July 21, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
US now talking post-Daesh stabilization and reconstruction.
Coalition conducts heavy bombing on Daesh targets in Mosul.
Daesh closes most of its mosques in Mosul, because people aren’t attending.
American hero dies helping the Yazidis.
Defense Secretary Carter initiates investigation of civilian bombing deaths in Manbij.
Half the school-age Syrian children in Lebanon are not enrolled.
Nigerian Army frees 80 hostages from Boko Haram.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
The battlefield momentum in Iraq and Syria has shifted against Islamic State, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, but the international community must now also confront the challenge of stabilizing newly liberated areas.”The momentum has shifted,” Kerry told an international conference to raise funds for Iraq at a critical juncture in the military campaign. “The new challenge that we face is securing and aiding for the recovery of a liberated area.”
Lise Grande, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, warned that military victories will prove transient if the needs of Iraqis displaced by the conflict are not addressed. “The military campaign will have achieved a great short-term success, but perhaps little else of enduring impact,” she said.
The officials spoke as defense and foreign ministers gathered to discuss next steps in the two-year-long fight against Daesh, especially in Mosul.
With the early stages of the Mosul campaign underway, plans are still being finalized to provide urgent humanitarian aid and restore basic services and security for residents and as many as 2.4 million displaced people. “Most of our conversations today … were about what happens after the defeat of (Daesh),” U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said after a separate meeting of about 30 defense ministers at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. “The biggest strategic concern of the defense ministers here was for the stabilization and reconstruction . . . and making sure our planning and execution of that is in time for the execution of the military aspect,” Carter said.
DaeshDaily comment. This shows an in-depth understanding of the overall situation and a realization that defeating Daesh is not the end game in Iraq. Iraq must effectively manage the territory taken from Daesh in order to make its victory secure. The huge refugee crisis, resulting ironically from its military success, is an enormous financial burden on Iraq in the midst of an economic crisis and undermines the government’s standing with the people displaced, even though most may be grateful for their liberation. The international donations to post-war reconstruction reflect an understanding among Coalition countries that Iraq can’t do this on its own.
The Iraq donor conference raised more than $2.1 billion in aid, State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. The United Nations has said that, under a worst-case scenario, it might take $2 billion in relief and stabilization funds to deal with just with the civilian impact of the Mosul battle and its aftermath.
The Minister of Planning issued a statement thanking donor countries who pledged more than $2 billion dollars to help liberated areas. Speaker Jubouri also thanked the countries that participated in the donor meeting in the US. [Mada]
Prime Minister Abadi issued orders formation of a crisis command center in order to take immediate actions to help displaced people from Shirqat and other Salahuddin and Ninewa areas. [Mada]
The US Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk says Daesh has lost 50% of the lands it captured in Iraq, and 20% in Syria. He also says Iraqi forces will lead the Mosul liberation battle with support from the Peshmerga. He says we should be prepared for Mosul and Raqqa liberation, which will happen sooner than anticipated. [Reuters] [Rudaw]
The US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones told Iraqi media outlets in Baghdad that Turkey should withdraw its troops from Iraq. He also says the United States doesn’t have any intention to have military bases in Kurdistan or in Iraq in general. He says the United States will support the Peshmerga with $415 million worth of fuel, ammunition and medical supplies. He says Baghdad was informed about this agreement with the KRG. Jones says the new 560 American military personnel are engineers and advisors to rehabilitate the Qayara Airfield. [Mada] [Sumaria]
The Iraq Minister of Defense says in the Coalition Ministers of Defense conference in DC that the PMFs will participate in Mosul liberation alongside the Iraqi Army and the Peshmerga, and will follow the military plans and Prime Minister Abadi’s orders. He also says the Mosul battle will require preparations and technologies suitable for street wars in a city with one million residents, in addition to extensive and precise air support and effective intelligence. [Sumaria]
Prime Minister Abadi met with a US Army delegation and discussed US help for Iraq in training and equipping Iraqi forces in securing Baghdad according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. [Mada]
The Prime Minister Abadi’s spokesman says the PM will start talks with political parties next week to choose candidates to replace the 7 resigned ministers. [BasNews]
A member of the CoR’s Displacement Committee says the government will take strong actions against the provincial governments that want to force the displaced families to leave, specifically Kerbala, Babel and Kirkuk. [Sumaria]
The Coalition says it conducted 11 airstrikes yesterday on Daesh in Iraq, around Mosul (2), Qayara (2), and Sinjar (1); Al-Qa’im (1), Haditha (1), Hit (2) and Ramadi (2). [InherentResolve]
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
An MoI source says one policeman was killed and four others wounded when an IED exploded on their vehicle in Tarmiya. [Mada]
Baghdad Operations Command says Iraqi Army 22nd brigade defused a vehicle bomb in the Albu Hosa area. [Baghdadia]
An MoI source says one person was killed and seven others wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Husseiniya. [Mada]
Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)
A security source says a Daesh leader was captured at the Shaab checkpoint. [Maalomah]
An MoI source says one person was killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Shaab. [Mada]
Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)
An MoI source says two people were killed and nine others wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Zafaraniya. [Mada]
South (Dora, Mahmudiya)
An MoI source says two tribal PMF fighters were killed and four others wounded when an IED exploded on their vehicle in Arab Jabour. [Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 7 (Includes only incidents reported)
ANBAR
The spokesman of the Ministry of Interior says the efforts of several defense units have removed more than 6,000 rockets and shells in Ramadi, Qarma, and Saqlawiya, and started a similar campaign in Falluja city. [Ghad]
A member of the Anti-Daesh Tribes Council says the Anbar officials should leave the hotels and fight Daesh in the battlefield or join the displaced families in the camps. He also says the displaced people are suffering from extremely difficult conditions under unbearable temperatures urging the government to accelerate their return to their houses. [BasNews]
DaeshDaily comment. The sad situation of the displaced families is being used by Daesh’s media and incubator media to try to persuade people that the Iraqi government doesn’t care about them, and that the situation under Daesh control was better. There is a security aspect to this, as Daesh and other armed groups have found a fertile ground for recruitment in displacement camps.
A local official says hundreds of displaced families have returned to their houses in Anbar today. [Sumaria]
Falluja
Iraqi forces defused 3 booby-trapped houses and 30 IEDs, cleared 34 buildings, and found 2 explosives storehouses, in addition to large quantities of rockets, shells, and explosives in the Falluja Military Sector. [BOC Facebook Page]
A member of the Anbar Provincial Council says tens of displaced people in Ameriyat Al-Falluja and Habbaniya camps were taken to hospitals because of the high temperatures. [Mada]
The IWMC says Iraqi forces found an explosives cache and several explosives vests in a Daesh hideout in Qarma. [Baghdadia]
A video of Iraqi fighters securing civilians in Falluja [YouTube]
Ramadi
The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says military reinforcements arrived in Khaldiya in preparation for capturing Jazeera Khaldiya. He also says Iraqi artillery is shelling the area and the military campaign will start in the coming hours with support of Coalition warplanes. [Mada]
The IAA commander says Jazeera Khaldiya will be liberated by early next week. He says the IAA is coordinating with the Iraqi Army 10th division. He also says the IAA killed 12 Daesh terrorists in the Thirthar area. [BasNews]
The Chairman of the Security Committee in the Khaldiya council says Iraqi forces secured 800 families who were trapped by Daesh in Jazeera Khaldiya and surrounding areas. He says Iraqi forces provided secure roads for the people and are now moving them to camps in Habbaniya and Ameriyat Al-Falluja. [Maalomah]
DaeshDaily comment. This all sounds good, but these reports show that many of the past reports about liberating Jazeera Khaldiya were more talk than action. The liberation campaign for Jazeera Khaldiya was supposedly under way months ago.
Hit/Haditha
The military’s Intelligence Service says Iraqi army artillery killed 3 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a vehicle in the Albu Fa’our area near Hit. [Harbi]
Rutba
The IWMC says Iraqi forces destroyed 8 Daesh vehicles loaded with weapons and killed 3 terrorists from Arab countries, destroying 2 explosives vests in the Rawdha area. [Baghdadia]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
An Iraqi Army source says an old man who had fled Shirqat died of thirst before reaching Iraqi forces. The source also says Daesh shot at his group of three men, wounding one, who was then captured by the terrorists, and wounding the third man, who managed to flee. [BasNews]
The Salahuddin Governor says Iraqi forces are preparing to break into Shirqat and the city will be liberated from Daesh in the coming hours. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. How many times are we going to hear this promise? We are counting the hours.
DIYALA
Baquba
A security source says a woman and her son were shot and killed by armed men on the road between Diyala and Baghdad. [Maalomah]
Muqdadiya/Abu Saida
The Diyala Police spokesman says police captured 2 men wanted on terrorism charges in Muqdadiya. [Sumaria]
KIRKUK
Kirkuk
A Kirkuk police commander says his troops captured in Kirkuk city 4 men wanted on terrorism charges. [Sumaria]
A Kirkuk police source says the Peshmerga stopped a Daesh attack on a Kurdish forces checkpoint near Dibis, killing 7 terrorists, including a suicide bomber. [Maalomah]
Hawija
Daesh publishes photos of its hisbah activities in Kirkuk governorate. The photos also show Daesh throwing a young man from a building after accusing him of homosexuality. [JustPaste]
NINEWA
Mosul
A Ninewa police source says Coalition warplanes destroyed the National Insurance Company building in Mosul city. The building is one of the tallest buildings in Mosul and was used by Daesh as a headquarters, and as a place for executions, conducting many of the killings by throwing people off of the roof. [BasNews]
A PUK official says Coalition warplanes destroyed Daesh media points in 3 neighborhoods on the west side of Mosul, killing 4 terrorists. He also says Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh vehicle on the east side of Mosul, killing a commander and 3 of his bodyguards. Coalition warplanes also conducted airstrikes on other areas in Mosul, killing 20 terrorists and wounding many others, and destroying many vehicles and buildings. [PUKMedia]
A PUK official says the Ninewa brigade “Kata’eb Suqoor Ninewa,” attacked 2 Daesh vehicles in Hay Al-Islah in Mosul, killing 3 terrorists, and killing 5 more in Domiz intersection. He says Daesh started a raid campaign in the 2 areas, and arrested several young men. [PUKMedia]
The IWMC says Daesh cut off the internet from most of the areas in Mosul, and they say it will be cut off completely starting August 1st, out of fear that citizens in Mosul will communicate with Iraqi forces. It also says Daesh has closed most of the mosques in Mosul because few people are attending Daesh prayers, and because it doesn’t have enough members to control and monitor the mosques. [AIN]
Makhmur/Qayara
The NMF spokesman warns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Debaga Camp in Makhmur because the camp cannot support the growing numbers of displaced people and because of the lack of water, food, and medicine. [Sumaria]
The Joint Operations Command Spokesman says the first stage of the Ninewa liberation campaign is over and there are only 16 km (10 miles) separating Iraqi forces from Mosul. [Maalomah]
A video of Iraqi forces in the Qayara area [MoD]
Daesh publishes 2 photos of tribal leaders from Kubaiba village west of Gwer, pledging allegiance. [JustPaste]
Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Mr. Lee (Lee Scott), a 67-year-old American activist who left the US to help Yazidi people in displacement camps, died of a heart attack in Zakho. He was buried in a Yazidi cemetery in Sinjar, according to his will. An official funeral was held for him attended by Yazidi people, KRG officials, and Peshmerga commanders. [BasNews] [Sumaria]
Daesh publishes photos of targeting Peshmerga military positions in Fadhliya Mountain with mortars. [JustPaste]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
The Coalition says it conducted 9 airstrikes on Daesh in Syria, five in and near Manbij, the others in Mare’ (3) and Raqqa (1). [InherentResolve]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, says the Coalition will open an investigation into the recent civilian airstrike casualties near Manbij. [Hawar]
French President Hollande says he doesn’t have information about a reported French airstrike that killed fifty-six civilians near Manbij. [EnabBaladi]
The UNICEF estimates that 35,000 children are trapped in and around Manbij, in eastern rural areas of Aleppo Governorate, with nowhere safe to go. It also says since the intensification of fighting in the last six weeks, about 2,300 people, including dozens of children, are reported to have been killed. [EnabBaladi]
The Manbij Military Council issued a statement saying that in order to protect civilians it has accepted an initiative that gives Daesh terrorists who are trapped in Manbij 48 hours to leave the city with their personal guns. It also asks the people of Manbij to stay away from Daesh locations. [Hawar]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the initiative was started by local people. [SyriaHR]
Manbij Military Council finished clearing Hay Al-Hazawana and found the bodies of 12 more Daesh terrorists, raising the number killed in the area to 74. [Hawar]
Later on, the YPG-supporting Hawar news organization says, heavy battles erupted between Manbij Military Council troops and Daesh in Manbij city center. [Hawar]
The YPG says one of its American fighters was killed in the Manbij battle. The YPG issued a statement saying Levi Jonathan Shirley from Nevada, who joined the YPG in February, 2015, went back to America for a while, then returned in January 2016 but was killed on July 14th in Manbij. [Hawar]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Moscow says it used its Tu-22 aircraft to bomb Daesh locations east of Tadmur. [SyriaNow]
A video of Syrian troops fighting Daesh east of Hama [SANA]
The Syrian Army captured 3 Daesh locations on the patrol line east of Silmiya. [SyriaNow]
An Iraqi Shia militia announces for the first time it is fighting with Syrian troops in Tadmur city after only previously fighting in areas as far as south of Aleppo. [Arabi21]
Syrian warplanes bombed Al-Tiba village near Tadmur, wounding eight civilians, including two children. [ARA]
Daesh says it shot down a Syrian warplane in the Shindakhyat area east of Homs. [Dorar]
DaeshDaily comment. This and similar recent incidents suggest that Daesh may have acquired better anti-aircraft weapons.
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
The Syrian Observatory for Human rights says a child was killed in an airstrike on the Hamidiya neighborhood in Deir Ez-Zor city. It also says warplanes targeted several other neighborhoods in Deir Ez-Zor and surrounding areas. [SyriaHR]
South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)
Daesh publishes 2 photos of publicly lashing a man in the Yarmouk Camp, after accusing him of adultery. [JustPaste]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Lebanon
More than half of the nearly 500,000 school-age Syrian children registered in Lebanon are not enrolled in formal education, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Although Lebanon, which is hosting 1.1 million registered Syrian refugees, has allowed Syrian children to enroll for free in public schools, limited resources and Lebanese policies on residency and work for Syrians are keeping children out of the classroom. [HRW]
North Africa
Egypt
Medical sources say a 50-year-old man was killed by unknown armed men in the Masoura area south of Rafah. [VetoGate]
Two policemen were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle on the International Road in the Kharouba area in Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]
Another policeman was wounded when an IED exploded on an armored vehicle during a military campaign on terrorist hideouts in south Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]
A security source says a policeman was wounded by an Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis sniper in the Shallaq area south of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]
Two soldiers were killed when armed men shot at their vehicle in the Burouj area in Central Sinai. [ElWatan]
Libya
Northeast
The Chief of Staff of the Libyan Airforce says twenty military personnel from France, the US, and the UK, are in the Benina Airbase in Benghazi and their job is to monitor Daesh movements. He refuted the reports about the presence of foreign pilots, saying only Libyan pilots are conducting airstrikes. [Wasat]
Central coast
The Libyan National Accord Government Military spokesman says his troops advanced from the south and from the coastal area after heavy shelling and bombing on Daesh locations in Sirte. He also says one of his soldiers was killed by a land mine and twelve other soldiers were wounded in battles. He also refuted media reports about NATO warplanes bombing Daesh locations in Sirte. [Wasat] [Wasat]
The Misrata Central Hospital says 22 Libyan soldiers were killed and 175 wounded in the battles against Daesh in Sirte. [Wasat]
The National Accord Government Military media center says Libyan troops destroyed 2 Daesh vehicle bombs in the port area in Sirte. It also says Libyan warplanes conducted 6 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Sirte. [Wasat]
It also says Abdul Qader Fasouk, a media correspondent, was killed by a Daesh sniper in Sirte. [Wasat]
A military source says heavy battles continued in Sirte city center where Daesh has deployed its snipers. The source also says a senior Libyan military commander was killed in the battles. [Wasat]
Tunisia
The Tunisian Ministry of Interior says it targeted a convoy of 30 vehicles that was trying to smuggle armed men coming from Libya into Ben Guerdane, destroying 3 of the vehicles and forcing the rest to flee. [AfriGate]
Other countries
Yemen
Daesh publishes photos of detonating an IED on a vehicle and killing a Salafi militia commander. [JustPaste]
Nigeria
A Nigerian military spokesman says the Nigerian Army killed 42 Boko Haram terrorists and freed eighty hostages–forty-two children and thirty-eight women–in northeast Nigeria. [AfriGate]
DAESH MEDIA
Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]
