The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[jimmy olsen]

Tajikistan's chief of special forces just defected to ISIS,  so who knows what he stole from the armory on the way out.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32917311

[Ed Anger]

Any non-Nazis WWII weapons in use?

Are any rebels rolling around in KV-1s?

Kurds in Iraq are using at least 1 25pdr field gun.

[jimmy olsen]

Not a good development to put it lightly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/05/28/the-u-s-trained-commander-of-tajikistans-special-forces-has-joined-the-islamic-state/

The U.S.-trained commander of Tajikistan's special forces has joined the Islamic State

By Ishaan Tharoor May 28 at 3:57 PM    


In late April, the chief of an elite police unit in Tajikistan disappeared. Relatives said Col. Gulmurod Khalimov, who commanded the Tajik Interior Ministry's special forces, had gone on a business trip. Other rumors suggested he had vanished after falling out with colleagues at a high-level meeting.

Now, there appears to be more clarity: Khalimov is in Syria and has defected to the Islamic State.

That's according to a recent video that emerged online showing Khalimov clad in black and espousing the cause of the jihadist organization. It's hard to tell where the footage was shot, but in the video, Khalimov claims to have joined the Islamic State, making him one of the most high-profile central Asians to travel to Syria and enter the extremists' ranks. He also made clear he's not alone.

"Listen, you dogs, the president and ministers," Khalimov says in the video, "if only you knew how many boys, our brothers are here, waiting and yearning to return to reestablish sharia law there."

He was addressing Tajikistan's long-ruling President Emamoli Rahmon, a former Soviet apparatchik turned autocrat who survived a violent civil war with Islamists in the 1990s and has taken a hard line against certain Islamic practices, including a crackdown on children going to pray at mosques and men growing beards, as well as restrictions on the wearing of the hijab in certain public places.

Khalimov received training from elite instructors in Russia as well as in the United States, according to a U.S. official. He had choice words for foreign governments.

"Listen, you American pigs, I've been three times to America, and I saw how you train fighters to kill Muslims," he said. "God willing, I will come with this weapon to your cities, your homes, and we will kill you."

The vast majority of the population of Tajikistan, one of the poorest countries in central Asia, is Muslim. Many Tajiks are forced to make a living abroad, particularly in Russia, where they are sometimes subject to discrimination and racial abuse. In the video, Khalimov urges his compatriots to "stop serving infidels."

There are believed to be an estimated 200 to 500 Tajik nationals fighting for the Islamic State, while Central Asian militants also remain a considerable wing of the Taliban's forces in Afghanistan.

[Razgovory]

Any non-Nazis WWII weapons in use?

Are any rebels rolling around in KV-1s?

Almost certainly.  I doubt there are any KVs rolling around.  They didn't roll that well in 1941.  Other stuff is always floating around in Iraq they found PPSHs and old Mosin rifles.  There is likely heavy weapons floating around as well, like mortars and machine guns.  It wouldn't be surprised if there was some old US pack howitzers out there.  They were pretty handy, and don't need a lot of support as the French found out.   Syria is a bit odd in that for some reason they acquired a lot of Axis materials.  Including Italian tankettes and Panzer IVs.  It would surprise me if they found any in working condition though.  Hell, there's probably some pre-war French stuff floating around.

[jimmy olsen]

ISIL seizes one of Assad's last main sources of revenue, phosphate mines.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11633289/Isil-seizes-Syrian-regimes-lucrative-phosphate-mines.html

By Ruth Sherlock, Beirut

7:19PM BST 27 May 2015

The capture of two phosphate mines outside of Palmyra by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has dealt a major blow to the Syrian regime, putting an end to one of its "last" chief sources of income.


Pro-Isil Twitter accounts yesterday posted pictures from Khunayfis mine, located 45 miles south of Palmyra, with some jubilantly claiming the seizing of a new source of "millions of dollars" in revenue.





Khunayfis Phosphate mine under complete control of #IS forces, South of #Palmyra pic.twitter.com/gajs84Qqm7
— Captain Fallujah (@inghimasii) May 26, 2015


Whilst the extremists are unlikely to be able to make use of the raw phosphate in the mine, the victory divested the regime of one of Its few major revenue streams.


"With the suspension of oil exports, phosphates represented one of the last sources of income of the state," according to Syria Report, an online business weekly.


It was reported on Wednesday the group "executed" 20 men in front of a crowd in the Unesco-listed Roman theatre of Syria's ancient city of Palmyra on Wednesday, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.


In taking the fight to Homs, capturing the ancient city of Palmyra and pushing deeper into the province, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) are striking at the heart of what remains of the governments oil, gas and mining sector.

In 2013 Damascus lost control of all of its major oil fields when Isil captured parts of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces in the north of the country. But it managed to keep many of its gas fields and so was able to continue to feed its power plants and produce electricity.

This new offensive has put that in capacity peril.

As the jihadists stormed across the desert plains from Deir Ezzor to the ancient city of Palmyra earlier this month, they paused to seize two major gas fields on their way.

