Kirkuk Is The Epicenter Of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Jesse Rosenfeld, The Daily Beast: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Fighting between Kurds and Shia militias threatens to erupt around Kirkuk and nearby oil fields. ISIS watches and waits.

KIRKUK, Iraq — Tensions in the ancient city of Kirkuk are threatening to boil over as Kurdish forces move to turn their battle lines with ISIS into the border for a Kurdish state.

The city traditionally has had a mix of Iraq’s main ethnic and confessional groups—Kurds, Turkmens (many of whom are Shia), Shia Arabs and Sunni Arabs. But the province is rich in oil and natural gas that the Kurds deem essential as they plan for economic independence, especially since the Kurdistan Regional Government signed a major oil deal with Turkey. They don’t intend to share it. And hostilities with Shia Arabs are growing increasingly dangerous.

Update: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War -- AP

WNU Editor: The old animosities and hatreds keep on popping up between the different sectarian groups .... even when facing a greater threat from the Islamic State.

Baghdad Celebrates The End Of Its Nighttime Curfew. Bombings Continue

Washington Post: Baghdad celebrates lifting of curfew, despite rash of bombings

More News On Baghdad Celebrating The End Of Its Nighttime Curfew

Baghdad Curfew Ends Hours After Deadly Bombings -- VOA
‘Despite state of war’: Curfew lifted in Baghdad hours after deadly bombings -- RT
More Than 40 Killed In Baghdad Bombings -- SKY News
Baghdad lifts 10-year nighttime curfew -- Euronews
Baghdad celebrates lifting of curfew after 12 years -- BBC
Baghdad Celebrates End of 12-Year-Old Nighttime Curfew -- Sputnik

The Battle For Mosul Is Starting To Take Shape

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter keep watch during fighting with Islamic State militants on the outskirts of Mosul January 21, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Azad Lashkari

Wall Street Journal: U.S., Iraq Prepare Offensive to Retake Mosul From Islamic State

WNU Editor: This is not going to be an easy battle .... In Mosul, Islamic State turns captured city into fortress (Reuters).

More News On The U.S. And Iraq Preparing An Offensive To Retake Mosul From The Islamic State

U.S., Iraq preparing for assault to recapture Mosul: WSJ -- Reuters
Kurdish forces, Iraqi army launch attack in Mosul -- Al Bawaba
Kurdish forces squeeze Islamic State supply line in northern Iraq -- Reuters
Peshmerga part of multipronged attack on Mosul -- Rudaw
ISIS Suffers Heaviest Defeat in Iraq in a Single Day -- Fiscal Times
Volunteers Secretly Battle ISIS in 'Mosul Liberation Battalions': Iraqi VP -- NBC
NBC News: Iraqi Resistance Fighters Battling ISIS in Mosul -- Newsmax
Isis digs anti-tank defence ditches around Mosul -- The Times
Mosul Resident To Baghdad: 'Apparently Mosul Is No Longer Part Of Iraq To You' -- Radio Free Europe
Life in IS-ruled Mosul under scanner -- Arab News
Mosul residents describe ‘hell’ of Isis occupation as Kurdish fighters close in -- The Guardian

Shiite Militias Are Committing War Crimes In Iraq

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Shiite Militias Win Bloody Battles In Iraq, Show No Mercy -- Wall Street Journal

Fatwa-Inspired Fighters’ Take-No-Prisoners Tactics Deepen Worries About Sectarian Tensions; ‘We Get Their Confessions, and Then We Kill Them’

JURF AL-SAKHER, Iraq—In a makeshift barracks about 40 miles south of Baghdad, Ahmed al-Zamili flipped through pictures on his mobile phone: an Islamic State fighter’s corpse hanging from a crude noose, a dead man on the ground clutching an AK-47 and a kneeling, blindfolded man uttering a confession.

Mr. Zamili says the men were captured when his militia of more than 650 Shiite fighters, known as Al Qara’a Regiment, drove Islamic State out of Jurf al-Sakher in late October. After briefly interrogating the enemy soldiers, Mr. Zamili ordered their executions, he says.

