November 24, 2015
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
Among today’s major developments:
As the world reels from the news that Turkey, a NATO country, has shot down a Russian fighter jet, the stakes of the conflict over Daesh have risen significantly. While Daesh began with a small number of ex-Baathists in Iraq the escalating tensions it has been able to provoke now risk triggering a much wider conflagration.
ANBAR
Ramadi
Coalition planes conducted four bombing raids over Ramadi city, destroying two Daesh weapons storehouses and two mortar positions. [IWMC Report]
A Coalition airstrike on a Daesh meeting in Hay al-Tameem killed 90 Daesh members and destroyed vehicles and explosives, a security source in Anbar said. The meeting was reportedly a planning session on Daesh military strategy in the area. The IWMC confirmed the strike, announcing that dozens of terrorists were killed. [Mada] [Baghdadia]
Iraqi forces conducted a wide-ranging military campaign to clear the areas around Hay al-Tameem, killing 13 Daesh terrorists, an Anbar Operations Command source says. Iraqi forces have surrounded the area and have Daesh members pinned down within the Iraqi cordon. Some Daesh militants managed to escape towards Ramadi city, he added. [Mada]
Iraqi forces killed a Daesh leader known as Abu Adnan Al-Kurdi, the commander of the Tameem area, and three of his associates as they tried to escape by boat, a security source says, adding that the Iraqi troops fired a Katyusha rocket at the boat to destroy it in the water. [Baghdadia]
Anti-terrorism troops found a vehicle bomb and an explosives vest in its clearing operations in the Kilo 5 area. The same force killed seven Daesh militants in the area. [IWMC Report]
Iraqi forces are shelling areas near Kilo 5 in preparation for a planned ground advance. [IWMC Report]
Iraqi Army Eighth Division artillery shelled Daesh positions in Abu Shijil north of Ramadi, killing 15 Daesh members, a security source says. [Baghdadia]
Iraqi forces killed ten Daesh militants in Jaraishi, north of Ramadi, the Anbar Operations commander said, while also announcing that a Coalition airstrike destroyed a bulldozer rigged with explosives in a nearby area. [Sumaria]
Coalition planes destroyed two Daesh hideouts and killed three Daesh militants in Albu Farraj, and destroyed an armored construction excavator rigged with explosives in the Albu Shaaban area near Albu Dhiab, and a Daesh position near the Palestine Bridge, all north of Ramadi. [IWMC Report] [Sumaria]
Falluja
Anbar Operations Command artillery bombed Daesh in Albu Daaij south of Falluja, killing many Daesh militants and destroying a vehicle bomb and a weapons cache. [IWMC Report]
Baghdad Operations Command troops destroyed a Daesh mortar position and two hideouts in Albu Sawda in Qarma. [IWMC Report]
Daesh publishes photos of its execution of a man it accused of murder. [JustPaste]
Hit/Haditha
In the Baghdadi area, Jazeera Operations Command forces killed 12 terrorists and destroyed a rocket launcher. The same force also defused 24 IEDs and six booby-trapped houses in Albu Hayat, and confiscated 22 cans of C4 explosive. [IWMC Report]
The Haditha District Council and the Baghdadi subdistrict council have reached an agreement with the PMFs of Anbar to establish a brigade from within the PMF forces to participate in the operations to clear the area of Daesh and to hold the territory after it is seized, the Chairman of the Baghdadi council says. [Sumaria]
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
PMF forces destroyed three vehicle bombs in operations responding to a Daesh attack south of Baiji, a Badr commander says. Three PMF fighters were wounded in the battle before the Daesh assault was repelled. [Mada]
Daesh publishes photos and a video of its terrorists inside the Harariyat power plant northeast of Baiji. [A3maq] [MrkzGulf] [JustPaste]
IFP forces killed three Daesh members in the Makhoul Mountains area, the IFP commander says, adding that his troops also destroyed two Daesh vehicles west of Samarra and another vehicle north of Tikrit. [Baghdadia]
Salahuddin Operation Command troops supported by the IAA stopped a Daesh attack in the Makhoul Mountains, killing ten Daesh militants. [IWMC Report]
IAF killed ten Daesh militants hiding near the Makhoul Mountains, and destroyed a construction excavator rigged with explosives. [IWMC Report]
Shirqat
