Good photo essay today on the drive for Mosul. NY Times.

Fisherguy · Oct 26, 2016

Riding around in an MRAP and fending off four car bombs in one day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/w...t-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

waltky · Nov 8, 2016

ISIS fighters abducted 295 former Iraqi Security Forces members...

Islamic State abducts more than 200 near Mosul, retreats with thousands: U.N.
Tue Nov 8, 2016 | Islamic State fighters abducted 295 former Iraqi Security Forces members near the militant stronghold of Mosul and also forced 1,500 families to retreat with them from Hammam al Alil town, the United Nations human rights organization said on Tuesday.

The abductions took place last week as Iraqi government forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite militias backed by U.S.-led air strikes pushed an offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State. "People forcibly moved or abducted, it appears, are either intended to be used as human shields or - depending on their perceived affiliations - killed," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Smoke rises during clashes in the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul

About 100 of the former ISF officers were taken at around midnight on Nov. 3 from Mawaly village, which is about 20 km (12 miles) west of Mosul. A further 195 were abducted between Nov. 1 and Nov. 4 from villages in Tal Afar district. The abducted families were being taken from their town to Mosul airport, Shamdasani said. "The fate of these civilians is unknown for the moment," she told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.

A family fleeing fighting between the Islamic State and Iraqi army in Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, make their way to safer territory

The United Nations also had information that at least 30 sheikhs were abducted in Sinjar district on Nov. 2 or Nov. 3 and taken to an unknown location. It was trying to verify a report that 18 of them had been killed on Nov. 4 in Tal Afar district, Shamdasani said. The operation against Islamic State's Iraqi stronghold has entered its fourth week and Iraqi forces have so far gained just a small foothold in Mosul.

A woman who is fleeing the fighting between Islamic state and Iraqi army in Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, reacts as as she are heading to safer territory

The U.N. human rights office has sources on the ground but the information they are able to provide is "patchy", Shamdasani said. She could not confirm media reports of a mass grave being found but said it happened to be in the same agricultural college in Hammam al Alil where the U.N. reported the execution of 50 police officers last month.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-mosul-un-idUSKBN133159
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Escaping Islamic State clutches in Mosul, civilians are targeted and trapped
November 8, 2016 - Seif Mohammed, his nose cut and swollen, winced and held his back. He had a narrow escape the previous day, surviving an Islamic State suicide car bomb then fleeing his home in Mosul to take shelter about a mile away.

"The blast didn't just destroy my house but a whole block," the 24-year-old said. "They don't target the army, they target civilians. There were three car bombs yesterday in Intisar. My dad and brother are still in hospital, I haven't heard news of them. The neighbors were killed." Iraqi forces entered Mosul last week and pushed into the Intisar district in an operation to drive the hardline group from its last major city stronghold in Iraq. The offensive, which involves a 100,000-strong alliance of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite militias backed by U.S.-led air strikes, has so far gained just a small foothold in Mosul since it began four weeks ago. Iraqi forces were fighting Islamic State militants in Intisar on Tuesday.

Fleeing residents said the militants had stepped up violence against civilians, including using car bombs, as they came under increasing military pressure in Intisar. Ali Dhaher, 20, who had sheltered in an abandoned home overnight, looked relieved even as explosions sounded around him and fighting raged nearby. "Thank God we're no longer under Daesh," he said, using a pejorative Arabic acronym for the Sunni extremists. "Daesh is a byword for savagery. They target civilians even before targeting the army. It's increased too. Wherever they are more encircled and lose territory, they increase their attacks on civilians." Dhaher's family also had a narrow miss from a bomb attack the day before, he said. They were safe but people in the neighborhood had been killed.

Dhaher and Mohammed spoke from the Shahrezad district on the outskirts of eastern Mosul, where they took shelter overnight. Iraqi forces were shelling IS positions in Intisar from there on Tuesday. After more than two years of IS control, hundreds have escaped the area this week but even in Shahrezad they are not out of danger yet. A loud explosion sent a group of them scattering for shelter. Fathi Abu Abdallah, nursed a fresh wound to his upper lip and looked shaken. "They (IS) shot me, right as I was collecting food aid next to the mosque on that corner, just a few minutes ago," he indicated. An Iraqi flag fluttered at the top of the green minaret. Small arms fire could be heard in the distance and the blast of army mortar fire more closely. Civilians huddled behind a wall for a few minutes after Abu Abdallah was hit.

FLEEING AND FOOD BOXES
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YouLie · Nov 8, 2016

Fisherguy said: ↑

Riding around in an MRAP and fending off four car bombs in one day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/w...spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
Click to expand...

NY Times doing its part to show the American people Democrats can be tough on ISIS.

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Good photo essay today on the drive for Mosul. NY Times.

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Good photo essay today on the drive for Mosul. NY Times.

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waltky Well-Known Member

YouLie Well-Known Member

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