ISIS growing stronger and more organised in Middle East

[Anthea]

ISIS attacks in northern Syria

The Islamic State group (ISIS) has conducted over 300 terrorist operations, killing hundreds of people in northern Syria, including Western Kurdistan, in the course of this year, a conflict monitor reported on Sunday as the re-emergence of the militant group threatens the security of the area

The terror group launched over 342 armed attacks in Deir ez-Zor, Hasaka, Raqqa and Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a recent report.

The attacks killed 228 people, among them are five children, nine women and 135 security members including officers of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it added.

In joint operations with the US-led coalition, the SDF arrested 858 ISIS suspects since the beginning of the year.

Four hundred and nine of them were later released while the rest are still in detention, noted the monitor.

ISIS controlled swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. The terrorist group was territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

The latest Pentagon report on the fight against ISIS stated that the group’s activities have “significantly” decreased from July to September 2021 in both Iraq and Syria, but “there were signs that the group is ‘poised to increase activity in the coming quarter after a period of recuperation and recovery,’” it noted, citing the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The SDF on Saturday announced the arrest of a prominent ISIS leader who was involved in a 2014 attack on the Kurdish town of Kobane in Western Kurdistan.

An alleged ISIS financier was arrested in Deir ez-Zor last month.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed it conducted two attacks in Syria from December 16 to 22, killing and injuring 5 people.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/26122021

[Anthea]

Turkey arrests 30 ISIS suspects

Turkish security forces on Thursday arrested 23 ISIS suspects in simultaneous operations in the capital Ankara to prevent terror activities ahead of the New Year's holiday

Based on intelligence, anti-terror police launched the operations in Ankara to apprehend 30 suspects who were either active ISIS members in conflict zones, were in contact with them, or helped them.

According to security sources, 23 of the 30 suspects were arrested in separate operations at different locations.

Efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining fugitive suspects, the sources added.

Separately, in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Turkish security forces on Thursday nabbed 7 ISIS suspects – including six Syrians and one Iraqi national – in an anti-terror operation.

Turkey was one of the first countries to declare ISIS a terror group.

Since then, the terror organization has targeted the country multiple times. ISIS is responsible for at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks, killing 315 people and injuring hundreds more.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/turke ... ts-3586933

[Anthea]

ISIS suspects near Erbil

Iraqi forces arrested a number of Islamic State (ISIS) suspects near the Kurdish capital, the US-led Coalition said on Sunday as the resurgence of the terror group threatens the security of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region

The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Directorate (CTD) detained three ISIS affiliates near Erbil in an operation conducted on Saturday night, the Coalition’s Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant said in a tweet, without disclosing the exact location of the arrests.

“These operations ensure that ISIS is unable to harass the people of Iraq,” it added.

The Iraqi forces have not yet commented on the arrests.

ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but has continued to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.

The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.

The terror group has conducted 229 attacks in the disputed territories in the first 11 months of 2021, a Peshmerga official told Rudaw on Monday. The attacks killed 356 people while 480 others were injured.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials are in protracted talks to form two joint brigades in these areas. However, Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (ICTS) Spokesperson Sabah al-Numan told Rudaw English on Monday that the brigades will be established within the first two months of the current year.

Multiple ISIS suspects have recently been arrested.

Iraqi forces arrested five members of the militant group in Kirkuk on December 23, five days after the Kurdish security forces detained a group of ISIS affiliates in Erbil.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 10 attacks in Iraq from December 23 to December 29, killing and injuring 36 people.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/020120221

[Anthea]

ISIS members arrested in Kirkuk

Two Islamic State (ISIS) members who were in charge of managing the militant group’s funds were arrested in southern Kirkuk, the Iraqi Security Media Cell announced on Tuesday

The members were overseeing the terror group’s funds “which come from remittances from inside and outside Iraq,” the media cell said in a tweet.

The two ISIS militants also used social media platforms to call on people to enter and embrace the violent group, it added, noting that they had “lectures” that taught others “how to manufacture explosive materials and devices.”

ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but has continued to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.

The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.

The terror group has recently increased attacks on Iraqi and Kurdish forces. It killed 356 people in 229 attacks conducted in disputed territories in the first 11 months of last year, a Peshmerga official told Rudaw last week.

Baghdad and Erbil are in protracted talks to form two joint brigades in these areas, with the forces often carrying operations and arresting members of the terror group.

Three ISIS affiliates were detained near Erbil on Sunday with another five militants arrested in Kirkuk on December 23.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/040120222

[Anthea]

Attacks on Coalition forces

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – Attacks targeting the US-led, anti-ISIS Coalition continued on Wednesday for the third day in a row

Wednesday's attacks were aimed at Coalition sites in Syria and Iraq. They began on Jan. 3, the second anniversary of the assassination of Gen. Qasim Soleimani, head of the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), after he flew into Iraq, from Syria.

The attacks have continued daily since Monday. However, the US response has been minimal. As Kurdistan 24 earlier warned, "The risk in such caution is that it just invites more aggression, because there is no penalty for it."

Indeed, following Wednesday's attacks, a former US intelligence officer advised Kurdistan 24, "The Biden administration is wrong in its attitude to using military force."

"That prospect always needs to be in the minds of our enemies, and when you are attacked you need to threaten painful retaliation, and be prepared, if necessary, to do it," he continued. "Otherwise, you end up with this situation."

Wednesday's Strikes

Wednesday's attack on a Coalition facility in Syria was the second such assault since Monday, directed at a military base in the country's northeast: Green Village.

In Iraq, the target was a Coalition site within the Baghdad International Airport complex—which had also been targeted on Monday.

