An Update On ISIS Activities

September 6, 2016

 Iraqi Army Aviation

Iraqi Army Aviation

 

Today’s Major Developments

Al-Abadi reaffirms that PMFs will participate in Mosul campaign. []

Another Daesh car bomb in Karrada kills 10, wounds 39. []

Mass grave with 500 Daesh bodies found in Falluja. []

Return of displaced families in Falluja scheduled to start September 15. []

IAA hits Daesh convoy near Haditha, kills estimated 60 Daesh fighters. []

IAF, Coalition airstrikes hit Al-Qa’im, Rawa in western Anbar. []

Daesh in Mosul making moves to lower its assassination risks. []

McGurk flies to Syria to meet SDF leaders. []

Turkey & its allied militia groups clearing Daesh off the northwest Syria border. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Abadi says in a press conference that the PMFs will participate in the liberation of Mosul and the government doesn’t want any political pressure from anyone trying to prevent this. [Ghad]

 

A PMF spokesman says the PMFs and other Iraqi forces are preparing for the Mosul battle. They are also anticipating large numbers of displaced families. [Masala]

 

Prime Minister Abadi says the government sent the Amnesty Law back to the CoR after proposing amendments. He says the law that was approved by the CoR sends the wrong message to the terrorists. He also says some people are working to release “criminals” and the government will not allow that. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. The “criminals” who might be released by the CoR amnesty law would not be only Daesh or Baath members, but also some Sadrists. [Sumaria]

 

A member of the COR’s Security and Defense Committee says the Peshmerga, supported by America, is delaying the entry of heavy weapons and ammunition to the Ninewa Operations Command, in order to delay the Mosul liberation until the KRP takes parts of the city and adds them to Kurdistan. [Nadher]

DaeshDaily comment. We don’t print this report here because we believe it, but we think it needs a firm response.

 

The Coalition says it conducted 7 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq, in and around Baiji (1); Ramadi (1); and the rest in Ninewa, around Mosul (4) and Kasik (1).  [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Center (Rusafa, Karkh, etc.)

The Manager of the Baghdad/Rusafa Health Directorate says 10 people were killed and 39 wounded in a car bomb explosion in Karrada on Monday. The car was parked in a garage near a hospital on the main street. The Security Committee of the Baghdad Provincial council held the security forces responsible for the attack, accusing some security members of working for the terrorists. It also says Daesh might have “incubators” in Karrada. [Mada]

Daesh claimed responsibility for the explosion, saying it managed to pass through all security barriers and threatened the Shia with more bloodshed. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. Karrada is supposedly one of the most guarded areas in Baghdad because many political parties, Shia and Sunni, have headquarters there. This makes the incident politically suspicious.

 

The Rusafa investigation court says a recently captured Daesh terrorist admitted his role in transporting suicide terrorists who conducted attacks in Taji, Shula, and Aden Square during the months of June and July. [Sumaria]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says the bodies of two unknown men were found shot in the Ma’amel area. [Mada]

 

South (Dora, Yusufiyah, Mahmudiya, etc.)

A local police source says a civilian was killed and four others wounded when an IED exploded near a livestock market in the Karaghoul area. [Maalomah]

Iraqi Army 55th brigade found 2 explosives vests, 6 IEDs, and other explosives in the Arab Dawood area. [BOC Facebook Page]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 7 Daesh guesthouses and 11 IEDs in the Akhsaf area. The same brigade destroyed a Daesh guesthouse and an IED in the Sour area. It also found an explosives cache in the Shakha area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Southwest (Rasheed, etc.)

An MoI source says the body of an unknown man was found shot in Hay Al-Jihad. [Mada]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:     9     (includes only incidents reported)             

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces found a mass grave with more than 500 Daesh terrorists who were killed in Falluja, and also found documents with their names (video). [Sumaria]

 

A member of the Anbar Provincial Council says Iraqi forces secured 9 neighborhoods in Falluja in preparation for the return of displaced families scheduled for September 15th. [IraqPress]

 

Ramadi

An Anbar Operations Command source says Coalition warplanes destroyed 4 Daesh rocket launchers in the Albu Ali Al-Jassem area, killing several terrorists. [Sumaria]

 

A military source says Iraqi Army artillery targeted Daesh hideouts in the Albu Taiban area west of Ramadi, killing 10 terrorists and wounding 6. [Sumaria]

 

Hit/Haditha

A tribal PMF commander says the IAA destroyed a Daesh convoy of 12 vehicles near Haditha, killing more than 60 terrorists, including the terrorist who filmed the Speicher Massacre. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. Daesh announced the death of this terrorist last week.

He also says the IAA destroyed a Daesh convoy that was heading to attack Iraqi forces in the Qusairiyat area in Haditha District, killing 11 terrorists. [Maalomah]

 

Rutba

The Al-Suqoor Intelligence Cell says it conducted a security operation in Rutba District, capturing 6 Daesh terrorists and killing several others. The 6 terrorists were transported to Basra for investigation. The terrorists were responsible for transporting suicide terrorists and vehicle bombs to southern Iraq and were involved in several attacks in Kerbala and Basra. [Buratha]

 

The IFP Commander says his troops captured a local Daesh terrorist responsible for the Daesh rocket unit in Rutba, and confiscated 12 rocket launchers. [Harbi]

 

A security source says Daesh targeted the headquarters of the Border Guards in Rutba with Katyushas without causing any casualties. [Sumaria]

 

On Monday, Daesh issued a video of an attack on an Iraqi barracks near the Station 70 area north of Rutba. [A3maq]

 

Daesh said on Monday that it attacked an Iraqi Army position near the Kilo 110 area northeast of Rutba, killing three soldiers. [A3maq]

 

Western Anbar

An Anbar Operations Command source says Coalition warplanes killed 7 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a car-rigging factory, 5 vehicles, and 4 guesthouses in Al-Qa’im. [Mada]

 

The IWMC says the IAF destroyed a Daesh military camp in Al-Qa’im, killing “tens” of terrorists. It also says the IAF destroyed a Daesh weapons and explosives storehouse, in Rawa. [Baghdadia]

 

Daesh published photos of an attack on Iraqi Army positions near Tanaf. In one of the photos, an Iraqi soldier surrenders and raises his hands but gets shot anyway. [DawaAlhaq]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A local source says the body of the wife of the Daesh prisons official in Shirqat was found shot. [Sumaria]

 

A local source says unknown armed men shot and killed a Daesh terrorist in Shirqat. The terrorist was originally from Mosul, and was responsible for preventing families from leaving Shirqat. [Maalomah]

 

A local source says Daesh executed a doctor after accusing him of providing supporting medical reports to Daesh terrorists who wanted to escape the fighting. The source also says Daesh executed 3 of its terrorists who used such medical reports. [Etejah]

 

A Salahuddin Police source says four displaced people were killed and eight wounded, including women and children, when a Daesh IED exploded on them in the Zuwiya area while they were trying to escape Shirqat. [Mada]

 

Baiji

On Sunday, the Salahuddin Operations Command said a displaced woman informed Iraqi forces about her brother, a Daesh terrorist who fled Mosul with displaced families. The command says, after investigations, the terrorist appears to be the son of Daesh’s wali of Mosul and was responsible for killing more than 50 people on the east side of the city. [SotIraq]

 

Samarra

The IFP Commander says his troops defused 3 IEDs in Samarra city. [Harbi]

 

Tooz

Daesh claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on a Kakai gathering in Tuz Khurmatu on Saturday and says it killed 31 people and wounded 70. [A3maq]

 

DIYALA [No reports]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A local source says a citizen found the body of a woman wearing a niqab near a village east of Hawija. The source says the woman, who had a European passport, was beaten to death. [Sumaria]

 

NINEWA

The Ninewa Tribal PMF Commander refuted a human rights report about recruiting children into the PMFs. He says the legal age for recruits in 18 years, based on Ministry of Defense rules that govern the tribal PMFs. [SotIraq]

According to Human Rights Watch, witnesses and relatives said that two tribal militias recruited as fighters at least seven children from the Debaga camp on August 14, 2016, and drove them to a town closer to Mosul. These two militias are made up of local Sunni fighters and are expected to play a key role in Mosul military operations. [HRW]

 

Mosul

France said on Tuesday it was deploying artillery to Iraq and readying its aircraft carrier for deployment to reinforce foreign military support for the Iraqi army’s expected push to recapture Mosul. “We decided to bolster our support of the Iraqi forces this autumn with the aim of recapturing Mosul,” French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a gathering of defense and military officials in Paris. [Reuters]

 

A local source says fire erupted in a 3-story building used by Daesh as its main financial headquarters in Mosul. Daesh stored the cash for the salaries of its members, and stored their information files, in the building. The source says the fire reached the nearby explosives storehouse. The source says Daesh arrested its finance officer and 5 of his associates after the fire. [Sumaria]

 

A local source says Coalition warplanes attacked Daesh targets in the Ghabat area, killing 18 terrorists and wounding 7, and destroying 12 vehicles. [Sumaria]

 

A Ninewa Police commander says Coalition warplanes launched an airstrike on Daesh in the Ghabat area, killing the new Daesh “minister of media”, Hazem Al-Afri, and 3 of his associates. He also says Daesh is digging trenches and putting sand barriers in several areas in west Mosul, anticipating the Iraqi attack on the city. [BasNews]

 

Local sources say Daesh punished several restaurant coffee shop owners in the Ghabat area because they were making preparations for the Eid holiday. Ghabat is normally a tourist area. The sources say Daesh is afraid of people coming to the area, because it has been turned into a military area and it has a lot of Daesh hideouts and weapons storehouses. Daesh had closed some of the cafes and restaurants in order to use them as offices. [PressIraq]

 

A Ninewa Operations Command source says the IAF conducted an airstrike on Daesh in Mosul killing a commander called Abu Hareth and 4 of his associates. The source says the dead terrorist was responsible for training Ashbal Al-Khalifa boys. [SotIraq]

 

A local source in Kirkuk says the Daesh deputy leader in Kirkuk was killed in an airstrike on a Daesh convoy near Mosul. The source says the terrorist attended a meeting with the Daesh leader, Awwad Baghdadi, in Mosul, and was targeted on his way back. [Ishraq]

 

A Ninewa Police colonel says Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh bank in Darkazliya in east Mosul, killing 7 terrorists. [Masala]

Daesh said on Sunday that “American” planes bombed the Middle East Bank in Mosul city for the second time in 5 weeks. [A3maq]

 

Local sources say Daesh is moving most of its headquarters and weapons storehouses from the east side to the west side of Mosul because unknown people are assassinating its terrorists. Daesh also closed off several neighborhoods with concrete blocks and deployed checkpoints in the west side. [Mosuliya]

 

A security source says Daesh has reportedly lost control over several areas in Mosul at night especially Zanjili and Wadi Al-Hajar. Daesh mobile checkpoints are roaming these areas until late afternoon, but then withdrawing for fear of assassination. The source also says Daesh arrested several tribal leaders in Mosul who refused to pledge allegiance and tribal leaders who have relatives working with the Iraqi government. [NewSabah]

 

Local sources say Daesh has removed the marks it had put on confiscated houses in Mosul (by a method unspecified), in order to avoid assassinations. Daesh had marked the houses of Christians, Shia, Yazidis, etc. and given the houses to some of its terrorists. Some of them have been targeted by a series of assassinations recently. [PressIraq]

 

A local source says an unknown armed man, known as “The Blonde,” shot and killed a Daesh leader and wounded a Daesh associate on the west side of Mosul. The source says Daesh deployed its “police” to look for the man. [PressIraq]

 

On Sunday, a KDP official says a woman wearing a niqab killed 5 Daesh terrorists using a silenced weapon. [Ghadeer]

 

Kata’eb Al-Mosul issues a video promising more attacks on Daesh [Kata’eb Al-Mosul]

 

Local sources say Daesh raided many houses in Mosul and arrested men who didn’t go to the mosques for prayers. The sources say Daesh also arrested many people who violated its rules, putting them in prison for different reasons. The sources also say Daesh intends to release these prisoners during Eid as a publicity stunt. [PressIraq]

 

Mosulyoon, a local monitoring group, says that after the Qayara liberation the fuel and food prices in Mosul increased sharply, and Daesh reduced the salaries of government employees and raised the prices of electricity.

It also says that Daesh executed one of its terrorists on the east side of Mosul, after he was caught smuggling kidnapped Yazidi women and selling them to their families for large amounts of money. It also says Daesh announced that students of medicine, pharmacology, and dentistry will go to their colleges, starting September 1st, and cancelled the academic year at other colleges, either because there are no students or the college buildings were bombed.

Smoking is now almost public in the city and even mobile phone SIM cards are being sold. However, Daesh stopped the internet cafes in Mosul and will only allow 2 cafes, one on each side of the river, which will be run and monitored by Daesh. [NewSabah]

 

A local activist says Daesh destroyed the German hospital on the west side of Mosul in order to sell the steel. He says Daesh is trying to find sources of revenue by selling the remains of bombed buildings in the city. [ARA]

 

Daesh publishes 2 photos of Mosul. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Shura/Hammam Alil

Local sources say Daesh moved some of its new recruits to areas south of Mosul. They also say Daesh arrested several people who refused to send their sons to fight alongside Daesh in the Qayara area. [Mosuliya]

 

Qayara

A Ninewa Police captain says Daesh arrested 13 of its terrorists who refused to go to the front lines in the Qayara area. He also says Iraqi forces destroyed 3 booby-trapped houses in Qayara. [BasNews]

 

The Chairman of the Qayara District Council updated and corrected the oil well story. He says Daesh actually set 16 oil wells on fire, and Iraqi forces have extinguished 13 of them. He says the remaining 3 will be extinguished within 15 days. [Buratha]

 

Daesh publishes photos of targeting Iraqi Army tanks and armored vehicles with guided missiles. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Nineveh Plain

Daesh publishes 2 photos of targeting Peshmerga positions in the Muftiya area of Al-Khazer in Hamdaniya with mortars. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

Daesh said on Monday that is killed twelve Peshmerga fighters by detonating their military position from a distance near Halloum village northwest of Tal Afar. [A3maq]

 

KURDISTAN

The manager of Sedkan subdistrict says Turkish planes targeted PKK positions near the Turkish border. [Sumaria]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Kerbala

Daesh said on Monday that it killed five Iraqi soldiers in an attack on a barracks west of Karbala. [A3maq]

 

Basra

A security source says the bodies of two men were found shot near a hospital in Basra. The source says the two men had been arrested for terrorism charges, accused of being Al-Qaeda members, and were then released. [Baghdadia]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

Clearing Daesh from the Turkish border is “a very important strategic development in our overall campaign” to defeat the militant group, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

“We have talked about this for months, about how closing this gap [the area along Turkish border controlled by Daesh] is critical to stopping the flow of foreign fighters coming into Syria and onward to Iraq as well as ISIS being able to exploit that border there to export terrorism out of Syria,” agency spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said [Anadolu]

 

Washington dispatched Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the US-led Coalition to meet with allied Kurdish forces inside Syria last week, a State Department official said Monday, following tensions after Turkey began operations in the war-torn country. He met with forces from the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces alliance. McGurk had held talks in Turkey last week.

The spokesman said McGurk pledged “ongoing US support for the SDF in the fight against (Daesh), while emphasizing the need for strict adherence to prior commitments”, a reference to demands that the SDF withdraw east of the Euphrates. “In all of his meetings, he encouraged unity of effort and de-confliction between all forces fighting (Daesh) in northern Syria,” the spokesman said. [AFP]

DaeshDaily comment. It is left unclear from McGurk’s reported comments as to what will be done to offset the negative impact on the Arab SDF components who are still fighting west of the Tigris.

