Iran Coalition Begins Push to Retake Ramadi

Iran-led Shia militias are leading the fight to retake Ramadi from ISIL. The city fell on 15 May after the Iraqi army fled the scene before the Islamic State fighters arrived, even though the pro-government forces vastly outnumbered the insurgents. Baghdad announced that some army units would accompany the militias in the operation to liberate Ramadi.

“The operation to liberate Anbar has started with the cooperation of the Iraqi Army and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF),” said Iraqi Defense Minister in a statement broadcast on state television Tuesday, referring to the umbrella organization for predominantly Iran-led Shia militias. (The New York Times, 26 May)

It was not immediately clear if the PMF would accept continued United States airstrikes in the area and close air support to the militia and Iraqi forces. In the last phase of the Battle of Tikrit in late March, the Iranians pulled out from the battle to protest Iraqi government’s decision to invite U.S. air support after the Iran-led offensive had stalled for more than three weeks. 

Note: In an unfortunate sectarian move by the militias, the operation to liberate the predominantly Sunni city of Ramadi was codenamed “Labbaik Ya Hossein,” (We Are Here for You, Ya Hossein), calling for Imam Hossein, the revered Shia Imam, and a battle cry of Shias (against Sunnis). Sectarianism might win battles against ISIL, including in Ramadi, but if the Iran-led coalition wants to win the support of the Sunni populace and with it the war against Sunni extremism, it cannot act in such divisive way. Extremists cannot be defeated by extremism. Preserving the sovereignty of Iraq should be the goal, not what happened in Karbala some 1,400 years ago.

Photo credit: Shia militias during an operation at Baiji Oil Refinery; 25 May 2015 (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

Millions of Shia Pilgrims Gather in Karbala to Commemorate Arbaeen

Millions of Shia pilgrims on Saturday gathered in Karbala to commemorate the Arbaeen, marking the passage of 40 days following the martyrdom of Imam Hossein and 72 companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The Shias lost the battle to the army of Yazid I, the Caliph of the Umayyad. The worshippers marched for three days from the Shia holy city of Najaf to reach Karbala and Imam Hossein Shrine on Arbaeen.

Iraqi police said a mortar attack killed one person and wounded four others near Karbala on Friday. There are fortunately no reports of major clashes or casualties during today’s ceremonies. This year’s Arbaeen commemorations come as the Islamic State controls large portions of Anbar province, bordering Karbala. ISIL considers Shias to be heretic and has targeted Shia community in Iraq.

Photo credit: Shia faithful pilgrims gather between the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and of Imam Abbas, in the background, during the preparations for the commemoration of Arbaeen in the Shia holy city of Karbala; Friday, 12 December 2014. (Hadi Mizban/AP)

Saudi King Suspends Death Sentence for Sheikh Nimr

After Rafsanjani’s Letter

Saudi King Abdullah has stopped the death sentence given to prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. The king reportedly took the action after receiving a letter from Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, warning of serious consequences of Nimr’s execution in Shia-Sunni relations, Iraqi new website al-Youm al-Samen reported on Sunday.

“In this period of time that conspiracies have targeted the land of the Islamic Ummah, stopping the sentence for Ayatollah Sheik Nimr Bagher al-Nimr will disappoint those who sow discord, will increase interaction and settle the problems of the Muslim world,” Hashemi Rafsanjani said his letter to King Abdullah, dated 25 October. “Muslims expect you to take such a decision.” (Al-Youm al-Samen/Fars News Agency, 2 November)

A Saudi court handed down the death penalty against the Shia cleric on 15 October after convicting him of sedition for delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners. Amnesty International has denounced the sentence as “appalling.”

The execution of Sheikh Nimr could have had dangerous repercussions in Saudi-Iran relations and could have further inflamed the current Sunni-Shia conflict in the region.

File photo: Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani (FNA)

Bombings in Baghdad Ahead of Ashura

Bombings in Baghdad have killed at least 24 people, on the eve of Tasua and Ashura, among the holiest days in Shia calendar. In the deadliest of Saturday’s attacks, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-rigged truck at the checkpoint leading to predominantly Shia neighborhood in south Baghdad, killing 20 people and injuring more than 50.

