February 22, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
Falluja operation temporarily halted by mass execution fears.
Hit campaign gathers steam as tribes link up with Army, citizens attack Daesh in city.
More Iraqi and Kurdish troops arrive in Ninewa
Ninewa PC again opposes Shia PMF role in Ninewa liberation.
DNA tests on Ankara suicide bomber seem to disprove Erdogan accusation against YPG.
Daesh releases remaining 42 Assyrian Christian hostages from Hasaka, Syria.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Lt. General Mohsen Al-Kaabi resigned from the position of Deputy Commander of PMF, 4 days after his appointment by Prime Minister Al-Abadi. Kata’eb Hezbollah issued a statement saying it appreciated the “withdrawal of General Al-Kaabi to avoid possible frictions and complications”. Al-Kaabi was appointed alongside Deputy Commander Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandis, and not as a replacement according to PMF sources. [IraqPress]
DaeshDaily comment. Iranian backed militias saw the appointment of Al-Kaabi as a threat to Muhandis, although government sources said that Al-Kaabi would deal with administrative issues while Muhandis would still be in charge of military operations.
PM Abadi met with the Chairman of the PMF commission, Faleh Al-Fayyad, Al-Muhandis, and General Kaabi. Abadi issued a statement after the meeting warning of “poisonous rumors” that aim at creating disputes. The statement also says the attendants agreed that the PMF is an establishment under the leadership of the Armed Forces General Commander (Abadi). [Mada]
The CoR went into a “not public” session during the hearing regarding 15 billion dollars smuggled from Iraq during the last 12 years. Reps from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Intelligence Agency started to submit names of Iraqi officials implicated in smuggling money. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. Some of the big beneficiaries of that grand corruption are living well abroad, having already been convicted in absentia after fleeing the country to avoid arrest (and to avoid having to return the money).
Former PM Maliki met with tribal leaders from Anbar and warned them against a conspiracy to divide Iraq according to statement from the “office of the first vice-president”. [Mada]
Moqtada Al-Sadr calls for a “million people” demonstration in Baghdad on Friday against corruption and the economic crisis. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. The real reason might be to support his plan for the technocrat government. Sadr submitted the names of 20 “independent” technocrats and threatened to withdraw from the government if his proposal failed.
Security developments
A security source said that Baghdad Police forces found a large weapons and ammunition cache in Taji, north of the city, containing Grad rockets, mortar shells, IEDs, and various types of ammunition. [Ghad]
Daesh says one of its snipers killed a policeman in Tarmiya District in northern Baghdad Governorate. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling the Albu Aziz area in north Baghdad with locally made rockets. [JustPaste]
Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) troops killed 4 terrorists and wounded 3 and defused 4 IEDs in different areas in south Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked the house of a Sahwa leader in Arab Jabour with mid-size weapons. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it attacked an Iraqi Army position in Sayafiya in Arab Jabour with light and mid-size weapons then attacked the reinforcement troops and burned a Humvee. [JustPaste]
BOC troops defused 4 booby-trapped houses and destroyed 4 IEDs in Manari in Arab Jabour, south Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
A security source says security forces arrested a Daesh terrorist responsible for transporting vehicle bombs in northwest Baghdad. [Harbi]
Security sources reported the following neighborhood incidents:
Baghdad Center
A sticky bomb attached to the car of an employee of the Council of Ministers went off and killed him as he drove through Karrada. [Mada]
Three grenades, three automatic rifle magazines, and a pistol were found in a blacksmith shop in Sheikh Omar. The shop owner was arrested for questioning. [Mada]
BOC has started removing concrete barriers from Haifa Street in the heart of Baghdad, and those surrounding the Mansour Melia Hotel. [Mawazin]
North Baghdad
Armed men in 4-wheel drive cars shot dead a civilian in Taji District in northern Baghdad Governorate. [Ghad]
Northeast Baghdad
A sticky bomb attached to a car of a Ministry of Interior employee exploded and killed him in Bab Al-Sham in northeast Baghdad. [Maalomah]
An IED went off in the Souq Shallal commercial area of Shaab in Adhamiya, killing one civilian and wounding six. [Baghdadia]
South Baghdad
A roadside IED exploded on a minibus carrying employees of the Ministry of Electricity as it passed through Dara’iya village in Mada’in, south of the city, killing two civilians and wounding five. [Baghdadia]
An IED placed near a popular market in Al-Qasr al-Awsat in Yusufiyah killed one civilian and wounded three. [Maalomah]
Southwest Baghdad
An IED planted near commercial shops in Bayya’ killed two civilians and wounded eight. [Mada]
Security forces arrested 4 men wanted on terrorism charges as they entered Saidiya neighborhood with IDPs. [Maalomah]
West Baghdad
An IED exploded at the Ameriya junction, killing one civilian and wounding six. [Mada]
An IED placed near commercial shops in Al-Bakriya killed two civilians and wounded seven. [Baghdadia]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 9 (Not an overall total)
Coalition warplanes initiated 5 strikes on targets in Iraq and 14 in Syria. Iraq raids included Falluja and Ramadi, Sinjar and Mosul, targeting tactical units, heavy machine gun positions, vehicles, and supply roads. [AIN]
ANBAR
Falluja
Tribal sources in Falluja said that the fighting against Daesh in the city has been halted in fear that Daesh will execute the prisoners it captured over the past few days. 110 tribesmen between 15-35 years of age, mostly from the Juraisat tribe, were arrested by Daesh. [IraqPress]
Daesh has already executed 18 ex-policemen in Falluja, according to local sources speaking to Radio Sawa. [Ghad]
Essa Sayer Al-Issawi, the Mayor of Falluja District, said that Daesh regained control of the Golan neighborhood in Falluja and started checkpoints to inspect the IDs of people in the streets. Three civilians were already arrested in this manner and subsequently executed. [Mawazin]
A Daesh religious “judge” was killed by a sniper in Golan in north Falluja city, a security source in Anbar said. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Just to make things clear regarding the legal knowledge of Daesh “judges”, a source in Mosul told us that one of Daesh’s judges in Mosul used to be a honey seller.
Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh near Falluja, destroying a tactical unit and a combat location. [US Digital Media team]
Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) troops killed 6 terrorists and destroyed 4 vehicles and defused 17 IEDs in the Qarma, Albu Shijil and Taqsim in addition to killing 2 more terrorists in Bustan Al-Tikriti. BOC troops also killed 2 terrorists and destroyed a machine gun in Albu Khanfar north of Qarma. [BOC Facebook Page]
A Rapid Intervention unit killed 2 Daesh terrorists in Nuaimiya. [BOC Facebook Page]
Fierce fighting started northwest of Ameriyat Al-Falluja near Al-Salam intersection between army units and Daesh terrorists, and ended in a major defeat for the Daesh attackers, according to a source in Anbar Police. [Maalomah]
Daesh’s rather implausible version says its terrorists attacked Iraqi Army and Sahwa positions in Ameriyat Al-Falluja, killing or wounding many soldiers and fighters before returning safely as usual. [JustPaste]
8th Army destroyed an armored vehicle bomb that tried to approach troops near Al-Mukasar road west of Falluja, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
5 houses and 3 roads were cleared and 17 IEDs destroyed by explosives teams of the 41st and 50th infantry brigades, IWMC said. 2 Daesh terrorists were killed in Bustan Al-Tikriti, west of Falluja. [Ghad]
Ramadi
IWMC said that joint forces killed 21 terrorists including two snipers in Hamdhiya east of Ramadi, and destroyed 13 IEDs in Sajariya, while capturing a vehicle carrying 4 containers of C4 explosives. [Ghad]
A major Daesh attack in east Ramadi was repelled, according to General Ismail Al-Mahalawi, Commander of Anbar Operations (AOC). The attackers came from Albu Obeid east of Hamdhiya towards the 10th army division, near the international expressway. 46 Daesh terrorists were killed and heavy material damage inflicted on their forces with the assistance of Coalition warplanes. [Sumaria]
General Al-Mahalawi said that a Daesh attack on the 76th brigade command in Zangoura village west of Ramadi was repelled and 15 terrorists were killed. The attackers wanted to take advantage of the bad weather conditions, he said. [Sumaria]
76th brigade killed tens of Daesh terrorists in Albu Risha, including “Abu Jannat,” a Daesh commander, according to IWMC. [Ghad]
Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh near Ramadi, targeting a tactical unit and a Daesh gathering. [US Digital Media team]
Coalition warplanes attacked and destroyed a Daesh weapons storehouse in Albu Bali, north of Ramadi, killing three Daesh terrorists inside, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
10 Daesh suicide attackers were killed while trying to intercept the advance of Iraqi troops in and around Albu Obeid northeast of Ramadi, according to Col. Juma’a Faza’ Al-Jumaili, commander of the tribal mobilization forces. [Maalomah]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked an Iraqi Army position in Albu Aitha northeast of Ramadi, killing six soldiers and capturing their weapons. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it attacked 2 Iraqi Army positions in Albu Iyada northwest of Ramadi, killing 14 soldiers and destroying 3 Humvees. [JustPaste]
