746 UPDATE 2 - Iraqi & Iranian news agencies report mysterious weapons drops to ISIS

UPDATE 2 - Iraqi & Iranian news agencies report mysterious weapons drops
to ISIS

Newsletter published on 13 March 2015

(1) Iraqi & Iranian news agencies report mysterious weapons drops to ISIS
(2) IRAQINEWS.COM: Unknown aircrafts drop weapons to ISIS southeast of
Tikrit
(3) IRAQINEWS.COM: American aircraft dropped weapons to ISIS, says MP
(4) IRAQINEWS.COM: US investigates ISIS possession of American weapons
air dropped 'by mistake'
(5) Israel supports Al Qaeda militants in Syria: photographic evidence
(6) Saudi commentators praise Netanyahu's speech defying oBama
(7) Saudis give Israel permission to traverse Saudi airspace to attack Iran
(8) U.S. helicopter delivering weapons to ISIS shot down by Iraqi
“popular forces”
(9) Iraqi army downs two British planes carrying weapons for ISIL
(10) Iranian Commander: US Embassy in Baghdad Running ISIL Operations
(11) Iraqi MP: Israel, Western powers continue supplying ISIL with weapons
(12) Iraq Arrests ISIL’s US, Israeli Military Advisors in Mosul
(13) Iranian Military Mastermind Leading Battle to Recapture Tikrit From
ISIS

(1) Iraqi & Iranian news agencies report mysterious weapons drops to ISIS
- by Peter Myers, March 13, 2015

These reports have featured on dissident websites over the last month or
so. Mainstream agencies have totally ignored them, leaving the cautious
investigator wondering.

Global Research conveyed such reports from Iran's Fars News Agency, but
I was not sure of their reliability. It was only when I discovered
similar reports at the Iraqi news agency IraqiNews.com that I had
confidence in them.

Some reports do not identify the planes ('unknown aircraft'), but others
identify them as American or British.

Most of the reports imply that Obama and the US Administration are
playing both sides (supplying ISIS as well as fighting it). One reason
given is to make Iraq feel the need to keep US military bases. But Obama
has long wanted to get out or Iraq. Only the Neocons want the US to stay.

Obama has been standing up to Netanyahu quite well, so I think it
unlikely that he is playing a double game.

However, Mossad has a history of impersonating other powers, so the
likelihood is that these airdrops have been a Mossad operation. Another
possibility is that they are a combined Saudi-Mossad operation. Least
likely, is that they are a CIA operation without the knowledge of the US
military.

Netanyahu's speech to Congress, in defiance of Obama, was forestalled by
criticism from the Democrats, and did not have much impact; but Saudi
commentators praised it (item 6).

Saudi Arabia has also recently given Israel permission to overfly its
terriitory, in order to attack Iran (item 7). Such collaboration would
not look good in the Arab world, so the Saudis attached the proviso that
progress must first be made on Palestine.

However, Saudi-Israeli collaboration on covert airdrops to ISIS, and
even supplying advisors, looks quite plausible. Both are upset over
Obama's dallying with Iran, and both want the Sunni faction in Iraq to
break with the Iran-supported Shiites. The current Iraqi army campaign
against ISIS includes Iranian contingents and may even be led by an
Iranian General (item 13).

So it is most likely that Obama is firmly against ISIS, and that ISIS'
beheadings and other extremism have prompted the US to lessen its
alignment with the Sunni powers (they support ISIS) and lessen its
antagonism to Iran. The administration is not going so far as to ally
with Iran, but it is adopting a middle position. That has infuriated
Saudi Arabia, and prompted its offer to Israel.

(2) IRAQINEWS.COM: Unknown aircrafts drop weapons to ISIS southeast of
Tikrit

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/urgent-unknown-planes-airdrop-weapons-isis-southeast-tikrit/

URGENT: Unknown aircrafts drop weapons to ISIS southeast of Tikrit

January 3, 2015 by Abdelhak Mamoun

(IraqiNews.com) On Saturday, the  Security Committee in the Council of
Salahuddin province revealed that unidentified aircrafts dropped weapons
and equipment for ISIS southeast of Tikrit, indicating that there are
countries that want to keep Iraq under the ISIS occupation.

Committee Chairman Jassim Al Jabara said in an interview for
IraqiNews.com , “Our sources of intelligence received reports that
unidentified aircrafts dropped weapons and munitions to the ISIS
organization near Dour district (25 km south-east of Tikrit).”

