February 3, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
Plan to put a wall around Baghdad meets political opposition.
Army closes in on Falluja.
Baghdadi’s nephew, an important Daesh leader, killed in Ramadi.
Al-Qa’im airstrike kills 85 Daesh members, including several leaders.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, Commander of Baghdad Operations, said that all cement barriers in Baghdad will be removed, and deployed as part of the Baghdad Wall! [Sumaria]
However, he seems to have made this commitment on his own authority. The Security Committee of the Baghdad Provincial Council will meet with the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) Thursday, seeking the “truth” about the Baghdad Wall project, which was started without the Council’s approval. The Council says the BOC plan to construct a tunnel and 300 km (186 mile) wall around Baghdad is a very negative step. [AIN]
According to a statement issued by his office, Speaker Jubouri met with Vice President Biden in DC to discuss the political and security situation in Iraq, especially about fighting terrorism, the role of the United States in finishing the liberations of Anbar, and starting the liberation of Ninewa. They also discussed the efforts to secure and reconstruct the liberated areas and facilitate the return of the displaced people. [Rudaw]
Prime Minister Abadi met with the CoR’s Integrity Committee to discuss the challenges the Committee faces in its efforts to fight corruption. Abadi issued a statement saying that political differences affect the work of the government, and that reflects in a negative way on the citizens. He also says that corruption has many supporting elements including the bureaucracy, and many corrupt people are resisting the simplification of government procedures because those procedures would decrease corruption. The Chairman of the Committee says after the meeting that “big corruption targets” in some ministries were identified during the meeting, especially including arms deals. [Sumaria] [Rudaw] [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh might have not existed without Iraq’s corruption and Iraq will never be able to stand up as a country without dealing with this problem effectively.
The deputy chairman of Ninewa Provincial Council says new troops from the police and army will join Ninewa Operations Command to prepare for Ninewa liberation. He demanded more help for the tribal fighters in Makhmur to speed the liberation operations. [Sumaria]
A CoR member from Ninewa says the Ninewa liberation camps should be united under the Ninewa Operations Command. He says the Minister of Defense doesn’t give a lot of attention to the NOC for political reasons. He says the NOC has not been armed and the NOC commander doesn’t have enough support. He also says it is not clear who is going to liberate Mosul—the Turkish forces, the NMFs, the Peshmerga, the tribal fighters, or the Ninewa police. [Mada]
The Chairman of the Citizen Bloc (the Supreme Islamic Council) in the CoR says the government is neglecting arming and financing the PMFs and warns of a plot to isolate or marginalize the PMFs. [Mada]
However, former Vice President Osama Nujaifi says the PMFs should not participate in Ninewa liberation because of sensitivity of the citizens and in order to eliminate any “sectarian” excuse that could be used by Daesh. He says the liberation should be done by the Iraqi forces, the Peshmerga, the Coalition and the NMFs.
DaeshDaily comment. Mr. Nujaifi of course means Turkey when he says the “Coalition.” It is transparently absurd that a supposedly national government official asks to use foreign forces and leave out Iraqi forces. (Nujaifi and his brother have called many times for Turkish intervention in Ninewa.)
