At least 24 killed in suicide attacks in Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Samarra

Two suicide attacks in the cities of Tikrit and Samarra have left at least 24 dead - this comes as Iraqi forces battle to clear areas taken from Islamic State around Mosul. The suicide attacks happened when two ambulances loaded with explosives were detonated.
The blast in Tikrit was near an entrance to the city during the morning rush hour and at least 13 people were killed in this. Another 11 people died in an attack against Shia pilgrims in Samarra located about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 6 November 2016.

In Samarra, a suicide bomber parked an ambulance in the car park for a Shia shrine. Then he walked up to pilgrims about 500 metres from the shrine, detonated his vehicle and then blew himself up. The dead included five female students, a woman and three policemen and up to 100 others were injured.>br> Islamic State has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the bombings. Compared to other battles the present tactics of ISIS include a lot of fortifications on the streets, holes filled with water. Moreover, they are in possession of suicide bombers and suicide car bombs that they are using to keep the Iraqi forces at bay.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to India - mango and visa on the agenda

Air India Express to provide improved air connectivity between Kolkata and Singapore

Mamata Banerjee to visit the United States in 2017 to woo industries


Lord Shiva’s views on Kalighat and marriages (satire)

Moody and the half pant brigade (satire)

Didi’s idea - deflate tyres to punish unruly drivers (satire)


Iraq special forces advanced into Mosul while ISIS militants killed 20

British police have foiled 12 terror plots against Britain in the last three years

No-fly zones to be imposed over jails to prevent drones from being used to smuggle drugs into prisons


Michael Fassbender says no to next James Bond - will a woman take over?

Second trailer of Wonder Woman released- will be in the cinemas in July 2017

Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) begins 11 November

Iraq special forces advanced into Mosul while ISIS militants killed 20

The battle to regain control of Mosul is continuing and Iraq's special forces are working to fully clear neighborhoods on Mosul's eastern edge of Islamic State (ISIS) militants. This is a slow-paced work because the advancing troops have to penetrate into populated areas deeper inside Mosul. In view of the presence of a large number of civilians, they cannot resort to airstrikes.
Meanwhile suspected ISIS militants had struck far from the front lines. They resorted to two bombings that killed at least 20 people. One of these was a suicide attack directed against Shiite pilgrims north of Baghdad which killed at least 11 people.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 6 November 2016.

There are reports of some civilians fleeing from the combat zone, while ISIS militants are holding others back for use as human shields. This is making it harder for Iraqi commanders on the ground to get approval for requests for U.S.-led coalition air strikes.
Incidentally, Iraq's special forces are some of the country's best troops, but they depend to a great extent on air support to clear the terrain.
It may be recalled that ISIS had captured the city of Mosul in 2014, and have erected fortifications like trenches and berms that have converted the streets and alleyways of a neighborhood into a maze. In addition, concrete blast walls have blocked off access to other areas.
In April 2015, Iraqi security forces had succeeded in driving out ISIS militants from Tikrit which is located about 80 miles north of Baghdad.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

Pine needles to produce electricity in Uttarakhand

Lost £250 wedding ring retrieved after the eight million gallon lake was drained

Jakarta to pay $1.5 for every rat caught to contain rat menace


Fuchka Festival in Kolkata and selfies (satire)

Moody fires cannons to eliminate mosquitoes (satire)

Lord Shiva’s Durga puja is about selfish people and selfies (satire)


Carey Mulligan leaves teddy bears outside gates of 10 Downing Street to protest attacks on Aleppo

Battle to liberate Mosul rages and ISIS fighters flee the city dressed as women

Group clashes in prisons in Brazil kill at least 18 inmates


The Guardians of the Galaxy 2 trailer released

Trailer of xXx: Return of Xander Cage starring Deepika Padukone launched in four Indian languages

Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga to release on 28th January 2017

Iraq claims liberation of Ramadi from ISIS is a major gain

#ISIS #ramadi #Iraqiforces #Tikrit The Iraq army has claimed that it has captured the key city of Ramadi and see this as a major victory against Islamic State but, a US defense official has said it has, so far, not been able to to confirm the Iraqis' claims. If confirmed, then the capture of Ramadi, capital of mainly Sunni-Muslim Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of the capital, would be a big blow to ISIS since it will deprive IS militants of their biggest prize of 2015.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 28 December 2015.

