December 30, 2015
Notice: In accordance with our policy of observing all US and Iraqi holidays, we will not be publishing Thursday or Friday. If a major development occurs, however, we will send an update.
Happy New Year!
Today’s Major Developments:
Daesh executes 20 civilians in Ramadi; fails in multiple retaliatory attacks.
Abadi accepts congratulations from Turkish PM and Barzani, but still fuming about Turkish troops in Ninewa.
Another reported/unconfirmed report of US participation in an airborne operation, in Hawija.
Daesh warns of possible dam failure in contested area of northern Syria.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Prime Minister Abadi received a phone call from his Turkish counterpart. The Turkish PM congratulated Abadi on the victory in Ramadi.
Abadi says Iraqi forces liberated Ramadi and soon Iraqi forces will liberate Mosul. The implication is that Iraqis will do it, not Turks working from their own motives. Abadi says the Turkish government promised to withdraw its troops from Ninewa but that didn’t happen. He says the Turkish troops cause unnecessary tensions and problems and should be withdrawn.
Abadi says the Turkish troops are not fighting Daesh and they don’t need to send trainers to Ninewa while there are other secure locations in Iraq they can use. He also says Daesh in Syria is closer to Turkey than they are in Iraq and the Turkish Army is not fighting them, so why would Turkey send troops to Ninewa far away from the Turkish border? The Turkish PM promised to “review the Turkish government statements about the issue” and said Iraqi and Turkish officials should meet to discuss it. He also says Turkey has “no intentions” of keeping its troops inside Iraq. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. The Turkish PM doesn’t seem in charge in this situation. Erdogan is the real decision maker and he is the one who is collaborating with Barzani and keeps defending his decision to have troops in Ninewa.
PM Abadi also received a phone call from KRG President Masoud Barzani congratulating Abadi on the victory in Ramadi. Apparently this did not extend to other issues. According to the PM office’s statement, Abadi and Barzani agreed that the Turkish troop presence in Ninewa is not within the knowledge and the approval of the Iraqi government and they should leave immediately. [Sumaria] However, the official KRG statement about the call didn’t mention anything about the Turkish troops. [BasNews]
The Speaker of the KRG’s Parliament (a Gorran member physically prevented by the KDP from working at his position) sent a letter to PM Abadi congratulating him on Ramadi’s liberation. [Mada]
The Saudi Ambassador to Iraq says his country’s call for Daesh Saudi terrorists in Iraq to surrender is still valid and that those who surrender will face lighter sentences than the ones who get caught. [Sumaria]
Mithal Al-Alusi, the leader of the Civil Democratic (Sunni) bloc of the parliament, said that nobody can question Khalid Al-Obeidi, the Minister of Defense, as the latter is protected by Washington. He accused Al-Obeidi of high treason, alleging his involvement in the Turkish military presence in Iraq. [Buratha]
The UNICEF rep in Iraq says there are 2 million Iraqi children out of school and 3 million more whose studies were interrupted by the Daesh war. He says one in every five Iraqi schools is either destroyed or being used for a different purpose. He also says reaching out to Iraqi people in Daesh controlled areas is UNICEF’s first priority for 2016. [Mada]
Security developments
Steve Warren, spokesman of the Coalition, said today that recent US airstrikes killed 10 Daesh leaders, including men connected to the recent Paris attack. He specified Abdul Qadir Abdul Hakim, killed in Mosul, and Sharaf Al-Mo’dhen, killed in Raqqa, Syria on 26 and 24 of December respectively. The first was involved in foreign operations and suspected to have a role in the Paris attack, while the latter is related to Abdul Hameed Abaoud, wanted for the Paris attacks. [Mada]
60th Army brigade troops destroyed a machine gun position, killing two Daesh fighters, and also destroyed two sniper posts in the Ubaid area in southern Baghdad Governorate. [BOC Facebook Page]
According to security sources,
