February 19, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
Major demonstrations support Al-Abadi’s proposed cabinet changes, other reforms.
Tribesmen battle Daesh in Falluja city.
Army wins the battle for Hamdhiya; good progress reported on defusing IEDs.
Daesh carries out another mass execution in Hawija.
Speaker Al-Jubouri visits troops in Ninewa; says liberation is just days away.
US-Erdogan rift over YPG militia gets nasty.
Syria Democratic Forces (including YPG) knock Daesh out of last Hasaka stronghold.
US jet blasts Daesh in Sabratha, Libya.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Thousands of people demonstrated in Baghdad today, demanding a technocrat government. [Mada]
Demonstrators also went to the streets in Hilla, Diwaniya, Najaf, and Kerbala demanding reforms, anti-corruption measures, and a technocrat government. [Mada] [Mada] [Mada] [Mada]
Hundreds of people, including activists from 9 governorates, demonstrated in Nasariya demanding more transparency and anti-corruption measures and changes in the political process, and objecting to the attack on demonstrators in the city last Friday. [Mada]
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Samawa, Muthanna demanding job opportunities and a stop to the Saudi military operations on the border. [Mada]
Security developments
Summary of Baghdad security incidents
North Baghdad
An IED placed in a popular marketplace in Husseiniya killed two and wounded nine civilians. [Baghdadia]
Daesh says one of its snipers killed an Iraqi soldier in Tarmiya in northern Baghdad Governorate. [JustPaste]
An attack was initiated on a house in Tarmiya by unidentified armed men, ended with the killing of three persons inside the house: a policeman, a state employee, and a soldier. [AIN]
Daesh says it raided the houses of a civilian (who works with Hezbollah), a soldier, and a traffic policeman in Tarmiya and killed them. [JustPaste]
A man wanted for terrorism was arrested in Fahama, northeast of Baghdad city. [Ghad]
East Baghdad
A sticky bomb attached to a minibus in Baghdad Al-Jadida exploded, killing 2 passengers and wounding 6. [Mada]
The body of a man shot to death was found in the Hamidiya neighborhood in Sadr City. [Ghad]
The body of a man shot to death was found in the Tariq neighborhood in Sadr City. [Ghad]
South Baghdad
Unknown armed men opened fire on civilians working on a fish farm in Sutaih village in Mada’in, killing two and wounding three of them. [Baghdadia]
Daesh says it detonated an IED on an Army patrol in Sayyed Abdullah village in Mahmudiya in south Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding others. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it detonated an IED on an army patrol in Yusufiyah in south Baghdad, with no further details. Daesh says it detonated another IED on an Army Humvee in the same area, destroying it and killing or wounding the soldiers inside. [JustPaste]
Southwest Baghdad
An IED placed in a commercial area in Al-Amel neighborhood exploded, killing one civilian and wounding four. [Mada]
West Baghdad
An IED placed in a commercial area in Al-Nasr wa Al-Salam village in Abu Ghraib killed one civilian and wounded eight. [Baghdadia]
An IED placed in a vegetable market in Abu Ghraib killed one and wounded four civilians. [Maalomah]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 14 (Not an overall total)
Coalition warplanes initiated 9 attacks, on Mosul and Sinjar; Albu Hayat, Al-Baghdadi, and Al-Mohammadi, killing 12 terrorists and destroying a car bomb, 22 rocket launching platforms, and 12 fighting positions. More warplanes attacked Rutba, Thirthar, and Jubba; and Rabia, killing 27 terrorists and destroying 13 vehicles. An attack on the 35 Kilo area killed 10 terrorists. [AIN]
ANBAR
Falluja
The news from Falluja consisted mostly of partial reports about tribe members clashing with Daesh members in the city.
Saadoun Obeid Al-Shaalan, the Mayor of Falluja District, said Daesh leaders escaped to the north and south of the city and are gathering in the middle following the advance of Iraqi forces and the internal uprising of tribesmen in various neighborhoods. [Mada]
He also says Jumaila and other tribes captured the southern and northern areas of Falluja and are waiting for the Iraqi Army and police to provide support. [Sumaria]
The MoI says clashes erupted after disputes between members of Jiraisat tribe and Daesh hisbah in a market. Mahamda and Halabsa tribes supported Jiraisat and captured areas in Golan neighborhood. The tribes killed 10 Daesh members and burned a vehicle. Daesh managed to control the situation later and arrested five members of the Jiraisat tribe. [Mada]
A member of the Anbar Provincial Council security committee says the fights between Daesh and the tribes moved from Golan in north Falluja to Hay Nazzal in the city center. He says many families left their houses in Hay Nazzal because of the fighting. [Sumaria]
Following these incidents, Wissam Al-Hardan, head of the Sahwa council, said tribesmen had liberated Hay Nazzal from Daesh. Nazzal is in the direction of Ameriyat Al-Falluja and close to Iraqi Army positions. Al-Hardan called on the Army to intervene immediately. [PUK]
DaeshDaily comment. Hashim Al-Hashimi, an expert on Daesh, says what happened in Falluja during the last two days was just minor scuffles.
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported the clashes while the head of its Iraq department, Hamid Hadid, denied the reports on his Twitter account. Hadid, who is from Falluja, is a keen Daesh supporter (and AQI before that).
Hamas Al-Iraq, a Sunni militia, publishes 2 videos of capturing a Daesh position in Hay Nazzal. [YouTube] [YouTube]
Among Daesh figures killed in Falluja by tribesmen in Golan neighborhood was Musab Abu Farouq, an administrative official of Daesh in Qarma, and three of his bodyguards. Another three were badly wounded. [Maalomah]
During these clashes, army helicopters appeared over Falluja in large numbers for the first time, without being shot at by Daesh. A Daesh convoy near Falluja hospital was destroyed by these helicopters and a leader was killed. [Maalomah]
Kata’eb Al-Ghadab (Regiments of Fury), the Islamic Dawa militia in the PMF organization, said that an intelligence operation by the Regiments resulted in the arrest of Mashari Al-Saudi, a Saudi national and an important leader of Daesh inside Falluja. [Mawazin]
Sabah Karhout, the Chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council said there is a plan to start an uprising by the tribesmen of Falluja inside the city and back it by the army and security forces from the outside. He described what happened as a revolution. [Sumaria]
Jumaa Faza’ Al-Jumaili, commander of the Tribal Mobilization brigade in Falluja said that 15 Daesh terrorists including leading figures from various nationalities, were killed when army artillery and rocket units shelled a Daesh command center in the middle of Qarma city. [Maalomah]
Al-Jumaili also said that his forces are ready to collaborate with the Iraqi army in liberating Falluja. He says what’s happening in Falluja now is a golden opportunity that should not be missed. [Mawqif]
Daesh publishes a video of the results of an Iraqi airstrike on Abu Al-Hawa in Ameriyat Al-Falluja subdistrict yesterday. [A3maq]
Daesh says it stopped a fourth attack in a row by Iraqi forces on Subaihat in Qarma. [A3maq]
Baghdad Operations Command says Iraqi Army 14th division killed 6 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 4 vehicles and a boat in Qarma. [AIN]
Daesh says its snipers killed eight Iraqi soldiers in Zoba’a. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of Friday prayers in a mosque in Falluja and another in Zoba’a. [JustPaste] [JustPaste]
Unidentified armed men attacked a checkpoint in the middle of Falluja following the execution of two men on charges of cooperation with armed forces. [Maalomah] The relationship to the other clashes is unclear.
A Daesh online supporter published a short video from Falluja claiming everything is calm and all the reports above are rumors started by the Iraqi Islamic Party. [Twitter]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh supporters published similar videos from Ramadi a couple of months ago when Iraqi forces were already inside other parts of the city.
Ramadi
Major General Ismail Al-Mahalawi, the commander of Anbar Operations (AOC), just announced the liberation of Hamdhiya and raising of the Iraqi flag on one of its buildings after killing “tens” of Daesh members and destroying over 100 IEDs. [Sumaria]
General Al-Mahalawi said 15 Daesh suicide attackers armed with explosives belts attacked army positions in Hamdhiya, but were all killed before reaching their targets. [Maalomah]
10th army division killed 8 terrorists and destroyed 15 IEDs in Hamdhiya, while 50th and 36th Army brigades killed 4 terrorists and destroyed a motorcycle carrying IEDs, while 6 buildings were cleared and 20 IEDs destroyed. 31st Army killed one terrorist and destroyed a vehicle in Sajariya, while an Albu Aitha bridge was installed by the engineering corps. IAF warplanes attacked targets in Hamdhiya, killing one terrorist and destroying a vehicle; IAA helicopters destroyed a command center, a cement mixer, and two motorcycles. Coalition warplanes killed 14 terrorists and destroyed a bomb-rigged car and a gathering location, JOC said. [AIN]
General Al-Mahalawi said army helicopters attacked Daesh in Albu Aitha and Albu Farraj northeast of Ramadi, killing three terrorists and destroying 5 positions. [Baghdadia]
80% of the IEDs planted by Daesh in eastern areas of Ramadi are removed, said Anbar Provincial Council, specifically Juwaiba, Hsaiba, Al-Madhiq, and Tel Mshaihda, normally populated by over 90,000 persons. [Mada]
Another mass grave was discovered between Sufiya and Albu Ghanem, east of Ramadi, according to Arkan Al-Tarmouz, member of Anbar Provincial Council. The counting of numbers and identification process is currently underway, but initial inspection shows that all victims were shot to death. [Mada]
A video of a Daesh terrorists caught by tribal fighters in Sajariya [YouTube]
DaeshDaily comment. Maybe it’s not a coincidence most of the Daesh terrorists we saw today are in their teens.
