#Iraqcrisis: #UScouldteamupwithIran - #liveupdates #IranUStalks could #startthisweek, #saysWSJ #Outrage over #massacreofIraqisoldiers #IntelligencebreakthroughagainstIsis #Staffevacuated from #USembassyinBaghdad Share 113 Tweet this Email Matthew Weaver Matthew Weaver theguardian, Monday 16 June 2014 11.37 BST Jump to comments (431) Print this Iraqs #MinistryofDefence releases #footage of #airstrikes which it claims shows attacks on positions #northofBaghdad belonging to #Islamicmilitantgroup Isis. Vehicles and small buildings are shown being attacked from the air. Meanwhile, hundreds of people are shown queuing at #Tajicamp, north of Baghdad to sign up to fight 11.37am BST The #Turkishgovernment has stepped up efforts to free 49 Turkish citizens, including senior diplomats, seized by Isis insurgents in Mosul last Wednesday, writes Constanze Letsch from Istanbul. According to Turkish media reports, the hostages that include Turkish Consul General in Mosul, Öztürk Yildirim, are being held captive in an undisclosed location in northern Iraq. The government’s Iraq Crisis Desk, established by the foreign ministry last Friday, issued a statement saying that efforts to achieve the release of the kidnapped citizens were being “carried out with great care”. Deputy foreign minister Naci Koru told the Turkish press that the 49 consulate staff were “in good health”. He also dismissed reports that Isis fighters had demanded ransom for the held Turkish citizens. He added that the Turkish foreign ministry had urged Turkish citizens in Iraq to be extremely careful. Kuru said: “At this point Baghdad is a zone of risk. Parts of the city’s environs are under the control of Isis. We are warning citizens to leave at the slightest sign of danger. Baghdad is not in the hands of terrorist organisations, but there is a danger, a risk.” According to the foreign ministry website, 7,000 – 10,000 Turkish citizens are thought to currently reside in Iraq in addition to the 110,000 Turkish citizens that live in the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) region. It said cheap flights were available to Turkish citizens who wished to leave the neighbouring country. In reference to Isis attack on the predominantly Turkmen town of Tel Afar on Sunday night, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of a “sectarian war”. He also urged the press to follow the Mosul hostage crisis silently: “About 100 of our citizens are in the hands of Isis elements”, he said speaking at a rally in the Black Sea town of Trabzon on Sunday. “We want you [the media] to follow these events not with provocations, but without writing, drawing and talking too much about them. These provocations have negative consequences.” The prime minister also announced that his government would hold another urgent meeting after his return to the capital Ankara. “We will decide what further steps will be taken then”, Erdoğan said. The head of Turkeys diplomatic mission in Mosul, Yulmad Udturk. Militants stormed the Turkish consulate in Mosul and kidnapped 48 people including Udturk. The head of Turkeys diplomatic mission in Mosul, Yulmad Udturk. Militants stormed the Turkish consulate in Mosul and kidnapped 49 people including Udturk. Photograph: Marwan Ibrahim/AFP/Getty Images 11.21am BST Britain is only prepared to offer technical help to the Iraqi government in its fight against Isis insurgents, according to the defence secretary Philip Hammond. PA reports: Speaking at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the Government was principally concerned with averting a humanitarian crisis in Iraq and ensuring stability in the country. Asked whether ruling out British military intervention may encourage Isis, Hammond replied: No, I dont think so. We are going to give all the support we can to the Iraqi government, technical support and advice. But the Foreign Secretary has made it clear we dont have any intention of putting British boots on the ground. This is an Iraqi problem and has to be solved in Iraq. But well provide all the assistance we can from a technical standpoint. He added: We are principally concerned to make sure there is stability in the country, that a legitimately elected government is able to govern the country, and to avert a humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are displaced from their homes. Hammond said blaming a lack of action in Syria for the extremist insurgency in Iraq was probably a rather simplistic analysis. The 2003 invasion was certainly one of the factors, he added. I think the root causes of the problems in Iraq are very complex and deep-rooted, Hammond said. There are multiple causes of the situation. Whats important now is that we persuade the leaders of Iraq to be prepared to compromise, to be prepared to act, to be inclusive so that we get a coming together of the different groups in Iraq in order to save that countrys integrity. Updated at 11.21am BST 11.13am BST Washington needs to accept Tehran as an essential player in containing and rolling back Isis, according to Middle East analysts and specialist Iran watchers Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett. Writing in the National Interest they says: It is crucial, though, that America engage Iran over Isis politically—not, as some suggest, by U.S. warplanes covering Iranian foot soldiers in Iraq. (Most responsible officials and politicians in Tehran appear too smart to fall for such a “trap,” which would also play into al-Qa’ida’s grand strategy.) 