“We see them, we attack them, we get the weapons from them, we talk to them, we get their confessions, and then we kill them,” says Mr. Zamili, 35 years old, who ran five restaurants before forming Al Qara’a in June. “Of course, this is much better than the army strategy.”

Read more ....

My Comment: A disturbing report from the WSJ. Bottom line .... both sides are monsters.

Violence Reported Throughout Iraq

At Least 15 Die In Baghdad Suicide Blast -- Deutsche Welle

A suicide bomber has killed at least 15 people and injured many more at a funeral in Baghdad. Separately, Iraqi forces are fighting for control of a key town near a major oil refinery.

A suicide bomber has killed at least 15 people and wounded 30 others outside a Shiite mosque in western Baghdad where people were attending a funeral service, according to security and health officials.

"The attacker approached the entrance of the mosque and blew himself up among the crowd," a police officer said about the attack in the affluent neighborhood of Harthiya.

There was no immediate claim for the attack but suicide bombings are mainly carried out by Sunni jihadists in Iraq - including those belonging to the so called "Islamic State" ("IS") which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq since June.

Read more ....

More News On The Crisis In Iraq

Suicide, car bombings in Iraq kill at least 33 -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
At Least 33 Killed In Attacks Targeting Shi'a In Iraq -- Radio Free Europe/AP/AFP
Deadly car bombings hit Iraq's Karbala -- Al Jazeera
Iraq rocked by wave of fatal blasts -- Irish Times
17 killed in Baghdad mosque bombing -- Gulf News/AP
Deadly Suicide Attacks Hit Baghdad, Baiji -- Radio Free Europe
Iraq crisis: Baghdad Shia mosque hit by suicide attack -- BBC
At least 21 killed in Baghdad suicide bombing -- CNN
U.S. reports 12 air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq -- Reuters
Airstrikes hit ISIS targets in Syria, Iraq -- CNN
U.S. Steps Up Airstrikes in Iraq’s Anbar Province -- WSJ
Iraq PM rules out foreign boots on the ground -- Times of India/AFP
Iran forces inside Iraq as Abadi rules out foreign ground intervention! -- Middle East Online
Iraq's PM to Visit Iran, Seeking Help in Fight Against IS -- Payvand Iran News
Iraq approves Australian anti-Islamic State forces -- BBC
ADF to deploy 200 special forces troops into Iraq after Julie Bishop signs deal -- The Guardian
Iraq crisis: MPs complete anti-IS government -- BBC
Iraq Parliament confirms PM Abadi's nominees for Ministers of Defense and Interior -- UPI
Ayatollah Sistani Backs Iraqi Government -- FARS News Agency

A Small But Significant Military Defeat For The Islamic State In Iraq

BBC

Iraqi Forces Said To Break Islamic State’s Siege -- Washington Post

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military carried out airstrikes on Islamic State militants near the besieged Iraqi town of Amerli on Saturday night, boosting morale for thousands of residents who have been trapped inside for two months, Iraqi officials and the Pentagon said.

The assault, which came alongside a coordinated humanitarian aid drop, marks the second time this month that the United States has intervened militarily in Iraq to prevent an Islamic State attack on thousands of trapped civilians.

Iraqi state media said Sunday afternoon that government forces had broken the siege. Kurdish pesh merga fighters also battling the militants near Amerli and reached by telephone confirmed that Iraqi army forces aided by Shiite militias had entered the town. But Kurdish forces continued to fight the jihadists in surrounding villages, they said.

Read more ....