- Five Army soldiers were wounded by an IED explosion on their patrol in Meshahda village in Tarmiya District in northern Baghdad Governorate. [Buratha] Daesh says it targeted an Iraqi Army trailer in Meshahda, killing or wounding several soldiers. [JustPaste]
- An IED went off in Hay Ur in east Baghdad this morning, killing one civilian and wounding 5 others. [Mada]
- Security troops neutralized an IED placed in front of the house of Brigadier Sabah Mahmoud, the commander of the Karama police station in the Obeidi area of east Baghdad. The IED was remotely detonated with no casualties. [Ghad]
- An armed gang in black stopped a trader driving on Abu Nawas Street in the heart of Baghdad today and robbed him of US $1 Million. They then withdrew, leaving the trader unharmed. [Mada]
- An IED planted in a car dealership in Nahrawan in southeast Baghdad went off Wednesday evening, killing one civilian and wounding 6 others. [Mada]
- An IED exploded in Sateeh village in Mada’in in southern Baghdad Governorate, killing two civilians and wounding 8. [Mada]
- Two Popular Mobilization soldiers were killed and 4 wounded when an IED went off as their patrol was passing through Arab Jassem village in Yusufiyah south of Baghdad. [Mada]
- One civilian was killed and seven others wounded in an IED explosion in Mahmudiya in southern Baghdad today. [Baghdadia]
- Daesh says it killed or wounded eight “PMFs” with an IED in Hay Al-Jihad in southwest Baghdad. [JustPaste]
- 7th IFP brigade dismantled an IED in Bayya in southwest Baghdad this morning. [BOC Facebook Page]
The international Coalition implemented 28 air strikes today, 24 of them in Iraq. A statement by the coalition said that the strikes were in Falluja, Hit, and Ramadi; Mosul, Al-Kasik, Sinjar, and Sultan Abdullah. In Syria, the targets were in Hasaka and Ain Eissa, Aleppo, and Deir Ez-Zor. 24 fighting positions, 14 tactical units, 3 vehicles, 3 weapon caches, 4 heavy machine guns, and 1 tactical vehicle were destroyed. Drones were used in the raids. [Mada]
ANBAR
PM Abadi forms a high committee led by the Anbar Governor, with representatives from several ministries, to restore stability and basic services in Ramadi. [Sumaria]
Ramadi
In the aftermath of Iraq’s Ramadi victory, a disaster occurred within the city. A security source says Daesh executed 40 civilians, including women and children, in Al-Sharika in the eastern part of Ramadi this evening. The Daesh fighters were dressed as Iraqi soldiers to deceive members of about 100 families from north of Ramadi who were trying to escape a Daesh-held area towards governmental troops. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. This seems to confirm our impression that Iraqi forces have close to full control south and west of the city but that Daesh still holds some ground to the north and east.
A local source says 100 families are still trapped by Daesh in the Thayla area in north Ramadi. [Ghad]
A local source says clashes erupted between Daesh local and foreign fighters in Albu Assaf in Ramadi District when the locals tried to send their families to safety outside the area. The source says 30 terrorists from both sides were killed in the clashes. [Ghad]
A member of Anbar GC says Daesh killed 3 families in Ramadi while they were trying to surrender to Iraqi forces in the city. He says Iraqi forces are searching areas in the city and asking people through loudspeakers to come forward to secure them, but Daesh planted snipers and hidden terrorists in “weak pockets” to target them. He also says there are still areas in Ramadi city that are not completely cleared from Daesh like Thayla, Sufiya, Touq and Malaab. [BasNews]
Iraqi troops secured 200 children, 105 women and 76 men from Ramadi center to Habbaniya base after providing them with food and health services. [IWMC Report]
The Coalition says large areas of Ramadi are still filled with IEDs and clearing the areas will delay the return of the displaced families to Anbar. An American military intelligence officer says there are still 400 Daesh terrorists in Ramadi center and 300 more east of the city in the direction of Falluja. [Rudaw]
Daesh plans explosives belt attacks on troops in Ramadi, according to security sources. [Ghad]
