Posted on 08/15/2014 11:55:58 PM PDT by GonzoII
Kurdistan
7 hours ago
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—US fighter jets launched a bombing campaign against positions of the Islamic State (IS) near Mosul dam and surrounding towns shortly after midnight on Friday, Rudaw reporter said.
The jets have bombed IS positions in four areas near the dam as well as in Rabia crossing, Mahmoudia, Telskouf, Zumar and Tilkef.
A Peshmerga eyewitness said this is the heaviest US bombing of militant positions since the start of airstrikes against the Islamist group last week.
Rudaw reporter Hevidar Ahmed said that a gas station used by IS militants to fuel their vehicles and a major junction leading to Mosul were targeted by the US fighter jets.
Several hummers were destroyed in the first round of the bombing campaign.
Ahmed said that IS militants have abandoned their posts under the heavy bombardment.
The bombing campaign encompasses an area of more than 32 kilomiters.
The bombing is continuing at the moment and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are expected to launch a ground assault to retake areas lost to the IS earlier this month including the Yezidi town of Shingal.
I wonder if the we had escape routes covered?
Hopefully some ISIS terrorists burned to death in all this.
I just hope they don’t have the dam wired.
The attacks on ISIS are going to escalate and become far more intense.
I see ISIS doing one of two things when they realize there finished in Iraq: retreat to the cities and conduct a final stand with urban fighting or head to Syria to continue there fight for the caliphate upon which they need to be bombarded until they're wiped out.
My guess is they’ll go back to Syria. Also, the Sunnis in Iraq stood by while ISIS went on a rampage, but by now ISIS has had time to anger them too. So in typical Arab fashion, once ISIS is retreating or vulnerable, the Sunnis will fall on them too to get their glory.
Good, kill them all. Prayers for our troops.
“The bombing is continuing at the moment and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are expected to launch a ground assault to retake areas lost to the IS earlier this month including the Yezidi town of Shingal.”
Keep these operations up and ISIS will be rolled up. The baboons have no air power, so their lines of communication leading out of the city of Mosul will be cut.
I think they’ll head back to Raqqah (in north-central Syria), which they’ve proclaimed as the capital city of their “Caliphate”. That’s not to say I can’t see some ISIS units doing a ‘last stand’, but I think the bulk of them will retreat back to Syria.
As far as Assad going after them, once they’ve outlived their usefulness to him, their turn will come. He’s basically using them as a cat’s-paw to destabilize other groups fighting against the Damascus regime.
I forgot to add that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the “Caliph” himself, has already left back to Raqqah - a couple of weeks ago, he was strutting around Mosul like a rooster, but now he’s high-tailed it back to Syria.
Yes, he’s a dangerous fanatic with delusions of grandeur - but I doubt he’s a stupid man; hence his departure back to safer territory.
Assad won’t hurt him. They’re in an alliance for now. It’s all going to be a fight to the last man standing. I posted here an article from NYT. After FSA is done, then Assad might fight ISIS.
The attacks are to allow the formal drawing of the Kurdistan borders. The attacks will cease when those borders are secure. ISIS will cease the attacks to preserve assets needed in Syria.
The presence of the US Air Force in Kurdistan is tacit recognition of the partitioning of what was Iraq
What you said.
Actually, it’s not. I’ve a bit more insight and your speculations don’t jive with what’s going on.
On twitter they said 30 terrorists were killed. I hope so.
I can see Assad turning on ISIS once the FSA is finished - at that point he really won’t need them anymore and they pose a potential long-term threat to his regime’s survival.
Here’s the article about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hotfooting it back to Syria, by the way.
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/08/article55335468
I can’t get my mind around this. Until this latest strike, ISIS was just stopping at the local gas station for refueling?
I've heard that the dam is built on a very unstable and soft foundation, and without constant monitoring and maintenance, might fall apart on its own.
Yes, the dam was built on gypsum formations, and there are 24 pumps contiually pumping grout into the fissures that constantly develop.
If those pumps are not maintained......
Thanks GonzoII.
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