Yesterday, southern Mosul was targeted for the first time by British warplanes, killing - according to our sources - 9 ISIL gunmen. There were also clashes yesterday between a newly-formed Yazidi resistance group and ISIL gunmen, killing 10 gunmen and 3 Yazidis.
Yesterday the Mosul Provincial Council held its first meeting in Alqosh. The Council called for formulating a plan to liberate Mosul, for speeding up the formation of the National Guard, while calling on Parliament to consider the Yazidi victims on a par with the victims of Camp Speicher.
A U.S. airstrike on Makhmur yesterday - presumably relying on advance intelligence - killed a number of ISIL personnel who had gathered in the targeted location.
There has been a negative public reaction regarding new ISIL regulations imposing bounty payments disguised as Islamic 'Zakat' contributions. ISIL authorities have also begun leasing government buildings and property. Meanwhile, fuel prices are still rising in anticipation of the winter season.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
29 September 2014
Reconnaissance flights are continuing over Mosul, and strikes have been targeted on Guwayr, east of Mosul, according to our sources. The strikes have killed or wounded about 50 ISIL personnel.
The Mosul Brigades, a resistance group within Mosul, yesterday killed an ISIL gunman responsible for making explosive devices at his home.
With regard to services in the city, there is widespread disdain for the near-absence of any services and for the lack of basic supplies in the city.
Sources among the public are expressing concern over the approach of winter amid the fuel shortages. The available fuel is of low quality and expensive, with prices gradually increasing: the price of a barrel of heating fuel has reached 300,000 Dinars - a very high price when compared to prices in Baghdad and elsewhere. Mosul citizens are also fearful of the (possible) liberation of the city before winter. Buying and selling in Mosul is at a standstill, particularly that of cars and homes, with many of those who have money fearful of spending it. They are also concerned that buying a car or a home will be concluded using improper documentation, given the fact that the whole situation is unstable and out of the ordinary.
The Mosul Brigades, a resistance group within Mosul, yesterday killed an ISIL gunman responsible for making explosive devices at his home.
With regard to services in the city, there is widespread disdain for the near-absence of any services and for the lack of basic supplies in the city.
Sources among the public are expressing concern over the approach of winter amid the fuel shortages. The available fuel is of low quality and expensive, with prices gradually increasing: the price of a barrel of heating fuel has reached 300,000 Dinars - a very high price when compared to prices in Baghdad and elsewhere. Mosul citizens are also fearful of the (possible) liberation of the city before winter. Buying and selling in Mosul is at a standstill, particularly that of cars and homes, with many of those who have money fearful of spending it. They are also concerned that buying a car or a home will be concluded using improper documentation, given the fact that the whole situation is unstable and out of the ordinary.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
25 September 2014
Reconnaissance flights are still being carried out in the skies over Mosul, while ISIL forces are still trying, so far unsuccessfully, to target the aircraft.
Refugees sheltering in camps have called on Mosul parliamentarians and on the governor to relinquish their posts, accusing them of being responsible for their tragic plight. For example, Mosul citizens are being supplied with electricity for 2 hours every 5 days.
There has also been public outrage over the abduction, torture, and murder by ISIL gunmen of the activist Samira Al-Nu'aimy. She was murdered because of her opposition to ISIL's actions. She had previously also opposed U.S. forces' actions and was widely reported to have offered her free representation of prisoners. She never relented in her efforts, but this time she has been silenced by ISIL. Her body was delivered to her family with a warning not to seek any public condolences. Our sources tell us that she had become a respected and popular public figure in Mosul without any political affiliations or self-serving interests.
Our sources also say that ISIL, prior to the Paris Conference, was engaged in their 'normal' activities, but these have since been escalated into a heavy mobile and pedestrian presence in the city by ISIL gunmen with their beards and Afghan-style clothing in what is being seen by the public as psychological terror.
Refugees sheltering in camps have called on Mosul parliamentarians and on the governor to relinquish their posts, accusing them of being responsible for their tragic plight. For example, Mosul citizens are being supplied with electricity for 2 hours every 5 days.
There has also been public outrage over the abduction, torture, and murder by ISIL gunmen of the activist Samira Al-Nu'aimy. She was murdered because of her opposition to ISIL's actions. She had previously also opposed U.S. forces' actions and was widely reported to have offered her free representation of prisoners. She never relented in her efforts, but this time she has been silenced by ISIL. Her body was delivered to her family with a warning not to seek any public condolences. Our sources tell us that she had become a respected and popular public figure in Mosul without any political affiliations or self-serving interests.
Our sources also say that ISIL, prior to the Paris Conference, was engaged in their 'normal' activities, but these have since been escalated into a heavy mobile and pedestrian presence in the city by ISIL gunmen with their beards and Afghan-style clothing in what is being seen by the public as psychological terror.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
24 September 2014
The sources are telling us that some aircraft - presumed to be unmanned drones - carried out reconnaissance flights over the city yesterday. The planes were fired upon by ISIL anti-air weapons.
