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Islamist Militants Take Mosul

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  • Islamist Militants Take Mosul

    Iraq's prime minister has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency, after Islamist militants effectively took control of Mosul.

    Nouri Maliki acknowledged "vital areas" of the northern city had been seized.

    Overnight, hundreds of armed men seized local government's offices and police stations before taking control of the airport and the army's headquarters.

    About 150,000 people are thought to have fled and authorities have set up camps for them in three nearby towns.

    Elsewhere, a double bomb attack in the central town of Baquba killed at least 20 people, police and medics said. The blasts, targeting a funeral procession, also wounded 28 people.

    In the past week, the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and its allies have carried out major attacks on cities and towns in western and northern Iraq, killing scores of people.

    The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says militants from ISIS have been informally controlling much of Nineveh province for months, imposing tolls on the movement of goods and demanding protection money from local officials.

    After five days of fighting, they took control of key installations in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city with an estimated population of 1.8 million.

    On Monday, Nineveh Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi made a televised plea to the city's residents, calling on them to "stand firm in their areas and to defend them against the strangers".

    But Mr Nujaifi fled shortly before the provincial government's headquarters fell to the onslaught late on Monday night.

    On Tuesday, several residents told the Associated Press that black flags associated with jihadist groups were flying from buildings and that the militants had announced over loudspeaker that they had "come to liberate Mosul and would fight only those who attack them".

    "The situation is chaotic inside the city and there is nobody to help us," said Umm Karam, a government employee. "We are afraid."

    Many Nineveh residents fled to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq on Tuesday
    Many police stations were reported to have been set on fire - local TV stations showed pictures of plumes of smoke rising over the city - and hundreds of detainees set free.

    An interior ministry official admitted that police and soldiers had fled after removing their uniforms, telling the AFP news agency: "The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants."

    Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of parliament and brother of Nineveh's governor, called on the Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional Government to send reinforcements to Mosul to "fight the terrorists", whom he said had seized military hardware, including helicopters.

    "What happened is a disaster by any standard," he said. "The presence of these terrorist groups in this vast province... threatens not just the security and the unity of Iraq, but the whole Middle East."

    Later, Mr Maliki told a televised news conference in Baghdad that the security forces had been placed on a state of "maximum alert".

    He also said he had asked parliament to declare a state of emergency, which would broaden arrest powers and allow curfews to be imposed.

    Meanwhile, the Turkish consulate in Mosul confirmed reports that 28 Turkish lorry drivers had been abducted by militants in Nineveh.

    Our correspondent says the loss of Mosul is a massive challenge to Mr Maliki. The mainly Sunni city has long chafed under his rule, he adds.

    It comes as the Iraqi government struggles with a surge in sectarian violence that killed almost 800 people, including 603 civilians, in May alone, according to the UN. Last year, more than 8,860 people died.

    Parts of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and much of the nearby city of Falluja have been under the control of ISIS and its allies since late December, something that Mr Maliki has been unable to reverse.


    Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC News, Beirut

    Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who is struggling to form a government in the wake of the April elections, has vowed to drive the ISIS "terrorists" out of mainly-Sunni Mosul in short order.

    He is unlikely to succeed soon. He made similar vows when Sunni militants took over Falluja, west of Baghdad, in January, and they are still there.

    It is not yet clear whether it is only ISIS involved in the Mosul takeover. In Falluja and its province, Anbar, Mr Maliki has clearly alienated many Sunni tribesmen and others, creating fertile soil for the radicals.

    Internet images of local youths and even children stoning Iraqi security vehicles as they fled Mosul suggest that the Shia PM is not popular there either.

    ISIS is also actively fighting in neighbouring eastern Syria to establish its control there, apparently aiming to straddle the border with an Islamic state.

    If Mr Maliki is to defeat the Sunni radicals, he may need the help of Kurdish forces from the north. That will come with a heavy price tag, and they have in any case so far refused.


    BBC News - Iraq militants control second city of Mosul
    Last edited by SteveDaPirate; 10 Jun 14,, 15:20.

  • #2
    ISIS has to be confident the Americans and allies won't be coming back in force anytime soon, but will the the rest of the world sit back and let Baghdad along with Iraq's government fall? Is it possible Iran might enter the fray if the threat continues to grow? Iraq doesn't seem to have the ability to stop this on its own.

    Comment


    • #3
      They have that confidence since 2009.

