An anti-ISIS coalition soldier was killed and two wounded during operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the past week, the US military said on Monday. US Central Command said in a statement that US and Iraqi troops conducted strikes against known ISIS sites in the Hamrin Mountains of Iraq.
“The operations served to disrupt and degrade ISIS's ability to plan, organise and conduct attacks against civilians in the region, as well as US citizens, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Centcom said. “During the operations, ISIS fighters engaged coalition forces on several occasions, resulting in the employment of coalition air strikes.”
A-10 ground attack planes, as well as F-16s and F-15s, were used in the attacks.
Centcom reported that ISIS fighters were “eliminated” in a mountain cave, without saying how many. It did not give the nationality of the coalition casualties but said they were not American.
Syria has been in upheaval after a rebel takeover led to the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had warned in December that ISIS was reorganising its ranks in Syria, and Kurdish forces in the north-east increased security at prisons holding ISIS captives.
Centcom launched dozens of strikes on ISIS targets in the country to prevent the extremists from taking advantage of the transition period. The US had also more than doubled its troop presence in Syria.
Centcom on Monday also reported that US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces held an operation with US forces against ISIS near Deir Ezzor in Syria, “resulting in the capture of an ISIS attack cell leader” in the first days of January.
“Partnered operations like these are critical to maintaining pressure on ISIS and preventing the terrorist group from taking advantage of the rapidly changing security environment in the region,” Centcom commander Gen Michael Kurilla said in the statement.
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
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PRIMERA LIGA FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla (3pm)
Alaves v Real Madrid (6.15pm)
Malaga v Athletic Bilbao (8.30pm)
Girona v Barcelona (10.45pm)
Sunday
Espanyol v Deportivo la Coruna (2pm)
Getafe v Villarreal (6.15pm)
Eibar v Celta Vigo (8.30pm)
Las Palmas v Leganes (8.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Valencia (10.45pm)
Monday
Real Betis v Levante (11.pm)
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
