Today’s Major Developments
Al-Abadi says the Baghdad Wall will eliminate most car bombs.
Parliament members debate de-Baathification, reconciliation.
Army raises flag in Juwaiba, enters Hsaiba; Daesh leaders reportedly moving elsewhere.
Iraq sending 4,500 soldiers to Ninewa; more to come. Ninewa campaign predicted to start just after March 1.
Iran announces it’s sending no more troops to Syria, except advisors
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Prime Minister Al-Abadi met with the Director of the Sunni Endowment, Abdullatif Al-Hamaim, to discuss coordinating media messages, the role of the religious leaders in fighting terrorism, the return of the displaced families, and support for the armed forces.
DaeshDaily comment. We sense that a lot of talking is going on these days beneath the political surface. Al-Abadi and Speaker Al-Jubouri deserve a lot of credit for their leadership in bring Iraqis together. As shown in the next news item, this includes some apparent movement on reconciliation.
A Sunni MP says all CoR members agreed in Monday’s session on criminalizing the Baath party and all terror organizations, but some points in the new de-Baathifcation law are vague and could be used the wrong way. Speaker Jubouri had to stop the session after verbal altercations between Sunni and Shia MPs about the law. A Sunni MPs says some Shia MPs refused to include the Baath in Syria as a criminal organization, and a Shia MP says some Sunni MPs oppose the law because they said a large number of their constituents are Baathists.
Some Sunni MPs wanted the law to be read in the same session with the Reconciliation law. Speaker Jubouri asked the MPs to focus on the discussed law instead of having side debates. A CoR source says Jubouri also asked the Reconciliation Committee, which has been in existence for some years, to finish the draft of the Reconciliation law soon to be read with the De-Baathifcation law. [Sumaria] [Sumaria] [Sumaria] [Mada] [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. These two legislative issues have to be analyzed together. A deft political balance is needed between labeling Daesh’s crimes against Iraqis for what they are and punishing Sunnis who may have given Daesh passive or coerced rather than active support. A lot of the Daesh supporters were Baathists, officially or unofficially. The balance is between criminalization and amnesty. We lack context to speculate further because people have not previously been talking aloud about these issues. Coming to an agreement would be a huge step forward, however. While defeating Daesh is imperative, it is not the end game in Iraq.
Prime Minister Al-Abadi told the CoR Security Committee that the new “Baghdad Wall” will eliminate 90% of car bomb attacks in Baghdad, saying that most of the cars are rigged outside the city and then driven into Baghdad. Opponents have argued that many car bombs are rigged inside Baghdad, so the wall is almost useless, quite aside from its other negative consequences. [IraqPress]
Also on the subject of creating barriers, the Chairman of the Turkmen Front, MP Arshad Al-Salehi, says the government should announce its position regarding the trench that the KRG is digging. He says the trench is outside the IKR and it is unconstitutional. [Sumaria]
The SIIC leader, Ammar Al-Hakim, says in a meeting with PMF commanders that the PMFs should participate in Mosul’s liberation because Mosul is a diverse city and because Daesh should be faced with a united Iraq. [Rudaw]
Moqtada Al-Sadr says he will announce a “reform project” soon. [Sumaria]
The Attorney General of Tajikistan said that 120 Tajik nationals returned to the country after fighting with Daesh in Iraq and Syria, 42 of them with their families. [Maalomah]
AAH, a PMF militia, threatened a “strong” reaction if US land forces are deployed in Iraq. Jawad Al-Tilebawi, a spokesman of the group, says the “Islamic Resistance” will not allow a new occupation of Iraq. [Maalomah]
DaeshDaily comment. If these guys are so tough they could defeat the US military, you would think they could have taken Daesh out by now.
Kata’eb Hezbollah said that sending Saudi and UAE troops to Syria and Iraq will open the gates of hell in the countries that would send such armies. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily sources. We don’t have any sources in Hell, but to our knowledge neither the Saudis nor the Emiratis have proposed to send troops to Iraq. We have noticed from many such bombastic statements that the people talking are extremely tough on imaginary threats.