Jabara added “This is not the first time ; an unknown aircraft dropped
weapons and munitions to ISIS in Yathrib area south of Tikrit, several
areas in Salahuddin, and in Mosul,” adding that, “We do not know to
which source those aircrafts belong yet.”

Jabara continued, “There are countries that seek to keep Iraq under the
ISIS occupation, and want to keep terrorism in Iraq by perpetuating the
war through the fuel prices, and by providing terrorists with weapons
and gear, after the victories achieved by security forces and the
people,” pointing out that, “Our battle continues and its goal is victory.”

(3) IRAQINEWS.COM: American aircraft dropped weapons to ISIS, says MP

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/american-aircraft-airdropped-weapons-to-isis-says-mp/

American aircraft dropped weapons to ISIS, says MP

January 4, 2015 by Amre Sarhan

SYRIA-CONFLICT-KURDS

(IraqiNews.com) On Saturday, MP Majid al-Ghraoui said that, an American
aircraft dropped a load of weapons and equipment into the hands of the
ISIS group militants in southeast of Tikrit, located in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Ghraoui, the member of the Security and Defense Committee in
the Parliament, said: "The information that has reached us in the
security and defense committee indicates that an American aircraft
dropped a load of weapons and equipment to the ISIS group militants at
the area of al-Dour in the province of Salahuddin."

He added, "The committee will set a meeting within the next few days to
follow up on that incident," pointing out that, "This incident is
continuously happening and has also occurred in some other regions."

"The U.S. is trying to obtain more benefits and privileges from the
government to set military bases in Iraq," Ghraoui said.

Noteworthy, the security committee in Salahuddin Provincial Council
announced today, that unidentified air crafts dropped weapons and gear
to the ISIS group elements in southeast of Tikrit.

23 Responses to "American aircraft dropped weapons to ISIS, says MP"

[...]    The American  January 5, 2015 at 7:17 am

     The people who were supposed to have seen the air drop said it was
done by unidentified aircraft. PM Majid Al-Ghraoui said the Americans
made the air drop. In another article, Committee Chairrman Jassin Al
Jabara said the ones who made air drops also was controling the price of
gas. He must have been indicating the Saudis. It seems to me that both
of them are ISIS agents trying to create discard among the illiterate
Iraqis.

(4) IRAQINEWS.COM: US investigates ISIS possession of American weapons
air dropped 'by mistake'

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/urgent-washington-investigating-isis-possession-american-weapons-dropped-mistake/

URGENT: US investigates ISIS possession of American weapons air dropped
'by mistake'

October 22, 2014 by Abdelhak Mamoun

(IraqiNews.com) The US Department of Defense, Pentagon, started to
investigate the video showing ISIS gunmen possessing weapons dropped by
American planes that were to be delivered to Kurdish fighters in the
city of Ain Arab (Kobanî), Syria.

Last Monday, the American army announced that it had dropped 27
shipments of small arms, ammunition and medical aids to Kurdish fighters
who were defending the city of Kobani against attacks from militants of
the so-called Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in his statement to the BBC: "The
Pentagon is very confident that the majority of these shipments
eventually reached the right hands," noting that he cannot confirm the
authenticity of the footage showing the militants, who are loyal to
ISIS, in their possession weapons dropped by American planes meant to be
delivered to Kurdish fighters in Kobanî.

The American military acknowledged that "one of these shipments has lost
its way, but it was destroyed so as not to fall into the hands of the
enemy. The rest of the shipments are delivered without hindrance."
However, a media group related to the organization ISIS published a
video on the internet showing weapons like those dropped by American
planes in the hands of ISIS militants.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, confirmed
that the ISIS  militants got one of the weapon shipments that had been
dropped.

(5) Israel supports Al Qaeda militants in Syria: photographic evidence

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 12:56:20 +0000 Subject: More info re. Israeli,
US, UK, EU & Saudi aid for ISIS From: Martin Webster
<martinwebstir@virginmedia.com>

http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-supports-al-qaeda-militants-in-syria-photographic-evidence/5435201

Global Research - Saturday 7th March 2015

by Press TV - Thursday 5th March 2015

Press TV has obtained photos showing al-Qaeda-linked militants next to
Israeli soldiers in the occupied Golan Heights.

New photos from the Golan Heights further prove Tel Aviv’s support for
al-Qaeda-linked militants, especially al-Nusra Front, that have been
wreaking havoc in Syria.

Image: The undated photo obtained by Press TV shows Israeli soldiers
speaking face-to-face with foreign-backed militants near the Israeli
occupied Golan heights in Syria.The photos obtained by Press TV show
Takfiri militants from the terrorist al-Nusra Front next to Israeli
soldiers.

