I think they've typically had a policy of sticking to military targets, with some notable exceptions.
ISIS sealing off access to the Grand al-Nuri Mosque. Preparing for a final showdown. I hope they blow the mosque up.
I assume because of the mosque there, the rules of engagement are going to be very limited as well. Not going to call in an airstrike on the mosque.
That's partially it but even if they bombed the shit out of the remaining area there are no guarantees. Rebels surrounded in Damascus suburbs held out for years while under constant air and artillery bombardment.
10km^2 area tucked against the river sounds like it's a front line that's only like 2-3 miles long. Seems like it's all rapidly converging, don't see how they could hold out for a long stretch of time.
DUBAI (Reuters) - The Arab world's strongest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for Islamists and Iran, re-opening a festering wound two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for Muslim states to fight terrorism. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut relations with Qatar in a coordinated move. Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives joined in later. Qatar denounced the move as based on lies about it supporting militants. It has often been accused of being a funding source for Islamists, as has Saudi Arabia. Iran, long at odds with Saudi Arabia and a behind-the-scenes target of the move, blamed Trump's visit last month to Riyadh. https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-egypt-uae-sever-ties-qatar-over-040718986.html
I realize soccer pales in comparison to the gravity of geopolitics...but what does that mean for Qatar World Cup in 2022? Hard to imagine that taking place in a country not being spoken to by many of its neighbors
Fifa will fight moving it tooth and nail. If it came to that then all their shady dealings with Qatar will come to light. Many corrupt officials, so all of them, will get burned.
I suspect they're smoke inducing agents to protect the hundreds of civilians trying make a break for it out of Old Mosul and getting mowed down by ISIS.
Spoiler: NPR link keeps opening up an audio story instead of the thing I'm trying to post In Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition has admitted — for the first time — to using white phosphorous during operations in the Iraqi city of Mosul. "We have utilized white phosphorous to screen areas within west Mosul to get civilians out safely," New Zealand Brig. Gen. Hugh McAslan tells NPR. He estimates that around 28,000 civilians have managed to make the dangerous crossing out of Islamic State territory in the past few days alone. IRAQ Battle To Wrest ISIS From Iraqi City Of Mosul Enters More Intense Phase Coalition spokesmen previously have confirmed the use of the incendiary substance in less-populated areas of northern Iraq in the fight against ISIS. But this is the first confirmation that white phosphorus has been used in Mosul. McAslan says Iraqi forces backed by the coalition have retaken almost 90 percent of western Mosul — the last holdout of the extremists in Iraq's second-largest city. But ISIS still controls a densely populated enclave, where the U.N. says tens of thousands of people remain and have been used as human shields. The U.N. Human Rights Council says it has received credible reports that ISIS increasingly is targeting civilians as they try to flee, leaving more than 230 dead in recent weeks. can cause "horrific injuries, burning deep into the muscle and bone." The incendiary substance can reignite weeks after being deployed, causing potential harm to those fleeing or returning. Amnesty made those warnings in a report documenting the use of white phosphorus east of Mosul in 2016. At the time, it said that the use of the substance in the vicinity of population centers "constitutes an indiscriminate attack and can be a war crime." White phosphorus, which bursts into flame when it hits oxygen, is not banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, but its legality is linked to its use. In 2005, the CWC spokesman Peter Kaiser told the BBC that white phosphorus is permitted in war if used to camouflage movement, but not if it is employed as a weapon. The U.S. military has admitted using white phosphorous in the 2004 battle for Fallujah in Iraq, and in Afghanistan in 2009. Israel used it in the 2008 Gaza war, but said in 2013 that it would stop. THE TWO-WAY U.S.-Backed Fighters Begin Offensive To Push ISIS From Its 'Capital' The coalition admission comes amid fresh allegations that white phosphorus also is being deployed in the fight for Raqqa, Syria. There, the U.S. is backing an alliance of Kurdish and Arab partner forces to seize that city from Islamic State control. Those forces have made gains in recent days, pushing into the city for the first time since the campaign began. In recent days, the ISIS-affiliated media outlet Amaq released a video purporting to show white phosphorous raining down on Raqqa by night. Amnesty International says it has not yet been able to verify the Amaq footage, but is urging U.S.-led forces to refrain from using white phosphorus in Raqqa and its surroundings, where civilians remain trapped. The rights group says the risk to civilians is "unacceptably" high, and could potentially count as a war crime. The Amaq video prompted rare unity in condemnation from both supporters and opponents of Syria's regime. One supporter tells NPR that contacts inside Raqqa are desperate for leaflets from the coalition telling them where to shelter amid the bombing campaign. Tom Bowman contributed to this report. Are there better smoke-screens than WP? Urban settings and WP seem to be a very bad mix
Set house on fire so it isn't bombed, seems poorly written if what they actually ment was burning abandoned houses to protect occupied homes from attack
Man, that sucks. Apparently the city was known for this leaning tower and was called the "hunchback city" because of it
Turkey gearing up for brainwashing future generations. "İsmet Yılmaz, the Minister of National Education in Turkey on Friday announced the new curriculum draft for school. The new curriculum draft brings some radical changes: -The failed coup attempt will be included in Social Studies courses starting from the 6th grade. - The overall academic difficulty is reduced. - Evolution Theory is excluded from Biology courses. The related unit named “The Origins of Life and the Evolution” is replaced with “Living Beings and Environment”. - Information about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, is being reduced in the first grade."