Russia possibly mapping underwater internet cables in Mediterranean
WT: Approximately one year ago, the Russian navy caused quite a stir by hanging around internet cables in the Atlantic for some period of time.
Steffan Watkins, an open-source intelligence analyst who monitors Russian ship movements, said the Russian navy sends vessels such as Yantar to the region to check on existing U.S. underwater sensors or cables that have been detected previously. The ships also search for new equipment on the sea floor that would reveal U.S. operations.
The accusation was the Russians were mapping the cables in order to be able to sever them in times of conflict.
The Russian fleet in the Mediterranean seems to be doing the same thing this week over cables off the Syrian coast.
News.com.au writes, “Author and military analyst H.I. Sutton is one of several observers who have noted the unusual activity of a suspected Russian survey ship, the Yantar, in waters between Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey in recent weeks.
It’s reported positions have been coinciding with the tracks of three major undersea fibre-optic cables. Mr Sutton’s blog suggests the extremely slow speed and frequent stopping of the ship suggest it could be deploying a submersible to the sea floor.”
If internet cables were severed that were supporting Western information flow, this could cause great economic disruption and take a very long time to repair, especially in time of war.
It seems likely that Russia wants this capability to inflict great damage on the European and American economies if need be.
Another possibility is that the Russian navy could be deploying devices to monitor information through the cables for espionage reasons.
(Bloomberg) — U.K. warships are monitoring a Russian aircraft-carrier group sailing past Britain’s eastern coast to the Mediterranean Sea to supplement President Vladimir Putin’s forces in the region, as international condemnation mounts of Russia’s military campaign in Syria.
A photo taken from a Norwegian surveillance aircraft shows a group of Russian navy ships in international waters off the coast of Northern Norway on October 17, 2016. 333 Squadron, Norwegian Royal Airforce/NTB Scanpix/Handout via Reuters
The deployment signals Putin’s determination to assert Russian interests as U.S. and European leaders accuse him of war crimes and dangle the threat of sanctions in response to the bombing of Aleppo by Russian warplanes.
Putin floated a possible extension of a cease-fire for the besieged Syrian city during a late-night meeting in Berlin on Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she portrayed as testy. Merkel and Hollande will meet again in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit of the EU’s 28 leaders that will consider a common response to Russia’s actions in support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
“We must show a robust and united European stance in the face of Russian aggression,” U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters as she arrived for her first summit. While Britain is leaving the EU, until it does “it’s vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop its appalling atrocities, its sickening atrocities in Syria,” she said.
May’s comments hint at the growing outrage over the bombing by Russian and Syrian forces of Aleppo, where some 275,000 inhabitants remain trapped. Syria’s government opened two crossings for fighters who want to leave the rebel-held eastern part of the contested city, a day after announcing a three-day humanitarian pause to its offensive.
Northern Fleet
Russia’s Northern Fleet, based at Severomorsk near the Finnish border, said last week that a naval group had set out for the northeast Atlantic en route to the Mediterranean “to ensure naval presence in the important areas” of the seas, according to the TASS news agency. The ships include the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier.
“When these ships near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way,” U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. “We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe.”
Russia said last month that its permanent naval group already stationed in the Mediterranean numbers about 10 warships and support vessels. Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman in Moscow, declined to comment on the additional deployment.
Russian Responsibility
Speaking after the Berlin talks that stretched into early Thursday, Putin said Russia would halt its bombing of Aleppo as long as “terrorist forces” aren’t active. At a separate news conference alongside Merkel, Hollande said Putin didn’t specify how long such a cease-fire might last. “We hope it’s as long as possible” to allow for humanitarian aid to reach all parts of the city, he said.
European foreign ministers will work on getting aid to the area, which would “at least be a first step that we haven’t seen in a long time,” Merkel said. “It was right to use this blunt language” in the talks with Putin because “Russia bears a clear responsibility in Syria, including exerting influence over” Assad, the German leader said.