Iraqi And Kurdish Forces With Assistance From U.S. Air Strikes Break The ISIS Siege Of Amerli

Iraqi forces break two-month siege of Amerli: officials -- Reuters
Iraqi Forces Enter Besieged Northern Iraqi Town -- VOA
Iraqi forces break jihadist siege of Amerli -- AFP
US planes drop aid and strike IS positions near Iraq's Amerli -- BBC
Islamic State siege of Amerli broken by Iraqi forces -- Channel 4 News
ISIS siege of Iraqi town over after U.S. airstrikes, aid drops -- BBC
IS in Retreat as Kurdish, Iraqi Forces Advance to Amerli with US Air Support -- Rudaw
Iraqi forces ‘break’ Islamic State’s two-month Amerli siege -- Irish Times

On The Front Lines In Iraq's War Against The Islamic State

Iraq: On The Frontline With The Shia Fighters Taking The War To Isis -- The Guardian

Special report In the first of a two-part series on the forces ranged against Isis in Iraq, meet the controversial Shia militia keeping the Islamists from moving on Baghdad

The new Iraqi "border" is marked by a two-metre-high wall of earth. The berm, as it is known, cuts through farmland and orchards, separating the shrinking lands of the Iraqi state as it has existed for 95 years from the expanding territory of the new Islamic caliphate.

On the northern side, the black flags of Islamic State (Isis) shimmer in the afternoon haze. But on the Iraqi side it is not a national flag that flutters but a black Shia banner.

"This land is what separates good from evil," says a Shia fighter, pointing at the no man's land between the two forces. "Here you see the flag of Imam Hussein and there you see the black flags of Isis. This is the same history repeating itself," he says, referring to ancient Sunni-Shia enmities that played out on these plains centuries ago.

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My Comment: Sunnis fighting against Shiites .... after 1,300 years of animosity and warfare you would think that these two religious faiths would have come to some form of reconciliation to stop this continuous warfare. Sighhh ... apparently not.

Iraq Calls For An International War Against Islamic State

Iraq Calls For International War Against Islamic State; Iran Vows Solidarity -- Newsweek/Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday during talks with Iran's foreign minister that international efforts would be necessary to destroy Islamic State Sunni militants who have seized swathes of his country and of Syria.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, a Shi'ite Muslim regional power likely to wield influence over the formation of Abadi's new cabinet, reaffirmed Tehran's support for Iraq's territorial unity and its fight against militants.

Read more ....

More News On Iraq's Civil War

Iraq pleads for global help in fight against jihadists -- AFP
Iran, Iraq Want Tighter Cooperation, Urge Global Effort Against Islamic State – Reports -- RIA Novosti
Iraq forces defeat militant push to take oil refinery -- BBC
Islamic State renews push for Iraq oil field -- Al Jazeera
Attacks in Iraq kill at least 43 people -- AP
Iraq bombings target Shia areas -- Al Jazeera
Wave Of Bombings Hits Baghdad, Southern Iraq -- Radio Free Europe
Deadly Iraq bombings may be retaliation for massacre at a Sunni mosque -- L.A. Times
Blasts In Iraq As UN Warns Of Town 'Massacre' -- SKY News
ISIS Lays Siege to Iraqi Turkmen Village -- Time
Iraq's Abadi says no place for armed groups outside state control -- Ahram Online
Iraq Premier-Designate: Militias Must Follow State -- AP

The 'Most Dangerous Dam In The World' Is Rigged With Explosives That Could Cause 500,000 Deaths

ISIS Booby Traps Mosul Dam, Which Could Unleash 18-Metre-High Wall Of Water On Iraq’s Second Largest City -- National Post/The Telegraph

The American-backed offensive to recapture Iraq’s biggest dam stalled Monday, as fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham rigged part of the area with booby traps and remotely triggered bombs.

Whilst a series of air strikes by American F-18 fighter jets reportedly sent most of the jihadists fleeing from the central parts of Mosul dam, a network of landmines and planted explosives they left behind impeded Kurdish ground forces from recapturing the strategically vital terrain.

“The jihadists have escaped from their positions beside the water pumps – the most important levers for the dam,” said Gen Kawa Kawani, the spokesman for the Kurdish special forces. “But we cannot enter the area because of the explosives.”

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Update: ‘World’s most dangerous’: Iraq’s retaken Mosul Dam could cause 500,000 deaths in days -- RT

My Comment: Just when you think that the situation cannot get any worse .... it does.

The Fight Between Iraqi Militants And Kurdish Forces For Control Of Iraq's Mosul Dam Continues

Iraqi Forces Seize Mosul Dam -- Wall Street Journal

Two Days Into Ground Offensive, Insurgents Driven Out

BADRIYA, Iraq—Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, recaptured the strategic Mosul Dam on Monday after two days of fighting with Islamist insurgents, a Kurdish military spokesman said.

