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'HE'S DECLARED WAR ON ISLAM'

Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ is a betrayal, claim Iraqi special forces who risk their lives battling ISIS alongside US troops

Troops from Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service have slammed Donald Trump's travel ban

IRAQI soldiers battling ISIS in Mosul have branded Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ a betrayal.

The US president signed an executive order last week placing travel restrictions on people from seven Muslim majority countries.

 Troops from Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) have slammed Donald Trump's travel ban (File image)
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Troops from Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) have slammed Donald Trump's travel ban (File image)Credit: Getty Images
 Trump last week barred people from Iraq and six other Muslim majority countries from entering the US for 90 days
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Trump last week barred people from Iraq and six other Muslim majority countries from entering the US for 90 daysCredit: EPA

Citizens of Iraq – as well as Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – are barred from entering the US for 90 days.

But troops from the country’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) – Iraq’s answer to the SAS – have slammed the decision.

Speaking to , the special forces soldiers said they had no plans to leave for America, but said the principle of the 'Muslim ban' felt like a betrayal.

The highly professional crack fighters were trained by the Americans and fight alongside US and other Western special forces in the battle against ISIS.

But they have now been told that none of them would be welcome in the US.

One said: “Of course I'm upset. Why would [Trump] say these things? There's no need for it.”

Another compared Trump to Kim Jong-un, saying he was “obsessed with himself”.

And a third told reporters: “I think Trump has gone to war with Islam. He's not good with the Islam. Islamic people.

“And he has an aim to destroy the Islamic people.”

Iraqi forces retook the last area of Mosul east of the Tigris River last Tuesday, with troops from the Counter-Terrorism Service leading the charge.

 CTS soldiers have been at the forefront of the battle against ISIS in Mosul
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CTS soldiers have been at the forefront of the battle against ISIS in MosulCredit: Reuters
 CTS troops led the offensive that saw eastern Mosul declared liberated last week
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CTS troops led the offensive that saw eastern Mosul declared liberated last weekCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Iraqi forces took the last of eastern Mosul back from ISIS last week
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Iraqi forces took the last of eastern Mosul back from ISIS last weekCredit: Reuters

The Joint Operations Command coordinating the battle announced: “The Iraqi flag was raised and the left side (east bank) was thus fully liberated.”

The three months it took to take back the east of the city saw some brutal fighting.

But even bloodier battles are expected in western Mosul – home to the narrow streets of the Old City and some of ISIS’s traditional strongholds.

There are now fears over the fate of the estimated 750,000 civilians still believed to live in the part of the city still occupied by the fanatics.


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