Iraq Conflict - 6/13/17

Thanks for that video link AC.


Those Iraqi combat missions always look so rag tag and disorganized....with so many participants fighting together, how do they tell each other apart, I wonder.

Pushing into Mosul, troops find traps, kids hurt and heritage destroyed
11/16/16

NIMRUD, Iraq -- Iraqi special forces pushed deeper into the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes but under attack by rockets and suicide bombers from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Troops have established a foothold in the city’s east, and earlier in the day, drove northward into the Tahrir neighborhood, where families left their houses to flee the fighting. Mortars from ISIS-held territory wounded at least five children trying to flee the fighting, who were evacuated by the troops.

Away from the front lines, Iraqi forces on Wednesday assessed the damage to the ancient site of Nimrud, a town some 19 miles southeast of Mosul. Iraqi troops entered Nimrud on Sunday in what was the most significant gain in several days for government forces.

[link to www.cbsnews.com]

LIVE UPDATES: Battle for Mosul, Day 31
11/16/16

[link to rudaw.net]

Mosul: Isis' destruction of ancient Iraqi city revealed for first time with new photos
11/16/16

The true scale of damage inflicted on the ancient city of Nimrud by Isis has become clear, two days after the Iraqi army managed to secure the site.

Nimrud - an ancient Assyrian city dating back 3,300 years - is one of the most precious ancient Mesopotamian ruins in existence.

[link to www.independent.co.uk]
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Nimrud: Photos show IS destruction of ancient Iraqi city
11/15/15

On Tuesday, a pro-government tribal militia commander visiting the site for the first time in two years told the AFP news agency: "When you came here before, you could imagine the life as it used to be. Now there is nothing."
"One hundred percent has been destroyed," Ali al-Bayati added. "Losing Nimrud is more painful to me than even losing my own house."

[link to www.bbc.com]

A Real-Life Horror Movie Unfolds as ISIS Loses Control in Mosul
11/16/16

Amidst the tales of escalating war and harrowing escapes, Ali Mohammed and his fellow exiles from Mosul described a terrorist group that had rapidly morphed from a formidable pseudo-army that controlled the city into a shambolic gang of murderous thugs.

If ISIS' oppressive rule had been unbearable when the group was at its most powerful, it became even worse under its decline as U.S.-backed Iraqi military forces drew closer, according to former Mosul residents. The jittery militants turned harshly on the civilians they had once tried to recruit.

[link to www.nbcnews.com]

Iraqi forces recapture key air base near Mosul
11/16/16

(CNN) Iraqi paramilitary forces have recaptured a strategic airbase outside the northern city of Tal Afar, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces said.

Ahmed al Assadi acknowledged that militia forces have yet to extinguish some pockets of ISIS resistance inside the airbase, however, saying Wednesday night that mopping-up operations will continue for the next few hours.

[link to www.cnn.com]

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If the enemy is still inside, is it really 'recaptured'?

Nov 5, 2016, Illuminati media:
Isis leaders flee Nineveh after stealing millions of dollars from own treasury.
Shia paramilitary forces report that four more villages have been liberated at Nineveh province.
[link to www.ibtimes.co.uk]

=== Reminder
Battle of Mosul, Illuminati media - BASICS: 1 (no ISIS) + 2 KEY FACTS
Illuminati media: BASICS, starting with the two KEY facts, first published 1999.
It's introduced by one of the basic facts about ISIS: it never controlled any major city in Iraq.

Overview
Introduction - no ISIS in Mosul
- Timing for this repost, Oct 17, 2016
- Some of what you'll know afterwards, Jun 2015
Illuminati media: BASICS. First published 1999, updated examples.
- The two KEY facts; what they imply.
- Other basic facts

### Introduction - no ISIS in Mosul
Timing for this repost
Oct 17, 2016
- As the military of 60 "countries" is bombing Mosul, alias razing it to the ground the same way as the other cities "liberated" by the "Iraqi army" since 2015
- those among its two million residents who fled are being transported in cattle trucks, supposedly to barbed wire camps for internally displaced people, in fact to be slaughtered by the shia militias.

