Spy satellite images lead archaeologists to the site of a historic battle in Iraq

Spy satellite images lead archaeologists to the site of a historic battle in Iraq
Dr Jaafar al Jotheri holds satellite images and explores the site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyah, which was fought in Mesopotamia - present-day Iraq - in the 630s AD between Arab Muslims and the army of the Sassanid Persian dynasty during a period of Muslim expansion. (AP)
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Updated 12 November 2024
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Spy satellite images lead archaeologists to the site of a historic battle in Iraq

Spy satellite images lead archaeologists to the site of a historic battle in Iraq
  • The Battle of Al-Qadisiyah was fought in Mesopotamia
  • A joint team of archaeologists from the UK’s Durham University and the University of Al-Qadisiyah stumbled across the site

BEIRUT: Declassified 1970s-era US spy satellite imagery has led a British-Iraqi archaeological team to what they believe is the site of a seventh-century battle that became decisive in the spread of Islam throughout the region.
The Battle of Al-Qadisiyah was fought in Mesopotamia — in present-day Iraq — in the A.D. 630s between Arab Muslims and the army of the Sassanid Persian dynasty during a period of Muslim expansion. The Arab army prevailed and continued on its march into Persia, now Iran.
A joint team of archaeologists from the UK’s Durham University and the University of Al-Qadisiyah stumbled across the site while undertaking a remote sensing survey to map the Darb Zubaydah, a pilgrimage route from Iraq’s Kufa to Makkah in Saudi Arabia built more than 1,000 years ago. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity.
While mapping the route, the team noticed that a site some 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Kufa in Iraq’s southern Najaf province — a desert area with scattered plots of agricultural land — had features that closely matched the description of the Al-Qadisiyah battle site described in historic texts.
William Deadman, a specialist in archaeological remote sensing at Durham University, said the Cold War era satellite images are a commonly used tools by archaeologists working in the Middle East, because the older images often show features that have been destroyed or altered and would not show up on present-day satellite images.
“The Middle East has developed so much in the last 50 years, both agricultural expansion and urban expansion,” he said. Some of the distinguishing features at the Al-Qadisiyah site, such as a distinctive trench, were “much more pristine and clear” in the 1970s images, he said.
A survey on the ground confirmed the findings and convinced the team that they had correctly identified the site.
The key features were a deep trench, two fortresses and an ancient river that was reportedly once forded by elephant-mounted Persian troops, said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah who is part of the team that made the discovery. The survey team also found pottery shards consistent with the time period when the battle took place.
Jotheri said that Iraqis of his generation, who grew up under the rule of Saddam Hussein, were all familiar with the battle in minute detail, down to the names of the generals on both sides.
The battle at the time had political connotations — Iraq was engaged in a devastating war with Iran through much of the 1980s. Saddam pointed to the Battle of Qadisiyah as a harbinger of victory for Iraq.
Like most children growing up in that era, Jotheri said he had watched a popular movie about the battle multiple times as it was on regular rotation on television.
In the post-Saddam era, Al-Qadisiyah has become something of a political litmus test. Iraqis’ views of the battle vary depending on their feelings toward Iran, which has expanded its influence in the country since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam.
“There is some political and religious context in this battle, because now, of course, we have religious differences, ethnic differences, political differences in Iraq and we read or we view everything based on our … differences,” Jotheri said. But he added, ”We all agree that it is a very important battle, a decisive one, and we all know about it.”
The team plans to begin excavations at the site in the coming year, Jotheri said.
The discovery comes as part of a broader project launched in 2015 to document endangered archaeological sites in the region.
It also comes at the time of a resurgence of archaeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the “cradle of civilization,” but where archaeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts.
In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated.


Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN

Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN
Updated 03 December 2024
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Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN

Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Nearly 50,000 people have recently been displaced in Syria, where an Islamist-led militants alliance has wrested swathes of territory from control of President Bashar Assad’s government, the UN’s humanitarian agency reported Monday.
“The displacement situation remains highly fluid, with partners verifying new figures daily,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement. “Over 48,500 people have been displaced as of 30 November.”
 

 


Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests

Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
Updated 03 December 2024
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Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests

Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
  • Ben Gvir called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned Monday the arrests of a senior prison official and two police officers linked to him as an attempt to oust him.
The three, who media say are close to Ben Gvir, were arrested on suspicion of bribery, abuse of office and breach of trust, according to reports.
Police have not commented on the arrests.
“This is a coup d’etat... a political decision,” Ben Gvir said in televised comments.
He called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The decision to investigate police officers and a senior prison service official who are clearly and fully implementing my policy... is a political decision,” Ben Gvir added.
Israeli media said on Monday the prison service official questioned by police was the chief, Kobi Yaakobi, a close friend of Ben Gvir who was appointed in January.
Ben Gvir on Monday posted on his Telegram channel a photo with Yaakobi and the words: “Kobi, we love you.”
Last week the minister gave his “full” support to four people working in his office, who Israeli media said were questioned by police as part of a probe into the alleged issuing of weapons permits illegally.
Ben Gvir also directly attacked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had previously provoked the ire of some ministers in the current government.
“In order for the right-wing government to function, without the legal adviser preventing it, we must stop this crazy campaign and legal coup,” Ben Gvir said.
He urged Netanyahu to discuss in Sunday’s cabinet meeting ending Baharav-Miara’s mandate.
In March last year, it was Baharav-Miara who deemed “illegal” one of Netanyahu’s public interventions on proposed judicial system reforms then dividing the country.


