Nightmare scenario: Assault on Mosul could trigger dam disaster, 40-foot wave of death

Nightmare scenario: Assault on Mosul could trigger dam disaster, 40-foot wave of death

Special to WorldTribune.com Any missteps in Iraq’s attempt to retake Mosul from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISL) could result in a “nightmare scenario” in which the unstable Mosul Dam collapses and unleashes a 40-foot wave of death. “If the dam busts, the center of Mosul goes under water by about a 40-50 foot wave,” an […]

Mosul Dam at ‘higher risk’ of failure, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assesses

Mosul Dam at ‘higher risk’ of failure, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assesses

Special to WorldTribune.com The lives of over a half million Iraqis are at risk if the Mosul Dam were to collapse and that risk has increased in the past year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In an assessment made public by Iraq’s parliament on Feb. 8, the Corps of Engineers said it […]

Drone strike in Yemen kills Al Qaida commander who reportedly defected to ISIL

Drone strike in Yemen kills Al Qaida commander who reportedly defected to ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com An Al Qaida commander who is said to have defected to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen. Jalal Baleedi, who had previously run Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operations in southern Yemen, was killed while traveling in a car with […]

U.S. airstrikes destroy ISIL’s ‘Voice of the Caliphate’ radio station

U.S. airstrikes destroy ISIL’s ‘Voice of the Caliphate’ radio station

Special to WorldTribune.com A radio station in Afghanistan that was operated by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) was destroyed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes. “Voice of the Caliphate” radio, operated out of a remote part of eastern Afghanistan, was destroyed by two “counter-terrorism airstrikes” on Feb. 1, according to a U.S. military official. Afghan […]

Dunford: U.S., France planning ‘decisive military action’ in Libya

Dunford: U.S., France planning ‘decisive military action’ in Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met in Paris on Jan. 22 with his French counterpart, Gen. Pierre de Villiers, chief of France’s defense staff to discuss planning for a joint operation against Islamic jihadists operating in Libya. The two military leaders […]

Khamenei awards medals to Iran soldiers who captured U.S. sailors

Khamenei awards medals to Iran soldiers who captured U.S. sailors

Special to WorldTribune.com Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei awarded medals to Iranian forces for their “courageous and timely” capture of American boats and sailors last month. Navy Commander Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi and four other Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders were awarded the “Order of Fath” (Conquest) by Khamenei, the Tasnim news agency reported. “Your move […]

U.S. missile cruiser forced from Strait of Hormuz after warning from Iran destroyers

U.S. missile cruiser forced from Strait of Hormuz after warning from Iran destroyers

Special to WorldTribune.com A warning from Iranian warships forced a U.S. Navy missile cruiser to leave waters near the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 27. The USS Monterey received the warning from several Iranian destroyers to keep away from the area near the Strait of Hormuz where the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were conducting […]

U.S. commander: Iraq’s Mosul dam on verge of catastrophic collapse

U.S. commander: Iraq’s Mosul dam on verge of catastrophic collapse

Special to WorldTribune.com The potential for a collapse of the Mosul dam in northern Iraq is real, according to the commander of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). “The likelihood of the dam collapsing is something we are trying to determine right now … all we know is when it […]

Text of explainer-warning leaflets to ISIL tanker drivers released

Text of explainer-warning leaflets to ISIL tanker drivers released

Special to WorldTribune.com Leaflets dropped by the U.S. in Syria and Iraq warned drivers of tankers carrying Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil to “leave the trucks and flee” as air strikes on the tankers were imminent. “Warning. Airstrikes are coming, oil trucks will be destroyed,” read one leaflet. “Get away from your […]

Realism not rhetoric needed to defeat ISIL, warns Gates

Realism not rhetoric needed to defeat ISIL,  warns Gates

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates slammed both the Obama Administration and the presidential primary candidates calling for long-term realism in America’s fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) terrorism. “I think that the president has all along underestimated ISIS, has underestimated the degree […]