Some of what you'll know afterwards
ISIS controls Raqqa in Syria but it never controlled any major city in Iraq, such as Tikrit, Ramadi, Fallujah and Mosul.
After reading the "Basic Facts" you'll know why illuminati media
- regularly mentions ISIS channel Amaq and has broadcasted plenty of footage of Raqqa under ISIS control
- has NEVER mentioned the channel of the Iraqi freedom fighters who liberated the Iraqi cities and has never broadcasted any recognizable footage of major Iraqi cities "under ISIS control".

### Illuminati media: BASICS:
From 1999, updates in brackets, some text could be removed, as a consequence of the Laws of End Times Reductionism.

The two KEY facts
1. The list of illuminati TV stations includes ALL TV stations that you get on cable or only on satellite ... and beyond.
All controlled by one and the same secret society:
- from "mainstream", such as BBC News and CNN, to "alternative" channels [starting with the global leader, Russia's RT],
- ... and beyond [such as North Korea's TV, which plays a special "alternative news" role, casted as "mouthpiece of a rogue state"].

2. GLOBAL HEADLINES - ALL ACTORS used to mock human cattle and reduce the rest to the same condition.
Anyone or any event making global headlines is a psy-op advancing the illuminati agendas, with a few, very few exceptions, in areas such as natural catastrophes.
In other words: headlines are part of the foundations of the matrix created by the illuminati for you to live in.
In this simulation the link to reality ranges from diversion to rewriting it in black is white.

The two KEY facts: what they imply
- what else do the illuminati totally control
- more basic facts about illuminati media.

More basic facts - implied in the two KEY facts
3. What goes for TV stations is also valid for any other mass media and beyond: ALL TOTALLY controlled by the illuminati.
What beyond in this case means: any outlet mentioned by mass media [such as ISIS Amaq channel].
That's why NONE of these outlets will question let alone contradict ANY of the core lies propagated by ALL TV stations.
Examples: evolution theory; who were the real UK and US allies in World War II; Srebrenica "massacre" 1995, a milestone for fake blood, one year after fake mass blood was first used to launch "humanitarian wars".
[More, after 1999]:
- 9/11 2001, from no planes to mini-hydrogen bombs in basement of WTC1 and WTC2,
- rally "crowds" of "presidential candidates" scripted in head to head races while supported by less than 5%, from McCain 2008 and Romney 2012 to Clinton 2008 (v Obama) and 2016 (v Sanders and v Trump).
- ISIS, from who created and manages it to who really expelled the "Iraqi army" from Fallujah, Tikrit and Mosul in 2014 and from Ramadi in 2015]

4. Everyone "reporting" or "commenting" national or international politics is an illuminati agent, who knows exactly what lines in script he's supposed to tell.
The list includes about anyone else appearing regularly in the media, with a few, very few exceptions, in areas such as weather forecast or cooking.

5. There's NO such thing as LIVE TV.
In other words: it's impossible for a truther to unexpectedly expose any illuminti core lies because the broadcast would be interrupted during the time gap, the buffer of a few seconds delay used to prevent it.

ALL
illuminati-media.bl...pot.com/2004/05/

‘I Saw This Huge Fireball’: A View of Urban Warfare in Mosul
11/17/16

[link to time.com]

IS attacks in Mosul as poor visibility slows Iraqi advance
11/17/16

MOSUL, Iraq — Cloudy skies neutralized air power in Mosul on Thursday, Iraqi forces said, hampering their advance in the northern city, although they still faced deadly attacks by Islamic State militants that killed seven civilians and two soldiers.

The civilians were killed and 35 others were wounded when militants fired mortar rounds on government-controlled areas of eastern Mosul, said army medic Bashir Jabar, who is in charge of a field clinic run by the special forces.

[link to thechronicleherald.ca]

1 month in, Iraq still faces grueling urban combat in Mosul
11/17/16

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Layers of hastily erected barricades built from rubble and twisted metal trace Mosul's eastern frontline where Iraqi forces and Islamic State group fighters are facing off in the dense neighborhoods and narrow alleyways of the country's second largest city.

As the operation to retake Mosul enters its second month on Thursday, Iraqi forces are preparing for prolonged, grueling urban combat.

They have slowed the tempo of their operations, advancing just a few hundred meters at a time. Iraqi forces have gathered troops many times the estimated 5,000 IS fighters in the city.

