Daesh fighters

Iraq exodus swells as Daesh loses 2 more Mosul districts

Mosul - Arab Today

Pushing carts loaded with bags, babies and the elderly, hundreds of people fled Mosul on Saturday after Iraqi forces retook two more districts in the west of the city from Daesh. After walking for miles, families were taken by bus from a government checkpoint in the south of the city to camps housing more than 410,000 people displaced since theRead more

Iraqi forces restore control over govt premises

Baghdad - Arab Today

Iraqi Spokesman for the elite units of the Ministry of Interior Abdul Amir al Muhammadawi said Tuesday that Iraqi special security forces regained control over the government premises in Mosul after driving out Daesh fighters. The forces killed scores of Daesh elements, the spokesman added. Source: MENARead more

Far from Brooklyn, Iraq’s hipsters are a hit on Instagram

Erbil , Iraq - Arab Today

With their waxed moustaches, precision-clipped beards and dapper clothes, members of the Mr. Erbil gentleman’s club look like the smarter residents of Brooklyn or Shoreditch. But rather than the hipster neighborhoods of New York or London, this is Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region — just 100 km from the grim battle to drive Daesh fighters from their lastRead more

Daesh ‘rapes and tortures Sunni Arab '

Baghdad - Arab Today

Daesh fighters, whose abuses against Yazidi women have been well documented, are raping and torturing Sunni Arab women too, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. The watchdog documented cases of arbitrary detentions, beatings, forced marriages and rape by the terrorists on women who have fled Hawijah, which is still under Daesh control. HRW recounted the story of Hanan, a 26-year-oldRead more

British Museum trains Iraqi archaeologists to rebuild post-Daesh

London - Arab Today

Standing in front of two ancient Assyrian statues, eight Iraqi archaeologists discuss not only the homes some have fled, but also how to avoid explosives when they finally go back to work. They’re in London as part of a British Museum scheme aimed at equipping Iraq with the digital and excavation skills necessary to salvage artifacts and rebuild ancient sitesRead more

Iraqis create market in mud of displaced camp

Iraq - Arab Today

Mobile phones, cartons of cigarettes and fresh mutton are all on sale inside a camp for Iraqi civilians displaced in the battle to recapture Mosul — if they have the money. In the Khazir camp, buyers trudge in the mud, skidding around in flimsy shoes and examining improvised market stalls on the ground between tents that shelter thousands of people.Read more

Report: Killings of Daesh prisoners by Iraq government militias

Irbil - Arab Today

An international human rights monitoring group says a militia backed by the Iraqi government killed suspected Daesh fighters it had captured during the operation to retake the militant-held city of Mosul. The Hashed Al-Jabour militia, made up of Sunni tribal fighters and part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, killed four men it had captured in a village north of MosulRead more

Iraqi forces push on against Daesh in eastern Mosul

Mosul - Arab Today

A top Iraqi commander said on Sunday that troops were continuing to advance toward the center of Mosul, pushing back Daesh fighters, but slowed down by sniper fire and suicide bombings as well as concern over the safety of civilians in a city that is home to some one million people. A few hundred civilians, meanwhile, emerged from rubble-strewn frontlineRead more

HRW: Arab homes destroyed after Daesh battles in Iraqi Kurdistan

Baghdad - Arab Today

Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from Daesh, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Sunday. The 80-page report, “Marked With An ‘X’: Iraqi Kurdish Forces’ Destruction of Villages, Homes in Conflict with ISIS,” looked at destruction of homes between September 2014Read more

Elite Iraq forces punch into Mosul, face tough resistance

Mosul, Iraq - Arab Today

Daesh fighters unleashed a deluge of bombs and gunfire Friday on Iraqi forces punching into the streets of Mosul for the first time, forcing some units into a partial pullback. Some armored vehicles from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) returned from the streets of Al-Karamah a few hours after moving in and encountering fierce resistance from the Daesh group, anRead more