Iraquis retook Tikrit from ISIS a day ago, Iran aren't in the mix any more, US gets a clearer target to bomb, outside of Tikrit city.
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Iraquis retook Tikrit from ISIS a day ago, Iran aren't in the mix any more, US gets a clearer target to bomb, outside of Tikrit city.
What threat is that? Yemen has been a basket case for years and years.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
Iraqi forces in 'major advance' against IS in Tikrit
Iraqi government forces have made major advances against Islamic State (IS) militants in Tikrit, officials say.
Army officials claimed on Tuesday that as much of 75% of the city had been recaptured, including the city centre and government headquarters.
Iraqi forces were rejoined in the battle by Shia militias, who said last week they would boycott fighting while the US was carrying out air strikes.
IS militants seized the strategically important city last summer.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Twitter that Tikrit, which is Saddam Hussein's hometown, had been "liberated" from IS occupation, but reports said fighting for large parts of the city was ongoing.
Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, an Iraqi army commander Tikrit's Salahuddin province, said his forces fighting in from the west were still 300m (1,000ft) from the city centre.
There are about 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and police fighting to liberate the Sunni city, with support from about 20,000 Iran-backed Shia militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilisation units, as well as local tribesman and residents.
Some of the militias appear to have reversed an earlier decision to freeze their participation in the offensive while the US-led coalition carried out strikes.
Tuesday's advances are the most significant in the government offensive in the city, which began on 2 March but was stalled as it waited for air support and ground reinforcements.
Ammar Hikmat, deputy governor of Salahuddin province, where Tikrit lies, said pro-government forces were "pushing forward toward the presidential complex and have already entered parts of it".
"I think the whole city will be retaken within the coming 24 hours," he told the Associated Press news agency.
Recapturing Tikrit is seen as strategically vital in the battle for Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Mosul, which is north of Tikrit along the Tigris river, was captured by IS in June last year during a lightning advance across the country.
Iraqi forces in 'major advance' against IS in Tikrit - BBC News
I believe I was referring to a threat to Saudi Arabia since they share a border. There does seem to be a threat, or Saudi would not be bombing the shit out of Yemen right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by OckerRocker
I don't believe there is a real threat to Saudi Arabia from the Houtis. ISIS or al-Qaeda are a more realistic threat to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's only perceived "threat" is likely to be that the Houtis are Shia and not Sunni and therefore they might fall under the sphere of influence of Iran rather than the gulf "monarchies" and the USA.
The rebels/insurgents in Yemen are Shia and the Saudis, Sunnis.
Threat? I don't know.
A perceived threat or simply SA belting the crap out of a bunch of rebels from another sect.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
You've lived in Saudi, you claim - and I have no reason to not believe you - so you know how tightly controlled everything is there . . . including the clergy.
This:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neverna
Saudi doesn't want to be seen attacking other Sunni, as much as US doesn't want to be seen interfering or taking sides in the Sunni/Shia conflict, so the proposed multi Arab states' coalition against both the Shia Houthis and Sunni ISIS suits it's purpose of controlling the Islamic world.
The only big threat Saudi's got are Shia Iran and the Sunni ISIs up north.
If Saudi and the new Arab coalition mooted doesn't clout the Houthis, Isis would do their best to keep moving south into Yemen to deal to them and Saudi would have a huge problem on its southern/Yemen border trying to stop ISIS from entering Saudi and taking over, ISIS's big dream, being at Medina and taking over the Saudi caliphacy.
Having worked in Saudi a couple of years, my brief western impression is that they are a very "closed" country and feel any variation from the norm is a threat to their status quo. To get them to a point where they actually take military action against another muslim country is saying a lot.
Whether one uses the word threat or not, Saudi is definitely feeling some pressure from what is happening in Yemen. They could also be using this situation as an excuse to degrade a sect the majority in Saudi do not believe in. It seems most in fighting among muslims is one sect against another, which is not surprising.
. . . and you know that the Wahabi are considered the 'fascists' of IslamQuote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
According to CNN, Tikrit has been taken back from ISIS. If this story is true, it is some serious progress against ISIS.
Iraq's prime minister has announced that his country's military forces and allied groups have driven out Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters from the centre of Tikrit city after month-long military offensive.
In a statement on Tuesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi said troops have retaken neighbourhoods on the southern and western edges of Tikrit and are moving to control the entire city.
He hailed the "liberation of Tikrit", congratulating the forces that took part in the battle.
More.
Iraqi forces take back central Tikrit from ISIL - Al Jazeera English
Well done, lads. Where next? Raqqa?
I'm surprised there is anything or anyone left of/in Tikrit.
