WAR Main Persian Gulf Trouble thread

jward

jward

passin' thru
Sticky bomb explosion in Haifa street #Baghdad
Quote Tweet

4mRLZgXI_normal.jpg

Firas W. Alsarray - فراس السراي

@firasalsarrai
· 8m

#عاجل #بغداد انفجار عبوة لاصقة استهدفت استاذ في الفنون الجميلة في شارع حيفا قرب حيفا مول منو منطقته قريبه على الانفجار يحجيلنا التفاصيل !؟؟


Image
4:49 PM · Dec 29, 2019·TweetDeck
17
Retweets
 
danielboon

danielboon

TB Fanatic
jward said:
Sticky bomb explosion in Haifa street #Baghdad
Quote Tweet

4mRLZgXI_normal.jpg

Firas W. Alsarray - فراس السراي

@firasalsarrai
· 8m

#عاجل #بغداد انفجار عبوة لاصقة استهدفت استاذ في الفنون الجميلة في شارع حيفا قرب حيفا مول منو منطقته قريبه على الانفجار يحجيلنا التفاصيل !؟؟
Image
4:49 PM · Dec 29, 2019·TweetDeck
17
Retweets
Click to expand...
Car bomb going to be tense over there for awhile
 
TammyinWI

TammyinWI

Talk is cheap
Headlines on CNN homepage now:

US strikes targets in Iraq and Syria

OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III tweeted this image with the caption: In response to repeated Kata'ib Hizbollah attacks on Iraqi bases that host @CJTFOIR forces, U.S. forces conducted precision defensive strikes against 5 KH facilities in Iraq & Syria [to] degrade KH's ability to conduct future attacks against @coalition forces. ~@ChiefPentSpox
Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III tweeted this image with the caption: In response to repeated Hizbollah attacks on Iraqi bases that host @CJTFOIR forces, U.S. forces conducted precision defensive strikes against 5 KH facilities in Iraq & Syria [to] degrade ...ability to conduct future attacks against @coalition forcesstrikes
The airstrikes hit facilities linked to the Iranian-backed militia blamed for attacks on Americans in Iraq, the Pentagon says

First link goes to this story:
  • US strikes 5 facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to Iranian-backed militia
    By Barbara Starr, Kevin Bohn and Ross Levitt, CNN

    Updated 8:36 PM ET, Sun December 29, 2019
  • (CNN)US forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against five facilities the Pentagon says are tied to an Iranian-backed militia blamed for a series of attacks on joint US-Iraq military facilities housing American forces.
    The strikes occurred at about 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. They stand as the first significant military response in retaliation for attacks by the Shia militia group, known as Kataib Hezbollah, that have injured numerous American military personnel, according to US officials.
    Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman described the strikes against the group as "precision defensive strikes" that "will degrade" the group's ability to conduct future attacks against coalition forces.
    Defense Secretary Mark Esper briefed President Donald Trump Saturday before carrying them out with the President's approval, according to a US official familiar with the strikes.



    At least 25 people were killed in the US airstrikes, according to a statement Sunday from the Popular Mobilization Units, a Tehran-backed Shiite militia also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi.