 

The Commander of Sultan Murad Division, a Turkey-backed opposition group, tells Reuters that the opposition wants to establish a safe zone in the areas it had captured from Daesh. He also says the opposition groups will have to confront the YPG because the YPG didn’t withdraw from the area. [Qasioun]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 7 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, 2 near Raqqa, 2 near Manbij, and 3 near Deir Ez-Zor. [InherentResolve]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus

Opposition groups managed to secure the road between Azaz and Jarabulus. [Qasioun]

 

The Chairman of the Jarabulus Council says Turkey is trying to establish a Turkmen military council to run Jarabulus city. [EnabBaladi]

However, the opposition groups say they are moving their headquarters outside of the city, based on requests from the community leaders, and they are trying to establish a new elected local council. [Dorar]

 

Daesh issues a video of destroying a Turkish Army tank in Kilya village west of Jarabulus a week ago. [A3maq]

 

Al-Bab

Turkey-supported opposition groups issued a statement saying areas from Al-Ra’i south to Al-Bab city and from Arima to Tal Hajar are military areas. A local activist linked this announcement to Turkey’s earlier idea about a safe zone in northwest Syria. [ARA]

 

The Turkish military says Daesh targeted two Turkish tanks in the Waqf area, 10 km (6 miles) south of Al-Ra’i with anti-armored vehicle missiles, killing two soldiers and wounding five. It also says two opposition fighters were killed and others wounded in the same area. [ARA]

 

An opposition group commander says opposition groups, supported by the Turkish Army, captured 2 villages southeast of Al-Ra’i after heavy battles with Daesh. He says Daesh tried to launch a counter attack with a vehicle bomb, but it was destroyed by the opposition groups. [ARA]

The Turkish Army had said the opposition groups captured 7 villages, raising the number of villages that were captured today to 9. [ZamanAlWasl]

 

Azaz

Battles are still ongoing near Um Hawsh, Um Al-Qura, and Harbal between Syrian Democratic Forces factions and Daesh. YPG sources claim that Daesh is withdrawing from areas near the Turkey-backed opposition groups to the SDF areas. [Hawar]

Daesh issues a video of destroying a “PKK tank” near Um Hawsh village. [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video of destroying a YPG BMP near Um Hawsh. [A3maq]

 

Daesh said on Sunday it stopped a “YPG” attack on Tal Qarah village south of Mare’, killing 30 fighters and destroying a T72 tank and a BMP armored vehicle. [A3maq]

 

Afrin

225 displaced families arrived at a camp in Afrin after escaping Daesh and opposition group areas. [Hawar]

 

A 16-year-old girl was shot and wounded by an opposition group sniper in Sheikh Maqsoud. [Hawar]

 

Manbij

A video of Ittihad University in Manbij, which was used as a training camp by Daesh and was destroyed in the fighting. [Hawar]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

Hasaka

A suicide terrorist attacked an Asayesh barrier in Hay Al-Masaken in Hasaka city center, killing five Asayesh members and wounding two, in addition to wounding four civilians. [ROJ]

 

YPG sources said on Monday that the Turkish Army shot at protesters near Amuda, a Kurdish village near the border, killing a young man. The sources say the YPG returned fire, shooting and killing a Turkish soldier. [Hawar]

 

Turkmen and Arab tribes formed a new armed group to fight the YPG in Hasaka. [Dorar]

 

Raqqa

A local activist says Daesh issued orders forcing people in Raqqa who don’t have hisbah approval, to attend a 15-day religious training session. [ARA]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 38 people were killed in the explosion in Tartus, including 14 civilians, and 40 people wounded. It also says 4 Syrian soldiers were killed in the car bomb explosion near Hay Al-Zahra in Homs. [SyriaHR]

 

A local activist says Daesh launched a massive attack on opposition groups in the east Qalamoun area after bringing in reinforcements from Raqqa. He says opposition groups stopped the attack, killing or wounding more than 20 terrorists, destroying a T72 tank, a bulldozer, and a cannon. In later news, Daesh captured Al-Afa’i Mountain, the Nakab area, and parts of the eastern mountain. [ARA]

 

The Syrian Army targeted Daesh locations in the Huwaisis area with heavy artillery, killing several Daesh terrorists. [Hawar]

Daesh had said on Monday that it stopped 2 Syrian Army and Shia militia attacks on Saturday and Sunday on the Huwaisis area, killing 20 soldiers. [A3maq]

 

According to the Russian Sputnik News Agency a military source says the Syrian Government captured 2 terrorists who placed the 2 vehicle bombs in Homs city on Monday. [ARA]

 

A local activist says Daesh launched a major attack on Syrian troops in Barda village. Several fighters were killed on both sides and no one was able to gain ground. He also says heavy battles erupted matching the Syrian Army and its allied militias against Daesh near the Tadmur silos. He says warplanes targeted Daesh near Al-Mahr Oilfield east of Homs. He also says Daesh hisbah arrested a young man who was filming the remains of the destroyed buildings in Sukhnah city. [ARA]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

A local activist says Daesh issued orders to prevent civilians from moving between Deir Ez-Zor and western Anbar unless they have approvals from its hisbah and there is someone who can guarantee their return. [ARA]

 

A local activist says Daesh stoned a young man to death in east Deir Ez-Zor, after accusing him of adultery. [ARA]

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says warplanes bombed several areas in Deir Ez-Zor city, in addition to 2 villages near Deir Ez-Zor Airport and an oilfield east of the city. It also says Daesh shelled Joura and Qusour areas in Deir Ez-Zor, killing or wounding several civilians. [SyriaHR] [SyriaHR]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh says a Syrian Army soldier surrendered to its fighters east of Damascus. [A3maq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

North Africa

Egypt

A security source says takfiri terrorists attacked a security barrier south of Sheikh Zuweid, wounding six soldiers. [VetoGate]

 

Security forces stopped a terrorist attack south of Sheikh Zuweid, killing 2 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists and wounding 2, and destroying 2 IEDs. [VetoGate]

 

A security source says a soldier was killed on Monday by an Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis sniper, in Rafah. [ElWatan]

 

A security source says a Ministry of Religious Affairs employee was shot and wounded by armed men in Rafah. [VetoGate]

 

Eyewitnesses say armed men kidnapped a civilian from a street in Arish city. [VetoGate]

 

A security source says a soldier was severely wounded by an Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis sniper south of Arish. [ElWatan]

 

On Monday, security sources say an IED exploded on a security armored vehicle and a civilian car on the International Road between Arish and Quneitra, killing two civilians and wounding two others in addition to three soldiers. [VetoGate]

In a later report, a medical source says two of the wounded soldiers died in the hospital. [ElWatan]

 

A security source says a police officer was wounded by armed men during a raid near the Masaeed area, west of Arish. [ElWatan]

 

The deputy director of South Sinai Security Service and five of his associates were wounded when terrorists shot at his vehicle in the Wadi Feiran area. [VetoGate]

ElWatan says it was a car accident and two civilians were killed in it. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

A Libyan Special Forces commander says his troops captured more areas from Daesh in the Qawarsha area. He also says four of his soldiers were killed by a Daesh land mine in the area on Monday. [Wasat]

 

Daesh said on Monday that it detonated 2 IEDs in the Qawarsha area, killing or wounding several soldiers. [A3maq]

 

Central coast

The National Accord Government Military says its troops captured the courthouse, a bank, and a Daesh ammunition storehouse in Sirte. Field commanders say the bodies of 7 Daesh fighters were found in the area. [Wasat]

 

Daesh said it killed fifteen National Accord Government “militia men” and destroyed several vehicles in a suicide attack in Sirte on Saturday. [A3maq]

 

The National Accord Government Military published photos of some Daesh financial documents found in Sirte. Some of the receipts show that Daesh had paid extra money to its terrorists who had sex slaves. [Wasat]

 

Other countries

Yemen

Daesh said on Sunday that it killed three Yemeni soldiers and wounded others with an IED near a Yemeni Army barrier in the Sheikh Othman area in Aden. [A3maq]

 

Pakistan

Daesh said on Monday that it killed a Pakistani policeman and wounded others with an IED on their vehicle in Peshawar. [A3maq]

 

DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]

 

Daesh publishes a new issue of its Naba’ magazine. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh issues a propaganda video about the “suffering” of Sunnis in Baghdad, and how its suicide terrorists are targeting “Shia infidels”. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh issues a new magazine called Rumiyah in 8 languages. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh publishes infographics saying it conducted 81 suicide attacks in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, during the month of August. [A3maq]

 

Daesh issues a propaganda video of the “generation of the caliphate, showing how Daesh train and “educate” young children. [DawaAlhaq]

 

 

September 2, 2106

Mosul Leaflets

Mosul Leaflets

Notice to subscribers: In accordance with our policy of not publishing on US or Iraqi holidays, there will be no report on Labor Day.

 

Today’s Major Developments

Moqtada Al-Sadr calls for work strikes and hunger strikes to pressure government reforms. []

Campaign to dislodge Daesh from Jazeera Hit and Baghdadi Hit starts with Iraqi & Coalition air attacks. []

Jubour tribe PMFs lose over 50 men in surprise Daesh attack in Mtaibija, Salahuddin. []

Heroic policeman dies trying to stop a suicide attack in Mandali. []

Iraqi units put out the last of the oil well fires started by Daesh. []

Daesh defector from Raqqa says a large percentage of Daesh fighters want to defect. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Thousands of Sadrists and civil activists demonstrated in Baghdad demanding the acceleration of reforms and tougher anti-corruption measures. [Mada]

Moqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement asking government employees (other than security) for a strike on Sunday and Monday to pressure the government for reforms. He also asked people to start a hunger strike in mosques and churches the following week. [Mada]

 

A State of Law MP issued a statement warning Prime Minister Abadi against reneging on his decision to let the PMFs participate in the Mosul liberation due to American pressure. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. We are confused by this story, as we are unaware from previous reports that the US is pressuring Iraq not to use PMFs in the Mosul campaign. We recall one or more official US statements that this is an Iraqi decision to make and Iraqi government statements that PMFs will participate in this campaign.

It has become obvious that this subject will remain a political football until the Mosul campaign actually starts. At a distance, it may seem that keeping Shia militias out of the campaign would avoid a Sunni backlash against them that could compromise the mission. More likely, the vast majority of Mosul residents would welcome any help to get rid of Daesh. We think this is not primarily a sectarian issue. The core of the opposition is anti-government and separatist elements who have designs on controlling parts of Ninewa at Iraq’s expense and don’t want any interference from PMFs. Some of the PMFs who would participate are Turkmen (including Shia Turkmen) who want to fight for their home areas in Tal Afar and elsewhere.

The best policy is to allow all PMFs to participate while ensuring that they are closely supervised through the military chain of command. Victory in Mosul would then produce a patriotic dividend, because everyone will have participated and therefore everyone other than the closet Daesh supporters will feel a sense of pride and national unity.   

 

The Badr commander, Hadi Al-Ameri, said in a meeting in Baghdad with tribal leaders from Mosul that the PMFs will participate in the battles. [Ishraq]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 9 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq (near Rutba (1), Albu Hayat (1), Hit (1), Haditha (1), Ramadi (1), Qayara (1), Kasik (1), Sinjar (1), and Tal Afar (1)).  [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Northwest (Kadhimiya)

An MoI source says one person was killed and five wounded when a sticky IED exploded under a small bus in Hurriya. [Mada]

 

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

The JOC says Iraqi Army 22nd brigade killed a Daesh suicide terrorist who was trying to attack Shia pilgrims in Ghuzailiya. [Harbi]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

The Baghdad Operations Command says an explosives cache exploded in the Obeidi area, causing civilian damages. [Mada]

A security source says 8 nearby residential areas were damaged by rockets and mortar shells from the explosion. Another source had said earlier that the explosion happened in a PMF storage facility. [Sumaria]

A video of the explosion [Facebook]

Photos of the explosion [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. Using residential areas to store rockets and explosives is criminal. As far as we know, Daesh is not in east Baghdad, which puts the suspicion elsewhere. Our sources in Baghdad told us this is not the first time this happened. This area is one of the poorest in Baghdad and its people are most likely afraid of confronting the powerful militias.  

 

Daesh claims responsibility for detonating an IED on a small bus in Sadr City yesterday, claiming it killed 15 Shia. [DawaAlhaq]

Baghdad Operations Command said yesterday that several civilians were wounded when an IED exploded in Sadr City, targeting Shia pilgrims.

 

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a medical center in Zafaraniya. [Mada]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says three people were killed and ten wounded when an IED exploded near a wholesale market in Yusufiyah. [Mada]

Daesh says it killed an Iraqi Army battalion commander and four of his soldiers and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in Arab Jubour. Daesh also says its snipers wounded an Iraqi soldier in Arab Jubour. [JustPaste]

The JOC says Iraqi Army 55th brigade found 2 explosives caches in 2 different areas in south Baghdad. [Harbi]

The JOC says Iraqi Army 23rd brigade found a Daesh guesthouse in Alimiya. [Harbi]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists killed or wounded sixteen people in Hay Al-I’lam yesterday. [DawaAlhaq]

Baghdad Operations Command said yesterday an IFP unit killed a Daesh suicide terrorist in the Darwish Intersection in Bayya’.

 

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)

An MoI source says one person was killed and five wounded when an IED exploded near a bakery in Ghazaliya.  [Mada]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   14    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

The Joint Operations Command (JOC) says Iraqi forces defused more than 400 IEDs in addition to a booby-trapped school and 97 houses and shops, and found 2 car-rigging factories and explosives caches in Falluja District. [Harbi]

 

Ramadi

The JOC says Iraqi forces cleared 150 houses and destroyed 21 IEDs in different areas of Ramadi District. [Harbi]

 

A military source says the Coalition destroyed a Daesh hideout in Jazeera Ramadi, killing the terrorists inside. [Sumaria]

 

Hit/Haditha

A military source says Iraqi Army units arrived near Jazeera Hit and Jazeera Baghdadi to start the liberation operations. [Sumaria]

 

A military source says the Coalition destroyed several Daesh hideouts and weapons storehouses in Jazeera Hit and Jazeera Baghdadi. [Sumaria]

 

The JOC says Iraqi Army 7th division destroyed 12 IEDs and 4 Katyusha rockets in the Baghdadi area. [Harbi]

 

The JOC says Coalition planes destroyed a Daesh shelter in Hay Al-Bakr, killing 5. The Coalition also destroyed a building in the Saqra area, killing 3 terrorists. [Harbi]

 

A security source says the IAA targeted a Daesh gathering near Hit, killing 6 terrorists and destroying a weapons and explosives cache in addition to military vehicles. [Baghdadia]

 

A Tribal PMF commander says the IAA destroyed a Daesh hideout and a vehicle in the Qusairat area in Haditha district, killing 4 terrorists. [Etejah]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

The JOC says Coalition planes killed 8 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a defensive position in the Nasser area of Shirqat.  [Harbi]

 

A PMF commander says a Daesh Saudi terrorist committed suicide by throwing himself from the roof of a building after fleeing a Daesh prison in Shirqat. The source says the terrorist was arrested after he fled a failed Daesh attack. Daesh threw tens of its terrorists in prisons for fleeing battles.  [Sumaria]

 

Daesh says it attacked an Iraqi Army military position in the Tilul Al-Baj area, killing one soldier. [JustPaste]

 

Samarra

The JOC says seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and twelve wounded in a Daesh attack in the Mtaibija area. It says Samarra Operations Command troops, supported by IAA helicopters, counter-attacked and destroying 3 machine gun-mounted vehicles. [Harbi]

 

Daesh says it killed three Iraqi soldiers with an IED in Mtaibija. [A3maq]

 

However, the PMF Commission spokesman says 54 Tribal PMF fighters from the Jubour tribe were killed and eight wounded in a Daesh attack from 4 sides on Mtaibija. He says Daesh can’t gain control of the area but it is still able to launch surprise attacks. [Ghad]

Daesh’s version says its terrorists attacked PMFs in Mtaibija, killing more than 50 fighters and capturing two, destroying 5 Humvees and an SUV, and capturing an SUV and 3 heavy machine guns before returning safely. [DawaAlhaq]

The Salahuddin Governor declared a state of official mourning for the victims of the Mtaibija attack. [Sumaria]

 

Tooz

A Peshmerga commander says clashes erupted when a group of Daesh terrorists infiltrated the Kurdish lines in the Zarqa Bridge area, but the Peshmerga stopped the attack, killing several Daesh fighters. [Mada]

Daesh says it destroyed 5 Iraqi forces Humvees and captured weapons and ammunition in an attack on 2 barracks in the Zarqa area. [A3maq] [JustPaste]

Local sources say two Peshmerga fighters were killed and two wounded in the Daesh attack on Zarqa. They also say many Daesh terrorists were killed in the failed attack. [ROJ]

 

A security source says two Peshmerga fighters were killed and three wounded when an IED exploded in the Zarqa area. [Mada]

 

DIYALA

Southern Diyala

A security source says a policeman and a child were killed in a Daesh suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Mandali. The source says the policeman was killed while trying to stop the attacker. [Sumaria]

Daesh claimed responsibility, saying it was conducted by an Iraqi suicide terrorist. [JustPaste]

 

The chairman of the Mandali subdistrict council asked Prime Minister Abadi to honor the policeman who sacrificed himself to stop the suicide terrorist. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. The police reputation in Iraq has historically been bad. They were accused of brutality and corruption and widely considered incompetent. However, the perception has changed in recent years. The many policemen who have sacrificed their lives trying to stop suicide attackers are one reason.

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A local source says Daesh arrested 17 civilians, mostly young men, after unknown men broke into a Daesh headquarters in Hawija yesterday and took thousands of documents. [Sumaria]

 

Southwest

A tribal leader says Daesh executed the mukhtar of Dakshaman village in Rashad after finding an Iraqi flag and a mobile phone in his house. Daesh accused the mukhtar of cooperating with Iraqi forces and shot him publicly near his house. [Mada]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

The Counter Terrorism Service spokesman says Iraqi forces are conducting special training in order to finish the battle in Mosul with minimum losses. He says Iraqi forces are using lessons learned from previous battles, especially Falluja, but putting in consideration the geography of Mosul. [Mosuliya]

 

Local sources say Daesh brought in goods and food items from Syria and sold them to local merchants. The sources say the prices in the city slightly went down after the goods arrived, but people cannot afford to buy them because of the money shortage. [Mosuliya]

 

Local sources say warplanes dropped thousands of leaflets with cartoons on several areas in Mosul. The sources say the cartoons made fun of Daesh and urged people to fight the terrorists. [Mosuliya]

 

Kata’eb Al-Mosul said on Thursday its snipers killed a Daesh terrorist who was guarding a Daesh guesthouse in Hay Al-Muharibeen. [Kata’eb Al-Mosul]

 

The “PMFs Intelligence” says Daesh brought excavators to dig tunnels between the streets and the Tigris River in order to use them to move boat bombs quickly when Iraqi forces enter the city. [PressIraq]

 

A security source says Daesh is using concrete blocks to isolate the neighborhoods of Mosul in order to decrease the attacks by local fighters, and to hinder the anticipated Iraqi forces attack on the city. [NewSabah]

 

The “PMFs Intelligence” says Daesh has emptied the University of Mosul and sent its furniture and equipment to be sold in Syria. It also says Daesh closed down internet cafés that belong to people who have relatives outside Mosul.  [PressIraq] [PressIraq]

 

A local source says Daesh issued orders preventing women wearing a niqab from entering any of its security offices in Mosul. The source says women in niqab had attacked Daesh in several areas. [Buratha]

 

Qayara

The deputy commander of Ninewa Operations announced that Iraqi forces extinguished the fires at the last 2 oil wells in Qayara. Daesh had set 12 oil wells on fire before it was driven out of Qayara. [Mada]

 

Daesh says it attacked an Iraqi Army military position in the Qayara area, killing six soldiers. [JustPaste]

 

KURDISTAN

A Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) leadership faction claiming to represent the majority of the PUK politburo, led by Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, wife of the party’s leader Jalal Talabani, met Friday and later issued a statement about the ongoing tensions and rivalries in the party. They expressed regret and anger about yesterday’s statement by an opposing politburo faction; declared that the opposing faction lacks legitimacy; and stated that the opposition’s issues had never even been raised in politburo meetings. It said a Leadership Council meeting will be held, “to find real solutions in line with the party’s bylaws.”