Terrible
A wasteland for sure. More to come in the ME. Can't imagine the hell folks have suffered there over the last decade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neverna
Where those Bethnal Academy runaway girls are .....
Go for it boys!!!!:bananaman:
Islamic State (IS) militants have entered the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus, activists and Palestinian officials say.
Clashes erupted between the militants and groups inside the camp, with IS seizing control of large parts of the camp, reports said.
The UN says about 18,000 Palestinian refugees are inside the camp.
IS militants have seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq.
Yarmouk residents told BBC Arabic that members of Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, a group formed by Palestinian militiamen opposed to the Syrian government, were leading the fight against the IS militants, along with some Free Syrian Army fighters.
IS fighters had seized control of large parts of the camp, an official with the Palestine Liberation Organisation based in Damascus, and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
There has been no official statement from IS about the move.
IS militants 'enter Yarmouk refugee camp' in Syrian capital - BBC News
No Sunni threat from within ?Quote:
Originally Posted by ENT
Saudi is gonna tumble
Buy oil options now !
Saudi ain't threatened by any Sunni in Saudi, only by Sunni ISIS up north, many of whom are disenfranchised, bored young Saudi recruits.Quote:
Originally Posted by helgeNo Sunni threat from within ?Quote:
Originally Posted by ENT
Saudi is gonna tumble
Buy oil options now !
Can't see Saudi taking a fall in the near future, it's got arms, money, oil reserves, moving towards a solar energy economy and is sitting on top of the whole Muslim world, dominating it through every means, language, education and financial support.
Oil prices have recently gone up since the Yemen crisis started, but not OTT.
^ You've still got a lot to learn.Quote:
Originally Posted by ENTSaudi ain't threatened by any Sunni in Saudi, only by Sunni ISIS up north, many of whom are disenfranchised, bored young Saudi recruits.Quote:
Originally Posted by helgeNo Sunni threat from within ?Quote:
Originally Posted by ENT
Saudi is gonna tumble
Buy oil options now !
Can't see Saudi taking a fall in the near future, it's got arms, money, oil reserves, moving towards a solar energy economy and is sitting on top of the whole Muslim world, dominating it through every means, language, education and financial support.
Oil prices have recently gone up since the Yemen crisis started, but not OTT.
Tell us all about it.
:chitown:
More than 25,000 foreign fighters have travelled to join militant groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS), according to a UN report.
Experts have said that the flow of foreign fighters is "higher than it has ever been historically".
Fighters from at least 100 countries have travelled to areas such as Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan.
The report states that this poses an immediate and long-term threat to global security.
It said that the number of foreign fighters has "risen sharply", increasing by 71% between the middle of 2014 and March 2015.
Syria and Iraq have also become a "veritable finishing school for extremists", with some 22,000 foreign fighters.
The report, by experts monitoring UN sanctions against al-Qaeda, warned that defeating IS in Iraq and Syria could lead to the dispersal of experienced fighters across the world.
There are also 6,500 fighters in Afghanistan and hundreds in Yemen, Libya and Pakistan, the report says.
It adds that a high number of foreign fighters have come from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia.
There has also been an increase in the number coming from the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago.
The report called for greater intelligence sharing between nations to help identify foreign fighters.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32156541
UN says '25,000 foreign fighters' joined Islamist militants - BBC News
Nine British nationals have been seized by Turkish authorities after allegedly trying to enter Syria illegally, armed forces in the country have said.
They were seized by authorities close to the Turkish border with Syria, at Reyhanli in the Hatay region, and remain in custody.
The Britons included three men, two women and four children, the Associated Press news agency reported.
A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said it was looking into the reports.
It is estimated around 600 Britons have already travelled to the region to fight since the conflict in Syria began.
Around half are believed to have returned to the UK, the Met Police have said.
Most of the Britons are believed to have travelled to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which controls large areas of Syria - including sections of the border with Turkey.
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins said the number of arrests was "significant".
But he said it was not known whether the Britons were from the same family, whether they were individuals, or whether they were travelling in separate groups.
"It is significant that the Turks were very keen to get the news out there - to show that they were having some success in trying to plug that very porous border," he said.
Nine Britons held on Turkey-Syria border - BBC News
I have no problem with some muslims trying to join ISIS by leaving their western home to fight their jihad. In fact, I would like to see the US pay for anyone who wants to join up with ISIS so that they can get blown up.
Any person wanting to join ISIS is better off in the fight than staying home in their western country and causing problems. A great opportunity for western countries IMO.
I don't understand what the big deal is w/ ISIL. I mean they're people just like you and me exploring their politics.