The Iraqi Army is intensifying its campaign against the so-called Islamic State, driving on towards the main prize, the second city of Mosul.
The campaign was given a boost this week when US Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the deployment of 560 more American troops, to add to 4,000-plus already there.
A synopsis of the various fighters in Iraq grouped by religion, culture, region, and political agendas.
Following the US military’s withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011, Sunni and Shia militias changed course: Some joined the political process, while others went through a period of inactivity. The ongoing conflict in Syria, however, has given a new lease on life to many of those groups.
Israel wants ‘Gaza gangs’ to manage post-war securty and reconstruction
Israel is making plans for ‘Gaza gangs’, who oppose Hamas, to lead post-war reconstruction and security efforts.
Israel is seeking to grant powers to “gangs” in Gaza accused of looting aid and other criminal activities to dominate post-war policing and reconstruction in the enclave.
On October 14, four days after Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of US President Donald Trump’s 20-Point Ceasefire Plan for Gaza, Trump addressed the Israeli Knesset. “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” Trump stated. However, a month after the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire, which laid out clear guidelines for the cessation of hostilities and the return of Israeli hostages, Hamas and allied terror groups have violated the agreement at least 18 times, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims.
Since the start of Israel’s ongoing Rafah invasion in early May, humanitarian workers have been displaced alongside over one million Palestinians, with movement within the Gaza Strip virtually impossible.
Telecommunications are frequently down, and many humanitarian activities have been halted. Aid organisations are reporting that most Gazans are unsure where their next meal will come from and that conditions in new displacement sites are worse than ever.
On October 14, four days after Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of US President Donald Trump’s 20-Point Ceasefire Plan for Gaza, Trump addressed the Israeli Knesset. “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” Trump stated. However, a month after the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire, which laid out clear guidelines for the cessation of hostilities and the return of Israeli hostages, Hamas and allied terror groups have violated the agreement at least 18 times, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims.
A few days after the body of a General Security member was found shot near the town of Nahta in Daraa countryside in mid-September, ISIS released a video showing the field execution of the same young man, who had served in the General Security forces during the clashes between local tribes and fighters from the so-called “Military Council” in Suweida. Analysts viewed the incident as an announcement of ISIS’s arrival in Daraa and its renewed ability to spread and carry out operations for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024.
Experts say Hamas is attempting to reassert its authority, but members of three anti-Hamas militias told Sky News they have no intention of laying down their arms.
One week into the ceasefire, a new kind of violence is plaguing the Gaza Strip.
Public executions, arson attacks and gun battles have raised the spectre of a slide into civil chaos as Hamas battles armed groups it accuses of collaborating with Israel.
A long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is finally underway, though tensions are already taking root. An end to the conflict is still up in the air, with all the old obstacles remaining in Trump’s twenty-point roadmap to peace.