Posted on 08/04/2014 4:07:34 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Mosul - The Islamic State has added three more towns, an additional oilfield and Iraq's largest electricity-producing dam to its spoils of war today after defeating Kurdish forces as they continue in their efforts to topple the country's Shi'ite-led government.
Militants of IS seized control of the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River, about 70 km. north of Nineveh's provincial capital, Mosul today. Surprisingly, there was no fighting involved with Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, according to a Xinhua news agency source who asked to remain anonymous.
Earlier this morning, IS fighters seized the town of Wanna, near the Mosul Dam after a fierce fire-fight with the Peshmerga. IS then gave the Kurdish fighters two-hours to vacate the area of the dam site. Capture of the dam is a strategic coup for the Sunni militants, and they could either flood major Iraqi cities or withhold water from farms. Either way, they have raised the stakes in their favor.
Iraqi state television reported: "The terrorist gangs of the Islamic State have taken control of Mosul Dam after the withdrawal of Kurdish forces without a fight." The Peshmerga has been the only military force to stand firm against the Sunni militants. The apparent unwillingness to engage in fighting the Sunni militants has left many Iraqi officials wondering why the Kurds pulled out without a fight.
The town of Sinjar was entered and taken over early Sunday morning by IS fighters. The town is about 100 km. west of Mosul. "The militants raised the black flag of the IS on the buildings of the local government and the town's municipality," the Xinhua source said. The IS also took over the towns of Shikhan and Telkif east of Mosul, after giving the Peshmerga several hours to evacuate.
On its Twitter site, the Islamic State posted a picture of one of its masked fighters sitting at the desk of the mayor of Sinjar, holding a pistol. On its website, IS says it has killed a lot of Peshmerga, but those deaths have not been confirmed, according to Reuters. A statement by IS says: "Hundreds fled leaving vehicles and a huge number of weapons and munitions and the brothers control many areas. The fighters arrived in the border triangle between Iraq, Syria and Turkey."
The Islamic State has been making some seemingly smart moves, consolidating its territorial gains, picking off towns near oilfields and border crossings near Syria, making it easier to move back and forth with supplies. Major oilfields near the northern city of Kirkuk have not been seized yet, having been under Kurdish control. But IS does control part of a pipeline from Kirkuk into Turkey, and it has been idle for several months because of fighting in the area.
The Kurdish government has asked Washington for weapons to fight the Islamic State militants, and their withdrawal may help to give their plea some weight. It is not known how Baghdad would respond to this, though. But Maliki needs the Kurds, known as good fighters based on their experience pushing back Saddam Hussein's forces.
The world is taking advantage of Barry’s intent to demoralize entire sectors of the US military and the force it can wield...until liberals and the RINO’s are driven out of Wash DC - the world’s nut bags are going to attempt to seize as much as they can before someone responsible gets voted into office...(I can hope - can’t I?)...
Only profanity comes to mind...I’ll hold my tongue.
Documentation File on the 2014 Impeachment of B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro a former Foreign Student from Indonesia, and still a legal Citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.
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