Levant crisis - III

Bhurishravas · Post by **Bhurishravas** » 27 Mar 2017 18:31

Short of a demographic change, it is difficult to see ISIS getting `defeated`. The sunni masses will never submit to shia rule. Not after so much bloodshed. The ISIS by using suicide bombings in numbers is killing itself though rather than living to fight another day. That could also be because of fear of retribution for its own massacres of shias early in the conflict.
Nevertheless, too much blood has been spilt and impossible to see shias and sunnis living together in iraq now. Iraq would end up like Afghanistan with too many conflicts and too many groups fighting each other all the time.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Mar 2017 19:26

The pmu could be wild card. If the succeed in recruiting more anbari sunnis on govt payscale might just take a lot fence sitters out of the free radical pool and with tight oversight

Car bombs will likely go off for years

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Mar 2017 22:14

Article on evolving russian ypg relations

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/origina ... afrin.html

Turns out sultan was supposed to hand over al bab but has gone feral

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Mar 2017 22:18

Seems many groups hide under same bucket names

Jayah al islam is fighting saa in ghouta and hama

But seems to be frenemy with saa in southern area near sweida to push the isis out

Bhurishravas · Post by **Bhurishravas** » 27 Mar 2017 22:29

If I am not wrong, Turkey has built a base on Al-Akil hill overseeing Al Bab. Has also deployed tanks there. Ankara claims it to be a temporary base. Nothing that air attacks couldnt destroy though.
The turks themselves had a hard time capturing the hill from ISIS and lost many men to fire from the hill.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 27 Mar 2017 23:15

Nevertheless, too much blood has been spilt and impossible to see shias and sunnis living together in iraq now. Iraq would end up like Afghanistan with too many conflicts and too many groups fighting each other all the time.

Isn't that the normal state of affairs in those parts even since before 780CE? The Prophet Mo is credited with forging a temporary peace and unity which ended immediately with the shia-sunni feud as a superset of a gazillion micro-feuds. It's just that the curved sword is now supplemented with the ied-mubaraks, atgms, ak-47s, m-15s, M-1s and the vbied-mubaraks and the soosai-vests, hain?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Mar 2017 09:51

Bhurishravas wrote:If I am not wrong, Turkey has built a base on Al-Akil hill overseeing Al Bab. Has also deployed tanks there. Ankara claims it to be a temporary base. Nothing that air attacks couldnt destroy though.
The turks themselves had a hard time capturing the hill from ISIS and lost many men to fire from the hill.

the hill used to have buildings which got flattened by russo-turk air attacks ... now a grand new sultanate base is coming up there - turkiye hopes to cement its permanent occupation of north syria and sponsorship of ES jihadis via such means. Assad has already complained to the UN many times that turkish occupation is illegal.

russia needs to decide whose side it would like to play on - turkiye or (assad+kurds) on this matter. it cannot indefinitely run with both parties on this. its a matter of when not if the SDF is done with raqqa and starts thinking of the north syria question. except the turkomans both local and resettled, neither the arabs or kurds really want the turks bossing over the place.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Mar 2017 10:03

Ulan, the zenith of the roman empire is claimed to be the 1st century AD when emperors like Trazan held away over the levant and north africa as well. then the roman empire declined and split into two, with the eastern half constantinople emerging as the powerful part. around 300ad their most powerful ruler constantine accepted christianity as the state religion and deprecated the old roman-greek religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great

the byzantine lineage continued...Islam was invented...in between several wars occured with the powerful persian empire

around 620ADish wars started with the arabs muslims, yarmouk was a crushing defeat .... byzantine conceded the syria-jordan region and fell back to its core heartland ..despite the emperor Heraclius being a battle hardened veteran, well trained troops ... the arabs were in raider mode and piecemeal cut the logistics of his scattered garrisons in the desert , and use superior tactics and cavalry to rout the greco-romans soundly.... they use captured weapons and resources to bootstrap themselves .... and superior ability to live and fight in the desert....there leader was a man who rates up there with rommel, guderian and rokosovsky...ibn khalid bin waleed.

but incredibly the byzantine empire despite losing levant and egypt to islamic hordes, lasted 600 more years until the ottoman turks managed to breach the hitherto impregnable walls of constantinople and start the ottoman empire , egypt and north africa was a grevious loss as supplies of wheat and other food used to come from there by ship since old roman times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

