Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Iraqi special forces screen Mosul men in hunt for suicide bombers
Published in Ahram Online on 28 - 11 - 2016

One by one, hundreds of Mosul residents raised their shirts to prove they did not have suicide bombs strapped to their bodies, closely watched by Iraqi special forces fearful of the threat posed by Islamic State, even in areas they now control.
The men then handed over their identification cards so their names could be checked against a database of wanted Islamic State group members, part of the painstaking process of clearing militants from each neighbourhood of their Mosul stronghold.
Every time Iraqi forces capture a section of Mosul in their offensive against Islamic State group, it can take up to a week to ensure it is clear of militants.
Some hide in the network of tunnels they have constructed, while others mix with thousands of displaced people or stay behind to form sleeper cells in the crowded neighbourhoods of Mosul, a city of more than one million people.
Iraqi security officials say they have seized a large area of eastern Mosul in the biggest ground operation in the country since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Iraqi leaders hope the Mosul campaign will bring stability after years of sectarian bloodshed followed by the arrival of IS, an ultra-hardline Sunni group, in 2014.
While the Iraqis seem confident of victory, the security clamp-down in the Shuqaq al-Khadra'a district of Mosul suggests Islamic State group still poses a threat even as it loses territory.
Iraqi special forces were on patrol when their intelligence division heard from local people that Islamic State militants were still in the area.
Special forces and intelligence officials ordered residents to gather at a square with their identification documents.
"Lift up your shirt now," one officer yelled at a man, acutely aware that suicide bombers are one of IS's group most effective weapons.
The residents, many with beards of the size required by Islamic State group, sat in rows as their names were called. From time to time, a mortar bomb exploded nearby or shooting rang out.
Sitting at computers, special forces officers compared the names on identification cards to a long list of wanted men.
"There are about 39,000 wanted men in Iraq," said Mohamed Ali, a National Security officer. About 80 percent, he added, are "terrorists", the term Iraqi officials use to describe Islamic State group and other militants.
As identification cards were handed over, senior intelligence official Hussein Za'alan lectured the men sitting on the ground about the "evils" of Islamic State group, hoping they would provide information on the militants.
"They brought foreign fighters, criminals to this country," he said. "They just take women, impregnate them."
Another officer also sought to win the trust of the residents of predominantly Sunni Mosul, where IS group won support initially because of widespread discontent with the Shia -led government in Baghdad.
"We need your cooperation. Don't be scared. Remove fear from your hearts. Daesh is finished," he said, using a derogatory Arabic acronym to describe Islamic State group.
"Look what they do. They turn your young children into suicide bombers."
The officer didn't have to look far to see how easy it is for Islamic State group to recruit young Iraqis.
Omar Abdullah, 51, one of the men being processed, sat beside his 16-year-old son, Ibrahim. The teenager attended Islamic State indoctrination lectures on religion for 10 days before Abdullah managed to persuade him to leave the group.
But he was not so lucky with another son, who is an Islamic State fighter in the nearby city of Tal Afar.
"He wanted to get married but he didn't have the money because times are tough," said Abdullah. "Daesh brainwashed him, gave him money and promised him virgins in heaven. I lost my son."
An elderly man who did not immediately admit his son had joined Islamic State was chastised in front of the group. "You lied to me. You are Islamic State," a special forces officer shouted.
As intelligence officials lectured the men, some residents identified one of those in the square as an Islamic State member.
With a hood put over his head, he was handcuffed and questioned. "Talk, talk," yelled an interrogator.
"We are investigating. He could be Daesh, or the people that ratted him out may just have something against him and are trying to get him in trouble," he told Reuters.


Clic here to read the story from its source.