Merkel and Hollande kept the threat of sanctions against Russia on the table, while saying the focus had to be on helping civilians in Aleppo.
Hollande said that at best the European Union could target individuals, while Merkel limited herself to saying that “you can’t deny yourself the option.” Either way, any sanctions would require the approval of all 28 member states and the most ardent support for such an approach came from the U.K, which has voted to leave the bloc. Russia already is under EU and U.S. sanctions for its encroachment on Ukraine.
“The conclusion in the European Union is that we don’t believe in new sanctions at this phase because we already have sanctions and these run until the end of January,” Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said in an interview in Helsinki on Wednesday. “In December or January we will have a discussion about the future of sanctions.’’
Minsk Accord
The Syria talks followed a discussion on Ukraine that was also attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Merkel and Poroshenko said the four leaders agreed to work on a “road map” of measures to advance last year’s Minsk accords for ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.
In Brussels, Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas, whose country borders Russia, said EU leaders must deliver “a very clear message to both the Syrian regime and its allies, mainly Russia.” He compared Aleppo with the Chechen capital, Grozny, that was reduced to rubble by Russian aerial bombing in the 1990s. “This is absolutely unacceptable,” Roivas said.
Daily Archives: October 20, 2016
Operation to Liberate Mosul Takes the Life of a U.S. Servicemember
The special forces backed by attack helicopters fought their way into the town of Bartella, where IS militants unleashed at least nine suicide truck bombs. Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati said the special forces retook Bartella, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the edge of Mosul. But Iraqi forces were facing stiff resistance inside the town shortly before he spoke.
The U.S. trained special forces are Iraq’s most highly trained and least sectarian fighters, and will lead the charge into Mosul.
Kurdish peshmerga forces also announced a “large-scale operation,” and peshmerga forces stationed on mountains northeast of Mosul descended from their positions and charged toward the front line. Military operations also appeared to be underway in the town of Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, which was pounded by airstrikes and peshmerga mortars the day before. More here.
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Stripes: WASHINGTON— A U.S. servicemember died Thursday after being wounded by an improvised explosive device in northern Iraq, according to a statement by the military’s Combined Joint Task Force Inherent Resolve.
A U.S. Army M109A6 Paladin conducts a fire mission at Qayyarah West, Iraq, in support of the Iraqi security forces’ push toward Mosul, Oct. 17, 2016. Christopher Brecht/U.S. Army
The command did not identify the servicemember or immediately provide any additional information about the death, which coincides with a joint U.S. operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group. As many as 200 special operators were embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish units this week moving to the front lines of the battle, the Pentagon has said.
A total of about 4,800 troops are in Iraq assisting in the mission to liberate Mosul and its roughly 1 million inhabitants. The death announcement comes a day after two Americans – one a U.S. servicemember – were killed in Afghanistan in an apparent insider attack.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said the embedded U.S. forces in northern Iraq were advancing to the last secure areas on the outskirts of Mosul as Iraqi and Kurdish forces wage a long-awaited offensive that could continue for weeks or months.
Iraq has about 18,000 troops moving on the city and the Kurdish peshmerga forces number about 10,000, according to Pentagon estimates.
Many U.S. troops were providing air support including nighttime raids by Apache helicopters, artillery bombardment, intelligence and forward air controllers who relay target information from Iraqi forces, according to the joint task force.
A Pentagon spokesman said troops were all operating behind the front lines of the conflict, which is the biggest offensive against the Islamic State group since it was defeated and pushed from Ramadi in western Iraq in December. The extremist group seized Mosul, which was Iraq’s second largest city, after a lightning assault from Syria in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon was looking into what could have been the first insider attack this year in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, an assailant reportedly dressed in an Afghan National Army uniform killed an unidentified U.S. servicemember and an American civilian who were working on a NATO mission to train local forces at Camp Morehead in Kabul. Another servicemember and two civilians were also injured.
The assailant was killed during the attack.
