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)

Fighting between Islamists and Lebanese Army Enters Third Day - UPDATE

Tripoli and Lebanon’s North Under Attack

Lebanese army troops battled Islamist militants in Tripoli and across northern Lebanon for a third day on Sunday, Reuters reported today. Militants began fighting the army on Friday. Dozens of soldiers, militants and civilians have been killed in the clashes.

Reuters reported that fighting spread to Arsal, the frontier town in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, which militants briefly seized in the summer. The Islamist killed 20 soldiers and captured many more before withdrawing from the town.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam called on residents of Tripoli to support the government during “these difficult times” and said the city would not be abandoned. (Reuters, 26 October)

Lebanese security sources told Reuters that the militants include both Lebanese and Syrian affiliates or supporters of Islamic State and the Nusra Front. The insurgents, who are overwhelmingly Sunni, accuse the army of working with Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shia movement and militia force, which has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to fight against the Sunni opposition forces.

UPDATE: The Lebanese Army started evacuating residents from Tripoli districts affected by the fighting, KUNA reported on Sunday. Some Tripoli neighborhoods, especially Bab al-Tabana, have been the scene of fierce fighting between the army and the Islamist militants since Friday.

Photo credit: Lebanese army soldiers take positions during clashes with Islamist militants in Tripoli; 26 October 2014. (Reuters)

Iran Warns Pakistan against Insurgent Activities on Iran Border

IRGC Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said today that the Iranian military may enter Pakistani territory in pursuit of Iranian Baluch insurgent group Jaish al-Adl if the Pakistani government does not take concrete actions against them. In recent months, the militant group has carried out several armed attacks on border posts in Iranian Baluchistan. Four LEF officers were killed in two separate attacks in border city of Saravan on 8-9 October.

Last week an LEF aircraft carrying several senior LEF officers crashed near Zahedan, the provincial capital. The LEF team was to visit the area to investigate the recent attacks by the insurgents.

Jaish al-Adl (“Army of Justice”) and its predecessor organization, the Jundallah, have waged an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic, employing terrorism, kidnapping and armed attacks on LEF. The group says it is fighting against the government for its sectarian anti-Sunni policies and to protect the Sunni rights in Baluchistan.  

IRGC’s Gen. Salami said that maintaining border security should be an important common issue between Iran and Pakistan.

“We do not interfere in the affairs of any country, but if they do not fulfill their obligations we have to act,” Salami said. (IRNA/Trend, 16 October)

File photo: An Iranian border guard in Baluchistan (FNA)