February 29, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
Leaders react to deadly weekend bombings in Baghdad.
Government booklet reflects anxiety about possible flood disaster from Mosul Dam.
Daesh makes unsuccessful attacks on Haqlaniya in Haditha.
Daesh attack on condolence ceremony in Muqdadiya kills 34, including PMF leaders.
Baghdadi’s German wife disappears from Mosul; he puts a trace on her.
Coalition airstrikes kill 45 Daesh members and destroy three Daesh buildings in Mosul.
PUK official alleges that the cash crisis in KRG is because Turkey is holding their money.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
The UNAMI rep in Iraq issued a statement denouncing the Sunday attack in Sadr City, saying it aims at creating sectarian violence. Ninety-six people were killed or wounded in a double attack. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. [Mada]
Prime Minister Abadi met in Baghdad Operations Command with security leaders and formed a committee to investigate the terrorist attacks in Shula and Sadr City. Security leaders gave a briefing about the Daesh attack on Abu Ghraib and how security forces controlled the situation and killed the terrorists. [Mada]
Abadi also visited the explosion location in Sadr City and says such cowardly terrorist attacks against civilians will not stop Iraq from fighting and defeating terrorism. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. Reading Daesh supporters’ (and others’) comments about these attacks against civilians is sickening, to say the least. Many are happy when innocent civilians, including women and children, get killed in such terrorist attacks. The gloating over murders of innocent people is one discovery from the social media phenomenon. But these enablers are part of a long history of dehumanizing people.
Much of the motive is just sectarian hatred. The general idea is to kill all the Shia or force them to leave the “lands of Islam”. One clear example is a pro-government/anti-Daesh Saudi cleric, called Hamoud bin Ali Al-Omari. He said in 2013: “The Shia are infidels . . . and they are no different than the infidels in the Prophet’s days, if not worse. The only solution to the Shia is beheading”. The same message is being repeated by Saudi funded mosques all over the world. Millions of people are being raised on this rhetoric of hatred, where the “others” are not human beings. The results are reflected in the actions of Al-Qaeda and Daesh, among others. Only a few can see the larger truth–that this is just a part of the unholy power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The rest believe it’s a religious war.
The Iraqi Minister of Justice says in a speech in the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva that Daesh crimes should be documented and exposed in front of the world. He also says Daesh should not be referred to as Islamic because it doesn’t represent Islam. [Sumaria]
Moqtada Al-Sadr calls for a “peaceful and angry” demonstration near the Green Zone on Friday. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. In the time when Iraq is bleeding, Sadr is trying to score political points. He also expects Al-Abadi to choose new ministers from a list of “independent” people submitted by the Sadrists. Al-Abadi appeared on TV and criticized Sadr, without naming him.
In a startling development, the Iraqi government issued a booklet calling on people living along the banks of the Tigris to temporarily move away from the river bank in case of flooding due to the Mosul Dam problem. The booklet called on the people of Mosul to move 6 km from the river; those in Tikrit 5 km; those between Tikrit and Samarra 6.5 km; and greater distances were recommended for populations living east of the river. [Keremlash]
DaeshDaily comment. After numerous reassurances, this suggests that the government has actually been worried about the Dam, whose failure could be catastrophic. The explanation behind the booklet is either that they got worried enough to get honest or that the recent expert evaluation has lowered their confidence in the Dam’s reliability.
The American Embassy in Baghdad refuted local media reports that they were downsizing the Embassy’s staff because of warnings about the collapse of the Mosul Dam. [Rudaw]
The Ninewa Provincial Council met in its temporary location in Alqosh, 40 km (25 miles) north of Mosul near Dahuk, and voted against the participation of the PMFs in Ninewa’s liberation, 22 to 10. [Mada] A dissenting member of the council issued a statement rejecting the resolution, saying the PC doesn’t have the authority to prevent the PMFs from participating, and the decision belongs to PM Abadi, the Commander-in-Chief. [Mada]
The “United” coalition, the Sunni CoR bloc led by Osama Al-Nujaifi, welcomed the Ninewa provincial council “brave” resolution and asks the government to arm and train people from Ninewa to be the main force to liberate the governorate. [Sumaria]
A Sunni MP from Ninewa says the participation of the PMFs in Ninewa liberation is a decision that belongs to the Prime Minister. He also says the Ninewa Provincial Council talks about PMF crimes but keeps silent about the Peshmerga crimes in Ninewa. [Sumaria]
Likewise, a member of the PMF Commission says the participation of the PMFs in Ninewa liberation will be decided by PM Abadi. He also says that Daesh is thanking the Ninewa provincial council for its resolution. [Sumaria]
Jabbar Yawer, the general secretary of the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga, said the agreement with Baghdad covers the presence of only the Iraqi army in Makhmur and no other force will be allowed. [PUKMedia]
DaeshDaily comment. This story seems straightforward, but the sub-plots are the problem. There are Shia PMFs, who want to participate but have so far been excluded by Al-Abadi, mostly to avoid sectarian and political complications. There are smaller groups of religious minorities, including Shia Turkmen, Christians, and Shabaks, who also want to be included, some working with the government and some with the Peshmerga. Then there are Nujaifi’s separatist NMFs, who are pariahs to the government but keep making noises about participating in the liberation. These include some of the same people who abandoned Mosul in 2014. Yes, the Iraqi Army didn’t do its job in protecting the city, but 30,000 local policemen suddenly disappeared or joined Daesh? How could the minorities in Ninewa, who were bossed around and then abandoned by the former governor and his gang, accept to be excluded while Nujaifi’s men surface again, this time under a Turkish flag.
Khalil Al-Ubaidi, the Minister of Defense, discussed the Ninewa liberation preparations with General Sean McFarland, commander of the Coalition forces in Iraq, and Stuart Jones, the US Ambassador. [AIN]
Ashton Carter, the US Secretary of Defense, said Iraqi forces will lead the effort to liberate Mosul and that the US will provide all the support required, just like what happened in Ramadi. He said “the momentum is ours now”. [AIN]
Security developments
Hadi Al-Amiri, the commander of Badr militia of the PMF, personally oversaw security arrangements in Abu Ghraib in west Baghdad following the foiled Daesh attack on the area Sunday that reached and occupied the silo of Khan Dhari before the intervention of Counter Terror forces killed the attackers. Al-Amiri said that the attack shows the importance of liberating Falluja as soon as possible. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. We endorse that opinion. Much of the threat to Baghdad derives from its location next to Anbar. The Abu Ghraib District, in Baghdad Governorate but not in the city, is next to Anbar and the Falluja District. Taking Daesh out of Falluja should make Baghdad safer.
Sabah Noman, the spokesman of the Counter Terrorism Service says the CTS is ready to repel any operation in Baghdad, as happened in Abu Ghraib on Sunday. He added that “we are highly trained and well equipped, and all our units, including the tactical unit, is in full state of readiness”. [Maalomah]
A video of Iraqi security forces in Abu Ghraib. [Sumaria]
The Joint Operations Command spokesman says Daesh is trying to gain a media victory and it attacked Abu Ghraib to take advantage of the bad weather conditions. He thanked the tribal fighters in Abu Ghraib who helped Iraqi forces to annihilate the attackers. He also says the coming days will bring major victories for Iraqi forces. [Sumaria]
A curfew was imposed in Abu Ghraib following Daesh’s Sunday attacks, but was lifted today, a police source said. [Maalomah] [Sumaria]
Daesh published photos of its Abu Ghraib operation. [Rudaw]
The CoR Defense and Security Committee held the Baghdad Operations Command responsible for the terrorist attacks in Sadr City and earlier in Shula. Iskander Witwit, member of the committee, said that he will ask the committee to summon the BOC Commander for questioning. The Prime Minister ordered that a special committee investigate the two incidents. [Maalomah]
Mohammed Al-Rubaie deputy chairman of the Committee, said General Abdul Ameer Al-Shimmari, the BOC Commander, will be questioned by the CoR on Wednesday. [Mawazin]
55th Army found an IED and two mortar shells in Karaghoul, in far southern Baghdad, the BOC said. [PUK]
The Iraqi Air Force (IAF) command and the Czech Ministry of Defense discussed designating Iraqi pilots to train on the L-159 Czech warplanes in the Czech Republic, and placement of Czech trainers at Balad airbase in Salahuddin for the same purpose. [Maalomah]
The following security incidents were reported:
North Baghdad
The bodies of two men shot to death were found in Rashidiya. [Maalomah]
An IED near commercial shops in Hamamiyat village in Taji District killed one civilian and wounded eight. [Mada]
A security source says security forces captured four suspects wanted on terrorism charges and destroyed 3 booby-trapped houses in Tarmiya District. [Maalomah]
Armed men in a 4-wheel drive car opened fire and wounded a civilian in the Ur neighborhood in Shaab. [Ghad]
A Katyusha rocket was fired on the Saba’ Al-Bor area. The rocket caused damage to a house but no human casualties. [Sumaria]
East Baghdad
Two armed men on a motorcycle shot and killed two civilians in a civilian car in Binouk neighborhood. [Sumaria]
Southeast Baghdad
An IED near a coffee shop in Zafaraniya killed two civilians and wounded seven.[ Mada]
Daesh says its terrorists assassinated three Iraqi intelligence officers in Mada’in District on Sunday. [A3maq]
South Baghdad
The bodies of two men shot to death were found behind the Al-Rasheed vegetable market in the Abu Dsheer area of Dora. [Mada]
Daesh says it detonated an IED yesterday on a PMFs’ gathering in Abu Dsheer, killing two of them. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it killed an Iraqi Army source with an IED in Arab Jabour. [JustPaste]
An IED in a popular market in Al-Qasr Al-Awsat in Yusufiyah killed one civilian and wounded three. [Maalomah]
A booby-trapped house was found in Sadr Al-Yusufiyah by the 17th Army. 4 IEDs were found in the house, the IWMC said. [Ghad]
Southwest Baghdad
An IED in a popular market in the Al-Turath neighborhood of southwest Baghdad killed two civilians and wounded two. [Mada]
