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by: Tom Regan Updated: May 13, 2017 - 7:29 AM

Gov. Nathan Deal ordered flags to fly half-staff at all state buildings, calling it a mark of respect for a Georgia soldier killed in action.

First Lt. Weston Lee, 25, of Bluffton,Georgia, died while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq. The body of the 25-year-old paratrooper arrived home Friday morning.

His close friend told Channel 2s Tom Regan the loss is hard to put into words.

Joshua Walker told Regan he's proud to speak about his selfless, courageous friend. The two were fraternity brothers and both served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Walker recalls his shock and profound sadness on learning his friend was killed by a bomb while on patrol in Mosul in April.

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He was your ideal army officer, so it just kinda ripped my heart wide open, Walker said. I had to immediately go to my friends who were also close to him for support."

Both men attended the officer's training program at the University of North Georgia.

Walker said Weston deployed to Iraq a couple of months ago as a paratrooper platoon leader who supervised security patrols and training. They exchanged messages the day before he was killed.

Iraq is not a safe place, Walker said. But's that exactly what he wanted to do. And he was dedicated to every aspect of his life to be an army officer. He was right where he wanted to be."

He said Weston worked hard, trained and demonstrated the character of a true leader.

A great friend, Walker said. He would do anything if you called him up.

I honestly believe if he made a career of the army, 20 plus years, you would be reading about his leadership, Walker said.

Walker and others have established a scholarship fund at the University of North Georgia in memory of Weston.

You can donate to the fund HERE.

A memorial service will take place Saturday in the Mangham Auditorium at Early County High School at 2 p.m.

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Scholarship fund to honor Georgia soldier killed in Iraq | WSB-TV - WSB Atlanta

Friday, May 12, 2017 at 12:22 p.m.

The inspector general for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission submitted his letter of resignation to Governor Greg Abbott Thursday, following questions from Texas Monthly about his consulting work related to the Iraqi government.

Stuart Bowen, who was tasked with overseeing $40 billion in health and welfare spending in Texas, was appointed to the post by Governor Abbott in 2015 after he had been the U.S. inspector general for the reconstruction of Iraq. Texas Monthly started inquiring about Bowen's remaining ties to the country after discovering that his name popped up quite a bit in a Washington, D.C. lobbying and law firm's multiple letters to the Trump Administration, asking the president to remove Iraq from the travel ban. Which Trump did.

Texas Monthly's R.G. Ratcliffe found that Bowen was contracted at $300 an hour with the Washington firmBrownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck which is registered as a foreign agent for the Iraqi government to consult about anti-corruption efforts in the country's financial services sector. In the firm's lobbying letters to the Trump Administration, the firm identified Bowen as a "senior adviser to our firm" and urged Trump officials to set up meetings with a senior Iraqi aide to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

In one letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Brownstein firm wrote:Stuart Bowen the former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction under President Bush and has worked with you in the past, is a senior advisor to our firm. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, at one time commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When Trump issued his second executive order days later that temporarily barred travel from several Muslim-majority Middle Eastern countries, Iraq was no longer on the list.

Ratcliffe notes how odd it is that, for a guy tasked with overseeing billions of dollars in health spending, tasked with rooting out any fraud within the Health and Human Services Commission, he for some reason was never required to disclose this interesting relationship with a firm lobbying for Iraq.

In a statement to TM, Bowen denied that his work for the firm breached any code of ethics and denied having anything to do with removing Iraq from the travel ban.I have never worked for Iraq and was not involved in any law firm activities regarding the travel ban issue," he said.

The governor's office released the following statement to the magazine:This was a serious and unacceptable lapse in judgment by Mr. Bowen. The day the governor was made aware, he took immediate action and asked Mr. Bowen to resign. The governor is confident the next Inspector General will continue the good work the office has been doing.

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Top Texas Health Official Resigns Amid Questions About Iraq Connection - Houston Press

ERBIL, Iraq Iraq's Shi'ite paramilitaries launched an offensive on Friday to drive Islamic State from a desert region near the border with Syria as security forces fought the militants in the city of Mosul.

Spokesman Karim al-Nouri said the target of the operation was the Qairawan and Baaj areas about 100 km west of Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are advancing in their campaign to rout the militants from city.

Seven months into the Mosul campaign, Islamic State has been driven from all but a handful of districts in the city's western half including the Old City, where it is using hundreds of thousands of civilians as human shields.

The paramilitaries have been kept on the sidelines of the battle for the city of Mosul itself, but have captured a vast, thinly populated area to the southwest, cutting Islamic State supply routes to Syria.

Islamic State is losing territory and on the retreat in both Iraq and Syria.

