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A senior adviser to Irans Supreme Leader has described Iraqs liberation of Mosul from Islamic State (IS) as a victory for Tehran.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, told reporters, Liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from the hands of IS marks a triumph for Iran as well as for Iraq.

Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist at Harvard University, said the victory by Iraqi forces helped Tehran tip the regional balance of power against its Sunni-dominated rivals such as Saudi Arabia.

The emergence of IS characteristically paved the road for Tehran to pursue its geopolitical, financial and strategic ambitions beyond its borders and helped Iranians to establish their manifestation through networks of affiliated proxy groups, Rafizadeh added.

Tensions between Iran and longtime rival Saudi Arabia have escalated in recent weeks, since the Saudis and their Persian Gulf partners cut ties to Qatar, citing, in part, Qatars association with Iran and Tehrans alleged link to terrorism.

Irans role

Two days after Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed victory in Mosul over Islamic State, the commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimani, detailed the role IRGC played in leading Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in their fight against Islamic State.

We didnt limit ourselves to sharing advice to our Iraqi brothers, but we extended our support by giving them the key to our ammunition depot and backed their operations with IRGC Sukhoi squadron, Soleimani said.

The exact number of PMF troops is unclear, but its estimated to be between 100,000 and 120,000.

Iraqs parliament approved the integration of PMF as an official wing of Iraqis security forces in November 2016, a move that has increased Tehrans role in Iraqs security and military sectors.

Iranian officials have rejected the notion that Tehrans support of the PMF and other Iraqi military sectors is aimed at increasing its regional clout. But a recent speech by Soleimani appeared to contradict those statements.

Iraqs national army is on its way to internalize [Shiite] ideology, Soleimani said. We have also helped in the procedure of purifying the Iraqi army from Baathi elements and it is moving toward becoming a Hezbollah-like army.

Iranian influence

Some analysts believe Soleimanis comment reveals some aspects of Tehrans outreach to boost its influence in Iraq institutionally.

Tehran has deeply penetrated into security and military sectors of Iraq, Rasool Nafisi, a Virginia-based Middle East expert, said. Many of the Iraqi officials have pledged allegiance to Irans leader and see themselves committed to Tehran.

Iran may use its influence in Iraqi institutions not only to promote its regional ambition of confronting the Sunni powers, but in possibly challenging Washington, some analysts believe.

US in the region

U.S. President Donald Trump has portrayed Iranian influence as a global threat on par with IS and al-Qaida. In reaction to ISs twin attacks in Tehran last month, Trump implied that the Iranian government was ultimately to blame.

We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote, he said in a White House statement.

In recent comments, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said regime change will be necessary before the U.S. and Iran can have substantially positive relations.

In response, the deputy chief of staff of Irans armed forces, Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri, said Friday that Iran is determined to drive all foreign troops out of the region. Americans are not welcome here and must leave immediately.

Analysts warn some PMF groups may turn against the U.S. forces if tensions arise between Washington and Tehran.

If there is a perception that the U.S. will keep its military presence in Iraq and will have a mission more than just training the Iraqi security forces, then that will increase the incentive for the Shiite militias to more directly apply pressure on the United States to leave, said Sarhang Hamasaeed, director of Middle East Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

U.S. officials said there wont be a hasty withdrawal of more than 9,000 U.S. and coalition forces after Mosuls liberation. And one aim is to stabilize the region outside Mosul, where more than 25,000 Iraqi troops, including paramilitary forces made up of Sunni tribal fighters and Shiite militiamen, have been clearing IS from villages.

Washington and Tehran look at the regional stabilization through different lenses, Harvard political scientist Rafizadeh said.

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Analysts: Tehran Sees Liberation of Mosul as Victory for Iraq and Iran - Voice of America

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan quietly helped Iraq in its fight against the militant Islamic State (IS) group, which reached a major milestone this week with the liberation of Mosul from the terrorist groups control after three years of occupation.

Pakistan was among a number of countries that supported Iraq in fighting the IS, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, said Ambassador of Iraq Ali Yasin Muhammad Karim at a press conference at the embassy. The presser was held to brief Pakistani media about the eviction of the IS from Mosul.