Israel is known to have been providing medical, intelligence and
military support for militants fighting to topple the government of
President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. A number of militant commanders
wounded in government attacks on terrorist have reportedly been
hospitalized in the occupied territories.

The images obtained by Press TV shows Israeli soldiers speaking
face-to-face with militants in Golan.

Cooperation aimed at targeting resistance

The Israeli military’s close cooperation with the militants also
assisted the regime’s bombing of a convoy belonging to Lebanese
resistance group Hezbollah on January 17. The attack led to the killing
of six Hezbollah members as well as an Iranian general. Hezbollah later
announced that the attack was coordinated between Tel Aviv and the
al-Nusra militants.

“The assault has revealed the degree of cooperation between Takfiris and
Israel,” Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah deputy leader, said during a
ceremony seven days after the Israeli attack in Qunaitra, an area close
to the Syrian Israeli border.

Late last year, a UN report confirmed contact between militants in Syria
and the Israeli army across the Golan cease-fire line, especially during
heavy clashes between the terrorists and the Syrian troops.

The report also confirmed that militants had been taking their wounded
comrades into the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights for
treatment.  The UN also confirmed the delivery of boxes by the Israeli
army to militants on the Syrian side of the ceasefire line.

(6) Saudi commentators praise Netanyahu's speech defying oBama
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31763589

Saudi and Israel Iran anxieties align

By Steve Metcalf

BBC Monitoring

March 6, 2015

That Saudi commentators should make approving remarks about a speech by
an Israeli prime minister - as they did this week - is not surprising
given the subject of Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the US Congress on
Tuesday: the threat from Iran.

Despite their many differences, Saudi Arabia and Israel have long shared
a common concern about Iran's growing regional influence and increasing
military capabilities.

This influence has expressed itself in Iran's fostering of the Hezbollah
movement in Lebanon and its backing of the Assad government in Syria,
not to mention its growing sway in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

But over the past year there has been a change in the nature of the
Iranian role and its geographic reach, which has set alarm bells ringing
in capitals across the region.

One line was crossed in September, when the Yemeni capital Sanaa fell
under the control of a movement called the Houthis, followers of the
Zaydi branch of Shia Islam.

A hardline Iranian MP was widely quoted in Arabic media as having
boasted that Iran now controlled four Arab capitals - Beirut, Damascus,
Baghdad and Sanaa.

Iranian support for the Houthis in Yemen may have been largely advisory
in nature, although Arab countries would argue that it was more than that.

Iraq and Syria

But developments in Iraq have seen Iran adopt a much more openly
interventionist policy.

The rapid territorial gains made by Islamic State saw the Iraqi military
disintegrate, and it was only support from volunteer Shia militias that
halted the Sunni extremists' advance short of Baghdad.

These militias, some of them created and funded by Iran, have played a
key role in the battles to regain lost ground, such as the current
Tikrit campaign. Iranian support for them has included weaponry,
equipment and advisers on the ground.

The most public face of this Iranian support has been Qasem Soleimani,
commander of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard. In the
space of six months, he has turned from a shadowy background figure into
a man who seems to revel in being photographed with troops on the front
line.

Iranian media have prominently featured Gen Soleimani's role in the
operation to recapture Tikrit. It is probably this, as much as anything,
that prompted the Saudi foreign minister to say on Thursday at a news
conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry that Iran was "taking
over" Iraq.

It is not just in Iraq that Iranian boots on the ground are becoming
more visible.

Iranian forces are reported to have played a large role, alongside
Hezbollah and government troops, in a recent offensive against rebels in
southern Syria, close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Iran admitted in January that a general in the Revolutionary Guard had
been killed in an Israeli air strike in the area.

Design or opportunity?

It is debateable whether Iran's increased profile and military
involvement across the region is the result of a grand strategic design,
an opportunistic exploitation of events, or an indication of the
desperate straits that some of its allies find themselves in.

Although there few signs of public domestic opposition, it must be
taking its toll on a budget that also has to cope with the cost of
international sanctions and falling oil prices.

So Saudi support for the Israeli prime minister's warnings about a deal
on Iran's nuclear programme could be as much about concern over an Iran
freed from sanctions as about its nuclear capability.