May AD 1453 the day the walls fell and emperor constantine the ninth led his soldiers in a final charge to the death.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constanti ... _and_death

in total the byzantine empire lasted nearly a 1000 years (!!) and provided a continuity and preservation of the greco-roman-christian civilizational ethos when italy and western europe was in the "dark ages" (not much is spoken of what went on there in this long period)

its replacement the ottoman empire lasted a incredible 700 years from AD 1300 to 1922 (!!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

and one can say after brief hiatus of few decades, Sultan Erdogan is on the march with his horde and the empire never died.

compared to that the tenure of any other great dynasty anywhere else pales in comparison. the social and admin structures in that region must be amenable to long stability or the rulers are especially ruthless in wiping off threats.

maurya and gupta empires were barely 200 yrs each, though in maurya case it was a continium to the equally strong Sunga empire...

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 28 Mar 2017 11:44

Is would-be Sultan Erdogan,Caliph Islamite readying himself to smite Europe? Is he the Muslim anti-Christ that some have prophesied about who would devastate the Christians and sack Rome ending the epoch of the RC church and the Popes? Well,he's certainly auditioning well for the job! He has the wherewithal to send millions of "refugees" his army of the faithful into Europe overwhelming their borders and unless they're stopped with gunfire,Europe is doomed. The Europeans are son sh*t-scared of even banning headscarfs that one cannot see them doing anything against a swarm of invading refugees. Erdogan knows this well and is leveraging this threat to the trembling Zero-peons, His ranting and raving about Euro-Nazis is going down very well with his people ,opponents of his brutal regime languishing in Turkish jails.We all know what that entails -you only have to watch "Midnight Express".

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 28 Mar 2017 12:39

The Western "Hypocracies",silent as usual when they butcher civilians in indiscriminate air strikes.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... amic-state

The west condemned Russia’s bombs – now coalition attacks are killing civilians in Mosul
The leaders who denounced Putin for deadly airstrikes in Syria are not speaking out over the siege of the Iraqi city
Civilian rescue teams work on debris from a destroyed house in Mosul.
Hundreds of civilians have died in Mosul, after US airstrikes. Photograph: Felipe Dana/AP

Simon Tisdall
Saturday 25 March 2017
America and the UK condemned Russian airstrikes that killed or injured hundreds of civilians during last autumn’s siege of Aleppo, accusing Vladimir Putin of war crimes. The question now is whether the US, backed by British air power, is committing similar atrocities against civilians in Mosul.

Addressing the UN security council in September, Matthew Rycroft, Britain’s ambassador, said Russia had “unleashed a new hell” on Aleppo. “Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes,” he said. The US accused Putin of “barbarism”.

Theresa May climbed aboard this righteous bandwagon in December, joining Barack Obama and European leaders in lambasting Russia for causing a humanitarian disaster that “is taking place before our very eyes”.

Fast-forward to Mosul in northern Iraq last week, where misdirected US airstrikes caused a massive explosion that reportedly killed at least 150 civilians sheltering in a basement. The Americans say they were targeting Islamic State fighters. The Russians said much the same about Aleppo – that they were attacking jihadi terrorists. Many people, not least the relatives of the Mosul dead, will struggle to see the difference.

A rescue team recovers a body in Mosul after an airstrike.
At least 150 civilians are believed to have died in Mosul. Photograph: Cengiz Yar
American spokesmen do not deny the US launched airstrikes in the Jadida neighbourhood of Mosul. As to who was responsible for the civilian casualties, “at the moment the answer is we don’t know”, Colonel John Thomas said.

But Iraqi commanders said the deaths followed an Iraqi army request for US air support to clear Isis snipers atop three buildings. They said they did not realise civilians were sheltering beneath, and it may have been a deliberate Isis trap.

Trap or not, the high death toll places the Mosul carnage, if confirmed, among the worst such incidents since the US invasion in 2003. It also serves to highlight a new pattern of behaviour by US forces since Donald Trump took office in January. Since then, the monthly total of recorded civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has more than doubled, according to independent monitors.

US spokesmen deny rules of engagement have changed. But the Mosul strike, and two similar, recent attacks in Syria, suggest Trump has fulfilled his campaign promise to let field commanders off the leash. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 49 people were killed on 16 March by a US strike on a complex that included the Omar ibn al-Khattab mosque.

Last Tuesday at least 30 Syrian civilians died in another American airstrike, on Mansoura, in Raqqa province. The American planes hit a school. The raid was one of 19 coalition missions that day, ordered in preparation for the expected assault on the Isis headquarters in Raqqa city itself.

