“Fake gasoline” raises fears of low-quality diesel

An Iraqi security source reported, on Wednesday, that a brigadier general and a soldier were killed when an explosive device exploded targeting a military force south of Kirkuk Governorate.

The source said, “The explosion targeted the force while it was carrying out a combing operation in the Zaghitoun Valley,” a few hours after strikes by Iraqi Air Force aircraft on ISIS hostels in Kirkuk, on Tuesday evening.

The explosion led to the death of a brigadier general and a soldier, and the wounding of two other soldiers with varying injuries, indicating that the bodies of the two dead were evacuated and the injured were transferred to the hospital to receive treatment.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Defense mourned the commander of the communications unit of the 11th Infantry Division, Brigadier General Ahat Yasser Khudair Hussein, and the deputy officer Moataz Shahid Abbas, following the explosion of an explosive device left behind by ISIS, while they were performing their duty to inspect the site of the air strike that targeted an addition to terrorist cells in “Wadi Zaghitoun” in Kirkuk Governorate.

On Tuesday evening, the Security Media Cell announced that Iraqi fighter planes carried out an air strike targeting the hideouts of ISIS members in Kirkuk Governorate.

Kirkuk Operations Commander, Major General Maad Badai, said that an air strike targeted ISIS guest houses in the Zaghitoun Valley in Kirkuk Governorate, resulting in the destruction of the guest houses and the killing of at least two terrorist members.

Badai added, in a press statement, that the strike was part of the security operations aimed at pursuing members of the terrorist organization and targeting its dens and hideouts in areas where its members are active.

Iraqi F-16 aircraft had previously directed three concentrated air strikes targeting ISIS hideaways in Wadi Zghitoun, which resulted in the complete destruction of all the targeted hideaways and precise hits, according to a security statement.

In this context, the former advisor to the Prime Minister, Hussein Allawi, said that “the Iraqi security forces are doing great work to pursue the remnants of ISIS in the rugged agricultural areas, hills and mountains, as part of plans aimed at drying up the sources of terrorism.”

Allawi added, “Very small detachments of the organization in Kirkuk and cities north of Baghdad face death and continuous intelligence pursuit, in addition to reports from Iraqi citizens about their movement in agricultural lands and caves.”

Regarding whether there is still cooperation between Iraq and the United States of America, Allawi stressed that “Iraqi-American security and defense cooperation continues in the field of capacity building for the Iraqi armed forces,” pointing to “military contracts for special equipment for weapons of the air force, army aviation, ground forces, and special operations in the Counter-Terrorism Service.”

On Wednesday, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank and wrote slogans on its outer walls, according to what Palestinian sources reported, while the Israeli army said that the police had opened an investigation into the incident.

The Jerusalem Governorate Media Office, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, said that Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque, a vehicle, and an olive tree in the village of Mikhmas, northeast of Jerusalem, in the central West Bank.

In turn, Atta Kanaan, who lives 50 meters from the mosque, said that he heard the sound of glass breaking, so he went directly to the mosque.

He added, while he was inspecting the damage to the mosque: “The fire was burning strongly, and we called the fire brigade, and the youth helped us with the fire extinguisher, and we controlled part of the fire before the fire spread to the entire mosque.”

Video clips showed that the fire destroyed a carpet inside the mosque, whose interior walls had turned black due to the fire and smoke, and writings in the Hebrew language were sprayed with paint on one of its exterior walls. Among them are “Just because we're quiet doesn't mean we're asleep,” and “Evacuation = chaos.”

The settlers also set fire to a car, after throwing a highly flammable substance on it, according to Kanaan, who confirmed that the village residents formed night guard committees. For fear that settlers will burn homes, especially on the outskirts of the village.

The Israeli army announced that the police had opened an investigation into the incident, which did not result in any injuries.

He told Agence France-Presse that he sent his soldiers to the village of Mikhmas, after receiving a report and the spread of video clips of graffiti and the burning of the facade of a mosque and a vehicle.

He added: “When they arrived, the soldiers searched the area. “No suspects have been identified.”

The head of the Palestinian National Council (the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization), Rawhi Fattouh, considered that burning the mosque “constitutes a brutal act and a dangerous escalation in the terrorism of the colonialists.”

Fattouh said, in a statement, “The occupation government continues to provide support and protection to gangs of colonialists, which encourages them to target citizens, their property, and their sanctities, without deterrence or accountability.”

Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has escalated in recent months. Settlers' attacks included physical assaults, theft of land and crops, and the destruction of places of worship, homes, and facilities.

Excluding East Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, in addition to more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Violence escalated in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, coinciding with the war in the Gaza Strip that broke out on October 7, 2023.

The European Union's decision to establish a new mission to support the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces opens questions about the nature of the European presence in border and port security, coinciding with the approaching end of the UNIFIL mission in southern Lebanon.