The statement is in response to Thursday’s announcement from an opposing faction within the PUK which declared the establishment of a new decision-making body in an apparent effort to wrest control of the party from the politburo members allied with the Talabani family. Kosrat Rasool Ali, first deputy of the PUK, and Barham Salih, second deputy, formed the alternate body, which they say is backed by several members of the PUK politburo, leadership committee, and MPs. [Rudaw]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

The Syrian Network for Human Rights says 32 civilians were killed under torture in Syria during the month of August—28 by the Syrian government, three by the YPG, and one by Al-Nusra. [EnabBaladi]

 

Turkey’s President Erdogan says he won’t believe any statements from the YPG about crossing back to east of the Euphrates and will only depend on Turkish sources. He says 90% of the people of Manbij are Arabs and the Kurdish people were brought to the city by the PYD. [Dorar]

Erdogan also says that “freeing Manbij from the YPG” is the main goal of the Operation Euphrates Shield. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. Freeing the Syria morass from Erdogan’s erratic leadership and bombastic statements would be more helpful. Manbij was freed in large part because the Kurds came to help. Turkey did not come to help. Pretending that Turkey is now the protector of Manbij probably won’t persuade most of the citizens of Manbij.

 

The Coalition says it conducted 5 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, 3 near Mare’ and 2 near Raqqa. [InherentResolve]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

In an interview with Al-Aan TV, a Daesh official from Raqqa who defected says 30% to 40% of Daesh terrorists in Raqqa want to defect. He says some of them tried to leave and were killed, while others are trying to escape the battles by claiming they are sick. One shot himself to avoid fighting. He also says Daesh foreign terrorists are trapped and cannot leave. Daesh tells the foreign terrorists that other armed groups would kill them if they escaped (video). [Al-Aan]

 

Eight people were wounded by a Daesh land mine in Malfa village, in Shaddadi. [Hawar]

 

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Tal Hamis protesting the Turkish attack on north Syria. [Hawar]

 

Local activists say Ahrar Al-Raqqa (an Arab SDF faction) attacked the YPG east of Ain Eissa, captured 3 villages, and arrested 15 fighters. [Dorar]

However, that report seems inconsistent with a Rudaw report that the leader of Ahrar Al-Raqqa criticized Liwa’ Al-Tahrir, an Arab SDF faction which has just threatened to split from the SDF), and accused it of treason. [Rudaw] [See next story]

Liwa’ Al-Tahrir issued a video statement accusing the YPG of dominating the decision-making in the SDF and marginalizing other groups. The spokesman says the Syrian Democratic Forces should be reorganized in order to fulfill the commitment of the United States to Turkey, and threatened to withdraw if the SDF does not respond within 2 days. [Qasioun]

DaeshDaily comment. We can’t confirm the first story, conceding it would be significant if true. We are concerned, however, that US policy-makers may have created a strategic trap for themselves in their agreement with Turkey. The YPG fighters were most of the SDF. Forcing them to fight only east of the Tigris solves a territorial issue, but leaves some of the Arab SDF fighters (what percentage we don’t know) on the west side of the river. These soldiers are also officially supported by the US, but are not protected by US forces from day to day. The risk is that militant Sunni Arab militias funded by the Saudis and Turks, including Al-Nusra, will gain control of areas west of the river that would otherwise have been controlled by or shared with the SDF. Moreover, it has happened often amidst the confusion of Syria’s disparate opposition militia groups that when militias feel a loss of protection within current alliances, they switch sides. Actions and statements like those above by Ahrar Al-Raqqa and Liwa’ Al-Tahrir make us nervous.

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Daesh launched an attack on Um Al-Qura and Um Hawsh villages using mortars and heavy machine guns. Syrian Democratic Forces responded by shelling Daesh in Hasiba and Wahshiyah villages. Heavy battles erupted near the two Daesh-controlled villages and “tens” of Daesh terrorists were killed. [Hawar] [Hawar] [ARA]

DaeshDaily comment. Instead of the term “Syrian Democratic Forces”, the PYD-backed Hawar started recently to use “The Revolutionary Brigades” instead. 

SDF groups issued a statement saying they had stopped a Daesh attack on the area on Thursday, destroying 2 vehicle bombs and killing 19 terrorists. They also say they destroyed a Daesh machine gun-mounted vehicle on Friday, killing the terrorists inside. [Hawar]

Local sources say Daesh emptied 5 villages in the area and arrested several Kurdish families and took them to unknown locations. [Hawar]

 

SDF sources say they found the bodies of more than 100 people burned by Daesh near Harbal. Daesh killed the victims and burned their bodies around 6 months ago (video). [Hawar]

SDF groups found a Daesh mass grave in Harbal containing the bodies of 60 civilians and Free Syrian Army fighters. [ARA]

 

SDF groups say Turkey-supported opposition groups in Kaljibrin, south of Azaz, targeted an SDF vehicle in Tal Daqna. [Hawar]

 

The Turkish Army used tear gas, then live bullets to attack people holding a sit-in near the Turkish border in Kobane. The people were protesting the Turkish attack on north Syria and the concrete wall Turkey is building on the border. People started to throw rocks after the Turkish Army used tear gas. [ARA] [ARA]

Videos of clashes [Hawar] [Hawar] [EnabBaladi]

The local government in Kobane (PYD) issued a statement saying two people were killed and eight wounded by the Turkish Army firing on the protestors. [Hawar]

The local government in Afrin (PYD) issued a statement holding the International Coalition responsible for the Turkish attack in Kobane. [Hawar]

Local sources say the Turkish Army withdrew its troops and machinery from Kobane after the clashes. [BasNews]

 

The Turkish Army is targeting Hamam village in Afrin with heavy machine guns and later with 8 mortars. It also shelled Jaqla village with 40 mortars. No casualties have been reported as yet. [Hawar] [Hawar]

 

Turkey-backed opposition groups captured 3 villages west of Jarabulus after heavy battles with Daesh. [Qasioun]

 

Daesh issues a video of targeting a YPG shovel east of the Tishrin Dam. [A3maq]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

A local activist says 30 Daesh members in east Homs, mostly from Sukhnah city, defected and went north to Idlib and to the Turkish border. He says Daesh arrested the families of the defectors.

Syrian planes attacked several Daesh controlled areas in east Homs using cluster bombs. [ARA]

 

Daesh says it captured a Syrian Army command barricade northeast of Huwaisis. [A3maq]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

Local media sources say Russian planes killed five civilians and wounded others in airstrikes on Tayyan town in Deir Ez-Zor. [Dorar]

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says warplanes targeted several areas in Deir Ez-Zor city, without giving information about the casualties. [SyriaHR]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh says its affiliate, Khaled Army, stopped an opposition groups attack on 4 towns in the Yarmouk Basin, killing 17 fighters. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says 3 Syrian soldiers surrendered to its terrorists near Suwayda. [A3maq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

North Africa

Egypt

A 60-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy were shot and wounded by unknown armed men in Arish and Rafah. [VetoGate]

 

A security source says a soldier was killed by a sniper in the Abu Shanar area, in Rafah. Another soldier was killed by a sniper in the Masoura area in Rafah. [VetoGate] [VetoGate]

 

Daesh says its snipers killed an Egyptian soldier in the Zuhour area, in Arish. [JustPaste]

 

Eyewitnesses say a paramedic and two women wounded when Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis shot at an ambulance in the U’bour area in Arish. The ambulance was transporting the women to the hospital. [ElWatan]

 

Daesh says it damaged an Egyptian Army minesweeper, in the Qura’i area, south of Arish. Daesh says its snipers killed a soldier in the same area. [JustPaste]

 

Four civilians were wounded when a mortar shell fell on their house in Dhahir village, in Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]

 

Daesh says it killed 3 Egyptian soldiers and wounded five by detonating an IED on their armored vehicle near the Abu Tawila area in Sheikh Zuweid. [A3maq]

Security sources said yesterday that one soldier was killed when an IED exploded on his armored vehicle near the Sheikh Zuweid entrance.

 

Security sources say an officer and a soldier were killed and five other soldiers wounded when Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis targeted an armored vehicle with a Kornet rocket, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]

 

Daesh says its snipers killed an Egyptian soldier in the Ratil area, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [JustPaste]

 

Libya

Northeast

The Libyan Army issued a statement saying terrorist groups in Qanfouda are preventing civilians from leaving the area in order to use them as human shields. [Wasat]

 

Daesh says it destroyed a Libyan Army machine gun-mounted vehicle in the Chinese Buildings area in Qanfouda. [A3maq]

 

Central coast

The Libyan National Accord Government Military publishes photos of documents obtained from Daesh’s court in Sirte. Some documents show Daesh forcing women to divorce their husbands (who oppose Daesh). [Wasat]

 

Other countries

Pakistan

The Pakistan Army says at least 4 suicide terrorists attacked a Christian area near Warsak Dam 20 km (12.5 miles) northwest of Peshawar, killing a security guard before they were killed by security units. It also says two soldiers, a policeman, and two security personnel were wounded. [Sumaria]

 

Denmark

Daesh’s A3maq says the “executer of the attack targeting police in Copenhagen was a soldier of (Daesh) and carried out the operation in response to calls to target Coalition countries.” [A3maq]

According to news reports, the attack happened during a drug raid by the local police. Local Danish media named the attacker as Mesa Hodzic, saying he was a citizen who first arrived in the country from Bosnia as a four-year-old boy. Police did not confirm the report.

At least two police officers were wounded, one seriously, and a civilian was shot in the thigh. [BasNews]

 

DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [Archive]

 

September 1, 2016

Displaced Children in Anbar (BasNews)

Displaced Children in Anbar (BasNews)

Today’s Major Developments

New US Ambassador to Iraq reports for duty. []

Abadi and Prime Minister May talk about Mosul and displaced persons. []

Nineveh Plain PMF unit captures Shabak village. []

PUK Politburo members declare new internal leadership group, to counter alleged unethical decisions. []

Daesh takes back two border villages in Azaz, Syria from SDF. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

President Masoum received in his office the new US Ambassador to Iraq, Douglas A. Silliman. [Rudaw]

 

Prime Minister Abadi received a phone call from the new UK Prime Minister Theresa May, according to a statement from his office. The discussion apparently focused largely on displaced people and related humanitarian expenses. Abadi said the first group of Falluja displaced people have started to return to their houses, but he anticipates that tens of thousands of people will be displaced because of the Ninewa battles, which will increase the need for international support for Iraq. He also said Iraq needs support in the in the intelligence field. [Sumaria]

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “This morning the Prime Minister called Prime Minister Abadi of Iraq to discuss progress in countering Daesh and creating the right conditions for Iraq’s stability and prosperity. The Prime Minister welcomed Prime Minister Abadi’s personal leadership in the battle against Daesh, noted the progress made by Iraqi Security Forces and reaffirmed the UK’s continued commitment to the military campaign.

The leaders discussed next steps in the campaign including the operation to retake Mosul, and agreed that alongside the military effort there needed to be governance, stabilization and humanitarian elements. They agreed the UN General Assembly later this month would be a good opportunity for the Iraqi Government to update the international community on the progress of the campaign.

The Prime Minister raised concerns over reports of abuses committed by some elements of the state backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The leaders agreed that it was important that forces liberating Daesh territory should be following due process. They looked forward to meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York. [UKGov]

 

The Judicial Council says it sent an official request to the Minister of Finance, Hoshyar Zebari, asking him to reveal the name of an official who transferred a large amount of money to the official’s personal bank account. Zebari had said in a TV interview that this official had transferred around $6.5 billion to his own account, without naming the official. [Mada]

 

The UN released its monthly (and confusing) report on casualties in Iraq. In August, 218 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (including Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army but excluding Anbar Operations) were killed and 203 were injured. However, this does not count IFP, Sahwa civil defense, and other combat casualties who were counted with the civilians, and the omission of Anbar and all the Daesh Iraqi combat deaths necessarily skews the statistics.

The official death toll of civilians in August was 473 and the number injured was 813. The oddities of the statistics notwithstanding, however, Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate with 907 civilian casualties (231 killed, 676 injured). [UNIraq]

 

In answer to a question from Rudaw, the Pentagon says four American soldiers were killed in Iraq between 2015 and 2016, in Hawija, Bashiqa, Kara Sur, and Tesgofa. [AIN]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq. Three were in Ninewa (near Mosul (2), Kasik (1)); one in Baiji, Salahuddin; four in Anbar (near Ramadi (1), Hit (1), Baghdadi (1), and Haditha (1)). [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

The IFP Commander says IFP units captured a Daesh leader in Tarmiya and another one in the Zaidan area in Abu Ghraib. [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. We should hope for more stories like this. Recapturing prominent cities like Falluja and Mosul is important, but to bring security to Iraq, the government must dismantle the Daesh network in Baghdad.

 

Security-related incidents reported

Northwest (Kadhimiya)

An MoI source says two people were killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Shula. [Mada]

 

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

Baghdad Operations Command says it ambushed and killed a Daesh suicide terrorist in Tarmiya. [Baghdadia]  An MoI source says the terrorist tried to attack an Iraqi checkpoint in Tarmiya. The source says two soldiers were wounded. [Mada]

Iraqi Army 45th brigade defused 4 IEDs in the Dhabitya area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

Baghdad Operations Command says several civilians were wounded when an IED exploded in Sadr City, targeting Shia pilgrims. [Sumaria]

 

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)

An MoI source says a joint force of the Army, IFP, and Intelligence raided Bawi village in Mada’in, and captured 11 people wanted on terrorism charges. [Mada]

An MoI source says one person was killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near the industrial area in Jisr Diyala. [Mada]

A police source says a civilian was killed when unknown armed men shot at him in the Jisr Diyala area. [Sumaria]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says one person was killed and seven wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area on Street 60 in Dora. [Mada]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 2 guesthouses and 3 IEDs in the Haj Khudhair area. [MoD Website]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

An IFP unit killed a Daesh suicide terrorist in the Darwish Intersection in Bayya’. [BOC Facebook Page]

An MoI source says two people were killed and four wounded when an IED exploded near a popular restaurant in Hay Al-Jihad. [Mada]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   11    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi teams defused 63 more IEDs and a booby-trapped house, and found rockets and explosives in Falluja District. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

The Prime Minister’s office says the Tariq military camp in west Baghdad has been prepared as a reception station for Qarma and Saqlawiya displaced families before they return to Falluja District. The office says the families will return in mid-September. [Sumaria]

A member of the Anbar Provincial Council says 70 displaced families returned to their houses in Qarma. [BasNews]

 

Ramadi

Iraqi media sources say an Egyptian Daesh terrorist responsible for vehicle bombs in Anbar has defected and fled Daesh-controlled territory. The 25-year-old terrorist was reportedly killed a couple of times earlier. Even Daesh announced his death in February 2016. The terrorist used to be an amateur actor, singer, and soccer referee before joining Daesh. [ARA]

 

Iraqi Army 51st brigade killed 3 Daesh terrorists near the Euphrates River in Jazeera Khaldiya. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

The Ministry of Defense says more than 600 Daesh terrorists were killed and several others captured in the Albu Kanaan area. It also says Iraqi forces destroyed 1,400 IEDs and defused 160 booby-trapped houses in Jazeera Khaldiya. [MoD Website]

 

A security source says two people were killed when an IED exploded in their house garden on Street 20 in Ramadi city. [Ghad]

 

Hit/Haditha

A tribal PMF commander says Daesh deployed terrorists and vehicle bombs in the western desert, preparing for an attack on Haditha District. [Mada]

 

The Chairman of the Hit District Council says Iraqi forces issued a curfew all over the district in anticipation of a Daesh attack. [Mada]

 

The Jazeera Operations Commander says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh gathering in Al-Bakr in Jazeera Hit, killing 10 terrorists and destroying 3 machine gun-mounted vehicles and a rocket launcher. [Mada]

 

An Anbar Police source says a mass grave containing the bodies of 70 civilians was found in the Ma’amoura area in Hit’s Baghdadi subdistrict, near Haditha. [BasNews]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Baiji

Salahuddin Operations Command captured a man and his wife who were wanted on terrorism charges in the Hajjaj area. [MoD Website]

 

Samarra

Samarra Operations Command destroyed 15 IEDs in Jazeera Samarra. It also destroyed 12 IEDs in the Mtaibija area. [MoD Website]

 

DIYALA

Baquba

The Diyala Police Chief says a police force found an explosives and ammunition cache in Buhriz. [Sumaria]

 

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

A security source says an Iraqi Army soldier was severely wounded when armed men broke into his house and shot him in Abu Saida. [Sumaria]

 

KIRKUK

Kirkuk

A security source says a security unit captured a man wanted on terrorism charges as he was distributing Daesh leaflets that urged people to join Daesh in Kirkuk. [Mada]

 

A Kirkuk Police commander says the police captured in Kirkuk an Arab and a Turkmen wanted on terrorism charges (photos). [BasNews]

 

Hawija

A local source says unknown men broke into a main Daesh headquarters in west Hawija and took thousands of Daesh documents. Daesh issued a general alert after the incident. [Sumaria]

 

Southwest

A Peshmerga Explosive Ordinance Disposal member was killed while defusing an IED in Daquq. The Peshmerga has defused more than 10,000 IEDs since 2014. [Rudaw]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

A local source says a Daesh special unit surrounded the houses of 4 Daesh leaders in downtown Mosul and cut off the roads in the area. He says Daesh initiated a purge after the killing of its spokesman, Adnani, which indicates their suspicion that recent security breaches may have led to the killing of many senior Daesh leaders. On another subject, the source says Mosul city is facing desperation in the last few days and Daesh has deployed fighting units in the streets and main intersections. [Sumaria]

 

A local source says unknown men attacked the Daesh local biter, a woman who goes out into the streets to see if women are following dress codes and literally bites them if they are not. The group attacked the woman and broke her teeth near her house in Hay Tammuz in Mosul. [Sumaria]

 

A local source says a suicide bomber detonated himself on a Daesh gathering near a busy restaurant in downtown Mosul, killing 22 terrorists. [Maalomah]

DaeshDaily comment. We couldn’t confirm this report through other sources.