The second attack on Baghdad Airport came overnight on Tuesday, as Iraq's Security Media Cell announced. It consisted of a rocket, fired from the al-Jihad neighborhood of western Baghdad, where the airport also lies.

Wednesday's rocket targeted "Camp Victory"—a site used by US-led forces since 2003 (with the brief exception of 2012-13), and where this reporter once served as a cultural advisor to the US military in Iraq.

The Iraqi Security Media Cell explained that Iraqi Security Forces had recovered a rocket launcher, loaded with a 240 mm rocket from the al-Jihad area, but did not say, if the attack had caused any damage.

No US Response to Attacks in Iraq

Somewhat stunningly, the US has made no statement about a rocket which landed in a camp, where US troops (and other Coalition forces) are based, nor has it taken any other action.

In a nod to Iraqi sovereignty, such a response seems to have become the responsibility of the Baghdad government. As a State Department spokesperson told Kurdistan 24," The incident is being investigated by the Government of Iraq and we refer you to them for comment."

Questions arise about the wisdom of such far-reaching deference to Baghdad's sensibilities. Iraqi President Barham Salih delivered a major speech on Wednesday, which included praise for those who had contributed to ISIS's territorial defeat.

In that context, the Iraqi president lauded Soleimani and the Deputy Commander of the pro-Iranian militias, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed alongside Soleimani.

Salih accorded high praise to "the martyr leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis" and "the great Iranian leader Haj Qasim Soleimani." Yet at the same time, he failed to express one word of appreciation for the Coalition's efforts against ISIS.

Without the Coalition, there is a very significant chance that ISIS would have overrun the country—and all senior Iraqi officials, including Salih, would not enjoy their current positions (let alone the terrible fate that ordinary Iraqi citizens would have faced.)

Limited US Response to Attacks in Syria

In Syria, where the US does not defer to Damascus, as it does not recognize the sovereignty of the Bashar al-Assad regime, it has responded to attacks on its forces both verbally, as well as with limited military strikes.

A news report issued by the Coalition on Wednesday explained that its "forces were targeted this morning by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small Coalition advisory presence, in northeast Syria."

"The attack did not cause any casualties, but several rounds impacted inside the Coalition base and caused minor damage," the report said.

The Coalition "responded swiftly," it continued, "and fired six rounds of artillery towards the point of origin of the attack just outside Mayadin, Syria."

On Tuesday, the Coalition had struck seven Katyusha rocket launching sites, as it responded to a similar attack Monday on Green Village.

"Commander's Revenge Operations"

The most obvious parties behind these assaults are Iran and its proxies. Indeed, the drones that targeted Baghdad airport on Monday had "Commander's Revenge Operations" written on them, according to news reports.

But the literal translation of the Arabic is worth noting: "Operations of the Revenge of the Leadership (or Commanders)."

That translation suggests multiple attacks, carried out on behalf of more than just Soleimani. On Jan. 3, Iran's new hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, called for former US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to face criminal trials for Soleimani's assassination, vowing, that otherwise "Muslims will take our martyr's revenge."

The most notable change in the Coalition's response—between Tuesday and Wednesday—to the strikes on Green Village was not so much military, as verbal.

The Biden administration has been extraordinarily unwilling to acknowledge the role of Iran, or even its proxies, in these attacks.

The report that the Coalition issued on Wednesday, describing both the attack on Green Village and the Coalition response, marked something of a shift. It was titled "Coalition: Iran-backed militia attacks a dangerous distraction from mission," thus clearly identifying the source of the attacks (which its report on Tuesday failed to do.)

It quoted Coalition Commander Maj. Gen. John Brennan as saying, "Our Coalition continues to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran."

But it still lacked the kind of threat usual in such circumstances: you do this, and we will do that.

Instead, Brennan's remarks concluded, "These attacks are a dangerous distraction from our Coalition's shared mission to advise, assist, and enable partner forces to maintain the enduring defeat of Daesh."

As if Tehran much cared.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/26 ... deterrence

[Anthea]

Peshmerga forces under attack

Peshmerga forces in Pirde (Altun Kupri) town, Kirkuk province came under attack late Friday, according to a commander and Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism forces. No casualties have been reported

Nuri Hama Ali, a Peshmerga commander in Pirde, told Rudaw that a number of rockets were directed at Peshmerga bases in the district but none of them hit their target and did not cause any casualties.

Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism units also reported the attack, saying “eight Katyusha rockets landed near Fifth Front [of Peshmerga] in Pirde, Kirkuk without causing material damage or casualties.”

Peshmerga ministry confirmed that the attack did not cause any losses, saying that they have launched an investigation into the incident.

Today 07:25 p.m, a number of missiles were directed at Peshmerga barricades & spots in the east & south of the (Altun Kopri) prde district in sector 5, luckily there was no casualties or damage to #peshmergaforces. pic.twitter.com/SrmBbA0t54
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) January 7, 2022

Pirde district is about 40 kilometres northwest of Kirkuk. Peshmerga forces have been targeted by the Islamic State (ISIS) there several times late last year. Over 20 members of Peshmerga forces were killed as a result of the assaults.

A Peshmerga fighter was shot and injured by an unidentified gunman in Kirkuk on Friday.

ISIS killed two Peshmerga fighters, Khalid Hameed and Ako Karim, on October 30 in Pirde’s Zorgazraw area.

The terror group seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. It is especially active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin.

Iraqi security forces arrested seven ISIS suspects in Kirkuk on Friday, according to Security Media Cell which claimed that they “confessed” to have committed crime in Kirkuk and Anbar provinces.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070120221

[Anthea]

ISIS-affiliated families return to Iraq

Iraq repatriated over one hundred families affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) from the notorious al-Hol camp in Western Kurdistan, an official confirmed to AFP on Monday.

