Iraq Finds Underground ISIS Training Camp

Iraqi forces during an operation against ISIS remnants in Iraq. Iraq's Security Media Cell
Iraqi forces during an operation against ISIS remnants in Iraq. Iraq's Security Media Cell
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Iraq Finds Underground ISIS Training Camp

Iraqi forces during an operation against ISIS remnants in Iraq. Iraq's Security Media Cell
Iraqi forces during an operation against ISIS remnants in Iraq. Iraq's Security Media Cell

The Iraqi authorities announced Friday finding an underground ISIS training camp during the second day of the Tarmiyah operations north of Baghdad against the remnants of the terrorist organization.

“The Tarmiyah operation has achieved enormous results that would reflect positively on the security of the region in the coming days,” said Ali Jabouri, a commanding officer.

“The underground ISIS hideout included eight rooms and was used to hide terrorists and to train them on targeting Iraqi forces,” Jabouri explained.

Tarmiyah operation was launched on Thursday with the participation of brigades 42, 43 and 12, a joint force from the Baghdad Operations Command, the rapid reaction forces and federal police with Iraqi air force support.

It aims to target the remnants of ISIS, arrest wanted individuals, enhance security and stability, end security breaches, and protect the interests of citizens.

Since the operation started, Iraqi forces have found five ISIS hideouts, and arrested a number of wanted individuals and handed them over to the Baghdad Operations Command.

The Iraqi forces thwarted an ISIS attack south of Samarra.

The Popular Mobilization Forces said in a statement that a force from the 41st Brigade responded on Thursday evening to the attack of ISIS elements in the Tal al-Dhahab area.

Meanwhile, MP Mohammed al-Karbouli, member of the parliamentary security and defense committee, denounced “arbitrary arrest campaigns north of Baghdad.”

He said security forces have once again committed mistakes by arresting and terrorizing innocent residents.

Karbouli revealed that more than 50 young men were seized in a humiliating way in front of their families.

“Maybe the Sunnis are the weakest due to the financial and moral campaign launched against them,” he said.



Displaced by War, Cancer Patients in Lebanon Struggle for Survival

Displaced by War, Cancer Patients in Lebanon Struggle for Survival
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Displaced by War, Cancer Patients in Lebanon Struggle for Survival

Displaced by War, Cancer Patients in Lebanon Struggle for Survival

Lebanese small business owner Ahmad Fahess thought nothing could be more devastating than his cancer diagnosis until suddenly, while he was at work one day, Israeli airstrikes started targeting his town of Nabatieh in south Lebanon.
When he saw the tangled mess around him, he knew he had to grab his family and flee.
"We want to go back to our homes, to our work," he said, breaking into tears as he received cancer treatment at the American University of Beirut's Medical Center (AUBMC), his sister sitting next to his bed.
Israel launched a broad attack on southern Lebanon in September, almost a year after Iran-backed Hezbollah militants there stepped up their rocket fire on northern Israel as Israeli forces fought Hamas gunmen who had attacked Israel from Gaza.
Washington is trying to broker a ceasefire but Israel says it must be able to continue defending itself. It says Hezbollah uses civilians as human shields, something the militants deny, Reuters reported.
A father of two teenagers who owned four welding shops in Nabatieh, Fahess is now not only unsure when he will be able to go home, but also how long he will be able to access treatment for the rare cancer, sarcoma, which affects the connective tissue in his left arm.
"I used to come three days to Beirut for treatment and go back home," he said. "Now with the war, we were displaced, and the treatment struggle started."
Thousands of cancer patients are among more than a million people who have fled their homes.
"It all happened very quickly. We were at work when the shelling started; we were surprised by it," he said. He fled with his family to Antelias in Mount Lebanon with only $4,500 that quickly dwindled.
Fahess now depends on the hospital's Cancer Support Fund, a charity initiative launched in 2018 to assist cancer patients and now also giving extra support to displaced individuals.
"The treatment is costly; if the hospital didn't help me, I couldn't have afforded it," he said.
But he is worried about funding drying up. "If we have to pay and we're back at our homes, it would be fine, but if we are still displaced, it'll be impossible," he said.
Lebanon's health ministry said more than 2,500 displaced cancer patients have been forced to find new treatment centers, as at least eight hospitals in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs were out of action due to Israeli shelling.
Cancer was already expensive to treat under Lebanon's healthcare system, which in recent years has been battered further by economic crisis.
It is now under severe strain, said Ali Taher, the director of the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute at AUBMC, adding that treating displaced patients has brought new complications, including finding their missing medical records and doctors.
"It's also difficult to get cancer screening ahead of time because it's no longer a priority for people," Taher said.
Ghazaleh Naddaf, 67, was displaced from the southern village of Debel. Now living with her brother in Beirut, the former pharmacist assistant lost her job and has been unable to afford her therapy for multiple myeloma for two months.
"I am skipping treatment and medication," she said. "I used to come twice a week for treatment, paying over $1,000. I can't afford it anymore," adding that she also needs a bone marrow transplant costing $50,000, an expense far beyond her reach.
"It's war, and there is no safety, and I still need to go through the treatment to get on with my life," she said.
Hala Dahdah Abou Jaber, co-founder of the Cancer Support Fund, said displaced cancer patients have to choose between basic necessities and life-threatening therapies and many can no longer co-pay for their treatment.
"Cancer doesn't wait. Cancer is not a disease that gives you time; it's harsh," she said.