Iraq City of Kirkuk, Power Plant Stormed by IS Fighters

Islamic State fighters equipped with assault rifles and explosives attacked targets in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early on Friday. The attack is possibly aimed at redirecting authorities’ attention for the battle to recapture IS-held Mosul.

More than 11 workers, two of them Iranians, were killed when IS militants captured a power plant north of Kirkuk and then blew themselves up.

Witnesses said in Kirkuk that several explosions rocked the city and gun battles were ongoing. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity as they were concerned for their safety. Most of the fighting was focused on a government complex in the city.

IS said its fighters were behind the assault, which the extremist group said was aimed at the Iraqi government. The statement was conveyed by the IS-run Aamaq news agency and could not immediately be confirmed.

Local Kurdish television channel Rudaw aired footage showing black smoke climbing over the city while prolonged bursts of automatic gunfire rang out. It cited Kirkuk Gov. Najmadin Karim as stating that the militants have not taken control of any government buildings.

Meanwhile, three IS suicide bombers stormed a power plant in Dibis, a town north of Kirkuk, and took 10 workers hostage, said Maj. Ahmed Kader Ali.

The assailants demanded to be taken to the Iranians who work at the plant. One of the workers brought them to the Iranians before fleeing. The militants then executed the Iranians and the other workers, and set off their explosive vests when police arrived.

Kirkuk is about 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the IS-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi troops have been engaged in a large-scale offensive since Monday.

The city is around 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul. It is claimed by both Kurdish region and Iraq’s central government. It has long been a hotspot for conflict and has been the setting of several attacks by Islamic State militants.

Rudaw TV said later Friday that all IS fighters who participated in the attack on Kirkuk had been killed save for two who were secluded in a newly built hotel which was damaged in the attack.

There was no immediate word on fatalities among civilians or Kurdish troops in Kirkuk. Also, the TV report could not immediately be impartially verified.

A town where a Kurdish peshmerga base is located outside the city also came under fire early on Friday. Kemal Kerkuki, a senior commander of Kurdish peshmerga forces west of Kirkuk, said the base is now under control.

IS retains sleeper cells in Kirkuk and the surrounding villages, Kerkuki said. He added that a group of IS fighters attempted to attack a power station in Dibis village west of Kirkuk with light weapons and a suicide bomber.

IS also claimed an assault on the power station. It said that its fighters had attacked the facility and killed all security forces posted there.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

Kerkuki said he believes the attackers gained access to Kirkuk masquerading as evacuated civilians. The city has taken in several thousands of displaced people from nearby provinces. This started when IS initially invaded broad stretches of northern and western Iraq in the summer of 2014.

“Many of (the displaced civilians), I’m sure they are working with ISIS,” Kerkuki said. “We arrested one recently and he confessed (he was part of a sleeper cell).”

Iraqi and Kurdish forces supported by U.S.-led coalition began a multi-pronged offensive this week to take back Mosul and neighboring areas from IS. The operation is the most extensive undertaken by the Iraqi military since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraqi officials said they had progressed as far as the town of Bartella, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Mosul’s borders, by Thursday.

 

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US Anticipates Use of Chemical Weapons by Islamic State in Mosul Conflict

As the Islamic State tries to fend off an Iraqi-led assault on the city of Mosul, the United States anticipates Islamic State to utilize crude chemical weapons, US officials say. Though they added that the group’s technical ability to create such weapons is extremely limited.

One official said that the US is wary of the militant group given their use of a mustard agent in the months preceding Monday’s commencement of the Mosul offensive. Consequently, US forces have started to consistently collect shell fragments to test for potential chemical agents.

A second official said that in a formerly undisclosed incident, US forces verified the existence of sulfur mustard agent on Islamic State munition fragments on October 5.

The attack was aimed at local forces, not coalition or US troops.

US officials believe that conventional weapons are still the most serious risk for attacking Kurdish and Iraqi troops. They don’t think Islamic State has been effective so far at developing chemical weapons with specifically fatal results.

Sulfur mustard agent causes exposed skin and lungs to swell up. However, that would not be fatal at low doses.

Close to 5,000 US forces are in Iraq. At least 100 of them are inserted with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive. They are assigned in an advisory role counseling commanders. The advisers also help ensure coalition air-power hits the appropriate targets, officials said. They added that those forces are not at the frontlines.

The collapse of Mosul would signify the fall of the ultra-hardline Sunni jihadists in Iraq. On the other hand, this could also lead to sectarian bloodletting and land grabs between factions that fought each other following the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

One million potential humans shields for IS

US President Barack Obama appraised on Thursday that around 1 million civilians were still in Mosul. This creates a challenge for Iraq and its Western allies attempting to drive out the group through force.

Thomas Weiss, the Iraq chief of the International Organization for Migration, said on Tuesday he expected Islamic State forces to use Mosul residents as human shields. He also voiced out his concerns about the risks of chemical agents.

Weiss added that the IOM had not managed to secure many gas masks yet.

The allied assault could lead to a complicated, prolonged battle, as attacking Iraqi forces remain 12 to 30 miles from the city itself. US officials believe that ISIL is most likely to use chemical weapons later in the campaign.

The leader of Islamic State was reported to be among thousands of fanatical militants still in the city. This suggests the group would go all out to hold off the coalition.

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Another Apartment Stormed in Germany in Hunt For Refugee Planning Bomb Attack

Police commandos held a man in connection with a hunt for a Syrian refugee believed of plotting a bomb attack. They assaulted his apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz on Sunday.

Saxony state criminal investigation office spokesman Tom Berhardt said that there were no casualties and no shots were fired during the incident. They’ve taken the man into custody and are questioning him now.

In another apartment the police stormed in the city on Saturday, they found explosives but lost track of Jaber Albakr, the 22-year-old suspect. He slipped through their hold after police spotted him at the door of the apartment block.

The quantity of explosive discovered suggests that the person was preparing to carry out an Islamist-motivated attack, a Federal Prosecutor’s Office spokesman said.

The apartment the police raided on Saturday yielded several hundred grams of explosives.

Unpopular policy

This development is unwelcome news for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her open-door migrants policy has caused her conservatives to lose support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merkel said last month that she wished she could turn back time by several years. She wanted to better plan for last year’s inflow of close to one million refugees. The leader has yet to declare if she will pursue a fourth term as chancellor in next year’s election.

Islamic State claimed responsibility in July for attacks at a music festival in Ansbach and on a train near Wuerzburg.

Albakr is still at large with hundreds of police officers trying to track him down.

The government officially recognized Albakr as a refugee after he entered Germany last year. The police did not previously know him when they raided the first apartment after a tip-off from the domestic intelligence service.

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Singapore Defense Chief Warns of Threats From Extremist Groups

Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Friday that violent extremist groups represents a grave threat to Southeast Asia. Moreover, he believed that these groups are growing each year, becoming more organized and focusing on their objectives.

Ng gave his statement during the meeting of Southeast Asian defense ministers in Hawaii. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter was also present in the meeting. Ministers dedicated a lot of time discussing threats from Islamic State and similar groups.

According to Ng, over 1,000 Southeast Asians assembled to join the Islamic State’s self-declared “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. He also said, “Every year we meet, the situation and threat from extremist terrorism rises. Ng added, “Compared to, say, a year or even two years ago, they’re more organized…they’re more networked, they’re more clear in their articulation of what they want to achieve.”

A statement from security officials in June said Southeast Asian militants claimed to fight for Islamic State. These militants have chosen an individual from within the region to lead the group. The Philippines considers this regional faction head as one of their most wanted terrorists.

Jakarta bombing

Since the bombing last January in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, regional authorities reinforced heightened security. The Islamic State claimed the attack which killed eight people including for attackers.

Ng mentioned of a foiled plan concocted by an Indonesian faction to strike at hotels in Singapore’s Marina Bay area. The Indonesian militants maintained coordination with an Islamic State member in Syria. However, It was averted with the help of Indonesian authorities. Ng said, “They have gone beyond networks to push the flow of funds, weapons. They are already plotting”.

Dreaded homecoming

Hundreds of citizens from Southeast Asia joined the Islamic State in their battles in Iraq and Syria. US Defense officials believed they have returned home, raising concerns to launch a rash of attacks.

The US is currently conducting an air campaign to displace the Islamic State from Iraq and Syria. Ng believed destroying its base would lead to a short term increase of regional attacks. Subsequently, seasoned Islamic State fighters would likely return home.

Ng said, “They would decide to come back, some re-energized, some trained and the networks would still be existing”.

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