Security developments
The Commander of the French air force units participating in the attacks on Daesh in Iraq and Syria says Daesh has lost the initiative and the ability to occupy new territory, and is on the defensive now. He cited Ramadi’s liberation as an example. [AIN]
The Dutch government said that its air force units initiated over 1300 airstrikes on Daesh so far, and that there are possibilities of civilian losses in just two of them. [AIN]
Canada announced it is stopping participation in air attacks on Iraq and Syria starting Feb. 22.
Iraq executed Abdullah Bin Azzam Al-Qahtani, a Saudi national convicted of terrorism, in Nasariya prison. The execution was reported to the Saudi Embassy and to the family of the convict. [IraqPress]
DaeshDaily comment. This terrorist claimed his confessions were taken by force and sent an open letter asking Saudis to kidnap Shia to force the Iraqi government to release him. Radicals in Saudi Arabia threatened to kill Saudi Shia if he were executed. When he was executed, his jihadi supporters started to mourn him as one of the main figures in the AQI.
After the announcement of 80 death sentences in Iraq, The EU issued a statement asking Iraq to stop issuing such sentences, and to abolish the death penalty. The EU said that death sentences don’t help in solving the crime problem. [PUKMedia]
DaeshDaily comment. The death penalty is controversial in the west, but Europeans seem to have resolved against it. It still applies in most of the US, largely because of the much higher murder rate, which is also one reason it will not be easily eliminated in Iraq. One wonders how the EU citizens would feel about this if they had an organization like Daesh killing people in each of their countries with the same frequency that Daesh has killed Iraqis.
Baghdad Operations Command troops confiscated a weapons and explosives cache in Mada’in. [MoD Website]
The commander of the Christian Babelyoun PMF, Rayan Al-Kildani, issues a statement that he and Karim Al-Nouri, a PMF commander, in coordination with the IFP, returned a Christian family house that was taken by force in east Baghdad. The house was not confiscated by PMFs according to the statement. [Sumaria]
According to security sources:
- An IED placed in a market in Al-Ameen neighborhood in east Baghdad killed two and wounded seven. [Mada]
- An IED placed in a commercial area in Niariya in east Baghdad killed one civilian and wounded seven. [Mada]
- A roadside IED went off in Tayaran Square in downtown Baghdad, wounding one civilian. [Ghad]
- Armed men in a car threw a hand grenade on a Sahwa checkpoint at Hor Rijab in Dora, south Baghdad, killing one of the Sahwa personnel and wounding five. [Mada]
- An IED placed near a popular coffee shop in Nahrawan, in south Baghdad governorate, killed one civilian and wounded five. [Maalomah]
- An intelligence unit from Mahmudiya in southern Baghdad Governorate found a weapons cache in Latifiya, the Ministry of Interior said. The cache included 6 RPGs and three smaller rockets, 5 mortar shells, and several rocket propellers. [Mada]
- The body of a trader in automotive spare parts was found three days after his kidnapping in Mahmudiya. [Mada]
- A Daesh terrorist was arrested in Mahmudiya. The man guided security forces to a cache containing ammunition, mortar shells, detonators, and other materials. [Mada]
- A sticky bomb attached to a car belonging to a civil engineer exploded and killed him instantly, in Yarmouk, west Baghdad. [Maalomah]
- An IED placed in an industrial area in Abu Ghraib in western Baghdad Governorate killed 2 civilians and wounded 7. [Maalomah]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 10 (Not an overall total)
10 airstrikes were executed by coalition warplanes, one in Kirkuk destroying 8 Daesh positions, a machine gun, and two vehicles; 3 near Mosul destroying a command center, two weapons stores, and a fighting position; one in Qayara destroying 7 positions; 2 in Sinjar destroying tactical units, and 3 in Ramadi destroying tactical units, IEDs, and a machine gun, the Coalition said in a statement. [Baghdadia]
The MoD publishes a video of IAF airstrikes on Daesh in Anbar, Salahuddin and Diyala.
