War

Thousands of civilians have started to flee from the city of Mosul as Iraqi security forces and tribal fighters advance on ISIL’s de facto capital in northern Iraq. This is hoped to be the final l assault in the battle to retake Mosul from the terror group Albawaba reports: That includes the key target of Makhmur which lies around 70 kilometres southeast of Mosul. After bitter battles it was one of about eight villages which were retaken after they had been seized by Daesh. Thousands of Iraqi families have fled to the village from Mosul desperate to escape the rule of Daesh.

Has the US finally had enough of its "ally" Erdogan?  

Moments ago the DOD announced that the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, has authorized the ordered departure of all DoD dependents not assigned to Chief of Mission authority from Adana (to include Incirlik Air Base), Ismir, and Mugla, Turkey. This decision allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from these areas due to continued security concerns in the region.

The Infamous war criminal Tony Blair believes that ground troops should be considered in the fight against ISIS. He said that Britain and its western allies must be prepared to send ground troops to “crush” ISIS or risk a terror attack in Europe of “such size and horror” that draconian security measures would have to be introduced.

A train filled with looted Nazi gold is allegedly hidden in a secret tunnel in Poland. Treasure hunters are planning to resume their search for the train that was left behind by the Nazis at the end of World War 2 as they retreated back to Berlin in the face of an advancing Red Army. The tunnel was discovered last year and local residents are pressing for the search to continue, which could be within days. Daily Star reports: And with the hunt being called off in December, there is hope it will soon commence after an agreement was made with Poland’s railway company PKP.

A senior ISIL commander has reportedly been killed during intense infighting between the al-Nusra Front and ISIS terrorists in al-Qalamoun, north-east of the Syrian capital Damascus. Fars News reports: Abu Azam, an ISIL field commander, and his men were killed in Jaroud al-Jarajir area in Al-Qalamoun. The al-Nusra Front captured several ISIL-controlled military positions in these clashes. Almost the entire range of extremist and terrorist groups are supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, with their key commanders and leaders being Saudi nationals.