March 10, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
Elite troops diverted to Baghdad in anticipation of Sadrist demonstrations.
Sadrist CoR Security Committee Chairman says UN, other concerns about Daesh chemical weapons are made up.
Iraqi forces capture two more cities northwest of Ramadi District.
Wars of words, Daesh incidents continue to roil Diyala.
Turkmen, Taza residents frustrated by delay in liberating Bashir village in Kirkuk.
Daesh financial problems show up in Mosul.
Daesh fighters in Egypt reported defecting to Al-Qaeda.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
BAGHDAD
Political developments
Prime Minister Abadi issues a statement after a meeting with security commanders and the Ministers of Defense and Interior, asking the security forces to deal with the demonstrators professionally and avoid any frictions with them. He also asked the demonstrators to respect the law and avoid any appearances of armed men outside government control. [Mada]
Abadi’s office issues a statement saying the PM has sent the cabinet reorganization document to political parties and blocs. The document addressed 10 issues including standards for choosing technocratic ministers, evaluation of the current ministries work, and anti-corruption measures. [Mada]
Ján Kubiš, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), issues a statement after meeting Turkmen CoR members, saying that the UN is concerned about Daesh’s use of chemical weapons in Taza. [Sumaria]
Yahiya Al-Zaidi, the spokesman of the Joint Operations Command, said Daesh does not have mustard gas to use as a chemical weapon. He said that chlorine is a possibility, but this is yet to be confirmed and is being investigated. [AIN]
Hakim Al-Zamili, the Sadrist Chairman of the CoR Security Committee, denied US reports that Daesh has chemical weapons, and even denied the story of the arrest of Sulaiman Dawood Al-Ifri, responsible for the chemical weapons unit of Daesh, supposedly arrested by the US. He says this is a pseudo name. He added that the whole story is a fiction aimed to terrify the Iraqi people. [AIN]
Security developments
The “Golden Division” of the Counter Terrorism forces was deployed around the Green Zone in anticipation of Friday’s demonstrations. Moqtada Al-Sadr called his followers to demonstrate in Tahrir Square instead of the Green Zone. [Mawazin]
DaeshDaily comment. This is exactly what we predicted—the diversion of some of Iraq’s best troops from the war effort in order to deal with Moqtada’s little power play.
The Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) said that the 17th army division arrested a man wanted for terrorism in Bazayez Al-Yusufiyah, two on the main road near Yusufiyah after installing a temporary checkpoint, and another in Al-Rasheed in south Baghdad. 17th division found a weapons cache in Darwishiya, containing an RBK machine gun and 23mm ammunition. It also destroyed two booby-trapped houses and 5 IEDs, according to the MoD. In Sabahiya, in Latifiya, a weapon cache containing 2 mortar shells, explosives wiring, and BKC ammunition were found. In Rakoub, BKC ammunition, 48 mortar capsules, and 10 explosives timers were found. [PUKMedia]
Brigadier General Malik Al-Maliki, the commander of the 7th IFP brigade, said that the person shot and wounded at Al-Darwish junction in Saidiya, southwest Baghdad, is not an officer but rather a member of gang carrying false ID cards. The man approached security forces in the area after being shot, claiming he was an IFP officer. [Sumaria] An earlier report called him a lieutenant in the Counter Terrorism forces. [Ghad]
The following security incidents were reported.
