August 19, 2016
Hasaka (Hawar)
Today’s Major Developments
Iraqi military finally claims full control of Jazeera Khaldiya in Ramadi. […]
Iraqi forces indicate attack on Qayara city is near. […]
Increasing Syrian military attacks in Hasaka prompt US reaction. […]
Manbij Military Council soldiers take six more villages south of Manbij. […]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
The Ministry of Displacement and Migration says more than 164,000 displaced families have returned to their houses in liberated areas in Salahuddin, Ninewa, Anbar and Diyala. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. It’s hard to evaluate the IDP situation from this number. However, making a reasonable guess that the average Iraqi household has five people, we get 820,000 returnees. That’s a huge number, but still far less than the number of displaced people languishing at relatives’ homes and tent camps in many parts of Iraq.
The Coalition says it conducted 6 airstrikes on Daesh in Iraq, five in Ninewa. 1 near Albu Hayat in Anbar hit two Daesh communication towers; 1 near Sinjar struck a Daesh tactical unit and fighting position, 1 in Sultan Abdallah struck a Daesh tactical unit, and 3 in Mosul destroyed 3 Daesh storehouses, a financial office, 3 Daesh positions, 2 IEDs, 2 mortars, 4 weapons factories and a tunnel. [InherentResolve]
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Northwest (Kadhimiya)
An MoI source says the owner of a liquor store and his brother were killed and four other members of the family wounded when unknown armed men threw 3 hand grenades at his house in Hurriya. [Mada]
An MoI source says a Minister of Foreign Affairs employee was killed when a sticky IED exploded under his official vehicle in Tobchi. [Mada]
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
A local police source says a Sahwa fighter was killed and two others wounded when an IED exploded on their patrol in the Sheikh Hamad area in Tarmiya. [Maalomah]
A police source says a civilian was wounded when a sticky IED exploded under his vehicle in Husseiniya. [Sumaria]
East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)
An MoI source says two people were killed and eleven wounded when an IED exploded near a busy restaurant in Khasa’ village in Nahrawan. [Mada]
South (Dora, Mahmudiya)
An MoI source says a Tribal PMF commander and three of his brothers were killed by armed men who broke into his house in Arab Jubour. [Mada]
Iraqi Army 23rd brigade attacked a terrorist group that was trying to blow up an electricity tower in the Al-Sor area, killing one of the terrorists. The same brigade destroyed 3 Daesh guesthouses and defused 2 IEDs in the Akhsaf area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Iraqi Army 25th brigade found rockets and explosives caches in the Kilo 12 and Shakha 3 areas. [BOC Facebook Page]
An MoI source says two PMF fighters were killed and eight others wounded when a suicide terrorist detonated his explosives vest on a PMF gathering in Yusufiyah. [Mada]
Iraqi Army 55th brigade destroyed a Daesh guesthouse and confiscated 7 IEDs and an explosives vest in the Ahmed Al-Suhail area. [BOC Facebook Page]
A local police source says two people were killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a wholesale market in Yusufiyah. [Maalomah]
A security source says a civilian was wounded when a roadside IED exploded in Mahmudiya. [Sumaria]
West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)
An MoI source says three people were killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a popular market in Hay Al-Haswa in Abu Ghraib. [Mada]
A police source says a Sahwa fighter was killed when armed men attacked a Sahwa checkpoint in Abu Ghraib. [Sumaria]
Iraqi Army 60th brigade found 3 IEDs and other explosives in the Zawab’a area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 16 (Includes only incidents reported)
ANBAR
Falluja
Iraqi forces found a Daesh car bomb-rigging factory in a high school in Hay Al-Jolan in Falluja and confiscated 12 IEDs and 2 locally made rockets. Iraqi forces also defused 15 booby-trapped houses and 65 IEDs and confiscated large quantities of explosives in other areas in Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
Ramadi
Jazeera Khaldiya
The PMF Press reported that Iraqi forces had started a military campaign to liberate Qurtan and Albu Kanaan, the last Daesh-controlled areas in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Mada] It said there were 150 Daesh terrorists, mostly foreigners, remaining in the Qurtan and Albu Kanaan areas, including 2 from the US, 11 from Russia, and several from Algeria. [Maalomah] It also said a PMF unit killed a Daesh Chechen sniper in the Albu Kanaan area. [Maalomah]