(7) Saudis give Israel permission to traverse Saudi airspace to attack Iran

http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/24/report-saudi-arabia-may-aid-israeli-strike-on-iran-in-exchange-for-progress-with-palestinians/

The Algemeiner – Tuesday 24th February 2015

Report: Saudi Arabia may aid Israeli strike on Iran in exchange for
progress with Palestinians

In closed talks with European lawmakers, Saudi Arabian diplomats said
they are in total accord with the Israelis on the Iranian nuclear issue,
Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Tuesday. [MW's emphasis]

According to an official at the headquarters of the European Union, as
part of a framework coordination agreement with the Israelis, Saudi
Arabia is ready to allow Israel’s air force to traverse Saudi airspace
to attack Iran, if necessary.

However, the Saudi approval is conditional upon progress towards an
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The Saudi government is
sensitive to public opinion, and cannot allow Israel to use Saudi
territory or airspace for military action without demonstrating some
progress on the issue of Palestinian statehood, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have denied that they do not know the
details of the deal with Iran currently being negotiated by world
powers, to which they are opposed. The lawmakers stressed that Israel
doesn’t need the United States to reveal what is being said during the
talks because Israel has other partners among world powers, along with
information obtained from Israel’s intelligence services, which alone
have made it clear that the deal in the offing is a bad deal.

An official close to the Obama Administration said that security
guarantees won’t be discussed with Israel because the United States,
“can’t initiate substantive discussions” before Israel’s upcoming elections.

Today, US Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the issue of
negotiations, less than a day after a major leak occurred regarding the
negotiations with Iran. Kerry, who spoke during a Congressional hearing
on the State Department’s budget, said that it is too early to speak of
an agreement between the parties, and noted that the United States is
not prepared to agree to a nuclear Iran. Kerry also lashed out at the
opponents of the agreement – including Israel – saying that they do not
know the details of the talks.

“This is our policy: Iran will not get nuclear weapons.  Anyone going
around saying that they don’t like the deal, doesn’t even know what the
deal is. There’s still no deal at all,” said Kerry. He added that the
United States expects to know soon whether Iran is ready to agree to the
proposed terms, which he said were reasonable and verifiable. He ended
saying that Iran must comply with the demand of the p5+1 and demonstrate
it is not interested in nuclear weapons.

Before Kerry’s address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he
intends to fight the emerging agreement when he visits Congress next
week. During a tour of Israel’s Southern Command bases, Netanyahu said
that, “Unfortunately, the information I have been receiving these last
few days confirm many of our concerns about the upcoming deal between
the P5+1 and Iran. This agreement, if signed, would allow Iran to become
a nuclear threshold state.”

Netanyahu added that, “this is a bad agreement which endangers our
future. My duty as Prime Minister is to do everything possible to avoid
such an agreement. So I am going to Washington to speak before Congress,
because Congress might be the last chance to stop the agreement with Iran.”

(8) U.S. helicopter delivering weapons to ISIS shot down by Iraqi
“popular forces”

http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-helicopter-delivering-weapons-to-the-islamic-state-isis-shot-down-by-iraqi-popular-forces/5434230

Global Research – Sunday 1st March 2015

Terrorists supported by America: U.S. helicopter delivering weapons to
the Islamic State (ISIS) shot down by Iraqi “popular forces”

by Fars News Agency

The Iraqi popular forces who shot down a US helicopter carrying weapons
for the ISIL forces in Al-Baqdadi region released the photos of the shot
down chopper through the Internet.

A group of Iraqi popular forces known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi shot down
the US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons for the ISIL in the
western parts of Al-Baqdadi region in Al-Anbar province on Thursday.

Last week, Head of the Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense
Committee Hakem al-Zameli announced that the helicopters of the US-led
anti-ISIL coalition were dropping weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL
terrorists in the Southern parts of Tikrit.

He underscored that he had documents and photos showing that the US
Apache helicopters airdropped foodstuff and weapons for the ISIL.

On Friday the Iraqi security forces regained control of al-Baghdadi
district from the ISIL terrorists.

“Iraqi security forces seized control of al-Shohadaa neighborhood and 13
Daesh (ISIL) militants were killed in the clashes,” Lt. Saoud al-Ibeidi
said.

Iraqi forces on February 18 managed to end ISIL’s 10-day siege of
al-Baghdadi district’s residential area and killed about 150 terrorists,
according to police sources.

Last Monday, a senior lawmaker disclosed that Iraq’s army had shot down
two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists
in Al-Anbar province.

“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has
access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed
while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” al-Zameli said,
according to a Monday report of the Arabic-language information center
of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this
regard.

The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in
Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in
al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes
that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

The Iraqi lawmaker further noted the cause of such western aids to the
terrorist group, and explained that the US prefers a chaotic situation
in Anbar Province which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad as it
does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end.

Earlier today, a senior Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the
western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri
terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons have been
discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists.