[link to www.businessinsider.com]

Iraq: Bomb blast kills dozens in Amiriyat al-Fallujah
11/17/16

At least 40 people have been killed and more than 60 wounded after a suicide car bomb attack targeted a police officer's wedding in Amiriyat al-Fallujah in Iraq, police sources have told Al Jazeera.

[link to www.aljazeera.com]

Shia militias poised to take Iraq’s Tal Afar: Official
11/18/16

Shia militiamen have advanced to within three kilometers of the Daesh-held majority-Turkmen city of Tal Afar, located some 60 kilometers west of Mosul, according to an Iraqi Turkmen official.

"Hashd al-Shaabi militiamen are advancing towards Tal Afar after having captured the city’s airport from Daesh," Aydin Maarouf, an MP for the Iraqi Turkmen Front in northern Iraq's Kurdish regional parliament, said Friday.

Established in 2014, the Hashd al-Shaabi is an umbrella group of pro-government Shia militias drawn up with the express purpose of fighting Daesh.

[link to aa.com.tr]

UN: Iraq faces massive scope of humanitarian need
11/18/16

BAGHDAD, Iraq — With operations to retake Mosul passing the one-month mark on November 17, the United Nations released a statement regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by the city’s residents such as hunger and lack of medicines.

The United Nations reported nearly 59,000 people have been displaced, 26,000 of them children, in the first 30 days of operations to retake Mosul. The Government of Iraq, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations have begun providing assistance with resettlement into three Iraqi governorates.

[link to rudaw.net]

Civilian casualties from Mosul are overwhelming capacity, U.N. warns
11/19/16

ERBIL, Iraq - Mounting civilian casualties from fighting in eastern Mosul between Iraqi forces and Islamic State are overwhelming the capacity of the government and international aid groups, the United Nations said on Saturday.

Nearly 200 wounded civilians and military personnel were transferred to hospital last week, the highest level since the campaign to push the jihadists out of their last major stronghold in Iraq began on Oct. 17, said Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq.

[link to wibqam.com]

Iraq retakes town of Nimrud near ancient Assyrian city, Iraqi military says
11/19/16

On Saturday, Iraqi forces reclaimed the modern town of Nimrud, close to the ancient city, as part of the ongoing battle for Mosul -- ISIS' last major stronghold in Iraq, according to a statement from Iraq's Joint Military Command. Several ISIS militants were killed in the battle to liberate the town, the statement said.
Nearly a week ago Iraqi forces liberated a nearby village also known as Nimrud and the site of the ruins. Nimrud is 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Mosul.

[link to www.cnn.com]

Iran Pivots Toward Oil Deal; Expect Iraq To Go Rogue
11/19/16

Iran is learning from its geopolitical rival and fellow OPEC-member Saudi Arabia . Pivoting from its reluctance in April and even last month that it would balk at joining any OPEC production cuts later this month when the cartel meets in Vienna, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zangeneh said on Saturday that a production cut will probably be put in place.

Zangeneh said “it is highly likely” that oil and energy ministers of the member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will reach an agreement on November 30. Iran’s oil ministry news agency, Shana, quoted Zangeneh as saying that if producers manage to cooperate, oil prices could rebound to $55 to $60 a barrel, the level OPEC members deem appropriate for producers and consumers.

[link to www.forbes.com]

Iraqi forces continue to advance against ISIS in Mosul
11/20/16

MOSUL, Iraq – A top Iraqi commander said on Sunday that troops were continuing to advance toward the center of Mosul, pushing back Islamic State fighters, but hindered by sniper fire and suicide bombings as well as concern over the safety of civilians.

Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi told The Associated Press that his special forces were searching homes in areas retaken from IS, looking for militants and vehicles rigged to be used in suicide bombings.

[link to www.foxnews.com]

Iraqi forces dig in as Mosul battle rages
11/21/16

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi troops on Sunday fortified their positions in Mosul neighborhoods retaken from the Islamic State group as their advance toward the city center was slowed by sniper fire and suicide bombings, as well as concern over the safety of civilians.

"The biggest hindrance to us is the civilians, whose presence is slowing us down," Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the special forces told The Associated Press. "We are soldiers who are not trained to carry out humanitarian tasks."

