Took a look around, the last chemical weapons attacks on the Kurds, whom the Marines are primarily supporting, was near by and used rockets to deliver the chemical agent.
BRKG A "detachment" of USMC on the Ground in Iraq to fight IS
Took a look around, the last chemical weapons attacks on the Kurds, whom the Marines are primarily supporting, was near by and used rockets to deliver the chemical agent.
Possible Impact
TB Fanatic
Conflict News @Conflicts 1h
UPDATE: The Hezbollah referred to in the article
is the Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah, not the Lebanese Hezbollah.
UPDATE: The Hezbollah referred to in the article
is the Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah, not the Lebanese Hezbollah.
mzkitty
I give up.
Are they the same guys as in post #40?
1h
Iranian-backed Shiite Iraqi militia demands withdrawal of US forces deployed in Iraq - Reuters
End of alert
Possible Impact
TB Fanatic
Are they the same guys as in post #40?[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Originally Posted by Possible Impact
Conflict News @Conflicts 1h
UPDATE: The Hezbollah referred to in the article
is the Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah, not the Lebanese Hezbollah.
[/FONT]
1h
Iranian-backed Shiite Iraqi militia demands withdrawal of US forces deployed in Iraq - Reuters
End of alert
Yep, the Iranian-backed Shiite Iraqi militia name is "[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Kata'ib Hezbollah[/FONT]"
Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata'ib_Hezbollah
In 2013 Kata'ib Hezbollah and other Iraqi Shia militias acknowledged
sending fighters to Syria to fight alongside forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad,
against the Sunni rebels seeking to overthrow him in the Syrian Civil War.[5]
Wathiq al-Batat, a former Kata'ib Hezbollah leader, announced
the creation of a new Shia milita, Mukhtar Army, on 4 February 2013,
saying its aim is to defend Shiites and help the government combat terrorism.[17]
In 2014 the group began taking a prominent role in the fight against ISIL in Iraq,
and it was reported that it had received close air support from the U.S. Air Force
during the Iranian-led intervention in Iraq.[4]
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/politics/second-attack-us-firebase-iraq/index.html
Second attack on U.S. firebase in Iraq
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 4:33 PM ET, Mon March 21, 2016
Washington (CNN) — For the second time in three days, the first U.S. military firebase in Iraq has come under attack from ISIS. The base, known as Firebase Bell, came under small arms fire from a group of about 10 ISIS fighters who also attacked a nearby U.S./Iraqi installation at Makhmur in northern Iraq.
No U.S. personnel were wounded, and at least two ISIS fighters were killed, according to Army Col. Steve Warren, the coalition spokesman. Warren said he didn't have an exact distance of how close the gunmen came to the U.S. security perimeter, saying only "a couple of hundred meters, I would assume."
The remaining attackers "ran away in fear," Warren said.
A U.S. Marine stationed at Firebase Bell was killed by an ISIS Katyusha rocket attack on Saturday. Eight U.S. troops were also wounded in the attack. Three were medivaced to Germany where one is described as having serious injuries a defense official told CNN.
The U.S. believes the firebase was deliberately targeted by ISIS fighters who were aware it was there, Warren said. He noted the helicopters bringing in troops and equipment were readily visible. But the defense official noted that there are several ways ISIS could have learned the Marines were there, "You can't hide 200 Marines," the official said.
The U.S. currently has between 4,500 and 5,000 troops in Iraq on a regular basis, about 1,000 over the stated limit. This includes the 200 Marines that are at the firebase along with 200 special operations forces whose presence is not publicly acknowledged the official said.
The coalition refused to publicly reveal the exact number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq, with Warren only telling reporters that it was within 3,870 troops. "There's been a decision made not to release that number," he said.
Warren added that Congress had been informed of the methodology the military used to calculate troop levels.
On Sunday, the coalition announced that in consultation with the government of Iraq, the U.S. "has assigned a detachment of U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the support of Iraqi Security Force and Coalition ground operations. The detachment from the 26th MEU will add to the Marines and Sailors currently in Iraq" supporting the effort against ISIS."