Helgurd Hikmet, a spokesman for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, said they have taken "complete control" of the fragile dam and there was no longer any fighting at or around the facility.

Earlier, Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesman for Iraq's military in Baghdad, said the Iraqi flag was flying over the site. But the military was still working on dismantling some 170 explosives, including land mines and booby traps planted by the radical Sunni group Islamic State.

Read more ....

More News On The Fight Between Iraqi Militants And Kurdish Forces For Control Of Iraq's Mosul Dam

Backed by U.S. strikes, Iraq Kurds claim capture of strategic dam -- Reuters
Iraqi, Kurdish forces claim defeat of insurgents at strategic Mosul Dam -- Washington Post
Kurdish Military Says It Controls Iraq's Mosul Dam -- AP
Iraq crisis: Military claims control of Mosul dam -- BBC
‘Not over yet’? Iraqi, Kurdish fighters battle for control of Mosul Dam with US backing -- FOX News
As US steps up air campaign in Iraq, Kurdish forces seize strategic dam -- CSM
Iraqis consolidating gains after victory retaking dam -- USA Today
Iraq Crisis: Kurds Push to Take Mosul Dam as U.S. Gains Controversial Guerrilla Ally -- WSJ
Kurdish colonel appeals to US for more firepower to combat Islamic terrorists -- FOX News
Islamic State booby traps massive Iraqi dam which could kill thousands if breached -- The Telegraph

Inside A Lethal Helicopter Crash In Iraq

Alissa J. Rubin, a Times reporter, on the left, and Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi lawmaker. Credit Adam Ferguson for The New York Times

On a Helicopter, Going Down: Inside a Lethal Crash in Iraq -- Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times

Alissa J. Rubin, a veteran Times foreign correspondent, was injured on Tuesday in a helicopter crash in Kurdistan and dictated the following article from her hospital bed in Istanbul, where she was evacuated from Iraq. She suffered broken bones and a fractured skull but was in stable condition, and was scheduled to be taken by air to the United States on Sunday.

ISTANBUL — If it weren’t for Tuesday’s helicopter crash on Mount Sinjar, what would I have written about the plight of the Yazidis?

I would have started, I guess, with this mountain that everybody is talking about, to which the Yazidis have fled. It’s hard to overstate the size of this mountain, which is such a sacred place to the Yazidis, and the place they went to escape the terror that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been inflicting on them. It’s really more of a range than an individual mountain — 60 miles long, 5,000 feet high — and it is no wonder the relief operation, which riveted much of the world, posed such challenges.

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My Comment: She was very lucky.

Up To 3,000 Women And Girls Kidnapped By Islamic State Jihadis In Iraq

Displaced Yazidis who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar march in a demonstration at the Iraqi-Turkish border crossing in Zakho district of the Dohuk Governorate of the Iraqi Kurdistan province

Up To 3,000 Women And Girls Kidnapped By Islamic State Jihadis In Iraq In Just A Fortnight - And Hundreds Of Men Who Refuse To Convert Have Been Shot Dead -- Daily Mail

* Innocent Yazidi children have suffered harrowing ordeals in northern Iraq
* Kidnappings 'happened in areas where residents took up arms against IS'
* Women are being held separately from the men in IS-controlled Tal Afar
* 200,000 people escaped to safety but others remain on Mount Sinjar

These are the faces of six of the thousands of innocent Yazidi children who have suffered harrowing ordeals in Iraq this month.

Up to 3,000 women and girls have been kidnapped by Islamic State jihadis in the north of the country in just a fortnight - and hundreds of men who refuse to convert have been shot dead.

The kidnappings appear to have happened in villages where residents took up arms against IS - and the women are being held separately from the men in IS-controlled Tal Afar, east of Mount Sinjar.

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My Comment: I suspect that these "horror stories" are just the tip of the iceberg.

