May 23, 2016
Today’s Major Developments
IRAQ FORCES LAUNCH ATTACK ON FALLUJA.
Iraqi intelligence operatives kill three major Daesh officials in Shirqat.
Daesh cell allegedly responsible for southern Salahuddin suicide attacks arrested.
Daesh urges its Mosul terrorists not to flee.
COORDINATED DAESH SUICIDE BOMB ATTACKS HIT SYRIA’S MEDITERRANEAN COAST.
Egyptian military launches major attack against Daesh-affiliated organization.
Daesh suicide terrorists attack Army recruiting centers in Yemen.
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
The Chaldean Patriarch, Rafael Sako, rejected Washington’s decision to arm Christian groups, calling it “an unblessed and not innocent step.” He says Washington should arm Iraqi official forces, and Christian youth should join the official forces. [Mada]
The Minister of Justice says 22 terrorism convicts were executed during the month of April. [Mada]
The Combined Joint Task Force says the Coalition conducted 10 airstrikes on Daesh in Iraq, in or near Falluja (2) and Habbaniya; Hawija; and Mosul (5) and Qayara. [CJTF]
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)
The IWMC says 3 mortar shells fell on Karrada without causing human casualties. [Mada]
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
Iraqi Army 43rd brigade confiscated explosive materials in Waqf village in Rashidiya.
Iraqi Army 45th brigade destroyed 10 IEDs in the Malahma area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)
Iraqi Army 44th brigade defused an IED in Hay Ur. [BOC Facebook Page]
An MoI source say security forces captured 2 men in Shaab wanted on terrorism charges. [Mada]
East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)
An MoI source says an IED exploded near a café in Obeidi, killing two people and wounding nine. [Mada]
Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)
An MoI source says an IED exploded near a restaurant in the industrial area near the new Diyala Bridge, killing one person and wounding six. [Mada]
An MoI source says an IED exploded in Nahrawan, killing one person and wounding six. [Mada]
South (Dora, Mahmudiya)
An MoI source says two Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded when an IED exploded on their patrol in Arab Jubour. [Mada]
Daesh says it attacked an Iraqi Army military position in the Sayafiya area of Arab Jubour with midsize weapons. [JustPaste]
Southwest (Rasheed)
Iraqi Army 60th brigade destroyed 11 IEDs in the Abadi area. [BOC Facebook Page]
West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)
An MoI source says one person was killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded in Iskan. [Mada]
An MoI source says an IED exploded in the Haswa area in Abu Ghraib, killing three people and wounding seven. [Mada]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 13 (Includes only incidents reported)
ANBAR
Falluja
Falluja city. Prime Minister Al-Abadi announced the start of Falluja liberation operations. [Mada]
Abadi later said that Iraqi forces advanced toward Falluja and the results of the battles exceeded expectations. [Rudaw]
An Anbar Operations Command source say Iraqi forces entered the Al-Dhubat neighborhood in east Falluja. [Maalomah]
The Iraqi Federal Police (IFP) say their troops killed 6 Daesh snipers at the eastern entrance of Falluja. The IFP also destroyed 3 vehicle bombs, killing the terrorists inside. [Mada]
The MoD says the IAA destroyed Daesh vehicle bombs and fuel tanks and killed many terrorists in Falluja. [MoD Website]
The PMF press says IAF planes killed a Daesh group that was trying to blow up the Qarma Bridge. [Etejah]
The IWMC says IAF Iraqi F-16s destroyed Daesh explosives workshops and rocket launchers in the city, killing “tens” of terrorists. [Maalomah]
The Joint Operations Command (JOC) spokesman says there are 50,000 to 70,000 civilians still in Falluja, and 400-600 Daesh terrorists, mostly foreigners. [Sumaria]
A member of the security committee in Anbar Provincial Council says Iraqi forces started the attack on Falluja with heavy shelling and bombing. He says Iraqi forces didn’t target residential areas, but rather locations near the international road. [Maalomah]
Videos of Iraqi forces shelling and rocketing Falluja [YouTube] [YouTube] [BasNews]
A Falluja hospital source says 20 civilians, including four children and five women, were killed and 20 more wounded in a PMF shelling on Falluja. The source says the PMFs targeted the city with 100 Grad rockets and 800 shells. [BasNews]
DaeshDaily comment. We have no way to evaluate the accuracy of this report.