The IFP repelled a Daesh attack on Kilo 35 area west of Ramadi, killing 5 of them and destroying several vehicles, according to General Ra’ed Shakir Jawdat, Commander of the IFP. [AIN]
General Ismail Al-Mahalawi said that non-involvement of the Counter-Terrorism Service troops in east Ramadi operations is causing the battles to take longer, due to the lack of manpower to hold ground and insufficient use of artillery and air support. [Maalomah]
Hit/Haditha
According to Malallah al-Obeidi, the Chair of the Baghdadi subdistrict council, fully equipped military reinforcements are arriving at the Ain Al-Asad military base to join the liberation of Hit and Kubaisa. Hundreds of armed tribesmen will join by tomorrow, he added. [Sumaria]
A popular uprising by tribesmen against Daesh started in Hit, according to Joint Operations Command. [AIN]
Tribesmen in Hit attacked Daesh HQs and killed 10 terrorists while burning several of their vehicles, the IWMC said. [Maalomah]
The JOC says young men from Hit rebelled after Daesh beheaded people in the city center, accusing them of communicating with Iraqi security forces. The young men killed 2 Daesh terrorists and threw their bodies into a cemetery in Jam’iya neighborhood in southern Hit. They also attacked Daesh in the former headquarters of the Women’s Union in Hit, burned 3 Daesh vehicles, and killed other Daesh terrorists in the Jabal area in Hit including Abu Hafsa Al-Tunisi and Abu Omar Al-Falluji. [Mada]
The IWMC says Jazeera Operations Command troops killed 6 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 2 boats in Baghdadi subdistrict. [Ghad]
An attack by army helicopters on a Daesh convoy moving from Hit to Haditha destroyed the convoy entirely and killed “tens” of Daesh terrorists, according to Saoud Al-Obeidi, commander of 14th Rapid Intervention battalion in Baghdadi. He said that among the terrorists killed was Rael Muneer, the military official for the West Anbar desert. The attack took place in Tahmaniya, in Haditha District. [Maalomah]
Artillery shelling by the army on Baraziya and Juba in Haditha killed seven Daesh terrorists and destroyed two machine gun-mounted trucks, Anbar Operations Command (AOC) said. [Maalomah]
Iraqi forces killed three suicide terrorists who attacked army and tribesmen troops from the direction of Khafajiya, in Haditha’s Haqlaniya subdistrict, a security source said. [Ghad]
Daesh says 3 of its terrorists clashed, for hours, with Iraqi soldiers and Sahwa fighters in Khafajiya near Haqlaniya south of Haditha before detonating their explosives vests. Daesh says one vest killed 13 Iraqi soldiers, while it doesn’t have information about the other 2. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh’s media schemes are mesmerizing, especially when you learn to see through them. What are the odds that three guys could defeat a lot of Iraqi soldiers and tribal fighters by themselves? What are the chances that the other two suicide bombers succeeded in their mission but Daesh doesn’t know about it? For example, we can’t forget that Daesh told us one day that two of its suicide terrorists detonated a vehicle bomb killing “tens” of Iraqi soldiers, but the same two terrorists appeared later on Iraqi TV after they were caught. [YouTube] [YouTube]
Rapid Intervention said in a statement that it seized a workshop for bombs and explosives west of Anbar containing Jahannam cannon and 38 shells, in addition to 10 Ababil rockets, 5 C4 bags, 8 containers of TNT, 120 mm mortar shells, and detonators. [AIN]
Daesh published a photo of shelling the residential compound for Ain Al-Asad with an SPG9 rocket. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it shelled and rocketed different areas in Haditha district. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling Albu Hayat east of Haditha with 220mm mortars. [JustPaste]
Western Anbar
Army helicopters targeted a meeting of Daesh leaders in a command center in the Mithaq neighborhood in Rutba city, destroying 10 vehicles and killing all Daesh terrorists inside the center, the MoD said. [AIN]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A local source says Daesh’s “properties committee” gave more than 100 houses to its members, most of them not from Shirqat and some of them foreign Arabs, as rewards. The source says the houses belong to security officers, local officials, tribal leaders and merchants. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh wants to make sure divisions will remain even after it’s gone. This move is guaranteed to turn people against each other. Taking someone’s house is equivalent to murder and when the original owners return they will not just let their houses be stolen like that. Getting them back will not necessarily be easy, however. It’s a perfect scheme for turning people against each other, which always helps Daesh. In the short run, it also provides an incentive to the lucky recipients to fight hard to preserve Daesh’s control of the area so as to keep their house.
Baiji
Army artillery heavily shelled Daesh positions in Msahaq village, south of Shirqat, a source in Salahuddin Operations Command said, adding that this bombing is preliminary to a comprehensive attack on Shirqat. [Ghad]
IFP killed 35 Daesh terrorists in a rocket shelling on Adherban village in Fatha, north of Baiji, says General Ra’ed Shakir Jawdat, commander of the IFP. [AIN]
Jabbar Al-Maamouri, a PMF commander, said that PMFs had buried 30 corpses of Daesh terrorists left in various areas of the Makhoul Mountains. He added that any more are scattered in the area not yet reached by the PMFs. [Sumaria]
The IWMC says Salahuddin Operations Command troops destroyed 2 Daesh vehicle bombs and 2 other vehicles carrying machine guns in Siniya and Makhoul Mountains. [Ghad]
Tikrit
A PMF source says Saraya Al-Salam, in coordination with Iraqi Army artillery, destroyed 2 Daesh hideouts in Samarra District and killed 16 terrorists. [Harbi]
DIYALA
Baquba
Col. Khalid Fadhil Mohammed, the director of administrative affairs at Diyala Police, was killed when a sticky bomb attached to his car exploded on Buhriz Road south of Baquba, a security source said. [Sumaria]
Three persons wanted on terrorism charges were arrested in a police raid in the middle of Baquba, according to Col. Ghalib Al-Attiya, spokesman of Diyala Police. [Sumaria]
A sticky bomb attached to a car killed a civilian in Baquba, a security source said. [Maalomah]
Muqdadiya/Abu Saida
A local police source says security forces arrested 5 Daesh members while they were trying to sneak through Himrin Mountains to Muqdadiya, claiming they were displaced persons. [Maalomah]
Northern Diyala
Daesh says its terrorists attacked an Iraqi Army patrol with light weapons in Udhaim, wounding a battalion commander. [JustPaste]
Southern Diyala
Daesh says it detonated an IED in the Al-Nida of Mandali, killing an Iraqi Army commander and three of his associates and wounding two others. [JustPaste]
KIRKUK
A sniper shot dead three Daesh terrorists as they exited a house in downtown Hawija. A search by Daesh following the incident failed to locate the source. [Maalomah]
85 families who escaped western and southern Kirkuk areas still occupied by Daesh arrived at Peshmerga front lines in Kirkuk, a security source in the Governorate said. Most of the families are from Shirqat, and all are currently awaiting security clearances to be moved to Kirkuk, Tikrit, or Nezrawa refugee camp. [Mada]
A security source says Iraqi warplanes bombed a Daesh gathering in the Dhirban fuel station in Riyadh subdistrict in Hawija, killing 5 Daesh members and wounding 9 others. [Mada]
NINEWA
Mosul
Daesh executed 36 terrorists for refusing to join the battles against Iraqi forces in south Mosul. The execution took place in Ghazlani military barracks in south Mosul, a security source in Ninewa said. [Mada]
A PUK official says more than 100 Daesh members escaped Mosul because they haven’t been paid for 3 months. [Mada]
Ninewa Provincial Council reiterated its opposition to PMF participation in the liberation of Mosul, according to Khalaf Al-Hadidi, head of the Nahdha bloc in the council. He added that the army, Mosul population, Peshmerga, and Coalition can liberate the city, saying that bad incidents perpetrated by PMFs in Tikrit and Diyala are relevant to this decision. [BasNews]
Major General Baha Al-Azawi, Chief of Ninewa Police, said it has 26,000 men ready to participate in the liberation of Mosul after finalizing training. He said that his command is in full coordination with Ninewa Operations Command for that purpose. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. We hope they perform better this time than they did the last time.