Armed men opened fire and killed a hairdresser in his car in Saidiya. [Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 15 (Not an overall total)
Coalition warplanes executed 13 raids over Iraq, targeting selected targets in Jubba, Dolab, and Ramadi; Tal Afar and Sinjar; and Shirqat–destroying a car bomb, supply lines, 7 Daesh positions, two gathering centers, rocket launching platforms, and a mortar position. [Ghad]
ANBAR
Falluja
BOC said in a statement that its forces are continuing to clear Albu Shijil, Qarma, and Taqsim and have killed 4 terrorists and destroyed 33 IEDs and 3 vehicles in the process. Rapid Intervention forces killed one terrorist in the Hitawiyeen area. [PUK]
A statement by the PMF of Falluja said army and security forces liberated Hamdaniya and Al-Masna’ Al-Iraqi southeast of Qarma District, including areas from which Sunday’s attacks on Abu Ghraib were launched. 16 Daesh terrorists were killed and 5 vehicles were destroyed. [Mada]
Col. Juma’a Faza’ Al-Jumaili, commander of the tribal mobilization in Qarma, said tribal forces participated in the Al-Masna’ Al-Iraqi operation and that 50% of it was liberated. He said that the coming few hours will witness its full liberation. [Maalomah]
A Ministry of Interior sources says a suicide terrorist in a car bomb attacked a joint Iraqi Army and PMFs checkpoint in Subaihat in Qarma, killing five fighters and wounding ten. [Rudaw]
Daesh says a “Farsi” suicide terrorist attacked Iraqi forces with car bomb near Abadi in Qarma, killing many soldiers and PMF fighters and destroying 5 vehicles. [JustPaste]
Daesh says its terrorists stopped an Iraqi forces attack on the same area killing 11 soldiers and destroying a vehicle. Daesh says 30 soldiers were killed in the suicide attack mentioned above. [A3maq]
Daesh says 35 Iraqi soldiers and 17 tribal fighters were killed when its terrorists rocketed them in Albu Daaij near Ameriyat Al-Falluja. [A3maq]
Daesh says Coalition warplanes mistakenly bombed Iraqi forces twice near Al-Mazraa camp east of Falluja. [A3maq]
Daesh issues a video of battles in Zoba’a. [VideoWood]
Daesh publishes photos of a mosque and farms in Nuaimiya. [JustPaste]
Ramadi
A member of the Anbar Provincial Council says tribal leaders, including Majid Al-Ali Al-Suleiman and others, arrived in Ramadi and areas east of the city to reopen their Madhafat (tribal guesthouses) as part of the effort to restore normal life in Ramadi. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh destroyed many houses of Ramadi tribal leaders and killed some of their family members when it captured the city.
35 Daesh terrorists were killed by the 10th infantry division, which repelled a wide scale attack in Hamdhiya. The 50th Army battalion killed 13 more and Coalition war planes 4 more in the same area, IWMC said. [Ghad]
Ali Dawood, Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council, said Coalition warplanes destroyed the largest Daesh oil storage facility in Albu Bali in Jazeera Al-Khaldiya, as well as all oil and diesel tankers used by Daesh for fueling. [Sumaria]
6 Coalition air raids in Ramadi killed 20 terrorists, two gathering positions, a defensive position, and a heavy weapons location, IWMC said. [Ghad]
Hit/Haditha
The IWMC said army troops killed 6 suicide attackers in two separate incidents in Haqlaniya subdistrict. In the first incident, a man in civilian clothes attacked a Rapid Intervention command center checkpoint, but was shot dead. In the second, 5 suicide attackers trying to attack a command center were shot dead by Rapid Intervention soldiers. [Sumaria]
In what appears to be reporting on the same incidents, with different numbers, an attack by Daesh terrorists in Haqlaniya using medium and heavy weapons killed 5 tribal fighters and wounded two policemen. The attack was repelled by the security forces, according to an Anbar Operations Command source. [Mada] In a separate report from the same media source, 7 Daesh terrorists were killed and 3 arrested in a foiled Daesh attack on Haqlaniya. Three machine gun mounted vehicles and a rocket launching platform were destroyed, according to the PMFs of Haditha. [Mada]
Daesh’s version says 5 of its suicide terrorists attacked the Emergency Police checkpoint in Haqlaniya killing everyone there, then attacked the police station and nearby military positions before detonating themselves, killing a lot of Iraqi forces fighters. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. The 5 terrorists appearing in Daesh’s photo are masked. Why would they mask themselves if they were going to die anyway? As in the Abu Ghraib attack, however, Daesh sleeper cells likely played an important role in this one.