    Read More
    Kataib Hezbollah is a group under the Popular Mobilization Units. Jewad Kadum, a PMU official, said in a statement earlier Sunday that the rescue operations were still ongoing as well as the evacuation of the wounded, recovery of the dead bodies and the extinguishing of the fire caused by the airstrikes.
    US officials travel to discuss strikes with Trump
    Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, traveled Sunday to Mar-a-Lago to discuss the strikes with Trump.
    Speaking from the President's Florida resort, Pompeo said the US took "decisive action" and said threats against American forces had been ongoing for "weeks and weeks."
    "We will not stand for the Islamic Republican of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy," Pompeo said.
    Esper said Sunday's meeting with the President included discussing "other options available" without providing further detail. He added that the US "would take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own self-defense and we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from Iran."
    US officials said the five targets included three Kataib Hezbollah locations in Iraq and two in Syria. Those locations included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations that the group uses "to plan and execute attacks on OIR (Operation Inherent Resolve) coalition forces," according to the Pentagon.
    The strikes all came from the air using F-15 Strike Eagle fighter planes, the US official familiar with the strikes said. Secondary explosions were observed after some of the strikes, indicating the sights may have housed ammunition.
    While there were multiple strikes, the sites being hit were relatively small, the official told CNN. Whether the US decides to strike further will depend on the activities of the militia, they said, and whether it conducts additional attacks against US interests.
    American officials have blamed the group for attacks like one on Friday on a base near Kirkuk, Iraq, that killed a US civilian contractor and injured four other US service members.
    Hoffman asserted again in his statement that the group has links to Iranian forces.
    "KH has a strong linkage with Iran's Quds Force and has repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from Iran that it has used to attack OIR coalition forces," he said.
    'A treacherous stab in the back'
    Abdelkarim Khalaf, spokesman of the commander of Iraq's Armed Forces, said during a live interview on state television, Al-Iraqiya TV, that Esper informed Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi half an hour before the US airstrikes.
    "The Iraqi Prime Minister expressed his strong objection to this unilateral decision and his concern that it would lead to further escalation and demanded that he (Esper) stop it (airstrikes) immediately," Khalaf said.
    He added that "these strikes represent a treacherous stab in the back."
    Abdul Mahdi said the Baghdad government rejects "unilateral action" by coalition forces inside his country, according to a statement carried on state television.
    "We have already confirmed our rejection of any unilateral action by coalition forces or any other forces inside Iraq. We consider it a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and a dangerous escalation that threatens the security of Iraq and the region," the Iraqi prime minister said.
    Escalating tensions between the US and Iran
    The US had been pushed to the brink of retaliation against Iran or its proxies before Sunday's strikes, specifically after attacks this summer on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Iran's downing of a US drone in June.
    US officials, including Pompeo, repeatedly stressed that any threat to the freedom of navigation in the Gulf and the oil trade would be considered unacceptable, but the Trump administration took no action.
    Over the past two months, however, US officials have grown increasingly concerned as the threat to US and coalition forces became more immediate. In the last several weeks, a series of rocket attacks have targeted military installations in Iraq where US and coalition personnel are stationed. US officials linked them to Kataib Hezbollah, citing similarities in the attacks.
    And behind the militant group, US officials pointed to Iran.
    Tensions between the US and Iran have increased over 2019 as Washington tightened the economic squeeze on Tehran through its "maximum pressure" campaign and Iran responded with what it calls for "maximum resistance."
    Tehran's resistance has taken the form of gradually reduced compliance to the international nuclear deal that the US left in May 2018 and a campaign of regional provocation that began escalating in May.
    That month, four oil tankers in the Persian Gulf were damaged by mines, drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hit two segments along a major Saudi east-west oil pipeline and a rocket landed near the US embassy in Iraq.
    On the last day of May, a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, wounded four US servicemen. While the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, Washington blamed Iran.

    In June, two more tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman and Iran downed a US drone, bringing Trump to the very verge of ordering a strike on Iran before he called it off at the last minute. In August, up to 10 Houthi drones targeted a Saudi oil facility and in September, cruise missiles caused significant damage to another Saudi oil facility. The US, Saudi Arabia and European nations pointed the finger at Iran.
    This story has been updated with additional developments Sunday.
    CNN's Kevin Liptak, Jeremy Diamond, Nicole Gaouette, Devan Cole and Paul LeBlanc in Washington, Aqeel Najim in Baghdad and Hamdi Alkhshali in Atlanta contributed to this report.
  • www.cnn.com

    US strikes 5 facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to Iranian-backed militia

    US forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against five facilities the Pentagon says are tied to an Iranian-backed militia blamed for a series of attacks on joint US-Iraq military facilities housing American forces.
    www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
Last edited:
P