The U.S has similar artillery at two other large Iraqi bases, but Bell is the only known firebase. That terminology signifies this is a small remote location designed to use its artillery to support infantry troops at forward locations.
The Marines will be using their field artillery, including the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, in the coming weeks to help defend Iraqi troops as they move towards Mosul. For now, the artillery is to defend another nearby base where American troops are getting 5,000 Iraqi forces ready for the operation to retake Mosul.
CNN's Ryan Browne contributed to this report
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/politics/second-attack-us-firebase-iraq/index.html
Second attack on U.S. firebase in Iraq
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 4:33 PM ET, Mon March 21, 2016
Washington (CNN) — For the second time in three days, the first U.S. military firebase in Iraq has come under attack from ISIS. The base, known as Firebase Bell, came under small arms fire from a group of about 10 ISIS fighters who also attacked a nearby U.S./Iraqi installation at Makhmur in northern Iraq.
No U.S. personnel were wounded, and at least two ISIS fighters were killed, according to Army Col. Steve Warren, the coalition spokesman. Warren said he didn't have an exact distance of how close the gunmen came to the U.S. security perimeter, saying only "a couple of hundred meters, I would assume."
The remaining attackers "ran away in fear," Warren said.
A U.S. Marine stationed at Firebase Bell was killed by an ISIS Katyusha rocket attack on Saturday. Eight U.S. troops were also wounded in the attack. Three were medivaced to Germany where one is described as having serious injuries a defense official told CNN.
The U.S. believes the firebase was deliberately targeted by ISIS fighters who were aware it was there, Warren said. He noted the helicopters bringing in troops and equipment were readily visible. But the defense official noted that there are several ways ISIS could have learned the Marines were there, "You can't hide 200 Marines," the official said.
The U.S. currently has between 4,500 and 5,000 troops in Iraq on a regular basis, about 1,000 over the stated limit. This includes the 200 Marines that are at the firebase along with 200 special operations forces whose presence is not publicly acknowledged the official said.
The coalition refused to publicly reveal the exact number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq, with Warren only telling reporters that it was within 3,870 troops. "There's been a decision made not to release that number," he said.
Warren added that Congress had been informed of the methodology the military used to calculate troop levels.
On Sunday, the coalition announced that in consultation with the government of Iraq, the U.S. "has assigned a detachment of U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the support of Iraqi Security Force and Coalition ground operations. The detachment from the 26th MEU will add to the Marines and Sailors currently in Iraq" supporting the effort against ISIS."
The U.S has similar artillery at two other large Iraqi bases, but Bell is the only known firebase. That terminology signifies this is a small remote location designed to use its artillery to support infantry troops at forward locations.
The Marines will be using their field artillery, including the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, in the coming weeks to help defend Iraqi troops as they move towards Mosul. For now, the artillery is to defend another nearby base where American troops are getting 5,000 Iraqi forces ready for the operation to retake Mosul.
CNN's Ryan Browne contributed to this report
And these Adam Henries, the Iraqi Army, are claiming to be opening up the offensive to retake Mosul...WTF?!?!?!? 
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/25/iraqis-retreated-this-marine-died.html
Nancy A. Youssef
SACRIFICED
03.24.16 10:15 PM ET
Iraqis Retreated, This Marine Died
Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin was sent to defend a base the Iraqis had largely abandoned. Hours later, he was killed by an ISIS rocket strike.
The local Iraqi troops had fled the base, retreating into the mountains. That’s why the U.S. military dispatched 200 Marines to a remote outpost in northern Iraq—leading to the death of a Marine just hours later.
The Iraqis had decided the location was too dangerous to stay in, three defense officials told The Daily Beast. The arrival of the Marines, U.S. officials hoped, would give the Iraqis the backbone to fight.
The Iraqis, members of that nation’s 15th Division, had arrived at the base near the city of Makhmour six weeks earlier with great fanfare, greeted by the Iraqi Minister of Defense. Almost immediately, they began retreating from the base amid a barrage of ISIS strikes. Four Iraqi troops at the base were reportedly killed this month by ISIS strikes.