The Iraqi military said in a statement its air force was supporting the operation by the paramilitary groups known collectively as Hashid Shaabi or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

Unlike regular Iraqi security forces, the PMF does not receive support from the U.S.-led coalition, which is wary of Iran's influence over the most powerful factions within the body.

Officially answerable to the government in Baghdad, the PMF were formed when Islamic State overran around one third of Iraq including Mosul nearly three years ago and Iraqi security forces disintegrated.

Nouri said PMF control over the border would assist Syrian government forces when they push toward the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa.

On Friday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said their assault on Raqqa, the militants' biggest urban stronghold, would begin soon and that they were awaiting weapons including armored vehicles from the U.S.-led coalition

The PMF is not officially involved in Syria, but tens of thousands of Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen are fighting there on behalf of the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is backed by Iran.

(Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Richard Lough)

DAKAR In an upmarket suburb of Senegal's seaside capital, a branch of Iran's Al-Mustafa University teaches Senegalese students Shi'ite Muslim theology, among other subjects. The branch director is Iranian and a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs on his office wall.

GENEVA The United Nations Committee against Torture on Friday called on Bahrain to release prominent activist Nabeel Rajab from more than nine months of solitary confinement and investigate widespread allegations of ill-treatment and torture of detainees.

TABQA, Syria The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday their attack to capture Raqqa city from Islamic State would begin soon and the U.S.-led coalition would supply them with weapons including armored vehicles for the assault.

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Iraq's Shi'ite paramilitaries squeeze Islamic State toward Syria border - Reuters

By Alex Hollings 05.11.2017#Foreign Policy Email Share Tweet

In a joint press conference conducted with Denmarks Defense Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen, American Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced that the coalition will begin accelerating its campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

We will further accelerate this fight to free people from ISIS crushing occupation and [the] enemys terror threat to Europe and beyond, Mattis announced in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Military News, Politics, World News Tagged With: Denmark, Headline, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic State, James Mattis, NATO, Raqqa, SECDEF, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Syria

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Alex Hollings Alex Hollings served as an active duty Marine for six and a half years before being medically retired. A college rugby player, Marine Corps football player, and avid shooter, he has competed in multiple mixed martial arts tournaments, raced exotic cars across the country and wrestled alligators in pursuit of a story to tell. His novel, "A Secondhand Hero" is currently seeking publication.

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James Mattis announces US will 'accelerate the fight' against ISIS in Iraq and Syria - SOFREP (press release) (subscription)

When you spend enough time in Iraq and Afghanistan, the scenery starts to overlap, and you can forget which theater youre currently in. Especially when the Danger Rangers all start to look the same. That was the feeling freelance reporter Courtney Body got Wednesday, when she spotted something in Iraq that didnt want quite belong.

Body was stopped at an Iraqi checkpoint traveling toward Mosul on May 10, when a Ford Ranger in a passing convoy caught her attention: The insignia on the pickup truck wasnt for Iraqi security forces but for the Afghan National Army.

Its so familiar to me after all those years in Afghanistan to see the ANA Ford Ranger, and because I was intently looking at the MRAPs, I just caught it, Body told Task & Purpose. It was definitely a moment where I had to remind myself where I was, and question how in the world that vehicle ended up outside of Mosul in Iraq.

Body spent six and a half years in Afghanistan covering the war and recognized the green, red, and black emblem immediately. Its plastered all over Afghan army posters, equipment, vehicles, and soldiers around the country. Here it is up close:

The truck was passing through the checkpoint along with two MRAPs, according to Body. It pulled over and she was able to snap a photo of its passengers, who were donning Iraqi army uniforms. There was also a woman in the backseat. Other than the Afghan army sticker on the truck, Body said the convoy had no identifying markings, so theres no confirmation that it was an official vehicle of Iraqi security forces.

So, how the hell did it get there? And why? Body was unsure, but has heard rumors of Afghan army trucks spotted elsewhere in Iraq. For those of you who never have had the pleasure of traversing this part of world, heres a map pinpointing Mosul in relation to Afghanistan. Theres pretty much only one way to get there: via Iran.

The Ford Ranger pickups are routinely used by the Afghan security forces to truck police and soldiers around Afghanistan. According to a U.S. Army press release, 31,000 light pickup trucks, acquired through an authorized dealer of Ford called Global Fleet Sales, were fielded to the Afghan army and police in 2011. An additional 10,000 were scheduled to be fielded by 2012.

Heres a photo of ANA Ford Ranger in its normal setting.

Task & Purpose sought a comment from Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support, the U.S. Army office that equipped the Afghan security forces with the Ford Rangers, but they could not provide any information at the time of publication.

If youve spent time in Iraq and have seen Afghan National Army or police trucks there or have any info on how they got there shoot us an email at editor@taskandpurpose.com.

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What The Hell Are Afghan Army Pickup Trucks Doing In Iraq? - Task & Purpose