Here Daesh publishes a photo of 8 terrorists saying they were the ones who attacked Haqlaniya. The faces of four of them were erased. [JustPaste]
A comprehensive curfew was imposed on Haditha and all of its surrounding areas, according to Saoud Harb Al-Dulaimi, commander of the 14th Rapid Intervention battalion. He said that after a series of Daesh attacks, army and security forces are on alert in anticipation of more possible attacks. [Mada]
107th artillery regiment killed 5 terrorists in an artillery shelling on Daesh positions in Jubba, north of Baghdadi in Hit District, IWMC said. [Ghad]
Western Anbar
Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh convoy heading from Rutba to the Kilo 35 area in Ramadi to attack a military command center. The convoy took a desert route but was destroyed, and all those in the convoy were killed. [Sumaria]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
Salahuddin Operation Command said 1,000 soldiers in addition to tanks and armored vehicles arrived in Baiji and were deployed south of Shirqat District in preparation for the anticipated liberation of the city. The source says the situation in the city is deteriorating and people are suffering from the lack of food and from Daesh’s daily crimes. [Ghad]
Fresh PMF forces also arrived in the area, coming from Kut camp, for the same purpose, the IWMC said. [Mawazin]
Tikrit
The Security Committee of Salahuddin denied rumors that poisonous chemicals were released by Daesh rocket attacks on Al-Zuhur in Tikrit. A bad smell that accompanied the fall of these rockets terrified people in the local population. [Mawazin]
Coalition warplanes attacked Daesh terrorists approaching Allas and Ajeel oil fields, killing 16 and wounding 10, the IWMC said. [Ghad]
Samarra
The 1st battalion of Salahuddin Police repelled a Daesh attack on its front lines in Abbasiya, northwest of Samarra, killing five attackers, a security source said. [Ghad]
Iraqi F16s bombed a Daesh gathering, communication towers, and machine gun mounted vehicles in Jazeera Samarra, destroying the targets and killing over 50 terrorists, while an army CH4 drone destroyed a car bomb preparing to attack army forces in the same area, the IWMC said. [Ghad]
Waadallah militia of the PMF repelled a Daesh attack on the Buhayrat (dried lakes) area in the Strategic Line area west of Samarra. The militia said Daesh is trying to recover this area, taken from it earlier, and that such attacks are expected. [Ayn Iraq]
Daesh says its terrorists shot at and struck an Iraqi helicopter and forced it to make an emergency landing at Samarra Operations Command headquarters. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling Iraqi forces with Grads west of Samarra. [DawaAlhaq]
DIYALA
Baquba
Unidentified armed men with automatic rifles opened fire and killed a Ministry of Interior colonel as he left his house in Hibhib subdistrict, southwest of Baquba, a source in Diyala Police said. [Maalomah]
Muqdadiya/Abu Saida
There was a deadly attack on a condolence ceremony in Muqdadiya. The final count for casualties in Muqdadiya was 34 killed and 43 wounded. [Sumaria] A suicide bomber attacked the gathering this past evening. 4 PMF local leaders were killed in the attack. [Mawazin] Ali Hamad, an AAH leader in Muqdadiya, was killed in the explosion. [Mawazin] 3 days mourning was announced by the District. [Sumaria]
A curfew was imposed, according to Col. Ghalib Al-Attiya, media spokesman of Diyala Police. [Baghdadia]
Daesh officially claimed responsibility through its electronic websites. It named the suicide attacker as Abu Ayub al-Badri, and claims he killed 60 including 4 AAH leaders and wounded 100. [Shafaq] Parliament Speaker Saleem Al-Jubouri, who is from Diyala, strongly denounced the attack, saying Daesh is trying to compensate for its major defeats. [Ghad] [Ghad]
Clashes erupted between the army and the PMF following the condolence session attack for unknown reasons, a security source in Muqdadiya said. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. We haven’t yet confirmed the last report from any other source.
