August 26, 2016
Qayara
Today’s Major Developments
Friday demonstrators protest firing of Defense minister. […]
IFP commander estimates Daesh death toll in Jazeera Khaldiya at 900. […]
Citizen, tribal opposition pressure Daesh in Anah. […]
Mosul report says Baghdadi purged his security operation by replacing Iraqis with foreigners. […]
Daesh has forced thousands to move toward Mosul as human shields. […]
Kerry, Lavrov agree in Geneva there is no military solution in Syria, pledge cooperation. […]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Baghdad, again calling for reforms and anti-corruption measures. [Rudaw]
Demonstrators in Najaf, Diwaniya, Amarah, Basra, and Nasiriya protested the removal of the Minister of Defense and considered it a move to protect corrupt officials. [Mada] [Mada] [Mada] [Mada] [Sumaria]
Hundreds of people demonstrating in Babel celebrated the liberation of Qayara, and demanded that the government quicken the hiring of new ministers and new commissioners for independent agencies, and called for an investigation concerning the provincial government. [Mada]
The United Alliance, the Sunni CoR bloc, issued a statement protesting the firing of the Minister of Defense. It said the session was illegal and the decision was political. It says it will officially protest the decision. [Sumaria]
Moqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement saying he will give the government 45 days to fill the gaps in the Cabinet. He likewise protested the firing of the Minister of Defense. [Sumaria]
The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Louis Sako, issued a statement after meeting with the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Coalition, Terry Wolf saying that the US has a moral responsibility to support Iraq. He says Iraq needs a lot of help to fight Daesh and its like and to get rid of its dangerous line of thinking. He also says the situation is not clear in Iraq and it’s not wise to talk about the future of Ninewa now while most of its people are displaced. [Sumaria]
The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq, three in Anbar in Ramadi District, the other five in Ninewa, around Sinjar, Kasik, Mosul, Qayara, and Sultan Abdullah. [InherentResolve]
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)
The MoI says a man wanted on terrorism charges was captured in Salhiya. [Sumaria]
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
An MoI source says two people were killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Hamamiyat in Taji. [Mada]
Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)
Iraqi Army 43rd brigade destroyed a Daesh boat in Rashidiya. [BOC Facebook Page]
A local police source says an MoI employee was killed when a sticky IED exploded under his vehicle in Husseiniya. [Maalomah]
South (Dora, Mahmudiya)
An MoI source says two people were killed and seven wounded when an IED exploded near a wholesale market near Abu Dsheer in Dora. [Mada]
An MoI source says one person was killed and six wounded when a sticky IED exploded under a bus in Hay Al-Sihha in Dora. [Mada]
A police source says an IED exploded near a bakery in the Uwairij area, wounding the bakery owner. [Sumaria]
Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 8 Daesh guesthouses and 19 IEDs in the Akhsaf area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Southwest (Rasheed)
An MoI source says an owner of an auto parts retail store was killed when unknown armed men broke into his house in Hay Al-Amel and stole $50,000. [Mada]
An MoI source says two people were killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Hay Al-Furat. [Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 10 (Includes only incidents reported)
ANBAR
Falluja
Iraqi forces defused 89 more IEDs, 20 land mines, and a booby-trapped house, and found large quantities of rockets and explosives in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Ramadi
Jazeera Khaldiya
The IFP Commander says Iraqi forces have killed 900 Daesh terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya so far. He also says the remaining Daesh terrorists there are trapped in 15 houses. [PUKMedia]
The Anbar Police chief says his troops killed 6 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a booby-trapped boat and 2 other boats near the Euphrates River in Jazeera Khaldiya. [BasNews]
The IWMC says an IAA drone destroyed a Daesh hideout in Jazeera Khaldiya, killing the terrorists inside. [Mawazin]
Iraqi forces killed 2 suicide terrorists in an abandoned house in the Qurtan area. Iraqi forces also found 2 Daesh tunnels and an ammunition cache in the same area. [MoD Website]
Iraqi Army 39th brigade killed a Daesh terrorist in the Albu Bali area. [MoD Website]
Iraqi Army 32nd brigade found 2 Daesh tunnels and an explosives cache in the Tarabsha area. [MoD Website]
Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh rocket launcher in the Albu Ali Al-Jassem area. [MoD Website]
Other Ramadi reports
The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack on a checkpoint in the Zuwiya area east of Ramadi, killing 7 terrorists and destroying 2 vehicles. [Maalomah]
Iraqi forces killed a Daesh terrorist in East Hsaiba. [MoD Website]
Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee with mortar shells in the Jaraishi area, killing the soldiers inside. [JustPaste]
Hit/Haditha
The Jazeera Operations Commander says Coalition warplanes bombed a house where Daesh terrorists were hiding in Hay Al-Bakr, west of the city, killing 3 of them. [Sumaria]
Rutba/Western Anbar
A tribal PMF commander says a Daesh commander called Ashwan Al-Ani, accompanied by many terrorists, arrived in Anah from Al-Qa’im and arrested tens of young men because they refused to join Daesh in the fight against Iraqi forces. [Maalomah]
The Jazeera Operations Commander says tribes in Anah revolted against Daesh and destroyed a Daesh hisbah vehicle in Anah city. [Harbi]
A member of the Ameriyat Al-Falluja subdistrict council says three civilians who fled Daesh-controlled areas in Anah District were killed and eight wounded in a road accident south of Falluja. [Maalomah]
A tribal PMF commander says his troops stopped a Daesh attack on the Al-Waleed border crossing at the Syrian border, killing 17 terrorists and destroying 5 vehicles. [BasNews]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
The Chairman of the Shirqat District Council says 2,000 people left their houses in Shirqat during the last 2 days raising the total number of people displaced from Shirqat to 95,000. He says he urged the military leadership in Salahuddin to liberate Shirqat, but there were no answers to his calls. He accuses “international parties” of delaying the liberation. [Mada]
A local source says Daesh cancelled its Friday prayer service in a mosque in Shirqat city after finding an IED planted in the mosque. The source says Daesh arrested several of its terrorists after finding the IED. The source says internal disputes have recently increased among Daesh terrorists in Shirqat. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Several reports suggested that some local terrorists are trying to distance themselves from Daesh in order to avoid being targeted later by Iraqi forces.
Baiji
Iraqi forces captured 7 men wanted on terrorism charges who were trying to hide themselves among displaced families in the Hajjaj area. [MoD Website]
Samarra
Iraqi forces found 3 C4 explosive cans in the Tal Battar area in Samarra. [MoD Website]
Tooz
The IAA targeted a Daesh trench in the Zarqa area, killing 11 terrorists. Salahuddin Operations Command destroyed a Daesh vehicle bomb with a Kornet missile in the same area. [MoD Website]
Southern Salahuddin
Iraqi forces destroyed an IED that was planted near a fiber optic cable in Dujail. [MoD Website]
DIYALA
Baquba
A security source says a Police Emergency unit captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in west Baquba. [Sumaria]
KIRKUK
Hawija
A security source says 5 Daesh terrorists were killed when an IED they were planning to plant exploded on them near Khabaz village in Riyadh. The source also says internal clashes erupted between Daesh terrorists about the executions of civilians and treatment of displaced families in Mirbat village 40 km (25 miles) south of Kirkuk without giving more details. [Mada]
NINEWA
Mosul
A local source says Daesh leader Awwad Baghdadi has purged Daesh’s security structure and removed most of its Iraqi leaders in the Mosul area, giving their positions to foreign terrorists. [Buratha]
A report about major Daesh leaders in Ninewa [Al-Aan]
A local source says Daesh supporters in Mosul celebrated the CoR’s no-confidence vote against the Minister of Defense. [Karemlash]
A local source says unknown armed men shot a Daesh convoy in the Majmou’a Thaqafiya area in Mosul with an RPG rocket, destroying a vehicle. The source says the convoy might have had an important Daesh leader in it, given the large number of guards. Daesh arrested 20 people after the attack, according to the source. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it shot down a Peshmerga drone in Huqoul village northwest of Mosul. [JustPaste]
Makhmur
A PUK official says two Turkish Kurd refugees were killed and one wounded when two Daesh suicide terrorists entered the Rustam Camp for Turkish Kurd refugees east of Makhmur. He says one of the terrorists blew himself up when he was discovered, while the other was trapped and killed by the camp guards. [Sumaria]
The Kurdish Popular Defense Forces, HPG (the PKK’s armed wing), says it stopped a Daesh attack on the Rustam Camp in the Makhmur area, killing 2 terrorists. It also says one of its fighters and one civilian were killed in the attack. [Hawar] Rustam is a PKK-run camp for Kurdish Turks.