A member of the CoR’s Security and Defense Committee says the Turkish troops raised the Turkish flag over the Fadhiliya neighborhood in Bashiqa and criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ silence about the issue. [Sumaria]
The Ninewa Governor says the situation at the Mosul Dam is secure and doesn’t need all the media exaggeration. [Mada] The Minister of Water Resources says the Mosul Dam situation is good and the government efforts are intended to maintain it and not to prevent it from collapsing. [Sumaria]
The spokesman of the Sadrist faction says Moqtada Al-Sadr instructed the Minister of Water Resources (a Sadrist) to stay away from the Mosul Dam issue in order not to be involved in the financial affairs of the deal and to eliminate any hint of corruption. He says this issue should be dealt with by a specialized committee appointed by the Council of Ministers. He also says using international companies is the only solution for the Dam because Iraqi companies don’t have the capacity. [Sumaria]
The spokesman of the Supreme Judicial Council says 6,187 persons were arrested on terrorism charges. He says in a CoR Human Rights Committee hearing that 1,203 were released and 284 were convicted. He also says the SJC received more than 4,000 complaints about human rights violations from the Iraqi Human Rights Commission. [Sumaria]
Security developments
BOC will close Al-Muthanna Bridge in the middle of Baghdad for maintenance, from Thursday Feb. 4 till Sunday Feb. 7. This is its second closure, as it was closed January 27-31 for the same reason. [Shafaq]
Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul, spokesman of the Joint Operations Command (JOC), said that he has no knowledge of the nature of the intended mission of US troops on Iraqi-Syrian borders (alluding to yesterday’s statement by the Coalition spokesman on the impending Mosul campaign). Rasoul said that once such information is available, he would announce it. [AynIraq]
Steve Warren, the Coalition spokesman, said that Iraq is using its F16 fighters very well in executing precision attacks on Daesh. He marked the arrival of two more F16s in Iraq, adding that arrival of the rest of the planes is linked to finalizing the training of pilots. [Mawazin]
Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism units today found a Daesh hideout in Um Najim village in the Taji District north of Baghdad city. A large quantity of explosives was found including 3 detonators, 90 kg of C4 and eight 20-liter containers with TNT. [Mada]
According to security sources:
- An IED exploded and wounded four civilians in Husseiniya, in north Baghdad. [Sumaria]
- Two persons were arrested on terror charges, in Adhamiya and in Taji District north of the city. [Qurtas]
- Security troops defused an IED placed in one of the alleys of the Sabiyat neighborhood in Taji. [Ghad]
- An IED placed in a popular market in Tarmiya District north of the city killed two civilians and wounded eight.[ Mada]
- Armed men attacked and killed a lawyer and his son in their car, in the Shuala neighborhood in north Baghdad. [Mada]
- An IED placed in a popular market in Al-Binouk neighborhood in northeast Baghdad killed one civilian and wounded seven. [ Mada]
- An IED exploded in the Al-Ma’amel area in east Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding four. [Baghdadia]
- An IED placed near a popular restaurant in Al-Siba’ neighborhood, downtown Baghdad, killed two civilians and wounded six. [Mada]
- A roadside IED in Arab Jabour village in Dora, south Baghdad, exploded on a patrol of Tribal Mobilization units, killing two men and wounding four. [Mada]
- Armed men opened fire and wounded two civilians in Jurf Al-Naddaf in south Baghdad. [Ghad]
- An IED placed near a popular restaurant in Wardiya, in Al-Mada’in District south of the city, killed two civilians and wounded 5. [Mada]
- Armed men opened fire and killed an army major as he drove through Jisr Al-Salam in south Baghdad. [Sumaria]
- An IED placed in a commercial area in Al-Shuhada neighborhood near Bayya in southwest Baghdad killed one civilian and wounded four.[ Mada]
- An IED placed near a construction materials shop in west Baghdad killed two civilians and wounded five. [Etejah]
- An IED placed in a commercial area in Suwaib in west Baghdad killed one civilian and wounded seven.[ Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 16 (Not an overall total)
ANBAR
Falluja
Sa’adoon Sha’alan, the Mayor of Falluja District, said that apart from the very difficult living conditions facing Falluja’s population, Daesh has booby-trapped all entry points to the city, rendering it a big jail. He said that Daesh will not mind killing the entire Falluja population. [Sumaria]
Baghdad Operations Command said that the 14th army division liberated the strategic village of Albu Shijil north of Falluja.[ Mada]
Army helicopters destroyed 6 Daesh vehicles and 2 construction shovels in Albu Shijil. [Ghad]
BOC said its operations north and south of Falluja killed 20 terrorists and wounded 14 in various areas of operations in Albu Shijil and Taqsim to the north, Nuaimiya to the south, and Qarma. [AIN]
Security sources reported the liberation of Albu Sawda in Qarma, backed by Coalition and Iraqi warplanes and army helicopters, according to a security source. [Baghdadia]
Daesh publishes photos of an Iraqi soldier targeted by one of its snipers in Zoba’a. [CSSN]
A security source in Anbar Operations Command says Albu Shijil and Albu Bali are now liberated and troops are heading towards Hamdhiya, and then Falluja. Leaflets have been air-dropped over Falluja to encourage the population to revolt and describing available escape routes. [AIN]
The same AOC source says he also expects the liberation of Hit by mid-February. [AIN]
DaeshDaily comment. This is at least the third recent story indicating that Iraq will soon target Daesh in Hit. Today’s Falluja stories show Iraqi forces clearing Daesh out of areas between Ramadi and Falluja and closing in on Falluja. If the Falluja campaign works out as hoped, Hit may be next.