ANBAR
Falluja
34 terrorists were killed, including 5 suicide attackers, and 25 others wounded—and a car bomb was destroyed—in the ongoing operations to liberate Albu Shijil, Qarma, and Taqsim Dam.
Six Daesh terrorists were killed in a confrontation with a group of tribal fighters in the Nazzal neighborhood in downtown Falluja. The fighters took away their weapons and communications equipment and withdrew safely, according to Col. Mahmoud Murdhi Al-Jumaily, commander of the 1st battalion of the tribal fighters. [Mada]
PMF media said that the PMFs’ grip around Falluja was strengthened, and that artillery and rocket units bombed targets inside the city. [Buratha]
PMF units armed with Kornet ant-armor rockets destroyed two vehicle bombs approaching the PMF defensive line in Qarma, PMF media said. [AynIraq]
Baghdad Operations Command troops rocketed a Daesh hideout in Nuaimiya just south of the city, killing 4 terrorists, and another terrorist was killed by a BOC sniper in the same area. [BOC Facebook Page]
15 Daesh terrorists were killed while booby-trapping a car in Albu Araim, north of Falluja, a security source said, adding that some were foreigners. The whole workshop, hidden in an agricultural area, was destroyed. [Maalomah]
Ramadi
The Iraqi flag was raised over the buildings of Juwaiba east of Ramadi today, by Counter Terrorism Service and 8th Army forces. [Baghdadia]
Army units have entered the center of Juwaiba, east of Ramadi, according to General Ismail Al-Mahalawi, the Commander of Anbar Operations (AOC). He added that the whole area will liberated shortly, and that IEDs are being cleared while police cars are helping moving civilians to safer areas. [Baghdadia]
Sabah Numan, the spokesman for Counter Terrorism forces, said that the announcement of the full liberation of Juwaiba will come within the next 48 hours. The troops are now busy evacuating civilians from the area. [AynIraq]
400 families from east Ramadi were escorted to secure areas according to a Counter Terrorism commander. [Rudaw]
A video of Iraqi forces in Juwaiba [YouTube]
Videos of Iraqi forces securing families from Juwaiba [YouTube] [YouTube]
A Daesh terrorist was arrested wearing a woman’s outfit in Juwaiba. (Photo). [Mawazin]
The two operations in Juwaiba and Hsaiba started simultaneously, said General Sami Al-Aridhi, the commander of the third special operations unit of Counter Terrorism forces. He said as the Counter Terrorism troops enter Juwaiba, Rapid Intervention forces are moving from Khaldiya to Hsaiba under air cover by IAF planes and IAA helicopters, and 8th army division artillery. [Sumaria]
IFP announced that its 4th special forces brigade killed “tens” of Daesh terrorists near Andalus School and Tal Masoud in Hsaiba. [Baghdadia]
The IFP Commander, General Shakir Jawdat, said 22 IEDs were defused by the IFP in Zangoura west of Ramadi and that the Tel Masoud area was liberated. [Mawazin]
A video of IAA airstrikes on Daesh in Juwaiba and Mkaishifa (Salahuddin) [MoD]
After Hsaiba and Juwaiba, the army will be heading to Jazeera Al-Khaldiya and Albu Obeid northeast of Ramadi, where Daesh is still holding ground, Ramadi tribal forces spokesman Ghassan Al-Eithawi said those areas are only 15 km (9 miles) from the city and could still pose a threat. [Mawazin]
Daesh commanders are escaping Hsaiba towards Jazeera Al-Khaldiya, said Ali Dawood Al-Dulaimi, chair of the Khaldiya council. Iraqi army forces have entered Hsaiba under a violent artillery shelling. [Maalomah]