One hundred and eleven families arrived in Iraq on Saturday and were transferred to al-Jada camp in Nineveh province, the official, who preferred to stay anonymous, told AFP.

Mainly under federal Iraqi control, al-Jada houses families with suspected links to ISIS.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested thousands of ISIS fighters and their wives and children when they took control of the group’s last stronghold in Syria in March 2019. Most of these people are held at al-Hol, which is home to more than 60,000 people - mostly women and children of different nationalities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Saturday reported that 113 Iraqi families were preparing to be transferred to al-Jada camp following an agreement between the camp’s administration and the federal government. The camp received some five hundred ISIS-affiliated families in late May.

Around 223 Iraqi families left the camp in 2021, according to SOHR as the camp houses over 30 thousand Iraqis from more than seven thousand families, it noted.

Last month, the Iraqi authorities announced their intention to close al-Jada camp, which is the last camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mosul, as the Iraqi government began to shut down camps around the country in 2020.

However, the move was harshly criticized by rights groups as they called for voluntary returns instead.

Al-Hol has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. The camp’s internal security forces (Asayish) in late November, arrested 14 Iraqis that “confessed to killings, chaos, raiding reception centers and targeting internal security forces” inside the camp.

There have been repeated calls from Kurdish and US officials asking the international community to repatriate their nationals from al-Hol, but only a few countries have responded positively as they are worried about security concerns.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /100120222

[Anthea]

Hundreds killed by ISIS last year

Hundreds of people, including security and military members, were killed and injured in over two hundred Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil last year, a Peshmerga official told Rudaw on Tuesday

ISIS launched over 257 offensives, killing 387, and injuring 518 people, including Peshmerga fighters, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Peshmerga Jabar Yawar told Rudaw.

Thirty seven people were kidnapped, he added.

The terror group seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but has continued to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.

The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.

Baghdad and Erbil are in protracted talks to form two joint brigades in these areas.

Yawar noted that “according to the discussions” between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, the brigades will be formed this month.

A senior Iraqi security official told Rudaw late December that the brigades will be formed “in the first two months of the year.”

Iraqi and security forces often carry operations to arrest members of the terror group.

A highly sought ISIS member was arrested in Kirkuk last week, two days after three ISIS affiliates were detained near Erbil.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 7 attacks in Iraq from December 30 to January 5, killing and injuring 13 people.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/110120222

[Anthea]

Eleven Iraqi soldiers killed

Eleven Iraqi soldiers were killed overnight in a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) attack in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala, an official confirmed the death toll to state media on Friday

Ten soldiers and one officer were killed when an Iraqi base was raided early Friday, Diyala governor Muthanna al-Tamimi said, adding that the Iraqi army were caught unprepared, alleging negligence.

"The main reason is the soldiers' neglect in carrying out their duties, because the base is completely fortified with thermal cameras, night vision, as well as a concrete watchtower,” he said.

The attack took place around 2:30 am, against an Iraqi base in the Hawi al-Azim area, a senior military official based in the province told AFP on the condition of anonymity while claiming that ISIS had launched the offensive.

"Eleven soldiers... have been killed during an attack carried out by the Islamic State... targeting a base of the army," the source added.

Iraqi President Barham Salih on Friday described the attack as a “despicable and unsuccessful attempt” to target Iraq’s security.

No group has claimed responsibility for the offensive.

ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.

ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.

The terror group launched over 257 offensives, killing 387, and injuring 518 people, including Iraqi and Kurdish fighters over the past year.

Iraqi and security forces often carry operations to arrest members of the terror group.

A highly sought ISIS member was arrested in Kirkuk earlier in January.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/210120222

[Anthea]

ISIS uses human shields

The Islamic State (ISIS) is using civilians in Western Kurdistan as “human shields,” the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday after the militant group attempted to break thousands of its affiliates out of a prison in the area.

The SDF thwarted a "new ISIS insurgence and escape attempt" of its members from Ghweran prison in Hasaka province late Thursday, head of the forces media office Farhad Shami said in a tweet.

The insurgence coincided with a car bomb explosion near the prison, blamed on ISIS sleeper cells.

Our SDF & ISF have thwarted a new insurgence & escape attempt by Daesh terrorists detained in Geweran prison. The insurgence coincided w/a car bomb explosion near the prison conducted by Daesh sleeper cells, who infiltrated from the surrounding neighborhoods & clashed w/the ISF.
— Farhad Shami (@farhad_shami) January 20, 2022

The militants infiltrated from areas surrounding the prison. The militants who attacked Ghweran later fled to al-Zuhoor neighborhood and hid in civilian houses, the SDF said.

ISIS is “using civilians in al-Zuhoor neighborhood and some areas on the northern side of the prison as human shields, amid reports of neutralizing some of those who opposed the cells orders,” the SDF said in a statement. The terror group had asked the civilians to leave their homes and seek refuge in other places.

The militants clashed with the internal security forces

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Friday said at least 41 people - 20 security forces, 16 ISIS suspects and five civilians - have been killed so far.

However, the Asayish on Friday afternoon confirmed the death of one of its members and the injury of seven others. Three civilians were killed, it added.

The Kurdish forces arrested two ISIS members that tried to escape the Ghweran prison.

The SDF said they arrested 89 ISIS suspects who were trying to break free from Ghweran in another “mass escape” on Friday morning. It also confirmed the killing of five suspects of the terror group.

Ghweran and al-Shaddadi prison in Hasaka hold an estimated number of 7,500 Syrian and foreign ISIS suspects, including children, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in 2020. Around 5,000 people are detained in Ghweran, which was formerly a school and is now controlled by the SDF.