Coalition planes bombed a Daesh position in the Makhoul Mountain area, killing the Daesh manager of Shirqat Hospital and nine of his associates, a PUK official says. The deceased Daesh member was originally from Qayara, the source said. [BasNews]
Coalition planes bombed a Daesh convoy in Shirqat, killing the Daesh wali (local governor) of Al-Zab subdistrict and seven of his associates, a PUK official says. [BasNews]
Elsewhere in Salahuddin
Iraqi forces found the bodies of 15 Daesh fighters near the Allas oil field, a security source says. This came one day after Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack on the area. [Baghdadia]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling and rocketing Iraqi forces in various areas of Salahuddin. [Dump] [Dump] [Dump] [Dump] [Dump]
BAGHDAD
An Iraqi MP from the State of Law bloc drew a pistol and shot at a colleague from the rival Islamic Supreme Council Iraqi (ISCI), following a heated verbal altercation at a TV station. ISCI issued a statement equating the incident to a premeditated terrorist attack. A source close to the ISCI MP, Baligh Abu Kalal, who was not injured in the shooting, has said the MP will bring legal proceedings against Kadhim Al-Sayadi, the MP who fired at him. [Sumaria] [Sumaria] [Buratha]
DaeshDaily comment: The MP in question has a history of violence. He was previously affiliated with the Sadrist faction but was apparently ejected from that bloc before he joined former PM Al-Maliki’s supporters in State of Law.
Russia and Belarus will provide Iraq with new military hardware in an agreement announced yesterday by the Chairman of the CoR’s Security and Defense Committee. The Chairman said that Russia will provide Iraq with T-90 tanks, and another contract would see Iraq gaining six Sukhoi jets, five from Belarus and one from Russia. This new equipment will “change the game” in the fight against Daesh, the Chairman said. [Ghad]
A Sunni member of the CoR has alleged that other Sunni politicians are angling to bring Daesh into the political process as a Sunni political force, attempting to “make Daesh in Iraq similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan” in his words. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment: The MP is referring to the idea of establishing a Sunni federal region in Iraq similar to the Kurdistan region. Behind this idea is the belief this might provide an avenue for Daesh to consolidate and legitimate itself as the dominant Sunni political force in the country. Many Sunni politicians are angry with the new Sunni coalition that was announced suddenly in Jordan, saying it is not representative of Sunni Iraqi opinion. Lately, Sunni Iraqi politicians, seemingly regardless of their affiliation, if any, to Daesh or its predecessors, have been using pro-Daesh allegations as a political club to attack their rivals.
The IAF conducted nine sorties and the IAA conducted 48.
Coalition planes made eight sorties on different areas of Anbar and Ninewa, killing an unspecified number of Daesh militants and destroying an unspecified number of weapons and locations. [IWMC Report]
A CoR delegation has visited Camp Liberty to inspect the situation of those living there, led by Humam Hamoudi, a prominent MP. Hamoudi said that some of the people there are in fact former Iranian prisoners of war who joined the MEK later and who have families in Iran, and not original members of the exiled Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) who have no families and have been sheltering in Camp Liberty since the American occupation of Iraq. The MP called on the Iraqi government to communicate with various countries that had offered asylum to the MEK members, saying that “the political atmosphere in Iraq will not permit MEK to stay longer in Iraq.” [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment: During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s both states tried to support domestic opposition forces that were aligned against their respective enemy regimes. These activities included recruiting from among captured POWs. Iran recruited Iraqi POWs for the Badr militia, while Saddam’s regime recruited Iranian POWs to join the MEK.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has claimed that the United States is scheming to divide Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines, urging Iraqis to resist these alleged designs. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment: The esteemed Ayatollah appears surprisingly unaware of his country’s efforts to divide Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines.