Sabah Ahmed Jasim, the religious mufti of Daesh in Jazeera Al-Khaldiya, was killed alongside his brother Saad Al-Dulaimi in a Coalition airstrike on Albu Bali in Jazeera Al-Khaldiya, according to the chair of the Khaldiya council. [Sumaria]
General Al-Mahalawi says all eastern areas of Ramadi along the Euphrates River up to Jazeera Al-Khaldiya are now liberated. [Maalomah]
Nahla Al-Rawi, member of Anbar Provincial Council, said that the situation in the city of Ramadi is “good.” She says the army is working on liberating the desert areas and some other “small” areas to secure the city completely. She also said that a major effort is being made to liberate and secure areas around the Ain Al-Asad base near Haditha so as to allow easier movement of military forces in that area. [Qurtas]
IAA helicopters destroyed a convoy of six vehicles in Albu Bali east of Ramadi, killing all the Daesh fighters in the convoy, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked Iraqi forces in Jaraishi north of Ramadi and captured 3 military positions, killing the soldiers in each. [DawaAlhaq]
Hit/Haditha
A Daesh training camp was destroyed by an Iraqi airstrike in northeast Hit, killing “tens” of Daesh terrorists, including leaders, and destroying weapons and vehicles. [AynIraq]
The Jazeera Operations commander says Iraqi Army’s 7th Division, supported by Anbar Police and tribal fighters, destroyed 6 Daesh boats and 2 houses in Qusairat northeast of Baghdadi, killing 3 terrorists. The IAA destroyed 2 Daesh vehicles carrying machine guns in the same area. He also says the troops defused 16 IEDs east of Baghdadi. [Sumaria]
A video of Coalition airstrikes on Daesh in Kubaisa and Mosul (Ninewa) and [MoD]
Daesh publishes photos of its charity activities in Hit. [DawaAlhaq]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
Unidentified armed men kidnapped Aby Ayham Al-Masri, one of the Daesh leaders, in the Shirqat area, a source in the District said. [Maalomah]
According to Rayan Al-Childani, the leader of the Christian “Babelyoun” forces of the PMF, Shirqat district will be liberated soon on agreement of all PMF units. The Badr movement said earlier that a military operation will be started to liberate Shirqat, Hawija, and rest of the Makhoul Mountains area. [Mawazin]
DaeshDaily comment. We have noticed that bold promises of imminent military action are not always followed up in the promised time frame, if at all. The sequencing of military objectives is really important right now. Many are anxious to be liberated, in Shirqat, Hit, Mosul, Tal Afar, and elsewhere, but these campaigns won’t all launch at once. The government is not making advance announcements, for tactical reasons. The current evidence suggests that Falluja is next. The next target after that is harder to discern.
Baiji
Daesh publishes photos of its snipers targeting Iraqi soldiers in the Makhoul Mountains. [DawaAlhaq]
Tikrit
A security source says the director of the Cultural Center in Salahuddin was wounded when an IED exploded on his vehicle in Mkaishifa. [Mada]
Daesh publishes 2 photos of shelling Iraqi forces north of Tikrit with heavy artillery. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes photos and a video of battles near Allas and Ajeel oilfields 2 days ago. [DawaAlhaq] [A3maq]
DIYALA
Baquba
The Diyala Police denied recent reports about the murder of a local journalist in Diyala and says no assassination was reported during the last two weeks.
DaeshDaily comment. Many “incubator” media and social media outlets are trying to spread false reports about crimes in Diyala, mixing these reports with actual crimes. The scheme behind this campaign is to persuade Sunnis they would be targeted if Daesh gets defeated.