Daesh publishes 2 photos of destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee with an IED in Zaghniya Kabira village in Abbara subdistrict. [JustPaste]
The Diyala Governor denied the reports about armed men capturing the police station of Muqdadiya and asked people not to believe rumors. [Sumaria]
He also says (Sunni) MPs from Diyala should be held accountable for the Muqdadiya attack because they directly intervened and moved a police emergency battalion from the city a week ago, exposing it to terrorist attacks. [Sumaria]
A Sunni MP from Diyala responded by saying the Governor should not blame other people and the governorate is facing a “security collapse.” He asked for troops from outside the governorate. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. We just wonder why a group of legislators would even be in position to make a police department decision.
KIRKUK
Daesh executed three men in Hawija for writing statements on walls against Daesh’s leader and demanding that Daesh leave the city. The bodies and heads of the executed men were hung on power poles in the city, a source in the city said. [Sumaria]
Daesh shelled Taza subdistrict with 5 locally made rockets without causing human casualties, a security source in Kirkuk said. A Coalition air attack also took place on a Daesh convoy of four vehicles heading to Tarqiya village. The convoy was destroyed; the exact casualty figures are unavailable. [Mada]
NINEWA
Mosul
The German wife of Awwad Al-Baghdadi, the leader of Daesh, disappeared mysteriously with two of her closest servants, a source in Ninewa said. The source added that Al-Baghdadi ordered a special unit of Daesh to trace the woman and arrest her. She held a position that allowed her to oversee women’s issues. Iraqi and German intelligence reportedly have full details on the woman and her activities. [Karemlash]
Daesh hisbah office arrested 30 men in the marketplace in downtown Qayara, and moved them to an unknown location, according to a Ninewa Police source. The source added that Daesh’s pressure on men in Qayara is constantly increasing amidst news of Iraqi forces closing in on the city. [BasNews]
Daesh executed two mosque Imams, Azhar Nouriddin Al-Habbal and Qasim Yahya Al-Nuaimai, in the Ghabat area north of Mosul, The official reason was their rejection of compulsory recruitment of young men to fight for Daesh. [BasNews]
A Coalition air raid killed over 30 terrorists (most of them Syrians) in a Daesh command center near Mosul city. The raid also destroyed 40 large trucks assigned for foodstuff transfers between Raqqa and Mosul. However, the raid accidentally killed 5 civilians. [Mada]
Gayath Sourachi, PUK media official, said a Daesh command center in the cultural complex on the east side of Mosul was destroyed and 15 terrorists killed by Coalition airstrikes. The warplanes also bombed the university campus in Al-Shifa’ neighborhood, manned by Daesh terrorists, and the university print house used by Daesh for training, killing “tens” of terrorists. [PUKMedia]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters attacked a Daesh “media center” in the Domiz intersection in the Palestine neighborhood in Mosul, killing a Daesh member. [KM Facebook Page]
Nineveh Plain
Gayath Sourachi, PUK media official said Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh in Terjella village in Bartella and destroyed two Daesh vehicle bombs. The vehicles were prepared to attack Peshmerga locations in Bashiqa. [PUKMedia]
Coalition warplanes bombed Kahnash village in Bartella, killing the new wali of Kahnash, Abu Dhabi Tammam Al-Hamad, a Saudi national, and burning out 29 or more vehicles, the IWMC said. [Ghad]
Makhmur
New army units of the 71st brigade of the 15th army division arrived in Makhmur to join forces already there in preparation for the liberation of Mosul, military sources in Makhmur said. [Ghad]
Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Gayath Sourachi, PUK media official, said 5 terrorists including two snipers were killed by Coalition airstrikes on Hamadan checkpoint and Tel Al-Qasab complex in Sinjar. [PUKMedia]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
A PUK official says Turkey has been holding the KRG’s oil revenues for the last six months, demanding that the PUK and Gorran change their positions regarding the “Kurdish people’s struggle in Turkey and Syria”. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. It’s a bombshell if it’s true, but it seems hard to believe and needs to be verified. The irony is that the KRG’s oil money is in the hands of the Turks because the Kurds chose recently to spite Baghdad and sell its oil directly, for which Turkey was the conduit.
Whatever the truth of the allegation, we have a source in Suleimaniya saying that there is a major cash crisis there, and that people are not receiving their salaries, with personnel defined as essential forced to work without salaries. This raises a critical question: If the KRG is selling its own oil, why is it so badly off it can’t pay people? The oil-price crisis is one reason but can’t explain it all. This adds credibility to the Turkey allegation.
