November 19, 2015
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
Among today’s major developments:
Iraqi forces reportedly capture Governorate Council building in Ramadi.
Salahuddin Governorate political coups continue—in Baghdad.
Ninth Yazidi mass grave is found in Sinjar.
Kuwait arrests Daesh cell that shipped Ukrainian rockets through Turkey to Daesh in Syria.
Daesh Daily cross-reference. Our understanding of the struggle against Daesh started from the observation that it was largely an internal revolt, not just an invasion of foreign jihadis. Here is a cross-reference to the official website of the Iraqi Baath Party, which helps to make our point. It claims all Daesh operations against Iraqi forces as its own. [Al-Basrah]
ANBAR
Ramadi
The Anbar Governorate Council (GC) Chairman says Iraqi forces captured the Governorate Council building in Ramadi. [Baghdadia]
The Chairman of Khaldiya District Council says IAA helicopters launched heavy airstrikes on different areas in Ramadi city, killing many Daesh members. He says the airstrikes were intensified on Ramadi to make it difficult for Daesh to prepare suicide bomber attacks on Iraqi forces. [Maalomah]
The Chairman says the Anbar Police Chief distributed 1,000 M16s to Anbar Emergency troops (local volunteers) in Habbaniya base to allow them to participate in Anbar liberation battles. [Sumaria]
Anbar Operations Command troops defused 15 IEDs while advancing into Ramadi from the north. [IWMC Report]
The Anti-Terrorism Service says 20 families escaped Daesh-controlled areas in Ramadi and arrived at the Kilo 5 area just west of Ramadi. [Baghdadia]
A member of Ramadi District Council says Daesh is holding 200 families hostages to use as human shields in Ramadi city. [Maalomah]
The IAF killed 20 Daesh members and destroyed 2 vehicles and a construction shovel while Coalition planes killed 13 terrorists and destroyed 4 mortars and 8 heavy machine guns in the Ramadi area. [IWMC Report]
A security source says Coalition planes bombed a Daesh convoy in Jazeera Khaldiya, destroying five vehicles and killing many terrorists. [Baghdadia]
A security source says Coalition planes bombed Daesh in Albu Farraj and Albu Dhiab north of Ramadi, killing many Daesh members and destroying 6 hideouts and a vehicle. [Baghdadia]
A security source says Iraqi forces cleared the Albu Risha checkpoint area northeast of Ramadi, killing 20 terrorists. [Maalomah]
The IWMC says Rapid Intervention troops destroyed a Daesh vehicle with a Kornet rocket and killed a Daesh sniper in Juwaiba, 16 km (10 miles) northeast of Ramadi. [Maalomah]
An Anbar Operations Command source says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack in Tameem southwest of Ramadi, killing 9. [Maalomah]
The IWMC says Iraqi Sukhoi planes bombed a Daesh hideout in Zangoura west of Ramadi, killing a large number. [Ghad]
The IFP Commander says his troops destroyed a Daesh hideout in East Hsaiba, killing three terrorists. [Sumaria]
A video of Iraqi forces clearing areas in Ramadi [YouTube]
A video of Rapid Intervention soldiers fighting in Ramadi [YouTube]
Daesh publishes photos of the battles north of Ramadi. [JustPaste]
Falluja
Baghdad Operations Command troops killed three terrorists, defused 43 IEDs, and destroyed 10 vehicles and 2 suicide bomber guesthouses in different areas east and south of Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
Baghdad Operations Command troops killed 8 terrorists and wounded one and destroyed 2 vehicles and a hideout in Qarma. [BOC Facebook Page]
An Iraqi Army 53rd Brigade unit killed 5 Daesh members and destroyed a vehicle and 2 hideouts in Rashad in Qarma. [BOC Facebook Page]
A video of Iraqi forces in the Falluja area. [YouTube]
Hit/Haditha
A security source says Jazeera Operations Command troops killed 2 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 8 IEDs and defused 3 booby-trapped houses in the Albu Hayat area. [Baghdadia]
Elsewhere in Anbar
Daesh publishes photos of executing 5 men in Anbar accusing them of spying for the Iraqi Army and PMFs. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. The men were shot by a firing squad, usually a punishment reserved for Daesh members.
SALAHUDDIN
Salahuddin GC meets again in Baghdad and decides to fire the Salahuddin Governor and elect the Deputy Governor in his place. [Baghdadia] Yesterday, as we reported, they voted out the GC Chairman and replaced him with the Deputy Chairman, drawing criticism from the Prime Minister.
A Sunni CoR member from Salahuddin says the GC meeting in Baghdad is illegal and some of the members who attended are accused of corruption or terrorism charges. [Sumaria]
A member of the PMF Commission says the political disputes in Salahuddin will affect the security situation in the Governorate. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. It’s generally accepted in the US that decisions of public bodies have to be made in public meetings, and there are state laws to enforce that. The same ideas have been introduced into Iraq by USAID democracy projects, but this secret political coup by the Salahuddin GC shows that some people were not paying attention. Maybe the COR and/or Iraq’s GCs need to create clear law in this critical area. Whatever the merits or demerits of the officials replaced, the sneaky way in which they were replaced has no place in a democratic country.
Baiji
Iraqi forces supported by the IAA advanced to clear the eastern side of the Makhoul Mountains, killing 25 Daesh fighters and clearing two mountaintops. [IWMC Report]
The IWMC says the IAA killed many Daesh terrorists in the Makhoul Mountains area. [Ghad]
A PMF commander says his troops killed 3 Daesh fighters after a 2-hour chase in Makhoul Mountains. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. We keep wondering what happened to the promised liberation of Shirqat, supposedly the next step after consolidating control of Baiji. No one has explained the strategic importance of having Iraqi forces chase small groups of Daesh fighters around the Makhoul Mountains south of Shirqat. In that context, we wonder why the PMFs seem to be so much less active lately, after being so prominent in earlier battles that recaptured Tikrit and other areas of Salahuddin from Daesh.
Videos of the battles in the Makhoul Mountains area [Harbi] [Harbi]
Daesh publishes photos of its air defense near the Fertilizers factory north of Baiji. [JustPaste]
Shirqat
A local source says Daesh arrested 9 men, all called Marwan, in villages east and south of Shirqat. The source says Daesh is looking for a man who coordinates between anti-Daesh groups in Shirqat and Iraqi security forces. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Another typical Baathist tactic: Arrest a bunch of people and someone will confess. This story is also an example of a larger and dangerous problem. Official statements and Coalition bombs have put Daesh on notice in Shirqat, and they are nervous. This puts citizens of Shirqat at risk until Iraq forces finally get there.
Tikrit
A security source says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack near Al-Awja southwest of Tikrit. [Baghdadia]
A security source says Iraqi SWAT forces were deployed in Tikrit after numerous kidnapping incidents. [Baghdadia]
Samarra
IFP troops killed 17 terrorists and captured 3 near the Strategic Line area. [IWMC Report]
The IFP Commander says his troops killed five Daesh members and destroyed a vehicle west of Jazeera Samarra. [Sumaria]
The IFP Commander says his troops shelled Daesh in Mkaishifa, killing 8 terrorists. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it rocketed Iraqi forces near the Samarra Dam with 5 Katyushas and 6 mortar shells. [JustPaste] [JustPaste]
Elsewhere in Salahuddin
A PMF source says the AAH captured two villages west of the Himrin Mountains, killing many Daesh fighters. [Ghad]
BAGHDAD
A CoR member says the KRG violated the oil deal with Baghdad and it doesn’t give any information about the amounts of oil it is exporting. For that reason the Iraqi government decided not to give the KRG its 17% share of the Iraqi budget. The KRG’s Minister of Natural Resources says the KRG is sending the oil through Turkey to Israel and selling it from there to avoid Baghdad’s monitoring. [Baghdadia]
The CoR approves a resolution to block Daesh websites and media outlets that support terrorism. [Sumaria]
The Judicial Council spokesman says Iraqi courts tried 854 people on terrorism charges during the month of October. [Sumaria]
The CoR’s Security and Defense Committee says it will submit recommendations to the Iraqi government asking that it request Russian airstrikes. [Buratha]
Daesh says it killed an informant in his house in Mada’in in south Baghdad, then detonated an IED on an Iraqi Army vehicle. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it blew up electricity stations and water pumps in Mada’in. [JustPaste]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh’s reason for the destruction of services is to punish the Sahwas living in that area, ignoring that other “Sunni” civilians are benefiting from these services in the area.
Baghdad Operations Command troops defused 3 IEDs in different areas in south Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh says one of its snipers killed an Iraqi soldier in Al-Tha’er near Tarmiya in north Baghdad. [JustPaste]
According to security sources:
- A roadside IED exploded on a small civilian bus in Taji in north Baghdad killing one person and wounding five. [Maalomah]
- An IED exploded near a popular market in Ameen in east Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven. [Baghdadia]
- An IED exploded near a commercial area in Dora in south Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding five. [Mada]
- The body of an unknown man was found shot in Hay Al-Jihad in southwest Baghdad. [Mada]
- Security forces arrested 3 men wanted on terrorism charges in the Ibrahim Bin Ali area in west Baghdad. [Maalomah]
- A civilian was killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Ghazaliya in west Baghdad. [Mada]
- Security forces arrested 2 men wanted on terrorism charges in Ghazaliya. [Maalomah]
DIYALA
Northern Diyala
The Chairman of the municipal council in Qara Tapa denies the reports about a motorcycle explosion in the city yesterday and says there has been no security breach for weeks. [Sumaria]
KIRKUK
An Arab CoR member from Kirkuk says 300 families escaped Daesh-controlled areas in Hawija but the Peshmerga refused to let them enter Dibis.
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh has infiltrated displaced families many times before and civilian families are paying the price.
A Peshmerga commander says Kurdish forces secured 600 people escaping Daesh controlled areas in Kirkuk governorate to areas in Salahuddin controlled by Iraqi forces. [Sumaria]
NINEWA
Sinjar
A ninth Yazidi mass grave was found in Sinjar. [BasNews]
A video shows the airstrikes during the liberation of Sinjar. The video is accompanied by a sound track of intercepted Daesh wireless communications. Daesh terrorists were panicked and urging each other to keep their positions or to launch mortar attacks on anything. [Rudaw]
Mosul
Daesh says two of its terrorists attacked 2 Peshmerga locations in Amar Bayt in Tel Keif east of Mosul and clashed with Kurdish fighters before detonating their explosives vests, killing 15 Kurdish fighters and destroying several vehicles including 4 Humvees. Daesh says it shelled the location after the Peshmerga regrouped. [Dump]
A KDP official says the Peshmerga stopped a Daesh attack near Bashiqa, killing 7. [Rudaw]
A PUK official says Daesh executed in Mosul 6 of its own members, from a local tribe, for fleeing the battles in Bashiqa. He also says Daesh arrested 50 Turkmen citizens in Ninewa. [PUKMedia]
Daesh says it shelled and rocketed the Peshmerga in several areas in Ninewa. [JustPaste]
Kata’eb Al-Mosul says its fighters shot into a Daesh vehicle on the road to Badoush in Mosul, killing 4 terrorists. [KM Facebook Page]
The Kurdistan Security Council says the Peshmerga stopped a Daesh attack near the Mosul Dam at 3 am Thursday, killing 28 Daesh members including 7 suicide bombers. All the terrorists killed were foreigners except one. [BasNews]
A Ninewa Police source says Daesh delivered the bodies of 22 of its members killed in a Coalition airstrike on Al-Khazer on Wednesday to the forensics department morgue in Mosul. [BasNews]
Local sources say Daesh police and Hisbah members disappeared from the streets and Daesh moved its weapons and explosives to mosques and churches. The sources also say Daesh announced through its radio in Mosul the arrival of 72 families coming from Syria and given houses belonging to displaced people. [Karemlash]
Local sources say Daesh executed 10 former police officers who were in its prisons for some time in rural Hatra District south of Mosul. [Karemlash]
A security source says military planes bombed Daesh oil tankers in rural Baaj District in southern Ninewa, destroying three of them. [Harbi]
Daesh publishes a video of the results of the bombing on two factories in Mosul. [A3maq]
Daesh says 13 people were killed and 28 wounded in the bombing. [A3maq]
Makhmur
Daesh says it destroyed a Peshmerga vehicle in the Qaraj (Arab) area in Makhmur with an IED. [JustPaste]
Elsewhere in Ninewa
A Peshmerga source says Kurdish forces, supported by Coalition airpower, stopped a Daesh attack on Aski Mosul village southwest of Mosul, killing 4 Daesh fighters. [BasNews]
Other Governorates
SOUTHERN IRAQ
A security source says the National Security Service arrested a man wanted for terrorism charges in Musayyib in Babel, 30 km (19 miles) northwest of Hilla. [Mada]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast
A man and his 13 year old daughter were killed and his wife wounded in a Daesh shelling on Boraz village in west Kobane. [Hawar]
The YPG says their forces stopped 3 separate Daesh attacks on Ain Eissa, Suluk and the Abdul Aziz Mountain areas. [BasNews]
Daesh publishes a video of some of its operations against the Democratic Syria Forces including a suicide attack. [MediaFire]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling areas west of Ain Eissa. [JustPaste]
Northwest
The Turkish Army shelled grain silos in Tal Abyad with heavy artillery. [Hawar]
DaeshDaily comment. This action seems to make no sense, even from a Turkish perspective. We understand why Turkey doesn’t like the YPG but the US has worked with them. Attacks on the Kurds undermine the anti-Daesh campaign and so merit an American diplomatic response.
Local sources say 4 Daesh members were killed by land mines 7 km (4 miles) west of Jarabulus by the Turkey border while trying to flee to Turkey. The sources say Daesh planted the mines to prevent its men from fleeing. [Hawar]
Local sources say the PYD forced heavy taxes on olive farmers in Afrin. [BasNews]
A Syrian military source says the Syrian Army advanced in Sheik Ahmed village near the Kowaires airbase and captured the main train station. He also says a Syrian Army unit destroyed a Daesh gathering in Al-Bab. Syrian planes bombed Daesh in several areas in Aleppo’s eastern countryside. [SANA]
Daesh publishes photos of the results of the bombing on Al-Bab. [JustPaste]
A local activist says residents demonstrated against Daesh in Manbij for the second week. He says the demonstrators accused Daesh of bringing airstrikes on their city and then escaping from their positions, allowing the Syrian Army to advance and punish the residents. Daesh men shot into the air, forcing the demonstrators to flee. [ARA]
Central and West
A Syrian military source says Syrian planes bombed Daesh locations west of Tadmur, killing many Daesh members and destroying their vehicles. [SANA]
A Syrian military source says Syrian troops and supporting militias captured more areas in Homs’ northern countryside. [SANA]
A Syrian military source says Russian planes conducted 160 sorties destroying 344 Daesh targets. [SANA]
DaeshDaily comment. We have no way to confirm these targets are all Daesh locations.
Daesh says it recaptured the positions it lost earlier to the Syrian Army in the Hadath village north of Mahin near Homs city, destroying an armored vehicle and killing many soldiers. [Dump]
Daesh publishes photos of the battles near Mahin. [JustPaste]
East
Daesh publishes a video of the results of the Russian bombing on Deir Ez-Zor on Wednesday. [A3maq]
REPORTS FROM OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Daesh publishes another video about the Paris attacks called “Paris before Rome,” apparently an effort to intimidate the Italians. [MuslimsNews]
DaeshDaily comment. It is interesting to see Daesh using Al-Jazeera reports as introduction for its own videos most of the time.
The Russian application Telegram announced on Twitter that it has blocked 164 more accounts that are spreading terrorism. [Twitter] Daesh has used Telegram, which is encrypted, for many of its communications.
Daesh audio newsletter for today in English [Archive]
Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior announced it captured a Daesh cell (5 Syrians, 2 Australians, a Lebanese, an Egyptian and a Kuwaiti). The cell was responsible for sending money and weapons to Daesh. One of the detainees admitted he bought rockets in Ukraine and shipped them to Turkey, then to Daesh in Syria. [KUNA]
Yemen. Daesh publishes 2 photos of its terrorists in Abyan. [GulfUp] [GulfUp]
Lebanon. A report came out about the Daesh cell that planned and conducted the terrorist attack in Beirut last week. Some cell members were arrested, and weapons and explosives were confiscated. The report says Daesh started a recruiting campaign in north Beirut. [Safir]
Egypt. Daesh publishes the summary of its operations in Egypt for month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. [Archive]
Libya. Libyan planes continue their airstrikes on terrorist locations in Benghazi for the second day in a row. [LibyaAkhbar]
The Libyan MoI’s spokesman says Daesh terrorists contacted him using the Viber application and offered him 20 million Libyan dinars to kill General Khalifa Haftar. He says he recorded the call and shared it with the authorities. [Ewan]
The Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs says there are 4,000 to 5,000 Daesh fighters in Libya, mostly from Tunis, Sudan and Yemen. He says Daesh might use eastern Libya as its new center and asks to have Libya included in the international efforts to fight Daesh. [AfriGate]
Libyan security forces captured 2 terrorists carrying suicide vests who tried to sneak into Tunisia. The security forces were forced to release the terrorists later because Daesh captured 6 security personnel in Sabratha in northwest Libya. [Tunisien]
Tunisia. Tunisian authorities captured 5 terrorism suspects in Siliana in northern Tunisia. [Tunisien]
Tunisian authorities arrested 3 takfiris trying to sneak into Tunisia from Libya. [Tunisien]
Tunisian authorities arrested 12 takfiris in the coastal city of Nabeul. [Tunisien]
Other Locations
Bangladesh. Daesh says its terrorists in Bangladesh conducted 3 operations recently: Shooting an Italian priest and wounding him seriously; shooting a Baha’i leader and wounding him seriously; and capturing then beheading a local politician. [Dump]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Rudaw Arabic page.
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/7VLNRoOTIOAZIOH
https://twitter.com/bsir_alkorieshy
https://twitter.com/Mrjan_o_qlaed
https://twitter.com/dsaasd1201