Daesh says its terrorists targeted an Iraqi Army convoy in Tarmiya, destroying two trailers and killing or wounding several soldiers. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it killed two “spies” by detonating an IED on them in south Baghdad. [JustPaste]
According to security sources:
- An IED exploded near the industrial area in Taji north of Baghdad city, killing two civilians and wounding six. [Baghdadia]
- The body of an unidentified woman was found bearing fatal stab wounds in the Hay al-Basateen area of north Baghdad. [Mada]
- An IED exploded near a popular market in Shaab in northeast Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven. [Mada]
- Unknown armed men fatally shot a civilian on Palestine Street in east Baghdad, attacking with guns fitted with silencers. [Baghdadia]
- A roadside IED exploded in Yusufiyah in south Baghdad, wounding three civilians. [Baghdadia]
- Unknown armed men killed a Sahwa fighter and wounded two others while they were in their civilian car in Hor Rajab in south Baghdad. [Baghdadia]
- An IED exploded near a popular market in Hay Al-Amel in southwest Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding five. [Mada]
- An IED exploded in Mashtal, west Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding seven. [Baghdadia]
- The owner of a jewelry shop was killed when a sticker IED exploded underneath his car in Hay Al-Adel in west Baghdad. [Mada]
- Unknown armed men abducted an engineer near his house in the Yarmouk area of west Baghdad. [Baghdadia]
DIYALA
Northern Diyala
Daesh says its terrorists captured an Iraqi SWAT “spy” in Sadiya and executed him. [JustPaste]
Elsewhere in Diyala
Daesh publishes photos of its blowing up buildings on a small desert military airbase in Diyala. [JustPaste]
KIRKUK
Turkmen PMF fighters shelled a Daesh gathering in the Turkmen Bashir village in southwestern Kirkuk province, killing 12 Daesh members, a commander from the attacking PMF force says. [Mada]
The body of an unknown young man was found with gunshot wounds to the head in south Kirkuk city, a security source says. [Mada]
NINEWA
Northwest Ninewa
Syrian Kurdish militia fighters have remained in government buildings in Sinjar even after the (homeless but still active) Ninewa Governorate Council made an official request for militias to evacuate government buildings in the area, according to the Mayor of Sinjar District. The GC gave 24 hours to complete the evacuation, ending at 8pm Tuesday, but the PKK-linked YPG has not redeployed from the sites. A YPG commander has said Sinjar is not liberated completely and the situation is still unstable, the Mayor says. [Rudaw]
More than 300 Daesh fighters surrendered to the Peshmerga during the last few days, a Peshmerga commander says. He says Daesh members have started to surrender in groups after the Peshmerga cut the international road between Syria and Iraq, and many prefer to surrender to the Kurds rather than return to Daesh and face punishment. [PUKMedia]
Daesh publishes photos of the construction of its Khilafa Mosque in Tal Afar. [JustPaste]
Mosul
Daesh executed 11 government employees in Mosul, including one woman, a Ninewa police source says. The executed were reportedly among the 20 government employees arrested at the beginning of the month. [BasNews]
Daesh reportedly confiscated a very large shipment of cigarettes west of Mosul. The organization’s Hisbah (religious police) confiscated the tobacco products and burned them, and arrested the truck drivers. [Mada]
Coalition planes destroyed a Daesh vehicle carrying a heavy machine gun near Al-Khazer, the Peshmerga command said in a statement. [Rudaw]
Coalition planes bombed a Daesh gathering in Qayara at the south end of Mosul District, killing 16 Daesh members and destroying five vehicle bombs. [BasNews]
Daesh publishes photos of its demolition of a mosque in Qayara with a construction excavator. [Dump]
Coalition planes bombed Daesh in three villages west of Mosul, killing three Daesh members, wounding five, and destroying two vehicles. [BasNews]
Makhmur
Coalition planes bombed Daesh in three villages in Makhmur, killing 21 Daesh militants, a Peshmerga source says. [Rudaw]
Other Governorates
KURDISTAN
KRG President Masoud Barzani met with a delegation of UK officials, and called for an agreement that will represent “all elements” of Ninewa’s society before the liberation of Mosul. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. The real meaning of Barzani’s statement may be that he wants agreement even before Mosul is liberated that parts of Ninewa will be given to Kurdistan. That sounds like a condition for Kurdish participation in the campaign for Mosul. We suspect leaders in Baghdad won’t think this sounds like a national unity message.
