ISIS Uses Water As Weapon Of War On Mosul Fight
BY Herschel Smith
8 years ago
Fox6:
IRBIL, Iraq — At least half a million people caught in the crossfire inside the Iraqi city of Mosul now have no access to running water, the United Nations told CNN on Wednesday.
One of three major water pipelines was struck as Iraqi troops fought back ISIS militants in parts of eastern Mosul.
The damaged conduit remains inside the group’s territory, making it inaccessible for repairs, according to a UNICEF statement released Wednesday.
An Iraqi-led offensive began in October to liberate Mosul after more than two years under ISIS control. Mosul is the terror group’s last major power base in Iraq.
Officials and witnesses admit a pipeline break has occurred but said ISIS’ more sinister agenda has escalated the problem. The group has intentionally cut off water supplies to neighborhoods near the front line, according to Zuhair Hazem al-Jabouri, a Mosul City Council official responsible for supervising the city’s water and energy services.
“They (ISIS) cut the electricity to the water stations that feed several neighborhoods where Iraqi troops are advancing,” Jabouri said. “They are depriving people of drinking water in eastern Mosul. They want to force people to retreat with them in order to use them as human shields.”
Water has been used as a weapon of war in Syria by both the Syrian forces and ISIS, so they are well practiced at this sort of thing, as were the insurgents during OIF who routinely cut power to residents of entire cities.
The Romans controlled the water supply as a weapon of war two millennia ago, so this isn’t anything new. The point is that in any scenario such as war, TEOTWAWKI, or even pseudo-dystopia in America, be aware of your needs and prepare ahead of time. Do you have access to potable water? If not, do you have access to water along with the necessary filtration and treatment systems?
On December 5, 2016 at 8:29 am, Andrew Miller said:
I’ll out myself.
I won’t claim to be the most religious of people, but when I do remember to pray, I thank God for “electricity from the sockets, water from the faucet, and the pipes that run the other direction out of our house.”
Call me weird.
But water is a lot heavier if it has to be carried, and takes up place if it must be stored.
Plus…
There’s the whole “getting rid of” part I still haven’t quite figured out for where I’m stuck at the moment.
On December 5, 2016 at 10:10 am, GallopingGoose said:
8.37 pounds per gallon.
On December 5, 2016 at 10:22 am, Herschel Smith said:
Yep. 62.4 lb/ft^2 / 7.4805 gal/ft^3 = 8.342 lb/gal. It’s the heaviest thing in your kit.
On December 5, 2016 at 12:01 pm, Andrew Miller said:
Better to have it where you are than plan on carrying it from someplace…
On December 5, 2016 at 1:48 pm, Oldfart said:
Many of my neighbors – even the few “preppers” here in Oregon, assume there’ll be plenty of water falling from the sky and when it’s actively raining it does seem like it’ll never run out. What they don’t realize though, is that dry weather causes huge runs on whatever they might have stored and if it’s just twenty or thirty gallons, it’ll be gone in a couple of days.
I have a kids wading pool and several 55-gallon drums that I keep filled. I “harvest” rain from a downspout and have built a filter system to keep the larger organisms from getting through followed by a charcoal filter to help the flavor. The last step is a bit of ‘pool-shock’ to kill anything that may have slipped through the prior filters.
Except in certain special circumstances, water is more important than guns and ammo.
On December 6, 2016 at 11:18 pm, Max Blancke said:
If you don’t have guns, someone will take your water.
But in reality, our solution is to have a nice river running through our property, and several wind-fed stock tanks.