Plain Jane

Just Plain Jane
If you are trying to figure how the ancillary "sides" form up, Bahrain has weighed in.

www.reuters.com

Bahrain expresses support for U.S. strikes on Kataib Hizbollah facilities in Iraq, Syria: statement

Bahrain expressed support for strikes conducted by the United States targeting Kataib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria, Bahrain's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

NEWS
DECEMBER 29, 2019 / 7:04 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Bahrain expresses support for U.S. strikes on Kataib Hizbollah facilities in Iraq, Syria: statement


1 MIN READ

CAIRO (Reuters) - Bahrain expressed support for strikes conducted by the United States targeting Kataib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
The U.S. military carried out air strikes against the militia group in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, U.S. officials said on Sunday.
Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Peter Cooney
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Thanks, Jane! I actually was just going to ask who we were still waiting to hear from!
I best update my notes. I'm already forgetting which mercenaries are from where,
and losing track of how many actual incidents vs repeatedly reported ones are occuring.
...not that it matters, i guess, just thought this might be small, and quick enough, to see
all the parts in play in real time, and learn something, hopefully...
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
twitter-verse chimes in.... Aleph is pumped...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
How much worse does the situation get and how soon
Aleph ️ א
@no_itsmyturn
·
1h
No idea.
Fred Dial
@FredDial1
·
49m
Israel been bombing this exact spot for a year straight and there hasn’t been any response, just words.
Fred Dial
@FredDial1
·
41m
Iran’s threat of a big retaliatory response has been gone for a long time. They likely won’t ever do anything directly unless the regime was about to fall. They are limited to using Hezbollah/PIJ/etc to doing small asymmetrical attacks but that’s it.
Edmund Pips
@EdmundPips
·
32m
You`ve answered yourself. Iran via proxies cannot attack Israel but can attack US forces in Iraq such way. That`s the difference.
eamon moffet
@emoffet
·
29m
Hamas or hezbollah can lol
Aleph ️ א
@no_itsmyturn
·
25m
+ PIJ in Gaza
Nujaba, Hezbollah and IRGC QF in Syria as well!
Edmund Pips
@EdmundPips
·
22m
Can they plant IED on the road or organize ambush? Pretty limited options compared to Iran proxies opportunieties in Iraq.
eamon moffet
@emoffet
·
22m
Probably yes
 
C

cowboy

Veteran Member
Just watching the plane traffic, it looks like Iran is beefing up the North end of the gulf area.

I have a DC10 unseen in the Iraq area, and planes returning to Jordan. Commercial traffic appears to be returning if it is not a defensive line.

Istanbul is still taking in traffic and sending planes to Tripoli.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Links & photos at site
Posted for fair use

Factbox: Iran-backed paramilitary forces in Iraq under focus after U.S. strikes

Formed in 2003 after the U.S.-led invasion, the secretive Kataib Hezbollah (Battalions of the Party Of God) is one of the smallest Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, with an estimated 5,000 members. But it is considered one of the most dangerous.

During the recent war against Islamic State, Kataib received battlefield training from Lebanon's Hezbollah.


Kataib has long targeted U.S. forces and was one of the earliest groups to dispatch fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.

In 2009, Washington declared Kataib Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization, saying it threatened stability in Iraq, one of the most important U.S. allies in the Arab world.
The group's founder Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, has warned of a strong response against U.S. forces following Sunday's attacks on several bases that killed at least 25 people.

Muhandes is an adviser to Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Qods Force — an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that gives material support to groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The United States has declared the former lawmaker a terrorist. In 2007, a Kuwaiti court sentenced him to death in absentia for his involvement in the 1983 U.S. and French embassy bombings in Kuwait.

Mohandes also oversees Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups mostly consisting of Iran-backed Shi'ite militias that was formally integrated into Iraq's armed forces

BADR ORGANISATION

Badr leader Hadi al-Amiri is widely seen as Tehran's man in Iraq. He fought on Iran's side in its 1980-1988 war with Iraq. Amiri, a Farsi speaker, spent more than two decades fighting Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran.