Pilgrims are taking part in Tasua and Ashura commemorations, which mark the wounding and death of Imam Hossein, one of the most revered figures and the symbol of martyrdom in Shia Islam. This year, the Tasua and Ashura fall on Monday and Tuesday of this week respectively.

Photo credit: Iraqi Shia flagellate themselves in grief during preparation for the commemoration of Tasua and Ashura. (AAP)

Iraq: ISIL Captures Towns and Border Crossing in Anbar

Sadrist Militiamen Stage Military-Style Parades In Baghdad and Shia South

ISIL-led insurgents today expanded their offensive in western Iraq and took control of towns of Rawah and Anah and the border crossing of Qaim in Anbar province. The capture of Qaim came after heavy fighting between ISIL and an Iraqi Army brigade sent to reinforce defenses of the important border crossing with Syria. The brigade commander was reportedly killed in action. Qaim’s fall now help ISIL secure supply line to Syria, moving more easily weapons and heavy equipment across the border.

Rawah, on the Euphrates, and the nearby Anah are the first towns in Anbar to fall after the insurgents took control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in January. The capture of Rawah and Anah appears to be part of ISIL’s advance toward a key dam in the city of Haditha, with its 1,000-megawatt hydraulic power station. The Iraqi Army said some 2,000 troops were deployed to Haditha to strengthen the defense of the dam, AP reported today.

Meanwhile, thousands of heavily armed Sadrist militiamen today marched through Shia-dominated southern Iraqi cities in military-style parades, announcing their readiness to fight the ISIL-led insurgents, bringing Iraq closer to an all-out religious war.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the religious leader of Iraqi Shias, on Friday joined calls for Prime Minister Maliki to reach out to the Kurdish and Sunni minorities a day after President Obama challenged Iraqi leaders to create a government representative of all Iraqis.

UPDATE: ISIL has now captured all border crossings to Syria and Jordan. (23 June)

Photo credit: Iraqi Sadrist Shia militia parading on Saturday in Baghdad. (Ali al-Saadi/Getty Images/AFP)

Explosions Target Iranian Embassy in Beirut – 23 People Killed

Two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit Beirut today killing 23 people and damaging buildings around the embassy compound, Reuters reported.

Lebanese television stations said at least 150 people were wounded, but they quoted Iranian diplomatic sources saying none of their staff inside the embassy was hurt. However, Mehr News Agency reported that Iran’s cultural attaché Hojatoleslam Ebrahim Ansari was critically injured during the explosions and has been transported to the hospital.

“At one entrance of the Iranian embassy I counted six bodies outside. I saw body parts around and thrown two streets away,” Reuters television cameraman Issam Abdullah said from the scene. “There is huge damage; it looks like it is a car bomb. One car is twisted there. There were two Mercedes cars badly damaged,” he added.

The explosions were the latest in a string of bomb attacks in Lebanon, which has fallen prey to Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian violence linked to the two-and-half-year conflict in Syria.

Sunni rebel groups have condemned the increasingly critical role played by Iran’s Quds Force, its Lebanese ally, the Hezbollah, and QF-affiliated Iraqi Shia militias in the Syrian civil war. Late last year, as the result of the Quds Force and Hezbollah’s direct involvement in the conflict, the tide of war turned in favor of Assad’s regime. The explosion at the embassy today could be the work of Al Qaeda-affiliated militant Sunni groups fighting in Syria.

Fires engulfed cars and facades of some buildings were torn off and carpets of shattered glass from nearby buildings covered the bloodied streets but the embassy's well-fortified building itself suffered relatively minor damage, Reuters reported.

“Whoever did this is a monstrous terrorist...The resistance (Hezbollah) message is that it will continue. It will continue in all its efforts to defeat Israel and defeat the terrorists,” said Ali Ammar, a Hezbollah official. (Reuters, 19 November)

Photo credit: Explosions target Iranian embassy in Beirut. 19 November 2013. (Top photo: AFP/BBC/Twitter; bottom photo: Reuters/Stringer)