Northwest Baghdad
North Baghdad
A man was arrested on terrorism charges by a security team in Saba’ Al-Bor. [Maalomah]
East Baghdad
An IED placed near a popular coffee shop in Al-Amin killed two civilians and wounded five others. [Mada]
Unidentified armed men shot a civilian to death in Fudhailiya. [Ghad]
Southeast Baghdad
A woman was kidnapped from her house in Jisr Diyala by unidentified armed men who broke into the house by force. [Ghad]
An IED placed in a popular market in Mada’in killed two civilians and wounded six. [AIN]
An IED placed near commercial shops in Mada’in killed two civilians and wounded eight others. [Mada]
Iraqi forces found 40 120mm mortars in Mada’in. [MoD Website]
South Baghdad
A roadside IED in Arab Jabour in Dora wounded four policemen on patrol. [AIN]
Daesh says its terrorists killed a PMF fighter and wounded another by detonating a sticky IED under their car in Sayafiya in Arab Jabour in south Baghdad. [JustPaste]
Bodies of three women shot to death were found buried in a house’s garden in Jurf Al-Naddaf, by an army unit. [IraqPress]
Two soldiers were wounded when an IED exploded on their patrol in Mahmudiya. [Sumaria]
Southwest Baghdad
Two bodies of a man and a woman shot in the head and chest were found in Chukuk. [Maalomah]
West Baghdad
An IED placed in a commercial area in Ghazaliya killed one civilian and wounded six others. [Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 13 (Not an overall total)
The Coalition executed 20 air attacks, 15 of them in Iraq and 5 in Syria. Attacks on Daesh targets in Iraq included Ramadi and Baghdadi; Kirkuk; and Sinjar, Kasik, Tal Afar, Mosul, and Qayara in Ninewa. [CJTF]
ANBAR
Falluja
Counter Terrorism Service forces are engaging Daesh 2 km (1¼ miles) from the center of Falluja, according to Falluja District Mayor Saadoun Al-Shaalan. He says the CTS, backed by tribal forces, is currently in combat with Daesh in Hayakel, 2 km from the Shuhada neighborhood in the center of Falluja. [Ghad]
The Mayor insists that Falluja be liberated before Hit or Kubaisa, due to its strategic importance and to save its population from famine. He added that tens of thousands of Falluja residents are being used by Daesh as human shields. [Mada]
PMF rocket units destroyed the HQ of the Daesh financial officer in Falluja, the IWMC said. [Harbi]
Daesh is flooding the agricultural areas in Qarma to obstruct the advance of army units. It has already flooded the area of Albu Khanfar in the middle of the district, according to Col. Midhat Al-Jumaili, commander of Qarma police. Daesh has controlled water resources in Qarma for over two years now. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. All of which shows that despite a year’s worth of victory reports from Qarma, Iraq still doesn’t control it. Until it does, its prospects for securing Falluja city, even if it is “liberated,” are uncertain.
PMFs units of Anbar repelled today a Daesh attack in the Al-Jawal area in Qarma, killing 6 attackers and destroying two trucks with machine guns, the IWMC said. [Harbi]
A video of AHH fighters in battles in Qarma [Harbi]
PMFs fighters foiled an attack by Daesh on Saqlawiya, after inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking force, the IWMC said. [Harbi]
Ramadi
The IWMC confirmed the liberation of Zangoura, west of Ramadi, and raising the Iraqi flag on one of its high buildings. It issued a statement saying that Counter Terrorism units and the 16th army division liberated the village after killing over 80 terrorists. Al-Qarya Al-Assriya was liberated yesterday as well. IWMC says this freed 15,000 families from Daesh captivity; over 50 terrorists trying to escape among evacuated families were arrested. [AIN]
The IWMC says Counter Terrorism troops captured 56 terrorists in Qarya Assriya. The IWMC says people of the village helped identify the terrorists who were trying to sneak out with the families. [Ghad]
A video of the Counter Terrorism Commander in Zangoura [MoD]
Videos of families leaving Zangoura [MoD] [Hurra]
CTS forces found the Daesh command center in Al-Qarya Al-Assriya. The center is underground and equipped with computers, communications equipment, and many documents and books. It was a headquarters for Daesh leaders. [AIN]
A security source says Coalition war planes bombed a Daesh convoy heading to Albu Tiban northwest of Ramadi, destroying 3 vehicle bombs. [Baghdadia]
Over 10,000 persons were evacuated from Zangoura and Al-Qarya Al-Assriya to safe locations in Ameriyat Al-Falluja and Khaldiya by army units, according to Ali Dawood, the head of Khaldiya council. [IraqPress]
In a separate and perhaps overlapping report because it includes Al-Qarya Al-Assriya, CTS rescued 7,600 families from Al-Qarya Al-Assriya, Abu Tiban, Mohammadi, and also Hit, and transferred them to safe places, IWMC said. [PUKMedia]
DaeshDaily comment. The IWMC can be frustrating. Government leaflets have urged people in Hit to evacuate, though the liberation campaign on the ground has still not started. If they are now evacuating, it would be nice if someone reported that.