Badr, established in 1982, was named after a key seventh century battle during the time of the Prophet Mohammed. It was the backbone of the volunteer forces fighting Islamic State.

Badr was known for brutal tactics during Iraq's civil war but has tried to soften its image.

ADVERTISEMENT
Since 2014, Badr has transformed itself into a leading force in Iraqi politics, an important ally for Iran which has extended its reach to parliament.


Like some other groups, Badr gets its inspiration from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Badr has also sent thousands of fighters to Syria.




ASAIB AHL AL-HAQ


"League of the Righteous" is one of Iraq's most notorious militia groups. Formed in 2006 by its leader Qais al-Khazali, the sectarian force has launched numerous operations against American and Iraqi forces.


Critics say Asaib is still violent despite announcing it was ready to lay down arms in 2012 and join the political process.


In 2007, Khazali was arrested by American forces for his alleged role in an attack on a government compound in Karbala in the Shi’ite heartland of southern Iraq, which left five American soldiers dead.

He is now one of the most feared and respected Shi’ite militia leaders in Iraq, and one of Iran’s most important allies in the country.
He was among the thousands of militia fighters, armed and wearing green camouflage military fatigues, who flocked to northern Iraq to battle Islamic State.

(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles

mobile.reuters.com

Factbox: Iran-backed paramilitary forces in Iraq under focus after U.S. strikes

U.S. air strikes in Iraq and Syria against the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group have brought a threat of reprisal.
mobile.reuters.com mobile.reuters.com
 
Last edited:
jward

jward

passin' thru
Intel Retweeted




Liz Sly

@LizSly
·
21m

Result of Iraq's National Security Council meeting to discuss the US strikes on Kataeb Hezbollah: as a result of the "sinful" strikes, Iraq will "review" its relationship with the US. "Dozens of martyrs and wounded have fallen from our brave forces as a result of this attack."
 
jward

jward

passin' thru

Aleph, Bet, Gimel
א ב ג
@hey_itsmyturn

تحریم های بعدی علیه جمهوری اسلامی و وابستگان آن، طی 24 ساعت آینده اعلام و اعمال خواهد شد.
Translated from Persian by
Subsequent sanctions against the Islamic Republic and its affiliates will be announced and enforced within the next 24 hours
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
jward said:
iran stealing fuel.,?j


New Years Doge (BLT|14-2)
@IntelDoge
·
8m

#BREAKING - The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of #Iran has seized a ship carrying 1,312,000 liters of fuel on suspicion of fuel smuggling. Ship stopped and seized near Abu Musa, 16 Malaysians taken into custody. (IRNA)
Click to expand...
------------------------------------------------------

State media says vessel was carrying 1.3 million liters of fuel; seizure comes as Iranian, Russian and Chinese navies hold unprecedented joint drill
By AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 10:59
Iranian military personnel ride in a patrol boat as they take part in the 'National Persian Gulf Day' in the Strait of Hormuz. (ATTA KENARE / AFP/File)
Iranian military personnel ride in a patrol boat as they take part in the 'National Persian Gulf Day' in the Strait of Hormuz. (ATTA KENARE / AFP/File)
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Monday seized a ship in the Persian Gulf suspected of carrying smuggled fuel, state media reported.
The official IRNA news agency said the seized ship was carrying more than 1.3 million liters of fuel near Abu Musa Island at the mouth of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

All 16 crew members, who are Malaysian nationals, were also detained, the report added. It did not say under what country’s flag the ship was sailing.

The Guard patrols the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf waters and has seized several ships in the area in the past year.

In July, Iran also seized a British-flagged oil tanker, amid high regional tensions over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. It also seized a United Arab Emirates-based oil tanker.