The president with his secretary of defence, Jim ‘Mad Dog’ Mattiss. Photograph: Erik S. Lesser/EPA
The pace and scale of fighting in Iraq and Syria is picking up as the US-led coalition scents final victory over Isis. Trump recently approved an expanded deployment of US ground forces in Syria. But human rights groups say increased combat intensity does not excuse or justify fatal carelessness with civilian lives. Such “own goals” hand propaganda victories to Isis and may also motivate its followers to commit terrorist acts.

Trump has frequently vowed to exterminate Isis by all means. It is one of his few clearly stated foreign policy aims. The White House accused Obama of micromanaging operations. Trump, in contrast, appears to have delegated most control to Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis, the former general appointed Pentagon chief.

The first results of Trump’s laissez-faire approach were seen in January when he authorised a special forces raid in Yemen over dinner. The attack on al-Qaida went disastrously wrong, causing dozens of civilian deaths and one US military fatality.

Now Iraq and Syria are bearing the brunt of Trump’s brash bellicosity. Putin will certainly be watching. It may not be long before the US president faces war crimes allegations, too. And what will May say then?

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 28 Mar 2017 12:42

And the West still rant and rave against Sri Lanka for exterminating the fascist LTTE!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 52401.html

Civilians in western Mosul are being shot at by Isis and Iraqi forces alike
In the first of a series of dispatches, Patrick Cockburn enters war-torn Mosul and gets a rare insight into what life is like in the Isis-held western part of the city

Xcpt:

"The problem is that even at night things are not that easy," he said. "The Iraqi army, the federal police and counter-terror forces shoot anyone coming from the western side as there is curfew at night and they believe anyone coming from the western side must be a Daesh fighter.” As a result, civilians are being killed by both Iraqi army mortars and Isis snipers when they try to escape. On several occasion in the past, the Iraqi security forces have announced that they have killed Isis infiltrators seeking to cross the Tigris from the west and these may have been civilians trying to escape.

America has admitted killing 200 civilians in air strike on Iraq
Speaking about civilian casualties inside his neighbourhood, Jasim says that “dozens of civilians are killed every day, including children. Yesterday, two children were killed by a mortar shell of the Iraqi Army coming from the eastern part.” He says that Iraqi government media claims that they have "smart artillery" is quite untrue. This is confirmed privately by senior Iraqi officers, one saying that many of the civilian casualties are not being caused by air strikes, but by “Tuz” Russian-made rockets mounted on the back of vehicles, which have no guidance systems.

PS:"Iraqi forces".No mention of the coalition's special forces and "conrtactors" part of the warmongering bandwagon.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 28 Mar 2017 14:42

Austin wrote:"Jaish al-Izza has released video of Tow hitting T-90 but online bloggers say this is T-62M http://vpk-news.ru/news/35845

You can see the crew running after the hit on the tank. No secondary explosion after hit is seen.

I was analysing why even a hit by ATGM Tow which is 152 mm class weapon on the Turret does not cause any secondary explosion or blow up of turret which is common in T series to see but even Abrams experience the same thing in Yemin.

The key lies in ERA on top of turret , The ERA is absorbing most of the Tandem Warhead effect of Tow like missile causing a explosion like immediately after impact but no secondary explosion or turret blow up , The crew effectively walks/runs alive from the tank some minutes after hit

T62M with ERA

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Mar 2017 15:04

this jaish al izza seems to have major inventory and training by 3letter agency to run the TOW thing. even in aleppo I believe though small, they had a lot of prestige and clout at being well supported and trained whether directly in jordan or via proxies like turkiye....

nam · Post by **nam** » 28 Mar 2017 15:21

Singha wrote:maurya and gupta empires were barely 200 yrs each, though in maurya case it was a continium to the equally strong Sunga empire...

OT, read some stuff about Alexander & Porus war. The reason Alexander the Great "went back" from India, apparently he chickened out at the sight of combined might of Indian rulers after the fight with Porus. He had to face off close to 750K troops with his 20k men. This for a man, who destroyed the Persian empire.

The Mauryan Empire also maintained an army of 600k! They had concepts like infantry guarding horsemen and these units guarding elephants, just like modern day infanty+tanks combo.

