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The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is threatening to take control of Balad Airbase, Iraq’s largest airfield and one of America’s most important military outposts during its occupation of the country.
Now, that airbase is coming under fire—and is in danger of falling into the hands of ISIS, according to U.S. intelligence officers, internal reports from Balad, and outside analysts. Reuters reported Wednesday that the base was now surrounded on three sides by insurgents and taking heavy mortar fire.
“We assess the group continues to threaten the air base and Iraqi Security Force control of the air base as it moves south towards Baghdad,” a senior U.S. intelligence official told reporters Tuesday.
Of course, even if ISIS were to gain control of Balad, there is no guarantee its fighters would know how to operate or maintain the aircraft that are stored there. But an ISIS takeover of Balad would be significant nonetheless. As NBC News reported Tuesday, Iraqi officers say without air support they are on an equal footing with ISIS fighters.
Jessica Lewis—the research director for the Institute for the Study of War and a former U.S. Army intelligence officer who served in Iraq—told The Daily Beast, “It would mean that ISIS can beat the best that the Iraqi Army can muster, not just the northern units that have been ignored. It would mean strategic defeat for the Iraqi Army.” Read more
Reuters:
Kirkuk has witnessed the first terror act since it came under the Kurds’ authority, and this comes as the oil-rich region is surrounded by blood-thirsty ISIS fighters. The latest deadly bombing claimed at least six lives.
The officials said that a suicide bomber was seen on the street wearing an explosive-stuffed vest. He was actually aiming for the building of a Kurdish political party office, RT’s Lucy Kafanov, who’s in violence-hit Kirkuk, said.
Apparently, the authorities attempted to intercept the man, and that’s when he detonated the device. It was during rush hour late on Tuesday evening.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. However, there are fears that the ISIS (or ISIL, the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is behind the blast. Oil-rich Kirkuk is an area disputed between Arabs and Kurds. Read more