CTS units have cleared the area between Zangoura and Albu Chlaib. Military units in both areas are now directly connected. [AIN]
Three car bombs were destroyed by the engineering units of CT forces. [Harbi]
Daesh says five Iraqi soldiers were killed in clashes with its terrorists in Hamdhiya north of Ramadi. [A3maq]
A video of a Daesh vehicle bomb captured by PMFs west of Thirthar [YouTube]
Hit/Haditha
A Coalition airstrike destroyed the “sharia court” building in Hit, according to Ali Dawood, head of the Khaldiya council. The attack was based on intelligence provided by the 7th army division. It killed Khalid Khalaf Al-Asafi, a major Daesh leader, and several others. [Sumaria]
Coalition planes also destroyed Daesh defense lines in Hit, killing several terrorists, according to a security source in Anbar. The source said that the attacks are preliminary to a major army attack on the city. [Sumaria]
A Coalition airstrike killed 40 terrorists in Kubaisa, including Rahim Nawi, a Daesh leader. A guest house and several vehicles were also destroyed. [PUKMedia]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A female suicide attacker detonated herself in the middle of a Daesh gathering at a public bus stop, waiting to go to Mosul. Tens of terrorists were killed and wounded. [Maalomah]
DaeshDaily comment. Another Maalomah report about a suicide attack against Daesh.
Daesh executed three men in Shirqat on charges of opposing Daesh rule and writing anti-Daesh slogans on the walls of the city. [Ghad]
Baiji
A large rigging and explosives workshop was found near Haditha-Siniya Road, containing 90 20-liter containers packed with ammonia nitrate, 4 Austrian 155mm shells, 100 detonators, 100 sticky bombs, 530 various IEDs, 2 explosives barrels, and 3000 meters of wiring. 60 IEDs were found in the Ayn Al-Faras-Line area, of which 10 were destroyed and 50 defused. [PUKMedia]
Daesh says its terrorists conducted a double suicide attack on Iraqi forces on the road between Baiji and Haditha. [A3maq]
PMF troops repelled a Daesh attack in Makhoul, according to PMF media. The PMFs killed several attackers and burned out a vehicle. [Maalomah]
Tikrit
The 34th armored brigade received the families returning to their homes in Awja after clearing war remains out of their way, and provided them with humanitarian assistance. [PUKMedia]
Daesh says its snipers killed three PMF fighters in Allas oilfield. [JustPaste]
Samarra
A security source says IFP troops found 18 Daesh rockets ready to be launched in the Khuzaimi area in Jazeera Samarra. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh is still able to conduct operations in Jazeera Samarra even after most of the area was liberated. It’s time for the Iraqi military media to explain the exact situation in the area, or any other “liberated” area, instead of always spouting the “completely liberated” theme.
Daesh says it blew up a PMF bulldozer in Jalam Al-Dour area. [JustPaste]
PMF units captured a Daesh construction shovel and excavator southeast of Thirthar Lake, according to Saraya Al-Jihad, a PMF militia. Daesh sneaked men into the area to booby-trap the shovel but were forced to retreat when the PMFs advanced. [AIN]
Jawad Al-Tlebawi, the spokesman of AAH, said Daesh used mustard and chlorine gases against the PMFs in Jazeera Samarra. He said 12 Katyusha rockets containing poisonous materials were fired by Daesh on PMF forces. [Sumaria]
37,884 have returned to their home areas according to the Salahuddin Operations Command (SOC). SOC also arrested 44 Daesh members based on intelligence it received in Jazeera Samarra, according to the MoD. [PUKMedia]
A video of the Iraqi Minister of Defense in Jazeera Samarra [MoD]
A video of Daesh vehicle bombs captured by Saraya Al-Salam in Jazeera Samarra [YouTube]
Tooz
The body of a Kurdish man was found in the middle of Tuz Khurmatu, near the graveyard, a security source said. [Ghad]
DIYALA
Muqdadiya/Abu Saida
The Diyala Governor denied any serious violations or attacks on government offices or citizens by demonstrators, adding that intelligence units picked up 20 rumors telling false stories about the situation in just two hours, which were passed by social media to various media channels. He added that he supports the demonstrators’ demands, and called on the central government to comply with them. [Mada]
The Governor says PM Abadi approved replacing the commander of the Iraqi Army’s 5th Division, which had been demanded by the Tameem tribe demonstrators, as well as returning two local PMF brigades to the city. Abadi also ordered that the process of compensating the families of the Muqdadiya terrorist attack victims be accelerated. [Mada]
Mohammed Al-Saadi, Diyala Provincial Council member, called on Prime Minster Abadi to send forces from outside the governorate to keep law and order. He added that the Bani Tameem tribe is demonstrating in Muqdadiya and some of its members are terrifying innocent citizens and cutting off roads leading to Balad Ruz and Khalis, as well as the Baghdad-Kirkuk road. The tribe is demonstrating to demand compensation for the latest terror attack and replacement of security commands. [Maalomah]
Daesh says it shelled Zaghniya Kabira village with 5 mortar shells and Abu Saida with 7 mortar shells. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. We need to hear something from Iraqi politicians about this shelling. Daesh wants the tribal problems in Diyala to explode and Iraqi politicians are doing nothing but supporting that.
Diyala Police freed a young man within hours of his kidnapping by an armed group in Muqdadiya. He was found in a house in the Urouba neighborhood in Muqdadiya center. [Mada]
Daesh claimed responsibility for kidnapping and killing two fishermen for sectarian reasons near Himrin Lake, according to official sources in Diyala. The source said that Daesh still has sleeper cells in the area that become active, and require a larger security effort to reveal them. [Sumaria]
An army Lieutenant was killed and two soldiers wounded while trying to defuse an IED in Himrin Hills near Mansouriya subdistrict, a local source in Diyala said. He added that the IED was left over from the Daesh occupation of the area over a year ago. [Sumaria]
A local source says the scheduled return of 425 displaced families to their houses in Saadiya was postponed because of the recent crisis in Muqdadiya. [Sumaria]
Southern Diyala
Dijla Operations Command said that specialized teams defused a car bomb placed near a school in Al-Khalis District. [Maalomah]
KIRKUK
A Kirkuk police commander says security forces arrested a Daesh member involved in the assassinations of the chairman of the Arab bloc in Kirkuk Provincial Council and the Chairman of the Hawija District Council, in addition to other terrorist activities. [Sumaria]
Kirkuk city
Daesh claims responsibility for the parked car bomb on the Kirkuk-Suleimaniya road yesterday. Daesh says its terrorists blew up the car from a distance when explosives experts approached it, killing two of them and wounding others. [JustPaste]
A security source says unknown armed men shot and killed a Sudanese civilian while he was driving his car on Al-Quds street in Kirkuk center. [BasNews]
Taza
Tens of demonstrators in Taza cut off the Baghdad-Kirkuk international expressway, causing a serious traffic jam on the road used for transport of goods between northern and southern Iraq. The demonstrators demanded that the government send the army and air force to liberate Bashir village and stop the daily Daesh bombardment targeting civilians in Taza. [Mada]
The High Commission of Human Rights in Iraq called for expedient liberation of Bashir village to free the people of Taza from the daily shelling, the latest of which witnessed the use of 40 rockets with chemical weapons. Masrour Aswad, member of the commission, said that this could threaten the city of Kirkuk also. [Mada]
400 cases of suffocation by chlorine were recorded in Taza after 10 hours of Daesh bombardment two days ago, according to the Human Rights commission. [Ghad]
Photos of people hurt by Daesh chemical weapons in Taza, including children. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. In its reports Daesh claims it shelled “PMFs” in Taza; this is what it always says when it attacks civilians. Maybe they can explain how these children could be PMF fighters?
Turkmen Eli party requested the international Coalition and Prime Minister Al-Abadi to take immediate action to liberate Al-Bashir. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. The frustration of people in the Taza-Bashir area is more than understandable and more than justified. The bottom line is that Iraq’s leadership has decided that other military objectives have a higher priority. It keeps putting Kirkuk off, which is also an issue in Hawija as we have reported. One factor is that while steady progress is being made against Daesh, it is taking too long, and a lot of people are dying or remain at risk because of that. This could all have a heavy political price.
PMFs artillery shelled Daesh positions in Bashir, killing 8 terrorists and destroying a machine gun mounted truck, a PMF source said. [Sumaria]
A PMF source says the Al-Abbas Combat Division, a PMF unit, renewed its shelling on Daesh in Bashir, killing 27 terrorists and burning several vehicles. [Harbi]
Turkmen mobilization forces destroyed a Daesh armored vehicle carrying rockets to launch towards Taza. 8 Daesh terrorists were killed in the attack. [Mada]
Hawija
Coalition warplanes destroyed the strategic Shumait Bridge connecting Hawija to Ninewa through Zab subdistrict, a security source said. The bridge has been part of an important supply line for Daesh. [Sumaria]
Iraqi Air Force attacked Daesh targets in the industrial area, Khan village, Hawija Technical Institute, and the car dealerships street in Hawija, killing 20 terrorists and destroying 3 vehicles and 6 heavy machine guns. [Mada]
Daesh executed a man in his eighties in a public square in Hawija on charges of trying to escape the city, local population sources said. [Maalomah]
Daesh executed three men in Al-Juhaish village of Hawija, on charges of cooperating with security forces. Daesh hung the bodies of the men at the village entrance after the execution. [Mada]
A man was shot dead by unidentified armed men in the middle of Kirkuk, a security source said. [Mawazin]
50 civilians escaping Daesh areas in Zab and Hawija, including women and children, arrived at the Farraj village of Makhmur, controlled by the Peshmerga. [Mada]
Daesh says its snipers killed two Peshmerga fighters in Zarqa. [JustPaste]
NINEWA
Mosul
A local source in Ninewa says some Daesh members are smuggling citizens from Mosul to the KRG governorates for USD 1,500 per person. The source says Daesh financial problems made some of its terrorists look for other sources of income. [Karemlash]
Local sources say Daesh promised the government employees in Mosul to pay their salaries in full if they accepted to pledge to fight with the terrorists when the city gets attacked by Iraqi forces. [Karemlash]
Three young men were executed by Daesh in Tel Al-Tawba east of Mosul on charges of cooperating with the Peshmerga. They were arrested in the Nabi Younis neighborhood in the city. [BasNews]
Daesh issues a video of burning Christian books in Mosul. [A3maq]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters detonated an IED on a Daesh vehicle near a checkpoint in Mosul, killing 3 terrorists. [KM Facebook Page]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul also says its fighters shot at a Daesh pickup vehicle in Yaramja, killing 2 terrorists. [KM Facebook Page]
Daesh issues a video of the results of American bombing on the old industrial area in Mosul. [A3maq]
Nineveh Plain
A security source says 2 Katyusha rockets fell on Zilkan camp in Bashiqa, wounding 3 NMF members. [Maalomah]
Makhmur
Daesh fired 15 Katyusha rockets on the 15th army division positions in Makhmur, 3 of them on the division command. No human casualties were reported, according to Rashad Kalali, a PUK official in Makhmur. [PUKMedia]
15th army division artillery based in Makhmur shelled Daesh positions in Sultan Abdullah village in Hamdaniya near the Makhmur border in response to the rocket attack Thursday morning. Several Daesh positions were destroyed but no count of casualties is available. [Mada]
Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
Coalition warplanes killed Ayham Abu Shadhra Al-Atbi, the Daesh military officer of Jazeera and 12 of his colleagues at the gates of Kasik camp. [BasNews]
The Mayor of Sinjar says 5,000 families from Sinjar are still living on Mount Sinjar and not returning to the city because of the lack of basic services. [Mada]
A Peshmerga commander says Daesh launched 50 rockets filled with chemical materials on Peshmerga locations in Domiz, wounding several Kurdish fighters. [Harbi]
A Peshmerga commander says the Kurdish forces artillery shelled several Daesh locations around Sinjar. The Peshmerga suspects that these locations have chemical weapons. [Rudaw]
A KDP Parliament member says the PKK occupies several buildings in Sinjar and the central government is not doing anything about it. He says it’s obvious there is coordination between the PKK, Baghdad and Gorran. [SotKurdistan]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
The KRG President Masoud Barzani says in a meeting with KDP officials “it is our right to announce independence and we are not ready to abandon it.” He also says it’s not important who announces independence and he will support that person. [Rudaw]
The KRG’s Natural Resources Ministry says the KRG lost 350 million dollars so far because of the halt in exporting oil to Turkey after the oil pipe was blown up in Turkey. Ankara accused the PKK of the explosion. [Rudaw]
A KRG official says the KRG agreed with Iran to send oil and get it refined in Iran. He says there was no agreement about establishing a pipeline and the oil will be transported by tankers. [Rudaw]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Babel
Daesh says its terrorists killed a policeman and wounded two others by detonating a sticky IED under their car on the road between Haswa and Hilla. [JustPaste]
Muthanna
Muthanna police denied the rumors that an unidentified plane shelled three Bedouin huts in Samawa desert Wednesday. The police statement said that as soon as the incident was reported, a Rapid Intervention unit went to the area and found out that a plane broke the sound barrier over the area, causing panic among the population, but that no shelling took place. [Ghad]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Turkish artillery reportedly shelled Daesh positions in northern Aleppo governorate today, in support of opposition militias, as militia fighters seized control of a village. Pro-YPG media claimed to have evidence that Turkey is involved in shelling the Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo, including providing poison gas canisters for use in attacks on the area. See reports below under Syria.
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Coalition planes targeted Raqqa in multiple raids late Wednesday night, destroying property. Casualty reports were not available. [ARA]
Daesh issues a video of 2 buildings bombed by American warplanes in Raqqa. [A3maq]
Daesh says 8,500 people entered its sharia education seminars in Tabaqa. Daesh also says 500 mosque imams attended “higher level” seminars. [A3maq]
Daesh says its zakat office distributed 1.2 million dollars in Raqqa and its countryside last month. [A3maq]
A video purportedly shows a wounded Daesh militant being treated by a Syria Democratic Forces fighter in Raqqa (video). [ARA]
A video shows a YPG female fighter helping a wounded Daesh terrorist who was captured in northern Raqqa countryside. [BasNews]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
The pro-YPG Hawar publishes a video purportedly showing a captured opposition militia fighter who said that Turkey provided various opposition militias with chemical agents, including chlorine and phosphorus for attacking the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo. [Hawar]
A YPG official in Sheikh Maqsoud says the YPG has documents proving Turkey’s involvement in the shelling of Sheikh Maqsoud. [Hawar]
Opposition militias seized control of the predominantly Turkmen village of Qara Kubri in the northern Aleppo countryside with support from Turkish artillery targeting Daesh from across the border with heavy shelling, according to a field commander in the Al-Jabha Al-Shamiya militia. An unspecified number of Daesh fighters were killed in the battle, the militiaman said [ARA]
Opposition militias repelled an attack by the Syria Democratic Forces in the Deir Samaan area of northern Aleppo governorate after several fierce battles, according to Qasioun’s correspondent. Similar battles erupted in the Al-Sakan Al-Shababi neighborhood of Aleppo city. [Qasioun]
Citing “high-level sources,” the pro-YPG Hawar writes that it has learned of a secret agreement between Daesh and the opposition militia factions of the National Alliance to attack areas held by the Syria Democratic Forces in northern Aleppo. [Hawar]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling Syrian troops with 120mm mortars in Tal Al-Taana. [JustPaste]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh and Syrian Army troops fought renewed clashes in the Al-Dowa area near Tadmur (Palmyra) east of Homs, amid heavy artillery shelling by Syrian units. Russian planes struck Tadmur city in multiple sites, destroying civilian property. Syrian artillery units launched heavy attacks on the Shaeir oilfield east of Homs as Daesh and Syrian troops fought intense ground battles in the area. The two sides also fought continuing battles near Qaryatayn city east of Homs. No casualty reports were available. [Qasioun]
Daesh says its terrorists stopped a Syrian Army attack on Dowa and captured a tank. [A3maq]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Daesh has been exploiting children in Deir Ez-Zor by offering them money in exchange for secrets about weapons hidden by their family, an activist said. Several raids have resulted from information that Daesh has gathered using this method, especially in areas occupied by the Shaitat tribe. [ARA]
South
Daesh says its snipers killed a Syrian armed group fighter and wounded another in Hay Al-Tadhamun in Damascus. [JustPaste]
Daesh issues a video of some of its military operations in Syria. [Isdarat]
A video of a Daesh terrorist captured by Jaish Al-Islam in Dumayr northeast of Damascus [YouTube]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Lebanon
One Lebanese soldier was killed and four others wounded in fighting with Daesh militants in Lebanon according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Army. Five Daesh militants were killed in the clashes, which erupted after pre-emptive Army raids on a group of Daesh members who had gathered on a hill in the Ras Baalbek area on Lebanon’s northeastern border with Syria. When Daesh sent reinforcements, the Army responded with heavy gunfire from the air and from the ground. The Army seized control of the hill, a security source said. [DailyStar (English)]
Daesh says a Lebanese soldier was killed and 16 others wounded in a failed attempt to advance in Ras Baalbek. [A3maq]
Saudi Arabia
The “Northern Thunder” military exercises in Saudi Arabia, to which over 20 states of the region sent forces to participate, have concluded. [Erem]
North Africa
Egypt
A former militant from North Sinai says that some armed groups in North Sinai have withdrawn their allegiance to Daesh and returned to supporting Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahiri, especially in areas around Arish. One such group, which calls itself Al-Murabitoun, is concentrated in areas south and east of Arish city, and carries out attacks from time to time, the source said. Al-Murabitoun is led by a man identified as a Libyan named Hisham Al-Ashmawy. A leadership struggle has erupted between partisans of Daesh and of Al-Qaeda in Arish and is expected to intensify, the source said.
The pro-Qaeda militants broke with Daesh over its stricter mores and its massacres of Muslims, the source added. The pro-Daesh Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis group, which now calls itself Daesh’s “State of Sinai” is carrying out more attacks lately in order to distract from the conflict between pro-Daesh and pro-Qaeda factions in Sinai, the source said. The source also said that Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis has received support from Hamas through the tunnels it controls and the “Army of Islam” in Gaza, the latter of which has sworn allegiance to Daesh. [ElWatan]
DaeshDaily comment: From what we know Hamas is an enemy of Daesh-affiliated groups in Gaza and has suppressed them so far. As we noted earlier, we recommend taking Egyptian allegations of ties between Hamas and Daesh with healthy skepticism. Having said this, it is clear that Hamas and Sinai’s armed groups (whether Daesh, Al-Qaeda, or otherwise) have a mutual interest in the tunnel economy linking Sinai to Gaza, but involvement in the tunnel trade from which Daesh (among many others) benefits in Sinai does not translate into political support for Daesh by Hamas.
Two soldiers were injured in an exchange of gunfire during a raid in Rafah city on Thursday. [VetoGate]
Daesh says it destroyed an Egyptian Army vehicle on the Qasima Hasana road in Sinai. [JustPaste]
Daesh issues a video of 3 of its suicide terrorists in Sinai. [Isdarat]
Libya
Northeast
Fighters of the Mujahedin Derna Shura Council (MDSC) killed a Daesh militant as he was trying to plant a mine near an MDSC inspection point. [AfriGate]
The Oil Facilities Protection Guard has announced that it repelled a Daesh attack on oil facilities in Sidra. [AfriGate]
Daesh says it wounded a Libyan armed group fighter by detonating an IED on his car in Derna. [JustPaste]
Libyan Air Force aircraft struck Daesh sites on Wednesday in Benghazi as well as targeting and destroying two boats off the coast of the city, security sources said. [Wasat]
The Red Crescent said it is investigating a mass grave found in the Hawari neighborhood of Benghazi, containing at least 15 unidentified bodies. [Wasat]
Libyan investigators uncovered a Daesh weapons cache containing guns, explosives, and ammunition, in Hawari. [Libya24]
Central coast
Daesh says 3 of its terrorists attacked Bu Qrain gate west of Sirte and killed four Fajr Libya fighters and wounded eight and destroyed several vehicles and captured one before returning safely. Daesh says the attack comes as a response to the Libyan airstrikes that killed children in Sirte. [JustPaste]
Officials in Misrata arrested two Moroccans suspected of belonging to Daesh, according to a statement issued Thursday, which said the arrests came after “days” of surveillance of the two suspects. [Moheet]
Daesh militants attacked a checkpoint at Abu Qarayn south of Misrata on Wednesday, killing three security personnel, a security source said. The militants have since withdrawn, the source reported. [LibyaAkhbar]
Northwest
Eyewitnesses in the Wadi Zamzam area, south of Mizda, reported that local residents had besieged a group of Daesh fighters in the area on Wednesday. A force of armed tribesmen was reported to have entered the battle as well, engaging Daesh in a firefight and participating in the siege. No further information was available. [AfriGate]
Tunisia
Tunisian MoD and MoI issued a joint statement saying 3 more terrorists were killed in 2 different locations in Ben Guerdane, raising the number killed so far to 46. Thirteen security members and 7 civilians were also killed. The Tunisian government spokesman says most of the dead terrorists were Tunisians, while some sneaked in from Libya. [Rudaw]
Daesh issues a video titled “Tunisia is Ours”. The video is a message from terrorists in Libya to the Tunisian youth to join them. [Isdarat]
A video of Daesh terrorists captured by security forces in Ben Guerdane [YouTube]
A video of several Daesh terrorists killed in Ben Guerdane [YouTube]
Other countries
Germany
As is being widely reported, a Daesh defector turned over tens of thousands of documents to German intelligence, who allowed Sky News to see them. Sky’s report can be viewed on this link (video). [Erem]
DaeshDaily comment. Early expert analysis of these documents cast serious doubts about them.
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Turkmen Eli page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/MedAbedRehmane
https://twitter.com/kortuba123
Other Daesh media
Daesh audio newsletter for today in Arabic and Russian [JustPaste]