Hit/Haditha
Three Daesh terrorist were killed by army troops while planting an IED on a main road leading to Hit, a security source in Anbar said. [Maalomah]
Joint Operations Command said that army helicopters initiated 10 attacks in the Duwailiba area near Baghdadi, killing 4 terrorists and destroying a 155mm gun, and an ammunition cache. [AIN]
A security source says 9 Daesh terrorists were killed in a Coalition airstrike on Duwailiba. [Sumaria]
Two persons were beheaded by Daesh in Hit, for raising the Iraqi flag (photos). [Qurtas]
The IWMC says the Daesh new wali of Anbar Wahib Albu Aber, and his deputy Mohammed Tuwaib were killed with 20 other terrorists in an Iraqi airstrike on a farm in Hit. [Buratha]
DaeshDaily comment: Another wali dead; it’s a dangerous job. Wahib Albu Aber was also in prison for some time, for killing many innocent people in Hit, and was released like most other Daesh leaders. The Iraqi government should be more vigilant this time when talks start about amnesty and releasing prisoners.
A JOC source says Jazeera Operations Command troops shelled Daesh in Masriya near Baghdadi, killing 16 terrorists. [Harbi]
Daesh publishes photos of the fighters who attacked Sakran yesterday. [JustPaste]
Western Anbar
Daesh publishes a video of the results of airstrikes on Rutba. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of its charity distribution in an unspecified area in Anbar. [JustPaste]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
Abu Qutaiba, so called “the barber of the wali,” who was used by Daesh to cut the hair of Daesh leaders in Shirqat, was executed in the city on charges of cooperation with security forces. All of his properties were confiscated. [Sumaria]
Tikrit
A joint army and police force arrested two wanted men in Jalam Al-Daur (Albu Khadu), in Al-Daur District southeast of Tikrit. [AIN]
A Katyusha rocket fell on Al-Zuhir circular road in west Tikrit without causing any human casualties, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
A PMF source says JOC troops shelled and rocketed Daesh locations north of Allas and Ajeel oilfields in additions to villages in Hawija. The source says the JOC is preparing for a major campaign to liberate Daesh controlled areas in northeast Salahuddin. [Ghad]
Samarra
Joint forces repelled several Daesh attacks along the Strategic Line west of Samarra, a security source said. The source added that 10 Daesh terrorists were killed and four vehicles destroyed. Daesh uses the desert areas to regroup and keep attacking west of Samarra. [Ghad]
Tooz
Armed men threw a hand grenade at a house in eastern Tooz District, wounding three family members staying at the house. [Ghad]
Southern Salahuddin
Joint Operations Command said a 74th Army brigade operating in the Albu Jili area found and destroyed a workshop to manufacture IEDs, and destroyed it along with 10 IEDs. [AIN]
KIRKUK
Eyewitnesses say Daesh executed 30 people in Hawija and hanged their bodies upside down on electricity poles in Hawija, after accusing them of helping families to leave the city. Local sources say the city suffers from the lack of food, electricity, water and health services. [Ghad]
23 armed Daesh terrorists were killed by a Coalition airstrike while gathering in Al-Zab subdistrict near Hawija. [BasNews]
A source in the asayesh (Kurdish security) said 4 Daesh terrorists were arrested while trying to enter Peshmerga controlled areas in Kirkuk, escaping Hawija. The four persons are from the villages of Hawija, and have confessed their Daesh involvement and their mission to activate Daesh sleeper cells in Kirkuk. One of them photographed a Peshmerga POW in Hawija in 2015, while all of them fought against Peshmerga, Iraqi army, and the PMF in Dibis, Daquq, Al-Bashir, and Tal Alwad in Kirkuk and Mansouriya in Diyala. [Mada]
NINEWA
Mosul
Coalition warplanes bombed Al-Karama neighborhood on the east side of Mosul, destroying a workshop for booby trapping cars, and killing 4 terrorists. Eight missiles were launched by Coalition warplanes on Sina’at Al-Maaredh and Bab Al-Shams on the east side, killing tens of Daesh terrorists, PUK spokesman Gayath Sourachi said. [AIN]
Daesh says Coalition warplanes launched 7 airstrikes on food storehouses in Karama in Mosul. [A3maq]
The US Digital Outreach Team publishes a video of a Coalition airstrike that destroyed the Daesh bulk cash storage and tax collection HQ near Mosul on February 13. Daesh money could be seen flying in the air. [YouTube]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters destroyed a Daesh vehicle and killed 4 terrorists inside it near Hammam Al-Alil. [KM Facebook Page]
Makhmur
The CoR Speaker Saleem Al-Jubouri visited the Ninewa Operations Command in Makhmur District and inspected army forces preparing for Mosul liberation, meeting NOC and field officers. [AIN]
Speaker Al-Jubouri promised in a radio speech to the people of Mosul that only a few days separate them from the liberation of Ninewa. [Sumaria]
Other Governorates