A security source says the director of the Cultural Center in Salahuddin was wounded when an IED exploded on his vehicle in Mkaishifa. [Mada]
Muqdadiya/Abu Saida
Armed men kidnapped an employee of Diyala Oil Products in Wajihiya junction, on Baquba-Muqdadiya road, a security source. [Baghdadia]
Northern Diyala
The manager of Jalawla subdistrict says 526 displaced families have returned to their houses as the 13th scheduled group to return. [Sumaria]
A PMF commander said that two thirds of displaced families have returned to Udhaim subdistrict. He added that the PMF organization anticipates the return of all families, but has nothing to do with the process, which is the responsibility of the government. [Maalomah]
An explosives cache was found in a search operation in north Udhaim basin. Explosives were removed to a safe place. [Sumaria]
The Ministry of Interior announced that Diyala Police SWAT teams captured a weapons cache north of Udhaim subdistrict. The cache contained a large number of IEDs and motorcycles. [Ghad]
KIRKUK
Daesh says it killed 3 PMF fighters by detonating an IED inside their car in Kirkuk city. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. You are probably skeptical as we were about PMFs operating in Kirkuk city. The explanation might be all about Daesh propaganda. One of Daesh’s propaganda themes is that Daesh is the defender of Sunnis. When it stages attacks on civilian areas and kills people, its official story is that it attacked PMFs (largely Shia and therefore Sunni enemies), even though almost all their victims are actually civilians, including many Sunnis. We should take the murders seriously but not the rationale.
PUK said that the Mosul morgue received eight bodies of Daesh fighters killed in Hawija. [Mada]
Iraqi Sukhoi fighters destroyed the Awashir Bridge connecting areas east of Zagaiton Valley, a security source in Tikrit said. He added that this will cut off Daesh supplies to the Himrin area. [Mada]
Armed men in a civilian car shot and killed a lawyer working in one of the legal departments in Kirkuk, a security source said. [Maalomah]
NINEWA
Mosul
31 Daesh terrorists were killed in Coalition attacks on the villages of Umar Qabji, Samaqiya, and Babukh, as well as the waterfalls area north of Mosul. Several vehicles and positions were destroyed. [BasNews]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters destroyed a Daesh hisbah vehicle on the road to Salamiya, southeast of Mosul, killing 3 terrorists. [KM Facebook Page]
35 persons were arrested by Daesh in Mosul, including one journalist. The arrests were made in the Sumer, Dumiz, and Palestine neighborhoods. Reasons are still unknown, KDP sources said. [Mada]
Daesh is charging each house in Mosul IQD 25,000 to fund the salaries of their fighters, the spokesman of the Free Officers Movement in Mosul said. [Mawazin]
Daesh is forcing the Mosul population to fly the organization’s black flag on their personal cars, a source in Mosul said. The aim is to protect Daesh cars with such flags from Coalition and Iraqi airstrikes. [Karemlash]
Daesh has executed over 300 persons, mostly army and police personnel and civil activists, said Mahmoud Al-Sorachi, the Kurdish media officer of the National Mobilization. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. The time frame is missing; the total executions are well above 300. Aside from that, Sorachi is admittedly a dubious source but in this case there are no other sources.
A KDP source said that Daesh opened a new hospital to receive and treat its casualties. The source said this hospital was supplied by looting equipment from other hospitals in Mosul. [Mada]
Daesh publishes a video of the construction of a mosque in the medical compound in Mosul. [A3maq]
Daesh destroyed 6 houses of Christians in Mosul after evacuating them. Daesh was using these houses as command centers, a Ninewa Police source said. [BasNews]
Daesh is trading in organs of its dead fighters and other dead people in Mosul, a source in Mosul said, adding that several bodies in the morgue of Mosul were missing several parts like eyes, kidneys, and other organs. [Shafaq]
Makhmur