 

Nineveh Plain

The Nineveh Plain Protection Unit Commander says his troops captured the Shabak village of Badana in the Nineveh Plain. He also says the unit has plans to liberate other areas in coordination with Iraqi forces, the Peshmerga, and the Coalition. He says NPPU is part of the Ninewa Operations Command and is linked to the federal government, and aims as liberating Christian areas without pursuing any agendas. [Sumaria]

 

Qayara

The IWMC says Coalition aircraft targeted a Daesh gathering in the Qayara area, killing 21 terrorists and destroying 11 vehicles, including 3 vehicle bombs. [PUKMedia]

 

KURDISTAN

Two deputy leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), denouncing what they describe as a group acting unethically within the party, have announced the establishment of a new PUK decision-making body. They say any decisions made outside of this core will not be recognized.

Kosrat Rasool Ali, first deputy of the PUK, and Barham Salih, second deputy, two long-standing senior members of the PUK leadership made the announcement in a message backed by several members of the PUK politburo, leadership committee, and MPs. They accuse a group inside the PUK of controlling the party, saying, “We waited for too long and were patient. But this group directly and indirectly is increasingly participating in harmful policies, taking public wealth, cutting the salaries of the people and the Peshmerga. In Erbil, they are part of the cabinet and receive oil bonuses. But when they are in Suleimaniya, they are critical and unsatisfied,” reads the statement. [Rudaw]

DaeshDaily comment. The PUK had been led for all of its history by its co-founder (in 1975) Jalal Talabani, even after he was elected President of Iraq. His multi-year health emergency took him out of his leadership role and left a vacuum. Talabani’s former top deputy, Nawshirwan Mustafa, had by then split with Talabani and created the separate Gorran (Change) party, mostly as a reaction to corruption within the PUK and the KRG generally. The sidelining of Jalal Talabani therefore resulted in a PUK leadership vacuum, which has not been filled, though one of Talabani’s sons has been serving as the KRG’s Deputy Prime Minister.

As the Soviet-model politburo set up to lead the PUK (matching a similar arrangement in the KDP) is essentially self-perpetuating, designation of a leader is in the hands of the politburo members, and no clear decision has been forthcoming. The criticism by Kosrat Rasool and Barham Salih is directed at Jalal Talabani’s wife, Hero Khan and a group around her. The specific issues are not yet clear.

One subtle but important distinction is that while the KDP can be defined as a family party—Masoud Barzani succeeded his father and seems to be setting his sons up to follow him—the PUK was not set up as a family party, and the same expectation of family control does not necessarily apply, though many favored having Hero assume the leadership. The recent announced reunification with Gorran would not seem to affect the internal leadership question.

 

The Gorran leader Nawshirwan Mustafa sent a delegation to meet with the new decision-making group, according to a Gorran source. [Rudaw]

 

A PUK security official says the new group doesn’t have any legitimacy. He also says the problem will be solved soon through dialogue. [Rudaw]

 

Jalal Talabani, still the official PUK General Secretary, arrived back in Suleimaniya from Austria after a medical trip. [Rudaw]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Turkey’s President Erdogan met with Iraq’s CoR Speaker Jubouri in the Presidential Compound in Ankara, without media coverage. [Anadolu]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

The Syrian Network for Human Rights says 1,521 civilians were killed in Syria during August. [ARA]

 

Salih Muslim, the co-leader of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) on Thursday called for help from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. Speaking to reporters at the European Parliament, he also claimed his group had evidence of links between Turkey and Daesh.

Commenting on Turkey’s incursion into Syria, launched last week, Muslim described it as an invasion and accused Ankara of implementing its long-term plan for Rojava, or Syrian Kurdistan.

Salih said that whenever the Syrian regime has launched assaults against the Syrian Kurdish forces, they have been repulsed. [Rudaw]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in or near four Syria locations: Raqqa (3), Mare’ (1), Albu Kamal (3), and Deir Ez-Zor (1). [InherentResolve]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus

Turkey backed opposition groups launched a major attack on Daesh west of Jarabulus and captured 4 villages, forcing Daesh to retreat to Ghandoura city. The attack was accompanied by extensive Turkish Army shelling. [ARA]

The groups declared 15 villages and towns southwest of Jarabulus as areas designated for military operations, and asked its civilians to leave for safety reasons. [ARA]

 

The Turkish Army sent more tanks and armed vehicles to the border area near Jarabulus. Turkish sources say Turkish Explosive Ordinance Disposal experts are working on removing Daesh mines in Jarabulus. [Dorar]

 

The PYD-backed Hawar says the KDP sent 6 trailers carrying vehicles and soldiers through Turkey to Jarabulus. [Hawar]

 

Al-Bab

Daesh says it released 3 men from the Al-Bab area by paying money to the Syrian Government. Daesh says the 3 men were captured months ago by Syrian troops and were kept in a prison in Aleppo. Daesh says it has a specific office that deals with such issues, aimed at releasing “imprisoned Muslims”. [A3maq]

 

Azaz

Daesh re-captured Wahshiyah village and Um Al-Qura village near Azaz, after heavy battles with the Syrian Democratic Forces. [Qasioun]

Daesh continued its shelling on Um Hawsh and Um Al-Qura from Tal Qarah village 4 km (2.5 miles) to the south, wounding one civilian. [Hawar] [Hawar]

 

Explosive Ordinance Disposal removed more than 70 Daesh land mines from Harbal. [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it killed ten opposition fighters who were trying to pass toward Talalin village north of Mare’. [A3maq]

 

Manbij

“Anti-Terrorism” issues a video of confessions by the 2 Turkey backed opposition group fighters captured by the Manbij Military Council near Dadat town yesterday. [Hawar]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

Informed military sources say a group of 100 Arab fighters (Liwa’ Al-Tahrir) tried to split from the SDF and moved from Ain Eissa to Tal Abyad after negotiating with Turkey in order to cross the border and join Turkey-backed opposition groups in Jarabulus through Turkey. The sources say the YPG knew about this move and confronted with the fighters and arrested many of them. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. So far we were not able to confirm this report from other sources.

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a young man was killed in Tal Hamis by a Daesh IED. It also says a YPG fighter was killed by a Daesh land mine near a village in Tal Hamis. [SyriaHR]

 

Daesh issues a video about its religious seminars for kids in Mansoura city west of Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. These seminars to recruit children were not invented by Daesh. In fact it is happening all over the world. Many of Daesh and Al-Qaeda and other terrorist leaders “graduated” from such seminars. The goal here is not religious; it is about recruitment. Such seemingly innocent activities, for example, led to the recruitment of many kids in Libya.

 

Daesh says a Syrian soldier surrendered to its terrorists in the Malha area west of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

 

Daesh publishes photos of a sweets factory in Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists on the road between Ithariya and Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh issues a video of targeting Syrian Army positions in the Huwaisis area in Homs with artillery. [A3maq]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

A local activist says Russian warplanes launched extensive airstrikes on several areas west of Deir Ez-Zor, using cluster bombs, killing more than 30 people. [ARA]

 

Two children were killed in a Daesh shelling on Hay Al-Qusour in Deir Ez-Zor. [EnabBaladi]

 

Daesh hisbah issued orders to people in Deir Ez-Zor to write down their names while attending the morning and evening prayers. Daesh renamed 2 towns in Deir Ez-Zor and warned people against using the old names. [Qasioun]

DaeshDaily comment. The Wahhabis usually herd people by force to attend the prayers, but this is an extra step. Daesh enforces extra measures to make sure people are attending its prayers, most likely for recruitment purposes, and to make sure that people are not leaving and are not involved in anti-Daesh activities.

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh issues a photo of the Syrian soldier who surrendered to Daesh east of Damascus yesterday. [A3maq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Jordan

Essam Al-Barqawi, AKA Abu Mohammed Al-Maqdisi, the jihadi cleric and former Zarqawi “teacher,” says Daesh will hire its top media official as its new spokesman, replacing Adnani. The prospective appointee is a powerful member in Daesh’s shura council and lives in Raqqa now.

Barqawi says Daesh senior officials are terrified of this person, a known hard-liner even by Daesh standards. He has been in charge of Daesh religious and political decisions recently and was responsible for Daesh’s “radical” decisions and hostility towards Al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups. Barqawi says the media official prevented Daesh media from “symbolizing” (idolizing) any Daesh senior leaders other than Awwad Baghdadi and Taha Falaha (Adnani), because in his opinion if other leaders get famous they would attract supporters in case they defected.

He says many Daesh members think that if this person is selected as the new spokesman it would be the end of Daesh. [Arabi21]

DaeshDaily comment. It tells you something when someone like Barqawi accuses Daesh of radicalism! He was responsible for radicalizing thousands of people, including Daesh and Al-Qaeda members, and is still a strong mouthpiece of Al-Qaeda.

The terrorist mentioned in the report, according to online Daesh fanboys, might be Abu Maysara Al-Shami, a Daesh senior religious official who famously issued a fatwa that the women of Daesh opponents are divorced automatically, opening the door for Daesh terrorists to basically rape women in areas they control. His procedures are very similar to the Baathists. Daesh uses Baath media tactics in its propaganda. However, other fanboys think Barqawi is referring to the Daesh wali of Raqqa, Abu Luqman.

 

North Africa

Egypt

Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists shot and killed a 50-year-old civilian in Central Sinai after accusing him of cooperating with security forces. [VetoGate]

 

A medical source says a policeman and a taxi driver were killed, and two policemen and two civilians were wounded, when an IED exploded on a police armored vehicle near the Arish General Hospital. [ElWatan]

 

Eyewitnesses say one soldier was wounded when a group of armed men attacked security forces near the Lahfan area, south of Arish. Military reinforcements arrived in the area looking for the terrorists, who fled after the attack. [ElWatan]

 

Security sources say security units destroyed 5 IEDs in different areas of Arish and Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]

 

Security sources say a soldier was killed when an IED exploded on his armored vehicle near the Sheikh Zuweid entrance. [ElWatan]

 

Eyewitnesses say a group of armed men attacked security forces near the Tarabin area, in south Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

President Obama has extended the U.S. military’s combat mission in Libya for another month at the request of senior military leaders, two defense officials with knowledge of the order told Fox News. The decision keeps two U.S. Navy warships off the coast of Libya to continue striking Daesh and assist Libyan ground forces fighting the terror group in the coastal city of Sirte. [FoxNews]

 

The Libyan Air Force says its planes and helicopters launched airstrikes on Daesh and its allies in the Qawarsha and Qanfouda areas, in west Benghazi. [AfriGate]

 

Daesh publishes photos of battles with Libyan troops west of Benghazi. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Central coast

A National Accord Government military source says the commander of the Military Police and three of his associates were wounded in a Daesh vehicle bomb attack in Sirte. [AfriGate]

 

A military source says National Accord Government troops captured a local official in Sirte and accused him of cooperating with Daesh. The official was appointed as the manager of the “crisis cell” in Sirte last year, and was the facilitator between Daesh and local leaders. [Wasat]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

A video message from Ambassador Silliman to Iraqi people [US Embassy Baghdad]

 

A video of the lorry bomb that was captured by Iraqi forces in Dora [Twitter]

 

A video of a Daesh vehicle bomb captured in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube]

 

A video of a group of Daesh terrorists captured by Counter Terrorism troops in Qayara [YouTube]

A video of Daesh tunnels in Qayara [Twitter]

 

A video of a Daesh prison for women found in Manbij. The prison had different kinds of medicines that were used to torture the prisoners. [Rudaw]

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [Archive]

 

Daesh issues a propaganda video threatening everyone who works for the United States. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh issues infographics about the results of its operations in Iraq and Syria during the month of August. [ARA]

 

 

 

August 31, 2016

Libyan Troops in Sirte (AfriGate)

Libyan Troops in Sirte (AfriGate)

Today’s Major Developments
Abadi announces agreement with the KRG on Ninewa liberation process. []
Biden talks to Barzani again; reiterates US support for a unified Iraq. []
Abadi blasts Amnesty Law passed by CoR; insists on changes. []
Iraqi Turkmen estimate 600 Turkmen women have been captured by Daesh since 2014. []
Daesh executes 65 in Hawija; stages nine more gruesome executions in Mosul. []
Turkey blasts US announcement, denies agreeing to a cease-fire with the YPG. []
Syria scorecard: Turkey claims its opposition groups captured 32 villages; Daesh takes five others away; non-YPG SDF units take third village from Daesh. []
Last Daesh stronghold in Sirte is under attack. []
Daesh media leader reported killed by airstrike in Qayara. []

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

NATIONAL NEWS
AnchorPrime Minister Abadi said on Tuesday that an agreement was reached with the KRG regarding the liberation of Mosul and there will be no disputes about the issue. He says the Iraqi Army and “supporting forces” (presumably including PMFs, though he did not say so specifically), will go to the battles supported by local fighters in addition to the Peshmerga. He says the joint forces will be under the federal government command. He also says a leader for the Ninewa PMF was chosen. He says the military operations “will not change the map of Ninewa” and all the forces will withdraw from Mosul and hand it over to the local police. [ONA]

AnchorThe White House issued a statement saying that Vice President Biden spoke today with the KRG President Barzani. According to a Kurdish media report, Biden thanked Barzani for his leadership and Kurdish commitment in the fight against Daesh. The Vice President conveyed continued U.S. support for a unified, federal, and democratic Iraq, and encouraged close cooperation between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government.  The leaders underscored the urgency of sustained progress in the fight against Daesh, Iraq’s economic recovery, humanitarian assistance for displaced Iraqis, and cooperation to liberate Mosul, according to the statement. [Rudaw]

The KRG says Prime Minister Abadi and President Barzani discussed on the phone the relationships between Baghdad and Erbil and the positive results of the KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Baghdad. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. These stories suggest that the US has pressured the KRG into line on the Mosul campaign and its aftermath, and would seem to forestall an early independence referendum. Between the lines, however, there may be further understandings that are not being revealed in the short term.

In a remarkable statement, a counter-terrorism judge says Daesh used to rent houses and have families living in them in Baghdad areas in order to use them as guesthouse for suicide terrorists. He also says Daesh terrorists are using tunnels and trenches now in south and north Baghdad, mostly in orchards, and the terrorists spend their nights in tents outside, then return to the tunnels during the day without staying long time at one location. He says Daesh booby-trapped the roads that lead to these hideouts in order to prevent Iraqi forces from reaching them. He says Iraqi forces had cleared some of these areas previously but didn’t leave a force to hold the area, allowing Daesh to return. Another judge says many people wanted on terrorism charges are hiding in the Baghdad belt areas, and those areas are used not only for hideouts but also for training camps. [Mada]

AnchorPrime Minister Abadi sharply criticized the modified version of the Amnesty Law passed by the CoR and called some of the changes “criminal.” Some of the changes mentioned that only terrorists who committed murder, or caused permanent disability, or destroying a government building. Abadi says the law would release terrorists who were involved in kidnapping, and suicide terrorists who were caught before blowing themselves up, for example. Abadi says the government will not accept the new version and will revise the law and send it back to the CoR. [Mada]

The Coalition says it conducted 14 airstrikes in one day on Daesh locations in Iraq, in and around Ramadi (2), Hit (4), Baghdadi (1), Albu Hayat (1), Haditha (1), and Rawa (1) in Anbar, for a total of 10, The others were in and around Bashir (1) in Kirkuk and Mosul (1), Kasik (1), and Sultan Abdullah (1) in Ninewa. [InherentResolve]

The Ministry of Justice says 7 terrorists from Arab countries were executed after their sentences were approved by the President. [Forat] The executed terrorists were from Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Sudan, Palestine and Libya. Tens of terrorists from Arab countries are still Nasiriya Prison waiting to be executed. [Baghdadia]

Since last year, the U.S. has boosted its forces in Iraq to over 5,000 members, including Special Forces, military advisers to assist Iraqi forces at the brigade and battalion levels, and logistics and infrastructure-support troops. Some of the airstrips now used for resupply are located very close to active combat zones, including Mosul. Prior to commencing operations against the Islamic State in August 2014, the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing transported an average of about 500 tons of cargo and about 1,000 passengers a month, 386th commander Col. Charlie Bolton said. The numbers saw a large climb and peaked out earlier this year at about 2,000 tons of cargo and around 4,000 passengers.
“We provide the bulk of the passenger and cargo movement for this specific operation,” Bolton said. “We fly a lot of lines every day. The amount of people that are here, directly supporting that fight, has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. We are very important to the current fight.”
The 386th delivers a wide range of cargo, such as vehicles, ammunition, food and water, in its C-130s and C-17s, Bolton said. The passengers are primarily Coalition military personnel transiting in and out of Iraq. [Stripes]

A Sunni CoR bloc chairman says unknown armed men are kidnapping civilians in Tarmiya and other areas in north Baghdad and demanding ransom; otherwise they kill them. He asks the Iraqi government to intervene and provide security for the people. [Sumaria]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the Houthi delegation that arrived in Baghdad yesterday is part of Iraq’s effort to support the peace talks in Yemen. [Sumaria]

Speaker Jubouri arrived in Ankara to meet with Turkish officials and discuss the war on terrorism. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Show of hands: How many believe this is the real reason for his visit? Wouldn’t we like to know the real reason?

BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)
An MoI source says one person was killed and seven wounded when an IED exploded in a commercial area in Kifah. [Mada]

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)
An MoI source says the deputy chairman of the Baghdad Investment Commission survived an assassination attempt made with an IED planted near his house in Ghadeer. The explosion caused only material damage, according to the source. [Mada]
A police source says a civilian was wounded by an IED explosion in Ghadeer. [Sumaria]
An MoI source says two people were killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a restaurant in Sadr City. [Mada]
An MoI source says a Traffic Police lieutenant colonel was killed when a sticky IED exploded under his vehicle in Zafaraniya. [Mada]

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)
Iraqi Army 42nd brigade found 22 mortar shells and 11 locally made rockets in Hay Al-Wihda. [BOC Facebook Page

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)
The MoD says the lorry bomb found yesterday by Military Intelligence Service in a garage in Dora was intended to attack Shia pilgrims on their way to an upcoming ceremony in Kadhimiya. The MIS trapped and killed the suicide terrorist who was supposed to drive the lorry. [Etejah]

Southwest (Rasheed)
An MoI source says one person was killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded in a commercial area in Bayya’. [Mada]

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)
An MoI source says a Ministry of Justice employee was killed and his son was wounded when armed men shot into their vehicle using silenced guns in Hay Al-Adel.  [Mada]
Another source says the victim was a doctor. [Ghad]
An MoI source says two people were killed and six wounded when 2 mortar shells fell on a residential area in Al-Nassr Wa Al-Salam village in Abu Ghraib. [Mada]
The Baghdad Operations Command says it captured 8 Daesh commanders who fled during the Falluja battles and hid out in the Arab Abbas area of Abu Ghraib. One was responsible for the executions of Iraqi soldiers, and the other was responsible for the Daesh armory. [Ghad]
The IFP found 30 mortar shells and 20 cases of ammunition in a hideout in Ghazaliya. [BOC Facebook Page]

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   13    (Includes only incidents reported)

ANBAR
Falluja
Iraqi forces defused 139 booby-trapped houses, a booby-trapped clinic, and 26 IEDs and found hundreds of rockets and other explosives in Falluja District. [BOC Facebook Page]

Ramadi
Iraqi Army 5th brigade trapped and killed a Daesh terrorist near the Euphrates River, in Jazeera Khaldiya. [BOC Facebook Page]

Hit/Haditha
The Chairman of the Hit District Council says a woman and her three children were killed and two other civilians wounded by a Daesh shelling on Hit city. [Sumaria]

A Tribal PMF commander says the IAA destroyed 4 Daesh vehicle bombs that were attacking Iraqi forces west of Haditha. [Maalomah]

Rutba/Western Anbar
A security source says military reinforcements arrived at the Ain Al-Assad base near Haditha in order to participate in liberating Jazeera Hit west of the city and Jazeera Baghdadi to the north. [Sumaria]

A security source says Iraqi F-16s destroyed a Daesh media center and other locations in the Rummana area in Al-Qa’im, killing several terrorists. [Mada]

The Mayor of Rutba says 5,000 displaced families (around 63% of the total population) have returned to their houses so far. [Mada]

An Anbar Police source says five AAH militia fighters serving in western Anbar were killed and three wounded in a Daesh attack southwest of Rutba on Tuesday. [BasNews]

SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A PMF spokesman says PMF snipers killed 2 Daesh terrorists who were trying to infiltrate Iraqi positions near Shirqat. [Maalomah]

Baiji
A security source says the IAF destroyed a Daesh tunnel in the Himrin Mountains area. [Maalomah]

Tikrit
A Salahuddin SWAT source says their troops captured a Daesh terrorist who participated in the 2014 Speicher Massacre in Tikrit. [BasNews]

DIYALA
Baquba
A National Security Service source says the NSS arrested 2 men wanted on terrorism charges in south Baquba. [Sumaria]

KIRKUK
Hawija
AnchorA local source says during the last two weeks, Daesh executed 65 former security and Sahwa members who were forced previously to pledge allegiance to Daesh, out of the 150 it arrested. The source says Daesh depended on information from its female spies to arrest the men, who were accused of trying to cooperate with Iraqi forces. [Mada]

A local source says Coalition warplanes killed a top Daesh leader called Abu Hafs Al-Baghdadi in Hawija, the mastermind for all terrorist attacks in the Kirkuk area. [Sumaria]

A security source says Daesh terrorists in Hawija have started to sell their houses for cheap prices in order to leave the city, in anticipation of an Iraqi attack. The source also says that Daesh foreign leaders have left for Mosul. Daesh has reduced the salaries of its terrorists in Hawija for less than $40 a month. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Who would invest in real estate in Hawija at the moment?

The Badr commander says Iraqi forces will move to liberate Hawija and Shirqat after Jazeera Khaldiya. [PressIraq]
A member of the PMF Commission says Iraqi forces preparations to liberate Hawija were finished and the forces have got the intelligence needed for the operations from sources inside the district. [PressIraq]

The Ministry of Displacement and Migration says 1,200 displaced people from Hawija were transported to a camp in Kirkuk. [Rudaw]

Southwest
A Peshmerga source says several Daesh terrorists were killed, including a local commander, and others were wounded in internal clashes in Shubija village in Daquq on Tuesday. [BasNews]

A security source says 2 Daesh members surrendered to the Peshmerga in the Tal Al-Ward area, in Rashad. [Sumaria]

NINEWA
AnchorAn Iraqi Turkmen organization told Sputnik that Daesh has kidnapped 600 Turkmen girls and women since 2014. It says Turkmen people don’t want to publicize this issue because they don’t want to damage their honor. It also says some of these women may even be killed by their families if they were raped. [SotKurdistan]

Mosul
A local source says Daesh executed nine young men from Mosul by cutting them with a saw in Mosul. They were accused them of joining a resistance group. [Sumaria]

A security source says Daesh has started to depend on Ashbal Al-Khalifa boys in Ninewa to conduct suicide attacks. The source says Daesh deployed 175 of these boys on both sides of Mosul city and appointed a boy from Germany as the leader. [Sumaria]

People from Mosul say the people in the city are isolated and they ask the Iraqi government and the Coalition to provide internet and mobile phone services. [AlNoor]

Sputnik says Daesh is looking for a Russian woman in Mosul, married to an Iraqi terrorist. The woman has disappeared, with her husband and three other couples, and Daesh accused her of providing information for Iraqi forces and the Coalition. Daesh arrested tens of civilians related to the woman’s husband. The woman had rescued a Yazidi girl and gave her to a local man from Mosul for protection. [IraqPress]

A security source says Daesh closed the eastern entrance of Mosul city on the road from Makhmur, using concrete blocks, and took several other measures to hinder the advances of Iraqi forces. Daesh is also maintaining a network of trenches and is digging tunnels in the same area. Daesh has prevented any vehicle from coming in or out of the city, except for its vehicles.
Coalition aircraft targeted a Daesh meeting in the house of the Mosul wali, killing 13 terrorists, including foreign commanders. Another airstrike killed a Daesh leader from Tal Afar, who used to be an important commander in Anbar.
Unknown armed men shot and wounded the wife of a Daesh terrorist in Hay Al-Baath. A local Daesh informant was shot and killed in the Wadi Hajar area. An Asian terrorist was killed in the Mansour area. Kata’eb Al-Mosul said it stabbed and killed a Daesh informant. These killings led to disputes between the foreign and local terrorists, and accusations about treason were exchanged. [NewSabah]

A local source says tens of Daesh terrorists surrounded Hay Al-Muhandiseen in Mosul and started a search for a woman wearing a niqab and carrying a silenced gun. The source says many Daesh leaders live in that area. [Sumaria]

A Ninewa Police source says the forensics department of Mosul received the bodies of 18 Daesh foreign terrorists killed in a Coalition airstrike on a Daesh gathering near Kasik. [BasNews]

Qayara
Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee “on the outskirt” of Qayara city, killing the soldiers inside. [A3maq]

South (Baaj, Hatra)
The Daesh commander of Gwer subdistrict in Makhmur was killed along with 2 other foreign terrorists by an airstrike in Hatra. [NewSabah]

SOUTHERN IRAQ
Kerbala
The Mid-Euphrates Operations Command says it captured a group of terrorists who admitted their role in facilitating the entrance of Daesh terrorists who attacked a wedding party in Ain Al-Tamr. More than 30 people were killed or wounded in the attack. [Mada]

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

Turkey’s Minister of Interior says Turkey has arrested 865 Daesh terrorists, half of them foreigners, since the beginning of 2016. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. That would mean there were just as many Turks as foreigners, which again raises the question of just how hard Turkey was trying to defeat Daesh prior to recent developments. Yesterday we reported on a five-story school that Daesh was running in Ankara.

AnchorAnkara has summoned the US Ambassador to Turkey to explain Washington’s “unacceptable” comments about Turkey’s operation in Syria. The US stated yesterday that a cease-fire had been reached to stop the fighting between the Turks and YPG units. Turkey now rejects any talk of a cease-fire with the US-backed Kurdish militia and vows to “eliminate all threats.” During the meeting it was stressed that “such statements are unacceptable and do not correspond to the relations with the alliance,” said Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç. [BasNews]

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs says the Turkish intervention in Syria will continue until all of the threats to Turkey’s national security are eliminated. The Minister for European Union Affairs says Turkey will not accept a cease-fire with the Kurdish fighters in Syria, and Turkey, as a sovereign country, will not negotiate with a terrorist organization. [ARA]

The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying the Daesh spokesman, Taha Falaha (Adnani), was killed by a Russian airstrike in Um Hawsh. [ARA]
American officials told Agence France Press that Russia’s claims about killing the Daesh spokesman are a joke. They said he was killed by an American drone. [EnabBaladi]
An opposition group commander says a Daesh leader was responsible for killing Adnani. He says the Daesh leader had sent Falaha to Syria in order to restructure Daesh’s command in Syria and one of the Daesh leaders didn’t like that, so he assassinated Falaha with an IED. [Dorar]
DaeshDaily comment. It speaks to your importance when a lot of different people want credit for killing you.

What appear to be internal Daesh documents, obtained by The Daily Beast, show the terrorist organization under strain from financial misappropriation, embezzlement, alleged infiltration by anti-Daesh spies, and bureaucratic infighting. These documents, originally captured by a Syrian rebel group near Damascus, are stamped by official Daesh “ministries.” They show the dollar salaries Daesh paid to its jihadist fighters, at least as of a year ago, in addition to other income earmarked for those fighters’ dependents. [DailyBeast]

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh locations in Syria, six stated to be in the Manbij area even though the Manbij battle has long since moved out of the city, the others in Raqqa (1) and Wahshiyah (1) south of Mare’. [InherentResolve]

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Jarabulus/northern border
Daesh launched a massive attack on Wednesday evening on Turkey-supported opposition groups, and captured several border villages east of Al-Ra’i in the Al-Bab District just west of Jarabulus District, near the Turkey border. Daesh recaptured Hadabat, Sheikh Yaqoub, Thalija, and Karsanli villages. Opposition group commanders claim the battles are still ongoing. [ARA]

Jaish Al-Thuwar issued a statement saying it captured Harbal town, south of Mare’ in the Azaz District, just west of Al-Bab District, on Wednesday morning. It says it lost three of its fighters in Harbal and four in the previous day’s fighting in Um Hawsh. It also says 34 Daesh terrorists, including the Daesh spokesman Adnani, were killed in the battles in Um Al-Hawsh, Um Al-Qura, and Harbal. Daesh had captured these villages from Turkey-supported opposition groups in late 2015. [Hawar] [ARA] [ARA] [Dorar]
Coalition warplanes launched heavy airstrikes on Harbal before the SDF attack. [Qasioun]

Battles resumed in the same area when Daesh launched a counter-attack, trying to regain the villages it had lost. [Hawar] It attacked Um Hawsh with 3 vehicle bombs between 7 and 8 PM on Wednesday, but Syrian Democratic Forces fighters destroyed the vehicles before they reached the targets. Daesh continued its mortar shelling on Ihras, Um Hawsh and Tal Qarah, causing material damage. [Hawar] [Hawar]
Daesh’s version says it conducted a suicide attack on YPG units in Um Hawsh. [A3maq]
Daesh says it destroyed a YPG BMP armored vehicle with a guided missile near Um Hawsh. [A3maq]

Local sources say the Turkish Army brought more military reinforcements to the border areas in Jarabulus and Azaz districts. Local sources say 30 Turkish tanks and 15 military vehicles arrived in Kaklija village in the Jarabulus area. [Hawar] [Hawar]

AnchorThe Turkish military command claims that its opposition groups have captured 32 villages and areas since the military campaign started on August 24th, and civilians have started to return to their areas. It also says its artillery attacked 25 Daesh targets in Zoghra and Kilya villages in Ghandoura subdistrict in Jarabulus. [Dorar]

Daesh claims one of its Moroccan suicide terrorists attacked Turkish Army and opposition group fighters in Kilya village west of Jarabulus with a vehicle bomb on Tuesday, killing or wounding “tens” of them. [DawaAlhaq]

Daesh recaptured Arab Hassan village west of Jarabulus after heavy battles with Turkey-supported opposition groups. Battles are also ongoing between Daesh and opposition groups near Hafira village west of Jarabulus. [Qasioun]

Manbij campaign
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it’s still waiting on the United States to fulfill its commitment to not allow any PYD or YPG fighters to remain west of the Euphrates after the liberation of Manbij. [Dorar]

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Manbij, protesting the Turkish “invasion”. [Hawar]

Manbij Military Council troops captured 2 Turkey backed opposition groups fighters while they were trying to infiltrate the town of Dadat, south of Manbij. [SotKurdistan]

Manbij Military Council troops stopped a Daesh attack on Tal Hudhan village southeast of Manbij, killing 6 terrorists in an armored vehicle, and destroying a vehicle bomb. [Hawar]
Daesh says “American” warplanes mistakenly targeted YPG positions in Um Hudhan. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh said yesterday it had captured the village. 
Daesh says one of its Iraqi suicide terrorists attacked “PKK fighters” in Hudhan village with a vehicle bomb, killing 40 fighters and wounding dozens. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh issued a video of a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb it conducted in Um Hudhan yesterday. [A3maq]

Elsewhere in Northwest Syria
More than 400 displaced people arrived in Afrin, mostly from the Al-Bab and Jarabulus areas. [Hawar]

The Turkish Army targeted YPG positions in Jaqla village and its surroundings in Afrin with 40 cluster bombs. [Hawar]

Turkey-supported opposition groups targeted Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo with mortars and heavy machine guns, causing material damage. [Hawar]

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Local sources say YPG snipers killed three civilians and wounded others in Tal Othman village west of Raqqa. Battles are ongoing between Syrian Democratic Forces and Daesh in Habsawi village north of Raqqa. Coalition warplanes are targeting Daesh locations in the area. [Qasioun]

Local sources say the Turkish Border Guard shot and killed two Syrians in the Syrian border city of Tal Abyad. [ARA]
The Turkish Army then shot at people in the area, preventing them from carrying the dead bodies away, and YPG fighters shot back. [Hawar]

An IED exploded on a civilian vehicle near the National Hospital in Hay Al-Aziziya in Hasaka, slightly wounding a civilian. [Hawar]
Daesh says it killed five YPG fighters and wounded others by detonating an IED on a vehicle in Aziziya. [A3maq]

Daesh says it killed a YPG intelligence officer in Qamishli with an IED. [A3maq]

Daesh publishes 2 photos of targeting “PKK positions” with an SPG9 rocket, east of Ain Eissa. [DawaAlhaq]

Daesh publishes photos of its “honey production” in Tabaqa. [DawaAlhaq]

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
Daesh says it captured 11 Syrian Army positions in Tal Al-Sawana east of Homs after a surprise attack, killing 20 Syrian soldiers and Shia militia fighters, and capturing several SUVs, a bulldozer, heavy machine guns, and other weapons and ammunition. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of the spoils. [DawaAlhaq] [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh issues a video of Syrian Army positions it captured east of Tal Al-Sawana near Tadmur. [A3maq]

Daesh publishes photos of Syrian Army drones it shot down between Ithriya and Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Daesh shelled the Joura and Qusour areas in Deir Ez-Zor, killing two civilians and wounding tens, including women and children. Battles continued between Syrian Army and Daesh in several areas in Deir Ez-Zor, and Syrian Army artillery and planes targeted Daesh locations. [Qasioun] [Dorar]

Daesh says 3 of its Syrian suicide terrorists attacked Syrian troops in Hay Al-Muwadhafin west of Deir Ez-Zor with 3 vehicle bombs, killing or wounding “tens” of soldiers. Daesh says other terrorists attacked Syrian troops in the area and killed five soldiers before retreating safely. Daesh published photos of the 3 suicide terrorists and 2 of the attacks. [DawaAlhaq]

Syrian warplanes destroyed a Daesh military camp, an IED factory, and a weapons storehouse in Hajin city, east of Deir Ez-Zor. [SyriaNow]

Daesh says 2 Syrian soldiers surrendered to its terrorists in the Tharda Mountain, southwest of Deir Ez-Zor. [A3maq]

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)
Daesh says a Syrian soldier surrendered to its terrorists east of Damascus. [A3maq]