Turkiye could benefit from rebel offensive in Syria: experts

Turkiye could benefit from rebel offensive in Syria: experts
Updated 03 December 2024
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Turkiye could benefit from rebel offensive in Syria: experts

Turkiye could benefit from rebel offensive in Syria: experts
  • Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants

ISTANBUL: Turkiye could be one of the big winners from the new Syria crisis, giving it a chance to tackle its Syrian refugee problem and the Kurdish threat along its border, observers say.
Although Syrian President Bashar Assad spurned an offer of help from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara now appears to have an increasingly important role in decisions that will affect Syria’s immediate future.

Omer Ozkizilcik, an Atlantic Council associate researcher in Ankara, said Turkiye has a “complex and difficult relationship” with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist alliance that led last week’s militant offensive.
“We can clearly say there was indirect Turkish support (for the offensive) but no direct Turkish involvement,” he told AFP.
Although the attack was due to take place “seven weeks ago... Turkiye stopped the militants from launching this military offensive,” he added.
Assad’s ally Russia has also been “heavily” bombing militants positions in the northwest to stymie an attack on his government.
Charles Lister, an expert at Washington’s Middle East Institute agreed, saying “the Aleppo offensive was initially planned for mid-October but Turkiye put a stop to it.”
It was only after Ankara’s efforts to normalize ties with the Assad goverment were rebuffed as it pushed for a political solution, that Turkiye gave its green light, Ozkizilcik said.

Turkiye has pushed back against the expansion of HTS into the “security zone” in northwest Syria it has carved out for itself, and has put pressure on the radical group to drop its Al-Qaeda affiliation.
It has also pressed it to avoid attacking Christian and Druze minorities, analysts say.
“The HTS of today is not what it was in 2020,” Ozkizilcik said.
Although Turkiye has some influence over the group, Firas Kontar, a Syrian Druze origin and author of “Syria, the Impossible Revolution,” believes Erdogan “no longer has the means to stop HTS.”

Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants.
However, since late 2022 the Turkish leader has been seeking a rapprochement, saying in July he was ready to host Assad “at any time.”
But Assad said he would only meet if Turkish forces withdrew from Syria.
Ankara is hoping a rapprochement would pave the way for the return of the 3.2 million Syrian refugees still on its soil, whose presence has become a major domestic hot potato.
“Now with the changing situation on the ground, the balance of power in Syria has shifted: Turkiye is the most powerful actor at the moment inside Syria, and Iran and Russia will likely try to negotiate with Turkiye,” Ozkizilcik said.

Since 2016, Turkiye has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria which has given it a foothold in areas bordering the frontier.
The aim is to oust Kurdish fighters from the border zone, notably the YPG (People’s Protection Units) which are backed by Washington as bulwark against Daesh group terrorists.
But Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the PKK which has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkiye and is banned as a terror group by Washington and Brussels.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, pro-Turkiye militans on Sunday seized Tal Rifaat, a town north of Aleppo and the surrounding villages, where some 200,000 Syrian Kurds were living.
Tal Rifaat lies just outside Turkiye’s “security zone” with the move prompting Kurdish residents to flee to a safe zone further east.
Turkiye’s secret service said it had killed a PKK leader in the area.
“Turkiye has already made and probably will make many gains against the YPG terror group to secure its national security,” said Ozkizilcik.

 


Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza

Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza
Updated 03 December 2024
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Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza

Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza
  • At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army called on Monday for some areas of the southern Gaza Strip to be evacuated, warning that Palestinian militants were launching rockets from there.
It is the first such call in weeks relating to the south of the embattled Palestinian territory after the military turned its attention to the north in October.
“Terrorist organizations are once again firing rockets toward the State of Israel from your area,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post in Arabic on X, addressing residents of the Khan Yunis area.
“For your safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone,” he said, sharing a map of the area in question.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said in a statement that “one projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from Khan Yunis was intercepted” by the Israeli air force.
Hamas’s armed wing later claimed responsibility, saying it had fired rockets toward southern Israel.
Israel has destroyed large swathes of Gaza since it launched a retaliatory military offensive following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
 

 


US welcomes Israel lifeline for Palestinian banking

A man withdraws cash from an ATM machine at Bank of Palestine in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2018. (AFP)
A man withdraws cash from an ATM machine at Bank of Palestine in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2018. (AFP)
Updated 03 December 2024
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US welcomes Israel lifeline for Palestinian banking

A man withdraws cash from an ATM machine at Bank of Palestine in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2018. (AFP)
  • US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that cutting off Palestinian banks “would create a humanitarian crisis” and voiced disappointment in October when Israel approved only a 30-day extension

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday welcomed Israel’s one-year extension of a lifeline to Palestinian banks, after threats by the far-right finance minister to sever the connection amid the Gaza war.
The United States had pressed Israel to maintain the waiver which allows Israeli banks to work with Palestinian ones, fearing otherwise that the comparatively stable West Bank would descend into economic havoc.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. (AFP file photo)

The State and Treasury Departments in a joint statement said they welcomed the decision taken Thursday at a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet.
“Economic stability in the West Bank is essential for Israeli and Palestinian security, and correspondent banking is a key pillar of that economic stability,” the statement said.
“The United States appreciates the ongoing engagement with the Government of Israel and the Palestine Monetary Authority on this matter.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement and advocates for the full annexation of the territory occupied by Israel since 1967, earlier threatened to end the waiver in retaliation for three European countries’ recognition of a Palestinian state.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that cutting off Palestinian banks “would create a humanitarian crisis” and voiced disappointment in October when Israel approved only a 30-day extension.