A member of the Iraqi special forces watches smoke rise over ISIS positions in Al Shura. Photo: Reuters
A member of the Iraqi special forces watches smoke rise over ISIS positions in Al Shura. Photo: Reuters
A member of the Iraqi special forces watches smoke rise over ISIS positions in Al Shura. Photo: Reuters
A member of the Iraqi special forces watches smoke rise over ISIS positions in Al Shura. Photo: Reuters

ISIS attacks civilians in eastern Iraq, killing at least 11


Sinan Mahmoud
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At least 11 civilians were killed and dozens wounded late on Tuesday when ISIS militants attacked a remote village north-east of Baghdad, security officials in the capital and Diyala province told The National.

The extremists attacked Al Rashad village outside the city of Muqdadiya in Diyala, the officials said.

At least 25 civilians were wounded and the number of deaths is expected to rise.

Security forces and government-sanctioned paramilitary troops have been sent to the area.

Iraqi President Barham Salih denounced the "cowardly terrorist" attack and called for increasing efforts to chase down ISIS cells.

The attack is a "villainous attemp to destabilise the country", Mr Salih said on Twitter.

"It reminds us with the necessity to close ranks, support our security forces, bridge the gaps, not to underestimate Daesh [ISIS] threats and to continue the national efforts to eliminate its remnants in the region."

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi vowed revenge.

“We will chase them wherever they are whether inside our outside Iraq,” Mr Al Kadhimi said on Twitter. “The crime in Muqdadiya will not go unpunished."

Dozens of people gathered outside Muqdadiya hospital and its morgue to collect the bodies, images shared on social media and local media outlets showed.

A group of men loaded a body covered with a white sheet into a pick-up truck as at least four ambulances passed by.

In another video, a number of bodies lay under sheets outside the morgue as women wailed.

The extremist group held much of northern and western Iraq from mid-2014 until government forces supported by a US-led global anti-ISIS coalition and Iraqi militias regained the territory in late 2017.

But ISIS cells still carry out sporadic attacks in remote areas and in Baghdad.

In January, two suicide bombers killed at least 32 people and wounded 110 in a busy commercial area near Baghdad's Tayaran Square.

Six months later, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr City, killing at least 30 and wounding dozens.

PFA Premier League team of 2018-19

Allison (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

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- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

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Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')

Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

Updated: October 27, 2021, 4:31 AM