“We have discovered weapons made in the US, European countries and
Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL’s control in Al-Baqdadi
region,” the Al-Ahad news website quoted Head of Al-Anbar Provincial
Council Khalaf Tarmouz as saying.

He noted that the weapons made by the European countries and Israel were
discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of the city of Ramadi.

Al-Zameli had also disclosed in January that the anti-ISIL coalition’s
planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin,
Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces.

Al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s
survival in Iraq.

“There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition’s military aid
to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes),” he told FNA in January.

He noted that the members of his committee have already proved that the
US planes have dropped advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft
weapons, for the ISIL, and that it has set up an investigation committee
to probe into the matter.

“The US drops weapons for the ISIL on the excuse of not knowing about
the whereabouts of the ISIL positions and it is trying to distort the
reality with its allegations.

He noted that the committee had collected the data and the evidence
provided by eyewitnesses, including Iraqi army officers and the popular
forces, and said, “These documents are given to the investigation
committee … and the necessary measures will be taken to protect the
Iraqi airspace.”

Also in January, another senior Iraqi legislator reiterated that the
US-led coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq.

“The international coalition is only an excuse for protecting the ISIL
and helping the terrorist group with equipment and weapons,” Jome Divan,
who is member of the al-Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said.

He said the coalition’s support for the ISIL is now evident to everyone,
and continued, “The coalition has not targeted ISIL’s main positions in
Iraq.”

In late December, Iraqi Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission MP
disclosed that a US plane supplied the ISIL terrorist organization with
arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that the available information pointed out
that US planes are supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin
province, but also other provinces, Iraq TradeLink reported.

He added that the US and the international coalition are “not serious in
fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the
technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy
them in one month”.

Gharawi added that “the US is trying to expand the time of the war
against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its
bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces.”

Salahuddin security commission also disclosed that “unknown planes threw
arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit city”.

Also in Late December, a senior Iraqi lawmaker raised doubts about the
seriousness of the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US, and said that the
terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft.

“The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL
terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular (voluntary)
forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem
with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future,” Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA.

“The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter
jets in Iraq and Syria,” she added.

Hababi said that the coalition’s precise airstrikes are launched only in
those areas where the Kurdish Pishmarga forces are present, while
military strikes in other regions are not so much precise.

(9) Iraqi army downs two British planes carrying weapons for ISIL

http://www.globalresearch.ca/iraqi-army-downs-two-british-planes-carrying-weapons-for-isil-terrorists/5433089

Global Research – Tuesday 24th February 2015

Iraqi army downs two British planes carrying weapons for ISIL terrorists
al-Anbar province:

Numerous flights by US-led coalition planes airdrop weapons and supplies
for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

by Fars News Agency

Iraq’s army has shot down two British planes as they were carrying
weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province, a senior lawmaker
disclosed on Monday.

“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has
access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed
while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” Head of the committee
Hakem al-Zameli said, according to a Monday report of the
Arabic-language information center of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this
regard.

The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in
Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in
al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes
that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

(10) Iranian Commander: US Embassy in Baghdad Running ISIL Operations

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931015000873

Mon Jan 05, 2015 3:22

Basij Commander: US Embassy in Baghdad Running ISIL Operations

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier
General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said the US embassy in Baghdad is the
command center for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
Takfiri terrorists.

"The US directly supports the ISIL in Iraq and the US planes drop the
needed aids and weapons for ISIL in Iraq …," General Naqdi said,
addressing a group of Basij forces in Tehran on Monday.

He added that the Iraqi forces have even retrieved some of the aids
dropped by the US planes for the ISIL terrorists.

Last week, Iraqi Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission MP
disclosed that a US plane supplied the ISIL terrorist organization with
arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that the available information pointed out
that US planes are supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin
province, but also other provinces, Iraq TradeLink reported.

He added that the US and the international coalition are "not serious in
fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the
technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy
them in one month".

Gharawi added that "the US is trying to expand the time of the war
against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its
bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces."

Salahuddin security commission also disclosed that "unknown planes threw
arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit city".

In Late December, a senior Iraqi lawmaker raised doubts about the
seriousness of the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US, and said that the
terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft.

"The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL
terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular Basij (voluntary)
forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem
with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future," Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA.

"The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter
jets in Iraq and Syria," she added.

Hababi said that the coalition's precise airstrikes are launched only in
those areas where the Kurdish Pishmarga forces are present, while
military strikes in other regions are not so much precise.

In late December, the US-led coalition dropped aids to the Takfiri
militants in an area North of Baghdad.