Pakistans contribution to the fight against the IS in Iraq has never been mentioned earlier either by Pakistani officials or Iraqis.

Ancient Assyrian town Mosul, which is Iraqs second largest city and was used by the IS during years of occupation as the seat of its proclaimed caliphate, was freed after a gruelling nine-month-long military campaign by Iraqi security forces that was backed by several countries.

Talking about Pakistans help, the ambassador said Iraq, besides getting intelligence on terrorists, also received arms and ammunition and military medical assistance from the country. He recalled some of the Iraqi pilots, who took part in action against the IS, had been trained in Pakistan.

The ambassador said the continuing intelligence cooperation between Iraq and Pakistan could help the latter deal with the expanding footprint of the IS in the region.

Underscoring the IS threat, he said, the outfit was the most dangerous terrorist group and likened its threat to time bombs and booby traps.

We share the same enemy, Mr Karim said.

While responding to a question, the envoy played down involvement of Pakistanis with IS activities in Iraq, saying that the bad guys represented a very small proportion of the population of Pakistan. People of over 100 nationalities, he added, were part of IS ranks.

The people of Pakistan were generally very supportive of Iraq in its war against the IS, he remarked.

He praised Pakistans policy of neutrality towards the Middle East.

After Mosul, Ambassador Karim said, Iraq was about to make a final push against the IS from its territory.

Mosuls liberation has, however, come at a huge cost.

The city after remaining under the IS occupation for three years during the fight for its liberation is in complete ruins and almost a million of its population has been displaced. The same is the case with other areas that Iraq has succeeded in liberating from the IS. Reports from Mosul warn of an emerging humanitarian crisis.

The Iraqi ambassador called for support for reconstruction and restoration of services in the cities devastated by the war.

We need help for rebuilding infrastructure, which is the next important task, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2017

Link:
Pakistan helped Iraq in defeating IS, says Iraqi envoy - DAWN.com

The bombed-out library in Mosul, Iraq. A book drive organized by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students designed to help rebuild the library in Iraq yielded several thousand books. (ERAU/Courtesy)

In June, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Universitys Prescott Campus shipped over 200 boxes of donated books overseas to Mosul, Iraq, in a volunteer effort to help replenish what was lost when ISIS ransacked the Mosul Central Library in February of 2015.

After the destruction of what was believed to be over 100,000 books and manuscripts, Iraqi newspapers, maps and collected works from the Ottoman period, a world-wide call for aid was heard by ERAUs Honors Program and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

When the book drive began, I notified [our contacts] in Mosul that I was confident we could get a few hundred books, said recent graduate of Global Security & Intelligence, James Gulliksen. I had no clue Embry-Riddle and the surrounding Prescott community would garner up several thousand. Our final shipment was about 6,200 books in 10 different languages

As a student of Global Security & Intelligence, Gulliksen had been monitoring the advance and decline of the Islamic State organization in Iraq and Syria until late 2016, when Iraqi forces, supported by the US-led coalition, began the liberation of Mosul from Islamic State control. Mosul Eyea blog in Mosul devoted to reporting on life before and after Islamic State rulesuggested the idea of a book drive to its readers, inspiring Gulliksen to reach out to student leadership of the Honors Program and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in hopes that they too would agree to support the library rebuilding efforts.

The idea of providing a massive collection of books to a community that has had their right to learn violently removed is an idea that embodies all of the best in the ERAU Honors Program, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Embry-Riddle as a whole, Gulliksen said. In a community where civilians feel the scourge of violence, malnourishment, and torture, the notion of rebuilding a library is at the core of Phi Kappa Phis motto: Let the Love of Learning Rule Humanity.

The library rebuild consists of both recovering what books could be found in the library wreckage, and retrieving books from around the worldincluding over four tons from Prescott.

The organization and management of a book drive of this scale led Gulliksen and his team to encounter the practical obstacle of how to store and ship over 6,000 books.

The librarys staff, Undergraduate Research Institute (URI), and Dr. Kelly OBrien in Study Abroad were all extremely gracious with their work space and allowed us to store books before they could be sent, Gulliksen said. Also, establishing the logistics of sending such a large shipment was a huge hurdle.