There are currently 3,000 fighters of the Tribal Mobilization forces holding land in liberated areas in the province, said Major General Tariq Al-Asal, the commander of the Tribal Mobilization. He added that these fighters are trained and supplied by the central government in Baghdad. [Mada]
Anbar Provincial Council said that operations to defuse IEDs, clear mines, dismantle bombs in booby-trapped houses, and search for hiding Daesh fighters all over Ramadi had started, so as to ensure a safe environment for the return of displaced people and normal life to the city. [Mada]
Ramadi District Council called all public servants in Ramadi, especially in power and cleaning sectors, to return to their work, to rehabilitate the city in order to prepare the return of its population. [Mada]
7th Army brigade today blocked a large-scale Daesh attack in the Thirthar Dam area, killing 12 of them and destroying three vehicles. The remaining attackers were forced to withdraw. The attack took place along an 11 km (7 mile) front. [Sumaria]
Iraqi troops destroyed a Daesh tunnel, a weapons cache and 61 IEDs (including one filled with chlorine) in different areas north of Ramadi. [IWMC Report]
Three Daesh fighters were killed and several others wounded in an attack by the 3rd armored brigade east of Ramadi. [Baghdadia]
The 1st brigade of Rapid Intervention troops killed three Daesh fighters as they tried to recover the bodies of other Daesh fighters in East Hsaiba east of Ramadi. [Baghdadia]
The IFP artillery targeted a Daesh hideout in East Hsaiba, killing 2 terrorists and wounding one. A Rapid Intervention Unit destroyed a Daesh vehicle in the same area, killing 3 terrorists inside. [IWMC Report]
“Tens” of trenches were destroyed by security troops in Ramadi, a police commander said today. [BasNews]
Internal fighting broke out among Daesh fighters in Al-Jazeera, between Salahuddin and Ramadi today. The fighting was said to be caused by the recent developments in Ramadi. [Buratha]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked 4 Iraqi Army locations in Madhiq east of Ramadi, killing several Iraqi soldiers before retreating safely. [ADI]
Daesh publishes a video of battles in Anbar. [Archive]
A video of an Iraqi Abrams tank destroying a Daesh vehicle bomb [Facebook]
Falluja
Military mobilizations are increasing south of Falluja on the road from Baghdad, mostly including ex-Falluja police, PMFs, and Baghdad Operations Command troops. Minor clashes and exchange of fire have already started. [Buratha]
Baghdad Operations Command said that troops today killed 5 Daesh fighters; destroyed an armored personnel carrier and killed all of its crew; destroyed 3 fighting positions and a machine gun; and cleared 44 IEDs south of Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
A security source says armed conflicts between tribesmen in Falluja and Daesh fighters started today after a quarrel over evacuating the city, which Daesh strictly prohibits. [Buratha]
An armored brigade of Iraqi Army troops arrived in the Mazraa area east of Falluja to join the siege on the city. [Baghdadia]
59th Army brigade troops today dismantled two explosives belts and two IEDs and captured mortar shells and tank ammunition in Al-Halabsa north of Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
A reconnaissance unit of Baghdad Operations Command today destroyed two fighting positions of Daesh in Albu Sawda in Qarma. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists attacking Iraqi troops in Tal Al-Hadhaba west of Falluja. [ADI]
Daesh publishes photos of some of its public punishments in Falluja. [ADI]
Daesh publishes 2 photos of destroying an Iraqi Army vehicle in Zoba’a. [ADI]
Daesh publishes 2 photos of its air defense in Zoba’a. [ADI]
Hit/Haditha
Na’eem Al-Qaoud, the Sheikh of the Albu Nimr tribe, said that Daesh is preparing an attack on Barwana subdistrict in Haditha. He added that they are gathering at Al-Ma’amouriya, northeast of Barwana with 6 bomb-rigged vehicles and infantry units. He called on the Army for quick intervention. [Sumaria]
47 Daesh fighters were killed and 3 vehicles destroyed in an aerial attack by the Coalition on its headquarters in Hit, according to a security source. [Sumaria]
Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh in the industrial area in Hit, killing many terrorists and destroying 3 vehicles. Coalition warplanes also destroyed a vehicle bomb carried by a trailer, killing 6 terrorists in Qusairat in Haditha. [IWMC Report]
Daesh publishes photos of rocketing Iraqi forces west of Haditha. [ADI]
Daesh publishes photos of its air defense west of Haditha. [ADI]
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
An Iraqi colonel says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh convoy near Siniya, killing 20 terrorists and destroying their five vehicles. The terrorists were preparing to attack Iraqi forces in Siniya from the western desert. [BasNews]
The Iraqi Army 56th Infantry Brigade destroyed a Daesh hideout in Makhoul Mountains, killing 4 terrorists. Salahuddin Operations Command troops, supported by the IAA, killed 9 Daesh terrorists in Makhoul Mountains and destroyed a vehicle and two mortars. [IWMC Report]
Shirqat
An Iraqi colonel says Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh terrorists while they were digging trenches between Shirqat and Fatha, killing 18 terrorists. [BasNews]
Tikrit
A local source says Lt. Col. Hussein Dawood Toma, the commander of a SWAT company in Al-Alam east of Tikrit, died today following severe wounds suffered in clashes with Daesh fighters a few weeks back. [Ghad]
Samarra
Joint forces of army, police, and popular mobilization troops in Samarra blocked a major attack by Daesh fighters on the Muthanna Establishment this morning. The Daesh forces included suicide attackers with explosives belts and fighters with light and medium weapons. Twelve Daesh attackers including 3 suicide bombers were killed. Iraqi helicopters supported the ground forces. [Mada]
3rd IFP brigade killed 6 Daesh fighters and destroyed two vehicles carrying machine guns in an attack on Daesh positions in Mkaishifa west of Samarra today. [Ghad] [IWMC Report]
Iraqi troops destroyed 11 IEDs in Sayyed Gharib. [IWMC Report]
The MoD publishes a video of an Iraqi drone destroying a Daesh vehicle and a headquarters in Jazeera Samarra. [MoD Website]
DIYALA
Northern Diyala
The MoD says the Iraqi Army 5th Division, in coordination with local security and authorities, facilitated the return of 250 displaced families to Mansouriyat Al-Jabal subdistrict. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it blew up a booby-trapped house on PMFs in Udhaim, killing several of them, including an officer, and wounding others. [JustPaste]
KIRKUK
In the third operation of this kind, an airborne operation has been reported to be a joint “American-Iraqi” operation, this one in Hawija District late last night. The attack left 27 Daesh fighters dead and 8 arrested, among them foreign leaders. The operation took place behind the technical Institute and local council buildings, and took 45 minutes in all. US planes reportedly bombed the area at early dawn today, destroying convoys of Daesh vehicles that had escaped Anbar earlier. [Mada] The US denied involvement in a similarly described “American-Kurdish” operation just days ago.
The Iraq Joint Operations Command issued a statement denying media reports about the presence of American Special Forces troops at Baghdad International Airport. Several media sources said American SFs flew from BIAP accompanied by Iraqi troops to conduct the airborne operation in Hawija. [Baghdad]
A Daesh member was arrested while trying to enter the city of Kirkuk at a checkpoint, coming from the Dibis District. [Buratha]
NINEWA
Mosul
A local source says Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh’s sharia court and the central prison in the governmental compound in addition to 3 other locations in Hay Sumer in east Mosul, killing 25 terrorists and wounding 50 others. [Sumaria]
Daesh says 10 people were killed and 35 wounded in Coalition airstrikes on the west side of Mosul. Daesh also says Coalition warplanes bombed an empty building in Hay Sumer, wounding 4 civilians. [A3maq]
The Deputy Chairman of Ninewa GC, Nooraldin Qablan, says the National Mobilization Forces, the separatist militia which helped create the current crisis over Turkish troops in Ninewa, is not associated with the government in any way, and that it has former Saddam officers.
[Sumaria]
DaeshDaily correction. Yesterday we mistakenly called Mr. Qablan the GC Chairman.
People in Al-Houd village just south of Mosul protested the silence of their rep in Ninewa GC about Daesh’ recent crimes against the village. Daesh has executed nine people in the village so far and forced many residents to leave after 40 young men from the village tried to flee. [Karemlash] [Karemlash] [Karemlash]
A Ninewa police captain says Daesh executed three Kurdish citizens in Mosul, accusing them of cooperating with the Peshmerga, and didn’t deliver their bodies to their families. He also says Daesh blew up a Directorate of Water building in Hay Al-Zuhoor in Mosul. [BasNews]
A local source says Daesh is charging the families for the bodies of the people it executes. The source says Daesh is using churches to conduct the executions. It charges $800 per bullet and uses 3 bullets in each execution so as to collect more money. For those victims they throw from roofs or behead, it charges different prices. [Karemlash]
DaeshDaily comment. Saddam used to do the same things. The families of the “traitors” should pay for the bullets of the execution. We continue to notice a remarkable overlap between Daesh cruelties and those of the Saddam regime. This tells us a lot about the Daesh organization.
Northwest Ninewa
Peshmerga troops blocked an attack this morning by Daesh in Sinjar District, which used 5 bomb-rigged vehicles. The Kurdish troops destroyed the five vehicles, and killed twenty Daesh fighters accompanying them. The attack was attempted in an area along the Domiz-Sinjar road. [Ghad]
A Peshmerga source says the Kurdish force has defused dozens of IEDs in Sinjar so far, including 5 today. [BasNews]
A Peshmerga source says the Kurdish forces, supported by Coalition warplanes, stopped a Daesh attack on their location in Ashiq village in Kasik, killing all Daesh suicide terrorists who started the attack. [Rudaw]
A Peshmerga source says Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh near Tal Afar, killing 3 terrorists. [BasNews]
Other Governorates
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Wasit. A man was arrested on terror charges today while trying to pass through the checkpoint leading to the capital, Kut, southeast of Baghdad. Major General Qasim Rashid Zwed, commander of Wasit police, said that the man is charged with armed terror attacks against civilians and security forces. [Mada]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Turkish security forces arrested two Daesh members on suspicion of planning bombing attacks in the capital Ankara for New Year’s Eve, the Ankara governorate announced. [Cihan]
Ankara chief prosecutor has announced that two Daesh suicide bombers were planning to attack in the vicinity of Ankara’s Kızılay Square. Both are Turkish. [Cumhuriyet]
From January 8, Syrians will require visas to enter Turkey by air or sea ports, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced. Land crossings between the two countries will be exempted from the new visa policy. [Anadolu]
DaeshDaily comment. If we understand this right, the vast majority of terrorists coming in and out of Turkey will not be affected.
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast
Kurdish Asayish intelligence forces repelled an attack launched by a Daesh cell of eight attackers on an Asayish center in Tal Abyad on Wednesday. In the ensuing clashes, three Daesh militants and one Asayish member were killed, and two Daesh fighters were captured, with searches ongoing for the remaining attackers, an Asayish source said. [Welati] [ARA]
Daesh’s version says several of its terrorists sneaked into Tal Abyad and some of them detonated themselves, killing many YPG fighters. [A3maq]
Daesh attacked the YPG-held city of Ain Eissa on multiple fronts at dawn on Wednesday with tanks, vehicle bombs, and other weapons. With heavy clashes still ongoing, a YPG fighter said that the YPG had stopped Daesh’s advance and had killed tens of its fighters, and had destroyed two of its vehicle bombs from a distance. [ARA]
A Kurdish military source says twenty Daesh attackers were killed following a failed attack on the Ain Eissa area that employed tanks and armored personnel carriers. Twenty Daesh bodies were recovered from the battlefield. [BasNews]
Daesh’s version is that its terrorists launched a large attack on the YPG in Ain Eissa, starting with a suicide attack killing “tens” of YPG fighters. Daesh also says its terrorists killed “tens” of Asayish in Tal Abyad at the same time. [ADI]
DaeshDaily comment. This combination of conflicting stories is worth analyzing for what it shows about Daesh propaganda. Note that its versions focus heavily, sometimes solely, on suicide bombers who blow themselves up, and Daesh always lets readers think this kills lots of enemies. The larger truth about most of these attacks is that they mostly failed, caused far fewer casualties than claimed if any, and in most cases resulted in the suicide bomber killing himself for little or no military gain.