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Qadisiya. Qadisiya Police command in Diwaniya said that a “dangerous” terrorist was arrested in Al-Beder village in the west of the governorate. [Ghad]
Babel. Babel police found a locally made IED in Jbala, in Mahawil District north of Babel. [Qurtas]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Ankara aftermath
The number of arrests in the wake of this week’s deadly bombing attack in Ankara has risen to 20, according to Turkish security sources on Friday. The arrest campaign has spread across eight Turkish provinces, the sources said. [Anadolu]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Friday that Turkish officials have gathered information which confirms “beyond a shadow of a doubt” that the YPG was behind the blast in Ankara, without specifying further. [Anadolu]
DaeshDaily comment. Erdogan is doubling down on his propaganda campaign against the PYD and its YPG militia, whom he regards as part of the PKK, a recognized terrorist organization. If the evidence supports the Ankara bombing allegation, he will win points in that argument. However, setting off bomb blasts in Turkey has not been part of the YPG’s MO, and Erdogan now has a well established reputation for exaggeration in pursuit of his political agenda. We will wait for the real evidence to show up.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a Turkish Kurdish armed group loyal to PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, claims responsibility for the terrorist attack in Ankara. [Rudaw]
A Turkish MP from the opposition Republican Peoples’ Party claims that the Turkish government had intelligence that an attack would occur, and alleged that the government was more concerned about surveillance of opposition parties than responding to intelligence about security threats. [Cihan]
US–Turkish Relations
Washington and Ankara traded sternly worded remarks Friday as President Erdogan criticized the United States policy of working with the PYD party and its associated YPG militia, which Erdogan blamed for the recent attack in Ankara and which Turkey considers terrorist groups. Erdogan raised the possibility of closing Incirlik Airbase to the Americans (which US planes use in their anti-Daesh bombing missions) and spoke of a Russian-American plan for Syria that works against Turkish interests. In his remarks, Erdogan also alleged that the US had dropped arms to Daesh and the PYD. Meanwhile the Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called Friday for the United States to cut its relations with the YPG in Syria, saying US ties to the Kurdish militia were a “mistake” that Washington should “stop immediately.” The US State Department responded by suggesting that Turkey was free to leave the international anti-Daesh coalition if it chooses. [Cihan] [Cihan] [IslamMemo] [Hawar]
Syrian border
A member of the Al-Jabha Al-Shamiya (“Levantine Front”) militia has claimed that Turkey allowed at least 2,000 opposition fighters to cross from Turkey into Azaz to support militia groups north of Aleppo. He says Turkey allowed the fighters to cross through the Bab Al-Salama crossing with their weapons, including rocket launchers, tanks and mortars. The fighters who crossed the border were from various opposition and Islamist factions including Al-Nusra Front, he said. Meanwhile a Turkish government newspaper said that 500 opposition fighters crossed into Syria on the 13th of February with Turkish approval and supervision. The Syrian Human Rights Observatory made similar claims recently. [Cihan] [Cihan]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
In a major victory in northeastern Syria, the Syria Democratic Forces have seized control of the city of Shaddadi and surrounding areas, expelling Daesh from its last stronghold in Hasaka Governorate and taking control of a strategic point on the Daesh supply line. An SDF commander said the group’s command would meet shortly to determine the next steps in the recently launched campaign to rid the rest of Hasaka of Daesh presence. “Tens” of Daesh fighters were killed in the fighting and the SDF lost six fighters, he said. [ARA] [Welati]
A media official in Daesh’s so-called “Khansa Electronic Brigade” was killed in a Coalition airstrike in Shaddadi, according to reports circulating on social media. Rima Al-Juraish, a female Saudi national, fled Saudi Arabia for Yemen after multiple arrests for supporting Al-Qaeda in the kingdom, then reached Daesh in Syria where she founded the all-female media unit that performs media, hacking, and online monitoring tasks for Daesh. Several other Daesh officers were reportedly killed in the raids in Shaddadi. [ARA]
Syria Democratic Forces made further advances southwest of Hasaka, seizing several villages from Daesh without resistance as Daesh withdrew under Coalition airstrikes, according to a local resident. [ARA]
Daesh says its terrorists are still controlling Shaddadi while the YPG, supported by Coalition warplanes, is attacking the city. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. Shaddadi might soon disappear from Daesh’s report, like the other cities it lost.