The Iraqi army had encircled the city for weeks and made the final thrust to seize the central administration complex on Sunday. Iraq's counter-terrorism forces have raised the Iraqi flag above the complex on Monday and the joint operations spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool has said, in a statement broadcast on state television, that Ramadi has been liberated.
It may be recalled that the Iraqi army had already retaken the city of Tikrit from the jihadists in the spring. The final stronghold for IS in Iraq is Mosul in the north which could be the next target of the government. The number of people killed in this battle have not been disclosed but, the government has said that most civilians had been evacuated before it launched its assault.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting links -

Moody on climate change – promote bullock carts and tonga (satire)

Baba Someday to use gobar gas and yoga for space flights (satire)

Momo and sushi gear up to dislodge jilebi and pedhas (satire)


Winterline carnival in Mussourie - enjoy hot air balloon rides

Mamata Banerjee visits Digha sea beach and outlines her plans

Elon Musk finally gets it right - SpaceX rocket lands back on Earth vertically


'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' takes the world by storm - set to break records

Batman Ben Affleck, the Dark Knight, speaks up

When Bollywood film stars fall in love with Kolkata


British Muslim family not allowed to travel to Disneyland from Gatwick airport

ISIS chooses jungles of Philippines as its training camp

Terror attacks in Paris makes the US issue global alert for its citizens

Pentagon says Islamic State is losing the ground from under its feet in Iraq

#ISIS #Pentagon #BarackObama #HaiderAlAbadi #Iraqiforces #airstrikes Pentagon is of the opinion that the tide is turning against the Islamic State (IS) and it has lost more than a quarter of its territory in Iraq after the US-led coalition air campaign began in August. This has been reported in bbc.com dated 14 April 2015.
Col Steve Warren, a spokesman of Pentagon, has remarked that it was too early to assess whether the tide was really turning, but it is a fact that the US-led coalition air strikes and attacks carried out by the Iraqi ground forces had inflicted some damage.

Pentagon has quantified the loss sustained by IS by quoting some figures - IS had lost approximately 25% to 30% of its territory in Iraq in the past eight months, which was the equivalent of 12,950 to 15,540 sq km (5,000 to 6,000 sq miles).
It has lost territory in locations like Mosul Dam, Zummar and the vicinity of Sinjar Mountain. And, as a result, its frontline had been pushed either west or south, depending on location, in the provinces of Irbil, Babil, Baghdad and Kirkuk.
AS far as its presence in Syria, its gains in Suweida, Damascus Countryside and Homs provinces have been offset by losses in the provinces of Aleppo and Hassakeh.
It may be recalled that the IS had taken over large swathes of northern and western Iraq last June and it is gradually realizing that its losses are far more than gains and, they can be wiped out of history very soon. Evil forces cannot last forever.
The announcement of Pentagon came just before the talks to be held between Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and President Barack Obama in Washington.

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Pattern of death changing in India – heart and lung related diseases are top killers

Stray dogs attend funeral of Mexican woman who fed them

Nationwide ban on cow slaughter on the cards says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Health tips – lose weight without dieting

Auckland girl sweet talks thief to return stolen mobile phone

Anchovies can boost good cholesterol and reduce risk factors of the heart


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

ISIS shoots dead 10 doctors who refused to treat wounded jihadists

#ISIS #jihadists #Mosul #Tikrit #AshCarter #SouthKorea That the ISIS hates refusal has once again come to light when they shot dead 10 doctors who did not agree to treat wounded jihadists in Iraq. This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 9 April 2015.
The summary execution by the bloodthirsty militants happened in a location near Mosul when the militants fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq savagely executed the doctors who refused to treat wounded members of the terrorist organization. The location was the battle-ravaged area 15 miles south of the extremists' northern Iraqi stronghold Mosul. Video released has captured the moment the fighters killed the doctors with a bullet to the head.

