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12/22/2024 10:14:54 pm

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CIA and M16 Warned in Advance of ISIS Militant Attacks, Warning Fell on 'Deaf Ears'

New reports say both the CIA and M16 received intelligence early on pointing to major ISIS attacks in Iraq but the information allegedly fell on deaf ears.

Both the United States and Britain were reportedly warned by senior Kurdish intelligence officials of burgeoning ISIS insurgency months before the militant group began advancing on Baghdad and gaining wider territory.

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According to a report by the Telegraph, the warnings failed to spark any action on the part of the CIA and M16.

A Kurdish intelligence "asset" reported to his handlers that ISIS, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, was preparing to cooperate with leftovers of Saddam Hussein's regime and form an alliance which would lead to the takeover of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq and home to more than two million people.

The alliance would come together between ISIS members and ex-Baathists, who held power under Hussein, and would lead to the eventual attack and takeover of Mosul and other northern Iraqi cities.

Mosul was taken over by the militant group just two weeks ago, forcing tens of thousands of the city's population to flee the area.

Kurdish officials also warned that ISIS is attracting foreign-born Muslims to its cause and an estimated 4,000 foreigners are fighting alongside the militant cluster, 400 to 450 of whom are Britain-born.

"We had this information then, and we passed it on to [the British] government and the US government. We knew exactly what strategy they were going to use, we knew the military planners. It fell on deaf ears," a Kurdish official told news sources.

Since the inception of ISIS-related issues in Iraq, both the US and Britain have been reluctant to get involved and U.S. President Barack Obama has stated that although the militant group is "a medium-and long-term threat" to national security, it is only "one of a number of organizations that we have to stay focused on."

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