IRAQ: Israel To Respond To Jordan's Call As It Ponders Over Activities Of ISIS

by Benson Agoha

Israel is monitoring the situation in Iraq and has not ruled out direct involvement against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) insurgents that have taken over parts of the country, if Jordan asked for help.

And Israel and United States will respond quicker to Jordan's call for military help than for Iraq's.

* ISIS fighters slaughter dozens of members of Iraqi Security Forced, forced to lie face down, in a dug grave.

Government forces were locked in a fierce battle to protect Tikrit, the home town of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain which has been under threat.

As the fighting rages, the ISIS reportedly declared parts of the country a separate 'caliphate' from Iraq. But government forces were said to be looking to gain ground on the rebels with the arrival of new fighter jets bought from Russia.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that 8 rebel fighters were executed by the ISIS after they were accused of not been tough enough.

Meanwhile, teams of US military personnel have been arriving in Iraq after the US embassy reopened, with another 200 expected to be sent to protect the US embassy. About 700 troops are in position in and around the country.  US said it will not deploy its soldiers for direct military engagement with the ISIS.

Britain has also reopened its Embassy in Iraq as urgent discussions are held to find ways to assist the Iraqi government contain the rebels.

Indications that Israel, which already has military deployment in place at it's border with Jordan, might change its current stand on the threat of the ISIS emerged after media reports said growing threat posed by the group might force its hand.

"Israel is closely watching ISIL's activities in both Iraq and Syria," Times of Israel reports quoting senior government officials as telling a radio stations that Israel was not yet troubled by the situation at this moment.

ToI said Israel was not worried because their Intelligence had been monitoring 10,000-strong ISIS for more than two years.

“I think Israel and the United States would identify a substantial threat to Jordan as a threat to themselves and would offer all appropriate assets to the Jordanians,” Thomas Sanderson, the co-director for transnational threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was quoted as telling the Daily Beast.

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* Photo Credit:          ToI

 

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