U.S. Military Operation Inherent Resolve: Iran says U.S. drone strikes killed two of its advisers in Tikrit ... p261

Aleppo Battle: Al Qaeda's Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Friend To Syrian Rebel Groups
3/9/15

In Aleppo, JAN is part of a joint military operation room with two of the most well-equipped anti-regime rebel brigades in the north: Jabhat Shamiya (the Levant Front) and Jabhat Ansar al-Deen (Supporters of the Religion Front). The two coalitions have pulled resources and manpower from a variety of formerly independent brigades, bringing together hard-line extremist groups like the Islamic Front and the Mujahedeen Army with more secular units of the Free Syrian Army.

[link to www.ibtimes.com]

Isis: Foreign fighters 'live like kings' in Syrian Raqqa stronghold of Islamic State
3/12/15

On the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of Syria's civil war, Abu Mohammed said life in the IS-held areas of the country was increasingly hopeless. Raqqa has made headlines in recent weeks for the execution of a gay man who was thrown from a roof and the setting up of schools for young jihadis.

"It is the same horrible and ugly life under the rule of Isis. Life is dangerous and people are afraid. They try to stay away from Isis fighters, fearful of being caught or receiving a punishment that may lead to death," Abu Mohammed said via Skype from his home in Raqqa.

[link to www.ibtimes.co.uk]
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Every Syrian/coalition effort should have been focused against this city from the beginning if they truly didn't want ISIS to gain a foothold.
Why do they still hold this city as their Syrian HQ?

Agence France-Presse ‏@AFP 16m16 minutes ago
#BREAKING Nearly 13,000 Syrians killed by regime torture since 2011: monitor

40 Iraqi Soldiers Die After ISIS Plants 300 IEDs Under Anbar Army HQ
3/13/15

More than 40 Iraqi soldiers were killed after ISIS militants dug a mile-long tunnel under a local army headquarters and planted around 300 explosives under the base, a top regional official told NBC News Friday. The IEDs caused a "huge" explosion at the site in Iraq's Anbar province on Thursday morning, chairman of the region's governing council Sabah Karhoot said via telephone.

[link to www.nbcnews.com]

ISIS Still on the Attack, Despite Internal Strife and Heavy Losses
3/13/15

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State is facing growing dissension among its rank-and-file fighters and struggling to govern towns and villages it has seized, but the militant Sunni group is still managing to launch attacks and expand its ideological reach outside of Iraq and Syria, senior American officials said.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

DRUDGE REPORT ‏@DRUDGE_REPORT 9m9 minutes ago
REPORT: U.S. exaggerating ISIS casualties... [link to drudge.tw (secure)]

Iraq in control of half of Tikrit: Iraqi official
3/13/15

The Iraqi army together with volunteer forces have regained half of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit from the ISIL (also known as Daesh) militants following heavy firefight in the strategic city, an Iraqi police colonel says.

"We are surrounding the gunmen in the city center,” the colonel, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said on Friday.

“We're advancing slowly due to the great number of IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," the Iraqi colonel said, adding, "We estimate there are 10,000 IEDs in the city."

[link to www.albawaba.com]

Only 60 or 70 Daeshbags left in Tikrit... but thousands of IEDs

[link to mobile.twitter.com (secure)]

Interesting video here. I have no idea when or when it was taken but it is some time during the Shia militia pushing back Daesh

Listen to these two guys get into an argument over the radio about whose martyrs are going to Paradise. Back and forth, back and forth

[link to m.youtube.com (secure)]

(English subtitles)

CIA chief says ISIS has 'snowballed'
3/14/15

CIA Director John Brennan said Friday that the Islamic State had “snowballed” beyond Iraq and Syria, expanding its presence in more than 90 countries.

Brennan’s statement marks a change from the narrative the Obama administration has been pushing on the success of the fight against ISIS.

[link to www.foxnews.com]
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That's because the Admin has been lying through it's teeth the whole time.
I've heard a few times over the past months how ISIS has been 'weakened', but results on the ground really didn't reflect it.

Vlad's stealing the show! No other news happening in the world! OMG!

Lol yep!

Paradoxy ‏@Paradoxy13 1m1 minute ago
Unconfirmed but interesting if true, several activists claim that the Assad regime downed a coalition drone in western rural #Aleppo y’day.

Iraqi Kurds say ISIS used chemical weapons against troops
3/14/15

The Kurdish Regional Security Council released a statement saying it has evidence showing the ISIS fighters used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against Kurdish military forces known as peshmerga fighters.

The council said the alleged chemical attack took place on a road between Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, and the Syrian border, as forces fought to seize a vital supply line used by the Sunni militants. It said its fighters later found "around 20 gas canisters" that had been loaded onto the truck involved in the attack.

[link to www.foxnews.com]

ISIS launches suicide bomb attacks
3/14/15

Video

[link to www.cnn.com]

Despite booby traps, human shields ISIL near 'collapse' in Tikrit
3/14/15

SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE, Iraq — Islamic State fighters killed the prominent leader of a Shiite militia in the battle of Tikrit on Saturday, but Iraqi officers said the dwindling band of extremists were in "total collapse."

Iraqi government leaders predicted ISIL fighters in the city will be defeated in two or three days.

[link to www.usatoday.com]
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You see what's happening here, don't you? There's always a concerted moved made against a single town or city, but never a simultaneous attack on all of IS strongholds.

This article claims some minor victory in Tikrit, yet what of the other cities? IS still holds Raqqa Syria as it's HQ.
These operations (announced in advance) are only moving these roaches around.