[link to www.njherald.com]

Iran positioning Shiite militias in Iraq as regional expeditionary force
11/21/16

Iran has positioned thousands of loyal Iraqi Shiite militia fighters around Mosul with a strategic goal of creating long-lasting armies inside Iraq that can also deploy as an expeditionary force to Syria, Yemen and other contested regions, analysts say.
The Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah Brigades, Badr Organization and other groups fall under the Baghdad-approved umbrella group known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. These mostly Shiite groups — some moderate, some extremists — are distinct from but coordinate with the Iraqi regular army, police and counterterrorism units. The ultimate goal is the same: Evict the Sunni extremist group Islamic State from the country.
But the Iranian-backed groups, guided by on-the-ground advisers from the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ notorious Quds force, have regional goals as well. They are geared toward what the U.S. intelligence community sees as Tehran’s desire to dominate the region and blunt American influence.

[link to www.washingtontimes.com]

Scenes of Flight From Mosul’s Front Lines
11/22/16

The military campaign to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, is in its sixth week and bogged down in a grueling fight. Seeking to escape the fighting, more civilians than ever are taking the risk of evacuation, hoping to find help if they can make it past the militants’ gun range.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

On the ground in Mosul: why the worst-case scenarios are coming true
11/22/16

The offensive began just over a month ago with a quick series of successful efforts to flush ISIS fighters out of villages on the outskirts of the sprawling city. Iraqi forces have retaken a third of the city east of the Tigris river, but the assault has slowed in recent days as the Iraqi forces entered Mosul’s densely packed streets. The fighting has morphed into bloody street-by-street, building-by-building urban warfare. Baghdad doesn’t release official casualty figures, but some medics estimate that it is at least in the low dozens. As of late October, US officials said ISIS had lost roughly 900 fighters.

[link to www.vox.com]
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Group warns ISIS may hit advancing troops with chemical weapons
11/22/16

According to the analysis by IHS Markit, a London-based intelligence analysis firm, Mosul served as a center for chemical weapons production for ISIS.

However, experts believe ISIS moved the materials and experts to Syria ahead of the Iraqi offensive to free the city. The analysis concluded that chlorine and mustard agents are the most likely chemicals to be used by ISIS in the Mosul battle.

In Budapest, visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told reporters that 1,700 militants have been killed and 120 captured since the battle for Mosul began. A third of Ninevah province, where Mosul is the capital, has been liberated so far, he said, adding that progress in the city has been slowed by the militants’ use of human shields.

He said that because of the country’s “extraordinary situation,” it would need to increase its crude oil output, which provides 90 percent of state revenues, and be exempt from OPEC quotas.

[link to www.cbsnews.com]

Fake wars, one of the BASIC illuminati tactics at the end of the show
Wars staged by the illuminati: both sides are executing orders from the Illuminati Grand Master.
Fake wars is one of two main subtypes, unlike a type of wars that appeared only after 9/11: relabeled wars.
After getting the article below you'll know muh more than just the reason why the fake "war on ISIS" in Syria is the OPPOSITE of the relabeled "war on ISIS" in Iraq.

Wars staged by the illuminati: Typology:
Based on to what extent participants are aware that battles are staged.
Two basic types: staged (in a strict sense) and fake (partly or totally).

Staged wars (in a strict sense)
Only those above a certain degree of military command are aware of it.
This type is an illuminati classic. In the rule most blood comes from military personnel, fulfilling the general agendas of offering mass sacrifices of young blood to satan.
Examples:
- Napoleonic wars: battle of Trafalgar 1805; battle of Waterloo 1815.
- World War I: West Front (battle of the Somme, Verdun, etc); all battles after October 1917, when illuminati agent "Lenin" became the ruler of the russian empire.
- World War II: all battles "nazi Germany v UK and/or UK".

Fake wars.
Fake wars with real blood
Most soldiers (in some cases all) are aware of it.
In the rule most blood comes from civilians, This is currently used not only for satanic sacrifices but also to advance the ongoing global genocide agenda.
Examples:
- ISIS "bombed" by "US led coalition": together with Russia/Assad in Syria; together with "Tripoli unity gov" in Sirte, Libya.
- Saudi led coalition "bombing" Houthi "rebels" in Yemen.