A Coalition air raid on the Daesh command center in the silos of Al-Matahin south of Mosul destroyed it entirely and killed 4 terrorists inside, a security source said. Late Sunday night, Coalition warplanes destroyed the Al-Hadba Bank building in west Mosul. Meanwhile, Daesh fired a Katyusha rocket on the NMF’s Zilkan training camp in Bashiqa. [Baghdadia]
Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh location in Faisaliya neighborhood on Mosul’s left (east) bank, destroying the location and killing 16 terrorists, according to Said Memozini, KDP media official in Mosul. [Mada]
A PUK official says Coalition warplanes targeted Daesh in Sultan Abdullah village in southern Hamdaniya, the east side of Mosul, the University of Mosul and a water purification unit used by Daesh to manufacture chlorine rockets. He says 12 Daesh terrorists were killed, including 2 local commanders and 2 chemical weapons experts, and 7 were wounded and 4 vehicles destroyed. [PUKMedia]
He also says unknown armed men attacked a Daesh checkpoint near Kokajli village east of Mosul killing 2 terrorists. [PUKMedia]
Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh near Mosul, destroying a tactical unit and a vehicle.
Daesh blew up 20 houses in the subdistricts of Qayara and Shura south of Mosul and arrested 14 men, all from the Al-Saba’awi tribe, and all with relatives in the tribal mobilization, sources in Ninewa Police said. The arrest was in response to a tribal mobilization operation against Daesh a few days back. [BasNews]
Makhmur
40 military vehicles full of 15th Army’s 71st brigade soldiers crossed Kirkuk heading to Makhmur, to join Iraqi army troops arrived there earlier, a security source in Kirkuk said. [Mada]
A CoR member for Mosul, Zahid Al-Khatouni, said agreement was reached with the federal government and Joint Operations Command to recruit 15,000 volunteers to fight alongside the 15th Army, already in Makhmur, to liberate Mosul. [AIN]
DaeshDaily comment. Two of Al-Khatouni’s brothers joined Daesh and were subsequently killed.
An IED exploded in Duwaizat village in Makhmur, wounding seven of the tribal mobilization troops, including the son of its commander, according to Faris Al-Saba’awi, commander of the south Mosul tribal mobilization forces. [Mada]
Nineveh Plain
Daesh fired a Katyusha rocket on the NMF’s Zilkan training camp in Bashiqa. [Baghdadia]
Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Peshmerga forces coming from Dahuk Governorate in the KRG arrived at Hasan Jallad village in Aski Mosul northeast of Mosul, as a step towards participation in the liberation of Mosul, a Peshmerga source said. [IraqPress]
Daesh says ten people, mostly from one family, were killed and five wounded in a Coalition airstrike on Abu Maria village east of Tal Afar. [A3maq]
Daesh issues a video of burning Shia religious books in Tal Afar. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. Why issue it now? Daesh captured Tal Afar almost 2 years ago.
Coalition warplanes launched 2 airstrikes on Daesh near Sinjar, destroying a tactical unit and a combat location. [US Digital Media team]
Daesh publishes photos of detonating 2 IEDs on a small bus, allegedly carrying Peshmerga, in the Kharayej area east of Mount Sinjar. [JustPaste]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
The first Saudi consul arrived in Erbil to open his country’s consulate in the KRG. [BasNews]
The Gorran spokesman says Gorran hasn’t responded to the KDP’s call for a meeting because there is no use of talking while the legitimacy of the Parliament is still violated. [SotKurdistan]
The Gorran leader said on Sunday that his movement still insists on “fundamental reforms”. [Sumaria]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Qadisiya. Major General Hamza Abd Zaid, Chief of Qadisiya Police, said that a man wanted on terrorism charges was arrested in his house in the Al-Wihda neighborhood in Diwaniya. The Dera’ Al-Jazeera checkpoint, north of Diwaniya, caught two men trying to smuggle large quantities of ammunition into the city. [Mada]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Political developments
Ankara apparently retreated from earlier expectations of a joint Saudi-Turkish ground operation in Syria on Monday, as Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in Ankara at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart that such an operation was “not on the table.” The FM said that fighting Daesh while “turning our backs to other terrorist organizations” was “never our [Ankara’s] agenda,” in an apparent reference to Turkey’s dissatisfaction with US collaboration with the YPG against Daesh in Syria. [Anadolu]
Turkey is “not concerned” about differences with the United States over the status of the PYD, FM Çavuşoğlu also said on Monday. That seemed to be contradicted by the FM’s statement that Ankara had submitted documents to Washington demonstrating that the YPG was a terrorist group like its Turkish sister group the PKK, according to Turkish assessments, and called on the United States to reverse its support for the YPG in the fight against Daesh. [Anadolu]
The president of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Authority issued a fatwa on Friday denouncing Daesh as un-Islamic, saying it has played on anxiety and fear among Muslims. [Cihan]
Security developments
According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, DNA testing has proven that the February 17 Ankara bomber was “Abdulbaki Sömer,” of the Kurdish militant TAK organization (which claimed responsibility for the attack), and not Saleh Najjar, acting on behalf of the YPG, as the Turkish government had initially claimed. [Cumhuriyet]
DaeshDaily comment: We thank our loyal reader for this tip from the Turkish-language press.