#SDF and #ISF control the disobedience of #Daesh terrorists in #Ghweran prison.
Number of attackers fled of the walls to next door neighbourhoods in AlHasaka city.
SDF demanded civilians to not harbour them and cooperate by reporting them. pic.twitter.com/9v1Z4wRl6K
— Coordination & Military Ops Center - SDF (@cmoc_sdf) January 20, 2022

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /210120221

[Anthea]

US Risked Killing Thousands of Civilians

Syria’s largest dam was supposed to be off-limits during the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State, but nearly five years ago, the Pentagon bombed it anyway, jeopardizing tens of thousands of civilians’ lives, the New York Times reported Thursday

The Tabqa Dam is a massive, 18-story structure on the Euphrates River that holds back a 25-mile-long reservoir above a valley home to hundreds of thousands of people. It was also “a strategic linchpin” controlled by the Islamic State, the newspaper noted.

On March 26, 2017, a series of explosions battered the dam, knocking workers to the ground and sparking a power outage, fire, and equipment failures. As the reservoir began to rise, local authorities urged people living downstream to flee. The entire dam could have failed, experts say, had one of the bombs not been a dud.

Following the attack, Dave Philipps, Azmat Khan, and Eric Schmitt reported for the Times:

The Islamic State, the Syrian government, and Russia blamed the United States, but the dam was on the U.S. military’s “no-strike list” of protected civilian sites and the commander of the U.S. offensive at the time, then-Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, said allegations of U.S. involvement were based on “crazy reporting.”

“The Tabqa Dam is not a coalition target,” he declared emphatically two days after the blasts.

In fact, members of a top secret U.S. Special Operations unit called Task Force 9 had struck the dam using some of the largest conventional bombs in the U.S. arsenal, including at least one BLU-109 bunker-buster bomb designed to destroy thick concrete structures, according to two former senior officials. And they had done it despite a military report warning not to bomb the dam, because the damage could cause a flood that might kill tens of thousands of civilians.

The revelation of Task Force 9’s role in the assault on the Tabqa Dam follows a pattern described in previous Times’ investigations. As the newspaper noted on Thursday, “The unit routinely circumvented the rigorous airstrike approval process and hit Islamic State targets in Syria in a way that repeatedly put civilians at risk.”

In response to questions from the Times, U.S. Central Command, which oversaw the air war in Syria, acknowledged dropping three 2,000-pound bombs, but denied targeting the dam or sidestepping procedures. A spokesman said that the bombs hit only the towers attached to the dam, not the dam itself, and while top leaders had not been notified beforehand, limited strikes on the towers had been preapproved by the command.

“Analysis had confirmed that strikes on the towers attached to the dam were not considered likely to cause structural damage to the Tabqa Dam itself,” Capt. Bill Urban, the chief spokesman for the command, said in the statement. Noting that the dam did not collapse, he added, “That analysis has proved accurate.”

However, Syrian witnesses interviewed by the Times, and two former U.S. officials who were directly involved in the air war at the time, said the situation was far graver than the Pentagon let on.

Critical equipment lay in ruins and the dam stopped functioning entirely. The reservoir quickly rose 50 feet and nearly spilled over the dam, which engineers said would have been catastrophic. The situation grew so desperate that authorities at dams upstream in Turkey cut water flow into Syria to buy time, and sworn enemies in the yearslong conflict—the Islamic State, the Syrian government, Syrian Defense Forces, and the United States—called a rare emergency cease-fire so civilian engineers could race to avert a disaster.

Engineers who worked at the dam, who did not want to be identified because they feared reprisal, said it was only through quick work, much of it made at gunpoint as opposing forces looked on, that the dam and the people living downstream of it were saved.

“The destruction would have been unimaginable,” said a former director at the dam. “The number of casualties would have exceeded the number of Syrians who have died throughout the war.”

At least 95,000 civilians have died in Syria as a direct result of the ongoing conflict, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University

Journalist Ben Norton argued that “the U.S. military intentionally bombed a dam in Syria that was on its ‘no-strike list’ of protected civilian sites, because it knew it could kill tens of thousands.”

American violence has wrecked global destruction and destabilization on scale with which we haven’t even begun to reckon. Thanks to @David_Philipps, @AzmatZahra and @EricSchmittNYT for the latest galling installment – https://t.co/HXqnC4b2QE.

— Amanda Sperber (@hysperbole) January 20, 2022

Debunking Pentagon officials’ claims that they target militants with precision, a report released in September by Airwars — a military watchdog that monitors and seeks to reduce civilian harm in violent conflict zones — found that airstrikes conducted by the U.S. killed between 22,000 and 48,000 civilians during the first two decades of the so-called “War on Terror” pursued in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria were home to 97% of those casualties.

Meanwhile, “no disciplinary action was taken against” Task Force 9, the Times reported Thursday. “The secret unit continued to strike targets using the same types of self-defense justifications it had used on the dam.”

“While the dam was still being repaired, the task force sent a drone over the community next to the dam,” wrote Phillips, Khan, and Schmitt. “As the drone circled, three of the civilian workers who had rushed to save the dam finished their work and piled into a small van and headed back toward their homes.”

“More than a mile away from the dam, the van was hit by a coalition airstrike,” they added. “A mechanical engineer, a technician, and a Syrian Red Crescent worker were killed.”

Although Airwars reported these civilian deaths when they occurred in 2017, they have never been officially acknowledged by the U.S. military.

https://truthout.org/articles/us-bombed ... civilians/

[Anthea]

ISIS Prison Attack

The pickup truck reverses and smashes into the concrete wall behind it, causing a section to break, leaving a hole that reveals the scene of devastation inside an ad-hoc detention facility in the south of Hasakah city housing hardcore Islamic State (ISIS) militants

Military vehicles belonging to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are aflame, and smoke can be seen rising around the compound. Cries of “Allah Akbar” can be heard each time the vehicle reverses. A militant steps forward and holds his mobile phone to film the scene inside the facility.