The latest incident came as Iran’s navy on Friday kicked off an unprecedented joint naval drill with Russia and China in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. The four-day exercise, launched from the southeastern port city of Chahbahar in the Gulf of Oman and near the border with Pakistan, is aimed at boosting security of the region’s waterways, state TV quoted Iran’s navy chief Adm. Hossein Khanzadi as saying.

On Saturday, a top Iranian navy official said the three countries sought to establish “full security of shipping lines” in the region.

Iranian flotilla chief, Rear Admiral Gholamreza Tahani, added that the nations were cooperating to counter “common maritime threats,” according to Tehran’s Fars news agency. Iranian state television called the three countries “the new triangle of power in the sea.”

In November, the US launched a naval coalition from Bahrain aimed at protecting shipping in the troubled waters in the Gulf. The launching of the US-led international effort followed a string of attacks on oil tankers and Saudi oil facilities in the region that Washington and its allies blamed on Iran, a charge it denies. Australia and the UK are the main countries participating in the US-led coalition.

Most European governments have declined to participate, fearful of undermining their efforts to save the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which was badly weakened by Washington’s withdrawal last year.

www.timesofisrael.com

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reportedly seizes ship in Gulf over ‘smuggled fuel’

State media says vessel crewed by Malaysians was carrying 1.3 million liters of fuel; seizure comes as Iranian, Russian and Chinese navies hold unprecedented joint drill
www.timesofisrael.com www.timesofisrael.com
 
P

Plain Jane

Just Plain Jane
apnews.com

Protesters attack US Embassy in Baghdad after airstrikes

BAGHDAD (AP) — Angered by deadly airstrikes targeting an Iran-backed militia, dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S.
apnews.com apnews.com

Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia attack US Embassy
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA19 minutes ago


BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy. It was not clear what caused the fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the compound. A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”

Smoke from the tear gas rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing.

The gate that was smashed was a side-entrance, one used by cars to enter the embassy compound. Hundreds of protesters had pushed about 5 meters (16 feet) into a corridor that leads to the main building but the protesters were still about 200 meters (yards) away from it.

It wasn’t immediately known whether the embassy staff had remained inside the main building.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s previous story is below.

Hundreds of angry supporters of an Iraqi Shiite militia smashed security cameras on the wall around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, rattled the main gate and set on fire three empty trailers used by the guards on Tuesday. The embassy attack followed deadly U.S. airstrikes this week that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq.

Shouting “Down, Down USA,” the crowd tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area. They sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah militia: “Closed in the name of the resistance.”

Hundreds of angry protesters, some in militia uniforms, set up tents outside the embassy. As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.

No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.

The U.S. military carried out the strikes on Sunday against the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, calling it retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it blamed on the group.

The U.S. attack — the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years — and the subsequent calls by the militia for retaliation, represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourners and supporters held funerals for the militia fighters killed in a Baghdad neighborhood, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy there.

AP journalists then saw the crowd as they tried to scale the walls of the embassy, in what appeared to be an attempt to storm it, shouting “Down, down USA!” and “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday’s strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.

The
Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes. The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.

The U.S. attack also outraged both the militias and the Iraqi government, which said it will reconsider its relationship with the U.S.-led coalition — the first time it has said it will do so since an agreement was struck to keep some U.S. troops in the country. It called the attack a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

In a partly televised meeting Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi told Cabinet members that he had tried to stop the U.S. operation “but there was insistence” from American officials.

The U.S. military said “precision defensive strikes” were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria. The group, which is a separate force from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Many of them are supported by Iran.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Reuters (@Reuters) Tweeted:
MORE: 'We expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the embassy, and so notified': U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters on Twitter
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1211983959678173184
View: https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1211983959678173184?s=20


Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) Tweeted:
It looks like from Rudaw footage there is stone throwing and tear gas now at the US embassy in Baghdad as many uniformed PMU members gather after a morning trying to storm the US embassy Seth Frantzman on Twitter
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1211987234624327680
View: https://twitter.com/sfrantzman/status/1211987234624327680?s=20
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top