Ramadi
Army helicopters attacked and destroyed the building of the religious court in Albu Bali, in Jazeera Al-Khaldiya east of Ramadi, killing 9 Daesh leaders meeting there, including Abu Ahmed Al-Samarra’i, the nephew of Daesh’s leader, and himself a major Daesh leader. [Maalomah]
Awwad Baghdadi, the Daesh leader, is reported to have executed two of his escorts with his personal gun for failing to protect his nephew, tribal sources reported. [Mesala]
DaeshDaily comment. Unless Baghdadi is in the Ramadi area, this seems like one of those Iraqi rumors. Those who think he is there should try to apprehend him.
Major General Sami Al-Aridhi, commander of the 3rd special unit of Counter-Terrorism forces, said that his men, Army units, and the IFP are advancing steadily east of Ramadi in Sajariya, Juwaiba, and Hsaiba. Daesh defenses in Sajariya, including mortar positions and machine gun positions were destroyed. [Sumaria]
8th Army division and security troops have fully liberated the Albu Ghanem area east of Ramadi and are heading towards Juwaiba, a security source said. [AIN]
Ghassan Al-Eithawi, spokesman of the tribal fighters east of Ramadi said that army units have liberated over 50% of the Sajariya area, and that the announcement of full liberation is coming very shortly. He added that Daesh lost “tens” of its fighters on the battlefield. General Al-Mahalawi, AOC Commander, said that new rocket systems called “Qahira” were deployed by the army in these operations. [Mawazin]
Sabah Al-Noman, spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism forces, confirmed that his forces have entered the Sajariya area with minimal resistance from Daesh, except for the multitude of IEDs in the area. [Qurtas]
A tribal PMF commander says more than 1,000 tribal PMF fighters in areas west of Ramadi haven’t received their salaries for 5 months. He says these fighters are holding the ground in those areas but they only have light weapons and they need more arms. [Mada]
A leader of tribal fighters in Anbar says the 6th battalion of Anbar PMF fighters has moved from the Habbaniya base to Sufiya, to hold the ground liberated from Daesh. [Sumaria]
Daesh says Coalition warplanes mistakenly bombed Iraqi troops when Daesh was attacking in Albu Risha on the northwest outskirts of Ramadi on Tuesday. [A3maq]
Army and security troops repelled a Daesh attack on Albu Risha and Albu Mara’i from Zangoura village and killed six of them with the help of Coalition warplanes, which also destroyed two vehicle bombs. [AIN]
Dr. Adel Layl al-Sabur Al-Delawi, the so-called Daesh doctor, was killed in an airstrike by army helicopters in Jazeera Al-Khaldiya east of Ramadi, a security source said, adding that the doctor previously worked in the Anbar Health office. [Maalomah]
The process of removing IEDs and battle remnants has started in Ramadi, beginning with the 5 Kilo area, said Captain Mohammed Hassan of the first battalion of tribal forces. [Rudaw]
Hit/Haditha
Daesh says its terrorists attacked Iraqi forces in Haqlaniya with light and mid-size weapons and the attack was synchronized with heavy mortar shelling on south Haditha. Daesh says many Iraqi fighters were killed or wounded while its terrorists returned back safely. [CSSN]
Western Anbar
According to the Al-Suqoor Intelligence unit, 85 Daesh terrorists, including high ranking leaders, were killed today in an airstrike by the Iraqi Air Force on 4 host houses in Al-Qa’im, used as bombing factories and in one case to host Egyptian leaders. The explosions from the strike were heard 10 miles away. Among top leaders killed were
- Abdul Rahman Ezzildeen Al-Badawi (Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir) the brother of ex-Qaeda leader Abu Ayoub Al-Masri;
- Abu Abd Al-Mannan Al-Masri, responsible for Sinai post and money transfers from Syrian Oil and Qa’im cement factory to Sinai;
- Haji Majeed Mohammed Al-Salamni, responsible for foreign fighters;
- Abu Idris Diyala, from Muqdadiya, an escapee from Badoush prison.