A Syrian government source says 16 people were killed and 35 wounded when IEDs exploded in two restaurants in the Shayahi area of Qamishli. [SANA] A source told Rudaw the attacks were carried out by two suicide bombers in a Christian neighborhood in Qamishli. [Rudaw]
Daesh says tens of people were killed or injured in several of its explosions in Qamishli. [A3maq]
Photos of the results of the two terrorist attacks [BasNews]
Northwest
Daesh has warned all residents of Daesh-controlled villages along the Euphrates River south of the Tashrin Dam to vacate their homes immediately. Water levels behind the dam are reported to be unusually high, and Daesh warned civilians that engineers could either release the water or the dam could fail, either of which would flood hundreds of villages.
This is potentially a huge story. According to one expert, the dam, which was recently captured from Daesh by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), is holding back 2 billion cubic meters of water, which if released would flood 470 villages on the banks of the Euphrates, causing a humanitarian catastrophe in the affected areas. [ARA]
The provincial government issued a statement warning the Dam might get affected by the ongoing battles and asks for the technical staff to be allowed to return to their work. [Facebook]
The SDF General Command held a press conference atop the Tishrin Dam on Wednesday, announcing the results of its recently launched campaign. To date the SDF militias have captured 100 villages over 640 square kilometers, killed 219 Daesh fighters, but lost 97 SDF fighters killed in battle. The statement called for the unity of Syria, mentioning Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, and Assyrians, and called for young volunteers to join its forces to continue the struggle against Daesh. [Hawar] [Welati] [ARA]
Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists attacked Syrian armed groups with a vehicle bomb southeast of Azaz, killing or wounding many of them. [ADI]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked Syrian armed groups in Dalha village near the Turkish border, forcing them to flee. Coalition warplanes bombed the village after that. When the Syrian armed group fighters returned, a Syrian Daesh suicide terrorist attacked them with a vehicle loaded with 5 tons of explosives, killing or wounding many of them (2 photos). [ADI]
Daesh has continued its advance in the countryside north of Aleppo near the Turkish border, occupying the village of Al-Kharba, after taking control of nearby villages yesterday in clashes with opposition militia groups. Daesh and opposition militias have fought intense battles over these villages in recent days. The latest available reports suggest that opposition militias are in control of the Turkmen-inhabited border villages of Dalha and Harjala, after a day of alternating advances by the warring sides. Earlier in the day Daesh occupied the two villages as the opposition militias withdrew under heavy Daesh rocket fire. Daesh pressed the attack in a bid to expand its control into Aleppo’s northern countryside, but opposition fighters from the Sultan Murad Brigade (Syrian Turkmen fighters supported by Turkey), with support from the Syrian Front and groups associated with the Fath Halab Operations Command, a coalition of opposition militias in the Aleppo area, recaptured all of Harjala and large parts of Dalha, according to SMB announcements. The area of Wednesday’s fighting had been under Daesh control until opposition militias seized them from Daesh two weeks ago. [ARA] [ARA] [Welati]
Coalition warplanes made two raids on Al-Maskana in the countryside south of Manbij, according to local activists. Casualty figures were not available. Civilians fearful of Coalition bombing in the Daesh-held area of Al-Bab were observed fleeing toward Kurdish areas to the north, reportedly taking up residence in vacant homes belonging to Kurdish citizens who had gone abroad. [Welati]
Daesh says it destroyed a Syrian Army tank near Sharbaa village north of Kowaires airbase. [A3maq]