Several videos of Friday's audacious and sophisticated attack on the Senaa prison in Hasaka’s Ghweran neighborhood in northeast Syria, known to locals as Ghweran prison, have circulated on social media for the last four days since a group of around 100 ISIS militants snuck into the neighborhood surrounding the prison and attacked the facility where around 10,000 members of ISIS are held by Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“Around 30 fighters scattered in our houses and told me that if I said anything, they would kill me and my family, they spoke in Iraqi dialect, they were Iraqis, they seized the mobile phones from people, we saw them on the roof,” a resident of Senaa neighborhood told a Rudaw reporter on Friday as he fled along with hundreds of others.

The videos of the attack have been shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times on social media sites including Telegram, Facebook and Instagram. One account posted the video on Saturday night which was shared by 173 people as of Sunday lunchtime, attracting 124 comments and 400 emojis including red hearts, thumbs up, and kisses. “Oh god, may they be victorious,” one user commented on the video.

Facebook users who have shared the videos are not new to the platform. One user, Abdullah Beanas Faqir, highlighted a Telegram channel that posts ISIS material. Sifting through his Facebook page, it is clear that Abdullah is an ardent supporter of ISIS. In September, he posted an update on how Muslim women are in the prison of the infidels, referring to the SDF, and how he wished that Allah would facilitate their escape.

The gory videos of the attack display the importance that ISIS militants attach to the power of propaganda in order to mobilize their followers and entice others to join their cause via popular social networking sites.

A 2020 study by the Combating Terrorism Center found that three considerations drive jihadi prison assaults and riots. “In planning these types of attacks, jihadis are interested in restoring their force size, releasing incarcerated jihadi leaders or specialists, and/or creating a propaganda win,” the institution stated. “Prison assaults and riots are opportunistic. Jihadis exploit profound weaknesses in prison system management, resources, intelligence, and wherewithal in order to conduct attacks."

The video, a little under two minutes in total, displays the inside of the prison where some men appear to be using clubs to hit the guards in a hallway opening up to the cells. Several ISIS militants are shown in battle gear, wielding AK47s, with their faces covered as they aim the guns at around a dozen men in the corner. One militant drags what appeared to be an SDF fighter onto the floor and, from there, to the corner. Dozens of prisoners are out of their cells, as loud shouts and the sound of muffled bullets are heard. The camera pans to the left where it shows the bodies of purportedly SDF fighters piled up in the corner.

The SDF, which holds 8,000 Iraqi and Syrian ISIS militants and 2,000 foreign fighters in 14 detention facilities, mostly in Hasakah and Shaddadi, have said that 17 of their men were killed and many more were wounded, some badly. Videos show dozens of ISIS prisoners who escaped being recaptured by the SDF with the backing of the US-led international coalition. A new video released by ISIS on Telegram on Saturday night shows around two dozen men who identify themselves as SDF fighters captured by the terror group - most of whom are Arab fighters of the Kurdish led army.

According to the international coalition, 61 percent of the detainees are held in two facilities in the Hasakah governorate, in the cities of Hasakah and Shaddadi. "Both are repurposed, ad-hoc facilities,” the coalition’s July-September 2021 report on Operation Inherent Resolve states, and the prisons are in the receipt of coalition funds for "improved security, capacity, and conditions."

Riots inside prisons in northeast Syria are not something new. Back in 2020, ISIS prisoners rioted on one occasion and a number escaped on another, both from a prison in Hasakah. The escapees were later recaptured. This latest attack on Ghweran is far more sophisticated and audacious, and reminiscent of large scale prison breaks from Iraq prior to the group capturing large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014.

Men suspected of being affiliated with Islamic State, gathered in a cell in Senaa prison in Hasaka’s Ghweran neighborhood in northeast Syria, in 2019. Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP

ISIS has also become more brazen in recent months in its hit-and-run attacks in Iraq. On one night alone in December, ISIS militants killed seven peshmerga fighters and three civilians in an attack in the Makhmour area, close to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region.

On Friday, as the militants took over the prison, a unit of the Iraqi army was wiped out by the militants in Diyala province.

The attack has made Iraqi and Kurdish officials across the border worried. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday that he has directed Peshmerga and police forces to shore up their defenses along the border with northeast Syria.

I’m deeply concerned by the ISIS terrorist attacks in NE Syria and Iraq. I have directed Ministers of Peshmerga and Interior, and security services, to strengthen defensive lines and measures necessary to protect the people of the Kurdistan Region.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) January 23, 2022

The anti-ISIS coalition in Syria have assisted the SDF to repel the attack and recapture the escapees. In Iraq, coalition officials were more upbeat about the capabilities of Iraqi forces to defend themselves. “The distance and the capability of the Iraqi border guards, the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army, there is enough security and enterprise to prevent any threat from them crossing into Iraq,” Director of the Military Advisory Group in Iraq for the US-led coalition Nick Duchich told Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal on Sunday.

Fighting continues in the south of Hasakah to recapture hundreds of militants who fled the detention facility in Friday’s attack. More than 4,000 people have been displaced as a result of the ensuing battle.

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[Anthea]

ISIS pledge to fight to end

The Kurdish administration in Western Kurdistan (Rojava Kurdistani) has imposed a week-long curfew in Hasaka, starting on Monday, as their forces continue their attempt to quash a riot

The riot, now into its fifth day inside a detention facility housing hundreds of hardcore Islamic State (ISIS) militants, as well as children claimed to be affiliated with the group. The curfew comes as a new video emerges from inside the detention facility, published on ISIS’ Telegram channel, showing dozens of armed ISIS fighters within the prison pledging to fight to the end.