Heavy Fighting Reported Between Kurdish Forces And Islamic State Fighters In Northern Iraq

Kurd Forces 'Advance' On Mosul Dam -- BBC

Kurdish sources say their forces "are advancing" in an offensive to retake Mosul dam from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

A joint operation involving both Kurdish forces and US air strikes has been under way since 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT), the sources said.

The strategic dam, which supplies water and electricity to northern Iraq, was seized by the militants on 7 August.

IS has seized a swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, displacing millions.

The reported US strikes followed nine conducted on Saturday against IS targets near the dam and the city of Irbil.

Altogether 14 vehicles manned by IS militants were hit, including armour left behind by the US forces when they left Iraq three years ago, but later seized by the militants.

Read more ....

More News On Heavy Fighting Reported Between Kurdish Forces And Islamic State Fighters Near The Mosul Dam

Backed by US Air Strikes, Peshmerga Regain Most of Mosul Dam -- RUDAW
Iraqi official: Kurdish forces retake parts of Mosul Dam from Islamic extremists -- FOX News/AP
U.S. Airstrikes Aim at Islamic State Hold on Iraq Dam -- Wall Street Journal
Iraqi Kurds battle Islamic State fighters -- Al Jazeera
Fighting Continues Around Crucial Dam in Iraq -- VOA
Iraqi forces, aided by U.S. jets, begin ground offensive to retake dam from militants -- Washington Post
Iraq’s Largest Dam New Focus of Expanding U.S. Airstrikes -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Kurdish Forces Launch Attack On IS Near Mosul Dam -- Radio Free Europe
U.S. warplanes, Kurdish forces pound ISIS targets in bid to retake Iraqi dam -- CNN
Kurdish militants train hundreds of Yazidis to fight Islamic State -- Reuters

Detail Map Of Sinjar Mountains Adds Detail To The Yazidis' Tragedy

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Island Of Safety Becomes A Death Trap

Between 10,000 and 40,000 ethnic Yazidis are trapped in the Sinjar Mountains after fleeing attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The 4,400 foot high Sinjar Mountain range is venerated by the Yazidis. They consider it to be the place where Noah's Ark settled after the biblical flood. Sinjar Mountain range is a barren ridge, four miles wide and 25 miles long. It is entirely devoid of plant life, water or shade. Image from The Washington Post

Was President Obama's Remark That 'The Siege Of Mount Sinjar Was Over' Premature?

'Crisis far from over': Some of refugees are still stranded on Mount Sinjar (above) despite assertions by the UK and U.S. that they were only a few thousand remain

'The Siege Of Mount Sinjar Is NOT Over': Iraqi MP And UN Chiefs Attack Obama's Claims That Islamic State Stand-Off Was 'Broken' - And Say 70,000 Refugees Are Still Trapped -- Daily Mail

* Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil claims U.S. troops had only cleared north of mountain
* Estimates that tens of thousands of refugees are still stranded to the south
* She dismissed claims by U.S. and UK, adding: 'The situation is very terrible'
* UN relief workers say humanitarian crisis is 'far from over' and still 'grave'

An Iraqi MP and United Nations relief workers today dismissed claims by the U.S. and the UK that the humanitarian crisis on Mount Sinjar was all but over.

Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil claims some 70-80,000 refugees are still stranded on the mountain despite assertions from American and British leaders that they number only in their low thousands.

President Barack Obama yesterday said the ten-day siege by the Islamic State had been 'broken' by missile strikes and humanitarian aid drops, allowing tens of thousands of Yazidis to escape.

Read more ....

Update #1: Despite U.S. Claims, Yazidis Say Crisis Is Not Over -- New York Times
Update #2: Inside the Islamic State's Siege of Mount Sinjar -- Newsweek

My Comment: So who is right .... President Obama and the Pentagon who saying that 'we broke the ISIL seige of Mt. Sinjar' in Iraq .... or the people who are actually there. My gut is telling me that the people who are on the ground and who are facing these hardships directly are probably far more aware of what is happening than someone who is a few thousand miles away.