As per information, the ISIS jihadists had been fighting local groups in the Hammam al-Alil area and a number of them sustained injuries that necessitated medical treatment. But, the doctors refused saying that they do not support the terror group's activities. That led to their execution.
Observers have described the city of Mosul as being a massive open-air prison. The residents here are subjected to barbaric torture at the hands of the ISIS terrorists. The jihadists had, reportedly, executed 60 Sunni tribal fighters in Anbar province of Iraq on charges of collaborating with the Iraqi security forces.
Iraqi Army soldiers and the Iran-backed volunteer Shiite militias have joined up with the Iraqi regime to have successfully pushed back the ISIS from important towns and villages. The liberation of Tikrit was an example. Tikrit was the birthplace of Saddam Hussein and a strategically important location and the Iraqi Army will now try to regain control of Mosul and eventually force ISIS out of the country.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has indicated that the U.S. has made progress against ISIS in Iraq but was unable to make any prediction on how long the fight will take. He was interacting at a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart and admitted that he could not say with confidence that it was the beginning of the end for ISIS in Iraq.

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Pattern of death changing in India – heart and lung related diseases are top killers

Stray dogs attend funeral of Mexican woman who fed them

Nationwide ban on cow slaughter on the cards says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Health tips – lose weight without dieting

Auckland girl sweet talks thief to return stolen mobile phone

Anchovies can boost good cholesterol and reduce risk factors of the heart


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

At least 1700 bodies in Tikrit mass graves – Iraqis mercilessly killed by ISIS

#Tikrit #ISIS #Baghdad #Iraq #CampSpeicher #massgraves After liberating Tikrtit from the hands of ISIS, mass graves of around 1700 Iraqi soldiers have been discovered as reported in edition.cnn.com dated 6 April 2015. There are believed to be at least 10 mass graves inside the presidential palace complex which was once the residences of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The presidential complex had been converted to ISIS headquarters after the militants occupied the city. The soldiers have, most probably, been executed after they were captured in June outside Camp Speicher which is a fortified Iraqi base near Tikrit.

From reports of one of the survivors it seems the soldiers were herded inside the compound, separated into smaller groups, executed and buried in mass graves. Just how the Iraqi soldiers ended up in the hands of ISIS is a mystery but one version is that in June, some military units had been given orders to move to Camp Speicher. Another version is that the soldiers were told to leave the base and move closer to Baghdad and the soldiers left unarmed and in civilian clothes. However, military commanders and the Iraqi Defense Ministry have denied issue of any such orders. The official version is that the men had deserted.

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Teenage girl of Brighton sat on a needle in a bus and is now getting her blood tested for HIV

Stray dogs attend funeral of Mexican woman who fed them

Nationwide ban on cow slaughter on the cards says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Health tips – lose weight without dieting

Auckland girl sweet talks thief to return stolen mobile phone

Anchovies can boost good cholesterol and reduce risk factors of the heart


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

ISIS rampage continues – Saddam Hussein’s burial place now a heap of rubble

#tikrit #ISIS #iraq #ouja #saddamhussein The ISIS is determined to rewrite history and destroy every item that brings back memories, whether they are world heritage sites or the burial place of Saddam Hussein which is now a heap of rubble.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 16 March 2015.
The burial place of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein has been destroyed as a result of heavy clashes between ISIS militants and Iraqi forces in a fight for the control of the city of Tikrit which was Saddam Hussein’s hometown. As per reports, the fighting intensified to the north and south of Tikrit as Iraqi security forces took a decision to reach the center of Tikrit within 48 hours.
Video that has emerged from the village of Ouja, just south of Tikrit, reveals that all that nothing much remains of the once-lavish tomb. The only things that have been spared are the support columns that held up the roof. Poster-sized pictures of Saddam used to once be seen covering the mausoleum and those are nowhere to be seen. It is all a rubble of concrete.
It seems the IS militants have been in control of Tikrit since June last and had set up an ambush in the area for the Iraqis by planting bombs around the tomb and the result was the destruction.