Fake wars reduced to nothing but simulated reality
Not only all military but also all civilians are aware.
Examples: Israel "bombing" Gaza. Note: in this case civilians obviously refers only to the population of Gaza, Israelis are obviously not aware of it.
Side note: more simulated reality staged in a mini-Gaza type of stage, a supposedly public area previously secured and where everyone is not only aware that it's all fake blood but are also actors:
- all mass shootings and terrorist attacks against civilians making headlines almost daily since 2011, from Kabul and Baghdad mosques and malls to Paris concert halls and the finish line of the Boston marathon.
- purely religious episodes such as the Mecca series: Bin Laden's family crane fell on the main mosque on 9/11 2015, followed days later by the Hajj stampede.

How to make believe that fake wars are real
1. CGI videos
2. Relabeling footage of real wars
3. Real footage:
- bombing civilians (obviously only in the real blood type of fake wars).
- bombing empty buildings.
4. Massive use of figurants.
Example: in Gaza almost everyone is convinced that participating in the simulated reality is in their advantage.
Also: Gaza is a terror state, where anyone not ready to fully participate in the simulation will be immediately accused of being an "Israeli spy" and executed.
Side note: this is based on the same mechanism as to use
- bosnian muslims to start the series of fake mass blood at Sarajevo's Markale Market 1994, in order to demonize serbs.
- shia muslims in the endless series of fake attacks on shia mosques, from "sunni ruled" Kabul and Saudi Arabia to "shia ruled" Baghdad.

Syria: fake wars paradox
Both the number of fake wars and the battle for Aleppo, the Stalingrad of Armageddon, reach the climax in parallel, not only in the timescale but also literally in the map of Syria.

Syria: unprecedented number of fake wars
The day the very last Olympics ended, Aug 2016, Syria already had the world record for the number of simultaneous fake wars and ISIS was the keyword.
Syria's fake wars started May 2013 with "Assad v ISIS". The fake war on ISIS was extended with "US, Saudi and Turkey backed 'rebels' v ISIS", Sep 2014 with "US led coalition v ISIS" and Sep 2015 with "Russia v ISIS".

Aug 2016: northern Syria: a firework of additional fake wars
As not only predicted but also explained in advance worldwide only by Last Prophet: Turkey's invasion of Syria started one day after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It immediately created new fake wars, both by air bombings and on the ground: "Turkey v kurdish YPG" and "Turkey v ISIS".
It also increased the number of "battlefronts" of already existing fake wars: "Turkey backed "rebels" v YPG" was extended from the northwest to the northeast.
Note: the northwest fake war started in Feb 2016 with the Afrin/Azaz "battlefront", whem the turkish/US backed "rebels" took over the rebel held Azaz pocket.
That was achieved in coordination with the Assad mercenaries from Iran/Iraq, shortly after these managed to cut Azaz/Marea from rebel held Aleppo province.

Relabeled wars: not to be confused with staged wars
These are real wars, the illuminazis vs a real enemy, which is served to the audience with a different name.
This type of deception was created only after 9/11 2001, at the end of the show, for an audience already reduced to beasts.
The first example: after the staged regime change in Kabul, Oct 2001, when the illuminati puppets "ruling" Afghanistan were renamed from Taliban to "democratic government".
The relabeling "coincidentally" involved the same name: those who were fighting the Taliban until Oct 2001 started to be called Taliban as soon as they started to fight the US military.
The ultimate example is the war in Iraq, from Mosul to Tikrit and Fallujah: the freedom fighters are served with the same name as the butchers created and managed by the illuminati in Raqqa, Syria: ISIS.

CONTEXT - fake wars
Illuminati theater diverting from leading role of the supposedly sunni Turkey gov in the genocide of sunnis across the border in Iraq and Syria
Turkey downs russian jet hoax computer graphics video same as 9/11 planes or almost all videos "Russia and US led coalition bombing ISIS oil wells trucks".
Exceptions: grain silos in rebel held areas marketed as ISIS refineries, trucks supplying oil to rebel held areas (Azaz) marketed as attacks to ISIS trucks exporting oil to Turkey.
illuminati-theater.blo...ot.com/2015/11/turkey-downs-russian-​jet-hoax-computer.html

The Battle for Mosul Takes Toll on Civilians
11/23/16

[link to www.nbcnews.com]

Iraqi Army fires warning shots to disperse hungry Mosul civilians rushing for food aid

Al-ZAHRA DISTRICT, Mosul - Iraqi security forces fired gunshots in the air on Tuesday to disperse hundreds of civilians who rushed a food distribution point set up by the Iraqi military in Mosul's al-Zahra neighborhood.