Daesh’s version says two of its Iraqi suicide terrorists sneaked into “Peshmerga headquarters” southeast of Makhmur and detonated 3 IEDs, then clashed with the survivors before detonating their explosive vests, killing or wounding many of them. [GooglePlus] Daesh publishes a photo of one of the suicide terrorists. [GooglePlus]
A PUK official says a group of Daesh terrorists attacked a checkpoint in the Al-Nour area near Haj Ali villages. He says clashes continued for hours and many Daesh terrorists were killed. [PUKMedia]
The IWMC says 10 Daesh terrorists were killed when a truck loaded with IEDs exploded in Makouk village, on the road between Qayara and Makhmur. [Anadolu]
Qayara
The Deputy Chairman of the Ninewa PC says Daesh terrorists forced 5,000 families from villages north of Diyala to move to Mosul’s Shura subdistrict in order to use them as human shields. [Baghdadia]
An Arab CoR member from Ninewa says Daesh is forcing people in areas south of Mosul to leave their houses in the direction of Mosul or they will be killed. He says Daesh is trying to prevent these people from joining Iraqi forces. [Sumaria]
The Mayor of Qayara District says the level of destruction in the city is 25%. He also says the Peshmerga supported Iraqi forces in the liberation. He says Daesh has collapsed and Iraqi forces advances in Ninewa will be easy. [Rudaw]
A PUK official says Iraqi forces should move ahead from Qayara toward Al-Houd village north of the city as soon as possible because Daesh could use the high ground of the village to attack Iraqi forces. A member of the Ninewa Provincial Council says young men from Qayara had killed 12 Daesh terrorists before Iraqi forces entered the city. [Mada]
Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
A security source says the IAF targeted a Daesh elite training camp in Tal Afar District, killing more than 60 terrorists. [Baghdadia]
South (Baaj, Hatra)
The IWMC says Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh weapons storehouse in Saadiya village, northeast of Hatra, killing 12 terrorists. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Fourteen Daesh suspects were arrested in a coordinated early-morning raid on 18 different addresses in Ankara. [Cumhuriyet]
Security sources say Turkish Counter Terrorism units captured 20 Daesh suspects in Konya district. Counter Terrorism units also captured 20 more Daesh suspects, including women, in Adana. [Anadolu]
The city of Gaziantep is said to be on terror alert, with twelve concrete blocks (see photographs in the article) being brought in. Their intended use is thought to be as barricades for the area housing the police headquarters, town hall and provincial governorate buildings. Gaziantep police headquarters have already been the target of a vehicle bomb attack. [Cumhuriyet]
The Turkey Minister of Health says around 100 people were killed or wounded in an explosion near a police headquarters in Jazeera city. The PKK has claimed responsibility. [BasNews]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the situation in Syria had “dramatically deteriorated” since the “brief oasis of calm” provided by the cessation-of-hostilities agreement, and he promised that the U.S. and Russia were close to a new agreement on a more durable arrangement.
Kerry spoke in Geneva after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They discussed ways to agree on military cooperation and information sharing in a bid to defeat Islamic State militants in Syria—something both sides want.
Kerry said that Syrians benefited from the calm following the February accord, but that the gains were lost again when violations of the agreement began. He said “the cessation, even flawed, was valuable.” But he said violations “eventually became the norm, rather than the exception.”
Kerry said he and Lavrov agreed that there was no military solution to the Syrian situation. He said the past few weeks of talks had been “fair, diligent, productive” and that the remaining “technical issues” would be worked out in the next few days, to “overcome the deep mistrust on all sides.” “The conflict will not end without a political solution,” Kerry said. “It is really the only viable path towards the peace and security and normalcy that the Syrian people deserve.”