Turkish police captured weapons sent by the Syrian PYD to the Turkish PKK in Turkey’s southeastern Şanlıurfa state, security sources said. [Anadolu]
The Turkish military announced the arrest of 1,220 foreign Daeshis (i.e. members or would-be members of Daesh) on the Turkish border in the last 14 months, a statement by the Chief of Staff announced. The figures included 951 arrested at the border last year and 259 this year. 33 of 81 Daeshis arrested in February were detained attempting to enter Turkey, while 48 were trying to cross into Syria. [Cihan]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Salih Muslim, the leader of the PYD, says that the Syria Democratic Forces now control 20 percent of Syrian territory. [Welati]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Daesh has released the last of the 230 Assyrian hostages from Tal Tamr and nearby villages that it had been holding since it seized last year. 42 Assyrians were released Monday, according to the metropolitan of the Assyrian Church in Hasaka. [ARA]
DaeshDaily comment. Past releases have suggested the probability that these hostages were being freed for ransoms paid to Daesh.
Coalition warplanes launched 7 airstrikes on Daesh near Hasaka, targeting 5 technical units, a combat location, 4 buildings, and 4 vehicles. [US Digital Media team] Coalition warplanes destroyed 2 bridges near Al-Hawl used by Daesh. [US Digital Media team] Coalition warplanes destroyed 3 Daesh buildings and 3 combat locations near Ain Eissa. [US Digital Media team]
Daesh attacked Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) with a vehicle bomb Sunday in a village outside of Shaddadi city, leading to heavy ground fighting between the two sides, amid Coalition airstrikes on Daesh positions. [Qasioun]
The SDF denied a Daesh statement that said Daesh was still in complete control of Shaddadi, announcing that the SDF had “not retreated one step” in the city. [ARA]
Sources inside Shaddadi said Monday that before vacating the city of Shaddadi, Daesh executed all its captives in the central Shaddadi prison, whom it had imprisoned for refusing to join Daesh. The SDF has forbidden journalists from entering the recently captured city, citing ongoing “clearing” operations and Daesh members who remain besieged inside the city. [Qasioun] [ARA]
The SDF announced that it had seized a Daesh mine-making factory inside the Chinese Oil Company plant in Shaddadi. [ARA]
Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists attacked a YPG gathering in Fadghami village southeast of Shaddadi killing or wounding many YPG fighters. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. As usual, the victims might be just civilians in a YPG-controlled village.
Daesh says its terrorists captured Zain Al-Mubrej and Manajid villages west of Shaddadi after a surprise attack on the YPG. [JustPaste]
Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists attacked a YPG gathering in the Abr area south of Al-Hawl killing or wounding many of them. [JustPaste]
Raqqa
Coalition warplanes erroneously struck YPG positions in Ain Eissa Monday morning. There were no reports of casualty figures. The Coalition reportedly made eight strikes in Ain Eissa, but it is not clear how many of them erroneously targeted the YPG to whom the Coalition provides air cover. [Qasioun]
Daesh’s slightly different version says Coalition warplanes mistakenly bombed YPG locations in Ain Eissa and its surroundings with 8 airstrikes. [A3maq]
Coalition planes destroyed a Daesh vehicle in the village of Khirbat Hadla, north of Raqqa, killing a number of Daesh members inside. Coalition planes also targeted the Ibn Khaldoun neighborhood of Raqqa. [Qasioun]
Daesh says Russian warplanes launched 10 airstrikes on Al-Bab and its surrounding areas. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes a video of Syrian armed group fighters “repenting” and joining Daesh. [JustPaste]
Daesh says Syrian armed groups are preventing families from crossing to areas it controls in Aleppo’s countryside for ten days now. However, Daesh says 250 families managed to cross through landmines (video). [A3maq] [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. And who planted the landmines? Daesh is trying to show itself as the only savior of the people of Aleppo. Daesh published several messages asking civilians to come to its areas after the Syrian armed groups were defeated. Obviously Daesh needs more human shields.