Later on, the IFP Commander reported that his troops broke the Daesh siege on the Qurtan area, killing tens of terrorists. [Baghdadia] The Anbar Operations Commander then reported that Iraqi forces liberated Albu Kanaan–the last Daesh controlled area in Jazeera Khaldiya–killing many terrorists in the process. [Sumaria]
The PMF Press says 6 Daesh snipers are still operating in Jazeera Khaldiya, including 5 foreigners. [Maalomah]
An Iraqi military source says Iraqi forces found a Daesh hideout in Jazeera Khaldiya and killed 11 terrorists inside. The source also says two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the clashes. [BasNews]
Daesh says five Iraqi IFP members were killed and seven wounded when a booby-trapped house exploded on them in the Qurtan area. [Twitter]
The Joint Operations Command (JOC) says Iraqi forces destroyed 6 IEDs west of Jazeera Khaldiya. [Harbi]
Elsewhere in Ramadi
The Chairman of the Security Committee in Khaldiya subdistrict council says Iraqi forces shelled Daesh locations in the Albu Dhiab area, killing 3 terrorists and wounding others, and destroying a machine gun-mounted vehicle. [Maalomah]
The JOC says Anbar Operations Command troops destroyed 20 cans of C4 explosives in the Jaraishi area. [Harbi]
Hit/Haditha
A tribal PMF commander says Iraqi forces launched a security operation in different parts of Haditha District and captured 3 Daesh terrorists (photos). [Maalomah]
The JOC says Iraqi Army 7th division found a Daesh IED factory in the Jubba area that contained 30 IEDs. The division also cleared 2 houses and destroyed 18 IEDs in the same area. [Harbi]
Rutba/Western Anbar
Iraqi forces found several Daesh armored vehicles sunk in the sand in the Rutba area. Daesh has used the vehicles in its recent attack on Iraq Border Guards, but they couldn’t drive them any further because of their heavy weight. Daesh used iron doors confiscated from people’s houses to armor the vehicle. [Baghdadia]
The JOC says Iraqi Army 75th brigade defused an IED in the Kilo 160 area. [Harbi]
The JOC says Jazeera Operations Command troops destroyed a Daesh motorcycle and killed its rider in the Asbakha area. [Harbi]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A local source says Daesh canceled the “grey card” that it used to give to the families of its commanders in Shirqat. The card allowed the families to pass Daesh checkpoints and leave the district. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it destroyed 3 Iraqi Army Humvees, 2 bulldozers, and 4 SUVs near Tilul Al-Baj village, just southwest of Shirqat along the main road. [A3maq]
Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army bulldozer with a guided missile in Dibis village in Makhoul. [A3maq]
Tikrit
An informed source says the Ministry of Health fired the Deputy Manager of Salahuddin Health Directorate after accusing him of being a Daesh member. The source says the Governor of Salahuddin opposes the decision because it is based on biased accusations. [Buratha]
DIYALA
Baquba
The Diyala Police chief says Police Emergency units cleared a dirt road in the Muqdadiya area and defused 3 IEDS. [Sumaria]
The JOC says Dijla Operations Command liberated 9 Kurdish truck drivers who were kidnapped on the road between Al-Khalis and Kirkuk. [Harbi]
KIRKUK
Hawija
A local source says Daesh terrorists held the “interests of Muslims” prayer in Hawija, which may be a sign that Daesh wants to withdraw from the District (to save the interests of Muslims). [Mada]
A PMF commander says Daesh captured 6 more of its own terrorists who are linked to the brother-in-law of its Kirkuk emir. The brother-in-law, who was executed recently, proposed that Daesh withdraw from Hawija. [Sumaria]
A member of the CoR’s Security and Defense Committee says military reinforcements arrived near Hawija, and that the District will be the next step for Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga. [Mada]
Southwest
A security source says a police unit found the body of a 30-year-old civilian shot near the Jambur oilfields in Daquq District. [Sumaria]
NINEWA
Mosul
A local source says Coalition planes targeted Daesh locations on the east side of Mosul, killing “tens” of terrorists. [Baghdadia]
