A US soldier standing next to a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) on the Qayyarah air base. Florian Neuhoff for The National
A US soldier standing next to a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) on the Qayyarah air base. Florian Neuhoff for The National

Inside the Qayyarah airbase, a strategic springboard in battle for Mosul



QAYYARAH, IRAQ // As night falls, a line of men and women in combat fatigues forms behind the blast walls shielding the canteen.

The biggest queue is for the tent serving fast food: burgers, sandwiches and hash browns. Some opt for boil-in-the bag meals dished out of vats in the mobile kitchen. Apart from the cooks, everyone is carrying a gun.

This is Qayyarah Air Field West, barely 60 kilometres from Mosul, where the battle against ISIL is raging. The shot up buildings and the carcass of an exploded armoured car near the camp entrance are reminders that the war against ISIL has been going on for two-and-a-half years.

But while Iraqi forces in Mosul are engaged in some of the fiercest fighting yet, in Qayyarah, monotony reigns. Air strikes and artillery support for the Iraqis are coordinated from the airbase but the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division have no active combat role in the battle for Mosul.

Dinner options aside, camp life has its limitations. “We work out a lot,” says a pale, lanky soldier sitting outside one of the four mess tents.

As dusk settles on the barren land, soldiers shake off the boredom with an evening run along the blast walls lining the perimeter. Others say they use the down time to study.

The 101st Airborne first set up base in Qayyarah in 2003 during the Second Gulf War, and established themselves in what is known as Forward Operating Base Endurance before the US military pulled out of the country in 2011.

After Iraqi special forces retook the town and the base in July, the Americans returned to assist in defeating ISIL. The airbase became a key command and logistics centre of the Mosul Operation, launched on October 17.

Military engineers repaired the air strip and now close to 1,000 coalition troops are based in Qayyarah, sharing the base with the Iraqi army — which throws up some interesting contrasts.

Rules and regulations are paramount in the US compound. Every tent and container is erected according to a set plan and protected by perfectly-placed concrete blast walls.

Inside, U-shaped concrete blocks arch over each bed with additional blast walls at each end. A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, is parked in a concrete shelter nicknamed Rocket City. A forest of antennas and communication towers complete the picture of military sophistication.

The protocol can seem absurd.

Miles behind the front line, many soldiers wear full combat gear of flak jacket, helmet, ammunition clips and an M4 rifle. Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles include a turret gunner even for short journeys around the base.

Chatty kitchen staff serve up fried meat dumplings, salad and bread to anyone who enters the officers mess, one of the many containers lined up in the sprawling Iraqi army compound.

“We wouldn’t want a soldier to go hungry,” quips US army spokesman Major Chris Parker.

While there is no danger of food running out, regulations also deny visiting journalists dinner.

On the Iraqi side, such lack of hospitality would be unthinkable.

Men go about in uniform or civilian clothing, and shuffle to the portaloos in their pyjamas after rising in the morning. Only officers get the privacy of containers — the rest are in huge tents. Battered old Humvees share parking space with the flatbed lorries that carry heavy machine guns.

The two worlds collide in the Combined Joint Operations Centre, or what Maj Parker calls “the nerve centre where a lot of the information for the Mosul operation comes together”.

Here, Iraqi and US operators sit side by side facing screens showing aerial images of military targets.

On the American side of the tent, clean shaven, muscular young men shout information into phone headsets or at each other, while constantly monitoring their computers for updates.

On the Iraqi side, the atmosphere is more relaxed — no computers, just predominantly middle-aged officers with moustaches and pot bellies leaning back in their chairs and scrolling through their smart phones.

A fireball on one of the screens draws everyone’s attention. The Americans react with the knowing confidence of football fans watching their team score again in a one-sided contest. The Iraqis are less clued up.

“Was that artillery?” asks an Iraqi officer. “That was an air raid,” comes the answer.

The artillery comes later, when quiet has settled over the base. In the early hours, a series of loud booms tear through the air, as howitzers open up on an enemy miles in the distance. A little later, a second salvo of shells blasts into the sky, their flight path straddling the Tigris before descending onto an ISIL position near Mosul.

The soldiers at Qayyarah Air Field West are used to such interruptions to their slumber. Turning in their field beds, most will be asleep again when the artillery rounds hit their targets.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

The biog

Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Favourite music: Classical

Hobbies: Reading and writing

 

Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder

Started: October 2021

Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Industry: technology, logistics

Investors: A15 and self-funded 

About RuPay

A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

THE DETAILS

Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Book%20Details
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SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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What is Folia?

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love". 

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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List of alleged parties
  • May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
  • 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
  • Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 
  • Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
  • Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters 
  • Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
  • Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 
How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia