The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[Berkut]

According to local media, the suicide bomber’s target was the Sayyed Mohammad Shrine, a Shiite shrine 80 km north of Baghdad. Hundreds of Muslims, including women and children, were present at the shrine celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr. In addition to destroying the shrine, the suicide bomber also intended to kill policemen guarding the shrine.

That is unbelievable. I mean I know terrorist attacks on Islamic holy sites have been going on for years now but it is still shocking to think somebody thinks that this is a good use of their life.

It isn't shocking at all.

We know that people truly believe the religious stories they are invested in - whether that be that Christ really did come to Earth and arise from the dead, or that killing yourself and as many infidels as possible gets you into heaven.

*If* you believe that the interpretation they accept is in fact the command of God, then their actions are not just understandable, they are moral and just.

The easiest way for me to understand this is to simple answer the question for myself - "What lengths would you be willing to go to in order to protect your daughter from being abducted and murdered by some crazed predator?"

Answer: Damn near any lengths at all.

Now just imagine that you believe that there are people out there intent on doing much worse to your kids than that - intent on denying them eternal salvation. What lengths are you willing to go to in order to protect your family from someone intent on inflicting harm on them that goes beyond ANY possible harm you can imagine existing in the world?

Suicide bombing is perfectly rational given acceptance of some incredibly irrational premises. But we already know that people accept completely irrational premises all the time.

[jimmy olsen]

Let's hope they continue to fail at these attacks.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-shell-fired-us-base-iraq-checked-mustard/story?id=42263666

A shell fragment from an ISIS rocket that landed several hundred yards from a U.S. base in northern Iraq will undergo further ISIS Shell Fired at US Base in Iraq Being Checked for Mustard Agent, US Official Says

By Luis Martinez
Sep 21, 2016, 8:21 PM ET

A shell fragment from an ISIS rocket that landed several hundred yards from a U.S. base in northern Iraq will undergo further
testing to determine if it contained mustard agent after two initial field tests provided different conclusions, a U.S. military official said today. No American forces have shown symptoms of possible exposure to mustard agent in an incident that occurred Tuesday.

The American base at Qayarrah West Airfield received some indirect fire on Tuesday afternoon, according to the military official. Hundreds of American personnel are currently working on the airfield to prepare it as a logistical hub for an eventual offensive on the ISIS-held city of Mosul. No one was injured in the rocket attack.

Following the attack, a small team of U.S. personnel conducting a routine inspection for unexploded ordnance in the perimeter around the base came across a small shell fragment that contained what the official described as an oily "tar-like" residue, which sometimes indicates mustard agent.

A chemical field test of the shell fragment tested positive for mustard agent, but a subsequent test came up negative, the military official said. The shell fragment will now undergo further testing at a laboratory to determine if it ever contained the blistering agent.

As a precautionary measure, the two to four U.S. military personnel who came across the shell fragment were decontaminated with showers and brushing to wipe away any agent, the official said. None of them has shown any symptoms or potential impacts from the contact with the shell.

Mustard agent is a powder that can be placed in the hollow tip of an artillery shell or rocket. Exposure at a place of impact could cause blistering, but the agent dissipates quickly and does not spread over a wide area.

The official described ISIS's use of blistering agent as "militarily insignificant," though American troops are prepared for potential chemical weapons exposure.

ISIS has used mustard agent dozens of times against Iraqi and Kurdish forces, but the official did not know if this was the first potential contact with ISIS chemical weapons experienced by American troops serving in Iraq.

[11B4V]

Oh, they want to play that way, eh?

[The Brain]

Did they have any Grey Poupon?

[garbon]

A shell fragment from an ISIS rocket that landed several hundred yards from a U.S. base in northern Iraq will undergo further ISIS Shell Fired at US Base in Iraq Being Checked for Mustard Agent, US Official Says

I briefly wondered if this aborted headline was a Timmay error. It was.

[mongers]

'Crashing waves' of jihadists fray soldiers' nerves in Mosul battle

y Dominic Evans and Ahmed Rasheed | BAGHDAD

A week after his tank division punched through Islamic State defenses on the southeast edge of Mosul, an Iraqi army colonel says the fight to drive the militants out of their urban stronghold is turning into a nightmare.

Against a well-drilled, mobile and brutally effective enemy, exploiting the cover of built-up neighborhoods and the city's civilian population, his tanks were useless, he said, and his men untrained for the urban warfare they face.

His Ninth Armoured Division and elite counter terrorism units fighting nearby seized six of some 60 neighborhoods last week, the first gains inside Mosul since the Oct. 17 start of a campaign to crush Islamic State in its Iraqi fortress.

Even that small foothold is proving hard to maintain, however, with waves of counter attacks by jihadist units including snipers and suicide bombers who use a network of tunnels stretching for miles (km) under the city.

They appear able to strike at will, often at night, denying the troops rest and rattling frayed nerves.

"We're an armored brigade, and fighting without being able to use tanks and with soldiers unused to urban warfare is putting troops in a tough situation," the officer told Reuters. He asked not to be named because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

A year ago, when his forces took part in an operation to drive Islamic State from the much smaller city of Ramadi west of Baghdad, they were tasked with holding territory outside while the counter terrorism forces entered the city.

Mosul, whose capture is a crucial step towards dismantling the caliphate Islamic State declared two years ago across large areas of Iraq and Syria, is too big for specialist forces alone.

"In Mosul, we have to advance inside residential areas, comb streets, clear houses from terrorists and deal with civilians. I'm afraid this job is too tough for us to handle".

He said it was impossible to differentiate between civilians and fighters who melt in amongst them. Islamic State has forced its dress code on the population during the two years it has controlled the city. Men are required to have long beards, something the  militants are still policing.
.....

Full article here, worth a read:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-battle-idUSKBN1350GB?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=morefromreuters

[jimmy olsen]

Nimrud has been laid waste.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/06/devastated-by-militants-3000-year-old-city-left-to-looters.html

[jimmy olsen]

Russians may have killed al-Baghdadi

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/isis-leader-al-baghdadi-may-have-been-killed-russia-says-n773226

[The Brain]

You call him Al now?

[Valmy]

So who gets to be Caliph now?

[Duque de Bragança]

So who gets to be Caliph now?

Iznogoud 

[The Brain]

Indeed.

[derspiess]

Nimrud has been laid waste.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/06/devastated-by-militants-3000-year-old-city-left-to-looters.html

I'll be checking ebay the next few days.  Thanks for the heads up

[Tonitrus]

You call him Al now?

I guess he didn't have a bodyguard. 

[Admiral Yi]

Iznogoud 

Izverybad?