Daesh says fifteen people were killed in an “American” bombing on Mosul city, including nine children and five women. [A3maq] Daesh had earlier said four children and one woman were killed by an “American bombing” on Hay Al-Mithaq and Hay Al-Dendan in Mosul city. [A3maq]
Daesh issues a video of civilian casualties after airstrikes on Mosul. [A3maq]
Nineveh Plain
Coalition warplanes also targeted a Daesh gathering in historic Balawat village in the Nineveh Plain, killing 14 terrorists, wounding 13, and destroying several vehicles. [Harbi]
Makhmur/Qayara
The Ministry of Defense issued a radio message to the people of Qayara city, asking them to move towards the Qayara Airfield compound or the nearby Tina village in anticipation of an upcoming attack on the city. [Sumaria]
A security source says Iraqi forces finally liberated Jawa’na village in Qayara. [Mada]
The JOC says Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh vehicle carrying a cannon in Um Quroun village. Coalition warplanes also killed 27 Daesh terrorists and destroyed vehicles and 28 fuel tankers, and 2 vehicle bombs in other areas in Qayara. [Harbi]
The JOC source says Coalition warplanes killed 29 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a vehicle bomb near Kanhash village. [Harbi]
Daesh says it mortared and destroyed a Peshmerga Humvee, bulldozer, and a rocket launcher near Kanhash village, north of Gwer. [A3maq]
Daesh says it counter-attacked Iraqi forces near Imam village south of Qayara, killing or wounding several soldiers and destroying an armored BMP vehicle, 3 personnel carriers and a Humvee. [GooglePlus]
DaeshDaily comment. Despite the upbeat reports, Daesh has lost a very large number of villages and appears on the verge of losing its remaining territory in Qayara and has also lost nearby areas in Hamdaniya and Gwer to the Peshmerga. A few Daesh pockets here and there won’t stop the advance on Mosul.
Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Daesh publishes photos of targeting “Peshmerga positions” in Shandoukha village with rockets, mortars, and heavy machine guns. [JustPaste]
South (Baaj, Hatra)
The JOC says Coalition warplanes killed 3 Daesh vehicles and destroyed their defensive positions in Baaj. [Harbi]
KURDISTAN
In response to the Department of State’s spokesman who said yesterday that the Peshmerga should be under the command of the Iraqi government, the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga issued a statement saying the Peshmerga is under the command of the KRG and will not be under the Iraqi government’s control. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. They are probably not really arguing about the same point. The State Department spokesman was presumably talking about battlefield coordination. The Peshmerga spokesman, more like a KDP spokesman in this case, chose to change the subject to political control.
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Basra
A security source says an Iraqi Army colonel and his son were wounded when unknown armed men shot at their vehicle in the Rumaila area on the road to Baghdad. [Sumaria]
The Basra Police says it arrested a man wanted on terrorism charges in the Bahadriya area. [Sumaria]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Security sources say Turkish police captured 9 people, including 3 women, in Kilis province on the border of Syria. The police released the women and detained the men as Daesh suspects. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, in Albu Kamal (2) destroying 2 Daesh pump jacks, 2 oil tanker trucks, 2 oil tanks, and 2 wellheads; in Deir Ez-Zor (2) destroying 6 Daesh oil tanker trucks and 2 wellheads, and near Manbij (4), destroying 5 fighting positions and a tactical vehicle, and suppressing 2 Daesh units. [InherentResolve]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
The U.S.-led Coalition sent aircraft into northeastern Syria on Thursday in a “very unusual” move to protect American Special Operations ground forces from attacks by Syrian government jets, a Pentagon official said on Friday.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters the Coalition aircraft reached the area around the city of Hasaka as the two Syrian SU-24s were leaving, and the U.S. Special Operations forces were in the area where the strikes were taking place. He said the Syrian planes did not respond to efforts by ground forces to contact them.
Davis said he was not aware of any other instances where Coalition aircraft had been scrambled to respond to Syrian government bombing.