Around two hundred ISIS fighters broke into al-Sina’a prison in Hasaka’s Ghweran neighborhood on Thursday night, known to locals as Ghweran prison and housing thousands of prisoners affiliated with the terrorist group, while hundreds of fighters inside the detention facility staged a riot, smashing walls and burning oil storage facilities.

Twenty-seven members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been killed, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the SDF General Command regarding the attack on al-Sina’a prison. Many more have been wounded in the five days of violence that has rocked northeast Syria and caused consternation across the border in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

While the prison “is under our forces’ control,” the statement said, the SDF are continuing operations in the surrounding area due to the existence of ”two or three terrorist cells” within the Ghweran neighborhood. “Our forces are working to impose their control inside the prison as well,” it added.

The Kurdish administration in Western Kurdistan announced on Sunday that they have imposed a total ban on movement within the Hasaka province following the attack on the prison in the city. The authorities said that the ban did not impact municipality services, bakeries, fuel stations and health centers. Kurdish authorities have also tightened security in other areas, including in the city of Qamishli, to counter any possible attempt by ISIS to cause instability in the area.

The US-led international coalition said that they have carried out strikes on buildings surrounding the prison where ISIS fighters, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh, were conducting attacks on the SDF and internal security forces (Asayish). “In their desperate attempt to display relevance, Daesh delivered a death sentence for many of their own who participated in this attack,” Major General John W. Brennan, Commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said on Sunday.

“Many Daesh detainees seized arms from prison guards whom they murdered and subsequently engaged SDF quick reaction forces,” he said in a statement on Sunday, adding that by taking up arms, the prisoners have become an “active threat” and legitimate target for the SDF and coalition.

Concerningly, alongside the ISIS adult detainees are several hundred children affiliated with the group, also detained in the facility. Last year, a UN report found that the conditions facing children held in Western Kurdistan amounted to torture, and breached inhuman treatment under international law. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), there are around 850 children trapped inside the prison, some as young as 12.

“Children in the Ghwayran prison are children and have the right to access restorative justice procedures. We call for the release of children from prison. Detention of children should only be a measure of last resort and for the shortest time possible,” UNICEF’s Syria Representative Bo Viktor Nylund said in a statement on Sunday.

Letta Tayler of Human Rights Watch (HRW) shared in a series of tweets on Sunday that the organization had received an audio message from a terrified child inside the al-Sina’a prison, who said the building - and those in it - were “getting hit from every side”.

“There’s a lot of people dead, a lot of people injured… please help,” the child pleaded.

10/ I just heard audio of a terrified boy inside the prison that seems to be from early Sunday local time. "We're getting hit from every side" he says. "'m very scared... There’s a lot of people dead, a lot of people injured... Please help." (cont.)
— Letta Tayler (@lettatayler) January 23, 2022

The associate director and counter terrorism lead at HRW’s Crisis and Conflict Division continued her appeal, calling it “Imperative that US-led coalition and SDF approach this as a potential hostage situation and do all they can to save these boys' lives.”

Desperate requests from these children come as a new video, dated Sunday, depicts what appear to be adult militants inside the prison preparing to fight to the end. A man stands in the middle of a packed room as he uses religious language, spoken in Arabic, to encourage those around him to pledge to fight to the end. When he calls on the men, they hold out their hands and chant in unison, “We pledge to die.” In the next scene, men are seen breaking down a wall, as they exit the room through the gap. Most are wearing orange bandanas.

ISIS has released a number of videos from inside the prison, including one that showed around two dozen men - mostly Arabs - detained inside the facility. Kurdish authorities have said that those shown were cooks working in the prison kitchen. There appears to have been a backlash against the jihadists amongst the Sunni Arab tribes from the Hasaka and Deir ez-Zor governorates, where many of the men detained come from.

ISIS operatives and supporters said on Monday that the battle inside the prison is intensifying. One member posted a photo on social media saying that the lions of Baghouz will free their brethren in prison.

Baghouz is a reference to the final battle between the Kurdish-led SDF and ISIS in early 2019, where the jihadists were defeated. Most were either killed or captured; some of those detained were taken to al-Sina’a prison where the fighting continues.

UNICEF has called on the international community to take urgent action to repatriate the children inside the facilities, and to repatriate them with their mothers to their countries of origin. “The clock is ticking for the children in Western Kurdistan,” the statement concluded.

“Every day counts and more collective action is needed now.”

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[Anthea]

End ISIS by ending support

Evaluating the ISIS attack on Hesekê and the danger posed by the mercenaries in the region, SDF Press Officer Ferhad Şami said that in order to end ISIS, other forces, beginning with the Turkish state, should be put on trial

ISIS carried out an attack on the prison where their mercenaries are held in Hesekê's Xiwêran district on Thursday evening. In the ISIS attacks, three civilians and a member of the internal security fell as martyrs. Several ISIS mercenaries were also killed.

Pointing out that the ISIS mercenaries' attack on Hesekê was not an ordinary attack, Şami said that unless the ISIS problem is resolved, there will be a security threat everywhere, including in European countries.

Şami underlined that the attack was carried out on the anniversary of the occupation of Afrin, and added that the aim of ISIS and the Turkish state is to destabilize the North-East Syrian regions.

Ferhad Şami evaluated the attack of ISIS on Hesekê prison, the danger it poses in the region and the silence of international community.

This is the first time that ISIS has attempted such a big attack since the defeat in Bahoz. Why do you think ISIS carried out such an attack at this time?