      The only interesting lesson is that it shows once again that morale trumps gear and numbers in battle.
      Iraqi army has numbers,equipment and experience to deal with these fvckers.
      As usually,it will come down to the Kurds.
      Those who know don't speak
      He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

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      • #4
        The black flag of AQ is now flying over Mosul. 150,000 have fled. Consider this, the banks in Mosul contained about half a billion in currency. Wonder what that could buy.
        sigpic

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Minskaya View Post
          The black flag of AQ is now flying over Mosul. 150,000 have fled. Consider this, the banks in Mosul contained about half a billion in currency. Wonder what that could buy.
          Half a billion of what? If it's Dinars, that's $400k.

          What can one buy for that amount these days?
          No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

          To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Doktor View Post
            Half a billion of what? If it's Dinars, that's $400k.

            What can one buy for that amount these days?
            Quite a bit at the arms bazaars.
            sigpic

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Minskaya View Post
              The black flag of AQ is now flying over Mosul. 150,000 have fled. Consider this, the banks in Mosul contained about half a billion in currency. Wonder what that could buy.
              Minnie,

              It may be the AQ flag, but most definitely not AQ aligned these days. I'm pretty sure AQ actually criticized ISIS for being too extreme.

              What next? Do they beef up Kurdish militias & let them have at it? Call in Iran? Can't see an appetite in the US for another round, though some support may be provided. What a bloody mess!
              sigpic

              Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
                Minnie,

                What next? Do they beef up Kurdish militias & let them have at it? Call in Iran? Can't see an appetite in the US for another round, though some support may be provided. What a bloody mess!
                They control the border crossing with Syria. Fallujah, Mosul, and Tikrit have fallen, and they are beginning to penetrate Kirkuk. They have all the US armaments from the overrun cities. There isn't much standing in the way between them and Baghdad.

                Maliki has appealed to EVERYONE to send ANYTHING helpful.
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Doktor View Post
                  Half a billion of what? If it's Dinars, that's $400k.

                  What can one buy for that amount these days?
                  I thought it was half a billion US dollars.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Minskaya View Post
                    They control the border crossing with Syria. Fallujah, Mosul, and Tikrit have fallen, and they are beginning to penetrate Kirkuk. They have all the US armaments from the overrun cities. There isn't much standing in the way between them and Baghdad.

                    Maliki has appealed to EVERYONE to send ANYTHING helpful.
                    Maybe he shouldn't have arrested the leaders of the Awakening groups who came out to help him the first time around. Without those guys even the US military had trouble keeping the area pacified.

                    The Kurds are not going to mount an offensive down into Sunni areas. Maliki's dreaming if he thinks he can get them to do something THAT stupid.

                    What he needs to do is:

                    1. Tell everyone he's really really really sorry.
                    2. Form a unity government that actually shares power with the remaining Sunnis on the government side.
                    3. Call in the US military for intelligence and air support.
                    Last edited by citanon; 11 Jun 14,, 22:16.

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                    • #11
                      C'mon!!Half a billion in cash or precious metal?A bit too much for a bank,even in Mosul to have.
                      Banks keep enough cash to satisfy daily operations.

                      Just send in Blackwater(or Academi,as they're named these days),with clear ROE's.

                      The most interesting part is how much gear did those fvckers captured?
                      Those who know don't speak
                      He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

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                      • #12
                        they've also captured some turkish diplomats - it will be interesting to see what patience they exercise.....
                        Linkeden:
                        http://au.linkedin.com/pub/gary-fairlie/1/28a/2a2
                        http://cofda.wordpress.com/

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Mihais View Post
                          C'mon!!Half a billion in cash or precious metal?A bit too much for a bank,even in Mosul to have.
                          Banks keep enough cash to satisfy daily operations.
                          You better believe it. Mosul is a large city. It does not just have one bank:

                          Mosul Seized: Jihadis Loot $429m from City's Central Bank to Make Isis World's Richest Terror Force

                          The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis) has become the richest terror group ever after looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars - the equivalent of $429m (£256m) - from Mosul's central bank, according to the regional governor.

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                          • #14
                            Ok,call me impressed.
                            Those who know don't speak
                            He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

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                            • #15


                              Many refugees are fleeing to Erbil. Witnesses from Mosul say hundreds have been executed and left to rot on roadways. The militants are approaching Samarra (60 miles north of Baghdad) which is the home of the Golden Mosque which is sacred to the Shia sect. If Samarra falls, the militants will be able approach Baghdad from both the north and the west (Fallujah). Iraqi soldiers are reportedly shedding their uniforms and fleeing with civilian refugees.
                              sigpic

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