Daesh has lost over 150 fighters and 20 vehicles in the recent battles near Makhmur, Ninewa Operations Command said, adding that Daesh leaders are moving with their families to Tal Afar, northeast of Mosul. The statement said that 75% of Daesh elite forces were destroyed through the collaboration of armed forces, tribal fighters, IAF, and the Coalition. [Mada]
A local Peshmerga leader said that Baghdad is sending 4,500 soldiers, around two brigades, to Makhmur District to participate in the Mosul campaign, which he says will start at the beginning of March. Jamal Morteke, a field leader of the Peshmerga, said the central government and KRG have agreed on a cooperative effort, and that Iraqi troops will also be sent to Sinjar and Tal Afar shortly. [BasNews]
A video of the Iraqi forces heading to Makhmur [Maalomah]
Daesh publishes photos of the battles to recapture Kodila and Kermerdi west of Makhmur. Daesh published a video 2 days ago showing its fighters in the villages. [DawaAlhaq] [A3maq]
Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Daesh publishes 2 photos of shelling Mount Sinjar with mortars. [DawaAlhaq]
Southern Ninewa (Baaj, Hatra)
Another Daesh video from Jazeera in south Ninewa [Dawlat4]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
Kurdish security arrested three Arab Daesh terrorists in Erbil and blocked their attempt at a suicide attack. The three men are Hazim Dawood Al-Jubouri, Khalaf Ismail Al-Jubouri, and Junaid Khalid Balasem. The group had smuggled an explosives belt and six bombs from Suleiman Beg to Erbil. [Baghdadia]
A video of the confessions of the terrorists caught in Erbil. [Rudaw]
Jabbar Yawer, Peshmerga Ministry general secretary, said that the Peshmerga have lost 1,390 killed and 8,160 wounded as well as 62 MIA since the start of operations against Daesh. He denied receiving even a “single bullet” from the central government. [AynIraq]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Kerbala. Kerbala Police arrested 4 men on terrorism charges, according to Kerbala Police command. Two of the arrestees were trying to enter the city through a checkpoint, to join the other two inside Kerbala. All four are from Mosul. [Mada]
Najaf. One person was arrested on terror charges and one escapee of Badoush prison was arrested, as were nine others, at a checkpoint leading into Najaf, a security source said. [Etejah]
Basra. An IED placed near the house of a police officer in the Al-Mualimeen neighborhood west of Basra caused damage to the house, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
A vehicle bomb exploded on a Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) checkpoint south of Al-Hawl Sunday evening, local sources say, without knowing casualty figures. The same source said that fighting broke out after the attack between Daesh and the SDF, with Daesh casualties reported from the fighting. [ARA]
The YPG spokesman has denied the existence of a joint operations center between it and the Syrian military. The spokesman, Redor Khalil, also denied allegations that the YPG has received weapons from the Coalition and passed them to the PKK, calling this a fabrication backed by Ankara. [ARA] [Welati] Khalil says the YPG appreciates the Coalition air support, but it didn’t receive any weapons from the Coalition. [PUKMedia]
Local sources say an American convoy of 20 Humvees was seen heading to the Rmeilan base in Hasaka. [PUKMedia]
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists in Mount Abdul Aziz area in Hasaka Governorate. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling and rocketing the Tishrin Dam area. [DawaAlhaq]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) are gathering a large force east of Aleppo in preparation for operations to seize the city of Manbij from Daesh, reportedly with Coalition air support and under supervision of American and French military advisors. The SDF has also gathered a large force in Ain Eissa north of Raqqa to be ready for any Daesh counter-attack. [Welati]
Turkish troops fired heavy weapons on border areas inside Syria near Tal Abyad on Sunday, the YPG said in a statement. The statement said that Turkish cross-border fire had been occurring intermittently since December 24th.
