Full Coverage: ISIS Takes Supply Routes into Baghdad; Threatens Iraq’s 2nd Largest Dam
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (Worthy News)– The Shiite-Sunni sectarian war breaking out in Iraq is threatening a widespread regional war. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is on the move as it threatens to cut off ‘supply routes to Baghdad,’ and are within miles of the Haditha Dam, Iraq’s second largest dam, located on the Euphrates River. Meanwhile, Syria bombed ISIS targets inside of Iraq. The NY Times reported Iran is sending military aid including drones to Iraq.
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Iran is sending drones to Iraq – Ynet News
Iran is secretly flying surveillance drones over Iraq and sending military equipment there to help Baghdad in its fight against Sunni insurgents, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Al-Qaeda-linked group urged Lebanon attacks against Hezbollah – Ynet News
The al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades had urged Lebanese Sunni Muslims to attack the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah a day before Wednesday’s suicide bombing in central Beirut.
ISIS Tries to Grab Its Own Air Force – Daily Beast
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is threatening to take control of Balad Airbase, Iraq’s largest airfield and one of America’s most important military outposts during its occupation of the country.
After Syria bombs Iraq, growing fears of regional conflict – Times of Israel
The United States government and a senior Iraqi military official confirmed that Syrian warplanes bombed militants’ positions Tuesday in and near the border crossing in the town of Qaim. Iraq’s other neighbors — Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — were all bolstering flights just inside their airspace to monitor the situation, said the Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Jordan, Israel cooperate in face of ISIS threat – Ynet News
Cooperation between Israel and Jordan is growing as armed Sunni men from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) make additional gains in Iraq, near the Jordan border, Jordanian sources told Ynet, detailing Jordan’s position regarding the ongoing crisis and potential US intervention.
ISIL fighters advancing towards large Haditha Dam – Sydney Morning Herald
Fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are advancing on the Haditha Dam, the second-largest in Iraq, security officials said.
The militants are coming from the north, the north-east and the north-west. The ISIL fighters had already reached the nearby town of Burwana, on the eastern side of Haditha, and government forces were fighting to halt their advance.
Open the floodgates: Iraqi army may pre-emptively use dam as weapon to stop ISIL advance – Washington Times
The dam in Iraq may literally be about to burst. Sunni radicals from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant are closing in on the country’s second-largest dam. Officials fear that the terrorist army will use it as a weapon, so they’re preparing to pre-emptively open the flood gates — on them.
Baghdad surrounded: ‘Nightmare scenario’ unfolds as ISIL takes supply routes – Washington Times
Baghdad is surrounded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and at least two key supply routes are under the Sunni radical organization’s control.
Shafin Dizayee, a spokesman for autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in Irbil, told McClatchy news service that “the picture is no longer scary. It has become close to a nightmare scenario, where we see [ISIL] expanding and taking control of its borders.”
U.S. Intelligence Sees Iraqi Militants Gaining Strength – Bloomberg
Sunni militants are consolidating their hold on a swath of Iraq and now threaten the integrity of the Iraqi state, U.S. military and intelligence officials said.
Iraqi jihadists seize ancient ‘Exorcist’ temple full of idolatrous stone statues from 3rd century B.C.
An ancient temple that featured in the film The Exorcist has fallen into the hands of jihadists who have taken over northern Iraq.
The pre-Christian worship complex at Hatra, a vast network of 70-metre sun-god temples that is a UNESCO world heritage site, features in the opening sequence of the 1973 horror classic.
Kerry Issues Warning After Syria Bombs Iraq – AP
Syrian warplanes bombed Sunni militants’ positions inside Iraq, military officials confirmed Wednesday, deepening the concerns that the extremist insurgency that spans the two neighboring countries could morph into an even wider regional conflict. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned against the threat and said other nations should stay out.
One week into crisis, Iraq is out of Hellfire missiles – World Tribune
Iraq, in less than a week of fighting, has exhausted its supply of U.S.-origin air-to-ground missiles.
Officials said the Iraqi military has run out of U.S.-origin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
Battle-hardened Shi’ites from Syria said to join fight in Iraq on orders from Iran – World Tribune
Thousands of Iranian-sponsored Shi’ite fighters have left Syria for Iraq. Diplomatic sources said more than 3,000 members of Iranian-financed Shi’ite militias have moved from Syria to Iraq to help stop the advance of Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.
White House to Congress: We Did Not See ISIL Coming – Washington Free Beacon
Senior Obama administration officials’ closed-door briefing to senators Tuesday night revealed that the White House did not anticipate and was not prepared for the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which has wreaked havoc in Iraq and seized many key cities in recent weeks.