Daesh says its terrorists launched a major attack from different sides on Syrian Army positions on the road between Athariya-Khanasir-Safira, cutting off the only Syrian Army supply road to Aleppo, and capturing 2 towns and 8 villages in addition to 2 tanks and several weapons. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it detonated several IEDs on A Syrian Army convoy on the road between Athariya and Silmiya destroying 4 vehicles and killing or wounding more than twenty soldiers. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it besieged Khanaser and the Air Defense Battalion and captured several parts of the battalion after a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb. [A3maq]
Daesh says its terrorists captured Al-Zaarour tower and 7 villages north of Khanaser. [A3maq] [A3maq]
Daesh says it shot down a Russian recon drone near Khanaser. [A3maq]
The YPG announced that one of its fighters was killed in the course of his duties south of Tal Abyad on February 20. [ARA]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Aleppo North
Russian planes erroneously bombed SDF positions north of Aleppo, according to local sources cited by Turkish state media outlet Anadolu, which reports that the airstrikes killed a number of SDF fighters. In another report, by ARA, a fighter from the Jabha Shamiya opposition also reports a Russian strike on the SDF north of Mare’ and says that the Russian attack was accompanied by Syrian surface-to-surface missiles on the SDF positions. [Anadolu] [ARA]
The same Jabha Shamiya fighter cited in the previous story also said that Syrian Army rockets struck several areas in the countryside north of Aleppo on Monday outside the city of Mare’ where opposition fighters of the Fath Halab Operations Room and Islamist fighters of Ahrar Al-Sham are battling against Daesh. Daesh tried to exploit the confusion caused by the surface-to-surface missiles to advance against the militias, causing an outbreak of heavy fighting in which five Daesh members were killed, the Jabha Shamiya fighter said. [ARA]
Aleppo East/South
Daesh withdrew suddenly and without a fight from 27 villages east of Aleppo on Saturday and Saturday, allowing Syrian troops to advance 40 km (25 miles) eastward along the road between Aleppo and Raqqa. [Qasioun]
However, Daesh seized control of several villages on the road linking Aleppo and Hama to the south, an activist said. After fierce battles with the Syrian troops, Daesh took control of the strategic territory, which includes the villages of Tel Tawil and Talat Qara. From this position it can block the Syrian Army supply line to its troops west of Aleppo on the Athariya-Khanasir road. [ARA] [Qasioun]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh fought pitched battles Monday with Syrian troops on the road between Mahin and Qaryatayn in Homs governorate, amid artillery fire exchanged between the two sides. [Qasioun]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
A video of Coalition warplanes destroying a Daesh weapons storehouse in Bukamal. [Facebook]
South
The Ansar Al-Sharia militia and the Al-Mutasim Bi-llah militia in the Damascus neighborhood of Al-Qaboun have announced their membership in the Al-Nusra Front, according to statements circulated online. [ARA]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Kuwait. The chief of staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces has reaffirmed his country’s support for the Saudi-led “Islamic Coalition” against Daesh, in remarks delivered Monday before the chiefs of staff of the 29 Coalition countries. [Aawsat]
North Africa
Egypt
A 19-year-old civilian was killed and 16 people, including four policemen, were injured in an IED attack on a police armored vehicle near Street 20 in Arish on Sunday evening. [Arabi21] [ElWatan] [VetoGate]
An IED exploded on a police armored vehicle on Sunday in Sheikh Zuweid, injuring a police officer. Another IED exploded around the same time near Bir Al-Abed city, injuring five other policemen. This is apparently the first time that a suspected Daesh attack has occurred near Bir Al-Abed. [VetoGate] [Arabi21]
Egyptian security troops conducted arrest operations at dawn in Sheikh Zuweid, reportedly detaining three “very dangerous” members of the Daesh-affiliated Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis group, and destroying four Ansar sites and four of the group’s motorcycles. [VetoGate]
Egyptian troops defused two IEDs in Arish on Monday, near the Mubarak Garden in the Al-Masaeid neighborhood. [VetoGate]
The cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah have been without electricity for five days in a row. [ElWatan]
Libya
Northeast
French intelligence believes Daesh has been using planes and boats to bring its fighters from Syria and Iraq to Libya, according to a recent report in the French newspaper Le Journal de Dimanche which cites “a source close to French intelligence.” The report also says that French intel estimates the number of Daesh members in Libya between 3,500 and 5,000, of whom ten are reckoned to be from France. [AfriGate] [leJDD (French)]
