U.S. aircraft to block ISIL militants fleeing Mosul in Iraq
As President Barack Obama hands out clemency to hundreds of people given lengthy prison sentences during the era of the war on drugs, thousands of people are signing a petition asking for the same for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Nearly 17,000 people had signed the petition on the website www.change.org as of Monday afternoon, arguing that Kilpatrick’s 28-year sentence on 24 federal criminal counts involving corruption in office is excessive and unfair. Kilpatrick was convicted in March 2013. — Matt Helms, Detroit Free Press
Recordings of conversations that Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen had with emergency dispatchers and negotiators were released to the public Monday under court order.
Judge Margaret Schreiber of Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit ordered the release, according to lawyer Rachel Fugate of Thomas & LoCicero law firm.
The judge decided to evaluate further more than 200 other recordings of calls made to and from people in the nightclub, Fugate said after the Monday hearing.
The 9th Judicial Circuit is Orange and Osceola counties, and Orlando is in Orange County.
On June 12, Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Fla., embarked on a shooting spree at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, that left 49 dead and dozens injured. — Will Greenlee The (Stuart, Fla.) News
The U.S.-led coalition has developed plans to target Islamic State militants from the air if they attempt to escape the Iraqi city of Mosul and head west toward Syria, as Iraqi ground forces close in on the city from several sides, a top U.S. general said Monday.
“This is all about getting after (the Islamic State) and setting up an opportunity where, should they try to escape, we have a built-in mechanism to kill them as they are departing,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of U.S. air forces in the Middle East.
Blocking militants from escaping has been a key challenge as U.S.-backed Iraqi and Syrian ground forces have retaken towns and cities from the Islamic State. Hundreds of militants have managed to slip away.
The Pentagon has acknowledged there is no simple solution to prevent militants from grabbing Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, civilian hostages or simply escaping in small numbers.
But the coalition is beefing up surveillance, and Iraq’s government is encouraging civilians to stay put and avoid trying to flee, lessening the likelihood they will be grabbed as human shields.
Islamic State fighters have typically attempted to inflict heavy casualties on Iraqi and Syrian opposition forces before abandoning their positions and escaping.
In the Mosul campaign, Harrigian said military planners are focused on the western approaches of the city, which are not as well defended as the other sides.
The western approaches are not completely open. Shiite militias are moving into positions there and have said they will drive the Islamic State from Tal Afar, a town west of Mosul on the road to Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital for the militant group. The militias could act as a screening force to capture the Islamic State fighters if they attempt to head toward Raqqa.
But the Shiite militias present a political problem. The U.S.-led coalition said it would only support forces under control of the Iraqi central government. Many Shiite militias are influenced or controlled by Iran.
Plans for the Mosul offensive, which began Oct. 17, included a route to allow civilians to escape from the city and avoid its total destruction in case the Islamic State has nowhere to turn and tries to make a last stand.
“They don’t want to besiege the city and prevent civilians from escaping,” said Jennifer Cafarella, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
Such a plan also risks allowing some militants to escape to Raqqa, the next campaign objective.