Field sources in Iraq told al-Manar that the international coalition
airplanes dropped aids to the terrorist militants in Balad, an area
which lies in Salahuddin province North of Baghdad.

In October, a high-ranking Iranian commander also slammed the US for
providing aid supplies to ISIL, adding that the US claims that the
weapons were mistakenly airdropped to ISIL were untrue.

“The US and the so-called anti-ISIL coalition claim that they have
launched a campaign against this terrorist and criminal group - while
supplying them with weapons, food and medicine in Jalawla region (a town
in Diyala Governorate, Iraq). This explicitly displays the falsity of
the coalition's and the US' claims,” Deputy Chief of Staff of the
Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said.

The US claimed that it had airdropped weapons and medical aid to Kurdish
fighters confronting the ISIL in Kobani, near the Turkish border in
Northern Syria.

The US Defense Department said that it had airdropped 28 bundles of
weapons and supplies, but one of them did not make it into the hands of
the Kurdish fighters.

Video footage later showed that some of the weapons that the US
airdropped were taken by ISIL militants.

The Iranian commander insisted that the US had the necessary
intelligence about ISIL's deployment in the region and that their claims
to have mistakenly airdropped weapons to them are as unlikely as they
are untrue.

(11) Iraqi MP: Israel, Western powers continue supplying ISIL with weapons

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931218001436

FARS News Agency (Iran) - Monday 9th March 2015

Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:5

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iraqi legislator lashed out at the western
countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in
Iraq, and said he is in possession of irrefutable intelligence documents
showing that ISIL is receiving arms aids from Israel as well as a number
western and Arab countries.

"We have intelligence which shows Israel and some major western and
regional states have supplied weapons to ISIL," Al-Qad news website
quoted member of the Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee
Abbas al-Khazali as saying on Monday.

Meantime, the Iraqi legislator stressed that his country needs more
weapons to fight the ISIL, and said Baghdad is willing to purchase
weapons from East European countries, Russia and China.

Iraqi provincial officials and statesmen have repeatedly lashed out at
the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri
terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons have been
discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists.

In late December, a member of the Iraqi parliament's Security and
Defense Committee disclosed that US planes were supplying the ISIL
terrorist organization with arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that he had intelligence to prove that US
planes were supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin
province, but also other provinces.

He added that the US and the international coalition are "not serious in
fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the
technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy
them in one month".

Gharawi added that "the US is trying to expand the time of the war
against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its
bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces."

Salahuddin security commission also disclosed in December that "unknown
planes threw arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit
city".

Later in December, another senior Iraqi lawmaker complained that the
terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft.

"The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL
terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular (voluntary)
forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem
with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future," Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA.

"The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter
jets in Iraq and Syria," she added.

Also in late December, the US-led coalition dropped aids to the Takfiri
militants in an area North of Baghdad.

Field sources in Iraq told al-Manar that the international coalition
airplanes dropped aids to the terrorist militants in Balad, an area
which lies in Salahuddin province North of Baghdad.

Then in January, Head of the Iraqi Parliament's National Security and
Defense Committee Hakem al-Zameli disclosed that coalition planes had
dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and
Diyala provinces.

Al-Zameli underlined that "the coalition is the main cause of ISIL's
survival in Iraq".

"There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition's military aid
to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes)," he told FNA in January.

He noted that the members of his committee have already proved that the
US planes have dropped advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft
weapons, for the ISIL, and that an investigation committee had been set
up to probe into the matter.

"The US drops weapons for the ISIL under the excuse that it doesn't know
about the whereabouts of the ISIL positions and it is trying to distort
the reality with its allegations.

He noted that the committee had collected the data and the evidence
provided by eyewitnesses, including Iraqi army officers and the popular
forces, and said, "These documents are given to the investigation
committee ... and the necessary measures will be taken to protect the
Iraqi airspace."

Also in January, another senior Iraqi legislator reiterated that the
US-led coalition is the main cause of ISIL's survival in Iraq.

"The international coalition is only an excuse for protecting the ISIL
and helping the terrorist group with equipment and weapons," Jome Divan,
who is member of the al-Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said.

He said the coalition's support for the ISIL is now evident to everyone,
and continued, "The coalition has not targeted ISIL's main positions in
Iraq."

Then, on February 21 al-Zameli announced that he had documents and
photos showing that the US Apache helicopters airdropped foodstuff and
weapons for the ISIL in the Southern parts of Tikrit.

Two days later, the senior official declared that the Iraqi army has
shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL
terrorists in Al-Anbar province.