“This is very unusual, we have not seen the regime take this kind of action against YPG before,” Davis said, using an acronym for the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
Additional combat air patrols have been sent to the area in order to protect the ground forces. [Reuters]
The Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman says Syrian warplanes destroyed the SDF’s PR office in Hasaka city. [ARA]
The Syrian Army issued a statement on Friday evening saying the “military branch of the PKK” recently escalated its provocative actions in Hasaka city, attacked state establishments, stealing oil and cotton, vandalizing school tests, and kidnapping civilians. It says the Asayesh surrounded Hasaka city and attacked it with artillery and tanks, killing civilians and military personnel, and regardless of attempts to contain the situation and maintain peace in the city, the Asayesh continued in its crimes in order to control Hasaka city, prompting an appropriate suitable response from the Syrian Army. It says these attacks are conducted exclusively by the Asayesh and have nothing to do with the people of Syria. [ARA]
Qasioun says 18 people were killed and 25 wounded by the Syrian Army airstrikes on Hasaka. [Qasioun]
Local sources say 13 civilians have been killed so far and 21 wounded in Hasaka. They also say thousands of people left their houses in Kurdish areas in the city. A source close to the Syrian Government in Hasaka says the YPG issued a condition that the Government-backed militias should be dissolved, and all their facilities in Hasaka city placed under Asayesh control, except for the Main Security Compound. [ARA]
The PYD-backed Hawar says the YPG and the Asayesh killed 32 Syrian troops and militiamen, and captured 33 in Hasaka so far. Battles continue in different parts of the city and Kurdish forces captured several strategic points, surrounding Syrian troops in different areas, including the security compound. [Hawar] [Hawar]
A local activist says Syrian warplanes bombed several areas in the southern parts of Hasaka city on Friday afternoon. [ARA]
A medical source says another civilian was killed by Syrian troops’ shelling on a Kurdish area in Hasaka. [ARA]
A three-year-old boy was wounded by a Syrian Government mortar shell that hit a house in north Hasaka. [Hawar]
The Barzani-linked Syria KDP, generally an opponent of the PYD, issued a statement condemning the Syrian Government’s attack on Hasaka, and asking the people of Hasaka to support the YPG. [Hawar]
Meanwhile in Raqqa, photos show children getting religious and military training from Daesh. [DawaAlhaq]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Manbij campaign
Manbij Military Council troops liberated 6 more villages south of Manbij, increasing the number of liberated villages to 14, and have killed 59 Daesh terrorists during the last 2 days. [Hawar]
The Manbij Military Council issued a statement saying the Syrian Democratic Forces handed all their military points in Manbij city and countryside to the MMC after finishing their role in Manbij city. [Hawar]
Daesh publishes photos of battles north of Manbij. [JustPaste]
Al-Bab
An FSA commander from Al-Bab says they will start a military operation to capture the city and its villages. He also says they have no coordination with the YPG’s newly-established Al-Bab Military Council. He says Al-Bab city will be governed by its own people. [Qasioun]
Local sources say Daesh continued its campaign against Kurdish civilians in the Al-Bab area, kidnapping tens of them on Thursday. Daesh has kidnapped more than 1,500 civilians, mostly Kurds, during the last 2 months. [Hawar]
Daesh said its terrorists recaptured Al-Ra’i after sneaking into the city. [A3maq]
Then they said opposition groups, supported by American air cover and Turkish shelling, broke into Al-Ra’i. Daesh said the battles were ongoing inside the city. [A3maq]
A video of opposition groups fighting Daesh near Al-Ra’i [YouTube]
DaeshDaily comment. We reported yesterday that the opposition groups had captured Al-Ra’i. Despite the confusing Daesh reports, the outcome as of now is that the opposition groups have regained control.
Other Northwest Syria reports
An opposition group commander says a large group of Daesh terrorists sneaked into Jalahat village east of Azaz but opposition fighters forced them to retreat after heavy battles. He also says opposition groups stopped 2 Daesh attacks on Al-Ra’i. [ARA]
Turkish Army artillery was reported to target Daesh locations in Jarabulus with heavy artillery. The artillery also targeted Daesh in 2 villages west of the city. [Qasioun]
Local sources say opposition groups, supported by Turkish artillery, attacked Jarabulus city. The sources say Daesh terrorists are sending their families outside of the city and only few terrorists remain. [Hawar]
Daesh says it destroyed a Syrian Army tank and a heavy machine gun north of Kowaires Airport. [A3maq]
A local activist says Daesh launched a major attack on Dudyan and Qara Kubri in order to reach Akada village near the Turkish border. He says opposition groups stopped the attack, killing more than 30 Daesh terrorists, and capturing 4. [ARA]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh publishes photos of its hisbah activities in Hama, including destroying receivers and burning cigarette boxes. [JustPaste]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
A Syrian military source says Syrian troops killed 15 terrorists, and destroyed a vehicle bombs and 3 machine gun mounted vehicles in Deir Ez-Zor. [SyriaNow]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a man was killed by a Syrian bombing on Daesh controlled areas in Deir Ez-Zor city. [SyriaHR]
Informed sources say Daesh executed a Hasaka man in Mayadin after accusing him of cooperating with the YPG. [ARA]
Daesh publishes photos of one of its Ashbal Al-Khilafa boys leading the Friday prayers in Deir Ez-Zor. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. According to previous reports, Daesh held both military and religious training for 3,000 of these boys. The numbers of Daesh foreign terrorists are decreasing, so it will depend more on these boys. With every day Daesh remains in any area, the risk of losing more kids to its immoral recruitment machine will increase.