By the time Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin and roughly 200 fellow members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived nearly three weeks ago, all that remained at the base were Iraqi headquarters units that had built infrastructure needed to protect themselves.
The rest of the forces “tactically dispersed,” realizing the base was too dangerous, one defense official explained to The Daily Beast. “They dispersed into the mountains out of an abundance of caution.”
Once the Iraqis refused to make a move on ISIS, the U.S. quickly decided to deploy the Marines alongside the Iraqi forces. The U.S. move to dispatch its Marines to the temporary outpost, known as a fire base, had been made only a month ago.
Facebook
Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin
The Marines were tasked to move onto the fire base and secure the Iraqi forces assigned to the front lines of the push toward ISIS’s Iraqi capital, Mosul. Working alongside their Iraqi counterparts, the Marines would then push the Iraqis to fight for territory, providing them not just with airstrikes but also with artillery fire.
With much of the rank and file Iraqi troops hiding in the nearby mountains, the mission became more about pushing the local forces to fight. Above else, U.S. military planners hoped the Marine presence would break the Iraqi military logjam to move forward.
On Thursday, the latest approach led to moderate results. Members of the Iraqi division, with help from the Marines, took three villages in Makhmour. The villages were largely abandoned and the total movement forward was less than a mile, but in the push to get the Iraqis to take the lead, the U.S. military considered it a win.
Before the Marines arrived, the Iraqi security forces had never tried to take turf around Makhmour.
“I don’t know if the Iraqis would have launched the attack without that [American] artillery,” a U.S. defense official explained.
But the small victory is far from taking back Mosul, which fell to ISIS control in June 2014 after Iraqi troops walked away from their posts.
Makhmour fell to ISIS hands shortly after Mosul did, in August, 2014. Last August, U.S. officials confirmed ISIS used mustard gas against Kurdish peshmerga forces there, sickening dozens.
Makhmour is now considered the staging area for an Iraqi offensive on Mosul. In fact, officials announced Thursday that the advance around Makhmour was the start of the plan to take back Mosul from ISIS. But the fact that it took 200 Marines to get one of Iraq’s better divisions to move on abandoned villages did not portend well for that upcoming operation.
Moreover, the latest U.S. strategy, which put American troops in increased harm’s way, happened without any public pronouncement of a ramped up U.S. engagement in the war against ISIS. The Pentagon did not announce that the Marines were at the fire base until after Cardin died. All the while ISIS watched the arrival of the troops and artillery units, meaning ISIS knew more about U.S. troops’ movements than the American public did.
Even when public pronouncements are made, they often prove obsolete within days. Just days ago, U.S. military officials said the Marines were in Makhmour as a defensive force. On Thursday, defense officials conceded that they’re part of the offensive push to claim the surrounding villages.
The Marines were deployed to the fire base because they could arrive fastest to back up their Iraqi counterparts. They are supposed to stay just a short while, perhaps as little as a month, when they will be replaced by an Army unit, two officials explained.
The Iraqis hope to turn the base over to Kurdish forces after Mosul falls. But privately, American officials consider that a long-term prospect. Right now, the U.S. simply hopes to build a little momentum off of Thursday’s advances.
U.S. officials were reticent to publicly celebrate the gains in Makhmour not only because of how little progress it marked in the move toward Mosul, but the cost it came at.
Cardin died within days of arriving from an ISIS rocket strike that hit his bunker. He was the second U.S. combat death in the war against the so-called Islamic State.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/25/iraqis-retreated-this-marine-died.html
Nancy A. Youssef
SACRIFICED
03.24.16 10:15 PM ET
Iraqis Retreated, This Marine Died
Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin was sent to defend a base the Iraqis had largely abandoned. Hours later, he was killed by an ISIS rocket strike.
The local Iraqi troops had fled the base, retreating into the mountains. That’s why the U.S. military dispatched 200 Marines to a remote outpost in northern Iraq—leading to the death of a Marine just hours later.