In the same statement the YPG said that 10 Daesh fighters attacked the village of Qadiriya southeast of the Tishrin Dam, but were repelled by YPG units. [Hawar] [Welati]
Russian warplanes struck the Daesh-held city of Deir Hafer east of Aleppo on Sunday. Casualty reports were not available. [Qasioun]
Syrian Army, Daesh, and the YPG-aligned Jaish Al-Thuwar launched attacks north of Aleppo on opposition and allied Islamic militia-held territory on Sunday. [ARA]
Daesh says the people of more than 60 villages west of the Euphrates in Aleppo pledged allegiance to its leader Awwad Baghdadi. [DawaAlhaq]
A Daesh mortar shell landed on a mosque in Kobane, damaging the building (photos). [Hawar]
Photos of mosques in Kobane that were rebuilt after Daesh destroyed them. [Hawar]
Daesh publishes a video of airstrikes on Al-Seen village west of Kowaires. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes photos of destroying a Syrian armored vehicle in Tal Maksour. [DawaAlhaq]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh fought pitched battles with Syrian Army troops and their Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies around the Al-Dowa area east of Homs on Sunday. Unidentified planes bombed the Shaeir and Hajjar oilfields on Sunday, east of Homs, as Syrian troops clashed with Daesh on the oilfields. [Qasioun]
Daesh says 2 of its terrorists sneaked into a Syrian Army headquarter in Huwwarin in east Homs. It claims one of the terrorists detonated his explosives vest, killing 9 soldiers and the other returned safely. [DawaAlhaq]
DaeshDaily comment. Most likely, the second terrorist couldn’t explain why he didn’t blow himself up so he told his commander he had finished the job of his fallen comrade and killed the wounded soldiers. Once again Daesh reports a Homs story from its Damascus branch for some reason.
Daesh publishes photos of executing 2 Syrian government “spies” in Hama. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists on the highway between Silmiya and Athariya. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes a video of 2 Syrian soldiers surrendering to its soldiers in Dowa west of Tadmur. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh says it killed 5 Syrian soldiers and damaged 3 tanks in Hazm Mahin hills, southeast Homs. [A3maq]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Russian planes struck a residential building in Albu Omar east of Deir Ez-Zor on Sunday, killing a civilian and wounding “tens” of others, including women and children. Russian warplanes also struck residential areas in the village of Al-Tabiya Al-Shamiya in the Deir Ez-Zor countryside, killing two children and wounding 15 other civilians, some critically. Intense ground fighting continued between Daesh and Syrian Army troops around the Deir Ez-Zor military airport, amid Syrian Army artillery and rocket fire on Daesh-held villages around the facility. Daesh executed a woman and her son in the city of Mayadin east of Deir Ez-Zor on charges of possessing weapons. [Qasioun]
South
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists in Yarmouk camp. [DawaAlhaq]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Saudi Arabia
Saudi media reported that a car exploded in front of a civilian’s home in the Aziziya district of Riyadh, without causing any casualties. According to Daesh media, Daesh has claimed responsibility for planting and detonating a sticky IED on the vehicle. [Erem] [A3maq]
Iran
Tehran will not send any more troops to Syria, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Muhammad Ali Jaafari has announced, although the commander said that Iran would likely send additional advisors to assist Iran’s allies in the conflict. [Qasioun]
North Africa
Egypt
Egypt’s Interior Minister Magdi Abd Al-Ghaffar has said it has no information regarding reports of the death of Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis leader Shadi Al-Maniei. Earlier reports, citing local residents, claimed that the Ansar commander had been killed in a missile attack in North Sinai on Sunday. [ElWatan] [Dostor]
An Egyptian security source has rejected video issued Sunday by Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis purporting to show its fighters training in Sinai, saying that the video was filmed by Daesh supporters in Gaza and released by the Ansar group as if it were showing its own training exercises. [ElWatan]
Egyptian engineers defused three IEDs in Sheikh Zuweid on Sunday. [VetoGate]
Daesh publishes a video message from its terrorists in Libya asking the Muslim Brothers in Egypt to fight the Egyptian government or to leave for Daesh controlled areas. [DawaAlhaq]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh usually considers the Muslim Brothers as weak and “peaceful”. This might be a sign that Daesh is in real need for recruits and it’s trying to attract the angrier Muslim Brothers supporters.
