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Iraqi forces now control all parts of Mosul, Iraq, while tough fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continues in Raqqa, Syria, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters here today.

Since the height of ISIS's power in 2014, the coalition has retaken more than 70 percent of formerly ISIS-controlled territory in Iraq and 50 percent in Syria, he said, and the coalition fighting ISIS continues to grow.

“There are now 73 partners in that coalition, which is 69 countries plus the European Union, NATO, the Arab League and Interpol,” the International Police Organization, he said, noting that coalition partners in Iraq and Syria have retaken more than 44,400 square miles of territory, and freed 5 million people from ISIS control.

Iraq Operations

In an update of operations beginning with Iraq, Davis said that Iraqi forces continue to conduct detailed clearance operations of rebel caves and tunnel systems in Mosul's old city, looking for any remaining ISIS fighters and seeking to identify explosive devices that could threaten friendly forces or civilians.

The old city is the focus of cleanup operations, he said, and the Iraqi army, the Emergency Response Division forces, the Counter Terrorism Service and federal police are holding sectors in Mosul until the holding force takes over security.

“There's been only one coalition strike in Mosul in the last week and a single-digit number of direct-fire engagements in Mosul in the last week. These are indicators of the improved security and stability situation there,” Davis said.

Before the single strike over the past week, the last time the coalition made no strikes on Mosul was Sept. 15, he added.

The coalition has conducted multiple strikes in Tal Afar this week against supply caches, vehicle-borne bomb factories and command-and-control locations, Davis said.

Russia will supply a large batch of tanks to Iraq this year, according to the Russian TASS news agency in a report on July 20.

The report cited Vladimir Kozhin, the Russian president's aide for military technical cooperation as stating that the contract was significant and would likely be followed by ‘other deals’.

The report stated that the total sum of the contract may exceed $1 billion and will be facilitated through Russia's Uralvagonzavod Corporation (UVZ), the supplier of the tanks.

According to the TASS report, Iraq made the decision to purchase the Russian military hardware following the successful performance of the tanks in Syria.

(Source: GardaWorld)

By John Lee.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is to export potatoes to Russia.

According to a report from Basnews, production has exceeded demand, allowing 500 tons of the product will be exported to Russia this year.

Speaking at the opening of a factory to produce fried potato chips, the KRG's Minister for Agriculture, Abdulsattar Majid [Abdulstar Majeed], said some of the surplus has also been sold to Saudi Arabia and other neighbouring countries.

(Source: Basnews)

By John Lee.

Russia’s Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) will supply 73 of its T-90S/SK tanks to Iraq this year, according to information from the corporation's 2016 annual report, published on Tuesday,

According to the report from TASS, T-90S is an export variant of the Russian-made T-90 third-generation main battle tank, while the T-90SK main battle tank is designed to provide unit control and communication with command posts and to act in unit formations.

(Source: TASS)

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Many of my Kurdish colleagues, members of the Finance and Oil Committees in the Iraqi federal Parliament, asked for my opinion on these deals. In response to that request and due to the importance of the deals and their potential impacts on the Iraqi national interest, I prepared this contribution.

Kurdistan-Iraq Regional Government (KRG) and the Russian oil company Rosneft signed a series of agreements on oil matters, on crude oil supplies with upfront payment in addition to an "open memorandum"; that was done during the period between February and June of this year.

As usual, the main contents and components of those agreements, the financial and economic conditions and their governing modalities have not been disclosed. While these agreements have attracted the attention and opposition of some Kurdish political blocs and members of the Iraqi parliament, the federal government and the federal Ministry of Oil both kept silent as if the matter does not concern them!

In spite of the lack of information and the confidentiality surrounding the details, what is available indicates, obviously, to their economic and financial importance for KRG; to the geopolitical considerations of the Russian government; to the profitability and the external strategic positioning considerations of Rosneft; and, finally, to the important implications and impacts of all that on Iraq and the federal government.

Please click here to download the full report.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with the former Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou-jiya(at)online.no, Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad). Read more of Mr Jiyad’s biography here.

Russia's Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as part of the XXI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, signed a series of agreements on widening their cooperation in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, commerce and logistics.

The documents were signed ahead of the meeting between the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani by Igor Sechin, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Ashti Hawrami, Minister of Natural Resource.

The Parties signed an investment agreement under which they committed to develop cooperation in exploration and production, agreed on monetization of the export oil pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as entered into a number of production sharing agreements.