Daesh issues a video of the result of the PMF shelling on Falluja. [A3maq]
A video of the Minister of Defense arriving in the Falluja northern military sector [MoD]
A member of the Security Committee in Anbar PC says Iraqi forces allocated 4 exit areas for civilians from Falluja, and says the Anbar government prepared a camp for the displaced families that has the capacity to host more than 3,000 civilians. [Mada]
The Anbar Governor says special governmental committees are accompanying security forces to provide medical and humanitarian services for civilians. [Mada]
An Anbar Operations Command source says Daesh is preventing citizens from leaving their houses in Falluja, threatening to kill them if they do. [Mada]
A member of the Ameriyat Al-Falluja subdistrict council says Daesh shot at families who were attempting to flee Falluja toward the Falahat Bridge, west of the city, killing three civilians. [Maalomah]
A tribal leader from Falluja says Daesh issued a curfew in the city and closed the main roads with concrete blocks. [Sumaria]
An informed source says Daesh issued a curfew in Falluja to prevent its terrorists from leaving through the secure routes provided by Iraqi forces for civilians. [Etejah]
However, the Anbar PMF spokesman says Daesh ordered its terrorists to shave their beards and dress in civilian clothes, preparing to leave Falluja. [Mada]
A JOC source says thousands of leaflets were dropped over Falluja asking citizens to stay away from Daesh locations and promising to free the city from Daesh. [Mawazin]
Daesh issues a video of the results of an American airstrike on a mosque and houses in Falluja. [A3maq]
The Chairman of the Falluja Salvation Council says 1,200 fighters from Falluja tribes are participating in the liberation operations. [Harbi]
The National Powers Alliance, the Sunni coalition, praised Iraqi forces and PM Abadi for the Falluja liberation operations. [Sumaria]
The Iraqi Observatory for Journalism Freedoms mourns Tahseen Ali Al-Saedi, a journalist who was accompanying the Iraqi forces. [Baghdadia]
The Chairman of the Sunni Endowment says the fighters who came from other areas in Iraq to participate in the Falluja liberation are “the pride of Iraq and Iraqis.” He says the Endowment has been calling for the liberation of Falluja for two years now, asking the Iraqi forces to save the civilians in the city. He also asked the citizens of Falluja to cooperate with security forces. [Mada] [Sumaria]
The Association of Muslim Scholars, a self-appointed Sunni organization, issued a statement condemning the Iraqi forces attack on Falluja, holding the Iraqi government, Shia militias, the US, the Coalition and Iran responsible for all civilian casualties. As usual, the AMS never mentioned Daesh in the statement. [AMS]
Daesh Twitter accounts started a hashtag (support Falluja with your prayers), claiming that Falluja City and its citizens will be annihilated. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. The AMS is a deceptively named extremist organization that is neither religious nor scholarly. Its views can’t be taken seriously but do coincide with the anti-government, anti-Shia, anti-US outlook of the Falluja diehards.
Falluja is still a symbol of sectarian hatred but is also still a sectarian cause among Sunni Arab media. However, it has now been occupied for over two years by a terrorist organization. A large percentage of its people have fled. The government attack on Falluja will anger many of those who remain, including those who claim to oppose Daesh. However, it’s wrong to think, as many do, that only Daesh supporters remain in the city. Most residents don’t want to leave their houses, especially those who are weak or poor. Others are intimidated by Daesh threats against those who leave, including some executions of people who tried.
The Sunni Arab media are too indulged in hatred and self-defeat to admit their sectarian motives. In fact, most of these media outlets and Twitter accounts (including semi-official accounts in the Gulf) don’t mention Daesh at all. The fight now is between the “infidel” Shia government and the innocent civilians of Falluja, exactly as it was it was before, when the fight was between the “infidel” Americans and the people of Falluja.
Many thousands of Falluja civilians have suffered because of this non-stop media propaganda. Those who didn’t like this, and wanted their city to live in peace, were slaughtered or forced to flee. AQI dominated the city after assassinating Sheikh Hamza Al-Eissawi, the imam of Anbar, who had called for peace. The Sunni Arab media didn’t mention that. AQI and Daesh forced orphaned girls in the city to marry their suicide terrorists, just before the terrorists blew themselves up, but the Arab media hasn’t mentioned that. The children of Falluja have lost their opportunity for a meaningful education for years. The city’s schools and mosques and hospitals became military headquarters. Many Falluja houses are destroyed. None of this has been an issue to the AMS types or the Arab media. That media has never wanted to give Iraq a chance, and has never accepted democracy in Iraq. Daesh didn’t create that. THAT created Daesh.
Falluja has been the hub of the insurgency since 2003 and therefore a powerful symbol to Sunni extremists. Many countries, including US allies, have held public fund-raisings for the “mujahedeen” in Falluja. The city became a destination for jihadists from all over the world, thanks to the continuous Arab media propaganda, and the open borders of Syria and Turkey.
For Shia and many other Iraqis, therefore, Falluja has been the symbol of evil since 2003. Most terrorists who were caught admit they were hosted, trained, and armed in Falluja. With the Iraqi forces in Anbar recovering territory by heading west, Falluja was temporarily bypassed, but the recent attacks that killed hundreds of civilians in Baghdad gave the Shia militias as well as other Iraqi units even more motivation to attack Falluja. The symbolism is powerful and the stakes are huge.
North and east of Falluja. Iraqi forces liberated 11 areas and villages in the northern and eastern areas of Falluja District, according to the IFP commander. [Ghad]
Iraqi Army 14th division killed 14 Daesh terrorists in the Abu Shijil area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh claims it conducted a suicide attack with a car bomb on Iraqi forces in Albu Shijil, killing sixteen soldiers. [A3maq]
Here Daesh says the car bomb killed fifteen Iraqi soldiers in Albu Shijil. [JustPaste]
Iraqi forces also killed 2 snipers and destroyed a mortar unit in Albu Shijil. [BOC Facebook Page]
Baghdad Operations Command says Iraqi forces shot down a Daesh recon drone in Saqlawiya. [Buratha]
A tribal PMF commander says Iraqi forces killed the Daesh military commander of Saqlawiya and four of his associates, destroying 4 machine gun-mounted vehicles. He says Daesh are fleeing to Falluja and that Saqlawiya center will be liberated in the coming hours. [Mada]
Local sources say Iraqi forces captured the Albu Shandoukh area, north of Saqlawiya. [Ghad]
The Anbar PMF spokesman says Iraqi forces cleared the Zaghareed and Abu Sdaira areas north of Falluja, killing “tens” of terrorists. He also says Iraqi forces are opening a cleared road to allow for the passage of tanks and vehicles. [Mada]
The PMFs captured the Sijar village north of Falluja. [Ghad]
A security source says Iraqi F-16s destroyed a Daesh explosives factory in the Sijar area, killing 8 terrorists, including a Tunisian explosives expert. [Buratha]
Saraya Al-Salam, the Sadrist militia, says its troops are on alert in Jazeera Samarra and have closed the roads between the Jazeera area and the areas northeast of Falluja. [Ghad]
The PMF Press says PMF troops captured the Jordanian hospital east of Falluja. [Buratha]
Daesh issues a video of battles east of Falluja. [A3maq]
Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on Iraqi forces in the Ma’amel area east of Falluja, killing sixteen soldiers and destroying a tank and a bulldozer. Daesh says 20 Iraqi soldiers in total were killed in the attack on north and east Falluja. [A3maq] [JustPaste]
Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Abrams tank with a guided missile in the Ma’amel area. [A3maq]
The IFP commander says his troops found Daesh tunnels used by the terrorists to attack security forces and then escape back to the city. [Sumaria] The exact location was not specified.
Qarma. A tribal PMF commander says Iraqi forces liberated the mayoralty building in Qarma and raised the Iraqi flag on it. [Maalomah]
The PMFs Commission says Explosives Ordinance Disposal units are clearing the Qarma city center after it was liberated from Daesh. The PMFs are also securing civilians from Qarma. [Maalomah] [Maalomah]
The IFP commander says Iraqi forces liberated 3 villages and isolated Falluja city from Qarma. [Etejah]
The IFP commander says his troops cleared the road between the Qarma and Subaihat bridges. [Ghad]
The Qarma PMF commander says Iraqi forces liberated the Albu Hadid area, north of Falluja. [Maalomah]
The IWMC says Iraqi forces killed 36 Daesh terrorists, including the Falluja wali Haj Hamza and another local Daesh commander, wounding six others. Iraqi forces also destroyed a Daesh guest house in Rashad, just south of Qarma center. [Mada] Iraqi forces killed 4 Daesh terrorists in the Rashad area. [BOC Facebook Page]
A tribal PMF commander says Iraqi forces liberated the thermal (electricity) station area, Shahabi, and Dawaya in Qarma, killing 40 terrorists. [Mada]
The IFP Commander says his troops destroyed 7 vehicle bombs during the liberation of the thermal station area. [Mada] He also says IFP commandos killed 15 Daesh terrorists and defused 6 IEDs in the thermal station area. [Mawazin] The IFP killed a female Daesh Azerbaijani sniper in the Shahabi area. [Harbi]
Videos of Badr and IFP troops in the thermal station area [YouTube] [YouTube]
The PMF press says Daesh is sending foreign suicide terrorists to the Qarma area to delay Iraqi force’s attack on Falluja. [Etejah]
A local source says there are 200 foreign terrorists now fighting with Daesh in Falluja. [Ghad]
South of Falluja. An Anbar Operations Command source says Iraqi forces liberated two areas in Nuaimiya just south of the city, killing 14 terrorists and destroying 3 vehicles bombs. [Mada]
The Falluja Operations commander says Iraqi forces entered the Nuaimiya area and arrived at Tuffaha Bridge. He also says Iraqi forces are rapidly advancing toward their targets in Falluja, but he did not specify a timeline. [Ghad]
A security source says Iraqi forces captured 37 Daesh terrorists near the Tuffaha Bridge. [Ghad]
Daesh publishes photos from Nuaimiya and Tuffaha Bridge south of Falluja. [A3maq]
Daesh issues a video of Iraqi forces in Nuaimiya. [A3maq]
Daesh says heavy clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and Daesh in Nuaimiya, Ma’amel, Muwadhafin, and Qarma. [A3maq]
Daesh says it destroyed 2 Iraqi Army bulldozers east of Falluja, and a third one in Saqlawiya. [A3maq]
An IAA drone blasted a Daesh hideout in Khudhair village in Nuaimiya, killing 15 terrorists. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh says it damaged an Iraqi Army bulldozer in the Ubaid area, in Zoba’a. Daesh also says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee with a guided missile in Albu Shijil. [JustPaste]
Ramadi
A security source says Iraqi forces blew up a Humvee bomb under control in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Maalomah]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
The IWMC says members of the Al-Suqoor Intelligence Cell killed the Daesh executions, police, and hisbah officials in Shirqat, before returning safely on May 19. The executions officer was responsible for killing Ali Abed Al-Jumaili, a young man from Shirqat, because he raised the Iraqi flag in the city. Daesh had issued a video of throwing Jumaili from a tower in March. [Sumaria]
Baiji
A PMF source says Al-Nujaba’ Movement, a Shia PMF faction, stopped a Daesh attack in the Makhoul Mountains area. [Harbi]
Samarra
A security source says the PMFs captured a Daesh terrorist, in Jazeera Samarra, implicated in the car bomb explosion in Basra early last month. [Sumaria]
Southern Salahuddin
The MoI says the Daesh cell responsible for the suicide attacks in Balad and Dujail was arrested. A suicide terrorist killed three people and wounded eight in Dujail on Saturday, and another terrorist had killed eight people and wounded twenty in Balad on May 12. [Sumaria]
DIYALA
Baquba
A security source says 3 men wanted on terrorism charges were arrested in Hay Al-Tahrir, 3 km south of Baquba. [Sumaria]
Northern Diyala
Daesh says it blew up the houses of four PMF fighters in the Albu Eissa area in Udhaim. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it targeted an Iraqi Army battalion headquarters with 2 rockets in Udhaim. [JustPaste]
Southern Diyala
Daesh says it blew up an electricity tower in the Nida area in Balad Ruz. [JustPaste]
KIRKUK
Kirkuk
The Military Intelligence Service says it killed a suicide terrorist who was transporting a vehicle bomb filled with produce in the Slaiman area in Kirkuk. It says he was on the way to Baghdad, attempting to detonate the bomb in the Jamila market area in Sadr City (photos). [Ghad]
A Peshmerga source says Kurdish troops stopped a Daesh attack west of Kirkuk, killing all 10 attacking terrorists. [BasNews]
Hawija
A Kirkuk police source says a Daesh IED exploded in the Khabiba area, southwest of Kirkuk, on a family that was trying to escape from Hawija, killing one of them. The source says the remaining three members of the family arrived in Dibis. [Mada]
Daesh publishes 3 photos of its road services in Hawija. [JustPaste]
Southwest
Daesh issues a video of the damage it caused in Bashir. [JustPaste]
NINEWA
Mosul
A local source says Daesh distributed leaflets in Mosul urging its terrorists to hold their ground and not flee. [Maalomah]
A Ninewa Police source says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh media center in Mosul, killing 10 terrorists. [BasNews]
The spokesman of the Arab tribes of Ninewa says the tribes have 15,000 fighters ready to participate in Mosul liberation, and they refuse the participation of the PMFs or any other forces from the rest of Iraq. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. This sounds too much like a propaganda statement from Daesh supporters.
A local source says unknown armed men destroyed a Daesh ammunition storehouse with an IED in Mosul center. [Maalomah]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says it killed a Daesh military official near the Haramat area. [KM Facebook Page]
Daesh publishes photos of “normal life” in Hammam Al-Alil. In one of the photos Daesh terrorist is checking the length of a man’s trousers. [JustPaste]
Nineveh Plain
A KDP official says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh convoy in Tal Aswad in Hamdaniya, killing 5 terrorists and destroying 3 vehicles. [Mada]
Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
An informed source says Daesh executed 8 of its terrorists who fled the Rutba battles to Tal Afar by burning them in a pastry oven in Tal Afar. [Etejah]
KURDISTAN
KRG President Masoud Barzani and CoR Speaker Saleem Al-Jubouri met in Erbil to discuss the security and political developments in Iraq and the ways to accelerate the resumption of CoR sessions, according to statement from Jubouri’s office. Jubouri said after the meeting that the CoR should resume its sessions. The chairman of the PUK’s CoR bloc says the leaders of the Kurdish blocs will meet with Prime Minister Abadi in Baghdad next week. [Mada] [Rudaw]
Turkish warplanes bombed several areas in Amedi District on Sunday evening. [PUKMedia]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Kerbala
The Mid-Euphrates Operations commander says Iraqi forces successfully secured the Shaaban Shia ceremonies in Kerbala and arrested 8 Daesh terrorists. Millions of people attended the ceremonies. [PUKMedia]
Wasit
The Wasit police chief says security forces caught 2 men in Suwaira wanted on terrorism charges. He says security forces captured 16 people wanted on terrorism charges and defused 10 booby-trapped houses and 56 IEDs and found 10 C4 explosives barrels during the last 30 days. [Mada] [Mada]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Security forces say they captured 10 Daesh terrorists, 9 of them foreigners, in Gaziantep. The terrorists were planning to go to Syria. Security forces also confiscated weapons and explosives in different operations in Gaziantep this week. [ARA]
The Gaziantep Governor says security forces killed a Daesh terrorist and captured 30 since May 17 and have confiscated 15 explosives vests and 95 kg of TNT. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
The Combined Joint Task Force says the Coalition conducted 7 airstrikes on Daesh in Syria, in or near Shaddadi, Raqqa (3), Ain Eissa, and Mare’ (2). [CJTF]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
The Turkish Army is burning farms on the Syrian side of the border in Qamishli, and continues to build a wall on the border. [Hawar]
Daesh says 2,250 people from 38 villages attended its religious seminars near “the frontlines with the Kurdish forces” in the Raqqa area. Daesh says 85 young men joined its terrorists after the seminars. [A3maq]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Clashes erupted between opposition groups, supported by Turkish artillery, and Daesh near Kafr Ghan village, 12 km (7.5 miles) east of Azaz and 3 km from the Turkish border. Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh in Yahmoul, Fairouziya, and Kafr. [Hawar]
750 families arrived in Afrin from Raqqa, escaping the upcoming battles. Daesh has allowed people to leave Raqqa city to the countryside after Coalition planes dropped leaflets on the city last week that asked people to leave. [EnabBaladi]
DaeshDaily comment. This is not the Daesh we know. They generally want civilians to stay, even though they may get killed, because they serve as human shields. Its own spokesman said in his recent audio message they will continue fighting even if “houses were destroyed, honor was violated, or people were killed”.
Daesh publishes photos of shelling Tal Maksour village west of Kowaires Airport with 100 60mm mortars. [JustPaste]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
More than one hundred people were killed or wounded in several suicide attacks on Tartus and Jableh cities. One of the suicide terrorists detonated himself inside a hospital in Jableh, killing the entire emergency staff. [BasNews]
The Syrian government says 45 people were killed in Jableh and 19 in Tartus. Local sources say two suicide terrorists blew themselves up and a car bomb exploded in a bus station in Tartus. A fourth terrorist blew himself up in a nearby area. A car bomb was detonated in a bus station in Jableh, while 3 suicide terrorists blew themselves up, one near an electricity station, one in a residential area, and the third in the emergency hall in a hospital. [EnabBaladi]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Right says at least fifty three people were killed in Jableh, and forty eight in Tartus, on Syria’s normally safe Mediterranean coast. [Ghad]
Daesh says 10 of its terrorists attacked Alawite and Shia gatherings in Tartus and Jableh, killing or wounding 400 people, in “the first attack of its kind in the Syrian coast area.” [A3maq] [JustPaste]
Videos of the aftermath in Jableh and Tartus. [SANA] [SANA]
Local sources say unknown armed men attacked displaced families from Aleppo in Tartus after the terrorist attacks. The sources also say Syrian security forces raided the locations of some displaced people and captured some men. The Tartus Governor asked people to “self-control” and not attack the displaced people. [EnabBaladi]
A Syrian military source says Syrian troops, supported by Syrian warplanes, cleared several areas near Sha’er oilfield and east of Qaryatayn. [SANA]
Daesh issues a video of 2 Syrian soldiers who surrendered to its terrorists in the Al-Barda area, east of Qaryatayn. [A3maq]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Local sources say Coalition warplanes dropped leaflets, signed New Syria Army, east of Deir Ez-Zor, asking citizens to stay away from Daesh locations and promising people freedom (photos). [Qasioun]
A Syrian military source says Syrian warplanes destroyed Daesh vehicles and military positions southwest of Deir Ez-Zor airport, killing many terrorists. Syrian warplanes also killed 23 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 2 trucks loaded with weapons near the Tharda mountains southeast of Deir Ez-Zor. [SANA]
Local sources say Daesh terrorists stoned a 15 year old boy to death in Deir Ez-Zor, after accusing him of sodomy. [ARA]
Daesh publishes photos of “normal life” in Hajin City in Deir Ez-Zor. [JustPaste]
South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)
The house of the second in command of the Al-Muthanna Movement, Daesh affiliate in Daraa, exploded, killing him, his son, and 2 other members of his group. The house was used by the movement as an IED storehouse. [Qasioun] [EnabBaladi]
Daesh publishes photos of its Yarmouk camp. [JustPaste]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Egypt
Security sources say Egyptian Apaches and F-16s launched airstrikes on Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis gatherings in 7 villages in Sheikh Zuweid, killing 70 armed men and wounding 130, and destroying 40 vehicles, 30 motorcycles, and 5 hideouts. Local sources say this was the fiercest Egyptian attack on the terrorists, who were planning an attack in the area. Security forces also surrounded and shelled a group of 100 terrorists who fled to the Irsal area, west of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan] [ElWatan] [VetoGate] [VetoGate]
Three policemen were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle in Karm Al-Qawadees, west of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]
Security forces found several weapons and explosives storehouses and killed 6 terrorists in the Al-Halal mountain in Central Sinai. The forces launched a campaign in the mountains after getting information from 5 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists. [ElWatan]
Unknown armed men shot and wounded a civilian west of Rafah. Two more civilians were wounded in Rafah city by unknown armed men. [VetoGate] [VetoGate]
Libya
Northeast
Daesh says it detonated an IED on Libyan troops in the Qawarsha area in Benghazi, killing six soldiers and wounding others, and detonated another IED when the rescuers came, killing or wounding more soldiers. Daesh also says its snipers killed five more soldiers in the same area. [JustPaste]
Central coast
The Libyan National Accord military operations room in Misrata says military reinforcements arrived in Bu Qarin from south and west Libya to participate in the Sirte liberation. [AfriGate]
Local sources say a civilian was killed when a Daesh land mine exploded on his car west of Sirte. [Libya24]
Daesh publishes photos of battles with Fajr Libya troops. [JustPaste]
Northwest
Security forces captured a Daesh cell in Sorman. Four security members were killed and four others wounded in the operation, according to Libyan official TV. [AfriGate]
Other countries
Yemen
The Governor of Aden says more than 30 people were killed in 2 consecutive explosions in 2 Yemeni Army recruiting centers in the Khor Makassar area in Aden. [Xendan]
Daesh publishes a photo of the Yemeni suicide terrorist who attacked the recruiting center in addition to photos of the explosion. Daesh says 30 people were killed and “tens” wounded in the attack. Daesh says it followed up the terrorist attack with an IED explosion near the compound gate, killing or wounding more soldiers. [JustPaste] [A3maq] [JustPaste]
A security source says 42 people were killed in the 2 explosions in Aden. [Rudaw]
Afghanistan
Daesh publishes photos of a group of its terrorists in Afghanistan. [JustPaste]
Malaysia
Malaysian police say they arrested 14 Daesh suspects in different areas of the country during the last 4 days, including an aviation engineer. [AfriGate]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
A Syrian opposition news page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/rochanroroo45
https://twitter.com/ALFORQAAAAAAAN
https://twitter.com/jajajajajjaa11
Other Daesh media
The Daesh spokesman issued a video message on Saturday. The message was a repetitive speech in which he attacked everyone, and stressed to terrorists in the West that they should attack anyone there, because “there are no civilians in the West,” which is something Daesh had said before. Perhaps significantly, he said also that Daesh will always be victorious even if it loses Mosul or Raqqa or Sirte. He also says, unlike Al-Qaeda, that Daesh will continue its war and won’t care about the loss of lives or buildings. [JustPaste] [YouTube] [JustPaste]
Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]
