Iraq crisis: Fighting in Tikrit after 'caliphate' declared

[Alex P Notkeaton]

Source: BBC News

30 June 2014 Last updated at 16:15

Fresh clashes have been reported between jihadist-led Sunni rebels and government forces around the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Witnesses said there had been a wave of air strikes and that former President Saddam Hussein's palace had been hit.

A local source told the BBC the rebels had meanwhile seized parts of a nearby military base in a counter-attack.

It comes a day after the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) announced the creation of a "caliphate".

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28092840

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Caliphate from Clusterfuck. Impressive!

[Renew Deal]

1. Air strikes by who?

[Gore1FL]

3. From the article, I think they are referring to the Iraqi Army heliocopters. n/t

[Comrade Grumpy]

8. The Iraqi air force has a fleet of two Cessnas. They've been dropping Hellfire missiles from them.

[subject]

2. Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaw!!

Mission Accomplished! no wait........

[Laelth]

4. Very interesting side-note from the article.

According to the article, Israel is now calling for an independent Kurdistan. As far as I know, they are the first nation to do so. Otherwise, the only people who want an independent Kurdistan are the Kurds, themselves.

-Laelth

[amandabeech]

7. The Kurds have oil that used to be shipped by pipeline from Kirkuk

to somewhere in Israel, maybe with a stop off in Jordan.

Israel wants to re-install the pipeline, although it would be difficult to do with ISIS/ISIL sitting on top of a lot of it.

Plus, the Kurds aren't Arab or Persian and they don't seem to have any problem with the Israelis, and Israel might be able to slip agents into Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, parts of Syria and whatever is left of Iraq from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Not a bad deal for the Israelis.

[Laelth]

9. Yes, but why now?

The Kurds have wanted their own country for a long, long time and Israel never before came out in favor of that proposition. Even now, the U.S., and Turkey, and Iran, and Shiite Iraq all strongly oppose an independent Kurdistan. Why is Israel rocking this boat at this time?

My suspicion: an excuse to provide support for the Kurds while the Kurds are battling ISIS.

But, truly, I have no clue. It's quite odd.

-Laelth

[amandabeech]

10. The Israelis have been active in Iraqi Kurdistan ever since Saddam was deposed.

This is the first time that the Kurds have been openly serious about a completely independent state.

You're right, though, that the Kurds are fighting ISIS, which I'm sure would like to drive the Israelis, well the Jewish and Christians living in Israel, into the sea.

Things are moving very fast in that part of the Middle East, and tomorrow may present an entirely different picture.

[AAO]

5. Let em have the whole kit and kaboodle.

Not our problem. If it becomes our problem, we'll know exactly where to nuke'em.

Now - If I really need to use the sarcasm - oh what the hell:

[quadrature]

6. why are we fighting for Maliki?

Maliki gutted the Iraq Army offices corp,
are put in his own flunkies.

on top of that, Maliki picked a fight with
(not sure about exact name)
the Salvation Front, these guys brought
some order to Anbar province

[Laelth]

11. He's the legitimate, elected leader of a republic we created.

Why wouldn't we support him? We went into Iraq advocating freedom and democracy and forced the Iraqis to create a republic that suited us. That republic elected Maliki. Thus, we are hypocrites if we don't support the government that we worked so hard and spent so much blood and treasure trying to create.

-Laelth