AL-QASR, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi army troops sweeping through an area southeast of Mosul on Wednesday came under attack from Islamic State militants firing automatic weapons and mortars. The troops from the 9th Armored Division were on a foot patrol when they came under fire by IS militants stationed on the opposite bank of the … Continue reading
AL-QASR, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi army troops sweeping through an area southeast of Mosul have come under attack from Islamic State militants firing automatic weapons and mortars. The troops from the 9th Armored Division were on a foot patrol when they came under fire Wednesday by IS militants stationed on the opposite bank of the … Continue reading
NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — Heavy fighting broke out in Mosul’s eastern Tahrir neighborhood on Wednesday, where Iraqi special forces said a suicide car bomber from the Islamic State group disabled an Abrams tank belonging to the Iraqi army. Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes but under fire from heavy weapons, the troops drove deeper into the neighborhood … Continue reading
BAGHDAD (AP) — The Latest on the battle in Iraq, now entering its fourth week, to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group (all times local): 12:55 p.m. The U.N. health agency says it has set up 82 “rapid response teams” to manage risks of epidemics, chemicals exposure and other health worries … Continue reading
NEAR BASHIQA, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurdish fighters exchanged heavy fire with militants early on Monday as they advanced from two directions into a town held by the Islamic State group east of the city of Mosul. The offensive to reclaim the town of Bashiqa is part of the broader push to drive IS out … Continue reading
KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — A senior Iraqi general on Wednesday called on Iraqis fighting for the Islamic State group in Mosul to surrender as a wide-scale operation to retake the militant-held city entered its third day. Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati told reporters at a military base that up to 6,000 IS fighters are inside the … Continue reading
KHAZIR, Iraq (AP) — The US-led coalition is increasing airstrikes in and around the militant-held city of Mosul as Iraqi ground forces build up ahead of a planned operation to retake the city, it said in a statement Friday. The coalition said its planes had conducted more than 50 airstrikes against the Islamic State group … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will strategize about the upcoming offensive to take back the northern city of Mosul when they meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Increasingly, and not without irony, Iraq has become the bright spot in Obama’s campaign against the Islamic … Continue reading
ESKI MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Inside the Islamic State’s realm, the paper testifying that you have “repented” from your heretical past must be carried at all times. Many people laminate it just to be safe. It can mean the difference between life and death. Bilal Abdullah learned that not long after the extremists took over … Continue reading
BAGHDAD (AP) — It’s the modern era’s military strategy of choice: overwhelming air power delivering precision-guided punishment backed by intelligence on the ground, with minimal exposure for soldiers of the striking side. Seductive though it is to risk-averse governments with war-weary publics, the approach has its limits — and these are on display in … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 