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

North Africa
Egypt
Security sources say Egyptian troops shot and killed 2 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists who were planting an IED near the Abu Rifai’ area, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]

Libya
Northeast
The Libyan Army says eleven of its soldiers were killed while stopping a Daesh attack on the Qawarsha area, west of Benghazi. [AfriGate]

Libyan Special Forces say they found a field hospital booby-trapped by Daesh in Al-Shajar Street on Qawarsha. They also say two of their soldiers were wounded in the area. [Libya24]

Daesh issues a video of a tank it says it captured from “Hafter militias” in the Qawarsha area yesterday. [A3maq]

Central coast
The Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Libyan National Accord Government, Fayez Al-Sarraj, arrived in Sirte to check on the military operations. [Wasat]

AnchorThe Libyan National Accord Government Military spokesman says its troops broke into residential buildings in Hay 3, the last Daesh-held section of Sirte. He says bodies of tens of Daesh terrorists were in the area. [AfriGate]

Misrata Hospital says 19 Libyan soldiers were wounded in the battles in Sirte. A military source says Libyan troops destroyed a charging Daesh vehicle bomb before it reached its target. [Wasat]

On Monday, U.S. Africa Command conducted five strikes against various Daesh fighting positions in Sirte, bringing the number of strikes in August to 104, AFRICOM said in a statement. [Stripes]

Other countries
Lebanon
The Lebanese Red Cross says a Syrian woman was killed and eleven other civilians were wounded in an explosion near the city of Zahle’ in the Beqaa Governorate. [ARA]

Afghanistan
Daesh says it attacked an Afghani Army barracks in the Rodat area in central Nangarhar, killing several soldiers and capturing weapons before retreating safely. [DawaAlhaq]

Malaysia
The Malaysian Police says it captured 3 Daesh terrorists in Kuala Lumpur who were planning attacks on the Malaysian Independence Day. [Sumaria]

SOCIAL MEDIA

A video of a 17-year-old Daesh would-be suicide bomber captured by Iraqi forces. He says he hated Daesh, but his father forced him [YouTube]
A video of IAA attacks on Daesh in Jazeera Khaldiya [MoD]
A video of Qayara oilfields set on fire by Daesh [RT]
A video of Daesh prisons and headquarters in Qayara [Rudaw]
A video of the chairman of the Sunni Endowment arriving in Qayara [YouTube]
A video of Libyan troops destroying a Daesh vehicle bomb in Sirte, Libya [YouTube]

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

Daesh audio newsletter for today [YouTube]

Daesh publishes a new issue of its Naba’ magazine. In this issue, Daesh mourns the death of its spokesman, Adnani. It also published an article about a dead Iraqi terrorist who was one of its leading media officials, and who filmed the Speicher Massacre. [DawaAlhaq]

AnchorAccording to an Iraqi expert, the media terrorist Abbas Mizher, AKA Abu Mariya Al-Iraqi, who was the manager of Daesh’s Al-Naba’ magazine and Al-Hayat media, was killed by an airstrike on Qayara on August 22. [Baghdadia]
DaeshDaily comment. It’s a shame what’s happening to all the nice guys in the Daesh organization.

 

 

August 30, 2016

Iraqi Fighter

Iraqi Fighter

Today’s Major Developments

Survey of Daesh mass graves finds 72 sites in Syria and Iraq, estimates up to 15,000 killed. []

CENTCOM top general says Ninewa goal is liberation by the end of this year. []

Daesh detonates an IED on a bus in Sadr City. []

Daesh in Hawija beheads 13 people for helping others escape; arrests 40 more. […]

Daesh’s main international spokesman reported killed in Syria. []

Arab units of Syria Democratic Forces take villages from Daesh in northwest Syria. []

President Hollande criticizes Turkey’s assault on YPG. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

A survey of mass graves in Syria and Iraq has identified 72 sites in which Daesh buried victims of its atrocities. As many as 15,000 victims of genocide and mass slaughter may be buried in these sites, based on a comprehensive assessment by the Associated Press.

The figures are based on documentation and mapping of the 72 sites as well as excavations by Iraqi officials, survivor testimony, Daesh propaganda, and analysis of the ground where the victims were buried.

The numbers offer the clearest evidence yet of the scale of Daesh’s crimes as it eliminated enemies and minorities to establish its strongholds in Syria and then Iraq. Further mass graves are expected to be uncovered as Daesh retreats in the face of offensives by a US-led coalition and allied forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

The study identified 17 mass graves in Syria alone, one with hundreds of members of a single tribe that was largely exterminated when Daesh seized the area. Sinjar Mountain, in Ninewa, where the Yazidis took refuge as the terrorists raided their ancestral home, contains six burial sites and more than 100 bodies. Some areas where mass graves were uncovered are still too dangerous for a comprehensive excavation that would provide an accurate count of the victims.

The report published in The Guardian notes that Daesh has flaunted its mass atrocities, publishing propaganda videos and images of its crimes. Three other mass murders already well documented are

the June 2014 Camp Speicher massacre in Tikrit, when Daesh murdered more than 1,500 Shia army cadets,  the August 2014 massacre of more than 700 members of the Shaitat tribe in eastern Syria, and the summer 2014 rampage that killed 600 inmates at the Badoush prison near Mosul, their bodies likely in a grave just outside the prison. [The Guardian]

DaeshDaily comment. Iraq hasn’t finished exhuming Saddam’s mass graves yet. Obviously Daesh is depending on Saddam’s “experts” in this field.

Once Daesh is dislodged from all its Iraq territory, one of the government’s top priorities should be to comprehensively document all the mass graves and the atrocities that caused them, and seek justice for the family members who lost their loved ones, by bringing to justice as many as possible of those who supported Daesh in these crimes. Trials and executions have been ongoing for some time over the Camp Speicher massacre. The mass graves also symbolize the betrayal and sellout of some Iraqis by others, for which tribal and legal recourse will be applied on a mass scale to establish a measure of accountability. All of this will put a major strain on the justice system.

 

Iraq is on track to meet its objective of retaking Mosul from Daesh later this year, says the top general in the U.S. military’s Central Command. “It’s the prime minister’s objective to have that done by the end of the year,” said General Joseph Votel. CENTCOM oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East. Votel said momentum had firmly shifted against Daesh as it loses territory in its self-proclaimed “caliphate.”

Votel said the battle for Mosul could present a mixed picture for war planners, with Daesh retreating in some areas only to reinforce in others. “(Daesh) is having to make hard decisions, because they’re being pressured in a variety of ways,” Votel said. He pointed to the 2½ month battle by U.S.-backed forces in Syria to take back Manbij from Daesh as an example of how fighting could become protracted.  “We should expect that in some places, perhaps in some parts of Mosul, they will cede that area to us, to the coalition, to the Iraqis. And then in other areas, they will fight harder to hold onto that,” Votel said. [Reuters]

General Votel says the Peshmerga will participate in liberating Mosul and he had discussed this with the KRG President, Masoud Barzani. [ARA]

 

Speaker Jubouri met with the KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to discuss several issues including the preparations for the upcoming Ninewa battles, and the relationship between the central government and the KRG, according to a statement from the Speaker’s office. [ROJ]

 

The Baghdad Operations Command issued a statement saying anyone who owns mid-sized weapons like RPGs or machine guns, or heavy weapons, outside of government control will be arrested as a terrorist. [Forat]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 7 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq in the last 24 hours, in and around Ramadi (2) and Albu Hayat (1) in Anbar; and Sultan Abdullah (1), Tal Afar (1), and Mosul (2) in Ninewa. [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and ten wounded when an IED exploded near a popular café in Rahmaniya. [Mada]

The MoI says a joint security force captured a Ministry of Culture employee and his brother on terrorism charges. [Etejah]

An MoI source says the bodies of two unknown men were found shot in the Kifah area. [Mada]

 

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

An MoI source says two Iraqi soldiers were killed and five wounded when armed men shot them in Hora village, in Tarmiya District. [Mada]

A member of the Security Committee in the Baghdad Provincial Council says Baghdad Operations Command troops killed several Daesh leaders and dismantled sleeper cells in Tarmiya and other areas in north Baghdad. [Baghdadia]

An MoI source says two people were killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded near a popular market in Saba’ Al-Bor. [Mada]

A police source says the body of an unknown man was found shot in Saba’ Al-Bor. [Sumaria]

 

Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)

An MoI source says one person was killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Basateen, in Shaab. [Mada]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says three people were wounded when a sticky IED exploded under a small bus in Sadr City. [Mada]

Daesh’s version says it detonated an IED inside a bus in Sadr City, killing or wounding ten “Shia.” [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. Being a Shia is a crime to Daesh, for men women and children. Daesh doesn’t even try to hide these crimes by saying it attacked PMFs anymore. For the people in surrounding Sunni-governed countries who support this theme in Iraq, your turn will come.

 

An MoI source says a Baghdad Amanat (municipality) employee was killed when unknown armed men shot at his vehicle with silenced guns on the Mohammed Al-Qassem highway. [Mada]

 

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and four wounded when an IED exploded near a cemetery in Mada’in. [Mada]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says three people were killed and eight wounded when a suicide terrorist detonated his explosives vest in the Darwish Intersection. [Mada]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 4 Daesh guesthouses and defused 3 IEDs in the Manari area, in Arab Jubour. [BOC Facebook Page]

A security source says Baghdad Operations Command Explosives Ordinance Disposal defused a lorry bomb parked in a garage in Arab Jubour. [Harbi]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

An MoI source says a Ministry of Education supervisor was killed when a sticky IED exploded under his official vehicle in Saidiya. [Mada]

 

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)

A police source says a security force found a vehicle loaded with 35 Katyushas and 3 rocket launchers in Akarkouf in Abu Ghraib. The source says the rockets were prepared to be launched. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. A couple of similar trucks had attacked the Mujahideen Khalq, an Iranian opposition group living in a camp at the Baghdad airport in previous incidents, perpetrated by pro-Iran Shia militias. There are reports they are being moved elsewhere in the next few weeks.

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   17    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces found (and defused) 97 IEDs, a Daesh guesthouse, 3 explosives vests, plus weapons and explosives in Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Iraqi Army 14th division defused 2 booby-trapped houses and destroyed 95 IEDs in addition to other explosives in the Qarma subdistrict of Falluja and in the Qurtan area in Jazeera Khaldiya. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

The PMFs Commission says eleven PMF fighters from Basra were taken to the hospital after being hit with chemical gases in the Jazeera Khaldiya conflict. It says some of the fighters are in “serious condition.” [Mada]

 

The Anbar Operations Commander says Coalition warplanes targeted a Daesh guesthouse in Albu Ali Al-Jassem, killing 4 terrorists and destroying a mortar unit and a rocket launcher.  [Mada]

 

Daesh says it targeted PMFs and Sahwa fighter positions in the Jaraishi area with 17 mortars. [JustPaste]

 

Hit/Haditha

Daesh says its snipers killed an Iraqi soldier in the Jamiya area in Hit city. Daesh also says it targeted “Shia army” positions in Hit city with 15 mortars. [JustPaste]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

A worried Mayor of Rutba says Daesh is gathering terrorists to launch an attack from 4 sides on Rutba city. [Mada]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A Salahuddin Police source says two displaced people were killed and four wounded when a Daesh IED exploded on their vehicle near the Tilul Al-Baj area. [Mada]

 

The MoD cites the Salahuddin Operations Command saying that its Explosives Ordinance Disposal teams destroyed a Daesh IED cache near Dibis village and 36 more IEDs in Tilul Al-Baj. It also says its troops destroyed a Daesh hideout in the Makhoul Mountains area. [AIN]

 

Daesh says it targeted Iraqi forces with 14 mortars in different areas near Shirqat. [JustPaste]

 

Baiji

Daesh says it targeted Iraqi forces are the road between Haditha and Baiji with 40 mortars. [JustPaste]

Daesh publishes photos of targeting Iraqi Army positions on the road between Baiji and Haditha with mortars. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. When all you can do is fire off mortar rounds from long distance, you are not in charge any more.

 

Tikrit

Salahuddin Provincial Council secretary says the PC voted to exclude Daesh families from the Governorate for 10 years. [IraqPress]

DaeshDaily comment. Sounds fair, but where would they go?

 

Tooz

Daesh publishes photos of an attack on Iraqi forces in the Zarqa area. [DawaAlhaq]

 

DIYALA

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

A security source says a civilian was killed when unknown armed men shot him in the Matar area, 8 km (5 miles) north of Muqdadiya. [Sumaria]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A security source says Daesh beheaded 13 civilians in Riyadh after accusing them of helping families to leave Hawija. [Ghadeer]

 

A security source says Daesh in Hawija arrested 40 more civilians who were trying to escape the District. [Sumaria]

 

A PMF commander says a Daesh Saudi terrorist fled Hawija with $300,000 he extorted from people of the city. He says many Daesh terrorists have fled Hawija after gathering large amounts of money from people. [Sumaria]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

Russian Sputnik news agency says Daesh sewed up the mouths of four civilians with metal thread in the Tayaran area on the west side of Mosul because they were talking about Iraqi forces’ advances and Daesh defeats, according to a local source. [PressIraq]

 

In a bizarre and sad story, a local source says Daesh captured one of its fighters on the west side of Mosul and accused him of homosexuality. The source says the fighter, from an Arab country, was actually responsible for executing many young men in Mosul for homosexuality during the last few months. The source says those victims were forced by torture to give “confessions.” [Sumaria]

 

Hammam Alil/Shura

A senior JOC source says Daesh blew up houses of policemen, Army personnel, and government employees in Hammam Al-Alil. The source also says Daesh deployed its terrorists in schools and mosques in the subdistrict, and put its Ashbal Al-Khalifa boys at checkpoints. [Ghad]

 

Qayara/Makhmur

Daesh issues photos of battles near the Hatra Intersection in the Qayara area. The photos also show a young Iraqi boy conducting a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb. [DawaAlhaq]

Daesh publishes photos of the Jordanian suicide terrorist who attacked the Iraqi Army with a vehicle bomb in the same area. [DawaAlhaq]

Daesh publishes more photos of suicide attacks on the same area. Daesh had reported the attacks yesterday. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Iraqi government-backed militias have recruited children from a displaced persons camp in Makhmur to fight against Daesh. All security forces and armed groups are supposed to abide by international law and not recruit any fighters under age 18.

Witnesses and relatives told Human Rights Watch that two tribal militias recruited as fighters at least seven children from the Debaga camp on August 14, 2016, and drove them to a town closer to Mosul. These two militias are made up of local Sunni fighters and expected to play a key role in Mosul military operations. [HRW]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

Daesh says it targeted Peshmerga positions with 50 mortars in the Sinjar area. [JustPaste]

 

KURDISTAN

The bodies of three American fighters, Levi Jonathan Shirley, William Savage, and Jordan Andrew, who were killed while fighting Daesh in Manbij, arrived in Suleimaniya on their way back to the US. [ROJ]

 

The Iraqi Government spokesman said the Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq violate Iraq’s sovereignty. He also demanded that Turkey coordinate with the Iraqi Government regarding any military operation inside of Iraq. [ROJ]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Babel

The Babel Criminal Court issued 3 death sentences on a Daesh terrorist who was responsible for several attacks including murdering two street traders in north Babel. [Buratha]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

After last week’s anti-Daesh raid in Ankara that led to 17 arrests, it was discovered that Daesh was using a five-story building on Ulucanlar Street as an “education” center. It appears that 30 children, 25 of them girls, were boarding in these rooms. The students were between 9 and 17. The organization was paying 4,000 lira in monthly rent for the building.

It has also been reported that Daesh members in Ankara have shaved off their beards and are making ends meet by working as street vendors. A small building that the organization used for discussion meetings in Hacıbayram quarter is said to have been demolished. [Cumhuriyet]

DaeshDaily comment. We thank our friend in Turkey for translating this report.

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

Daesh says its spokesman, Taha Falaha, AKA Adnani, was killed while checking in on military operations in Aleppo. [DawaAlhaq]

Coalition forces have not confirmed his death but the Pentagon acknowledged that he was targeted in a precision strike on Tuesday near Al-Bab, Syria. “We are still assessing the results of the strike, but Adnani’s removal from the battlefield would mark another significant blow to (Daesh),” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in a statement. [CNN]

Falaha was born in 1977 in Idlib in Syria and lived for a while in Haditha in Iraq. He was captured in Iraq in 2005 by the Coalition, but then was released. [EnabBaladi]

DaeshDaily comment. This leaves only Baghdadi as a well-known face in the chain of command.

 

The office of the US Special Envoy for Syria issued a statement denying Russian media reports about a Russia-US agreement to target fighters in Aleppo or to evacuate fighters from the city. It says the US has not begun to coordinate with Russia or Syria–militarily or otherwise. It says that wouldn’t make sense without Russia fulfilling its obligations in Syria. It says the US and Russia have not reached an agreement, but are working on agreements that, if achieved, will bring about the cessation of hostilities and save lives. [Dorar]

 

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday criticized Turkey’s “contradictory” military intervention in Syria and warned Russia not to become a “protagonist” in the war. In a speech Tuesday, Hollande said “multiple, contradictory interventions carry the risk of a general inflammation” of the fighting that has devastated the country.

He said he could understand Turkey’s concern about protecting its borders and fighting Daesh, but criticized Ankara’s actions against Kurdish rebels allied with the US-led coalition who are fighting the extremists. [FirstStep]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 9 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, in Abu Kamal (1), Raqqa (1), Palmyra (1), and the other six near Manbij. [InherentResolve]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus

The Jarabulus Military Council issued a statement saying a temporary cease fire, sponsored by the Coalition, was signed between the Council and Turkey. [Hawar]

Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for CENTCOM, confirmed the news about the truce and told Agence France Presse, “It’s a loose agreement for at least the next couple of days, and we are hoping that it will solidify. “In the last hours we have received assurance that all involved parties will stop shooting at each other and focus on the Daesh threat”.