The Middle east and Europeans should thank their stars, that Indian Empires were not obsessed about invading their lands.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Mar 2017 17:25

^^ actually Alaksindr only faced a small army (Porus) and suffered so much including having his favourite horse bucephalus killed , his men mutinied and rejected crossing more rivers deeper into punjab and the ganga-yamuna doab where the main forces of magadha would stage if needed.
then he turned south to escape with tail between legs since his way back was beset with hostile hill tribes...he wanted a easier escape route...but the indus turned out to be full of hostile towns all the way to todays Krachi....fierce battles needed to be fought at towns like multan to push through....and then while he went by sea, a lot of his land element perished in the makran desert after being abandoned by baluchi guides lol .

he did defeat the declining persian empire 3 times under the none too competent dariusIII. this is projected in isolation as a significant and one-time epochal victory of the "west" over the "barbarian east" ignoring the fact that greek-persian wars had been see sawing for 100s of years before he was born. typical of the west to put "the great" after their leaders - great britain, constantine the great, akbar the great (!), alaksindr ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Persian_Wars

nam · Post by **nam** » 28 Mar 2017 17:37

Singha wrote:^^ actually Alaksindr only faced a small army (Porus) and suffered so much including having his favourite horse bucephalus killed , his men mutinied and rejected crossing more rivers deeper into punjab and the ganga-yamuna doab where the main forces of magadha would stage if needed.

Yes, Porus had around 30k men. Apparently after the fight with Porus, other kings united and mobilised 750K against him!

The "Great" caught the first ride home.

Our numbers is an asset, to prevent us from being another Syria.

krishGo · Post by **krishGo** » 28 Mar 2017 18:46

nam wrote:
Singha wrote:^^ actually Alaksindr only faced a small army (Porus) and suffered so much including having his favourite horse bucephalus killed , his men mutinied and rejected crossing more rivers deeper into punjab and the ganga-yamuna doab where the main forces of magadha would stage if needed.
Yes, Porus had around 30k men. Apparently after the fight with Porus, other kings united and mobilised 750K against him!

The "Great" caught the first ride home.

Our numbers is an asset, to prevent us from being another Syria.

Even the Greek writings from the time mention the fact that the Nandas and other empires were waiting for Alexander with large armies (and the likes of Chaanakya possibly mobilizing more kingdoms to stand up against the invasion). There is a lot of misinformation that it was Alexanders invasion that led to the rise of Chandragupta and what not. Bullcrap! Alexanders success was a combination of incidental factors like a weakened Persian empire, lack of a great Indian power at the time (even without which he was unable to proceed beyond the Indus). Just look at how Alexanders successor, Seleucus, with greater resources available to him that his predecessor fared against Chandragupta.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Mar 2017 20:59

Al masdar

BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:15 P.M.) – A commander of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) revealed in a newspaper interview that his militia aims to fight in Idlib province once Raqqa is captured from ISIS.

YPG General Commander Sipan said that the focus after defeating ISIS would be on the al-Nusra Front and other jihadi groups operating out of militant-held Idlib.

With the phone interview given to Al-Hayat newspaper, he also emphasized how Tabqa Dam operation was held off with a four hour ceasefire so engineers an work on repairing it, as Al-Masdar News explained yesterday.

Advertisement

The commander of the YPG stressed that his militia can cooperate with Russia to work towards “the Kurdish issue in Syria.” The just solution should be on the basis of the federal system in Syria, and Raqqa should be a part of this system with the new local Council.”

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 12:37

Reconquest of east aleppo is done

https://d.top4top.net/p_452iohyc1.jpg?_ ... 2727203350

Only maskanah plain is left before entering raqqa border

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 13:24

Res Publica Retweeted
Rojava‏ @AzadiRojava Mar 27
More
Pls read abt horrors Taqba women, now liberated by SDF lived through under daesh; abduction, genital mutilation, torture on komnews

kit · Post by **kit** » 29 Mar 2017 14:08

nam wrote:
Singha wrote:maurya and gupta empires were barely 200 yrs each, though in maurya case it was a continium to the equally strong Sunga empire...
OT, read some stuff about Alexander & Porus war. The reason Alexander the Great "went back" from India, apparently he chickened out at the sight of combined might of Indian rulers after the fight with Porus. He had to face off close to 750K troops with his 20k men. This for a man, who destroyed the Persian empire.

The Mauryan Empire also maintained an army of 600k! They had concepts like infantry guarding horsemen and these units guarding elephants, just like modern day infanty+tanks combo.

The Middle east and Europeans should thank their stars, that Indian Empires were not obsessed about invading their lands.