Libya
“Unknown” planes have renewed their airstrikes on Daesh sites in Derna, targeting the “400” neighborhood. The planes also struck the Bab Tobruk neighborhood, controlled by the Derna Mujahidin Shura Council (DMSC), killing two civilians and an unspecified number of DMSC members, as well as damaging homes and a dialysis clinic. The Libyan Armed Forces have denied any connection to the aerial bombing, and the raids have been denounced by the interim government and the presidential council of the Government of National Accord, which issued a statement describing the raids as “criminal.” [AfriGate] [AfriGate] [AfriGate]
Two members of Daesh’s “Islamic Police” whipped a civilian in Sirte in front of his wife and two children as punishment for his wife’s refusal to wear the so-called “Islamic” garb that Daesh has imposed on the women of the city since it took over last year, an eyewitness said. One of the “police” was Tunisian and the other Libyan, the witness added. After being held for some hours by the Daesh police the man was sentenced to 20 lashes and a fine of 50 dinars, the witness said. ($36 USD). [Wasat]
Daesh has graduated a new class of fighters from camps in Libya, saying that the fighters received training in Sabratha, Sirte, and Zawiya in the camps named “Abu Hamza Al-Masri” and “Abu Turab Al-Ansari.” Daesh media referred to as many as 60 fighters from Egypt who were trained on driving four-wheel-drive vehicles, Kornet missiles, RPG launchers, and light and heavy weapons, who will conduct attacks in Egypt and other Arab states. [Mustakbal]
Daesh publishes photos of the results of Libyan warplanes bombing a mosque in Saberi. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh publishes a video of its activities in Tripoli. [Isdarat]
Tunisia
Tunisia’s government opposes foreign military intervention in Libya to fight Daesh, Tunisian Defense Minister Farhat Horchani has announced. Tunisia has completed a defensive berm along its border, he said. Tunisia will not provide assistance to any foreign coalition assembled to carry out air operations against Daesh in Libya, he said, explaining that Tunisia prefers peaceful conflict resolution. Tunisia and Algeria are preparing joint military exercises in anticipation of the consequences of international intervention in Libya, Tunisian media reported. [AfriGate]
Armed groups or sleeper cells in the mountainous areas will attempt to exploit the instability caused by anticipated Western intervention in Tunisia to carry out surprise attacks, according to Mukhtar Ben Nasr, a former military officer and current president of the Tunisian Center for Global Security Studies, in remarks to the Tunisian press. [Tunisien]
Morocco
Daesh’s spread in the region, and the presence of more than 1,500 Moroccans among its ranks, have prompted Morocco’s King Muhammad VI to order a government review of the educational curriculum in the country’s religious schools. [Erem]
Other countries
Yemen
Daesh says its terrorists destroyed a Yemeni Army vehicle with a rocket in Hadhramaut. [A3maq]
Spain
Spanish police have arrested seven people on suspicion of having links to Daesh, according to a police statement Monday. The arrests occurred in the cities of Valencia, Alicante, and Ceuta (a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast). Five of the detainees are reportedly Spanish citizens of Syrian, Moroccan, and Jordanian origin, while the other two are Syrian and Moroccan nationals. [Arabi21]
Russia
Russian police have arrested seven people on Monday on suspicion of having ties to Daesh and planning attacks in St. Petersburg and Moscow, according to Russian officials. The seven, made up of “citizens of Russia and the central Asian region,” according to official statements, were planning to travel to Syria after the attacks, Interfax reported. [Erem] [NBC (English)]
Afghanistan/Pakistan
Daesh is spreading its influence in tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Egyptian Al-Azhar Observatory has reported. The same area saw heavy conflict between the Pakistani Army and the Taliban in recent years. Tribal leaders report that Daesh is recruiting youths in the area. There is a heavy Shia presence in the area, prompting counter-mobilization of anti-Daesh forces and fears of conflict and violence to come. [Aawsat]
DaeshDaily comment. Although this is not widely realized, there is a significant Shia population in Pakistan.
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
CoR Speaker Jubouri page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/Dan1x44/followers
https://twitter.com/TurMedia391
https://twitter.com/SisiAlmohger
https://twitter.com/isis_op31
https://twitter.com/d0g7mL1aYJXvVJX
Other Daesh media
Daesh online radio Al-Bayan