Murdering 56 Syrian troops in the two-day assault they captured al-Hail and al-Arak, 25 and 15 miles respectively from Palmyra.

Al-Hail is the largest gas-field in Homs - where most of the gas still in the regime's hands is located - after the massive Shaer field.

Shaer remains under government control, but only tentatively so, having seen several attacks against it, with Isil capturing and beheading as many as a dozen Syrian soldiers when it briefly captured the plant last year.

Then, on Monday Isil pushed government troops out of Khunayfis phosphate mine.

With inflation rampant and Damascus desperate for a flow of foreign currency into the country, the mines had proven key, with phosphate production being one of Syria's few remaining exports.

As the Syrian economy flounders more widely, phosphate was one of the only industries to improve this year. Some 345,000 tonnes were exported worth $35.3 million this first quarter, up from only $18.2 million in the same quarter last year, according to Syria Report.

Rising prices, the loss of subsidies, and increasing power cuts have also started to effect the political durability of the Syrian regime, sparking incidences of popular protest in its core constituencies.

Alawites, Druze and members of other minority sect have begun to rely less and less on the Syrian government for their survival, with power concentrating increasingly in the hands of local leaders.

The Syrian government has tried to counter these economic losses by issuing a tender inviting international companies to use the spare capacity, created by the loss of its oil fields, at its two refineries in Homs and Banias.

Banias has 60,000 barrels of oil per day of spare capacity and Homs 50,000, according to the announcement published earlier this month.

The government's invitation appeared to have been tailored to appeal to Russia, the country's longstanding super power ally. But this week's events in Homs may deter even the hardiest of investors.

The jihadist's capture of the mines came after they were able to openly move down the highway from Palmyra, pushing 45 miles into the regime's terrain in a single day.

They then swept deeper into the country to attack the regime's T4 airbase.

Their advance was partly possible due to an absence of airstrikes by the US-led coalition.

The coalition has launched thousands of air raids against Isil in the north of country, where it is opposing other rebel factions.

But striking the jihadists in regime territory is problematic in that it would be tantamount to providing air cover for President Bashar al-Assad's men, who Washington has declared a sworn enemy.

On Wednesday, Walid Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, decried the lack of air cover, saying that the coalition's attacks on Isil had "evaporated" after their battle around the Kurdish town of Kobane last year.

[Habbaku]

In Assad's position, when is the right time to pack up all the gold bars and Swiss bank account numbers you can and hitch a flight to Russia?

[jimmy olsen]

Two suicide car bombs hit western hotels in Baghdad. With ISIS so close to the city I fear this will become an all too often occurance.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/car-bombs-rock-upscale-baghdad-hotels-killing-10-article-1.2239640

[KRonn]

Baghdad is going to fall in the near future. The Iraqis haven't been able to hold onto anything, though maybe the Shia militia and the Shia parts of the Iraqi army would rally and fight to hold onto their capital. But I'm not counting on it more than maybe a 50/50 chance unless the army shows some strong desire to fight, because the ISIS army has plenty of desire and motivation for its fight.

[jimmy olsen]

I think the Shia militias are large enough and motivated enough that they'll hold the city, even though the kill ratio will likely be lopsided in favor of ISIS.  If it looks like the city could fall the Iranians will send in the army and it will be open war with Saudi Arabia.

[Grey Fox]

You okay there, Tim? No stroke?

[jimmy olsen]

You okay there, Tim? No stroke?

I just won an extra drink playing darts. And I'm typing on my phone. I will fix it.

[KRonn]

I think the Shia militias are large enough and motivated enough that they'll hold the city, even though the kill ratio will likely be lopsided in favor of ISIS.  If it looks like the city could fall the Iranians wilk dend in tge army and it will be open war with Saudi Arabia.

Iraqi forces heavily outnumbered ISIS in Ramadi, but ISIS was clever, tossed the defenders off balance with multiple car bombs and tactical maneuvers, and already likely had the defenders psyched out. But I would also tend to agree with you and think the Shia militias would hold Baghdad, and would have the fortitude and desire to do so, but also they had a very difficult time retaking Tikrit and I think what was a real surprise to them that things aren't going to be a cake walk.

[Caliga]

I think we should probably let Iran occupy Iraq.  They're less of a threat to us than ISIS is and the Iraqis are just too inept to oppose ISIS.

[jimmy olsen]

Please excuse my spelling in advance. The fall of Ramadi was a confluence of events. Relief column was ambushed and had to turn back. Then the city got hit by thirty suicide car bombs, ten as big as Oklahoma City. Those two things combined with a year long siege amd dwindling supplies broke the morale of the soldiers involved. They had fought on with little government support for an admirably long time.

[KRonn]

I think part of the problem has been that the Iraqi army, especially its leadership, had been made mostly Shia led by its mainly Shia dominated government so had even less incentive to defend the Sunni areas of Iraq, namely Anbar Province and the capital Ramadi. This bodes badly for Iraq on the whole in being cohesive and standing up to ISIS, obviously, so they have that major internal issue on top of fighting against ISIS. I think the new PM was hoping to hold Ramadi as a way of showing support for the Sunnis but that failed miserably.