The Iraqis had decided the location was too dangerous to stay in, three defense officials told The Daily Beast. The arrival of the Marines, U.S. officials hoped, would give the Iraqis the backbone to fight.
The Iraqis, members of that nation’s 15th Division, had arrived at the base near the city of Makhmour six weeks earlier with great fanfare, greeted by the Iraqi Minister of Defense. Almost immediately, they began retreating from the base amid a barrage of ISIS strikes. Four Iraqi troops at the base were reportedly killed this month by ISIS strikes.
By the time Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin and roughly 200 fellow members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived nearly three weeks ago, all that remained at the base were Iraqi headquarters units that had built infrastructure needed to protect themselves.
The rest of the forces “tactically dispersed,” realizing the base was too dangerous, one defense official explained to The Daily Beast. “They dispersed into the mountains out of an abundance of caution.”
Once the Iraqis refused to make a move on ISIS, the U.S. quickly decided to deploy the Marines alongside the Iraqi forces. The U.S. move to dispatch its Marines to the temporary outpost, known as a fire base, had been made only a month ago.
Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin
The Marines were tasked to move onto the fire base and secure the Iraqi forces assigned to the front lines of the push toward ISIS’s Iraqi capital, Mosul. Working alongside their Iraqi counterparts, the Marines would then push the Iraqis to fight for territory, providing them not just with airstrikes but also with artillery fire.
With much of the rank and file Iraqi troops hiding in the nearby mountains, the mission became more about pushing the local forces to fight. Above else, U.S. military planners hoped the Marine presence would break the Iraqi military logjam to move forward.
On Thursday, the latest approach led to moderate results. Members of the Iraqi division, with help from the Marines, took three villages in Makhmour. The villages were largely abandoned and the total movement forward was less than a mile, but in the push to get the Iraqis to take the lead, the U.S. military considered it a win.
Before the Marines arrived, the Iraqi security forces had never tried to take turf around Makhmour.
“I don’t know if the Iraqis would have launched the attack without that [American] artillery,” a U.S. defense official explained.
But the small victory is far from taking back Mosul, which fell to ISIS control in June 2014 after Iraqi troops walked away from their posts.
Makhmour fell to ISIS hands shortly after Mosul did, in August, 2014. Last August, U.S. officials confirmed ISIS used mustard gas against Kurdish peshmerga forces there, sickening dozens.
Makhmour is now considered the staging area for an Iraqi offensive on Mosul. In fact, officials announced Thursday that the advance around Makhmour was the start of the plan to take back Mosul from ISIS. But the fact that it took 200 Marines to get one of Iraq’s better divisions to move on abandoned villages did not portend well for that upcoming operation.
Moreover, the latest U.S. strategy, which put American troops in increased harm’s way, happened without any public pronouncement of a ramped up U.S. engagement in the war against ISIS. The Pentagon did not announce that the Marines were at the fire base until after Cardin died. All the while ISIS watched the arrival of the troops and artillery units, meaning ISIS knew more about U.S. troops’ movements than the American public did.
Even when public pronouncements are made, they often prove obsolete within days. Just days ago, U.S. military officials said the Marines were in Makhmour as a defensive force. On Thursday, defense officials conceded that they’re part of the offensive push to claim the surrounding villages.
The Marines were deployed to the fire base because they could arrive fastest to back up their Iraqi counterparts. They are supposed to stay just a short while, perhaps as little as a month, when they will be replaced by an Army unit, two officials explained.
The Iraqis hope to turn the base over to Kurdish forces after Mosul falls. But privately, American officials consider that a long-term prospect. Right now, the U.S. simply hopes to build a little momentum off of Thursday’s advances.
U.S. officials were reticent to publicly celebrate the gains in Makhmour not only because of how little progress it marked in the move toward Mosul, but the cost it came at.
Cardin died within days of arriving from an ISIS rocket strike that hit his bunker. He was the second U.S. combat death in the war against the so-called Islamic State.
Rather, Get Obama out of the US.