"The Iraqi Parliament's National Security and Defense Committee has
access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed
while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL," al-Zameli said,
according to a report released by the Arabic-language information center
of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq on February 23.

He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations.

The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in
Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in
al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes
that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

The Iraqi lawmaker further noted the cause of such western aids to the
terrorist group, and explained that the US prefers a chaotic situation
in Anbar Province which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad as it
does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end.

Earlier on the same day, a senior Iraqi provincial official lashed out
at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting
Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons
have been discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists.

"We have discovered weapons made in the US, European countries and
Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL's control in Al-Baqdadi
region," the Al-Ahad news website quoted Head of Al-Anbar Provincial
Council Khalaf Tarmouz as saying.

He noted that the weapons made by the European countries and Israel were
discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of the city of Ramadi.

Two days later on February 25, another Iraqi provincial official
revealed that the US airplanes still continued airdropping weapons and
foodstuff for the ISIL terrorists.

"The US planes have dropped weapons for the ISIL terrorists in the areas
under ISIL control and even in those areas that have been recently
liberated from the ISIL control to encourage the terrorists to return to
those places," Coordinator of Iraqi popular forces Jafar al-Jaberi told FNA.

He noted that eyewitnesses in Al-Havijeh of Kirkuk province had
witnessed the US airplanes dropping several suspicious parcels for ISIL
terrorists in the province.

"Two coalition planes were also seen above the town of Al-Khas in Diyala
and they carried the Takfiri terrorists to the region that has recently
been liberated from the ISIL control," Al-Jaberi said.

And eventually on February 28, the Iraqi popular forces who had shot
down a US helicopter carrying weapons for the ISIL forces in Al-Baqdadi
region released the photos of the downed chopper on the Internet.

A group of Iraqi popular forces known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi (mobilized
forces) had shot down the US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons
for the ISIL in the western parts of Al-Baqdadi region in Al-Anbar
province on February 21.On Sunday, Iraqi Special Forces also declared
that they have arrested several ISIL's foreign military advisors,
including American, Israeli and Arab nationals in an operation in Mosul
in the Northern parts of the country.

The Iraqi forces said they have retrieved four foreign passports,
including those that belonged to American and Israeli nationals and one
that belonged to the national of a Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
(PGCC) member-state, from ISIL's military advisors.

The foreign advisors were arrested in a military operation in Tal Abta
desert near Mosul city.

Last year, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin accused
Mossad of training ISIL terrorists operating in Iraq and Syria.

Alexander Prokhanov said that Mossad is also likely to have transferred
some of its spying experiences to the ISIL leadership, adding that
Israel’s military advisors could be assisting the Takfiri terrorists.

Prokhanov said ISIL is a byproduct of US policies in the Middle East.

"ISIL is a tool at the hands of the United States. They tell the
Europeans that if we (the Americans) do not intervene, ISIL will cause
you harm,” he said, adding that Iran and Russia are the prime targets of
the ISIL.

“They launched their first terror attack against us just a few days back
in Chechnya,” he said, stressing that the ISIL ideology has got nothing
to do with the Islam practiced in Iran and some other Muslim countries
in the Middle East region.

Prokhanov said the United States and Israel are one and the same when it
comes to supporting a terror organization like the ISIL.

(12) Iraq Arrests ISIL’s US, Israeli Military Advisors in Mosul

Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:49:21 +0000
Subject: Iraq arrests ISIL’s US & Israeli military advisors
From: Martin Webster <martinwebstir@virginmedia.com>

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=1393121600083

March 07, 2015

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi Special Forces said they have arrested several
ISIL’s foreign military advisors, including American, Israeli and Arab
nationals in an operation in Mosul in the Northern parts of the country.

The Iraqi forces said they have retrieved four foreign passports,
including those that belonged to American and Israeli nationals and one
that belonged to the national of a Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
(PGCC) member-state, from ISIL’s military advisors.

The foreign advisors were arrested in a military operation in Tal Abta
desert near Mosul city.

Last year, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin accused
Mossad of training ISIL terrorists operating in Iraq and Syria.

Alexander Prokhanov said that Mossad is also likely to have transferred
some of its spying experiences to the ISIL leadership, adding that
Israel’s military advisors could be assisting the Takfiri terrorists.

Prokhanov said ISIL is a byproduct of US policies in the Middle East.

ISIL is a tool at the hands of the United States. They tell the
Europeans that if we (the Americans) do not intervene, ISIL will cause
you harm,” he said, adding that Iran and Russia are the prime targets of
the ISIL.