We cannot consider the attack by ISIS mercenaries on Hesekê prison as an ordinary attack. This is a very serious and dangerous situation. Because this is not a local or regional incident, it is a strategic one. ISIS wants to revive itself again.

This attack should be considered as an effort by both ISIS and some forces that are working to revive ISIS. Therefore, we approach this situation very seriously and sensitively. We have always expressed this danger. ISIS may continue its attacks in the upcoming period as well.

Because some forces consider this attack by ISIS just an ordinary local attack. They assess this just as an attempt to free some mercenaries from prison. But this is an ordinary and non-serious analysis of the facts. Because the aim of ISIS is to rebuild itself. This is a dangerous situation not just for Northern and Eastern Syria, but for the whole of Syria, Iraq and the world.

Is there a chance for ISIS to return to the levels of 2014? What is the responsibility of the international powers in such a situation?

It is not far off for ISIS to take advantage of this situation and return to the levels of 2014. Especially in desert and border regions, which are far from the control of the security forces, this possibility is much greater. I am referring to both the Syrian border and deserts, and the Iraqi desert regions.

International powers are responsible for this situation. Many international states look at the ISIS issues as merely a security issue. Of course, there is the security dimension, but there is also the legal dimension. Unless the ISIS problem is legally resolved, of course, the security aspect will always represent a great danger.

This problem will not be resolved unless the forces and states that support the ISIS mercenaries, the Turkish state in primis, are not prosecuted. Therefore, this must be well understood. Behind ISIS are intelligence, military and state power. This needs to be well understood and addressed accordingly.

After the Bahoz operation, some international forces approached ISIS individually. Some states wanted to take back their own nationals among the mercenaries. They said that they will prosecute them in their own country. They thought they would end ISIS this way. But the ISIS file is a much more comprehensive file.

No state can solve this on its own. This problem cannot be solved by taking some ISIS families and children to their own countries. Because when ISIS organized massacres, committed crimes, and took over most of Iraq and Syria, it was not an individual organization consisting of a few people.

ISIS emerged within the framework of a general organization, in line with a goal and strategy. It was not just Abu Bakr Baghdadi and a few others. Therefore, as long as international states approach ISIS in this way, they increase the danger of ISIS even more.

Some states did not see ISIS as a threat to them because they were not affected by the Islamic State in their own country. But today we have seen once again that these prisoners pose a great danger to the whole world.

Did the International Coalition support your forces in this attack?

Of course, coalition forces provide military support from the air. However, this is not enough. First of all, the source of ISIS must be dried up. Where does ISIS get its power and support? Who supports it? This needs to be established and punished.

These mercenaries should have no hope of being released, because they committed crimes. They must be tried in an international court. And this trial must be celebrated in our territory. Because ISIS committed massacres here, they cut off people's heads here. People who were harmed by ISIS still live in these lands.

That's why ISIS should be tried here. Justice must be provided for the people who have been harmed by ISIS. However, as long as the ordinary approach of some forces continues, ISIS will always have the opportunity to revive itself. ISIS will continue to revive itself both through the press and on the ground.

If you pay attention, ISIS has been doing big propaganda on social media for two days. They are making such propaganda that it looks like they have taken the whole of Hesekê and the prison is now in their hands.

This propaganda will again be a big problem for the European states. Thousands of people will be attracted by this propaganda and will want to join ISIS. There is a high probability of ISIS cells forming in European countries as well. Because the spirit of ISIS is reviving there.

For this reason, international states should evaluate the ISIS issue well. We call on them not to consider this problem only as the problem of Western Kurdistan, Syria and Iraq. This is the problem of the whole world. ISIS poses a great danger not only to the region but also to the whole world.

You mentioned the states and forces that support ISIS. Among these states, it is the Turkish state that is its main sponsor. How much does the support of the Turkish state strengthen ISIS?

There are some countries that support ISIS. But the Turkish state is not only giving support, it is running ISIS. This is not propaganda, there are many documents to prove what I have just said. How many years did ISIS live on the border of the Turkish state?

The Turkish state opened its doors to them. Oil was exchanged between the Turkish state and ISIS at the Girê Spî gate. ISIS was officially trading with the Turkish state. ISIS orders were in Turkey. Pay attention, even now, the mercenaries and their emirs [chiefs] from Bahoz live in Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê, regions that are occupied by the Turkish state.

That's why we say that the Turkish state is actually directing ISIS. This was one of the Turkish state's plans to invade the Northern and Eastern Syria regions.

The timing of the attack is also very significant. It was carried out on the anniversary of the invasion of Afrin. Two months ago, Mihemmed Evdo Ewad, one of the mercenaries’ chiefs, talked about plans for Hesekê prison in his confession. He was also talking about Girê Spi and Serêkaniyê. The propaganda of the Turkish state and ISIS converges on a single point. To destabilize the regions of Northern and Eastern Syria.

For this reason, the Turkish state attacks sometimes openly and sometimes through ISIS. All international states already see and know this. After this attack, we will prove with documents that the Turkish state had a share in this.

How do you assess the re-emergence of ISIS especially in Western Kurdistan and Syria? Is it regaining strength in other regions as well?

ISIS does not only appear in Western Kurdistan. In fact, ISIS is much stronger in other regions. ISIS is active in 60 percent of the Syrian deserts. In particular, it is advancing to the deserts of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hema, Damascus, Khims, Siwêda and even the deserts of Iraq. 60 percent of the rectangular shaped desert areas of Syria is basically under the control of ISIS.

Russia and Damascus cannot control these areas properly. ISIS is carrying out actions and organizing here. In these recent processes, there have been many attacks on these regions. Images of ISIS were released from there. It seems that ISIS is doing great actions here. However, the danger is that these forces have weak control over these areas and ISIS is trying to reach some other areas.