The India of that time was incredibly wealthy accounting for almost 30 to 40 percent of the world's GDP. Very little incentive in conquering remote impoverished places !!

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 29 Mar 2017 17:46

Deal reached between rebel groups & Sy govt to buss out rebels from 4 besieged towns in North West http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39426162

even though thinned out IS maintains presence in deserts and between towns. Sy looks a moth eaten country ruled by several mercenaries.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 17:56

that red ISIS part in extreme SW corner east of damascus has turned purple (rebel forces) this week - Sweida front. ISIS has withdrawn from that area and reported to be moving back to palmyra and sukhanah to better defend raqqa. SAA seems ok with these rebels vs having ISIS there. few of these rebel warlords like "ahmed abdo forces" might be willing to cut deals with the govt, few are more hardline. SAA will hope for stability on this front to free up more resources.

the red area south and north of palmyra needs to be cleaned up by SAA before they can think of advancing past palmyra.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 18:03

how the ISIS is able to embed themselves so sustainably in the deserts and hills north and south of palmyra beats me. must be true scorpions of the soil and perhaps some specialized bedouin units who are from desert stock.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@34.87480 ... a=!3m1!1e3

1000s of zombies, unable to reach surrounded raqqa are going to be making a beeline for deir azzor. recon assets need to stay sharp to detect and pound them from their air as much as possible. turn the areas around the town into a killing zone.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 18:34

Within Syria‏ @WithinSyriaBlog Mar 27

ISIS have sent many of it's elite fighters around Dir Ez Zor airport to #Raqqah ,replace them with groups of released convicts

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 18:35

some of these elites tried a attack on SDF on ash shahdadi 40k north of deir azzor.
25 kia and 8 vbieds broken.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 18:43

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 18:45

pmu search party finds a rat hiding under a rock in west mosul. gives him water

https://twitter.com/IraqiSecurity/statu ... 9802959873

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Mar 2017 21:36

Su30 and su25 are using rocket pods over hama

Here a rocket run and steep climb

https://mobile.twitter.com/miladvisor/s ... 56/video/1

Su35 seems to be prowling around too ....

Bhurishravas · Post by **Bhurishravas** » 30 Mar 2017 03:43

https://www.rt.com/news/382732-turkey-e ... yria-ends/

Turkey says 'Euphrates Shield' operation in Syria 'successfully completed'

The official announcement of the conclusion of the Euphrates Shield operation came a day before the US Secretary of State visits Turkey.

Bhurishravas · Post by **Bhurishravas** » 30 Mar 2017 03:45

https://www.ft.com/content/daddff08-14b ... e417ee6c76

A recent tripartite meeting between Russian, American and Turkish military officials ended acrimoniously over disagreements between Turkey and Russia, according to two people who attended.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 05:49

Turkey double crossed russia about handing over al bab and leaving efrin alone.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 06:04

AMN Al Masdar News المصدر نيوز
Home Iraq
IraqSyria
Syrian, Iraqi intelligence work together to destroy ISIL’s largest base in Deir Ezzor
By Leith Fadel - 30/03/20171

BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:00 A.M.) – The Syrian and Iraqi military intelligence agencies worked together this week to destroy the Islamic State’s (ISIL) largest base inside the Deir Ezzor Governorate, Iraqi Military Media reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Iraqi military intelligence revealed to their Syrian counterpart, this week, a large Islamic State base located inside the border-city of Albukamal.

Using information from their Iraqi allies, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) destroyed the Islamic State’s massive base in Albukamal, while also killing a large number of terrorist combatants.

In addition to destroying this base, the Syrian Air Force also destroyed 39 other Islamic State sites inside the Deir Governorate, thanks in large part to the Iraqi military intelligence.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 07:51

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 07:55

Tabqa is cut off from Raqqa now
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8E2JJOVUAAy7eg.jpg

ISIS responded by hitting the tabqa dam with mortars...leading to evacuation of engineers

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 07:57

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 07:59

map released by pakiban. the red and black are the owned or contested areas. green is the govt. 3/4 of the country is owned or contested by the talibs

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Mar 2017 09:55

Comment below a al masdar article

As I already pointed many times, serious air support is needed and should be permanently available on very short notice on all fronts, actually, it should be permanently loitering over all fronts.
It’s not without reason that many people with understanding of aerial strategies want propeller aircraft back for boots air support

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 30 Mar 2017 19:07

Germans dumping the Sultan's air base what?