Daesh says its terrorists killed around 70 Syrian soldiers and members of Syrian Army allied militias on the road between Athariya and Raqqa. Daesh also says Russian warplanes bombed a Syrian Army position mistakenly in the area, killing or wounding many soldiers. [JustPaste]
Daesh says 87 YPG fighters were killed by its operations in Raqqa northern countryside during the last two days (these operations were reported yesterday). [A3maq]
Daesh says its terrorists implemented a suicide attack on YPG fighters in Trumbat Rafi’ village south of Hasaka yesterday. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of rocketing Sharkarak village east of Ain Eissa. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of the battles near Tishrin Dam. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes a video of a 15 year old boy conducting a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb. The boy was trained by his own father. [Isdarat]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Aleppo North
Opposition militias north of Aleppo say Turkey allowed militia fighters to enter Syria across its borders (see above).
Turkish artillery continued its cross-border shelling of YPG sites around Azaz and Menagh military airport, according to local sources and Turkish military sources. [Cihan] [Erem]
Five loud explosions were heard Friday in the city of Afrin, a KDP official said. [Welati]
Aleppo East
Syrian Army troops and their foreign Shia militia allies gained control of Tal Alam on Friday, after more than eight hours of battle with Daesh. Syrian troops are now in a position to block Daesh’s supply lines between Raqqa and Aleppo, especially in eastern Aleppo province. Russian planes struck Daesh positions in multiple areas east of Aleppo, facilitating the Syrian advance on Tal Alam. Syrian troops are now within 30 km (18 miles) of the Al-Tabaqa airport. [Qasioun]
Syrian troops also seized the cities of Jab Ghabsha and Al-Sin with support from foreign militias, according to a local activist. The source said that the battle for Al-Sin was especially violent after Daesh attacked Syrian troops with a vehicle bomb. [ARA]
For the second day running, Daesh and the Syria Democratic Forces fought heavy battles west of the Tishrin Dam, amid Coalition airstrikes on Daesh positions, according to a YPG fighter who said Daesh suffered a lot of dead and wounded in the fighting. Welati estimates the Daesh dead at more than 50, based on information available. [ARA] [Welati]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh snared a Syrian Army detachment in an ambush in the Barida area east of Qaryatayn in the Homs countryside on Friday amid a Syrian attempt to advance on the hills around Qaryatayn. An activist close to Daesh said that Daesh killed more than 17 Syrian soldiers and destroyed several pieces of equipment before the remainder of the detachment fled under Russian air cover. [ARA]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Fifty masked gunmen captured five members of Daesh’s Hisbah religious police in Deir Ez-Zor in what appeared to be a well-planned operation, according to local sources. A media worker in the area said that a veiled woman stopped in an alley Thursday evening in a village outside Deir Ez-Zor city and called out to a passing Hisbah patrol. When the patrol approached, the gunmen captured all five members of the patrol including the Tunisian commander. Media sources said that Daesh closed the entrances to the village and arrested four suspects. [ARA]
Daesh struck Syrian troops and allied militia with two car bombs on Friday in Al-Baliligha neighborhood west of Deir Ez-Zor, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries. The bombings came amid heavy fighting between the two sides. Daesh and the Syrian Army fought heavy battles around the Deir Ez-Zor military airport and the Al-Sinaa area, amid Russian airstrikes on the villages around the airport. Syrian artillery pounded multiple areas of the city. [Qasioun]
Russian planes dropped five containers of food supplies to Syrian troops in Deir Ez-Zor on Friday. [ARA]
South (Damascus, Rif Dimashq, etc.)