Also yesterday, the 'Mosul Brigades' claimed responsibility for killing 2 ISIL gunmen in the Wahda district, using silenced weapons. The overall atmosphere in Mosul is one of welcome for the operations being carried out by the international community, but people are calling on the coalition forces to preserve the impartiality of civilians by taking care in their targeting and its accuracy. It is a known fact that ISIL gunmen are dispersed among the civilians and their homes.
Meanwhile, the economic situation here is still burdensome on the citizens of Mosul; the most severe shortages are of fuel, with the available fuel being of very low quality coming from Turkey and Syria and being sold at very high prices. The same applies to cooking fuel.
Also yesterday, the 'Mosul Brigades' claimed responsibility for killing 2 ISIL gunmen in the Wahda district, using silenced weapons. The overall atmosphere in Mosul is one of welcome for the operations being carried out by the international community, but people are calling on the coalition forces to preserve the impartiality of civilians by taking care in their targeting and its accuracy. It is a known fact that ISIL gunmen are dispersed among the civilians and their homes.
Meanwhile, the economic situation here is still burdensome on the citizens of Mosul; the most severe shortages are of fuel, with the available fuel being of very low quality coming from Turkey and Syria and being sold at very high prices. The same applies to cooking fuel.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
23 September 2014
Our sources say that the head Nineveh Governorate Council, Bashar al-Kiki, announced yesterday that the Council is to hold a meeting in Alqosh, a suburb of Mosul that has not fallen into ISIL hands. The date of the meeting, to be attended by the Governor, has not yet been fixed. It will be important in that it will discuss the ways and means to support the Province and to liberate it from the ISIL gunmen.
Also yesterday, 3 ISIL gunmen were killed in the western Mosul district of Al-Nahrawan. They were occupying a house belonging to a family that has been displaced. They were targeted by the Mosul resistance using silenced weapons.
A Mosul member of parliament, Mahasin al-Hamdun, announced a new mechanism for disbursing the 1 million Dinar aid for each displaced family. She says that the new system would not require a trip to Baghdad, but would be dealt with via documentation only. There had been many complaints about the existing system that has been plagued by favoritism and interventionism, whereas the new system will be easier and simpler. She also announced that long-delayed government salaries, especially in the Oil Ministry, would be paid.
The Nineveh Agricultural Directorate has been ordered by the Agriculture Ministry to indefinitely postpone the repayment of loans by farmers whose crops have been hit by water shortages.
Also yesterday, 3 ISIL gunmen were killed in the western Mosul district of Al-Nahrawan. They were occupying a house belonging to a family that has been displaced. They were targeted by the Mosul resistance using silenced weapons.
A Mosul member of parliament, Mahasin al-Hamdun, announced a new mechanism for disbursing the 1 million Dinar aid for each displaced family. She says that the new system would not require a trip to Baghdad, but would be dealt with via documentation only. There had been many complaints about the existing system that has been plagued by favoritism and interventionism, whereas the new system will be easier and simpler. She also announced that long-delayed government salaries, especially in the Oil Ministry, would be paid.
The Nineveh Agricultural Directorate has been ordered by the Agriculture Ministry to indefinitely postpone the repayment of loans by farmers whose crops have been hit by water shortages.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
18 September 2014
With regard to the Mosul security situation, U.S. air missions are continuing; a strike targeted an ISIL position in Sinjar. Sources say that the warplanes destroyed five vehicles in the area.
Liberation operations by joint government and Peshmarga forces succeeded yesterday in liberating 5 villages near Khazir.
Within Mosul, the resistance is using snipers in targeting the ISIL gunmen. Yesterday, a gunman has shot dead an ISIL member in the Nur neighborhood.
ISIL members met yesterday with education supervisors of Nineveh Governorate who were informed to remove passages from literature, history, and poetry texts. This also included Darwin's evolution theory and any subject that conflicts with the teaching syllabuses they want to impose. This has come just as the new school year gets underway, and it is clear that their emphasis is on scientific subjects, such as geometry and physics and anything else that might serve ISIL's interests. The ISIL representatives warned teachers of punishment if they do not adhere to their instructions.
Many Mosul students are rushing to respond to Education Ministry calls for registration by way of submitting their exam forms through the internet as a temporary measure, until the Ministry can maybe ask them to go to Kirkuk to sit for their exams.
Liberation operations by joint government and Peshmarga forces succeeded yesterday in liberating 5 villages near Khazir.
Within Mosul, the resistance is using snipers in targeting the ISIL gunmen. Yesterday, a gunman has shot dead an ISIL member in the Nur neighborhood.
ISIL members met yesterday with education supervisors of Nineveh Governorate who were informed to remove passages from literature, history, and poetry texts. This also included Darwin's evolution theory and any subject that conflicts with the teaching syllabuses they want to impose. This has come just as the new school year gets underway, and it is clear that their emphasis is on scientific subjects, such as geometry and physics and anything else that might serve ISIL's interests. The ISIL representatives warned teachers of punishment if they do not adhere to their instructions.
Many Mosul students are rushing to respond to Education Ministry calls for registration by way of submitting their exam forms through the internet as a temporary measure, until the Ministry can maybe ask them to go to Kirkuk to sit for their exams.
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