https://www.rt.com/news/382765-german-b ... ernatives/

German government explores 8 alternatives to its Turkish airbase – report
Published time: 30 Mar, 2017 02:27

German government explores 8 alternatives to its Turkish airbase – report

German authorities have examined eight potential locations for the relocation of its air base currently situated in Turkey’s Incirlik military facility, Germany’s government said in response to a parliamentary inquiry, as reported by Die Welt daily.
“The review of alternative sites to the Turkish aircraft base Incirlik found that, from a military perspective, locations in Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus were available,” the government said in its official response to the MP’s, which was seen by Die Welt.

erman MPs call for troop withdrawal from Turkish airbase amid rally row
The German daily reports that Kuwait and Jordan each host three potential sites, where the new German base could be built, while another two possible locations were identified on Cyprus — the British air base in Akrotiri and in the town of Pahpos.

The government paper also says that all locations have been already visited by German specialists “within the framework of a military exploration for the purpose of reviewing their fundamental suitability.”

At the same time, it added that “no conversations concerning possible stationing” had been held.

The report about the German government's review of potential sites for the base relocation came in response to a parliamentary inquiry launched by two MP’s from the Left Party and four lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The report was, however, criticized by the Left Party’s foreign affairs spokesman, Jan van Aken, who initiated the inquiry. “The government obviously has no interest in relocating the German armed forces from Incirlik if they have not even had a conversation with the other countries where stationing is possible,” he told Die Welt, adding that the government “compiled a list of potential alternatives only to calm down the MP’s,” but is in fact reluctant to take any real steps in that direction.

In Mid-March, a group of German MP’s already called for the withdrawal of troops deployed at Incirlik Air Base against the backdrop of a diplomatic row between Germany and Turkey over the forthcoming Turkish referendum on constitutional amendments.

Ankara is sponsoring a series of rallies for Turkish citizens living in Europe, campaigning for their votes ahead of the referendum seeking to enhance the power of the Turkish presidency. Germany has undermined this effort along with some other European countries by canceling the events and banning Turkish officials from appearing at campaign rallies.

Read more
U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles taxi the runway after landing at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey © US AIR FORCE Turkey questions US coalition presence at Incirlik Air Base amid ‘confidence crisis’

In March, Florian Hahn, the CSU spokesman for security and foreign policy, said German soldiers and officers may become pawns in Turkey's power games. Hahn said Ankara already played the Incirlik card in June last year, when it prevented German MP’s from visiting the base amid a row over Berlin’s formal recognition of the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman Empire rule as genocide.

The German legislators then managed to visit the base on October 5, 2016. However, none of them have been allowed on the base since that time, Die Welt reports. Requests filed by six parliamentarians are still being processed by Turkish authorities who “have not yet sent any denial letters,” the paper reports, citing the governmental report.

Germany also has another military base in Turkey in Konya, which is located some 350 kilometers west of Incirlik. Van Aken’s request to visit this base was rejected by Turkish authorities, according to Die Welt.

The Incirlik Air Base is located in southern Turkey close to Syria and is used by several NATO countries, including the US, UK, and Germany, which has stationed a force of some 240 servicemen. German Tornado planes conduct reconnaissance flights from the base as part of Berlin’s contribution to the US-led coalition fighting terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 30 Mar 2017 19:27

Why is Dabiq (a small town with population of 3000 North of Aleppo) so important to IS

Dabiq, which lies about 10km from the border with Turkey, features in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their "Roman" enemies.
The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have said that "the last hour will not come" until Muslims vanquished the Romans at "Dabiq or al-Amaq" - both in the Syria-Turkey border region - on their way to conquer Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).

Dabiq has been at the centre of propaganda videos:

Mohammed Emwazi - believed to have been the British militant who became known as "Jihadi John" after the killing of five Western hostages in 2014 - appeared in one IS video with Dabiq in the background and the severed head of American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, a former US Army Ranger, at his feet.

"Here we are, burying the first American Crusader in Dabiq, eagerly waiting for the remainder of your armies to arrive," he said.
IS has repeatedly dared the West to send ground troops to Syria. By filming the killing of Abdul-Rahman Kassig in Dabiq, the group appeared eager to be given an opportunity to fulfil the prophecy and bolster its legitimacy to a wider audience.
It appears that the militants were filmed on a hill on the northern edge of Dabiq, close to the location of an earlier IS propaganda video which featured three European jihadists all playing up the significance of the town.

BBC