Solar Energy News  
TERROR WARS
Iraq air force strikes IS targets in Syria
By Ammar Karim
Baghdad (AFP) Feb 24, 2017


In name at least, ISIL is defeated
Washington (AFP) Feb 24, 2017 - ISIL is no more.

At least, that's the case in the hallways of the Pentagon, where military officials have done an about-face and started calling the Islamic State group ISIS, not ISIL.

The latter acronym, standing for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, was for years insisted on by Barack Obama's administration, even though few people outside of Washington seemed to use it.

ISIS stands for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and is more commonly used in daily conversation, as well as by President Donald Trump.

"We have made a decision to follow what our chain of command says and... (that) is what the American people understand," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said Friday.

"ISIS is the term that Joe Q. Public understands what it means and is what they use, so we are using that term."

The Pentagon issued a memo on February 13 officially directing staff to use ISIS.

When IS emerged in 2014, news organizations and international governments were divided over what to call it.

Most outlets went with the "Islamic State group" or "so-called Islamic State," often abbreviating the name to IS on second reference.

In the Middle East, the Arabic acronym "Daesh" stuck, and that was a term taken up by French President Francois Hollande and former British premier David Cameron.

A British government Twitter account that had been called "UK Against ISIL" was changed to "UK Against Daesh" as Cameron made the announcement.

"#Daesh is Arabic acronym for #ISIL. Daesh hates the term + sounds similar to Arabic words Daes & Dahes: 'to trample' & 'one who sows discord,'" read a tweet on the account.

The Iraqi air force struck members of the Islamic State group inside neighbouring Syria on Friday, officials said, adding that the targeted militants were responsible for recent bombings in Baghdad.

The strike was announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a statement and is believed to be the first of its kind by Iraqi jets on Syrian territory.

"We ordered the air force command to strike Daesh terrorist sites in Husseibeh and Albu Kamal, in Syrian territory," the premier said, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist organisation.

"We are determined to track down terrorists trying to kill our sons and citizens wherever they are," he said.

Both locations cited by Abadi are very close to the border and lie in the Euphrates Valley, facing the remote western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said the United States had provided intelligence to help the Iraqis in the strike.

"We were aware... we supported it as well with information," Davis said, noting he thought it was the first time the Iraqi air force had hit IS inside Syria.

Husseibeh is a town in Iraq but an area that lies on the Syrian side of the border bares the same name.

Jihadists have lost most of their urban bastions in the vast western province of Anbar since Iraqi forces mounted a counter-offensive following the capture by IS of around a third of the country in 2014.

The Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against IS in Iraq released its own statement stating that the strike took place on Friday and containing some video footage.

"Baghdad witnessed terrorist attacks using car bombs in Bayaa and Habibiyah," the statement said, referring to bombings that killed dozens last week in the Iraqi capital.

- 'Completely destroyed' -

The February 16 car bomb blast in Bayaa killed at least 52 people and was the deadliest such attack in Baghdad since a suicide truck bomb explosion in the Karrada neighbourhood set teeming shopping arcades ablaze and killed more than 320.

"After a few days of investigation, (the security forces) reached them and found their location," the JOC said.

"This morning, the heroes of the air force attacked enemy targets with F-16s inside Syria, in the Husseibeh and Albu Kamal areas," it said. "Their hideouts were completely destroyed."

But they continue to move relatively easily in desert areas and have hideouts from which they harass the security forces.

An Iraqi security official speaking on condition of anonymity said it was the first time Iraqi aircraft had hunted IS targets across the border in Syria.

Iraq coordinated anti-IS raid in Syria: source close to ministry
Damascus (AFP) Feb 24, 2017 - An Iraqi air strike against the Islamic State group inside Syria on Friday was coordinated with the Damascus government, a source close to the Syrian foreign ministry said.

The source told leading newspaper Al-Watan, close to the Syrian regime, that "Iraqi bombardment on terrorist targets inside Syrian territory took place in full coordination with the government of the Syrian Arab Republic".

The strike was announced earlier Friday by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a statement and is believed to be the first of its kind by Iraqi jets on Syrian territory.

"We ordered the air force command to strike Daesh terrorist sites in Husseibeh and Albu Kamal, in Syrian territory," the premier said, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist organisation.

Both locations cited by Abadi are very close to the border and lie in the Euphrates Valley, facing the remote western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim.

Husseibeh is a town in Iraq but an area that lies on the Syrian side of the border bares the same name.

Jihadists have lost most of their urban bastions in the vast western province of Anbar since Iraqi forces mounted a counter-offensive following the capture by IS of around a third of the country in 2014.

The Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against IS in Iraq said the raid targeted those responsible for a car bomb in Baghdad last week that killed at least 52 people.


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
TERROR WARS
Syria rebels say Al-Bab captured from IS jihadists
Beirut (AFP) Feb 23, 2017
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels said Thursday they had fully captured the town of Al-Bab from the Islamic State group, marking a key defeat for the jihadists after weeks of heavy fighting. As Ankara said its allies now had "near complete control", the rebel announcement came on the opening day of peace talks between the Syrian opposition and regime in Geneva. Al-Bab, just 25 kilometres (15 ... read more


TERROR WARS
Scientists use nanoparticles, ultraviolet light to turn CO2 into fuel

Alberta backing bioenergy programs

A better way to farm algae

DuPont Industrial Biosciences to develop new high-efficiency biogas enzyme method

TERROR WARS
Study: Even 'benevolent bots' fight, sometimes for years

Scientists invent new, faster gait for six-legged robots

Now you can 'build your own' bio-bot

How algorithms secretly run the world

TERROR WARS
US grid can handle more offshore wind power

Michigan meets renewable energy targets

British grid drawing power from new offshore wind farm

Prysmian UK to supply land cable connections for East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm

TERROR WARS
Kymeta aimes to deliver terabyte connectivity to the car of the future

Tesla slips back into red but revenue grows

Roads are driving rapid evolutionary change in our environment

Four-stroke engine cycle produces hydrogen from methane and captures CO2

TERROR WARS
Stabilizing energy storage

Looking for the next leap in rechargeable batteries

Squishy supercapacitors bathed in green tea could power wearable electronics

Looking for the next leap in rechargeable batteries

TERROR WARS
German energy giant RWE posts 5.7-bln-euro loss in 2016

Russia's Rosatom Subsidiaries Produced 7,900 Tonnes of Uranium in 2016

China delays nuclear reactor start again

System automatically detects cracks in nuclear power plants

TERROR WARS
New Zealand lauded for renewables, but challenges remain

EU parliament backs draft carbon trading reforms

Taiwan lantern makers go green for festival of lights

Republican ex-top diplomats propose a carbon tax

TERROR WARS
Forests worldwide threatened by drought

Study: The forest is getting farther away, especially in rural America

Myanmar makes record seizures of illegal timber

Laissez-faire is not good enough for reforestation









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.