An Update On ISIS Activities

July 20, 2015

July 20, 2015

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

Iraqi forces continued to make progress in Anbar, but have not yet made major military gains. Meanwhile, Daesh perpetrated a horrific Eid bombing attack in Diyala and continues its deadly IED attacks in Baghdad. Daesh is trying to divert attention from the ongoing attacks against it in Anbar and sending a message that it can still kill people whenever it wants.

 

ANBAR

 

Falluja

A PMF commander says Iraqi forces finished the first stage of the Falluja battle and surrounded it completely. He says Iraqi forces are coordinating with the tribal fighters to participate in the battles. Iraqi forces are opening more secure roads for the civilians to leave the city. [Rudaw]

The MoD spokesman refuted reports that Iraqi forces halted its attacks in Falluja and says the military operations are ongoing. [Al-Maalomah]

The Iraq War Media Cell (IWMC) says the IAA launched airstrikes on Daesh in Falluja, destroying weapon storehouses and explosives factories, using information from the National Security Service. IWMC also says IAA destroyed a Daesh hideout in Siniya in Salahuddin. [Al-Sumaria TV]

The PMFs say they liberated wide areas of Al-Harariyat east of Falluja, killing 16 Daesh terrorists. [Al-Maalomah]

However, local sources say 28 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 18 injured in battles Daesh near Falluja. [Al-Gharbiya]

A security source says the commander of the Iraqi 3rd Commandos Regiment in the 1st Division was killed with two of his soldiers and many others were injured in a Daesh attack on their headquarters in Al-Harariyat. The source also says Coalition airpower helped Iraqi forces stop the attack and killed 18 Daesh members. [Iraq Press]

 

Daesh publishes a video of the Eid sermons in Falluja mosques. One of the speakers threatens to behead the Shia in Iraq. [YouTube]

A local official in Ameriyat Al-Falluja says 200 displaced families are still trapped near Bzaibiz crossing, which was closed 5 days ago. [Al-Baghdadia]

Ramadi

Daesh blew up Ramadi Olympic stadium completely on Sunday, a few days after the Iraqi forces announced they took control of it. Iraqi military spokesmen say Iraqi forces withdrew from the stadium earlier.

 

The Iraqi Federal Police commander says the MoI Intelligence Service coordinated with field artillery and the IAA to bomb Daesh’s operations command in Ramadi, killing many terrorists and destroying 7 vehicles. [Rudaw]

A source in Anbar Operations Command says Iraqi forces in the third stage of Anbar Liberation Operations launched a major military operation in several areas northeast of Ramadi to isolate Daesh in Falluja and cut their supply lines. [Al-Mada]

 

A source in Anbar Operations Command says Iraqi forces captured the glass factories west of Ramadi, forcing Daesh fighters to escape into the city. [Al-Maalomah]

 

The spokesman of Anbar GC says Iraqi forces supported by Iraqi and Coalition airpower killed 70 Daesh fighters, including 12 snipers and 5 female suicide bombers, in Hsaiba and other areas east of Ramadi. [Al-Maalomah]

 

The Iraqi Federal Police commander says a police commando operation in Hsaiba east of Ramadi killed 11 Daesh fighters and destroyed 4 hideouts. [Buratha News]

 

A source in Anbar Police Command says Iraqi forces surrounded an area along the main road 5 kilometers west of Ramadi  and asked the people through loudspeakers to leave their houses before starting military operations in that area. [Al-Maalomah]

 

Elsewhere in Anbar

Daesh publishes photos of lashing 4 “drug users” in Rutba. [Come to Success]

SALAHUDDIN

PM Abadi arrives to Balad military airbase to celebrate the arrival of the F-16s. He says the security forces arrested some of those responsible for Friday’s Khan Bani Saad truck bomb attack in Diyala. (See story below) [Al-Maalomah]

The spokesman of the MoD says the equipment and weapons for the F-16s have been installed and the jets will start their military missions soon. [Al-Maalomah] The Iraqi Air Force commander says Iraq will get more F-16s this year and next year. [Al-Mada]

Abadi says the F-16s will participate in bombing Daesh locations, and asked the international community for more support for Iraq. Abadi also asked all Iraqi politicians to keep the Iraqi armed forces out of political disputes.  [Al-Sumaria TV] [Photos] [Al-Mirbad]

A spokesman of the Badr militia says his troops stopped a Daesh attack on Al-Fatha near Baiji, killing many terrorists and destroying 5 vehicles. [Al-Maalomah]

 

A security source says a Daesh bridegroom was killed and his head was found an hour after his wedding in Shirqat. The source says Daesh is looking for the bride and her family, who disappeared after the wedding. [Al-Sumaria TV]

Samarra Operations Command says Iraqi Federal Police stopped a Daesh attack west of Samarra, killing 8 terrorists and destroying a vehicle armed with a machine gun. [Al-Sumaria TV]

Daesh puts an empty bottle filled with dirt on any booby-trapped house in Baiji as a sign for their fighters. (Video) [Facebook]

 

BAGHDAD

Al-Suqour Intelligence Cell says it arrested 41 Daesh members in Baghdad responsible for numerous assassinations, car bombs and IED attacks. Two of the arrested were suicide bombers. The Cell says it confiscated a lot of weapons, communications devices, and explosives. [Al-Mada]

According to security sources:

  • Two Sahwa fighters were killed and 2 injured in an IED explosion in Abu Ghraib in west Baghdad. [Al-Gharbiya]
  • Armed men attacked Iraqi forces in Abu Ghraib with machine guns, injuring 3. [Al-Gharbiya]
  • A civilian was killed and 7 injured in an IED explosion in Saba Al-Bor in north Baghdad. [Al-Gharbiya]
  • A government soldier was shot and killed at his checkpoint in Latifiya in south Baghdad. [Al-Mada]

 

KIRKUK

A security source says Daesh kidnapped 35 displaced families near Himrin Hills who were trying to return to their houses in Salahuddin from Hawija. [Al-Sumaria TV]

DIYALA

On Friday, Daesh perpetrated a truck bomb attack in Khan Bani Saad in eastern Diyala as people were celebrating Eid. The death toll was reported by the AP as 115 as of Saturday, with 170 injured. Most but not all of the victims were Shia.

DaeshDaily comment: There have been talks in Diyala about establishing a tribal council to start the reconciliation process in the governorate. This deadly attack is a setback to those efforts.

 

Prime Minister Abadi visited the location of the Khan Bani Saad attack and went to the victims’ funerals. [Al-Sumaria TV]

 

IWMC says a military unit from Dijla Operations Command, based on intelligence information, arrested 5 suspects accused of the terrorist attack in Khan Bani Saad. The Cell also says another force defused 8 IEDs in different areas in Diyala. [Al-Baghdadia News]

Eyewitnesses say a Shia militia kidnapped dozens of Sunni civilians in Khan Bani Saad. They say the militias had lists with specific names. [Al-Gharbiya]

 

The Badr militia leader proposed that perpetrators of the Khan Bani Saad attack should be executed in the same location as the explosion. [Rudaw TV]

 

The Mayor of Al-Khalis says 8 civilians were killed and 20 injured in a mortar attack in the south of the district. The Mayor says the security forces located the source of the shelling in Al-Kasasba, an area with Daesh sleeper cells. [Al-Sumaria TV]

 

Local sources say a police officer was killed when a sticker IED exploded under his car in east Baquba. [Al-Gharbiya]

 

Local sources say a civilian was killed and 5 injured in an IED explosion in Kanaan subdistrict east of Baquba. [Al-Gharbiya]

 

NINEWA

Local sources say Daesh executed another mosque imam in Mosul, accusing him of working against them. Daesh has executed 15 mosque imams so far and 40 are still missing. [Al-Maalomah]

Our sources in Mosul say Daesh re-established prepaid internet services, but is selling the services for higher prices and monitoring the browsing.

The deputy chairman of Ninewa GC says the Iraqi MoI issued an order to move Ninewa Liberation Camp from Kurdistan to Baghdad. He says 4,000 policemen in the camp refused to join the new location because they were afraid they would be forced to join the Federal Police and sent to Anbar or Salahuddin. He says they haven’t received their salaries for 5 months now. [Al-Sumaria TV]

The Christian PMF commander says Christian Iraqis in Ninewa Liberation Camp will go to Baghdad and fight anywhere the central government wants. He also says they are already participating in the fights in Baiji.  He repudiates calls by some MPs to keep them in Kurdistan. [Buratha]

Ninewa Operations commander says the Coalition launched airstrikes on Daesh in Tal Afar, Sinjar and Hawija on Sunday evening, killing 30 terrorists and destroying 8 Humvees and 16 buildings. (video) [Rudaw TV]

A Kurdish official says 20 Daesh were killed in internal fights over loot and power in Tal Afar. [Al-Hurra]

Daesh publishes photos of the Eid in Tal Afar. [Come to Success]

And charity activities in Ninewa [Come to Success]

OTHER GOVERNORATES 

Basra.  Young men demonstrated Thursday against the electricity shortage, as temperatures reached unprecedented levels above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), and people were angry about the lack of services. Security forces shot into the crowd, killing one demonstrator and injuring others, increasing the anger. Demonstrators then burned the Supreme Council’s party headquarters in Basra, because the Governor of Basra is an ISCI member.

DaeshDaily comment. Basra is volatile right now, at a most inconvenient time for the Iraqi government. Some politicians had predicted that demonstrations would be organized by Baathists to divert attention from events in Anbar. Many other politicians sympathize with the demonstrators. Shia militiamen have threatened to take action if security forces shoot demonstrators again. The leader of the PMFs in Basra was killed in a car accident, and there are demands for an investigation.

 

A security source in Basra says the Iraqi Intelligence Service raided a rural area in Qurna District and found 13 kg of explosives. [Iraq Akhbar]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

The spokesman of the YPG says his troops have almost complete control over Hasaka after defeating Daesh in the southern parts of the city during the last 2 days. Kurdish sources have said Daesh used chemical weapons against their troops in Hasaka. [PUK Media]

The YPG says their troops foiled several Daesh attacks intended to break the siege on Daesh in south Hasaka. [PUK Media]

The YPG says a house in Kobane, with explosives left by Daesh, exploded and killed 3 YPG soldiers. Other sources say the explosion was actually a car bomb attack on a YPG barrier 15 km (10 miles) south of Kobane.  [Rudaw TV] [Bass News]

Daesh publishes photos of shelling Kurdish forces with Grad rockets in south Kobane. [Come to Success]

Daesh publishes a video of its men during Eid in Homs. [Come to Success]

Daesh publishes a video and photos of the results of the “Alawite-Crusader” bombing in Manbaj in Aleppo. [A3maq] [Come to Success]

A report about the Assad regime trying to export goods through Daesh controlled areas to Iraq and the Gulf. [Enab Baladi]

REPORTS FROM OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES 

Turkey. Eyewitnesses say a bag with huge amounts of explosives detonated in Suruc, at the cultural center of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Kurdish party), killing 28 people and injuring more than 100. Turkey’s PM says initial evidence suggest the attack was by Daesh and promised to punish the terrorists. Turkey says the government established a unit to investigate the explosion and asks the citizens to remain calm. PUK Media publishes a video of the moment of the explosion and Xendan publishes a video of the first moments after the explosion. [Bass News] [Xendan] [Rudaw] [PUK Media] [Xendan]

Tunisia. The Tunisia parliament passes a law making incitement to violence and takfir terrorist crimes. [Middle East Online]

Libya. Daesh pamphlet distribution in Sirte [Come to Success]

Saudi Arabia. The Saudi MoI said Saturday it foiled 6 terrorist attacks on Shia mosques and arrested 431 suspects. [Waradana]

Yemen. Daesh claims responsibility for the car bomb explosion outside a Houthi mosque in Sanaa that killed 5 people and injured 7. [Rudaw TV] [Come to Success]

SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Facebook Page of the Day

Badr Militia Page

 

Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day

https://twitter.com/vo_wowlome

https://twitter.com/r3_fa

https://twitter.com/mowhed_kirkuk

https://twitter.com/rtyuighj4

 

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