ISIS/ISIL conflict in Syria/Iraq (No OpEd, No Politics)

ISIS photographs detail execution of Iraqi soldiers
By BILL ROGGIOJune 15, 2014

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham's administrative division in Salahaddin proudly displayed photographs of the capture and execution of Iraqi soldiers after it took over a base in the province.

The graphic photographs were released today on the Twitter account belonging to Wilayat Salahaddin, or Salahaddin Division. The ISIS has divided its "state" in Iraq and Syria into 16 administrative units, or wilayats.

The stream of photographs begins by showing ISIS fighters in dirt-caked pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the beds traveling to Tasfirat prison in the city of Tikrit, and then launching an assault with dismounted troops. Tikrit fell to the ISIS earlier this week.

After capturing the base, the ISIS takes photographs of dozens of US-supplied armored Humvees, Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, and various military transport and supply vehicles that were left behind.

ISIS fighters are then photographed posing over the bloodied and mutilated corpses of the slain soldiers. The ISIS photos show the capture, transport, and execution of scores of Iraqi soldiers. Most of the soldiers are in civilian clothes, but some are seen wearing civilian clothes over their uniforms.

Iraqi soldiers had reportedly shed their uniforms and deserted en masse as the ISIS blitzkrieg advanced from Mosul to Tikrit and on to the outskirts of Samarra in the course of one week. At least four Iraqi Army divisions are said to have melted away during the ISIS onslaught.

In the photos, the Iraqi soldiers are rounded up at gunpoint and placed on flatbed trucks, some of which appear to have been captured from the base. Some of the ISIS fighters are seen holding US-made M-16 assault rifles, which had been issued to the Iraqi Army and police forces.

The ISIS fighters then order the frightened soldiers to lie face down in shallow ditches, with their hands behind their backs. ISIS fighters then open fire on the unarmed prisoners of war.

The ISIS is said to have executed thousands of Iraqi soldiers during its southward advance to Baghdad. Several Iraqi military bases are believed to have been overrun. Forward Operating Base Speicher, which once was a major US military hub in Salahaddin province, was reportedly seized by the ISIS during its southward push.

Over the past week, the ISIS took control of Ninewa and most of Salahaddin province, as well as parts of Diyala province. Most of Anbar province fell under ISIS control in January.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

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US evacuating Baghdad embassy staff as Islamic militants ramp up attacks

The Obama administration said Sunday the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will remain open amid the growing sectarian violence in Iraq but will increase security and that some embassy staff will be temporarily evacuated.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the staff will be moved to U.S. Consulate Generals posts in Basra and Erbil and to the Iraq Support Unit in Amman, Jordan.

The embassy is within the Baghdad's Green Zone. It has about 5,000 personnel, making it the largest U.S. diplomatic post in the world.

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a militant group, swept across northern Iraq last week and captured two major cities -- Mosul and Tikrit.

Iraqi government officials said on Sunday that ISIS fighters were trying to capture Tal Afar in northern Iraq and raining down rockets seized last week from military arms depots.

The government, meanwhile, bolstered its defenses around Baghdad a day after hundreds of Shiite men paraded through the streets with arms in response to a call by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for Iraqis to defend their country.

ISIS has vowed to attack Baghdad, but its advance to the south seems to have stalled in recent days.

Meanwhile, Iraqi troops, many of them armed and trained by the United States, are fleeing in disarray, surrendering vehicles, weapons and ammunition to the powerful extremist group, which also fights in Syria.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama continues to receive updates on the situation from National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

And Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby confirmed that the U.S. military is providing security assistance to diplomatic facilities in Baghdad. He also said the relocation of some staffers will be done with commercial, charter and State Department aircraft and that the U.S. military has "airlift assets at the ready" should the State Department request them.

A military official told The Associated Press that about 150 Marines have been sent to Baghdad to help with embassy security.

U.S. travelers in the country also were encouraged to exercise caution and limit travel to certain parts of Iraq.

"Due to the relocation of personnel from Baghdad, the embassy will only be restricted in its ability to offer all consular services; but emergency services are always available to U.S. citizens in need at any embassy or consulate anywhere in the world," Psaki said.

Despite the added security by the Iraqi government in Baghdad, a string of explosions killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 in the city Sunday, police and hospital officials said.

GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday the uprising is “as dangerous as it gets” and that the Obama administration must reunite with Arab nation partners to stop the surge.

“You can’t just fire missiles and come home,” the Michigan lawmaker told “Fox News Sunday.”

Rogers and others say the situation goes far beyond Iraq’s borders and is a major problem because some of ISIS' members have passports, which allows them to be trained -- or “radicalized” – in the region and return to Europe and the United States.

He argued that another major concern is that at least some of the fighters in the Al Qaeda-connected group are “seasoned combat veterans.”

“It’s a jihadist Disneyland,” he said. “We need to do something to stop the momentum.”

Rogers and others also offer as proof of the situation that a Florida man joined Islamic extremists and last month in Syria carried out a suicide bombing against government forces.

Roger specifically called for Obama to work with Arab League partners, who include Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and for U.S. military support to help end the sectarian civil war.

Also on Sunday, the militant group posted graphic photos that appeared to show its fighters massacring dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers. The pictures on a militant website appear to show masked ISII and Levant fighters loading the captives onto flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs. The final images show the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being shot.

And South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cannot keep his country together and that a U.S. alliance with Iran might be needed to do so.

He told CBS's "Face the Nation" that a U.S. partnership with longtime foe Iran to help the situation makes him uncomfortable but likened it to the U.S. working with Josef Stalin in World War II against Adolf Hitler.

He said the U.S. has to do what it can to keep Baghdad from falling to insurgents.

Obama on Friday said he would not send troops in Iraq but left open the possibility of military action.

The U.S. on Saturday moved the Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush into the Arabian Gulf.

Psaki said the U.S., which toppled the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, “strongly supports Iraq and its people as they face security challenges from violent extremists.”

She also said the embassy in Baghdad will continue to engage daily with Iraqis and their elected leaders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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plawolf said:

If that is true, then this is the moment ISIS looses the momentum in Iraq.

The first and most important rule when fighting a demoralised foe is to treat your prisoners well.

By executing prisoners, what ISIS will do is ensure any Iraqi unit they encounter in future will fight to the death rather than surrender since they will know that surrendering to the ISIS is to die anyways.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

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airsuperiority said:

And for some reason, I am also extremely frustrated that these thugs now have access to fresh modern weaponry, all the which makes them a lot harder to kill. I won't be surprised sell-outs will start teaching them how to operate Abrams, or they take some MBT shells to make more IEDs. Surrendering and leaving behind weapons to these less-than-professional militia groups mean they now have more access to tools to terrorize civilians. Those IA soldiers should have thought about that as they leave everything behind. Honestly I wonder if there's even such a thing as Iraq anymore. Or maybe this country is better off disintegrated since they just can't deal with one another. Sorry about my pessimistic view of the Iraqis but they are not proving themselves as competent in any way at this stage. Of all things even the ISIS have more courage than them at this point. I seriously can't accept how they can surrender to odds they have more than sufficient in winning. The IA are cowards. I hope those who survived will know they wrote a chapter of shame in their country's history.

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cn_habs said:

A similar fate awaits A'stan when the coalition forces leave soon. I wonder if regime changes actually make things worse when it comes to most Muslim countries.

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