Daesh has coerced Kurdish tribal leaders in areas it controls west of the Euphrates into signing documents affirming that they are not Kurds but Turkmen, local sources say. Daesh threatened the leaders in majority-Kurdish areas with death if they refused, the sources say, adding that Daesh appears to be “implementing a foreign agenda,” without specifying further. [Hawar]
DaeshDaily comment. The story provides little detail and we can only speculate at this point. The source’s allegation of Daesh “implementing a foreign agenda” is a veiled reference to Turkey, which fears the possibility of a contiguous Kurdish-dominated canton across its southern border and has repeatedly said that Kurdish fighters crossing the Euphrates (into the area where Daesh reportedly forced Kurdish tribal leaders to claim that they are Turkmen) is a “red line.” Turkey has styled itself as the protector and sponsor of the Turkmen minorities in Syria and Iraq (or at least of the Sunni Turkmen). It would be pure speculation to suggest that Daesh is helping Turkey in its bid to contain the expansion of Kurdish-controlled areas within Syria, but this is essentially what Hawar’s source suggested.
Central and West
The Syrian Army and Daesh continued their battle around Mahin in the Homs Governorate, which Syrian troops seized from Daesh yesterday. Syrian aircraft struck roads leading to the city while both sides exchanged rocket fire. Thirty Syrian Army troops and an unspecified number of Daesh fighters were reported killed. [Qasioun]
Russian warplanes struck Palmyra, causing damage to homes. [Qasioun]
East
The Syrian Army has sent 200 commandos from the Hasaka area toward Deir Ez-Zor, the site of ongoing battles between its troops and Daesh, according to a local source, adding that the commando unit was formed three months ago in Hasaka by an officer sent from Deir Ez-Zor. [ARA]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Daesh whiplashed one of its leaders in Al-Mayadeen and sent him to “exile” in Iraq for one year after he was caught committing “incomplete sodomy” with the son of another Daesh member in his sharia school. The Saudi terrorist appeared in a recent video where he led a group of children to execute Syrian prisoners. [SyriaHR]
REPORTS FROM OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Daesh audio newsletter for today in English. [Archive]
Egypt. Egyptian forces safely defused an IED that had been planted near in the Dahiya area of Arish, near the city’s stadium. [VetoGate]
Daesh says a group of its terrorists attacked and killed an Egyptian Army officer and his driver with light weapons in the Autostrad area near the Central Security compound in Cairo. [ADI]
Daesh publishes photos of the training and graduation of its snipers in Sinai. [ADI]
Libya. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provincial Libyan Government mourns the death of one of its security members, who was captured and beheaded by Daesh in Nawfaliya while he was returning from his father’s funeral in Bayda. [AfriGate]
Local sources say 2 Daesh members surrendered to Shura Council of Mujahidin in Derna (Al-Qaeda affiliated) after they were trapped. [AfriGate]
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists in Sirte. [ADI]
Tunisia. 11 suspects from the southern Tunisian city of Gabès have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to Daesh, the Tunisian Interior Ministry has said, adding that in interrogation the men admitted to providing funding and members to terrorist cells. [AfriGate]
Other countries
Afghanistan. Daesh publishes a photo of the 4 Taliban fighters it captured in Nangarhar. [ADI]
Russia. Daesh says its terrorists attacked a Russian intelligence officers’ gathering in Derbent in southern Dagestan, killing an officer and wounding another before retreating safely. [ADI]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Syria 24, a pro-Assad news page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/TheyRTheEnemy_1
https://twitter.com/AaaJHHSjjswrd84
https://twitter.com/Farouha328T
