The contingent will be equipped with small arms and deployed to Iraq within the next two weeks. Once they reach their destination, Iran will start equipping them with heavy equipment.
Hezbollah fighters will be stationed in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, from where the attack on Mosul is being planned. Iranians already have an operations center in Samarra coordinated by Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds special forces.
Tehran seems to want to use the battle against ISIS to dissuade US forces from a future land commitment for the liberation of Mosul.
The scope of the Islamic State, meanwhile, is increasingly international. The jihadist organization has accepted loyalty commitments from organizations in Afghanistan, Algeria and the Egyptian peninsula of Sinai. The last to join the ISIS cause is the Nigerian group Boko Haram.
According to the latest reports, the Islamic State would have created a solid outpost in Sirte, a Libyan port city west of Benghazi, on the Mediterranean coast. The terrorists control the main points of connection, have requisitioned the radio stations of the city and launched attacks in areas still under government control.
The group that controls Sirte takes orders directly from the headquarters of the Islamic State, in Mesopotamia. This shows a clear coordination with the parent organization - reports the Times - analyzing the "refinement" and the synchrony of the propaganda started.
Sirte is a strategic city for Libya. About 80% of oil reserves are found right in the Sirte basin, a sector that also represents most of the country's production.
The Libyan oil industry is running at a minimum, with exports limited to a couple of offshore platforms. Exports rose from 1,5 million barrels a day last August to 150.000 barrels a day in February.
Libya has the ninth (proven) oil reserve on earth. This has always been a reason for optimism for the future reconstructions of the town after the continuous dominations.
The petrodollars now contrast ISIS with nationalist militants. To date, ISIS controls four fifths of Libyan reserves. The outpost of Sirte gives the militants a base on the Mediterranean.
Although the Caliphate is losing positions in Iraq and to a lesser extent in Syria, the Sirte outpost guarantees revenue and resources for the organization. These advantages translate into the possible access to the criminal and commercial networks of the Region.
The Sirte outpost demonstrates that ISIS still has strategic initiative, an appeal that extends far beyond Mesopotamia, and that the Caliphate has not weakened despite recent setbacks on the battlefield.
Franco Iacch
(in the photo a parade of ISIS in Sirte)
