Islamic State Is Destroying Another Ancient Archaeological Site In Iraq

BBC: Islamic state 'demolish' ancient Hatra site in Iraq



Islamic State militants have destroyed ruins at the ancient city of Hatra, Iraqi officials say.



A tourism and antiquities ministry official said the extent of the damage at the Unesco world heritage site was unclear, but he had received reports that it had been demolished.



Hatra was founded in the days of the Parthian Empire over 2,000 years ago.

More News On The Islamic State Destroying Another Ancient Archaeological Site In Iraq

Iraq says Islamic State militants raze ancient Hatra city -- Reuters

IS destroying another ancient archaeological site in Iraq -- AP

ISIS Starts to Dismantle Iraqi Archaeological Site of Hatra: Officials -- NBC

ISIS reportedly demolishing another ancient archaeological site in Iraq -- FOX News

Islamic State: 2,000-year-old ruins in ancient Hatra city destroyed by militants, Iraq government says -- ABC News (Australia)

Jihadists May Have Wrecked an Ancient Iraqi Site -- NYT

ISIS Demolishes Hatra, 2,000-Year-Old City In Ancient Iraq -- IBTimes

Isis militants continue path of destruction in Hatra by 'demolishing 2000 year-old ruins -- The Independent

UN condemns 'destruction' of ancient Iraq city of Hatra -- AFP

China says search for Malaysian plane will not stop

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign minister said on Sunday the search for a Malaysian Airlines flight which vanished one year ago will not stop.

Friendly fire kills one, wounds three from U.S.-led coalition in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One member of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State was killed and three were wounded in a friendly fire incident with Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

More Atrocities Form The Islamic State

Barbarity: Eight men were found hanging from their feet in the Iraqi city of Hawija in the militants' latest public display of death

Daily Mail: Welcome to Hell: ISIS hang bodies of 'soldiers' from entrance to the city where Syrian troops were paraded through streets in cages



* WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

* The gruesome scene believed to be from the northern-Iraqi city of Hawija

* One man pictured next to the bodies appears to be notorious ISIS fighter

* Abu al-Rahman has been seen alongside the heads of decapitated Syrians

* Caged Syrian soldiers were mercilessly paraded through that same city

* ISIS are preparing to move headquarters there from stronghold in Mosul

* US is currently training Iraqi soldiers to retake Iraq's second largest city


Eight dead bodies hang from a metal frame in the Iraq's Kirkuk province in Islamic State's latest public display of barbarity.


The gruesome images which emerged on social media show the men's limp bodies suspended from their feet off a tall structure in the town of Hawija.



WNU Editor: I am surprised that soldiers fighting against the Islamic State are still surrendering .... the Islamic State does not keep prisoners .... they execute them .... a fact that they keep on promoting in social media and elsewhere.

A Grim Assessment On The Iraqi Army's Ability To Defeat The Islamic State

Members of Iraqi security forces and Shiite militia fighters make their way from Samarra to the outskirts of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, on February 28. Stringer/Reuters

Jonathan Broder, Newsweek: A Bloody Disaster: The Iraqi Army’s Fight Against ISIS



Take it from a man who knows: The Iraqi army’s first big attempt to roll back the Islamic State is going to be a violent mess.


Several months after thousands of American advisers showed up for training sessions, Iraqi troops still aren't ready for combat. Iranian-backed Shiite militias will do most of the fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Tikrit and other largely Sunni towns and cities in Iraq, raising the chances of more sectarian slaughter. And even if the militias do manage to drive out ISIS, Baghdad doesn't have a viable plan to rebuild what’s likely to be a region reduced to rubble.


That's the grim assessment of a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, James Dubik, who oversaw the training of Iraqi soldiers in the final months of the eight-year U.S. occupation. Those troops fled when ISIS showed up last summer, stripping off their uniforms and abandoning millions of dollars' worth of American weapons.



WNU Editor: A grim assessment .... but the battle for Tikrit is underway right now, and the next few weeks will tell us if this assessment is right .... or wrong.