Kerry said the sides may differ about the causes for the rupture, but both agree more work is needed to revive the deal and make it enforceable. Until then, he says he does not want to make any announcement concerning a resumption of peace talks. “As Sergei said, the work that can be done in the next week has the ability to resolve some of these remaining issues. But, until we have, neither of us are prepared to make an announcement that is predicated for failure.” [VoA]
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the marathon talks with US State Secretary Kerry in Geneva helped to reduce mutual levels of misunderstanding. Both countries will boost their cooperation on Syria, including on the military level, he said. “We have agreed on concrete ways in which we will work with the sides: Russia–with the government and the opposition that is working with us, the United States–with the opposition which is cooperating with them,” Lavrov said.
In addition to that, the cooperation between Russian personnel at its Khmeimim air base and representatives of the American armed forces in the US base in Jordan is going to be ramped up.
“We have agreed to intensify the bilateral contacts that have somewhat stalled in the last several weeks,” Lavrov said, adding that his is confident that “a regular dialog without any pauses is a key to the realization of all our objectives.” “It is an achievement that we have been able to reduce areas of misunderstanding and to reduce the level of mutual mistrust between the two countries,” Lavrov said.
Russia and the US have agreed on a number of issues as to how boost the peace process on Syria. According to the diplomats, experts from both states will meet in Geneva in the coming days to clarify the details of what has been agreed today. The Russian foreign minister stressed that separation of “moderate forces from the Jabhat al-Nusra militants” is key to reducing the violence in Syria. Lavrov said that Russia briefed the US on a number of rebel groups that it considers terrorists. “In fact, today our American partners for the first time gave us a list of rebel organizations who joined the cessation of hostilities after the US mediation,” Lavrov added.
“I don’t see any possibility of assuring a really durable, full-fledged ceasefire without the separation of healthy opposition forces from terrorists,” the minister said. “The understanding of this task between us and our American partners gets increasingly clearer.” [RT]
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the United States has not and will not establish “no-fly zones” over Syrian airspace. “The concern is that while it sounds simple to maintain that kind of area, ultimately you’re responsible for protecting the borders of that safe zone and then policing that safe zone once it’s been created,” he explained. “That would be work-intensive to say the least. It would be dangerous.”
Doing so also “would likely require a greater U.S. military commitment. And all of that would come at the expense of our ongoing efforts to focus on degrading, ultimately destroying, (Daesh),” Earnest said. [Hawar] [Examiner]
The Coalition says it conducted airstrikes 9 on Daesh targets in Syria, 4 near Manbij in Aleppo and 5 near Shaddadi in Hasaka. [InherentResolve]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Daesh issues a propaganda video about the “world war” against Daesh in Raqqa. In this video 5 boys, supposedly the sons of Daesh terrorists from Egypt, the UK, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, and Kurdistan, are shown executing five “Kurdish infidels;” then 5 young men execute five opposition group fighters, calling them “Sahwa.” Then 4 old men execute four Syrian soldiers. [DawaAlhaq]
A new group called Kata’eb Al-Qadisiya issues a statement saying it will target the YPG in north Raqqa. [Dorar]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Daesh attacked Syrian Democratic Forces in Anad village, south of Shaddadi, with a vehicle bomb, causing human casualties. [SyriaHR]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Jarabulus
A Turkey-backed opposition group commander says Daesh had withdrawn from Jarabulus before the military operation. He also says the opposition groups are planning to move to Al-Ra’i then to Mare’. He says the opposition groups don’t want to fight Kurdish forces in north Syria, but they will if necessary. [Rudaw]
The Turkey Prime Minister says Operation Euphrates Shield is ongoing. Meanwhile, more military reinforcements arrived to Karkemish on the border near Jarabulus. [Arabi21]
Informed sources say 3 explosions erupted near the border gate between Turkey and Jarabulus. [Hawar]
A Turkey-backed opposition group commander says two of his fighters were killed during the liberation of Jarabulus, one by a mortar shell and one by a land mine. A photographer from another group, Ahrar Al-Sham, was also killed by a land mine. Other groups haven’t reported any casualties. [EnabBaladi]
Manbij campaign