The PUK official’s allegation infers that policy toward the PKK is the issue. President Barzani turned publicly against the PKK—a major political development—to strengthen his political alliance with Erdogan. There have been suspicions, however, that the PUK is still friendly with the PKK, and PKK soldiers have been seen in Kirkuk. The PYD/YPG Kurds in Syria who work with the American military are considered part of PKK by Erdogan, thus making political parties other than the KDP the friends of traitors in his mind.
Add to this the political crisis in the KRG, with Barzani having no legal position now and thus acting without authority, but still preventing Gorran ministers from serving in the government, which the PUK has also opposed.
Turkish planes bombed the Nerwa Rekan area in the Amedi District in northern Dahuk, targeting PKK positions. The bombardment lasted over 30 minutes. [Sumaria]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Basra
Southern Areas Customs Department found unlicensed military supplies inside clothing containers intended to be smuggled into the country. The shipment includes night vision equipment, military outfits, and surveillance cameras. [Baghdadia]
Kerbala
Ibtisam Al-Hilali, CoR member for the State of Law bloc, escaped an assassination attempt when two men on a motorcycle shot at her convoy in Al-Zuhur neighborhood in north Kerbala, causing damage to some of the convoy vehicles. [Baghdadia]
Babel
One suspect was arrested on terrorism charges in Iskandariya in northern Babel, among 10 others arrested for different charges, a security source said. [Sumaria]
A member of Babel PC says security forces started the procedures to check the files of families that want to return to Jurf Al-Sakhar, to make sure family members were not involved in terrorism and killing Iraqis. [Sumaria]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Political developments
Turkish President Erdogan said Monday that “there is no cease-fire throughout Syria presently,” saying that “unfortunately attacks are continuing in some areas as they were before.” [Anadolu]
Military developments
Turkish military units shelled ten Daesh sites north of Aleppo from across the border on Sunday, a security source said. The sites included ammunition stores, and rocket launchers, the source said. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Daesh executed 2142 civilians, including 87 children and 121 women, in Syria since announcing its caliphate 20 months ago. [BasNews]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Syria Democratic Forces fighters battled Daesh in villages between Shaddadi and Markada on Sunday, amid Coalition airstrikes on Daesh positions, a local source said. A YPG commander said his troops had advanced 10 km (6 miles) south of Shaddadi city in operations to secure the area around the city which the SDF recently captured from Daesh. [ARA]
Two landmines planted by Daesh exploded in the Hasaka countryside, the Asayesh announced, one west of Hasaka city near the Abyad Bridge, which killed two civilians and wounded others, and another south of Shaddadi which injured two people on a motorcycle. [ARA]
Daesh pilfered all of the electricity and gas plant equipment from the power station serving Shaddadi, the sector’s electricity official said after a field visit to the site of the plant. [Hawar]
Daesh rocketed areas west of Tishrin Dam on Saturday, Hawar’s correspondent reports. [Hawar]
Daesh issues a video of its foreign suicide bombers in Raqqa. [VideoWood]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked a YPG security barrier east of Suluk subdistrict in Raqqa, killing or wounding many YPG fighters. Daesh says at the same time 20 other terrorists attacked 3 villages east of the Tishrin Dam killing some YPG fighters before returning safely. [JustPaste]
Daesh says its terrorists cut off the road between Ras Al-Ain and Tal Abyad after they retreated from Tal Abyad. (See below) [A3maq] [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh issues a video of battles near Suluk. [A3maq]
Tal Abyad
Several explosions were reported Monday in the Tal Abyad countryside north of Raqqa in what appeared to be mine-clearing operations by the YPG of mines laid by Daesh during its brief control of the area over the weekend. Local activists said that in its clearing operations the YPG bulldozed all but one building in the village of Al-Uwaydiya, and seized the remaining structure for use as the militia’s field headquarters.
Daesh launched an assault on the city of Tal Abyad north of Raqqa on Saturday, holding territory overnight before being pushed back on Sunday by the Syria Democratic Forces with heavy Coalition air support. Daesh executed Asad Bashir Al-Yasin, a Turkmen sheikh, while it briefly controlled the city of Ain Al-Arous, a few miles from Tal Abyad. Daesh lost 70 fighters in the fighting for Tal Abyad while the YPG lost 11, a YPG source said Monday. The YPG also reportedly captured 30 Daesh fighters.