Iraq Civil War News Updates -- August 15, 2014

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Steps Down -- Wall Street Journal

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relinquished power on Thursday, ending eight years of tumultuous rule and opening a new political chapter that U.S. officials hope will move Iraq toward a more united front against marauding jihadists.

The surprise move defuses a potential crisis after Mr. Maliki had disputed in court the naming of another politician to the premiership and ominously deployed extra security forces across Baghdad.

Mr. Maliki’s departure fulfills an Obama administration goal of a peaceful and democratic political transition, the first in Iraq’s modern history, and opens the way for more U.S. military aid to Iraq.

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Iraq Civil War News Updates -- August 15, 2014

Iraq Leader-in-Waiting Calls for Unity Against Insurgents -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iraq's new PM urges country to unite -- Al Jazeera
Iraq's new premier al-Abadi reaches out to alienated Sunnis -- Deutsche Welle
Iraq's new prime minister-designate vows to fight corruption, terrorism -- FOX News
Who's Haider al-Abadi, the man who will lead Iraq? -- CNN

Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki accepts loss in political struggle, backs Haidar al-Abadi as new PM -- The Australian/AFP
Iraq's Maliki finally steps aside, paving way for new government -- Reuters
Nuri al-Maliki ends bid to continue as Iraq's prime minister -- CNN
Iraqi prime minister finally steps down to 'safeguard his country' after tense stand-off that threatened violent power struggle in Baghdad -- Daily Mail

Exclusive: Sunni leaders open to joining Iraq government if conditions met -- Reuters
Iraqi Sunnis open to backing new PM -- Al Jazeera
Iraq's top Shiite cleric backs new prime minister and urges unity -- Washington Post
Senior UN officials commend decision of Iraq’s al-Maliki to back his successor -- UN News Centre
Obama backs new Iraqi PM as Maliki stands aside to ‘safeguard’ Iraq -- Euronews

US to Arm Kurdish Peshmerga Amid ISIS Offensive -- RIA Novosti
UK 'prepared' to supply arms to Kurdish forces -- RT
Britain ready to supply Kurds with arms -- Reuters
Britain in emergency talks with EU foreign ministers to ramp up arms shipments to the Kurds to fight 'terrible threat' of ISIS in Iraq -- Daily Mail

Iraq crisis: Arming Kurds on EU agenda in Brussels -- BBC

Iraqi army, militants clash west of Baghdad -- AP
Iraq's Islamic fighters profit from oil sales: U.S. officials -- Reuters
More US military support unlikely to break militant hold on Iraq -- John Vandiver and Nancy Montgomery, Stars and Stripes

Crisis In Iraq -- News Updates August 14, 2014

The distribution of tents and non-food aid continues as the population of Newroz camp grows as more and more Yazidis arrive from Mount Sinjar in Iraq. Photo: UNHCR

UN Declares Iraq ‘Level 3 Emergency’ To Trigger More Resources, Speed Up Aid Delivery -- UN News Centre

The United Nations has designated its highest level emergency for the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, citing the scale and complexity of the situation, which is impacting tens of thousands of people that have been forcefully displaced by the armed group, Islamic State (IS).

The “Level 3 Emergency” designation will “facilitate mobilization of additional resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more effective response to the humanitarian needs of populations affected by forced displacements,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov.

Read more ....

Crisis In Iraq -- News Updates August 14, 2014

UN declares Iraq emergency amid clashes -- Al Jazeera
Iraq: UN sounds alarm on humanitarian crisis -- BBC
UN declares highest-level humanitarian emergency in Iraq as clashes erupt near Baghdad -- FOX News
Iraq humanitarian crisis has reached highest level, UN aid officials warn -- The Guardian
U.N. grades Iraq's humanitarian crisis as most severe -- UPI
UN declares highest level of emergency in Iraq over ISIS advance -- RT

Obama says militant siege broken – but Iraq mission not over yet -- FOX News
Obama: US humanitarian teams to be out of Iraq within days -- Stars and Stripes
Obama says siege at Iraq's Mount Sinjar broken -- Reuters
Iraq crisis: Obama says US 'broke Mt Sinjar siege' -- BBC
Obama to end humanitarian airdrops in Iraq but air strikes will continue -- The Guardian
Iraq crisis: US and Britain call off rescue of Yazidis on Mount Sinjar -- The Guardian
Iraq crisis: Where have the Yazidi refugees gone? -- BBC