 

The Presidential Commission of the Syrian Democratic Council issued a statement saying Turkey has killed around one hundred civilians, including women and children, and kidnapped and killed an entire family in the Jarabulus area, and asked the international community to intervene. It also says that the Turkey Deputy Prime Minister said Russia knew about the “Turkish invasion,” and the Syrian Government approved it. [Hawar]

 

A Turkey-backed opposition group commander says the groups continued their attack on Daesh positions west of Jarabulus and captured Kilya and Sha’ina villages after heavy battles. He also says Coalition warplanes targeted Daesh locations in Ghandoura, killing large numbers of terrorists. [ARA]

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on opposition groups in Kilya village west of Jarabulus. [A3maq]

Daesh says it destroyed 2 Turkish Army tanks with guided missiles in the same area after opposition groups captured the village. [A3maq]

The Turkish Army says one of its tanks was destroyed by a thermal rocket and three of its soldiers were wounded, by “terrorists,” west of Jarabulus. [BasNews]

 

Turkey says its Syrian opposition groups captured more than 400 square km, including 38 villages, from Daesh and the PYD in the Jarabulus and Azaz districts during the first week of Operation Euphrates Shield. [Anadolu]

 

Azaz

Jaish Al-Thuwar, an Arab component of the Syria Democratic Forces, stopped a Daesh attack on Ihras, a Kurdish village in Azaz District, killing “tens” of terrorists. Daesh repeated the attack, and the battles are ongoing. [Hawar]

 

Jaish Al-Thuwar, supported by Al-Bab Military Council and the Democratic North Brigade, liberated Um Hawsh village south of Mare’ from Daesh after heavy battles. Daesh had killed three civilians and wounded seven others there, including women and children. [Hawar] [Hawar]

A video of the battles in Um Hawsh [Hawar]

Daesh says “American warplanes” targeted Um Hawsh village. Daesh also says the “YPG” attacked the village and battles are currently going on inside. [A3maq]

 

After capturing Um Al-Hawsh, Jaish Al-Thuwar liberated neighboring Um Al-Qura village in Azaz, 500m to the east, a few hours later, after heavy fighting with Daesh. [Hawar]

 

The explanation by the deputy commander of Jaish Al-Thuwar says his troops stopped a Daesh attack, then launched a counter-attack that captured Um Hawsh and Um Al-Qura villages, then advanced toward Harbal and Tal Qarah. He says six SDF fighters were killed. His units also destroyed a Daesh tank and damaged another in Kilya village. [ARA]

DaeshDaily comment. After yesterday’s discouraging stories about the SDF being attacked by the Turks, this was startling news. It appears that at least some Arab units in the SDF did not move east across the river with the YPG. Daesh probably saw a weakness it could exploit, and attacked the SDF, only to get beat.

 

Tens of civilians from Um Al-Hawsh and Harbal had escaped their villages after Daesh started shooting indiscriminately, wounding civilians. [Hawar] Daesh had used the 2 villages to attack Ihras. [Hawar]

 

Russian warplanes targeted fuel tanker trucks between Harbal and Ihras with cluster bombs, killing or wounding several people. Syrian Democratic Forces were reported in other media to have launched a massive attack on Daesh in Harbal. [Qasioun]

 

Manbij

Turkish artillery shelled Dandaniya village west of Manbij and south of the Sajur River, at 7 pm Monday, killing five civilians, including three children. People from the village say the shelling was from Amarna village 8 km (5 miles) south of Jarabulus (video). [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on the YPG in Tal Hudhan village south of Manbij after the “YPG” “advanced to the village”. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. Daesh said yesterday it had captured the village.

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Afrin in the northwest corner of Aleppo against the Turkish occupation. [Hawar]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

Thousands of people demonstrated in Amuda, protesting against the Turkish Army. [Hawar]

 

Daesh publishes photos of “normal life” in Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. That’s not actually a good sign for Daesh supporters who live there.

 

Daesh issues photos of mortaring “PKK positions” in the Ain Eissa area. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

The Syrian Army recaptured the silos area near Tadmur from Daesh. [SyriaNow]

Daesh issues photos of targeting Syrian Army positions in the silos area with mortars. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh says it captured Tal Al-Sawana near Huwaisis east of Homs, after a surprise attack, killing 20 Syrian soldiers and allied militia fighters. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it targeted a Syrian Army barricade east of Aqareb village in Silmiya with mortars, killing or wounding several soldiers. [JustPaste]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh says battles continued in the Yarmouk Basin west of Daraa between its affiliate Khaled Army and opposition groups for the 4th day in a row. Daesh says at least five opposition fighters were killed in the attacks so far. [A3maq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Saudi Arabia

Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, has provoked an outcry after it automatically translated “Daesh” as “Saudi Arabia.”

 

The incident has led representatives of Saudi Arabia’s monarchy, as well as many members of the public, to demand a complete national boycott of the search engine.

Social media users first spotted the mistake, which soon went viral as people complained about the translation–with some describing it as an “insult”. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Independent: “Our product team fixed the error in the automated translation within hours of learning about it.” [Independent]

 

North Africa

Egypt

Daesh says it detonated an IED on an Egyptian Army M60 tank near the Sheikh Zuweid Police Station. Daesh also says it detonated another IED on an Egyptian Army patrol, killing or wounding several soldiers in the same area. [JustPaste]

 

A security source says security forces stopped an attack on a checkpoint in the Sadout area in Rafah, forcing the terrorists to flee. The sources say two soldiers were wounded. [VetoGate]

6 hours earlier, the terrorists had attacked Masoura checkpoint south of Rafah with mortars and machine guns, wounding four soldiers. 2 terrorists were killed there. [ElWatan] [ElWatan]

 

Four soldiers were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle south of Rafah. [VetoGate]

 

Security sources say a Palestinian Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorist responsible for smuggling explosives to Egypt was killed by an airstrike on his vehicle east of Masoura village, in Rafah. [VetoGate]

 

Libya

Northeast

Daesh says it captured a tank, weapons, and ammunition in an attack on “Hafter militias” in the Qawarsha area. [A3maq]

Daesh says at least ten Libyan soldiers were killed and many others wounded in the attack. [A3maq]

Daesh says a “Hafter” helicopter mistakenly targeted Libyan soldiers while they were fleeing from a Daesh attack in Qawarsha. [A3maq] [JustPaste]

 

Central coast

The Libyan National Accord Government Military spokesman says the battles were stopped in Sirte, for fear that Daesh might be using civilians as human shields. He says Daesh had forced several Libyan girls to marry its terrorists, and had kidnapped 90-100 civilians. He says Libyan troops are removing IEDs and landmines from the liberated areas in the city. The military confirmed that the Daesh mufti of Libya, Hassan Al-Karami, was killed and published a photo of his dead body. The terrorist was accused in the infamous attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi that killed the US Ambassador and other Embassy personnel. [Rudaw]

 

People of the Wadi Jaref 30 km (19 miles) south of Sirte refused the National Accord Government military orders to evacuate areas between 50km west and 50km east of Sirte city and consider it a military operations area. The military had issued a statement asking people to leave areas around Sirte in order to prevent Daesh terrorists from sneaking outside the city. [AfriGate]

 

A Senior Pentagon official tells CNN that the US Army would extend the 30-day limit for the American airstrikes on Daesh in Syria. The US had said the airstrikes would be over by September 1st. [Wasat]

 

Daesh says it conducted 5 suicide attacks on National Accord Government “militias” in Sirte during the last 2 days. Daesh says it killed or wounded four hundred fighters and destroyed 4 tanks, a BMP armored vehicle, and several machine gun mounted vehicles during the last two days. Daesh also says American airstrikes on the city caused civilian damages. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. In Daesh propaganda, Coalition airstrikes never hit Daesh, only civilians.

 

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on Libyan National Accord Government “militias” in the Bu Hadi area southeast of Sirte, killing or wounding “tens” of soldiers and destroying their vehicles. [A3maq] [JustPaste]

 

Photos of Libyan and National Accord Government troops in Sirte. [AfriGate]

 

Tunisia

The former Tunisian Prime Minister says Tunisian authorities prevented 18,000 Tunisians from traveling to join terrorist organizations in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. [Wasat]

 

Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade, an Al-Qaeda linked group, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack that killed three Tunisian soldiers and wounded others in the Samama Mountain area yesterday. [Tunisien]

 

Other countries

Pakistan

Daesh says it assassinated a Pakistani Intelligence Service member in Peshawar. [A3maq]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Video of the oil spill caused by Daesh in Qayara [Hurra] [Mosuliya]

 

A video of a man from Qayara whose four brothers were killed by Daesh. His son was also captured by Daesh and he doesn’t know anything about what has happened to him [Yalla]

 

A video of Coalition airstrikes on Daesh in the Bashiqa area [YouTube]

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [Archive]

 

Daesh issues a propaganda video about one of its dead Iraqi military commanders. The terrorist was a colleague of Zarqawi and had fought with the AQI starting in 2003. [DawaAlhaq]

 

August 29, 2016

Kerbala Victims

Kerbala Victims

Today’s Major Developments

Al-Abadi, Nechirvan Barzani meet to discuss the Iraq-Kurdistan relationship. []

Iraq asks Saudi Arabia to replace its Ambassador to Baghdad. []

Osama Nujaifi meets with Erdogan in Ankara. []

Daesh executions in Ninewa continue; so do assassinations of Daesh members in Mosul. []

Iraqi forces stop major suicide vehicle bomb attack near Qayara. []

Daesh sets Qayara oil wells on fire. []

Daesh attacks a wedding in Kerbala, kills 17. []

Turkey issues “or else” warning to Kurdish fighters in Syria. []

Combat deaths increase among US Syrian allies attacked by Turkey. []

Daesh stages massive jailbreak in Mindanao. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Abadi met in his office with the KRG’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to discuss the Mosul campaign, the future relationships between Baghdad and Erbil, Kirkuk, oil revenues, and how to solve the problems between the central government and the KRG, according to a statement from the KRG Presidency. Barzani also met with outgoing US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones. [BasNews] [BasNews]

A Kurdish CoR member says Kurdistan independence was one of the issues discussed in the meeting. [BasNews]

A Kurdish Islamic Group MP says the visit aimed at preventing the COR from voting out Minister of Finance Hoshyar Zebari, who was called into a question session at the CoR. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. Zebari has distinguished Kurdish roots but has a long history as an Iraq official. He was the Foreign Minister for years.

 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday it sent an official request to Saudi Arabia to recall its Ambassador to Iraq. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. Certain of the Ambassador’s public statements have raised official objections in Baghdad.

 

The chairman of the PUK’s CoR block, Ala Talabani, says the participation of the Peshmerga and the PMFs will accelerate the liberation of Mosul. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. Such a unifying diplomatic statement is not surprising. From some personal observation, Ms. Talabani is a productive legislator who has earned much respect in a body which collectively has earned too little respect.

 

The Coalition says it conducted 13 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq in the last 24 hours, in and around Ramadi, Hit, Baghdadi, and Haditha in Anbar; and Tal Afar, Mosul (2), Qayara, and Sultan Abdullah (5) in Ninewa. Sultan Abdullah is in Hamdaniya but close to Qayara. [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)

An MoI source says one person was killed and five wounded when a sticky IED exploded under a small bus in the Sheikh Omar area. [Mada]

 

Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)

An MoI source says a Ministry of Trade employee was killed when an IED exploded under his vehicle in Adhamiya. [Mada]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded in a commercial area near Nahrawan. [Mada]

An MoI source says a woman was killed and her husband, a dentist, was wounded when an IED exploded under their vehicle in Mashtal. [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. When Daesh’s foreign fighters are gone, the reality of life in incredibly dangerous Baghdad reflected in stories like these will still have to be faced. Who will stop the constant IEDs from Daesh’s remaining supporters and other criminals?

 

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)

An MoI source says one person was killed and ten wounded when an IED exploded near a popular market in Mada’in. [Mada]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says two soldiers were killed and three wounded when an IED exploded on their vehicle in Albu Aitha, in Dora. [Mada]

The MoD says Iraqi Army 17th division, supported by tribal PMFs, launched a large military operation in Akhsaf, Arab Jabour, Manari, and Khtaimiya, destroying several Daesh hideouts. [Harbi]

Iraqi Army 55th brigade defused 6 IEDs and found other explosives in the Albu Dawood and Albu Allawi areas. [BOC Facebook Page]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade found 16 houses used by Daesh terrorists as hideouts in the Akhsaf area, in addition to an IED factory and a headquarters. The brigade also destroyed 15 IEDs and an ammunition cache. [MoD Website]

Iraqi Army 25th brigade found an explosives cache in the Albu Awsaj area. [BOC Facebook Page]

Iraqi Army 25th brigade found an explosives cache in the Shakha 4 area in Latifiya. It also captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in Yusufiyah. [MoD Website]

A security source says a man wanted on terrorism charges was captured in Mahmudiya. [Ghad]

 

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)

Daesh says it killed a police officer and two policemen in 2 IED explosions in the Shuhada and Haswa areas, in Abu Ghraib. [A3maq]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:    12   (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

The Anbar Provincial Council voted for the second time to remove the Governor. Suhaib Al-Rawi, from office, after accusing him of financial and administrative corruption. [Mada]

 

Falluja

Iraqi forces defused 20 more IEDs in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

Iraqi Army 14th division continued its operations to clear Jazeera Khaldiya, reporting it killed many terrorists, and defusing IEDs. [MoD Website]

14th division defused 9 IEDs and 2 explosives vests, and found weapons and explosives in the Qurtan area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

The Deputy Chairman of the PMF Commission says Iraqi forces expected to only find dozens of Daesh terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya. However, there were 1,300 Daesh terrorists who came after the Falluja battle, including around 150 foreigners–mostly Saudis and Chechens. He says Iraqi forces found large quantities of weapons vehicle bombs, and tanks, in addition to 1 million liters of fuel. He says one of the Daesh terrorists who was killed in Jazeera Khaldiya was a US citizen, and another a China citizen. [Etejah]

 

A military source says Iraqi Army 38th brigade stopped a Daesh attack in the Albu Dhiab area, killing 5.  [Harbi]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

A security source says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack on an IFP headquarters west of Rutba, destroying several vehicle bombs and killing several terrorists, and forcing the rest to flee. The source says three IFP fighters were killed and four wounded in the attack. [Sumaria]

 

A tribal PMF commander says border guards stopped a Daesh attack on a border station in the Rutba area, killing 12 terrorists. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh publishes photos and a video of an attack on Iraqi forces north of Rutba. [JustPaste] [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it killed five Iraqi soldiers in an attack on their military position the Kilo 160 area. [A3maq]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A security source says a woman and her four children were killed by a Daesh IED while the family was trying to escape from Shirqat. [Sumaria]

 

Salahuddin Operations Command troops destroyed 50 IEDs in Makhoul subdistrict. [MoD Website]

 

Salahuddin Operations Command troops stopped a Daesh attack on Sheikh Ali village, destroying a Humvee bomb and forcing the rest to flee. [MoD Website]

 

Daesh says one of its Iraqi suicide terrorists attacked Iraqi forces in the Tilul Al-Baj area with a vehicle bomb. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Baiji

Salahuddin police defused 15 IEDs in Siniya subdistrict. [MoD Website]

 

Tikrit

A security source says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack south of Al-Alam, destroying 4 vehicle bombs and killing the terrorists inside. [Maalomah]

 

An IFP unit found 2 IEDs in a house in the Jalam area. [MoD Website]

 

Daesh says it detonated an IED on a police Humvee in the Albu Khaddo area in Al-Daur, killing the policemen inside. [A3maq]

 

Samarra

Iraqi forces destroyed a Daesh machine gun-mounted vehicle, killing 4 terrorists, in Jazeera Samarra. [MoD Website]

 

DIYALA

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

A local source says Joint Operations Command (JOC) troops withdrew from Abu Saida after getting orders from Prime Minister Abadi. The source says the withdrawal was premature and the situation is still tense. The troops were sent to the subdistrict after heavy clashes erupted between two tribes. [Sumaria]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A Peshmerga source says several Daesh terrorists were killed or wounded in internal clashes in Barima village in Hawija District. [BasNews]

 

A Peshmerga source says the Kurdish forces received 800 displaced people from Hawija in the Maktab Khalid area, southwest of Kirkuk. [Sumaria]

 

Photos of Hawija displaced families in Kirkuk [Rudaw]

 

NINEWA

The Turkish President, Erdogan, met with the chairman of the United Coalition, Osama Al-Nujaifi, in Ankara to discuss the relationships between the two countries and the liberation of Mosul and the role of Turkey in fighting terrorism, according to Erdogan’s press statement. [SuotAlOmma]

 

A PUK official says Coalition airstrikes targeted Daesh locations and vehicles in Mosul, the Qayara area, and Bashiqa, killing or wounding tens of terrorists and destroying vehicles and hideouts. [PUKMedia]

 

The Iraqi Government, in coordination with the KRG, will start an operation to move displaced Iraqi families from Al-Hawl Camp in Syria to Salahuddin. [ARA]

 

Mosul

A Shabak CoR member says Daesh detonated an IED on the house of a Shabak family in Hay Al-Karama in Mosul, killing the homeowner and wounding four members of his family. [Karemlash]

 

Local activists say a Daesh Saudi terrorist responsible for security in Mosul and 2 other senior Daesh leaders were killed in an airstrike on their vehicle in the Darkazliya area in east Mosul. A Daesh hideout in the College of Dentistry was destroyed by an airstrike.