A Saudi terrorist Khalid Al-Khamaali, was badly wounded. [Mada]
Mid-Euphrates Command forces executed an airdrop in Jisr Al-Rawdah, 20 km (12.5 miles) from the Kerbala border, and destroyed two car bombs, while defusing 4 1000-liter containers packed with explosives, placed under the road of a major bridge. [AIN]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
Two women were executed by Daesh in Shirqat, on charges of insulting Daesh, a security source said. [Maalomah]
Ali Dahdoh, the Mayor of Shirqat District, says that the number of Daesh fighters in Shirqat is around 1,000, all of them Iraqis, as foreign terrorists have left for Mosul. He added that 600 of them are on the left side of the city, and 200 are in the center of the district. [Mawazin]
A gathering of 50 Daesh terrorists was observed by intelligence personnel in a gas station near Shirqat. They called for Coalition support. The resulting airstrike killed 20 Daesh and destroying 3 vehicles. Another mobile gas station was targeted in Karabla, Salahuddin by the Iraqi Air Force, which destroyed two tankers. [AIN]
Unidentified armed men kidnapped two Daesh leaders in Shirqat after setting up a fake checkpoint, a security source said. [Maalomah]
Baiji
Security forces today arrested 27 Daesh terrorists after an operation in Al-Fatha north of Baiji, a security source said. [Baghdadia]
Army helicopters executed several strikes in Salahuddin, destroying two vehicles near Fatha Bridge north of Baiji, a Daesh command center in Tel Al-Dhahab village in northeast Makhoul Mountains, and an armored vehicle north of Allas and Ajil oil fields. [Ghad]
Tikrit
A spokesman of the PMF organization, Ahmed Al-Asadi, said that Daesh controls only 15% of Salahuddin province, mainly Shirqat, west Tikrit desert, parts of south Samarra, and northeast Himrin Hills, adding that the PMFs are repelling Daesh attacks almost daily. [Mawazin]
Following Tuesday’s incident, when a civilian shot dead a Daesh terrorist in Al-Ali south of Al-Alam subdistrict, a wide security campaign was initiated to search and clear the area with the support of army helicopters. The campaign discovered weapons caches and food storage and killed three Daesh terrorists hiding in bushes and caves in the area. One was a suicide attacker who wounded five of the approaching policemen, a security source reported. [Ghad]
The Saraya Al-Aqida militia said it repelled a violent Daesh attack in Himrin Hills, killing 35 attackers. A statement by the militia said that army helicopters intervened and destroyed a booby-trapped construction shovel approaching the militia’s defensive lines. [Buratha]
It was reported that following a paratroop drop near Tikrit, a special American force killed a PMF leader called Abu Sajjad Al-Zerejawi, and ordered PMF forces in Speicher camp to evacuate the area within three days. [Altaghier]
DaeshDaily comment. There is much to doubt about this anti-PMF story, given the dubious affiliations of the website and TV station, but it serves to show how some sources fabricate stories.
General Shakir Jawdat, Commander of the Iraq Federal Police (IFP) forces, reported the destruction of a Daesh command post and communications tower in the Al-Fatha area north of Baiji, killing 8 terrorists near Shirqat Bridge, 3 more near the fertilizer factory on the road to the city, capturing two Daesh vehicles in Albu Badri in Samarra, and arresting two terrorists including the Daesh security official of Mohammadi north of Ramadi, [Sumaria]
Samarra
PMFs destroyed a Daesh convoy carrying a car bomb. west of Samarra. The car bomb exploded during the operation, the IWMC said. [AIN]
Tooz
BasNews reports that the PKK is conducting military and cultural training for youth in Tooz. [BasNews]
DaeshDaily comment. Is this somehow a parallel story to the Turkish military training Ninewa separatists in Bashiqa?
DIYALA
Baquba
An IED placed in a popular market in Hibhib, west of Baquba, exploded and killed one civilian and wounded four, a security source said. [Maalomah]
A civilian was shot dead by armed men in Kanaan subdistrict east of Baquba, a police source said. [Mawqif]
KIRKUK
A local source says Daesh confiscated houses of people in Hawija because some of their family members escaped Daesh controlled areas. The source says Daesh forced these families to pay a monthly rent to remain in their houses. [Sumaria]
Daesh arrested and executed two men trying to escape Hawija District toward Himrin Hills and then to the safe areas controlled by the army. The two were shot in the middle of Hawija, a security source said. [Mada]
An armed group in a car opened fire on Al-Baghdadi fish restaurant, on Hisabat Street east of Kirkuk, wounding a restaurant worker. [Mada]
Daesh terrorists fired a Katyusha rocket from Al-Bashir on Taza subdistrict south of Kirkuk, which fell on a house, causing damage but no casualties. [Mada]
NINEWA
Mosul
Daesh executed 12 university students in front of the university campus in Mosul on charges of cooperating with Iraqi security forces, a source in Mosul said. [BasNews]
Another Daesh video about its “achievements”. [CSSN]
Daesh publishes photos of the reconstruction of the mosque at the Mosul hospital. [CSSN]
Nineveh Plain
Coalition warplanes attacked Daesh positions in the Shabak villages of Al-Khazna, Bazwaya, and Al-Ghadeer, killing 18 terrorists including foreigners and wounding 6 of them, according to a Ninewa Police source. [BasNews]
Atheel al-Nujaifi, ex-Mosul governor, denied raising the Turkish flag in Fadhiliya village in Bashiqa, adding that the village is still under Daesh control. He says only Iraqi and Kurdish flags will be raised in liberated areas. The security committee of the CoR reported earlier the alleged incident with the Turkish flag. [AynIraq]
Two Katyusha rockets fell on Zilkan camp in Bashiqa where the “National Mobilization Forces” headed by Atheel al-Nujaifi are being trained by Turks. No human casualties were reported, a security source said. [Maalomah]
Makhmur
Burhan al-Lahibi, a tribal mobilization leader in south Mosul, said engineers are currently clearing the village of Kodila of mines and IEDs. The village was liberated earlier with the support of the Peshmerga and Coalition warplanes. [Mada]
70 Daesh terrorists were killed and 22 arrested, while tribal mobilization lost 15 in the fighting for Kodila, a field tribal commander said. [Shafaq]
Ninewa Operations Command said that the 91st army brigade, tribal fighters, and Peshmerga units, with Coalition air cover, had liberated Kodila and Khattab villages west of Makhmur city. Mahmoud Sorachi, National Mobilization spokesman, said the Peshmerga and tribal fighters launched an attack on Daesh west of Makhmur and the attack will continue to Qayara. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. How did Sorachi get into this?
A PUK official said that Peshmerga forces shelled the village of Mahana, near Kodila and the Mosul District line, and killed “tens” of Daesh terrorists with the assistance of Coalition warplanes. [PUKMedia]
Peshmerga units blocked today a Daesh attack on a checkpoint in Makhmur, killing several of them. [Maalomah]
Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists in Batisha village near Kasik. [CSSN]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
The KRG spokesman says the KRG approved 7 procedures to deal with the financial crisis. The procedures include lowering the salaries of government employees (other than Peshmerga and security personnel); establishing a committee selected from different ministries to audit the oil and gas revenues in coordination with international firms; selling oil by public auction (except the oil transported by pipes); using a decentralized system for managing oil and gas production; and establishing an IT system for paying KRG salaries. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. One of the basic-level defects of Iraq and KRG financial management is that they still pay obligations in cash, which in turn requires moving huge amounts of cash around. This includes paying salaries. Of course, all that cash in motion contributes to the loss or theft of some of it (There have been huge incidents).
January salaries will be paid starting next week while the salaries for the previous month will be “saved” for later payment. [Rudaw]
The PUK bloc in the KRG Parliament issued a statement demanding an investigation into the foreign bank accounts of the “political party companies” and some officials. Several media reports mentioned recently that KRG officials and companies belong to political parties have accumulated millions of dollars in foreign banks. [Sumaria]
Slovenia is sending military trainers to train Peshmerga forces Erbil, local Slovenian Radio said. [AIN]
Italy is sending 130 military personnel to be based in Erbil and assist in providing medical support in fire fronts, Italy’s Ministry of Defense said. [Maalomah]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Babil. Babil Police announced the arrest of 63 wanted persons, three of them on terrorism charges. [Mada]
Basra. Prime Minister Al-Abadi transferred security responsibility in Basra from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Interior, said Basra Governor Majid Al-Nasrawi. [Maalomah]
The Basra Governor says “unusual” movements for foreign diplomats were detected in Basra and some diplomats are visiting the governorate and meeting with people (politicians and non-politicians) without informing the provincial government. He says the diplomats will not be allowed to meet with anyone without informing the provincial authorities; otherwise they would be prevented from entering the governorate. Many foreign diplomats visit Basra and the last one was the French Ambassador who met with the chairman of the Provincial Council. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. We were not aware that foreign diplomats, or anyone else for that matter, require the permission of provincial governors to enter their province.
Basra police arrested 44 wanted persons, including one wanted on terror charges, a security source in the city said. [AIN]
Basra Police arrested a person suspected of participating in the IED attack on the head of the Basra appeals court, a police source said. [IraqPress]
Muthanna. Muthanna Police are reinforcing security measures along the province’s large desert perimeter to “prevent entry of terrorist groups” from the desert area, into an area which is a “tourism attraction,” said Saad Al-Eajibi , Muthanna Chief of Police. [Mada]
Dhi Qar. A foreign convict sentenced to death on terrorism charges since 2013, was executed in Nasariya, according to the Minister of Justice. The delay was due to a retrial after an appeal, the Minister indicated. [Mesala]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Retaliating for Daesh mortar fire, Turkish tanks fired more than 20 tank shells at Daesh positions across the border in Jarabulus on Wednesday, killing eight Daesh militants and injuring a number of others, as well as damaging buildings on the Syrian side. [Qasioun]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
The YPG announced that it killed 98 Daesh militants in January. [ARA]
Coalition planes struck Daesh positions in Shaddadi on Tuesday, causing casualties and physical damage, a resident said. [ARA]
Daesh-planted land mines and hidden IEDs are hampering the return of residents to Al-Hawl and other areas in Hasaka that were retaken from Daesh. [ARA]
A local activist says Daesh moved thousands of tons of grain from the silos in Hasaka southern countryside to Shaddadi and Deir Ez-Zor, taking advantage of the halt in the Syria Democratic Forces operations in the area. Daesh recaptured the silos from the SDF on January 21st. [BasNews]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Al-Nusra Front has deployed fighters to the northwestern Aleppo countryside in a bid to check advances by the Syrian military, Daesh, and the Syria Democratic Forces in the area as other opposition militias lose ground. An unspecified number of Nusra militants arrived in Nabal and Al-Zahra, both under siege by opposition militias. [Qasioun]
Daesh struck a concentration of Syrian Army troops south of Aleppo with a vehicle bomb, killing around 25 Syrian soldiers, according to an activist in the area. The two sides fought violent battles in the aftermath of the bombing, as well as clashing east of Aleppo as Syrian troops continue to drive into Daesh-held territory. [ARA]
The YPG establishes a special operations room in Afrin to manage the thousands of civilians who escaped the ongoing attack by Syrian troops, supported by Russian warplanes, on Aleppo’s northern countryside. [BasNews]
Daesh shelled the villages of Al-Qubba and Tal Al-Abr, southwest of Kobane, from its positions in Jarabulus, a YPG fighter said. [ARA]
Daesh has been forcing fighting age young men into conscription in Manbij, residents report, even as the Daesh presence in the city is thinning and the hisbah units have reportedly disappeared from the city streets. [Hawar]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh publishes photos of executing Syrian government “spies” publicly in Homs. [CSSN]
Daesh says its terrorists sneaked into Syrian Army positions and killed four soldiers in East Qalamoun in Homs. [A3maq]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
A Daesh mortar shell killed three civilians and injured three others in the neighborhoods of Al-Jawra and Al-Qusour in Deir Ez-Zor. Daesh also fired rockets and artillery on Syrian Army and Lebanese Hezbollah positions near the Deir Ez-Zor military airport, and engaged Syrian troops in ground battles in various neighborhoods of the city, including Al-Rashidiya and Al-Haweiqa. Coalition planes struck the oilfield in Bukamal, causing fires in the area.
Daesh also conducted a campaign of raids and searches in the city of Mayadin east of Deir Ez-Zor, arresting at least ten civilians. [Qasioun]
South
“Jaysh Tahrir Al-Sham” has declared war on Daesh in the Rif Damashq Governorate, over what it described in a statement as Daesh provocations. Jaysh Tahrir Al-Sham had remained neutral in earlier fighting between Daesh and other militias in Rif Damashq. [Qasioun]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Lebanon
Lebanese Army troops killed two Daesh militants and captured 27 others in operations in the northwestern border area near Arsal on Wednesday, according to a Lebanese security source. The captives reportedly include Abu Bakr Al-Riqawi, a local Daesh commander. The Army staged the raid after receiving intelligence on the Daesh militants’ whereabouts. [Hawar]
North Africa
Egypt
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Samih Shoukry has denied reports that an African intervention force is being assembled with Egyptian leadership for intervention in Libya. Shoukry’s remarks came at a press conference in Cairo with his Czech counterpart on Tuesday. [AfriGate]
North Sinai
Daesh-affiliated Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis executed as many as three civilians in Rafah on charges of collaborating with the Army. The bodies of two young men, one decapitated, were recovered in different areas of Rafah on Wednesday, El-Watan writes. The decapitated victim, Wail Al-Shaeir, had been abducted from his home a week ago. A report on VetoGate refers to three victims, bearing gunshot wounds to the head. The Ansar group also abducted five other civilians on Wednesday morning in the Al-Rasm neighborhood of Rafah. VetoGate refers to three [ElWatan] [VetoGate]
Egyptian troops killed the personal guard of the commander of Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis in a desert area of central Sinai, in heavy fighting in which two Ansar militants were killed and another captured. One of those killed was identified as Ramadan Salima Salama, personal guard to Muhammad Musa Muhaysen, the central Sinai Ansar commander. [VetoGate]
Residents reported sounds of five explosions and gunfire in Arish on Wednesday. A security source linked these sounds to military operations against Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, who, the source said, were using motorcycle bombs. According to intelligence, Ansar elements were preparing to conduct attacks in the coming days, prompting Egyptian security agencies to strike, the source added. [ElWatan] [ElWatan]
An IED exploded near an Egyptian armored military vehicle south of Sheikh Zuweid, on the road to the village of Abu Zamat near the Israeli border, but the blast came after the vehicle had passed and no damage or casualties occurred, a security source said. [ElWatan]
Egyptian troops performed sweep and search operations in and around Sheikh Zuweid and Arish, looking for Ansar members and roadside bombs. [ElWatan]
Photos of the Egyptian Army uncovering a buried weapons cache in Sinai. [EgyArmySpoxFB]
Daesh publishes photos of detonating an IED on an Egyptian minesweeper east of Arish. [DawaAlhaq]
Libya
Daesh arrested 14 young men in eastern areas of Sirte on charges of not having declared their repentance, eyewitnesses in Sirte reported. The same sources added that Daesh set up checkpoints in the streets of Sirte after going into hiding for the previous two days under air raid attack. [AfriGate]
A Sudanese Daesh commander known as “Abu Aisha” was killed and 12 other Daesh members captured in Derna by another unidentified “terrorist group” in fighting over the last two days, according to an unnamed security source in the city. One Daesh fighter reportedly surrendered to the other “terrorist group” after withdrawing from the battlefield, the source said. [Libya24]
Daesh publishes photos of executing “spies” in Sirte. One of the executioners was sitting in a wheelchair. [CSSN]
Tunisia
The Tunisia Ministry of Interior says 3 terrorists were killed in the ongoing search campaign in a mountain area in Gabes. [Sumaria]
Other countries
Yemen
Daesh publishes a video of its training and operations in Hadhramaut. [DawaAlhaq]
Afghanistan
The radio station broadcasting Daesh’s “Voice of the Caliphate” programming in eastern Afghanistan, reported last week, has been destroyed by airstrikes, according to local officials, who say the broadcast ceased on Tuesday. [Aawsat]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Ahmed Mansour page, Al-Jazeera presenter and a Muslim Brothers’ mouthpiece
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/22_04_1437
Other Daesh media
Daesh audio newsletter for today in English [CSSN]