Islamic State militants mass near town north of Baghdad -- Reuters
Iraq fighting heats up; 4 kids among dead -- USA Today
Kurdish government: US should 'expand airstrikes' in Iraq -- BBC
Outgunned and untested for years, Kurdish peshmerga struggle -- Reuters
Meet the women fighters of the Peshmerga who are fighting against the deadly Islamic State -- Express.co.uk

Exclusive: Governor of Iraq's Sunni heartland secures U.S. support against militants -- Reuters
Governor of Iraq’s Anbar province says U.S. to help against ISIS -- Al Arabiya

Britain deploys SAS to Iraq, France sending weapons to Kurds -- CSM/AP/Reuters
U.S. seeking European arms, ammunition for Kurds: officials -- Reuters
Dutch will consider providing arms to assist Iraq: government -- Reuters
Britain ready to supply weapons directly to Kurdish forces in Iraq -- The Guardian

A Look At The Desperate Plight Of The Yazidis In Iraq

Arab Neighbors Joined ISIS Slaughter, Escaped Yazidi Says -- CNN

Faysh Khabur, Iraq (CNN) -- In an exodus of almost biblical proportions, thousands trudge across a river to escape killers belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Entire families carry nothing but the clothes on their backs. Some are barefoot.

Jamal Jamir, a 23-year-old university student from Sinjar, told CNN his family fled to the barren and windswept Mount Sinjar more than a week ago after ISIS captured their town. The group, which calls itself the Islamic State, has been on a rampage, killing members of various minorities, including Yazidis.

Jamir said after ISIS arrived in his town, Arab neighbors of his turned on the minorities and helped ISIS kill. "They join them, and actually they kill us."

Read more ....

More News On The Desperate Plight Of The Yazidis In Iraq

Iraq crisis: the last stand of the Yazidis against Islamic State -- The Telegraph
Iraq crisis: Yazidis refugees trapped on Mount Sinjar are facing imminent 'genocide' from IS militants, UN warns -- The Independent
Yazidis tormented by fears for women and girls kidnapped by Isis jihadis -- The Guardian
Iraq's Yazidis search for missing loved ones after chaotic escape from militants -- US News and World Report
Yazidi Refugees Recount Desperate Struggle To Flee Islamist Militants In Iraq -- Huffington Post
Startling Photos Show Yazidis Under Siege By ISIS Fleeing Into Syria By The Thousands -- Business Insider
U.S. Weighs Iraq Rescue Mission to Save Yazidis -- WSJ

My Comment: CNN photojournalist Mark Phillips' report is a must see.

Update: US ground troops land on Iraq's Mt Sinjar to evacuate trapped Yazidis -- The Guardian

Crisis In Iraq -- News Updates August 13, 2014

Iraq PM 'Will Not Quit' Without Court Ruling -- Al Jazeera

Nouri al-Maliki says only court decision can force him out as US sends more military personnel to violence-hit nation.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that it will take a federal court ruling for him to leave power, defying the president's decision to task a rival with forming the next government.

In his weekly televised address, Maliki on Wednesday said the appointment of Haider al-Abadi to replace him as prime minister was a "violation" of the constitution and "had no value".

"I confirm that the government will continue and there will not be a replacement for it without a decision from the federal court," Maliki said.

Read more ....