10.48am BST Iranian officials are due to enter talks on its nuclear programme with world powers, including the US, in Vienna today. There is a widespread expectation that the talks will be used to discuss possible US-Iran cooperation in Iraq. US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who held secret nuclear talks with Iran in 2013, was due in Vienna, as was Iraian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, AFP reports. Reuters point out that Irans president Hassan Rouhani, has not ruled out working with the US against Isis in Iraq. Speaking at a news confernce on Saturday he said: We can think about it, if we see America starts confonting the terrorist groups in Iraq or elsewhere. Where did Isis come from? Who is funding this terrorist group? We had warned everyone, including the West, about the danger of backing such a terrorist and reckless group. Negotiating team is trying 2 draft final deal with G5+1: @JZarif #Iran #IranTalksVienna #Zarif t.co/0sYQlIw7gx pic.twitter/U9C4kTMjXC — Iran (@Iran) June 16, 2014 10.04am BST AFP has more confirmation about the fall of Tal Afar. Security forces insisted they had repelled an assault on Tal Afar, a Shia Turkman-majority town in Nineveh province, but multiple officials and a resident said militants had entered it, with one saying they were in control. Armed groups managed to take control of Tal Afar, a Nineveh provincial government official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. They clashed with security forces and (tribal fighters), who had to withdraw from the town. Martin Chulov in Baghdad said the fall of Tal Afar was of limited significance. The main battle lines are between Baquba and Baghdad, and to the west of the city around Anbar. The north of the country and the centre has, by and large, been taken by Isis. If they take another town or village in the centre it is not going to change anything. If they are going to advance on Baghdad, thats a different story. But I still dont see that happening. They [Isis] are a classic insurgent group, they are very capable, extremely dangerous. But to storm a city like Baghdad, which would be heavily defended by what remains of Malikis military and irregulars is a very different matter. Updated at 10.09am BST 9.45am BST Claims that 1,700 Iraqi troops have been summarily executed by insurgents is of “extremely potent propaganda value” for Isis, but they remains unverified, Martin Chulov in Baghdad points out. In an audio update from the Iraqi capital Martin said it was confirmed that around 80 soldiers had been killed, but the fate of up to 1,900 missing soldiers was unclear. Images of the killings is having an incendiary effect, he warned. These photos depicting widespread slaughter, and accompanying videos, are genuine, they are galvanising a deeply outraged belligerent Shia community in Baghdad. These are extremely dangerous images in such combustible times, and there are urgent efforts to try and establish what’s happened to the rest of the 1,900 odd Shia soldiers who were captured by Isis last Wednesday. Are they in custody in Tikrit where they were taken? Or have they been killed? If its the latter that it is going to cause an even further rapid deterioration in this situation. On the claim that 1,700 troops have been killed, Martin added: It is not easy to hide 1,700 bodies ... I would have thought there would have been leverage in keeping those prisoners alive, rather than whole sale slaughter which they know is going to send every Shia in the land after them. My suspicion is that they remain alive but in desperate peril. Martin said the fight back against Isis has begun in earnest, but it is battle being motivated by sectarianism rather than nationalism. The recruitment centres in Baghdad are literally over flowing with young lads wanting to join up an fight, along sectarian lines. It doesn’t appear to be nationalistic cause at this point. The orientation towards sect is taking primacy over orientation to being a patriotic Iraqi. 8.49am BST More on the fall of Tal Afar, from AP. Tal Afar Mayor Abdulal Abdoul said that his town, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, was taken just before dawn. The town has a population of some 200,000 people, mostly ethnic Shia and Sunni Turkomen. The ethnic mix of Tal Afar raises the grim specter of large-scale atrocities by the Sunni militants, who already claim to have killed hundreds of Shiites in areas they captured last week. Tal Afar residents reached by phone confirmed the towns capture by militants. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety. The fall of Tal Afar comes a week after militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [Isis] captured Iraqs second-largest city, Mosul, and Saddam Husseins hometown of Tikrit in a lightening offensive. 8.33am BST Hague: UK may help with counter terrorism William Hague has again ruled out military intervention in Iraq, but he revealed that Britain is considering some form of counter-terrorism operation. The foreign secretary is due to make a statement to the Commons later today. Speaking to the Today programme ahead of the announcement he said: We might be able to help with counter terrorism ... I dont want to go into the details because that makes it more difficult to operate. He mentioned counter terrorism expertise before being interrupted. But Hague added: “Are we looking at a British military intervention? No, we’re not. I can’t be clearer than that.” Hague also insisted he backed the invasion of Iraq, but admitted mistakes were made. I don’t think the invasion itself was a mistake. I have always thought that many mistakes were made in the aftermath of the invasion, he said. Updated at 8.40am BST 8.18am BST Militants capture Tal Afar There are reports that Sunni insurgents have seized control of Tal Afar. BREAKING: Residents and mayor say Sunni militants have captured northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar. — The Associated Press (@AP) June 16, 2014 Earlier Iraqi officials told AFP that security forces and tribal fighters had repelled a militant assault on Tal Afar. It describes the town as important strategicly as it provides a critical corridor for militants to access Syria. Updated at 8.34am BST 8.09am BST Like Tony Blair, Paul Bremer the US diplomat who led the occupation authority in Iraq, remains unrepentant about the invasion. Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme he said: The big error was leaving too soon. I argued 10 years ago that I thought history would judge not that we stayed too long but that we left too early. I think events of the last few weeks tend towards that view. Bremer also claimed that without the invasion, the US would be facing a nuclear armed Iraq and a continuation of Saddam Husseins murderous policy towards the Iraqi people. And Bremer called for a return of some US intelligence forces to Iraq to help repel the advance of Isis. On the possibility of co-operating with Iran, Bremer said: At bottom we do have a shared interest in a stable and united Iraq. If we dont intervene and if the Isis moves around Baghdad into the holy cities, the Iranians would see an opportunity and perhaps even a need to intervene directly. So we may get backed into a situation where we are in effect working with the Iranians. Updated at 8.10am BST 7.43am BST The Wall Street Journal has more detail on its claim that the US is preparing to discuss some form of joint action in Iraq with its one-time arch foe Iran. It quotes a US defence official saying: This is a case where the enemy of our enemy is still our enemy. Any shared interests in Iraq are limited. The paper adds: The White Houses engagement with Iran on Iraq offers both opportunities and risks, said US defence officials and Arab diplomats. Iran, a majority Shiite country, has served as Malikis closest Mideast ally and has mobilized Tehrans military and religious establishment to support their coreligionists in Iraq in recent days. Irans elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has an extensive presence inside Iraq, said US officials, and has trained Shiamilitias that have joined the Iraqi army in fighting Isis. US officials say the IRGC trained many of the largest Shia militias going back to the Iraq war and maintain contacts. These include the Mahdi Army, Kataib Hezbollah, and Asab Ahl al-Haq. Iran has publicly denied sending forces to fight in Iraq and has said it would give Iran military assistance if Iraq asked. Even some of Obamas harshest critics in Washington voiced support on Sunday for coordinating the US.s military response in Iraq with Tehrans. They argued that Isis poses a much greater near-term threat to the USs national-security interests than does Iran. Why did we deal with Stalin? Because he was not as bad as Hitler, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Sunday on CNN. The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesnt fall. On Sundays Irans president Hassan Rouhani said Tehran is ready to help the Baghdad government. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran is ready to help the Iraqi government and nation, within the framework of international law, if Baghdad asks for help. The Tehran Times quoted him saying: We, as the Islamic Republic of Iran, are both friends and neighbours of Iraq, and our ties with the Iraqi government are close and cordial. If the Iraqi government asks for our help, we will review [the request], though we have not received such a request so far. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images 7.26am BST Summary Welcome to our continuing coverage of the crisis in Iraq. Heres a summary of the latest developments: The United States is reported to be preparing to open a direct dialogue with Iran about how to deal with the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, A senior official said the US was considering engaging with its longtime adversary about Iraq, where the government of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is struggling to repel a militants who have seized several cities. Two days before Mosul fell to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isis) Iraqi forces made an intelligence breakthrough against the group seizing 160 computer sticks containing detailed information about its leaders and collaborators in the Iraqi government. The treasure trove included names and noms de guerre of all foreign fighters, senior leaders and their code words, initials of sources inside ministries and full accounts of the groups finances. The US is evacuating some embassy workers from Baghdad, as Republicans slammed the Obama administration over the growing Middle East crisis. The Pentagon confirmed some staff were being relocated. But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: Overall, a substantial majority of the US embassy presence in Iraq will remain. The abduction of 2,000 soldiers by Isis and the killing of 30 over the weekend has exploded tensions between Iraqs Sunni and Shia sects. Photographs and videos released by the Sunni militant group, linked to al-Qaida, show some of the prisoners being killed, apparently in the desert near Tikrit, where they were seized on Tuesday. Some were lying face down with their hands tied. A separate group were forced to sit up while they were taunted by their captors. Tony Blair came under fierce attack from former Labour cabinet members, some diplomats and the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Ashdown after he called for limited military intervention to drive the militant group Isis out of Iraq and restore order in Syria. Blair said: The key thing is that they [Isis] need to know theyre not going to be able to continue their push unhindered. London mayor Boris Johnson described the former prime minister as unhinged on Iraq. theguardian/world/middle-east-live/2014/jun/16/iraq-crisis-us-could-team-up-with-iran-live-updates?guni=Article:promo%20**Most%20viewed:microapp%20zeitgeist:Most%20Viewed%20Old%20Promo:Position2
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:53:21 +0000
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