Embry-Riddle Honor students, as well as students who are accepted into the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, are encouraged to seek out volunteer opportunities which will put the students interests, education and world view toward giving aid to a cause. For Gulliksen, understanding the need and answering Mosuls call was not just to supply their library with books; it was to help the liberated city heal its community.

A library is more than only books, said Gulliksen. I think the research is clear that people become radicalized due to several underlying causes, including illiteracy, broken social relationships, and a lost sense of community. In a city like Mosul, a library is a tool to solve all of those problems.

Information provided by Keaton Ziem with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

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From Prescott to Mosul: Book drive aids library rebuilding efforts in Iraq - The Daily Courier

Following the release of videos on social media that appear to show Iraqi troops killing and beating detained ISIS militants in Mosul, the Iraqi government said they were investigating the footage. A spokesman for Iraqs defense ministry, Mohammed al-Khudhari, told the Associated Press on Thursday that troops were given very clear instructions and guidance to turn over suspected militants, who await interrogation, followed by a court hearing. Any soldiers who violate these instructions, he said, would be tried in military court. Saad Maan, a spokesman for Iraqs interior ministry, said a number of the soldiers who appear in the videos had been suspended. Maan also admitted to reporters that there might be some misbehavior or inappropriate conduct.

While the footage has yet to be authenticated, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch condemned the videos on Thursday for their demonstrations of torture and abuse. In the final weeks of the battle for west Mosul, the pervasive attitude that I have observed among armed forces has been of momentum, the desire to get the battle wrapped up as quickly as possible, and a collapse of adherences to the laws of war, Belkis Wille, the organizations senior Iraq researcher, told the BBC. On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Mosul recaptured from ISIS following an eight-and-a-half-month offensive in the region. In the wake of the announcement, locals reported seeing vengeance killings against suspected ISIS militants.

Last month, Human Rights Watch released a report citing four witnesses who saw Iraqi troops beat and unlawfully kill men and boys fleeing Mosul. I have heard of countless abuses and executions in this battle, one witness said. Whats changed is that in this final phase fighters are comfortable allowing us to witness the abuses first-hand. On Thursday, the organization released another report claiming that at least 170 families of suspected ISIS militants were forcibly taken to a rehabilitation camp outside Mosulan act that could constitute a war crime. At least ten women and children died at or while traveling to the camp, the report said, with the majority of them succumbing to dehydration.

If authentic, the latest footage points to even more severe crimes carried out by Iraqi troops. According to multiple sources, the most gruesome video released on social media shows uniformed men kicking and beating several suspected militants. One of the men is then dragged outside and thrown over the edge of a cliff, before soldiers fire bullets at his motionless body. The footage also shows the bodies of other men on the ground, with soldiers shooting at them in the background. A second video shows a uniformed man shooting an unarmed detainee, who is kneeling in front of a car. Two other videos reveal soldiers beating and kicking detained suspects.

According to Human Rights Watch, the footage was released Tuesday and Wednesday by an Iraqi man who frequently reports on military activities in the Mosul area. The organization said they had verified the location of the videos using satellite imagery. Around the same time that the videos were posted online, the human rights group Amnesty International released a report claiming that Iraqi and U.S.-backed coalition forces carried out unlawful attacks on civilians in Mosul. The report specifically alleged that government and coalition forces used unnecessarily powerful weapons to target ISIS militants and failed to take effective precautions to protect civilians when planning and executing attacks. While the organization recorded nearly 430 civilian deaths during 45 government-led attacks in Mosul, they speculated that thousands of civilians had been killed by Iraqi forces.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abadis response to the report incited concern among human rights advocates. Without directly calling out Amnesty International, Abadi urged humanitarian organizations to check and verify their sources, arguing that Iraqi soldiers are human rights defenders who sacrificed themselves for the liberation of humanity and the rescue of civilians. He added that no terrorist escapes punishment and we will not issue an amnesty for the murderous terrorists. A day later, Human Rights Watch argued that silence from the Iraqi government with regard to human rights abuses only further foster[s] the feeling of impunity among armed forces in Mosul.

Here is the original post:
Iraq Investigates Videos of Troops Killing Mosul Detainees - The Atlantic

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Originally posted here:
Don't underestimate Iraq's historic victory against Isis though the human cost was great - The Independent