While the European mandate includes training and advice in monitoring land borders, maritime security, and combating smuggling, a Lebanese ministerial source confirms to Asharq Al-Awsat that the mission will not undertake monitoring the eastern border with Syria or any executive security tasks, which is a distinction between assisting the Lebanese agencies in monitoring, and undertaking them directly.

On Monday, the Council of the European Union approved the establishment of the “European Union Support Mission in Lebanon” for an initial term of 3 years, which includes a military component to train the army in border control, reconnaissance and operational coordination, and a civil component to support the Internal Security Forces in combating smuggling and cybercrime and enhancing the security of ports, including the port of Beirut. The mission's deployment has not yet begun. It requires a separate European decision after completing operational planning.

The ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the mission “will not be a substitute for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and will not undertake any direct security tasks, including monitoring the eastern border with Syria.”

He added: “The Europeans are clear on this issue, and they confirm that they are not coming to replace UNIFIL, but rather to carry out a specific mission based on helping Lebanon, the army and security forces, and providing training and expertise in multiple fields, including those related to mines.”

He explains that “the mission does not come to monitor the eastern border with Syria, or to replace the international forces in the south, but rather to assist the army, the internal security forces, and state institutions, by transferring expertise, training, and providing technical support, and this support may develop later to include supplies and equipment.”

He stresses that “work is still continuing to maintain UNIFIL forces,” stressing that “the European mission is separate from the mission of international forces, and does not aim to replace them.” He points out that it is “similar in principle to the support that British forces previously provided to the Lebanese army, especially in the areas of training, rehabilitation and technical assistance, but it will be on a larger scale.”

The move comes as UNIFIL's regular operations are about to cease on December 31, in accordance with Resolution 2790, with the gradual withdrawal beginning during the year 2027, while the declared European mission is limited to training, advice, and capacity building, without a mandate to implement United Nations field patrols.

In turn, the Chairman of the Foreign and Expatriate Affairs Committee, Representative Fadi Alama, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We do not yet have much information regarding the nature of the proposed European mission and the tasks that it can undertake, but what we understand is that there is communication and discussions between European countries regarding a specific formula to support Lebanon, without its details having been fully explained to us.” He explains that “the idea, according to the information available to us, falls within the framework of supporting the Lebanese army; Whether in terms of training, or providing technical and logistical assistance, and not within the framework of assuming a direct security role or interfering in Lebanese security affairs.”

He revealed contacts that took place with the Polish side last week, noting that “the conversation dealt with the weapons capabilities that Poland possesses, and we sought to obtain the greatest possible amount of support for Lebanon, in addition to trying to find out whether there was a possibility to influence the direction of reconsidering international resolution (2790) related to the mission of (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon - UNIFIL).”

He added: “Our main focus was on supporting Lebanon, and on the possibility of having an international framework in which European and other countries participate, allowing them to attend, follow up, monitor, and provide support to the Lebanese army.”

Regarding the ports, he stresses that “we have no information about a European intention to assume control of the Lebanese ports or direct security supervision over them,” stressing that “what we sensed is the presence of a European desire to help Lebanon, by providing technical support and training and strengthening the capabilities of the Lebanese army, and not moving to assuming security responsibilities directly.”

Professor of Law and Foreign Policy at the Paris School of Graduate Studies, Mohieddine Al-Shehimi, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The basic idea of ​​the presence of the European force, whatever its form, scope of work, powers, and limits of its movement, is not limited to the field, operational, and logistical aspects. Rather, it is fundamentally related to the continued European support for Lebanon, accompanying the Lebanese state in completing its path towards implementing international resolutions, and supporting the diplomatic path it is following to restore its sovereignty and authority.”

He stresses that “the European mission will not replace the UN mission at all, and it is not possible to talk about replacing an international force with a European force,” adding that “European support must be a means to help the Lebanese state regain the initiative, control its decision, and enhance its ability to exercise its authority, in parallel with continued international support for Lebanon.”

He explains that “the nature of the new European mission will be different from the nature of the United Nations force, whether in terms of scope of work, powers, or implementation mechanisms,” and that “the proposed European role is based on a formula of partnership with the Lebanese authorities, making the Lebanese state an essential partner in determining priorities and implementing tasks.”

He believes that “discussing support for the security of Lebanese borders, crossings, and facilities does not necessarily mean transferring these responsibilities to European parties; There is a difference between providing assistance, training, and expertise, strengthening Lebanese capabilities, and assuming direct security supervision of these sites.”

He stresses that “direct European security supervision, in the operational and field sense, is not yet on the table,” pointing out that “the details regarding borders, crossings, and facilities, and the limits of the powers that can be granted to the European mission, remain linked to the arrangements that are being developed,” stressing that “the basis for this approach is to help Lebanese institutions carry out their responsibilities, and not to replace them in managing security or making sovereign decisions.”