In particular the city of Eresafê, located to the west of Raqqa and under the control of the Damascus government, has been the target of ISIS attacks many times. Two days ago, this region was attacked and Russia intervened with planes.

There is a danger that ISIS will take these regions and open a corridor from there and cross into Western Kurdistan and other parts of Syria.

Unfortunately, these forces work in an uncoordinated way. The governments of Damascus, Russia and even Iraq are not working in a coordinated way. Look, the Hesekê prison attack poses a great danger to Iraq.

However, we have not had any strategic work with the Iraqi army until now. Yes, sometimes we coordinate certain things. However, this has never turned into a strategic work. It also depends on the Iraqi state. Iraq does not want to establish a dialogue with our forces. However, when we look at Hesekê prison, we see that many of the mercenaries are actually Iraqi.

[Anthea]

Locals flee Hasaka battle

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced due to the ongoing battle to retake control of a prison in Hasaka province in northeast Syria attacked by Islamic State (ISIS) four days ago, according to the United Nations (UN), as concerns mount for the hundreds of children housed within the detention facilities alongside thousands of suspected ISIS fighters; 300 of whom surrendered to Kurdish regional authorities on Monday as fighting rages and a week-long curfew in the area begins

Forty-five thousand civilians are currently displaced due to armed conflict in the Ghweran neighbourhood in northeast Syria, a joint statement issued by UN coordinators in Syria, Imran Riza and Muhannad Hadi, claimed on Sunday, following the terrorist group's attack on a prison housing their affiliates in Hasaka late Thursday night.

Most of those displaced “have sought safety with family and friends in nearby areas,” it read, adding that around 500 are currently hosted in two temporary shelters.

The death toll since last week’s operation has exceeded 150, including seven civilians as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor which claimed on Monday that 102 ISIS fighters had been killed alongside 45 prison guards, Asayish, and counter-terrorism forces.

The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday claimed higher figures. Citing the confessions of those re-arrested to claim that “more than 200 suicide terrorists” were involved in the attack, it reported the deaths of over 175 terrorists.

The head of the SDF's media office Farhad Shami said on Monday that operations were underway as planned, and over 300 “terrorist mutineers” who took part in the prison riot have surrendered to the force.

Following the call for safe surrender, 300 terrorist mutineers surrendered in al-Saa'a prison and handed over their arms. The operation is ongoing as planned. pic.twitter.com/UuP9qCDsYB
— Farhad Shami (@farhad_shami) January 24, 2022

In a separate statement on Monday, the force reported that another fighter was killed in the day’s clash, bringing their total figure of SDF members killed in the response to the attack on the prison, also known as al-Sina’a, to 28. Operations are continuing to comb Ghweran neighbourhood in the pursuit of terrorist cells.

A total ban on movement within the Hasaka province was imposed by the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria on Sunday, coming into effect on Monday.

The SDF is responsible for around 10,000 men suspected of ISIS affiliation in prisons under its control in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), with an estimated 800 children who were mostly rounded up in 2019 as the caliphate fell. Hasaka prison held around 5,000 men, along with several hundred younger boys, held in detention on suspicion of connection with the group.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday that some of the minors in detention are “as young as 12 years old,” placing the number of children trapped inside the prison at around 850.

“Children in the Ghwayran prison are children and have the right to access restorative justice procedures," UNICEF’s Syria Representative Bo Viktor Nylund said, calling for the release of all minors from prison. "Detention of children should only be a measure of last resort and for the shortest time possible.”

UNICEF's Regional Chief of Advocacy and Communications, Juliette Touma, told Rudaw English on Monday that she couldn't begin to imagine the atrocities that the children within al-Sina’a must be witnessing; most imprisoned for nearly three years.

"Violence needs to stop for the sake of the children inside," she said, commenting on the "brutal fight and heavy violence," and stressing the need for the urgent release of the minors. UNICEF continues to call on member states to repatriate their children.

Save the Children added their voice to calls for the immediate evacuation of children from Ghweran prison, following what the charity described as “five days of intense fighting and audio footage of a boy begging for help.”

Sonia Khush, Save the Children’s Syria Response Director, called on those engaged in the present conflict to protect the children from harm, and to take steps to facilitate their safe escape. “Reports that children have been killed or injured are tragic and outrageous,” she said on Monday. “The boys must be able to receive the medical support they need for any injuries sustained in the attack.”

“Responsibility for anything that happens to these children also lies at the door of foreign governments who have thought that they can simply abandon their child nationals in Syria,” she continued, urging the international community to repatriate all foreign children. “Risk of death or injury is directly linked to these governments’ refusal to take them home.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has estimated that some of the boys trapped in the prison are aged just 11 and 12, and 300 of whom are Iraqi or of other foreign nationality. Last year, a HRW report warned that almost 43,000 foreign men, women, and children linked to ISIS were detained in inhuman or degrading conditions in northeast Syria, including 27,500 children: hundreds kept in squalid prisons alongside men.

A UN report, published in May, found that the conditions facing children held in northeast Syria amounted to torture, and breached inhuman treatment under international law.

The UK has repeatedly said that it will bring back unaccompanied British children, but will not engage with repatriating British adults suspected of involvement with the terrorist group.

“It was not easy to hold a large number of ISIS terrorists," the Autonomous Administration said on Monday. “It was a job that big and capable countries could do, but gave up and raised their hands from taking this responsibility.”

US airstrikes were launched in response to Thursday night’s attack, with the Special Operation Joint Task force in the region issuing a statement following the operation claiming to have “contained the threat” by supporting the SDF.

A family leaving their home near Ghweran prison, also known as al-Sina’a prison, in Hasaka province in northeast Syria on January 22, 2022. Photo: AFP

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