“They launched their first terror attack against us just a few days back
in Chechnya,” he said, stressing that the ISIL ideology has got nothing
to do with the Islam practiced in Iran and some other Muslim countries
in the Middle East region.

Prokhanov said the United States and Israel are one and the same when it
comes to supporting a terror organization like the ISIL.

(13) Iranian Military Mastermind Leading Battle to Recapture Tikrit From
ISIS

    Douglas Schorr<douglas.schorr@gmail.com> 6 March 2015 at 15:31

http://www.newsweek.com/iranian-military-mastermind-leading-battle-recapture-tikrit-isis-311516

BY JACK MOORE 3/5/15 AT 10:26 AM

A notorious Iranian commander is spearheading the Iraqi offensive on the
ISIS-held city of Tikrit, providing tactical expertise and a key link to
Tehran for supplies to the Iraqi militias advancing on the terror
group's territory.

This week, a combination of 30,000 Iraqi security forces, Sunni and Shia
militiamen launched a campaign to retake the Sunni-majority city, the
hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, from the terror group
after it swept through northern Iraq last summer. Iraqi security forces,
backed by the majority-Shia Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), are
advancing on the city from three directions, north, east and south,
where the main entry points into and out of the city lie.

Major General Qasem Soleimani, the shadowy former leader of the elite
Quds Force, the special operations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IGRC), is directly overseeing the eastern offensive on
Tikrit. The Iranian general has been pictured on the outskirts of the
city in photos shared widely on social media.

The city is situated on the Tigris River, approximately 95 miles (150
kilometres) north of the capital Baghdad, and would provide Iraqi forces
a strategic launchpad from which to attack ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq's
second-largest city, further to the north.

However, it is the presence of Soleimani that reveals the influence of
Iran in the fight against ISIS, says Jordan Perry, principal MENA
analyst at leading global risk analytics company Verisk Maplecroft.

"It is clear that Iran is spearheading the ground offensives against the
Islamic State and Soleimani, in particular, has played a leading role
from the very start," he notes. "He has increasingly come to the fore
and become a poster boy for the Iranian intervention in Iraq."

While western nations, including the U.S., were slow to react to ISIS's
march across northern Iraq, Soleimani was quick to play a more public
role in Tehran's efforts to tackle the terror group. For example, the
commander was seen in pictures with militamen in the northern Iraqi town
of Amerli when it was recaptured from ISIS last September. Last
November, one of Iraq's leading Shia politicians, speaking on condition
of anonymity, told Newsweek that Soleimani maintains a frequent presence
in Iraq. "He is here often in Baghdad, and Northern Iraq," the official
said.

"Of course the Iraqi government knows about this. He is smart. He is
also a man who loves war. He knows he is good at it."

Top U.S. general Martin Dempsey has said that the involvement of Iran in
the fight against ISIS in Iraq could be a positive step, as long as the
situation does not descend into sectarianism, because of fears
surrounding how Shia militias may treat the remaining Sunni population
of Tikrit if it is recaptured. The military chief also claimed that
almost two thirds of the 30,000 offensive were Iranian-backed
militiamen, meaning that without Iranian assistance and Soleimani's
guidance, the offensive on Tikrit may not have been possible.

"Without the financial and military backing of Iran, it would be
extremely difficult for Iraq to launch a successful offensive on Tikrit,
and, further up the Tigris, Mosul as well," adds Perry.

Sajad Jiyad, Iraq expert and director of research at independent
consultancy Integrity, believes that Soleimani is playing such an
integral role in coordinating the offensive against ISIS as he brings a
vast wealth of experience and provides a key link to Tehran for material
support.

"He is good at asymmetric, unconventional warfare, so parts where you
have to operate in cities and dense urban areas," says Jiyad. "Where you
have to deal with snipers, when you have to deal with the unconventional
nature of fighting a group like ISIS, he's got that experience."

Qasem Soleimani's name has become synonymous with the handful of
victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces

"He also has his ability to coordinate directly with Tehran. He has the
authority to present Iranian support immediately, that's probably the
most important thing he is offering."

Tikrit was the site of mass executions of Iraqi forces by ISIS militants
at the time of its capture last June. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report
claimed that approximately 770 captured soldiers were killed after the
terror group took control of former U.S. military base in the city, Camp
Speicher, in executions which HRW advisor Fred Abrahams described as
"crimes against humanity".

Iran has a crucial stake in the Salah ad-Din province where Tikrit is
situated because of the city of Samarra, which contains the Imam
al-Askari shrine, one of the most important holy sites in the world for
Shia Muslims.