Nova-Mag

Iran's Forces and U.S. Share a Base in Iraq The U.S. military and Iranian-backed Shiite militias are getting closer and closer in Iraq, even sharing a base, while Iran uses those militias to expand its influence in Iraq and fight alongside the Bashar al-Assad regime in neighboring Syria. Two senior administration officials confirmed to us that U.S. soldiers and Shiite militia groups are both using the Taqqadum military base in Anbar, the same Iraqi base where President Obama is sending an additional 450 U.S. military personnel to help train the local forces fighting against the Islamic State. Some of the Iran-backed Shiite militias at the base have killed American soldiers in the past. Some inside the Obama administration fear that sharing the base puts U.S. soldiers at risk. The U.S. intelligence community has reported back to Washington that representatives of some of the more extreme militias have been spying on U.S. operations at Taqqadum, one senior administration...

Australian Isis fighters reportedly killed in Iraq Authorities seek to verify deaths of Khaled Sharrouf and Mohammed Elomar, thought to have been killed by a drone strike Authorities are working to verify reports two Australian Islamic State fighters have been killed in northern Iraq. Foreign minister Julie Bishop has acknowledged that the federal government is aware of reports Isis recruits Khaled Sharrouf and Mohammed Elomar are dead following fighting in Mosul. There have been unconfirmed reports that the pair, who travelled to Syria in 2013 and then to Iraq, were killed in the past week by a drone strike – but it is proving difficult to get information from the war zone. The reports have come as government MPs are about to see controversial proposed legislation to strip dual-nationality terror supporters of their Australian citizenship. If reports of the deaths are true it will be a major setback for Isis, a terrorism expert has said. “If the reports are true an...