One soldier was seen beating a woman who was desperately trying to grab some of the food aid.

[link to rudaw.net]

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Thank God they got rid of that pesky Saddam....life is SO much better now.....

Mosul completely surrounded by Iraqi-led troops, paramilitary forces say
11/23/16

The development marks the tightest chokehold the Iraq-led coalition has had on Mosul so far, cutting off crucial supply routes and containing ISIS fighters.
At the same time, Iraqi forces are in Mosul in a bloody street-by-street offensive to retake the group's last significant stronghold in Iraq. They entered the city proper on November 3.
The PMU said the crucial Mosul-Raqqa route had finally been shut.
ISIS had been able to send resources from its heartland, Raqqa in Syria -- including fighters, suicide squads and explosives -- to Mosul through this route. It was also used as an escape route for senior ISIS members and their families, who fled Mosul for Syria, civilians have told CNN.

[link to www.cnn.com]

Iraq Told Civilians to Stay in Mosul. Now They’re Paying With Their Lives
11/24/16

The carnage, along with significant military casualties, has prompted some military officials to second-guess their initial strategy, which asked residents to stay in their homes and rise up against the Islamic State. There has been no uprising, and civilians are dying at home, all of which is fueling concern that the campaign could become a quagmire.

The Iraqi authorities are also considering greater firepower. But introducing new weapons that may be more effective against Islamic State fighters, like artillery and tanks, also risks putting civilians in even greater danger.

For now, most of the civilians killed are casualties of Islamic State artillery and snipers, soldiers say. The rising civilian toll has ground the fight to a crawl, as Iraqi forces are unable to make substantial progress and protect civilians at the same time. The government is considering a mass evacuation, but even that might make civilians more vulnerable if the Iraqi military were to change its tactics.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

ISIS: A catastrophe for Sunnis
11/23/16

No religious or ethnic group was left unscathed by the Islamic State’s sweep through Iraq and Syria. Shiites, Kurds, Christians and the tiny Yazidi minority have all been victims of horrific atrocities, and they now are fighting and dying in the battles to defeat the militants.

But the vast majority of the territory overrun by the Islamic State was historically populated by Sunni Arabs, adherents of the branch of Islam that the group claims to champion and whose interests the militants profess to represent. The vast majority of the 4.2 million Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes by the Islamic State’s war are Sunnis. And as the offensives get underway to capture Mosul, Iraq’s biggest Sunni city, and Raqqa, the group’s self-proclaimed capital in Syria, more Sunni towns and villages are being demolished, and more Sunni livelihoods are being destroyed.

[link to www.washingtonpost.com]

Iraq bomb kills at least 80, mostly Iranian Shi'ite pilgrims; ISIS claims responsibility
11/24/16

Irbil, Iraq (CNN) At least 80 people were killed Thursday when a truck bomb exploded at a gas station in Iraq, the U.S. State Department said.

Most of the victims were Iranian Shi'ite pilgrims, according to authorities in Iraq.
ISIS, a Sunni terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted online.

[link to www.cnn.com]

Iraq Commanders Weigh Tactical Shift in Mosul
11/24/16

MOSUL, Iraq—Ahead of the battle to oust Islamic State from its Mosul stronghold, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sent a message to residents: Stay in your homes.

Now, more than a month into the battle, Iraq’s top military commanders are lobbying Mr. Abadi to shift tactics, officials said, as the initial lightning advance toward Iraq’s second biggest city turns into a perilous urban slog, with gains measured in feet rather than miles.

Commanders want the government to encourage residents of Mosul to flee through the handful of neighborhoods the military has already secured, they said, and thereby free the military to use heavy artillery and air power that could cause widespread harm in densely populated neighborhoods.

[link to www.wsj.com]