hope to establish after the Islamic State group is defeated.
IS turns to tunnels in last stand for Iraqi town | AFP
[Published here on November 9, 2016]
Iraqi Kurdish forces came under heavy fire from a salmon-coloured house on the edge of the Islamic State group-held town of Bashiqa, but when they stormed it, it was empty.
Continue reading
Iraqi Kurds seize IS-held town near Mosul | AFP
[Published here on November 9, 2016]
Bashiqa (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Kurdish forces have seized the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from the Islamic State group, an official said Tuesday, as US-backed militia forces advanced on the jihadists’ Syrian stronghold Raqa.
US-led strikes in Syria, Iraq hit IS ‘middle-management’ | AFP
[Published here December 30, 2015]
Beirut (AFP) – US-led strikes against Islamic State group officials in Iraq and Syria are robbing the jihadists of one of their most valuable resources: experienced mid-level commanders.
Ten of the group’s higher-ups, including one with “direct” ties to the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks, were killed in air strikes in December alone, the US military said.
Limelight-hungry IS ups the ante with violence | AFP
[Published here December 11, 2015]
Beirut (AFP) – As the Islamic State jihadist group comes under growing military pressure, its prodigious propaganda output has slowed somewhat but turned increasingly gruesome in a bid to keep in the headlines.
Since it announced a self-styled caliphate across Iraq and Syria last year, IS has become notorious for broadcasting its macabre tactics.
MAYA GEBEILY 