Free Republic

Last week’s bombing near the grave of the Quds Force general that killed 84 is the latest episode in ISIS’s war on Shiite Muslims.. In the immediate aftermath of the January 3 blast that killed at least 84 people near the grave of general Qassem Soleimani in the Iranian city of Kerman, some low-level Iranian officials hinted at a possible Israeli involvement. Iran’s deputy parliament speaker claimed it had the signs of an Israeli assault — even though it showed radically different features from Israel’s alleged operations in enemy territory, which usually involve precision killings of key enemy figures. The...

NATIONAL SECURITY GOP Moves To Block Cash to Iran Through Defense Authorization Bill Provisions would prevent sanctions relief and expose Iran's malign activities The sprawling annual defense bill includes several provisions that would block the Biden administration from providing Iran with cash and would require the administration to come clean about any economic sanctions relief it provides to the Islamic Republic. The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest GOP caucus in Congress, is codifying its anti-Iran platform in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which funds U.S. defense efforts and is expected to pass through the House this week

The situation in Iraq, rendered through Iran's lethal meddling, has left the region and the world facing grave dangers. The only solution lies in taking solid action against Iran-backed Shiite militias as the other side of the ISIS coin. As the international coalition in Iraq may be tightening their grip over ISIS, another very dangerous phenomenon spiraling out of control are the Iran-backed Shiite militias roaming freely on killing sprees across Mesopotamia. This is a dire menace called Islamic extremism that can threaten the very fabric of this once iconic cradle of humanity. True is the undeniable fact that ISIS...

A travel warning for Iraq, updated by the State Department on Monday, continues to warn that “anti-U.S.” Shi’ite militias “may present a threat to U.S. citizens,” naming two groups that are playing a leading role in supporting the Iraqi government’s military campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL). The two Iran-backed groups, Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asaib al-Haq (“League of the Righteous”), are at the heart of the Popular Mobilization Forces, set up last year to help Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government fight the Sunni jihadists of ISIS. Although those groups and U.S. armed forces are both supporting Prime Minister Haider...

IRBIL, Iraq — The sectarian Shiite militias that the government in Baghdad has dispatched to fill the void created by the collapse of the Iraqi army are proving ill-equipped for offensive operations intended to reverse gains by the radical Islamic State, Iraqi soldiers and military experts studying the current military situation have concluded. The inadequacy of the militias to turn the tide was demonstrated again on Wednesday six miles south of Tikrit, the central Iraqi city that Islamic State fighters seized June 11 and that Iraqi forces and Shiite fighters have been trying to reclaim for more than two weeks....

Iraqi forces have withdrawn from the militant-held city of Tikrit after their new offensive met heavy resistance, in a blow to the government effort to push back Sunni insurgents controlling large parts of the country. The failure highlights the difficulties of Baghdad's struggle to recapture territory from the insurgents who seized Mosul, Tikrit and other cities last month in a rapid offensive which threatens to fragment Iraq on ethnic and sectarian lines. The setback came as Iraqi politicians named a moderate Sunni Islamist as speaker of parliament on Tuesday. That was a long-delayed first step towards a power-sharing government urgently...