Manbij Military Council troops liberated 3 villages southeast of the Tishrin Dam, killing 13 terrorists. The 3 villages are 35 km (22 miles) away from Manbij. [Hawar]
Daesh publishes photos of a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb conducted by a terrorist from Kazakhstan on the “PKK” north of Manbij. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on the YPG in Yaqoubiya village north of Manbij. [A3maq]
Daesh says several YPG fighters were killed or wounded in a land mine field while trying to advance in Shamsuddin village east of the Tishrin Dam. [JustPaste]
Other Northwest Syria reports
A Syrian Democratic Council member quote sources close to the YPG as saying that the Turkish Army targeted several villages in Rajo subdistrict in Afrin with heavy artillery, causing casualties among civilians. He also says Turkey backed opposition groups, including Nusra, targeted villages near Azaz with rockets. [ARA]
Local sources say Daesh kidnapped an entire family in Tal Jarrah village, north of Al-Bab. Daesh also emptied Hadabat village, north of Al-Bab, in order to plant land mines in the village. [Hawar]
The Turkish Army targeted civilians and YPG fighters in the Ain Diwar area near the border, wounding a YPG fighter. It also burned down the crops in the area. [Hawar]
An opposition group commander says opposition groups, supporter by Turkish artillery, attacked Daesh near Yahmoul and Jarez towns and captured several positions, killing several Daesh terrorists. Opposition groups also destroyed a Daesh vehicle near Kafr Ghan, near Azaz. [ARA]
Military sources say Turkey-backed opposition groups captured 3 Thuwar Al-Sham (an SDF faction) fighters near Kaljibrin, a village in Azaz, south of the city. [Dorar]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
A local activist says Syrian troops stopped a Daesh attack near the Deir Ez-Zor Military Airport, killing several terrorists. He says Russian warplanes attacked Daesh in the area, killing several terrorists and destroying a machine gun-mounted vehicle. He also says Daesh targeted Joura and Qusour neighborhoods in Deir Ez-Zor with artillery and mortars, wounding several civilians. Families of Daesh terrorists arrived in villages and towns east of Deir Ez-Zor after fleeing Jarabulus. [ARA]
Local activists say an unknown contagious disease is spreading among children in Deir Ez-Zor because of the lack of clean water. [ARA]
A local activist says Daesh terrorists raided the internet café of Baqris village, near Mayadin, and captured four men, including the café’s owner. [ARA]
Daesh publishes photos of fixing roads in Albu Kamal. [DawaAlhaq]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior says a government employee and 3 of his associates, 2 in Iraq, and 1 in Jordan, were arrested because they were part of Daesh’s caliphate electronic army. The Ministry says a 26-year-old man used his government computer to hack websites and spread Daesh ideals through social media. [Sumaria]
North Africa
Egypt
The Egyptian Military Command says security forces killed 4 terrorists who were trying to attack a security barrier in the Nafoura area, in Rafah. [ElWatan]
Eyewitnesses say Egyptian warplanes bombed several areas in southwest Sheikh Zuweid and east Rafah. Security forces destroyed 2 roadside IED near Dhahir village, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]
Libya
Northeast
The Libyan National Army says it captured more positions in west Benghazi and closed all exists on Daesh in the area. [AfriGate]
A Libyan Special Forces commander says one of his fighters was killed by a land mine in the Qawarsha area. [Wasat]
Central coast
A Misrata Hospital source says 442 National Accord Government fighters were killed and more than 2100 wounded in Sirte battles so far. [Wasat]
AFRICOM says it conducted 78 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Sirte so far. [Libya24]
Daesh says it damaged a National Accord Government tank in Sirte, killing its crew. [A3maq]
SOCIAL MEDIA
Videos of today’s demonstrations in Baghdad [Yalla] [Yalla] [Yalla]
A video issued by the just-deposed Minister of Defense shows him making previous visits to Sunni and Shia areas in Baghdad and being received and welcomed by thousands of people. The video generated more than 1.5 million views. [Facebook]
DaeshDaily comment. The Minister had gained a lot of popularity among Shia and Sunni Iraqis. His ouster generated a lot of anger against the CoR. Commentators accused the CoR Speaker, Saleem Al-Jubouri and former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, of conspiring against him.
A video of PMF rockets falling on Daesh targets in Jazeera Khaldiya [Harbi]
A video of IFP battles in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube]
A video of Daesh targets attacked by an Iraqi drone in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube]
Videos of Qayara people celebrating with Iraqi forces [Facebook] [MosulEye]
A video of Iraqi forces in Qayara [Mosuliya]
A video of Iraqi soldiers receiving displaced families in the Qayara area [YouTube]
OTHER DAESH MEDIA
Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]