Daesh publishes photos of the battles with Syrian armed groups in Al-Afa’i Mountain in east Qalamoun yesterday. [JustPaste]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Saudi Arabia. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir has said that any Saudi-Turkish ground intervention in Syria would fight Daesh and not engage with activities to overthrow the Assad government. [Cihan]
North Africa
Egypt
Three policemen were injured Friday when a roadside IED exploded on their armored vehicle as they were raiding a village south of Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]
Egyptian troops safely detonated four roadside IEDs Friday east of Arish. [ElWatan]
Libya
Sabratha
A pre-dawn air raid by a US fighter jet on a residence in the western coastal city of Sabratha on Friday killed as many as 41 suspected Daesh members, possibly including the Tunisian mastermind of deadly Daesh bombing attacks in Tunisia last year, according to various sources.
Libyan security sources said the house was rented out to foreigners, most of them Tunisians believed to belong to Daesh. Inside the home was a weapons cache that included medium-caliber weapons including RPGs, according to what was recovered from the rubble.
The death toll has reached at least 50 dead and more than six wounded, with a number of people, likely dead, still trapped in the debris of the structure. The victims are believed to be Tunisian, Algerian and Libyan nationals. Among those believed killed in the 3:30 AM attack are the Tunisians “Abu Talha Al-Muhajir” and “Noureddine Shushan” who was wanted in connection with the deadly bombing attack at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis and another in the Tunisian resort city of Sousse. Shushan was reportedly dissembling under a false name in Libya. Sabratha is located just 100 km (62 miles) east of the Tunisian border.
Sabratha, 70 km (45 miles) west of Tripoli, is under control of the Libya Dawn factions that back the Tripoli-based government. The targeted house is reportedly located 9 km (5 miles) from the city center. US officials reportedly confirmed to the New York Times that an American jet had conducted the strike. A Libyan security source denied any coordination with the Libyan military.
A Libyan security source said the house was used as a transfer station by Daesh for militants en route to the Daesh stronghold of Sirte, approximately 520 km (320 miles) to the east. One of those injured in the attack and subsequently captured and interrogated by Libyan security personnel said he had come to Libya to fight with Daesh and had been brought blindfolded to the house, according to Libyan security sources.
[AfriGate] [Arabi21] [Tunisien] [Tunisien] [Tunisien]
Photos of the aftermath of the airstrike in Sabratha [AfriGate]
Sirte
Daesh is preparing field hospitals in Sirte for imminent war, according to local sources, who said Daesh had moved quantities of medical supplies to two field hospital sites, one in Al-Dhahir 10 km (6 miles) west of Sirte and one in Jaraf, 50 km (30 miles) from the city center. [Wasat]
Algeria. Algiers has rejected requests by the US, France, and Russia to directly support operations against Daesh in Libya, according to Algerian officials quoted in local media. [Wasat]
Other countries
Yemen. Daesh publishes photos of shelling Yemeni Army positions in the Wadi area in Hadhramaut with 81mm mortars. [JustPaste]
Cameroon. At least 19 people died and over 50 were injured in a double bombing (triple bombing by one report) in a market area outside the city of Mora in northern Cameroon, according to local media reports. One report says the bombs were hidden in pots for potable water known as “canary.” Other reports said the attack involved a double suicide bombing. The Daesh-affiliated Boko Haram group is known to operate in the area and is suspected in the attack. [Erem] [CRTV (English)] [Anadolu]
Italy. The Italian Supreme Defense Council is due to hold a special meeting convened by the Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The Daesh presence in Libya, Syria and Iraq is to play a prominent role in the meeting according to a statement issued by the Italian presidency, which said that these crises threaten Italy’s national security. [Wasat]
Pakistan. Daesh says its terrorists attacked a police vehicle in Faisalabad and killed three policemen. [JustPaste]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
An anti-Daesh page from Anbar
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/JeSuisSukhna
https://twitter.com/sagaraaa111
Other Daesh media
Daesh audio newsletter for today in Arabic [Archive]