Iraq Crisis -- News Updates August 13, 2014

Maliki’s Bid to Keep Power in Iraq Seems to Collapse -- NYT
Iraq crisis: Incumbent PM Maliki left out as country moves on -- BBC
Iran endorses Haider al-Abadi as Iraq’s new prime minister, spurning Nouri al-Maliki -- Washington Post
Iraq's PM-designate faces challenges ahead -- AP
US likely to arm Iraq's new government with weapons to fight Isis -- The Guardian
U.S. military cautiously ups role in Iraq -- CBS
US send more military help to Iraq as crisis deepens -- The Telegraph
John Kerry Says U.S. Doesn't Plan to Send More Troops to Iraq -- WSJ
US sends 130 additional military advisors to Iraq’s Kurdistan -- RT
130 more U.S. military advisers arrive in northern Iraq -- USA Today
More U.S. advisers, French arms pour into Iraq -- USA Today
France Plans Arms Shipments to Kurdish Forces in Iraq -- NYT
France to send arms to besieged Yazidi community in Iraq -- The Guardian
France to Send Weapons to Kurd Forces in Iraq -- VOA
Iraq crisis: UK 'will play role' in rescue mission, says PM -- BBC
Britain sends Chinook helicopters to Iraq as ministers plan rescue mission for 'tens of thousands' of trapped Yazidi refugees -- Daily Mail
A cruel night on the mountain among Iraq’s exhausted, starving and dying refugees -- National Post/The Telegraph
Iraq's Yazidis Flee ISIS Militants -- NBC
Thousands of Yazidis 'still trapped' on Iraq mountain -- BBC
Is this Iraq's last chance to put itself right? -- Nahlah Ayed, CBC News

Crisis In Iraq -- News Updates August 12, 2014

Maliki Stands Defiant As Iraq Crisis Deepens -- Al Jazeera

Incumbent PM refuses to step down saying nomination of Haider al-Ibadi is violation of Iraq's constitution.

Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's incumbent prime minister, has told army officers that they should not intervene in the country's political crisis.

The armed forces and security services must limit their role to defending the country, Maliki told a meeting of senior army, police and security officers on Tuesday.

His comments came a day after Iraqi President Fouad Massoum selected Haider al-Ibadi, the deputy speaker of parliament, to replace Maliki as prime minister.

The president gave Ibadi 30 days to present a new government to lawmakers for approval.

Ibadi's nomination quickly received support from the Iraqi Kurdistan leader Masoud Barzani, Iran and the United States as well as Saudi Arabia, prompting Maliki to describe the nomination as a 'violation of the constitution'.

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Crisis In Iraq -- News Updates August 12, 2014

US: No plans to expand Iraq strikes -- Space War/AFP
U.S. said to dispatch 100 missions a day over Iraq -- Pilot Online/Bloomberg
U.S. signals more cash, military aid for new Iraqi government -- Washington Times
UK deploys Tornado jets for surveillance mission in N. Iraq -- RT
UK politicians 'terrified' of military intervention in Iraq -ex-general -- Reuters
Germany open to sending military aid to Iraqi government -- Reuters
Italy Considering Military Support in Iraq -- WSJ
France rules out direct military intervention in Iraq -- Middle East Monitor
Hagel: Air Strikes In Iraq Effective -- Defense News/AFP
Pentagon: US airstrikes won’t weaken ISIS -- The Hill
CENTCOM videos show airstrikes on Islamic State artillery, convoy -- Threat Matrix
Iraq violence erupts as car bombs rip through Baghdad and military helicopter crashes in north -- AP
Power struggle on Baghdad streets as Maliki replaced but refuses to go -- The Reuters
Maliki stands defiant as Iraq crisis deepens -- Al Jazeera
U.S. ready to help new Iraq leader, Iran welcomes choice -- Reuters
Senior Iran official urges Iraqi factions to unite behind new PM -- Reuters
Saudi Arabia welcomes nomination of new Iraq PM as 'good news' -- AFP
Mideast powers endorse new Iraqi prime minister-designate -- Jerusalem Post
A former exile, al-Abadi faces task of uniting Iraqi politicians as Maliki cries of foul -- FOX News
Thousands of Yazidis 'still trapped' on Iraq mountain -- BBC
Iraqi military helicopter crashes delivering aid -- AP
Iraq Christians fleeing jihadists long for exile -- AFP
US Must Abandon Goal of Unified Iraq - Kurdish Advocate -- RIA Novosti
John Kerry insists any US moves in Iraq will not involve combat troops -- The Guardian
US Marines ‘Highly Likely’ on the Ground in Iraq - Former US Diplomat -- RIA Novosti