A few more interesting reports -


Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

First Russian woman cosmonaut returns to Earth after six-month stay in ISS

The mystery space plane X-37B of the United States

Residents of Los Cabos resort turn to looting after Hurricane Odile strikes

Serial killer of Brazil arrested as he tried to kill his 40th victim

Topless Femen protesters take to the streets as Putin and Porosheko meet in Milan

IS bent upon destroying Iraq’s heritage in Nimrud

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

ISIS gets a taste of its own medicine - Iraqi forces turn the tables on them

#ISIS #tikrit #iraq #martindempsey #CampSpeicher From videos in the social media it appears that ISIS is getting a taste of their own medicine as the advancing Iraqi forces torture, behead and kill ISIS militants in revenge attacks s reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 13 March 2015.
These are believed to be recent images posted on social media reportedly by U.S.-trained Iraqi Special Forces who are advancing against jihadi strongholds. In the videos, there are numerous pictures of severed heads and mutilated bodies. And, these are said to be revenge for the massacre by ISIS of hundreds of military cadets at a base near Tikrit called Camp Speicher in last June.
Such heinous acts constitute Iraqi war crimes and officials of the US are believed to be withholding funds to some of the Iraqi units based on credible information in the past of such atrocities. An Iraqi Army spokesperson has indicated that an investigation would be launched into the allegations.
As revealed by US General Martin Dempsey, nearly 20,000 militiamen may be involved in the ongoing Tikrit operations. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on his part, has called upon his forces to protect civilians and their property in areas that have been reclaimed from ISIS and has vowed zero tolerance for any violations.
Amnesty International, on its part, has cautioned that it was still too early to tell if Tikrit had been a cleaner operation than usual.

A few more interesting reports -


Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

The mystery space plane X-37B of the United States

Residents of Los Cabos resort turn to looting after Hurricane Odile strikes

Serial killer of Brazil arrested as he tried to kill his 40th victim

Topless Femen protesters take to the streets as Putin and Porosheko meet in Milan

IS bent upon destroying Iraq’s heritage in Nimrud

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

Iraqi forces retake Salahudin province from ISIS

#Salahudin #ISIS #Tikrit #Iraq #Humvee #Baghdad The ISIS had captured the Salahudin province on 11 June last year and Iraqi forces have now retaken it and driven out the militants as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 3 March 2015. The Iraqi troops and allied Sunni and Shia militias, with the necessary air support, has successfully freed the town of Himreen. The IS militants were forced to flee from the town after a heavy clash that killed at least three of them. Five security members were injured. As per reports, the troops were able to foil two suicide bomb attacks - one of these was a booby-trapped tanker truck and the other a Humvee vehicle.
The liberation of Himreen is seen as a major achievement after an offensive was launched from five directions – the objective was to recapture key cities and towns that had been seized by the IS in the Salahudin province.
It seems the troops, backed by armored vehicles and Iraqi aircraft, have surrounded the town of Dour, located nearly 25-Km south of Tikrit, and has been able to regain control of many villages north of Samarra, some 120-Km north of Baghdad.
The forces have to advance with due care because the IS militants have planted bombs on the roads and buildings. So far, explosion experts have successfully defused over 150 bombs and eight car bombs.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

Iraq launches offensive against ISIS to recapture in Tikrit

#ISIS #Tikrit #Mosul #Iraq #HaideralAbadi #Baghdad Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, lies 150-Km north of the capital Baghdad and had been seized by IS militants in June 2014. Iraq has now launched a military offensive against ISIS with the purpose of recapturing the city. This has been reported in bbc.com dated 2 March 2015.
As per reports, Iraqi forces were carrying out the attack backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets.
It seems Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had met military leaders in Salahuddin province before start of the operation and had offered pardon to all Sunni tribal fighters who abandoned IS. He described it as a "last chance". In February itself he had indicated that Iraqi armed forces would be launching a major offensive "in a few months' time" to retake the city from IS militants.
Observers feel that retaking Tikrit would be a boost to government forces before they undertake the larger battle of retaking the city of Mosul, which is also controlled by IS. While attacks have been launched, there is no confirmation of the advances, if any, made by the forces.
Tikrit, the hometown of former President Saddam Hussein, was the second major gain for IS after they had captured the city of Mosul in June last year. Incidentally, Mosul was home to over a million people when it fell to IS.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings