An Update On ISIS Activities

March 1, 2016

March 1, 2016

 

Tikrit Map

 

Today’s Major Developments

 

Daesh suicide attack kills general, several other soldiers near Haditha Dam.

Army, PMFs launch wide-area major offensive from Samarra area into the desert.

Recriminations abound over Muqdadiya bombings.

Joint Chiefs Chairman says Mosul liberation is already in motion.

Debate rages on about PMFs participating in Ninewa liberation.

Barzani tells investigative officials they can investigate any KRG official.

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

BAGHDAD

Political developments

A counter-terrorism committee of the UN Security Council estimated the number of foreign Daesh members at 30,000, one-third of them women. The report was based on intelligence reports from over 100 countries. Daesh recruits come from over 100 countries, and are joining Daesh at the rate of 100 per month, mainly recruited through social media. [Rudaw]

 

Tens of family members of Monday’s suicide attack demonstrated in Sadr City demanding the departure of the government which failed to protect their lives, and to impose reforms, according to their slogans, press sources said. [Baghdadia]

 

Saad Al-Mutalibi, member of the Security Committee in the Baghdad Provincial Council, predicted dire consequences if Moqtada Al-Sadr supporters demonstrate in front of the green zone next Friday in response to his call.  He said that clashes can be anticipated, as the government is not likely to approve the demonstration in such a location. [AynIraq]

 

Security developments

670 Iraqis were killed and 1290 wounded during February, UNAMI said.  [Mawazin]

 

The Baghdad PC Security Committee says 95% of car bombs exploding in Baghdad are entering from the areas surrounding Baghdad through checkpoints that are not equipped with adequate detection tools. [Mawazin]

 

Saad Al-Mutalibi of the Baghdad PC said that the delay in liberating Qarma, Saqlawiya, and Falluja poses a serious threat to Baghdad’s security, as evidenced by the recent Daesh attack on Abu Ghraib. He said these areas should be given priority ahead of Mosul, due to their vicinity to Baghdad. [Mada]

 

Lt. General Othman Al-Ghanemi, Army Chief of Staff, ordered formation of a special force entrusted with the protection of Baghdad. The unit members will be selected from the units that received the best specialized training in the field. [AIN]

 

A security source says three gardeners from the Huwaish tribe were beheaded in Rashidiya in north Baghdad. The source says the tribe of the victims is gathering its fighters to attack the area. The tribe lives in the Judaidat area in south Diyala. [Ghad]

DaeshDaily comment. Many poor people from rural areas go to Baghdad to work as gardeners. Daesh, and the AQI before that, have targeted these men in order to create sectarian tensions.

 

The following security incidents were reported.

North Baghdad

An IED planted near a popular restaurant in Saba’ Al-Bor killed two civilians and wounded seven. [Mada]

A roadside IED killed two tribal mobilization fighters and wounded three as they drove through the Falahat area in Tarmiya District. [Mada]

 

East Baghdad

A university student was killed and his car stolen in Fudhailiya. [Mada]

 

Southeast Baghdad

An IED placed near a popular football field in Mada’in District killed one civilian and wounded seven.  [Baghdadia]

The body of an unknown man was found shot in Zafaraniya. [Ghad]

 

South Baghdad

A soldier was wounded and his wife killed in an attack by unidentified armed men on their house in Yusufiyah. [Sumaria]

An IED placed in a commercial area in Dora killed two civilians and wounded four. [Mada]

The body of a man shot to death was found in Dora. [Sumaria]

 

Southwest Baghdad

An IED placed in a cattle market in Suwaib killed one civilian and wounded six. [Mada]

Unidentified armed men opened fire and killed a civilian in Al-Jihad neighborhood. [Ghad]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   10    (Not an overall total)

 

Abu Ghraib has returned to normal after Daesh’s attack on Sunday. The acting Minister of Trade speculated that the attack might have been linked to a corruption case where 15 officials of the Abu Ghraib silo have been on trial for corruption charges since mid-February, although Daesh didn’t burn the silo’s offices to get rid of any documents. Daesh online supporters say that Daesh stole wheat from the silo that could cover Falluja needs for a year, although local witnesses say Daesh terrorists couldn’t take anything from the silo at that time.

DaeshDaily comment. Were the corrupt officials providing Daesh in Falluja with wheat for some time and the Daesh operation was conducted to cover that? No one knows how terrorists from the trapped Falluja area could get to Abu Ghraib, and many of them then disappear later. 

 

The Coalition initiated 15 airstrikes in Iraq, on targets in Falluja, Habbaniya, and Ramadi; Tikrit; and Sinjar, Tal Afar, and Sultan Abdullah. [Baghdadia]

 

ANBAR

Sufian Al-Ethawi, spokesman of tribal affairs in Anbar said that liberation of Falluja, and of Hit and Kubaisa, depends on securing a safe exit way to their families. He added that all liberation plans are ready but are pending until a safe exit way is secured. [AynIraq]

 

Military intelligence said a fully equipped workshop for manufacturing of explosives was found in Anbar after intelligence provided by the local population, without specifying the exact location. The workshop contained two turning machines, two “Jahannam” cannons, 25 locally made bombs, 82 plastic and iron IEDs, BKC machinegun bases, and C4 explosives (video). [Mawazin] [MoD Website]

 

Falluja

55th Army and Liwa Al-Marjaaiya PMF units jointly repelled a Daesh attack on the Bustan Al-Tikriti area south of Fallujah, killing all attackers, the IWMC said. [Mada]

 

Liwa Al-Marjaaiya militia said it intercepted a major Daesh attack on Ameriyat Al-Falluja, killing 50 attackers and capturing large quantities of weapon. However, the PMFs lost 12 fighters in the battle. [Buratha]

 

Army units liberated the Al-Badran camp and West Siniya train station on Haditha road in Qarma. [AIN]

The Baghdad Operations Command said its forces are continuing to clear Albu Shijil, Qarma, and Taqsim areas, killing 13 terrorists and wounding 2, and destroying two defensive positions. 24th Army destroyed 5 booby-trapped houses and 3 IEDs, and found a weapons cache in Tilal Abu Habba, in Janabat. [Ghad]

 

Ala Al-Ubaidi, member of Falluja Rescue Council, said that Daesh is hiding its top commanders in shelters in the mosques of the city. He added that 50 suicide bombers will form their front defense line against army forces and that placement of IEDs all around the city had started. [Mada]

 

Bassem Al-Salami, a leading figure in Badr Militia of the PMF, said they are ready to liberate Qarma and Saqlawiya upon receipt of orders, saying his forces have Daesh movements under close scrutiny. [Mawazin]

 

Salam Al-Halbusi, member of Falluja District Council, said the Ministry of Defense approved the formation of two battalions of Falluja tribesmen to participate in the liberation of their city. [Mada]

 

Daesh says its terrorists stopped the attack by Iraqi forces on the Abadi area southeast of Falluja for the second day in a row, killing or wounding many soldiers and destroying 5 Humvees. [JustPaste] Apparently in an earlier report, Daesh says 11 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the battle and a Humvee was destroyed. [JustPaste]

Daesh publishes photos of battles in the Abadi area. [JustPaste]

 

A member of Anbar PCC says a tribal commander was wounded while he was trying to defuse an IED in Albu Daaij in Ameriyat Al-Falluja. [Sumaria] By another report, Lt. Colonel Sabah Enad was wounded while defusing an IED in Albu Daaij, a source in Ameriyat Al-Falluja local council said. [Maalomah]

 

Col. Jumaa Faza’ Al-Jumaili, commander of the Qarmat Al-Falluja tribal mobilization brigade, said Coalition warplanes attacked the Sajar military camp north of Falluja used by Daesh for training and gathering of fighters. 16 Daesh were killed; five vehicles, three rocket launching platforms, and a large oil storage facility were destroyed. The raid also destroyed all buildings of the camp. [Mada]

 

Al-Jumaili also says Iraqi troops supported by tribal fighters attacked a Daesh hideout in Subaihat in Qarma, killing Khaled Al-Luhaibi, the Daesh military commander of east Falluja, and 4 of his associates.    [Maalomah]

 

A source in Falluja hospital said the hospital received 60 Daesh terrorists’ bodies following an airstrike on their positions. [Mawazin]

 

Daesh claims it attacked Iraqi forces in the Al-Talaa area in Zoba’a, south of Falluja, killing 20 soldiers and destroying a Humvee in addition to several military positions. [JustPaste]

Daesh says six more soldiers were killed by its snipers in the same area. [A3maq]

Daesh publishes photos of battles in the Al-Talaa area. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. It seems like every time it loses ground somewhere else, Daesh claims some kind of victory in Zoba’a.

 

Ramadi

A grave containing 8 bodies of Facilities Protection Service soldiers including a 1st Lieutenant was found in Sufiya, east of Ramadi, according to General Ismail Al-Mahalawi, commander of Anbar Operations (AOC). [Sumaria]

 

General Al-Mahalawi said the 8th Army stopped a Daesh attack on Hamdhiya east of Ramadi with the assistance of Coalition airstrikes, while engineering units defused 103 IEDs in Sajariya. [AIN]

The MoD said Iraqi Army units killed 10 terrorists in Hamdhiya and destroyed 2 motorcycles and 2 vehicles. [Maalomah]

Joint forces with army aviation support repelled a Daesh attack on Al-Hamdhiya and Albu Farraj, killing “tens” of attackers and destroying three car bombs. [Baghdadia]

Major General Ismail Al-Mahalawi, commander of Anbar Operations said that Daesh attacks on army units in Albu Dhiab and Albu Farraj, north and east of Ramadi, were foiled, and that attackers retreated after heavy casualties. [Sumaria]

 

The MoD says Iraqi Army’s 10th Infantry Division killed several Daesh terrorists and captured another in Jaraishi (video). [MoD Website]

 

A video of Iraqi forces defusing IEDs and booby-trapped houses in Hamdhiya. [MoD Website]

 

Hit/Haditha

A Daesh suicide attack with explosives belts on the 3rd Army battalion command based near Haditha Dam killed Brigadier General Ali Abboud,  Chief of Staff of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command and Lt. Col. Farhan Ibrahim, commander of the support company of the Operations command, according to the Jazeera Operations commander, Major General Ali Dab’oun. Several other soldiers were also killed or wounded. [Sumaria]

The Chairman of Haditha District Council says four soldiers were killed and seven wounded in the attack. A security source says 3 Daesh suicide terrorists attacked Iraqi forces near the Haditha Dam. [Mada]

Daesh says 2 of its Syrian suicide terrorists clashed with Iraqi forces, then detonated their explosives vests on the River Police headquarters near Haditha, killing many officers including General Abboud, Colonel Omar Al-Nimrawi, Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and Captain Ahmed Mahdi. [JustPaste]

Daesh publishes photos of the two suicide terrorists. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. Two terrorists entering a heavy guarded area in such a sensitive place with explosive belts raises a lot of questions about security. Recently, Daesh has been using its sleeper cells more than usual.

 

The Jazeera Operations Commander also reported that his troops killed 4 Daesh terrorists who tried to sneak into a military headquarters east of Haditha. [Sumaria]

 

Coalition warplanes bombed the Sakalat area in the middle of Hit, killing 14 terrorists and destroying two vehicles, Lt. Aysar Al-Ubaidi, of tribal mobilization intelligence said. [Mada]

 

Daesh publishes photos of executing two young men accusing them of communicating with security forces in Haditha and Baghdadi. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. One of the victims has a father and a brother in Baghdadi, and the other has a policeman friend in Baghdadi. These are serious crimes for Daesh. 

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A PMF commander says Iraqi troops supported by PMFs conducted a military operation in the desert near and west of Shirqat and killed 12 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 6 vehicle bombs. He says the operation aimed at cutting off Daesh’s use of the road between Shirqat and Haditha. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. This important military action is related to the major offensive launched from the Samarra area, directed both west and north on the desert side of the Tigris. (See long Samarra report below) Shirqat is also on the river.

 

Tikrit

Daesh says 3 of its suicide terrorists attacked Iraqi forces with vehicle bombs in Ain Al-Faras, near the Speicher base, and near Al-Salam, killing or wounding “tens” of soldiers. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. In this report Daesh described the three locations as being in Tikrit city!

Daesh says 50 Iraqi soldiers were killed and ten vehicles and an Abrams tank were destroyed in the first attack in Ain Al-Faras, while another tank was destroyed and more soldiers killed in a fourth attack in Jazeera Samarra. Daesh says it doesn’t have exact numbers about the other two operations. [A3maq]

 

A car bomb killed 4 PMF fighters and wounded 18, among them Wael Al-Shimmari, PMF media official of Diyala. The attack took place in Jazeera Tikrit, north of the city. [Mada]

 

An IFP source says IFP commandos destroyed 8 vehicle bombs and defused 10 booby-trapped houses and 20 IEDs and captured a weapons cache in addition to killing 10 Daesh terrorists in Jazeera Tikrit. [Baghdadia]

 

General Ra’ed Shakir Jawdat, commander of the IFP, said that joint forces cleared the area of Al-Dhiba’i south of Tikrit, destroying 4 trucks, 9 defensive positions, and killing 4 terrorists. [Baghdadia]

 

A group of Daesh terrorists tried to sneak into Allas and Ajeel oil fields northeast of Tikrit late Monday night but were detected by the security forces, which killed 4 of them, forcing the others to retreat, according to a security source in Salahuddin. [Ghad]

 

A security source says 3 more mass graves were found west of Tikrit. The source says the bodies might belong to Speicher massacre victims. [Baghdadia]

 

Samarra

The Joint Operations Command (JOC) announced the start of a major operation targeting Jazeera Samarra, directly west of Samarra city, and other places west of the Tigris. The force is composed of army units, counter terrorism forces, IFP, and PMFs under artillery and air cover provided by Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Army Aviation, and the Coalition. [Sumaria]

The PMF organization described the campaign as a firm answer to recent Daesh terror attacks. [Mada]

 

Ahmed Al-Asadi, PMF spokesman, said the Jazeera Samarra campaign will cover Mkaishifa, Al-Salam village, areas west of Siniya and west of Tikrit and the desert area to the west, extending to Taqsim Dam and Thirthar in Anbar, and to the Hatra District in southern Ninewa, north and west of Samarra. This would isolate Daesh in Mosul and provide the army with adequate supply lines. He added that all of the vast desert areas will be liberated in this operation. [Maalomah]

 

In early military action after the announcement:

  • PMF troops cleared Al-Salam village and advanced to 10 km (6 miles) west of Siniya, a PMF statement said. [AIN].
  • A security source says Iraqi forces killed 3 Daesh suicide terrorists who tried to target the troops in Jazeera Samarra. [Mada]
  • During their advance in Jazeera Samarra, PMFs units captured 8 Daesh vehicles left by the terrorists. [AIN]
  • Advancing army units in Jazeera Samarra repelled a car bomb attack in the nearby Strategic Line area, and defused 16 IEDs planted by Daesh, a Samarra Operations Command source said.
  • An Abrams tank destroyed an attacking truck bomb west of Jazeera Samarra. [AIN]
  • IWMC said that two Daesh hideouts were destroyed and 7 terrorists were killed in Ismail Al-Abbasi village in west Samarra. Two vehicles bombs were also destroyed. [Baghdadia]
  • [Mada] Two soldiers were wounded when an IED destroyed their vehicle in the Strategic Line area. [Mada]
  • Al-Zor area west of Jazeera Samarra was liberated by Saraya Al-Salam units of the PMF, the IWMC said. [Mawazin] Saraya Al-Salam also killed a Daesh leader in the Khuzaymi area, nicknamed Abu Serhan. [Mawazin]

Hostages were the focus of some of the military activity.

  • IWMC announced liberating 150 families that were held by Daesh as human shields during the Jazirat Samarra operations. IFP transferred the families to safety in Abbasia School near Line area west of Samarra. [Shafaq]
  • The IWMC says Daesh terrorists in 8 vehicles were surrounding Taha Al-Azzawi village and prevented the residents from leaving, but PMFs units arrived and secured the families. [Etejah]
  • PMFs are advancing towards Joza village where Daesh is holding civilians as human shields. [AynIraq]
  • Two more villages were liberated and 15 IEDs destroyed by Iraqi special forces. [AIN]

In military action from the air:

  • Iraqi Sukhoi warplanes attacked the guesthouse of Abdul Fattah Al-Ka’em, west of Samarra, killing 15 Daesh terrorists inside, according to Joint Operations Command. The resulting explosion indicated a large quantity of ammunition in the location. [Mada]
  • IAA helicopters destroyed “the largest Daesh hideout” in the area. [AIN]
  • A security source says the IAA attacked a Daesh vehicle bomb workshop west of the Strategic Line area. [Ghad]
  • IAA killed 8 terrorists in Ahmed Al-Salman village and three in the middle sector of Jazeera Samarra, IWMC said. [AynIraq]
  • A Salahuddin Operations Command source says the IAA destroyed 5 Daesh vehicles, including 2 vehicle bombs in Jazeera Samarra. [Ghad]

However, 30 PMF fighters were killed or wounded in a suicide car bomb attack west of Tikrit, a security source said. [Ghad]

 

A car bomb targeting advancing forces west of the Strategic Line area in Jazeera Samarra exploded wounded Col. Hussein Alwan al-Jubouri, commander of the 2nd Battalion of Samarra Operations forces and 5 other soldiers. [Mada]

 

Moving west and north from the Samarra area,

– A security source says Iraqi troops supported by PMFs and tribal fighters liberated 4 more villages west of Jazeera Samarra and started to reopen the road between Baiji and Haditha. [AIN]

–  The PMFs announced that their forces crossed the Strategic Line area and are now engaged in heavy fighting near ex-Iraqi Army storehouses west of the Speicher and Mkaishifa areas. The 25 square km (10 sq. miles) storehouses fell to Daesh after the fall of Mosul in 2014. [Mada]

–  Waadallah militia of FTP advanced 7 km from the Line area in West Samarra, liberating the villages of Saleh Al-Ahmadi, Dawajin, Aran Abu Mahmoud, and Ziyad Al-Salah. It now controls Al-Fatha area and Daesh command centers in Kahldi Ibn al-Waleed and Anas bin Malik mosques. 132 IEDs were defused in the process, according to IFP media. [AynIraq]

–  Security forces advanced 21 km towards Thirthar Lake southwest of Siniya, capturing large quantities of weapons and ammunition left by retreating Daesh fighters. [Baghdadia]

– Security sources said optimistically that the advancing forces, led by Counter Terrorism troops, are now 20 km past Jazeera Samarra, and it’s a matter of hours before they reach the outskirts of Haditha. [Ghad]

The AAH spokesman says that when the Jazeera Samarra operation is completed, the road between Ninewa and Anbar will be cut off. He says Iraqi forces, supported by Iraqi airpower, started the operation to clear Jazeera Samarra, which is the source of many Daesh attacks on the liberated areas in Siniya and Baiji and was also used by Daesh to shell Samarra and the Speicher base. He says the 4,500 square km (1,757 square miles) area is mostly agricultural and needs troops trained on fighting in such an environment. [Sumaria]

 

DIYALA

Baquba

Daesh publishes 2 photos of blowing up a “PMFs” vehicle with an IED in Zaghniya Kabira. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. The photos show a Humvee and a small civilian vehicle coming from the other direction. The IED destroyed the civilian vehicle. [JustPaste

 

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

Shia CoR members hold some Sunni politicians accountable for the Muqdadiya attack, saying they helped to precipitate the attack by spreading rumors about the security situation in Diyala to increase sectarian tensions. The Shia alliance in the CoR asked Speaker Jubouri to stop today’s CoR session in protest against the attack. The session was postponed till tomorrow. [Mada]

 

The Diyala Governor went to court to sue Naheda Al-Daini, a Sunni CoR member from Diyala. The Governor says she provided false information about the security situation in Diyala and urged the government to move military troops from Muqdadiya, which led to a security vacuum. [Sumaria]

 

Diyala Police arrested two persons in Muqdadiya, on charges of “spreading rumors” regarding the security situation. Col. Ghalib Al-Atiya, Diyala Police spokesman, said that such actions will not be tolerated under these circumstances. [Sumaria]

 

Major General Jasim Al-Saadi, commander of Diyala Police, told politicians that their tense statements will not help to preserve security in Diyala. He said that they have an equal responsibility for civilian lives. However, their ill rumors in support of Daesh activity will not bring down security in this well controlled province, he said. [Sumaria]

 

The Ministry of Justice denied the rumors about breaking into the Muqdadiya prison, adding that all of the Ministry’s prisons in Iraq are safe. [AynIraq]

 

A school guard was shot dead by unidentified armed men near his house in west Muqdadiya, security sources said. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh fired 13 mortar shells on Al-Lahib and Albu Musa villages in north and northeast Muqdadiya without causing human casualties. This was reported by Adnan Al-Nuaimi, Chairman of the Muqdadiya District Council. He says Daesh is present in the Al-Zor area, 12 km (7.5 miles) north of Baquba and demands that the government take immediate action to eliminate the threat. [Sumaria]

 

Northern Diyala

Daesh says its terrorists blew up 2 electricity towers in the Al-Hafayer area in Sadiya subdistrict in Khanaqin. Daesh says the towers provide electricity coming from Iran to the Shia in Baghdad. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. More phony bravado about being the protectors of Sunnis. Of course we all know that Sunnis in Baghdad don’t use electricity.

Daesh says its terrorists blew up a PMFs water tanker in the same area. [JustPaste]

 

Daesh says its terrorists blew up another electricity tower (from Kirkuk to Baghdad) in Udhaim. [JustPaste]

Daesh says its terrorists blew up a police vehicle with an IED in the Albu Waheed area in Udhaim, killing the policemen inside. [JustPaste]

Daesh says it blew up a PMF vehicle in the Wihda area in Udhaim, killing or wounding the fighters inside. [JustPaste]

Here Daesh says three PMFs and three policemen were killed in the two attacks. [A3maq]

 

KIRKUK

In what could be a significant story, 50 Humvees carrying top Daesh leaders and fighters have left Hawija heading to Mosul according to local sources. The sources said that Daesh terrorists were talking about their inability with remaining manpower to confront anticipated attacks on Hawija and Shirqat.  [Maalomah]

 

Abu Hamza Al-Dulaimi, Daesh’s official responsible for training and bomb-setting in Hawija was killed by tribesmen in Hawija, said Sheikh Abdullah Al-Alyan, chief of Anti-Daesh tribal council of Hawija. [Mawazin]

 

A security source says an oil pipe was damaged by an IED near Sargaran subdistrict, 65 km west of Kirkuk. The source says the pipe was not in service but it had oil in it. [Mada]

 

A local source says 15 Daesh terrorists, including 3 foreigners, were killed in intra-Daesh clashes in Abbasi subdistrict in Hawija.  [Sumaria]

 

Daesh says its terrorists killed three Peshmerga fighters using guns with silencers on the road between Kirkuk and Rahimawa. [JustPaste]

 

A Turkmen CoR member says Daesh rocketed Taza from Al-Bashir village in Kirkuk with Katyushas. He urges the government to liberate Al-Bashir and warns that if the shelling continues, people will be forced to leave the Taza and a new wave of displacement will happen. [Ghad] All schools in Taza were closed due to the Daesh bombardment, a security source said. [Ghad]

 

Three Turkmen soldiers were wounded and two others are missing after trying to plant an IED to obstruct Daesh terrorists near Taza. Search operations for the missing were obstructed by Daesh sniper and mortar fire from Bashir village. [Mada]

 

Abu Ridha Al-Najjar, supervisor of the Turkmen PMF, said his soldiers will take orders from the Commander-in Chief, Haider Al-Abadi, regarding participating in Ninewa’s liberation, not from the traitors who sold their land to Daesh (referring to Al-Nujaifi). [Mada]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Mosul campaign has already started, adding that consultations and planning with the Iraqi military are continuing. He said that Mosul is being isolated; so is Raqqa, prior to the start of actual battles in Ninewa. [Baghdadia]

DaeshDaily comment. We believe this statement reflects the major military operation launched today from the Samarra area, one prong of which is intended to reach southern Ninewa.

 

Coalition warplanes bombed Al-Kindi military camp on the left (east) side of Mosul, used by Daesh as a command center, with 6 missiles, killing over 20 terrorists and destroying several weapons and vehicles, according to Gayath Sourachi, PUK media official. [PUKMedia]

The warplanes also attacked a convoy of 15 cars on the right (west) side of Mosul, killing 11 terrorists including a field leader called Khalil Muhajir Al-Ifri (Abu Ibrahim), Sourachi said. [PUKMedia]

 

A Ninewa Police source says Daesh abandoned the North Ninewa Oil Directorate building and stole its furniture before blowing the building up. The source says Daesh had used the building as a hideout for its terrorists. He also says Daesh blew up the Social Care directorate in east Mosul. [BasNews]

 

A Ninewa police source says Daesh executed 20 civilians in east Mosul, including former government employees. [BasNews]

 

Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters detonated an IED on a Daesh SUV, killing 4 terrorists inside it, including a local military commander. [KM Facebook Page]

 

A Shia Turkmen MP from Ninewa says in a press conference with other MPs from Ninewa that only PM Abadi can decide on the participation of the PMFs in Ninewa liberation. He also says “no one can prevent the Christians, the Yazidis, the Shabak and the Turkmen from participating in liberating our houses and our areas”.

A Sunni MP from Ninewa says the Governor and the Provincial Council were pressured to issue the resolution yesterday. He demanded they announce a clear position regarding the Turkish presence in the Governorate. [Mada]

Another Sunni MP says 20 MPs from Ninewa want the PMFs to participate in Ninewa liberation and only 5 refuse. He says the CoR vote was based on the PMFs, who are an official military force, but some armed groups are not under the command of the Prime Minister. [Sumaria]

 

Local sources say Abdul Aziz Al-Khdhiar, a Daesh local leader who appeared in many Daesh public punishment publications and was responsible for killing many people from Ninewa in addition to participating in the Speicher massacre, left the house he used to occupy in Mosul with his family to an unknown location. The terrorist is the brother of a member of the Ninewa Provincial Council. [Karemlash]

 

Other Governorates  

KURDISTAN

The KRG President Masoud Barzani met with the KRG’s COI officials, judges and the Board of Audit and told them they have his full support to investigate any KRG official regarding corruption cases. [Rudaw]

 

Eyewitnesses say Turkish warplanes destroyed an 1,100 year old shrine 10 km (6 miles) south of Amedi in northern Dahuk. [Sumaria]

 

Regarding yesterday’s report that Turkey was holding the KRG’s oil money, KNN TV, close to Gorran, says KRG’s deputy Prime Minister said in a meeting with the PUK bloc in the KRG Parliament that the oil money is transferred from Turkey’s Khalq Bank to an intermediary in Germany, then to a Kurdistan bank. The chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources committee in the KRG Parliament says the money will never arrive in full to Kurdistan as long as there is an intermediary. [SotKurdistan]

 

The director of Misnak, a Kurdish transport company, accused PMFs of kidnapping two Kurdish drivers from Erbil on the Khalis-Udhaim road, after stopping them as they were transporting electrical generation supplies to Baghdad. The shipments were not touched, but the drivers were taken away to an unknown location. [Rudaw]

 

Kurdish sources said the Kirkuk-Erbil oil pipeline was targeted with an explosion of some kind. No further details are available. Kurdish security surrounded the blast area. [BasNews]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Political developments

According to the Russian news agency Sputnik, Customs in Bulgaria announced that Daesh fuel is being sold in the country. Sputnik says the fuel comes through Turkish ports. [Xendan]

 

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Lutfi Elvan called for the UN to include the PYD and the PKK on its lists of terrorist organizations according to remarks to state-run Turkish media after a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. [Anadolu (English)]

 

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu published a piece on its Arabic-language web service tracing what it says are the connections between the PKK and the PYD, saying that the PKK “controls the strings” of the PYD.  [Anadolu]

 

A report on the pro-YPG Hawar website alleges that Daesh had artillery support from Turkish units across the border in its recent attack on Tal Abyad in northern Raqqa governorate. [Hawar]

 

Military developments

Turkey says its howitzers shelled Daesh positions inside Syria on Monday.

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

The YPG says that Daesh committed a massacre in the village of Hammam Al-Turkmen on February 26, killing at least 20 Arabs from the village and burning the bodies. The YPG alleges that the Daesh attackers infiltrated from the Turkish side of the border. [Hawar]

 

For over a year Daesh has held 12 individuals from one family in the village of Tal Majdal, on the old road between Hasaka city and Tal Tamr, according to a source close to the Syrian government. The family was supportive of the Syrian Army in fighting against Daesh in the area, the source said. The detainees include women and children, the source said. [ARA]

 

Daesh executed eight of its own militants, all Dutch nationals, in Raqqa last Friday, local sources said, on allegations of attempting to defect from Daesh. Daesh did not report the executions in its media, locals noted. The anti-Daesh website “Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered” (RBSS) reported that at least 60 others holding Dutch citizenship have been arrested by Daesh. The Dutch nationals, many of Moroccan extraction, were organized into a separate unit within Daesh’s organization but when Daesh suspected that the group was moving to defect after Daesh’s recent defeats, it issued arrest warrants for all fighters from Holland, RBSS reports. [ARA] [Erem]

 

Coalition air raids targeted a Daesh vehicle on Tuesday, killing and injuring those inside. Daesh ordered two young men’s hands to be removed on allegations of theft in Raqqa. The Syria Democratic Forces have launched a search and raiding campaign in villages that Daesh briefly occupied in its attack on Tal Abyad earlier in the week. [Qasioun]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Daesh seized control of the village of Nasariya southeast of Jarabulus Tuesday, in fighting with Syria Democratic Forces east of the Euphrates River. Two Daesh militants were killed near the village, a YPG fighter said. The village is considered a strategic position for the anticipated battles for Daesh-held territory west of the Euphrates. Intermittent fighting and shelling is ongoing between the two sides. Ten Daesh militants were killed by YPG sniper fire on Tuesday in the village of Jarabulus Tahtani 3 km (2 miles) south of Jarabulus city, the YPG fighter said. [ARA] [Qasioun]

 

Opposition militias made gains into Daesh-held territory north of Aleppo near the Turkish borders on Tuesday with the assistance of Turkish cross-border artillery shelling and Coalition airstrikes. A Jabha Shamiya commander said that allied opposition militias launched attacks on Daesh in the border cities of Tal Battal and Al-Azzatiya, prompting heavy fighting that claimed casualties on both sides. Turkish artillery shelled Daesh in Tal Battal while Coalition planes struck Daesh positions in Al-Azzatiya, allowing the militias to advance against Daesh, he said. Battles are still ongoing, the militiaman added. [ARA]

 

Daesh issues a video of shelling Syrian troops between Khanasir and Rasm Al-Nafal. [A3maq]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

Daesh has been dumping bodies of men, women, and children on the main roads of Deir Ez-Zor for the last two days, an activist said. Neighborhood residents do not recognize the slain victims and Daesh did not provide any indication as to their identity or the source of the bodies, the activist said. The body dumps appear to include entire families of men, women and children, the activist said. [ARA]

 

Daesh clashed with Syrian Army troops and their Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies in the city of Al-Baghiliya west of Deir Ez-Zor on Tuesday. Casualties are reported on both sides of the fighting. Syrian units shelled and rocketed the Al-Sinaa neighborhood in Deir Ez-Zor city, amid intermittent ground battles between Daesh and the Syrian Army in the area as Syrian Army troops attempted to storm Al-Sinaa and Al-Haweiqa neighborhoods. Syrian artillery also shelled the Al-Marieiya neighborhood near Deir Ez-Zor military airport, damaging civilian property. Daesh mortared and fired heavy guns on Syrian positions around the airport. Daesh mortar shells killed a civilian and injured four others in Al-Jawra neighborhood of Deir Ez-Zor. Russian warplanes struck the Hawijat Sakr island outside Deir Ez-Zor city amid Syrian artillery shelling of the area. Daesh conducted raids and arrests in Al-Shahil city in Deir Ez-Zor countryside, without announcing the reason for the arrests. [Qasioun] [Qasioun]

 

Daesh says three Syrian soldiers were killed and ten wounded in clashes in 2 neighborhoods in Deir Ez-Zor. [A3maq]

 

South

Daesh militants infiltrated the Daraa countryside and planted four IEDs on the road between Al-Dahr and Al-Mudawara villages, as well as attacking a checkpoint run by opposition militias, sparking heavy fighting between the militias and Daesh. A militia field commander in the “Free Tribes Army” said his fighters repelled the attack, killing a number of Daesh fighters. [Qasioun]

 

An interview with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is due to air on German television Tuesday, in which he reportedly says that he will offer an amnesty to “terrorists” in Syria if they agree to lay down their arms. It is not clear from the reporting if Nusra Front and Daesh militants are included in the offer, although this appears doubtful given that these two groups are excluded from the peace negotiations and cessation of hostilities agreement in force in Syria. [Arabi21]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Jordan

A security source says a police officer was killed and two policemen and two civilians wounded in a security operation against terrorists in Irbid in north Jordan. Eyewitnesses say heavy clashes erupted between Jordanian security forces and Daesh linked terrorists in the Irbid camp. [Ammon] [BasNews]

 

North Africa

Egypt

Unknown “takfiris” killed two young men with gunfire in plain daylight in a public square in the Al-Fawakhirya neighborhood of central Arish city on Tuesday, before fleeing the scene, eyewitnesses said (graphic photos). [VetoGate]

Daesh says it killed a man and his son in a public square in downtown Arish city accusing them of spying. [JustPaste]

 

Egyptian troops in Rafah killed Ziyad Abu Farig, a 38-year-old commander in the Daesh-affiliated armed group known as Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis in the course of battles between the militia and security troops in Rafah’s Al-Rasm neighborhood. Ansar companions of Abu Farig fled the scene in the same “Hyundai Vera” in which Abu Farig was killed.  [VetoGate] [ElWatan]

 

An IED exploded on a police detachment in Rafah on Monday, injuring five policemen. Another policeman was injured in a shootout with “takfiris” in Rafah’s Al-Rasm neighborhood. A seventh policeman was injured in Rafah on Monday when a police firearm discharged accidentally. [VetoGate]

 

Egyptian troops killed at least 20 suspected Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis members in raids south of Rafah on Tuesday, as well as injuring 30 and capturing eight.  [VetoGate]

 

Daesh says its terrorists detonated an IED on an Egyptian Army patrol in Rafah. [JustPaste]

 

Daesh issues a video of Egyptian soldiers moving supplies using “primeval methods” after Daesh repeated attacks on their vehicles. [A3maq]

 

Libya

Northeast

Libyan military units are engaging Daesh on the western outskirts of Benghazi, after heavy fighting Monday as Daesh attempted to advance on the Tika area southwest of the city that began with an attempted suicide vehicle attack which was foiled by Libyan troops. Libyan Army troops launched a surprise attack at dawn on Tuesday in the Tika area, a military source said taking territory from Daesh, the source said. Two Libyan soldiers have died so far along with an unspecified number of Daesh fighters, the source also said. [Wasat] [AfriGate]

 

Libyan troops in Benghazi arrested seven women, of various foreign nationalities, who were fighting in Daesh ranks in Libya, a military source said. [Erem]

 

Daesh says its terrorists destroyed a Libyan Army vehicle in Saberi in Benghazi. [JustPaste]

Daesh publishes photos of battles in Benghazi. [JustPaste]

 

Daesh says its terrorists killed two Libyan armed group fighters in 2 different areas in Derna. [JustPaste]

 

Sirte

Daesh has announced a state of alert in Sirte and has deployed foreign fighters to positions along the coastal road, local sources said. The same sources also said Daesh had installed security gates in various areas of the city to search pedestrians and vehicles as they pass, especially to check the mobile phones of Sirte’s denizens as Daesh sites face airstrikes. A source in the Misrata operations room said Sunday the flow of displaced families out of Sirte had increased in the previous 24 hours, during which time the Abu Qurayn military security gate west of Sirte had recorded the entry of 121 fleeing families headed to Misrata, Tripoli, and other points west of Sirte, the source said. [Wasat]

 

Two militias seized control of the “Akhshoum Al-Khayl Gate” 60 km (37 miles) south of Sirte on Monday, according to a member of the Sabha local council. The “Sabha Martyrs” militia and the “Taqafarat” militia from Jufra district attacked the site and drove Daesh from it, the council member said. Sabha and Jufra are both located in the Libyan interior south of Sirte. [Wasat] [AfriGate]

 

Libyan troops led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar                will advance on Sirte after achieving full control of Benghazi, according to media reports. Preparations for the attack on Sirte include bringing the Oil Facilities Protection force under the leadership of the Libyan Army, “knowledgeable sources” said. [AfriGate]

 

Tunisia

AfriGate points out that the major countries of the Arab Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia) are all categorically opposed to foreign intervention in Libya to fight Daesh, fearing the spillover of instability from Libya across their own borders. Mauritania, considered another Arab Maghreb state, has not yet taken a position. [AfriGate]

 

Germany, Tunisia, and Libya are in discussions to develop a program that would bring Libyan troops to Tunisia for training, according to the Tunisia defense minister. [Tunisien]

 

Tunisian aviation authorities have extended the ban on flights from Libya from landing at Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis until March 8, according to media reports. [AfriGate]

 

Algeria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Algiers Monday to discuss the Libyan and Syrian files as well as the state of the global oil market with his Algerian counterpart and with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other high-ranking officials. After the meeting Lavrov said that the two countries shared the view that the Libyan crisis was brought on by the earlier NATO-led intervention in Libya and that the rebuilding of the country should come in a process of comprehensive national dialogue. [Wasat] [Wasat]

 

Other countries

Pakistan

Daesh says its terrorists killed a Pakistani “spy” in Inayat Ali area in Bajaur, in the Tribal Areas. [JustPaste]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Facebook Page of the Day

A pro-Daesh page from Libya

 

Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day

https://twitter.com/ossino135

https://twitter.com/tco_Free_lance

https://twitter.com/tu6j6utyj

https://twitter.com/g_q67

https://twitter.com/AieadKaraem

 

Other Daesh media   

Daesh’s new issue of its Al-Naba’ magazine [JustPaste]

 

Daesh audio newsletter in Arabic and Russian [JustPaste]

 

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