Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr warned on Wednesday that Mosul may fall back into the hands of terrorists if the government remains in deadlock over power sharing.
"Mosul is in danger and terrorist cells remain active there," Mr Al Sadr said on Twitter, adding that the security of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is capital, has deteriorated at the hands of corrupt politicians.
Since Baghdad declared victory against ISIS in December, the group which once occupied a third of the country continues to carry out ambushes, assassinations and bombings and still poses a threat along the Syrian border.
A number of bomb blasts have shattered the relative calm in post-ISIS Mosul in recent months, including a car bomb earlier this month that killed at least five people and wounded 14 others, according to Reuters.
The car bomb detonated near a restaurant in the west of the city. "A terrorist attack via car bomb hit near a restaurant in western Mosul," Iraq's security services said in a statement.
ISIS overran Mosul in 2014, transforming the northern city into its de facto Iraq capital until government forces recaptured it in a nine month battle that culminated in July 2017.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said last week that hundreds of insurgents are trying to cross into Iraq from Syria as Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces carry out an operation to clear the last ISIS-held pocket in Syria.
Mr Abdul Mahdi the extremists are gearing up to recapture territory they lost to the Iraqi military, but the premier reassured the public by stating that "Iraqi forces are carrying out their duties to pre-empt any attempts by ISIS to infiltrate the border and cross into Iraq”.
On Wednesday, Iraqi forces announced that they killed 15 ISIS fighters inside a tunnel during a search operation in the northern Sunni-majority Salahuddin province.
Security forces "have completed a search operation which led to the destruction of two hideouts used by the terrorists and the killing of 15 elements inside a large tunnel," a spokesman for the military's Joint Operations Command said in a statement. It did not say when the incident took place.
ISIS sleeper cells remain active in across Nineveh, Salahuddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk provinces.
The development comes as parliament is in deadlock over corruption allegations, the 2019 budget and the appointment of key ministerial positions such as interior and defence.
Wednesday's session is expected to question the Central Bank Governor, Ali Allaq, after millions of dollars stored in public bank coffers were damaged by heavy rain.
Iraq is ranked 169 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perception index.
The new government faces an immense task in rebuilding a country ravaged by the war against ISIS, fierce sectarian infighting and the US-led 2003 invasion.
It will also have to deal with the scourges of corruption, power shortages and decaying public services.
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Read more:
SDF says it will resume operations against ISIS in eastern Syria
All aboard for Fallujah: rail link with Baghdad back on track
Three people killed in Mosul car bombing
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How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
Man United: Lingard (53', 90' 1)
Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')
Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Bullet%20Train
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Results
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m; Winner: MM Al Balqaa, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Qaiss Aboud (trainer)
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: AF Rasam, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mujeeb, Richard Mullen, Salem Al Ketbi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Pat Dobbs, Ibrahim Aseel
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Nibraas, Richard Mullen, Nicholas Bachalard