LATEST: Iraqi Military — We Have Pushed Islamic State Out of Town of Baiji
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The leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — rumored to have been seriously injured or even killed in a US airstrike last week — has apparently resurfaced with an audio speech.
In a 17-minute message, the speaker talked of a failed “crusade” against the Islamic State.
He did not mention the American airstrikes in northwest Iraq and near the jihadist-controlled city of Mosul. However — in a call to extend the Islamic State’s caliphate to Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia — he did cite developments such as a pledge of allegiance this week by Egypt’s Ansar Beit al-Maqdis to the Islamic State.
“Be assured, O Muslims, for your state is good and in the best condition,” al-Baghdadi said:
Our march will not stop and it will continue to expand, by Allah’s permission.
The march of the mujahideen will continue until they reach Rome.
And soon, the Jews and Crusaders will be forced to come down to the ground and send their ground forces to their deaths and destruction.
Specifically, al-Baghdadi called for attacks on Saudi Arabia: “O sons of al-Haramayn….the serpent’s head and the stronghold of the disease are there. … Draw your swords and divorce life, because there should be no security for the Saloul.”
The public message was the first from Baghdadi since he preached in a Mosul mosque in July and declared the Islamic State’s “caliphate” over territory in Iraq and Syria.
Iraqi Military: We Have Pushed Islamic State Out of Town of Baiji
The Iraqi military says forces drove out Islamic State fighters from the town of Baiji, 200km (130 miles) north of Baghdad and near one of Iraq’s three oil refineries.
General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi told Iraqi State TV that Baiji “had been completely liberated”.
Heavy fighting is reported around the oil refinery. Army officers and a witness said Iraqi forces had crossed a bridge and are within 1 km (0.6 mile).
The Islamic State took Baiji in June during its offensive claiming cities such as Mosul and Tikrit and moving on Baghdad. It laid siege to the refinery.
Iraqi troops took control of large parts of Baiji on Sunday, but stopped short of advancing on the refinery, as the road to it is believed to be booby-trapped.
US Carries Out 3rd Set of Airstrikes on Insurgency’s Jabhat al-Nusra
The US has carried out its third set of attacks on the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra, firing missiles on the town of Harem in Idlib Province, near the Turkish border.
As with the previous attacks, anonymous US officials said Thursday’s missiles were aimed at the “Khorasan Group”, which Washington claims is a terrorist cell planning attacks in America and Europe.
Residents of Harem reported seeing a drone fire two missiles that struck a Nusra Front base, killing at least two people.
The US also attacked Jabhat al-Nusra on the first day of its airstrikes on September 22, killing at least 60 fighters and 14 civilians. Airstrikes in early November hit positions of Jabhat al-Nusra and another leading insurgent faction, Ahrar al-Sham.
UN: Islamic State Commanders Liable for War Crimes on “Massive Scale” in Syria
UN investigators said on Friday that Islamic State commanders are liable for war crimes on a “massive scale” in northern Syria.
The panel urged member states to ensure that commanders guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity are held accountable by the International Criminal Court.
The investigators’ 20-page report is based on interviews with more than 300 men, women, and children who fled or still live in northern Syria.
“In carrying out mass killings of captured fighters and civilians following military assaults, ISIS [Islamic State] members have perpetrated egregious violations of binding international humanitarian law and the war crime of murder on a massive scale,” the report said.
It continued, “The commanders of ISIS have acted wilfully, perpetrating these war crimes….They are individually criminally responsible.”
The report cited public executions, including beheadings and stonings, crucifixions, and mutilations. It said children are pressed to inform on their parents, women are executed for unapproved contact with men, and Christians and other minorities are forced to pay taxes or convert.
Local Activist on US Attacks on Jabhat al-Nusra: “We Never Heard of Khorasan Group”
An activist based in Idlib Province in northwest Syria, Hassan Idlibi, speaks to Syria Direct about the official reason for US airstrikes on the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra — that the target was a “Khorasan Group” planning imminent terrorist attacks on America and Europe:
I only heard about [Khorasan] from the US’s statements. Later, I was surprised to learn that a well-known leader of this group is from our village. No one knew about him.
A couple days ago I visited the area targeted by the US-led airstrikes. I know all of the people who lived in the targeted building; most of them were displaced people. Some were family members who are related to Jabhat a-Nusra [members].
When the airstrikes targeted the poultry farm, it was [to attack] Jabhat a-Nusra, not Khorasan, as they said. The poultry farm is owned by my uncles and I know that they have been connected to Jabhat a-Nusra for more than two years….
For us, the people who live west of Aleppo and in northern Idlib, we have not heard of any battalions called Khorasan….Khorasan doesn’t exist. The US is targeting Nusra, then announces it will expand the airstrikes on Nusra sites.
The activist comments, “Khorasan doesn’t exist. The US is targeting Nusra, then announces it will expand the airstrikes on Nusra sites.”
Video: Free Syrian Army Declare Full Control of Road in South Between Nawa and Jasim
Fighters of the Free Syrian Army announce their control of the road between Nawa and Jasim in Daraa Province in southern Syria:
With their recent capture of Nawa, the insurgents control much of the area on and near the route between Damascus and the Jordanian border.