[Reuters (English)] [ARA] [Qasioun] [Qasioun] [Qasioun]
On Monday the Syria Democratic Forces announced that the city of Hammam Al-Turkmen was free of Daesh presence after heavy fighting. Daesh fighters infiltrated into the area on Saturday during the Tal Abyad fighting. [Welati]
A YPG commander in Tal Abyad blames Turkey for sending Daesh to Tal Abyad. [Hawar]
Photo and video of Daesh weapons and equipment seized from Tal Abyad. [Hawar]
Graphic photos of mopping-up a Daesh cell in Ain Al-Arous. [Hawar]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Aleppo, East
Heavy fighting erupted west of Kobane around the city of Al-Shuyoukh Foqani on Monday after Daesh militants crossed the Euphrates River and attacked YPG and SDF positions on the river’s eastern bank, a YPG fighter said. The fighting is concentrated especially around the village of Nasariya, the fighter added. The two sides have been trading artillery fire, the fighter said, explaining that Daesh is shelling from its positions in Jarabulus west of the Euphrates. Coalition planes are supporting the SDF and YPG fighters in the battle, which is still ongoing, the source said. [ARA]
Syrian Army troops and allied militias are in complete control of the Khanasir–Aleppo road southeast of Aleppo as of Monday, an activist said, describing heavy fighting between the Syrian troops and allies on the one side and Daesh on the other amid Russian airstrikes on Daesh positions. Syrian Army troops suffered heavy losses in fighting with Daesh around the city of Athariya southeast of Aleppo on Saturday in its bid to seize territory around the strategic road that links Aleppo to Hama. [ARA] [Qasioun]
Daesh says its terrorists killed 60 Hezbollah and Iranian militia fighters and destroyed 4 tanks and an armored vehicle and recaptured Al-Maghara and Al-Hammam villages between Athariya and Khanasir. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of the weapons and ammunitions it captured in the Al-Hammam area south of Khanasir. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of battles between Athariya and Silmiya. [JustPaste]
Daesh says its terrorists destroyed a Syrian Army tank in the same area. [A3maq]
Aleppo and north
One of the most prominent Al-Qaeda leaders in Syria was killed in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo, activists said. Saif Al-Islam Al-Shishani was reportedly killed by Kurdish militia fighters in battles around Sheikh Maqsoud in the last week. The slain militant, originally from the Caucasus region, is said to have been close to Salah Al-Din Al-Shishani, who led attacks by foreign fighters against Kurdish militias in the area. [Rudaw]
The Jaysh Al-Thuwar/Revolutionaries Army militia, which is part of the Syria Democratic Forces, announced it found three Nusra Front explosives factories in Tal Rifaat in far northern Aleppo (photos). [Hawar]
Daesh says its terrorists stopped a Syrian armed groups attack, supported by American airpower and Turkish artillery, on Tal Battal, Qara Kubri and Azzatiya villages in Aleppo’s northern countryside. Daesh says its terrorists clashed with the armed groups’ fighters for 5 hours before forcing them to enter a landmine field. Daesh says its terrorists killed many of the fighters and wounded others and captured one and forced the rest to flee. [A3maq] [A3maq]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh publishes a photo of a Russian drone its terrorists shot down in Hama’s eastern countryside. [JustPaste]
Daesh executed several of its own members, including an Algerian and a Tunisian, in Mayadin and Deir Ez-Zor over the last several days, some on announced charges including sexual misconduct and others without announcing the reasons, according to local sources. [Arabi21]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Russian warplanes struck residential areas of a village west of Deir Ez-Zor on Saturday, killing and injuring civilians. The same day, Daesh fought heavy ground battles with Syrian troops in the Baghiliya area amid Russian airstrikes on Daesh positions. Daesh mortared residential buildings in Deir Ez-Zor, killing two civilians and injuring “tens” of others, amid heavy fighting Saturday between Daesh and Syrian troops in areas around Deir Ez-Zor military airport. Syrian troops fired artillery at Daesh-held areas destroying buildings. [Qasioun]
South
Opposition militias fought with Daesh on Sunday in the Al-Zayn neighborhood in south Damascus, on the border between the “Black Rock” area and the small city of Yelda. The militias fired heavy machine guns at Daesh positions causing damage. [Qasioun]
Jaysh Al-Islam militia captured a “prominent Daesh commander” and several other Daesh fighters in Al-Dumeir city in Rif Damashq, the militia announced. The capture of the Daesh members came after Daesh attacked buildings in the area, killing innocent civilians and sparking clashes between Daesh on the one side and Jaysh Al-Islam and “The Martyr Ahmad Abdu Forces” on the other, the statement said. Further and more violent fighting is expected, the statement adds, saying that coming days will see the complete elimination of the Daesh presence in Al-Dumeir. [ARA]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Egyptian troops killed 11 suspected Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis members in two operations in North Sinai, including one air operation in which an Apache helicopter struck a 4-wheel drive vehicle killing five people inside, in villages south of Sheikh Zuweid Monday. [ElWatan]