South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)
Daesh says four Syrian soldiers surrendered to its terrorists in Bir Qassab area southeast of Damascus. [A3maq]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Egypt
One policeman was killed and five others wounded, including two officers, when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle in the Kilo 17 area near Arish. [VetoGate]
A security source says Egyptian Counter Terrorism units started a search and raid campaign in different areas in Central Sinai. [ElWatan]
Libya
Northeast
The Libyan Special Forces Spokesman says Libyan warplanes bombed Daesh and Benghazi Shoura Council in different areas in west Benghazi. He says the battles are still ongoing in the area. He also says his troops defused 3 houses booby-trapped by Daesh in the area. He says another Special Forces commander was killed by a land mine in Qawarsha. [Wasat]
He also says five more Special Forces soldiers were killed and fifteen wounded on Thursday. [Wasat]
A military source says the Libyan Army stopped two vehicle bomb attacks in west Benghazi. [Wasat]
A military source says Libyan Special Forces broke into the European Hospital Compound in west Benghazi, and trapped tens of terrorists inside the hospital. [AfriGate]
Central coast
AFRICOM says it conducted 62 airstrikes on Daesh in Sirte since the airstrikes started on August 1st. [Wasat]
Local sources say 20 Daesh terrorists, a well-known Tunisian commander who was responsible for the attempt to capture Ben Guerdane, and 19 Algerians were caught west of Sirte. [Libya24]
Northwest
The Msallata joint security room says Daesh terrorists ambushed a security convoy in the Sha’afeen area, killing a security member. It says the patrol was trying to raid a Daesh cell after a terrorist that was captured at a checkpoint gave information about the cell. [Libya24]
The Director of the Libyan Intelligence Service (National Accord Government) says a Daesh terrorist was captured in Tripoli and admitted he heads a cell that was planning to assassinate the Chairman of the GNA’s Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sarraj, at the GNA’s headquarters. He says the terrorist is a Libyan from the south. [AfriGate]
Tunisia
The Tunisian Ministry of Interior says it confiscated takfiri books at a Mosque in Sbeitla and arrested a terrorism suspect and a mosque custodian after accusing him of terrorism. [Tunisien]
Media sources say security captured a 23-year-old takfiri woman who was planning to join her brother, a Daesh terrorist, in Syria. [Tunisien]
Other countries
Afghanistan
Daesh issues a propaganda video of its battles in Afghanistan. Daesh claims the battles were revenge for captured female muhajers (immigrants). [JustPaste] In the video, Daesh beheaded Afghani soldiers and mutilated their bodies.
DaeshDaily comment. The same theme was used previously in Iraq, where Daesh and others (including Sunni politicians) demanded the release of women who were arrested on terrorism charges. The same theme was used in Sinai in Egypt. Daesh wants to make people angry by provoking their tribal feelings, without telling them, of course, that Daesh was the reason those women were captured because it involved them in terrorism acts.
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
A half-illiterate impostor from Diyala who dresses up as a Shia cleric and claims to be a senior PMF commander published photos of himself meeting with senior Ministry of Interior officials at the Ministry, creating a huge social media firestorms on Facebook and Twitter. Several sources said that this impostor took money and military equipment for his “fighters,” who are actually hired temp labor. The impostor even published a video of himself with his “fighters” in an imaginary battle scene. Iraqi Facebook users wasted no time in starting mockery pages, impersonating the impostor.
The PMF spokesman issued a statement denying any relationship with this guy. The spokesman also says that the PMF Commission has closed 115 phony PMF offices so far (60 in Baghdad, 30 in Basra, and about 25 in Amarah). The impostor was arrested, according to several media and social sources. [Facebook] [Facebook] [Facebook] [Facebook] [Facebook]
DaeshDaily comment. The story is silly but illustrates a major management weakness that has persisted throughout the post-Saddam period: Iraq’s vulnerability to cheats and con artists. Some have stolen breathtaking amounts of money. Then there were all the ghost soldiers, a scandal that helped to ruin the military. This impostor didn’t steal that much, but just by putting a Shia turban on his head and giving himself a Shia-clergy name, he managed to get money, weapons, and equipment from the government.
OTHER DAESH MEDIA
Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]