Back to Baghdad and who is leading the fight to liberate Mosul:
Baghdad’s Finest: A look at Iraq’s vaunted special forces
WT/BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraq’s special forces, which barreled into a town east of Mosul on Thursday despite a wave of suicide attacks, are the country’s most professional and least sectarian fighting force.
A member of Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces pauses as they advance towards the city of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. Iraq’s special forces, which barreled into a town east of Mosul on Thursday despite a wave of suicide attacks, are the country’s most professional and least sectarian fighting force. Officially known as the Counter Terrorism Service, the troops have played a key role in wresting back towns and cities from IS, and are expected to lead the charge in Mosul. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Officially known as the Counter Terrorism Service, the U.S. trained troops have played a key role in wresting back towns and cities from IS, and are expected to lead the charge in Mosul, their toughest battle yet.
Here is a look at Iraq’s special forces:
MADE IN AMERICA
The CTS was established by the American military shortly after the 2003 invasion as an elite commando unit charged with hunting down top insurgents and carrying out complex raids. They were trained, armed and supplied by U.S. Special Forces, who fought alongside them at the height of the insurgency.
The force proved to be a more reliable partner to the Americans than the mainstream security forces, where corruption was rife and many units were tied to parties or militias. But many Iraqis saw the special forces as the shock troops of an occupying power, and took to referring to them as the “Dirty Division.”
A PRAETORIAN GUARD?
The force grew in size over the years and expanded beyond its commando roots, with some taking part in conventional battles and even mundane tasks like manning checkpoints. Today they number around 12,000 men, including administrators, and up to 2,600 are taking part in the Mosul operation.
The unit was never incorporated into the Defense Ministry and answers directly to the prime minister. In the latter years of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s rule, many feared the special forces had become a praetorian guard that would cement his grip on power, but those fears were laid to rest when al-Maliki peacefully stepped down in 2014.
FROM “DIRTY” TO “GOLDEN”
When the Islamic State group swept across northern and central Iraq in 2014, Iraq’s security forces crumbled. Officers fled and their soldiers beat a humiliating retreat, many stripping off their uniforms and leaving their weapons and Humvees behind.
But not the special forces, who held their ground and became a source of national pride.
The CTS “retained its organizational cohesion and structure in 2014 when many other units of the Iraqi army fell apart,” said David M. Witty, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel and former adviser to the CTS. “The key leaders of CTS have become central figures in the Iraqi public’s perception of the campaign to destroy IS.”
“Dirty” no more, the 1st Brigade is now widely known as the “Golden Division.”
A NON-SECTARIAN FORCE
The CTS was designed to be a non-sectarian force, with Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish members who were strictly vetted to ensure they had no ties to political factions or militias. In the early years, the force mainly battled Sunni insurgents, but it also played a lead role in a 2008 offensive against Shiite militias. Maj. Gen. Fadhil al-Barwari, who leads the Golden Brigade, is a Kurd.
The force also has a better human rights record than most of the other participants in the Mosul Offensive. An Amnesty International report released this week documenting abuses in Anbar mainly focused on state-sanctioned Shiite militias, and included only passing mention of the CTS.
LEADING THE CHARGE INTO MOSUL
The special forces launched their first assault in the Mosul operation early Thursday, pushing into the town of Bartella with the aid of attack helicopters despite stiff resistance from IS, which unleashed nine suicide truck bombs, one of which struck an armored Humvee. The rest were destroyed before hitting their targets.
“We will lead the charge into Mosul as we are specialized in the battles in urban areas and guerrilla war,” said special forces Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil. “We are trained to break into towns and cities with fewer casualties.”
The special forces are expected to help drive IS out of Mosul in the coming weeks or months. But they can’t police the country, and will eventually have to hand things off to Iraq’s army and police, as well as Shiite militias and Sunni tribal fighters. It will be left to them to ensure that IS, which has recovered from past defeats, does not return.
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Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Bartella, Iraq contributed to this report.