Civilian planes will resume flights to Erbil airport on Wednesday, two days after Iraqi civil aviation authorities shut down all flights to Erbil and Suleimaniya, a local airline manager in Erbil says. [Rudaw]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Babel. Iraqi security forces arrested two men wanted on terrorism charges in the Athar area six kilometers north of Hilla, according to the chairman of the Babel GC security committee. [Mada]
Daesh says it targeted a police vehicle in Jbala in north Babel governorate, killing two policemen and wounding another. [JustPaste]
Kerbala. Police arrested a man wanted on terrorism charges at a checkpoint west of Kerbala on the road to Anbar, as he reportedly tried to smuggle unspecified materials through Kerbala to Haditha, the Kerbala police commander says. [Mada]
Maysan. Security police arrested a civil society activist in Maysan on charges of incitement after he encouraged Iraqis to participate in demonstrations. [Baghdadia]
DaeshDaily comment: Demonstrations are protected in the new constitution; we wonder if the authorities are trying to use old Saddam-era law in order to criminalize protest. The arrest would seem to violate the Prime Minister’s stated policy.
Wasit. Security forces conducted search operations north of Suwaira, arresting a man wanted on terrorism charges. [Ghad]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
The Turkish President and Prime Minister both defended their country’s downing of a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border yesterday, saying separately that Turkey must protect its airspace. As has been widely reported, Turkish planes shot down a Russian Sukhoi-24 north of Latakia governorate. Ankara said the plane violated Turkish airspace and was warned repeatedly, while Moscow denies the intrusion into Turkish airspace, saying its jet was operating 1 km inside the Syrian border. [Rudaw] [AA]
According to reports on the ground, the incident occurred as Syrian ground troops were advancing on the Turkmen-inhabited mountainous area north of Latakia, with Russian air support. [ARA]
DaeshDaily comment. This may be a key angle in this story. The Russians were perhaps attacking an area populated by Turkmen, generally favored by Turkey as shown in Iraq.
Some sources say that one of the pilots was captured by Turkmen militiamen while the other was killed and that Turkmen militiamen fired on the airmen as they parachuted out of their burning jets. [PUKMedia] The fate of the second pilot is unclear amid conflicting reports. [ARA] [Qasioun]
Graphic video of Turkmen militiamen, reportedly with one of the Russian pilots. [Rudaw]
Video of the downed Russian plane. [YouTube]
Another video of the downed Russian jet. [PUKMedia]
A potentially incendiary video purporting to show Turkmen militiamen of the First Coastal Division militia destroying a Russian rescue helicopter coming to the aid of the downed Russian airmen. [YouTube]
In this video we see local First Coastal Division fighters arguing with Islamists over who the Russian pilot’s body belongs to. From off camera we hear someone shout “Allahu Akbar.” After the argument, one of the FCD members complains, “So it’s my fault, I should have burned his body?” [YouTube]
Another video shot from a different angle makes it clear the voice shouting “Allahu Akbar” is that of a foreign fighter. The FCD militiaman seems to refer to the foreign fighter as “sheikh.” Another voice refers to “a prisoner” who “was killed.” [YouTube]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast
Daesh released ten Assyrian prisoners including five women it captured earlier this year, the Assyrian Network for Human Rights said in Hasaka. In February of this year Daesh abducted 295 Assyrians in northern Syria; so far just 98 have been released. [BasNews]
Daesh publishes a message from its terrorists in Raqqa threatening attacks on Western cities similar to the recent attack in Paris. [AKI]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling and rocketing a village west of Ain Eissa. [JustPaste]
Northwest
YPG fighters in Syria repelled massive assaults by both Nusra Front and Ahrar Al-Sham in the village of Afrin, a Kurdish military source says, adding that the Kurdish militia killed two Nusra Front fighters and wounded several others. [BasNews] [Hawar]
Several reports have said that the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qasem Soleimani, was wounded in Aleppo and has been taken away to recover, while his supervisory duties over Iranians fighting in Syria have been temporarily transferred to another member of the Revolutionary Guard. [Rudaw]
The Nusra Front reportedly shelled the Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud area north of Aleppo, killing a civilian and wounding three. The Front also reportedly attempted a ground assault on the Kurdish area before the YPG repelled the attack. [BasNews]
Daesh publishes video of its shelling and rocketing on Syrian troops at the Kowaires airbase. [A3maq]
Central and West
Daesh publishes photos to announce its recapturing of positions in the Dowa area near Homs. [Dump]
DaeshDaily comment: Daesh is announcing the recapture of positions that it never admitted losing.
REPORTS FROM OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Another Daesh propaganda video. [Archive]
DaeshDaily comment. We didn’t understand this video, which seemed in part to dare the US to give up the bombing and instead send ground troops to fight. Daesh’s on-line supporters’ comments indicated that they thought the message weird.
Daesh audio newsletter for today in English. [Archive]
Egypt. Egyptian authorities say seven people were killed in a car bomb attack on a hotel in Arish housing judges supervising the parliamentary elections, including two of the election judges (photos and video). Twelve people were wounded in the attack. [Mogaz] [Mogaz] [IslamMemo]
In Daesh’s account of the attack, one of its suicide terrorists attacked the security force of the Suways Hotel in Sinai with a car bomb, while another terrorist approached the judges on foot and opened fire with an automatic rifle before detonating his explosives vest. Daesh published photos of the two terrorists. [JustPaste]
Daesh says it detonated an IED on an Egyptian Army Humvee south of Arish. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of an IED attack on an Egyptian military Humvee south of Sheikh Zuweid in Sinai, killing an officer and several soldiers. [JustPaste]
Libya. A vehicle bomb exploded on a military police checkpoint south of Msallata on the northwest coast, killing seven people and wounding ten, a security source says. [LibyaAkhbar]
Two Libyan soldiers were killed and three wounded, along with sixteen Daesh fighters killed, in clashes on Monday in the Azayat area, 80 km (50 miles) south of Derna. [AkhbarLibya24]
Tunisia. Twelve members of the Tunisian security forces were killed and seven wounded when their bus exploded on Mohammed Al-Khamis Street in Tunis, the Tunisian presidency says. The government has declared a state of emergency and suspended flights into Carthage airport. [Tunisien] [Tunisien]
A video of the location of the explosion in Tunis. [YouTube]
The terrorist who conducted the mass-murder attack in Sousse in June was under the effect of narcotics, most likely the amphetamine Captagon, medical sources say. [Tunisien]
The Tunisian military sent soldiers to Mount Mghila, where Daesh terrorists had beheaded an innocent 16-year-old shepherd as an alleged “spy” (as we earlier reported) and sent his head home with a relative. The operation killed four terrorists but lost one soldier. [Aawsat]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
First Coastal Division (Syria) page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/Srebrenica___
https://twitter.com/kaldaboalfhd
https://twitter.com/ohr05000777
https://twitter.com/321_soliman