The agreement outlines the main terms of the project which provides for the establishment of a joint venture for implementation of the long-term contract related to infrastructure systems in Iraqi Kurdistan. Rosneft will get access to the major regional transportation system with the throughput capacity of 700 thousand bbl per day, which is planned to be expanded up to 1 mln bbl per day by the end of 2017.

Also, the Parties committed to enter into effect of the PSAs signed as part of the Forum with respect to five blocks with substantial geological potential and outlines other perspective areas of cooperation in exploration and production, including the gas sphere.

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

As the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) continue their operations in the western areas of Mosul, some PMU factions reached the Syrian border May 29 and were met by Syrian army divisions on the other side of the border.

According to the May 29 statements of Hadi al-Ameri, secretary-general of the PMU-affiliated Badr Organization, PMU forces are stationed in the Um Jaris village on the Iraqi-Syrian border, northwest of the Ninevah governorate.

The forces announced that they intend to continue to control the Iraqi-Syrian border toward al-Qaim district, north of the Anbar governorate, stretching over 300 kilometers (186 miles).

International coalition aircraft had previously bombed a convoy of the Syrian army and armed loyalists near the border triangle between Iraq, Syria and Jordan, according to Abu Alaa al-Walai, secretary-general of the Martyrs of Sayyid Battalions, affiliated with the PMU. “The US aircraft bombed Friday night, May 19, PMU forces in the area of Abu Kamal, near the Iraqi-Syrian border,” Walai said.

As the Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad prepares to exert influence over the Iraqi-Syrian border with the help of its allies in Iraq and Iran, the opposition armed groups seek to do the same with the support of the international coalition. The border area between Iraq and Syria will turn into a conflict zone between the allies of Tehran and those of Washington.

Ahmad al-Asadi, a PMU spokesman, told Al-Monitor, “The PMU forces will mobilize to secure the Iraqi-Syrian border and then shut it down to prevent the infiltration of terrorist groups.”

By John Lee.

KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his accompanying delegation have met with the head of Gazprom Neft, Alexander Dukov, in St Petersburg. 

Dukov briefed the Prime Minister about the company's work and activites of the region, while Barzani thanked him for his support for the region in difficult times.

(Source: KRG)

By Shelly Kittleson for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Although Islamic State (IS) fighters in western Mosul are cornered within a steadily shrinking area that is expected to be retaken soon, analysts warn that the fight against the group in the country is far from over.

Hisham al-Hashimi, one of Iraq’s most widely respected security and terrorism experts, told Al-Monitor that the transnational terrorist group “has not yet fought at its maximum strength” and has left only a “hindering” force in Mosul, which was previously known as the group’s capital in Iraq.

He claims that many IS members are unknown by name to Iraqi intelligence and that documents found in recaptured areas of Mosul show that IS’ “hidden” men are referred to in their own records using only numbers and no names, making it likely that many have simply melted into the population and will not be flagged during screening procedures.

Moreover, in commenting on an Iraqi military announcement in mid-April that IS currently held less than 7% of the country — down from an estimated 40% in 2014 — Hashimi scoffed, noting that “this is only counting the populated areas. They actually still hold 18% of it.”

“This is important,” he stressed, since “they still hold Hawija, as well as Tal Afar, Al-Baaj,” and the cities of Rawa, Anah and Qaim in the western Anbar province.

“We don’t have enough forces to fight in Hawija. Until we recapture all of Mosul and Tal Afar, we can’t go back to Hawija,” he said, adding that “Hawija is a difficult area due to its agricultural characteristics and the fact that it is a stronghold for militants. Fighters who have fled from the Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces are there.”

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

Iraq is trying to revive the Trebil border crossing between Iraq and Jordan, which was closed in 2014 after the Islamic State (IS) took control of Anbar province.

But the highway from Baghdad toward the crossing is not safe and has been the stage of terrorist attacks for a while, most recently the IS attack on an Iraqi security forces’ convoy April 22 in the Al-Sakkar area east of Rutba on the highway near the Jordanian border.

As a result, 10 security officers were killed and 20 others were injured. Following the incident, soldiers of the Eighth Brigade deployed in Rutba appealed to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for equipment and weapons to secure the international highway between Ramadi and Rutba to avoid surprise attacks by IS sleeper cells.

Due to the imminent threats to the road, which is one of Iraq’s vital economic lines as it connects Basra in the south to Jordan in the west, Iraq commissioned an American company to secure and rebuild the road. The contract also included reconstructing bridges, 36 of which are destroyed.

A government source close to Abadi told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “In his recent visit to Baghdad, Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, discussed with Iraqi officials the issue of securing the Baghdad-Terbil and the Safwan-Terbil crossings.”