Daesh and the Mujahidin Derna Shura Council (MDSC) fought intermittent battles Sunday in the eastern coastal “400” neighborhood of Derna and the Al-Fata’ih heights overlooking the city, according to a source within the city. The source said that the fighting largely erupted as the MDSC continued clearing IEDs and mopping up areas from which Daesh had retreated in earlier fighting. MDSC also reportedly intermittently shelled suspected Daesh positions in the Al-Fata’ih area. Daesh’s fighters in Al-Fata’ih heights appear exhausted after suffering heavy losses in recent fighting. [Wasat]
Daesh says it launched a massive attack on Libyan armed groups in the Sahel area in Derna, after detonating a parked car bomb, killing more than 20 fighters and wounding “tens” and capturing a vehicle and weapons and ammunition. [JustPaste]
Daesh has engaged in heavy fighting with the Libyan Armed Forces and its local allied militias in Benghazi, a high-level military source said. The Libyan military is trying to impose its control over the western areas of the city, especially the neighborhoods of Qanfouda and Mreisa, the source said. Libyan planes have stepped up night raids on Daesh sites, and ground troops have made advances against “terrorist groups,” inflicting casualties and seizing weapons, ammunition, and vehicles, the source said. [AfriGate]
Daesh says it detonated an IED on a Libyan Army vehicle in Laithi in Benghazi, killing two soldiers and wounding others. Daesh also says its terrorists attacked another Libyan Army vehicle in Bilad, killing two soldiers and damaging the vehicle. [JustPaste]
Daesh says its snipers killed three Libyan Army soldiers in the Bu Hzaima area in Benghazi. [JustPaste]
Central
Unidentified warplanes struck two Daesh positions in Sirte on Sunday evening, residents report. [Arabiya]
Daesh cut off the hand of a young Egyptian man on Sunday in Sirte for theft, according to local sources and eyewitnesses. [Wasat]
Northwest
A boat carrying Daesh members was attacked from the air off the cost of Sabratha, according to media reports. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack. [AfriGate]
The head of the Tripoli-based National Oil Company has warned that Libyan oil facilities will face more attacks, saying that an attack last week on the Al-Fida’ oilfield was likely perpetrated by Daesh. [Wasat]
A young Tunisian man, “Kamal Ahmad Yusif” was captured in Gharyan on Sunday while he was distributing leaflets calling for the local people to follow Daesh, a security source said. [Wasat]
Tunisia
The Tunisian military attacked a boat traveling from Algeria through Tunisian waters, carrying 10 Algerians and Moroccans traveling to join Daesh in Libya, according to the Tunisian defense ministry and Algerian media reports. Four of the ten were wounded by Tunisian gunfire before the group was captured. [Wasat]
Tunisian authorities captured a group of three young “veiled women” ranging in age from 18 to 24, who were reportedly attempting to reach Libya to join Daesh, according to media reports. [Hadath]
Algeria
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra told the Algerian press on Sunday that any international operations against terrorism must come in the framework of international legitimacy and with respect for sovereignty and the stability of his country. Algerian politicians from major political parties and various government officials have publicly opposed the building movement for international intervention in Libya, warning of regional instability in the case of a Western-led intervention. [Wasat] [Wasat]
The Algerian foreign ministry has expressed reservations over announcements that Algerians were among those killed in a house in Sabratha, Libya, believed to be used by Daesh, which was destroyed in an American airstrike last week. Algerian officials claimed that there was no data to support the claim that Algerians were present and said that fewer Algerians in general had traveled to join Daesh than nationals of other countries in the region, particularly Tunisians. [Wasat]
Morocco. An alleged pro-Daesh cell which was recently arrested by Moroccan authorities was plotting to bomb the Moroccan parliament by sending a 16-year-old to detonate himself with the explosives, according to the official Morocco media agency. [IslamMemo]
Other countries
Yemen
A video of a former Daesh member exposes a Daesh publication where the “Houthis” who were supposedly killed in the publications are just Daesh “actors” and the blood used was Vimto! [YouTube]
Sudan
Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters on Sunday that the question of sending ground troops into Syria as part of the Saudi-led “Islamic Coalition” against Daesh is “not on the table for discussion yet.” [Anadolu]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Daesh’s A3maq page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/sheko91668232
https://twitter.com/Muslema8889
https://twitter.com/AbouHaydar9