Iraqi troops pause battle for Tikrit, await reinforcements
3/14/15

BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces and mainly Shia militiamen battling to wrest full control of the city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants paused their offensive for a second day on Saturday as they awaited reinforcements, a military source said.

More than 20,000 troops and Iranian-backed Shia fighters entered Tikrit on Wednesday, having retaken areas to the north and south in a campaign launched almost two weeks ago, Iraq’s biggest offensive against the militants yet.

Islamic State fighters still hold about half the city and have booby-trapped buildings and laid improvised explosive devices and roadside bombs, the source in the local military command centre told Reuters.

More “well-trained forces” were needed for the street-by-street battles that recapturing the whole city would require, the source said, speaking by phone from Tikrit. He did not give a timeline for their arrival.

[link to www.dailytimes.com.pk]

Iraqi forces will liberate Tikrit within 72 hours
3/14/15

Iraqi forces besiegi-ng dozens of die-hard radicals from Baghdadi militia group in Tikrit will have liberated the city within three days, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Karim Al Nuri, a top leader from the Badr militia and the spokesman of the volunteer Popular Mobilisation units, said it would take no more than 72 hours to flush out holdout Baghdadi militiamen.

The last Baghdadi militiamen holed up in the city centre are surrounded from all sides, Nuri said.

Speaking from the outskirts of Tikrit, near the village of Awja, he said “their number is now 60 to 70”.

[link to www.omantribune.com]

Depending on what source you read, you'll get varying reports on Tikrit, as you might be able to tell from the last 3 articles I posted about it.

Iranian Weapons Flood the Battle of Tikrit
3/14/15

Iraqi and Shia militia forces have been taking back ground from Islamic State, pushing the jihadist fighters out of much of the town of Tikrit.

But in a sign of Tehran’s growing military presence in the Iraq, Iranian weapons were a nearly ubiquitous sight in images and videos coming out of the offensive to take the mostly Sunni city.

Ever since Islamic State shocked the region with its capture of Mosul last summer, Iran has opened up its arsenals and flooded clients, proxies and friends in Iraq with arms and vehicles.

Now, as Iraqi forces have brushed off their American advisers during the push into Tikrit, Iranian weapons — and advisers — are helping to spread the Islamic Republic’s influence.

[link to medium.com (secure)]

Turkey to support Mosul operation from sidelines
3/14/15

Also according to Ozyurt, the expected wave of refugees after clashes begin could be riskier and more dangerous for Turkey. She said, “The wave from Mosul could include IS sympathizers and supporters. It makes more sense to establish a presence there and establish relations with the population. It is distinctly possible that the US and NATO might want to make use of Turkey’s influence over the Sunni Muslims of the region.”

Some experts in Ankara are thinking along the same lines as Ozyurt. They said the United States was putting heat on Turkey to support the Mosul operation. In return, Ankara is pressing Washington to give it more of a say in restoring order to Mosul after it is cleared of IS.

[link to www.al-monitor.com]

I wonder what they would do if you wiped your ass with paper...

:boombus:

Kerry 'willing to talk to Assad'
3/15/15

In an interview with CBS News, Mr Kerry said the US is pushing for Assad to seriously discuss a transition strategy to quell the Arab country's four-year civil war.

Mr Kerry said: "We have to negotiate in the end."

[link to www.independent.ie]
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When violent regime change doesn't work, try diplomacy.

IS-occupied Syria like living in prison, say visitors to Damascus
3/15/15

[link to www.irishtimes.com]

Saddam Hussein's tomb leveled during fight against ISIS
3/15/15

OUJA, Iraq - The tomb of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein was virtually leveled in heavy clashes between militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Iraqi security forces in a fight for control of the city of Tikrit.

Fighting intensified to the north and south of Saddam Hussein's hometown Sunday as Iraqi security forces vowed to reach the center of Tikrit within 48 hours. Associated Press video from the village of Ouja, just south of Tikrit, shows all that remains of Hussein's once-lavish tomb are the support columns that held up the roof.

[link to www.cbsnews.com]
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Even dead Saddam can't catch a break.

I bet ISIS didn't do it. Hell, their highest ranks are former Saddam loyalists.

But who knows, ISIS is compiled of so many squads from different parts of the world, might've been the US/UK/Canada group that did it. They're pretty big now.

Exactly. Most if not all of us are in that 'Who Knows' category....

These groups morph and shift loyalties so quickly, you don't know what to expect day to day. I've noticed that a lot since I started covering this mess.

Daeshbags have rigged IEDs on electric poles, power lines, every sort of infrastructure in Tikrit

[link to ninanews.com]

Heck, they've probably dropped cherry bombs down toilets

Oh wait.

ISIS' dark mission: Destroying all signs of Christianity
3/16/15

These photos culled by the Middle East Media Research Institute, were posted online by ISIS and show the destruction of sacred Christian sites in Nineveh, Iraq.

[link to www.foxnews.com]
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To be fair, it's not just Christianity. Anything that goes against their grain gets destroyed.

ISIS Vows To ‘Blow Up The White House, Big Ben And The Eiffel Tower’
3/16/15

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – En route to conquering the European cities of Paris and Rome, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria says they plan to “blow up” the White House, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower.
ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani detailed the terror group’s plans to conquer Portugal, Spain, Paris and Rome in an almost 30-minute audio message to the West, “So They Kill And Are Killed,” which references a Koran verse.

[link to washington.cbslocal.com]