A police officer was killed Sunday when masked gunmen opened fire on him in front of his house in North Sinai. [ElWatan]
An IED exploded Monday on policemen performing clearing operations south of Sheikh Zuweid, injuring four. Another IED exploded on a security vehicle south of Arish on Monday, injuring a police officer and a policeman. [ElWatan] [VetoGate]
Unknown gunmen fired on an ambulance carrying wounded soldiers from Sheikh Zuweid on Monday, damaging the vehicle. [VetoGate]
An IED exploded Saturday killing two soldiers and injuring two others south of Rafah. A security source said Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis had planted the device. [ElWatan] [Arabi21]
Two soldiers were injured in an IED blast targeting a security vehicle south of Rafah on Saturday. Two officers were injured on Saturday when gunmen opened fire on them south of Rafah. [ElWatan] [ElWatan]
Daesh says it detonated an IED on an Egyptian Army patrol east of Arish killing three soldiers and wounding two. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it detonated another IED on an Egyptian Army patrol near Karm Al-Qawadees. [JustPaste]
Security sources in North Sinai denied reports that the Assistant Director of North Sinai Security, Maj. Gen. Sami Khadar, was involved in an IED attack near the entrance to Arish city on Sunday. Troops found a device at the site of the alleged attack and safely detonated it, the source said. [ElWatan]
Three loud blasts were heard by residents in Arish Monday, which a security source attributed later to raiding operations in the city and in Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate] [VetoGate]
Libya
The Libyan Dar Al-Ifta which issues religious opinions, issued a fatwa on Monday calling for Libyans to unify their ranks to combat Daesh. [AfriGate]
Northeast
Daesh says its terrorists killed ten Libyan soldiers and wounded four with an IED in Hawari southwest of Benghazi. [JustPaste]
Daesh says one of its snipers killed another soldier in the same area. [JustPaste]
The Libyan Religious Affairs Commission and civil society activists warn that some Daesh’s victims’ families are burning and destroying the houses of Daesh members in Benghazi. [TWIMG] [TWIMG] [TWIMG]
DaeshDaily comment. Basically, they are saying this is just wrong, even if it’s Daesh members who are the victims.
Daesh says its snipers killed two Libyan armed group fighters and wounded a third in two different areas in Derna. [JustPaste]
Sirte
Foreign warplanes believed to be French conducted four raids on four different Daesh sites on Sunday, striking at Sirte, Saddada, Wadi Shamikh and Wadi Targhalat, local sources said. Local sources in Sirte also report the arrival of more Daesh fighters of various Arab and African nationalities and equipment to Sirte, traveling by sea in small boats that the Libyans call 8“bulldozers.” The same sources also report that Daesh whiplashed young men in central Sirte after declaring it found images of figures from the previous regime and pro-independence symbols on their phones, in raids conducted in Sirte. [Wasat] [Aawsat]
Daesh has opened a center for the collection of zakat (religious alms) and charity in Sirte and has called on Sirte’s citizens to give zakat from their wealth and deliver it to the center. An Eritrean national is in charge of the center, according to Daesh’s announcements, which state that all citizens are required to register their assets with the center so Daesh can collect the appropriate amount of zakat. Daesh also threatened with penalties those who fail to comply or who hide their wealth. [AfriGate]
Daesh abducted two people from the Awlad Sulayman tribe in Harawa, 50 km (30 miles) east of Sirte a local source said, because they had joined a local militia before Daesh took over the city. [Wasat]
Northwest
Unknown warplanes struck a Daesh column southwest of Tripoli as it was traveling from Sirte toward Sabratha in an apparent attempt to relieve the siege on Daesh fighters there, a Libyan military source said, suggesting that the plane could be American. A Pentagon spokesman denied that the US was involved. [Arabi21] [Wasat]
The General Command of the Libyan Army announced on Monday the formation of a joint operations room in Sabratha to coordinate operations against Daesh in the city, and called for citizens not to obstruct the efforts of the operations room. [AfriGate]
Joint forces in Sabratha arrested two Daesh commanders there on Sunday, eyewitnesses said. The two men surrendered after fighting between Daesh and the joint forces, the sources added. [AfriGate]
Algeria. Algerian authorities have broken up five networks that were working to recruit Algerians to join Daesh in Libya and Syria, according to Algerian media reports on Sunday (video). [Wasat]
Other countries
Yemen. A suicide vehicle bomb detonated at a security checkpoint in the residential Sheikh Othman neighborhood of Aden on Monday, causing an unspecified number of causalities from among security personnel and civilians. [Erem] [Arabi21]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
An anti-Daesh page from Libya
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/banesaker3
https://twitter.com/four_four77
https://twitter.com/penguin09big
Other Daesh media
Daesh audio newsletter for today in different languages [JustPaste]