The body of a Daesh female member was found in the Tigris River, most likely after being kidnapped and killed by unknown armed men. Local activists say 7 Daesh terrorists were killed by unknown armed men in different areas in Mosul during the last three days. [Karemlash]

 

A local source says unknown armed men in 2 vehicles attacked a group of Daesh members leaving a house in Mosul, using silenced guns, killing 8. [Maalomah]

After several attacks on its terrorists, Daesh issued a curfew in three areas on the east side of Mosul, and withdrew most its members from the city’s streets. [Karemlash]

However, sources say Daesh reopened its offices, media points and headquarters in Mosul and ordered its terrorists not to show any sign of “breaking.” Daesh also arrested several people in Mosul after accusing them of cooperating with Iraqi forces. [PressIraq] [PressIraq]

 

Eyewitnesses from Mosul say Daesh is calling on the people of Mosul to provide blood for its wounded terrorists. [IraqAkhbar]

 

A local source says Daesh launched a search in Mosul looking for 3 Daesh foreign female members who suddenly disappeared after going to a health center in the city. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh issues a video showing distribution of zakat (Islamic tax) money to poor people in Mosul. [A3maq]

 

Hammam Alil/Shura

Local sources say Daesh executed six people on Sunday by putting them in big tires and then setting the tires on fire in Hammam Al-Alil subdistrict. [BasNews]

 

Eyewitnesses say unknown armed men shot and killed 4 local terrorists at a Daesh security point in Hammam Al-Alil. [Maalomah]

 

Qayara

The Ninewa Operations Commander says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack on the Qayara outskirts, killing “tens” of terrorists and destroying 7 vehicle bombs. He also says Daesh targeted the civilians in Qayara with Katyushas, killing an old man and a woman, and wounding nine other civilians. He says Iraqi forces captured 12 Daesh terrorists who were trying to sneak into the Qayara Operations Command. [BasNews]

Daesh’s version says 8 of its suicide terrorists (7 Iraqis and a Jordanian) attacked Iraqi forces with 2 vehicle bombs in different areas in Qayara on Sunday, killing or wounding “tens” of soldiers. Daesh publishes photos of 3 of the suicide terrorists. [DawaAlhaq]

 

A local source says 20,000 civilians in Qayara are threatened by Daesh fires. Daesh set Qayara oil wells on fire and oil spills were spread in different parts of the District. [Baghdadia]

The Ministry of Oil says it extinguished the fires at four of the oil wells. [Rudaw]

The Ninewa Police chief says oil leakage was controlled and the oil will not reach the Tigris River. [Mada]

 

A Ninewa Police captain says Daesh executed 35 people, including 18 former security members, in Hamidat village, north of Qayara on Sunday. [BasNews]

 

The Ninewa Police chief says the security headquarters and offices are being moved to Qayara to be closer to Mosul city. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. The Ninewa Police were displaced from Mosul when Daesh took over in mid-2014.

 

Nineveh Plain

Media sources say the Peshmerga started to dig trenches in Al-Khazer in Hamdaniya. Peshmerga sources say the reason is not to set up borders, but for protection. [IraqAkhbar]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

A security source says the IAF destroyed a Daesh headquarters in Tal Afar, killing “tens” of terrorists. [Maalomah]

 

KURDISTAN

The Turkish military says it conducted airstrikes on PKK locations in northern Iraq. [ARA]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Kerbala

The Mid Euphrates Operations Command says it “foiled” a Daesh attack on a wedding in Ain Al-Tamr in west Karbala. It says 5 Daesh terrorists attacked a wedding and one of them blew himself up while the others attacked the citizens with hand grenades and AKs. It says security forces killed 4 of the terrorists, while the 5th blew himself up. It also says fifteen people were killed and sixteen wounded in the attack. [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. It seems to us that the real news is that more than thirty people were killed or wounded. So what did they “foil,” exactly?

Daesh’s version says 4 of its Iraqi suicide terrorists attacked a “Shia infidel” gathering in Hay Al-Tamr, killing or wounding tens of them. Daesh says the terrorists controlled the neighborhood for 5 hours, then detonated themselves after a military force entered the area. Daesh says around one hundred people were killed or wounded in the attack. Daesh publishes a photo of the 4 terrorists. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. Just as a reminder, the “Shia infidel” reference shows that Daesh is using the Saudi fatwa that Daesh uses to legitimize killing civilians, including women and children. When Al-Azhar Mosque tried to criticize the fatwa a few months ago, the Saudi government interfered strongly and forced Al-Azhar to back down. The US silence on this issue continues, but it will have to be confronted if our Iraq policy is to succeed in the long run.

 

The Chairman of the Kerbala Provincial Council says the Council holds the security forces in Kerbala responsible for what happened. He also says there are Daesh supporters among displaced people, and the Council has decided to send them back to their home areas. [Qurtas]

A member of Kerbala PC says 17 people were killed and 29 wounded. [Mada]

The PC asked the government to fire the Mid-Euphrates Operations commander and to investigate other security officials. [Mada]

 

Babel

A security source says a police unit found IEDs in a house in Shuhada’ village in Haswa, in north Babel. The source says the residents of the house fled before the police arrived. [Mada]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Turkish official sources say Daesh launched 3 rockets on Kilis, giving no further details. [ARA]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday that the US supports a united Syria and does not support any Kurdish attempt for independence. [Dorar]

 

Turkey warned predominantly Kurdish Syrian fighters on Monday to “immediately” withdraw east of the Euphrates River or face more strikes by Turkish forces that crossed the border last week in Ankara’s major incursion into Syria.

Pentagon, meanwhile, called on NATO ally Turkey and the predominantly Kurdish U.S.-backed fighters aligned against Daesh to stop fighting each other in northern Syria. In a written statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook called the clashes south of the Euphrates River town of Jarabulus in Syria “unacceptable” and a source of “deep concern.”

DaeshDaily comment. The US agreement with Turkey may be a good decision in principle, but it’s clear that after notifying the SDF, it did little or nothing to get their troops out of Turkey’s way, leaving the Turks to pursue their own anti-PKK agenda with US cooperation. US announcements seem to have come from Vice President Biden’s press conference in Ankara, where he told the Turks what they wanted to hear. A decision of this importance merited a formal announcement in Washington with clear expectations of how Turkey and the PYD/YPG were expected to handle the implementation. Instead, we have left the enforcement to the Turks and allowed SDF fighters to die because they couldn’t move fast enough.

 

The Turkey Minister of European Union Affairs says no one has the right to tell Turkey which terrorist organization it should or shouldn’t fight. [BasNews]

 

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent letters to the UN General Secretary and to the Chairman of the Security Council condemning the Turkish attack on Aleppo areas and asking for an intervention to stop the attacks. The letter says twenty civilians were killed in Kousa village and fifteen in Amarna, and tens others were wounded. [Hawar]

 

The Al-Qaeda leader, Zawahiri, issued a video message calling on Syrian Islamic groups to unite under one banner. [Arabi21]

 

Russian sources say the US and Russia are discussing launching join attacks in north Syria. [BasNews]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 2 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, one in Raqqa and the other in Albu Kamal. [InherentResolve]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus/Azaz

Daesh terrorists attacked Jaish Al-Thuwar, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) faction, in Ihras, a Kurdish border village in Azaz District. At the same time, Turkey-backed opposition groups attacked Jaish Al-Thuwar in Sheikh Eissa village in Azaz. The battles are still ongoing. [Hawar]

DaeshDaily comment. The SDF is getting it from both sides. The key issue to the Turks is that Azaz is west of the Euphrates, in violation of an announced agreement between Turkey and the US. The practical problem for the Kurds is that much of that border area and beyond is Kurdish and they feel an obligation to protect it. The Kurds are there because they defeated Daesh in part of the northern border area west of the river. This agreement may get increasingly embarrassing to the US if Turkey and its friends continue to attack and kill Kurdish and other SDF fighters who are in these locations as part of the US strategy to defeat Daesh in Syria. (About which, see further comment under “Manbij” below.)

 

The Turkish President Erdogan says his country supports the Free Syrian Army, which conducted the operations in Jarabulus “on its own.” He also says Aleppo has been attacked by 7 countries over the past 5 years and neither Aleppo nor Gaziantep will submit to those countries or to terrorism. [Dorar]

DaeshDaily comment. It is interesting to see that the Sultan now seems to consider Aleppo as part of his empire. We were trying to count these seven countries but lost count.

To relieve some of the naming confusion, “Free Syrian Army” is an umbrella term used by the Turks to label the Turkey-backed opposition groups. This name has been appropriated from a previous opposition group. Actually, there is no such thing as the “Free Syrian Army.” 

 

However, the former chairman of the former Free Syrian Army’s Military Council in Aleppo says the FSA will continue the battles east of the Euphrates to capture areas under control of Daesh and the YPG in Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor. [Qasioun]

Ten Free Syrian Army groups issued a statement opposing the “Turkish invasion” of Jarabulus and the massacres committed by the Turkish Army on civilians. [Hawar]

DaeshDaily comment. To be balanced on this naming issue, we should add to the comment above that the previous iteration of the “Free Syrian Army” label was not especially meaningful either. If we have the current situation right, previous-version Free Syrian Army is opposed to the current-version Free Syrian Army but both are opposed to the Kurds.

 

Opposition groups supported by the Turkish Army have captured 35 towns and villages around Jarabulus so far. The groups crossed the Sajur River and clashed heavily with Syrian Democratic Forces. They also captured 6 villages near Al-Ra’i from Daesh and arrested 2 Russian terrorists. [ZamanAlWasl] [Qasioun] [Qasioun]

 

On Sunday, the Turkish Army says, its warplanes launched attacks on PKK and YPG positions south of Jarabulus, killing 25 fighters and destroying 5 buildings. [ZamanAlWasl]

Turkey backed groups destroyed a Daesh vehicle bomb in Dhaheriya village west of Jarabulus. [Qasioun]

 

Turkey backed oppositions groups captured 12 more villages and areas from the YPG southwest of Jarabulus. The groups, supported by Turkish warplanes, had captured 5 villages on Sunday after heavy battles, killing fifteen YPG fighters. [Dorar]

 

Turkish media sources say two female Turkish YPG fighters were killed by Turkish airstrikes south of Jarabulus. [Dorar]

 

The Turkish Minister of Economy says a Turkish tank was attacked by an anti-tank missile and a Turkish soldier was killed in the attack. He also says Turkey will remain in Syria until Syria is secured, and until the threats against Turkey stop. He also says the main reason for the prisons in Turkey is to keep Syria as a unified country. [Dorar]

 

A Turkey-backed opposition groups commander says any party that tries to get in their way will be considered the enemy (meaning the SDF). He says the groups are moving to the east, are moving under a plan, and will not stop until they have liberated Syria entirely. [Qasioun]

 

Kurdish-backed forces have now said they will only pull back south from their current positions in order not to put the lives of civilians in danger. [FoxNews]

 

The Jarabulus Military Council issued a statement saying it withdrew toward areas south of the Sajur River in order to protect civilian lives. [Hawar]

However, Turkish artillery killed more than five civilians in the Dandaniya area south of the Sajur River (video). The shelling is still ongoing. [Hawar]

Local sources published the names of 24 civilians, mostly children, who were killed by the Turkish Army shelling and bombing on Bir Kousa and other villages south of Jarabulus. [Hawar] [Hawar]

In addition, Turkish warplanes and tanks reportedly targeted villages north of the Sajur River on Sunday. [Hawar]

 

The YPG says the Turkish Army captured four of its fighters near Bir Kousa village south of Jarabulus and held Turkey responsible for their safety. [Hawar]

A Turkey backed opposition group released photos of YPG fighters who were captured south of Qara Gharah village near Jarabulus. [EnabBaladi]

The Turkey-backed Ahrar Al-Sham militia kidnapped many civilians in Qara Qoi village south of Jarabulus. [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on YPG units in Malhamiya village, south of Jarabulus. [A3maq]

 

The Turkish news agency Anadolu says the Turkish Army sent more military reinforcements to the Karkemish area along the Turkey-Syria border. [Dorar]

 

The Turkish Army brought more reinforcements to areas north of Kobane, east of Jarabulus along the border. The Army has continued the construction of a concrete road in the area. [Hawar] [Hawar]

 

Hundreds of civilians are leaving their houses in Jarabulus and heading towards Manbij following the Turkish Army and its opposition groups attack. [Hawar] [Hawar]

 

Manbij

Turkey-backed opposition groups, supported by the Turkish Army, are moving ahead to capture Manbij villages from the Syrian Democratic Forces. [Qasioun]

DaeshDaily comment. This and the Azaz story show that the YPG has not pulled back from some of its positions west of the Euphrates, which leaves an excuse to attack them. Once Manbij was fully under control, the YPG made a point of saying it had withdrawn from the city and left its administration to the Manbij Military Council.

That aside, who will control Manbij, and other areas from which Kurdish YPG fighters withdraw? Will the locals in Manbij be allowed to manage their own affairs, or will the Turkey-backed opposition groups take over? The Kurdish fighters can, after all, go back toward Kurdish areas from which they came. What about the Arabs who have also served in the Syrian Democratic Forces, a military organization the US helped to create. Many come from the places the SDF is now expected by the US and Turkey to abandon. What happens to them? Who will protect them from the radical Islamic groups Turkey is supporting, or from Daesh? 

 

The Manbij Civilian Council, created by the PYD, issued a statement condemning the Turkish Army attack in the Manbij and Jarabulus areas, and asks the International Coalition to intervene. [Hawar]

 

Hundreds of people accompanied the bodies of three American fighters who were killed while fighting alongside the YPG in Manbij. The bodies were taken to Simalka Border Crossing with Turkey in order to be sent to the US. [Hawar]

 

Medical sources warn of the dire situation in Manbij hospitals. Daesh has stolen the hospitals’ medicine and equipment. [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it captured Kadro and Tal Hudhan villages and attacked more villages south of Manbij. [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video from Tal Hudhan village. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says “American” warplanes conducted 20 airstrikes on villages Daesh is attacking south of Manbij. [A3maq]

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

Al-Bab

Local sources say Daesh publicly executed ten people in Al-Bab, after accusing them of communicating with the Syrian Army or Syrian Democratic Forces. Daesh had arrested these people months ago. [BasNews]

 

Local sources say Daesh released more than 250 Kurdish prisoners in Al-Bab. The sources say, a day earlier, 150 Kurdish prisoners had fled Daesh prisons. [ARA]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 23 Syrian Democratic Forces fighters were killed in battles with Daesh in the Shaddadi area. [SyriaHR]

 

A Syrian armed group issued a statement mourning the death of one of its leaders, killed by a Daesh land mine in Shaddadi. The commander’s family was recently kidnapped by Daesh, but they were released after a ransom was paid. [Hawar]

 

The Asayesh said on Sunday that it captured a Daesh terrorist responsible for suicide attacks in Hasaka and Tal Tamr. The terrorist said he was paid 50,000 Syrian pounds (less than $100) for each explosion in addition to 200,000 SYP for the car bomb. Tens of civilians were killed or wounded in the 2 attacks. [Qasioun]

 

A YPG source says the Turkish Army shot at YPG positions between Amuda and Qamishli, wounding one fighter. [Hawar]

The Turkish Army refuted the report, saying it doesn’t conduct military operations near Hasaka. [ARA]

 

Daesh says four YPG fighters, including an explosives expert, were killed by an IED explosion in Hamidat village south of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

 

Daesh issues a video of the results of Russian airstrikes on Raqqa on Saturday. [A3maq]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

Daesh publishes photos of its terrorists near Tadmur. [DawaAlhaq]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

A Syrian government-backed militia targeted Daesh in Jufra village in Deir Ez-Zor, causing human casualties. The militia also killed a Daesh group coming from the Hawijat Al-Saqar area. The Syrian Army targeted Daesh locations near the Deir Ez-Zor military airport. [SyriaNow] [SyriaNow] [SyriaNow]

 

Media sources say clashes with light weapons erupted between foreign and local Daesh terrorists east of Deir Ez-Zor. The sources say the foreign Daesh terrorists usually try to take more spoils than the local terrorists. [ARA]

 

Media sources say 2 local Daesh commanders defected east of Deir Ez-Zor. Local sources say this might be a sign that the tribes in Deir Ez-Zor are trying to distance themselves from Daesh. [ARA]

 

Daesh publishes photos “normal life” in Baghouz village east of Albu Kamal city by the Iraq border. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. It is never a good sign when Daesh publishes photos of “normal life” in your city or village.

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

A local activist says opposition groups killed 10 Khaled Army terrorists, a Daesh affiliate, and captured 6 near Tasil town in Daraa. He says the terrorists were trying to sneak to the town wearing women’s clothes. [ARA]

 

Daesh issues a video of two Syrian soldiers who surrendered to its terrorists in the Bir Qassab area, southeast of Damascus. [A3maq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

North Africa

Egypt

Security forces killed 3 takfiris who attacked a police station in Sheikh Zuweid. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack. [VetoGate]

Two policemen were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle near the police station. [VetoGate]

 

Two civilians were wounded when armed men shot at them in Abu Zar’i village, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]

 

Security sources say Egyptian Apaches killed 16 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists in different areas south of Sheikh Zuweid on Sunday. [ElWatan]

 

The police destroyed an IED near Arish city entrance. They destroyed another IED Sunday near the Abu Tawila area. [VetoGate] [VetoGate]

 

Eyewitnesses say a civilian was killed and several others wounded when an Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis IED exploded on 2 vehicles, south of Arish. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

Military sources say the Libyan Army and warplanes launched a massive attack on the terrorists in the Qanfouda area, killing several terrorists and destroying 2 tanks. The sources say six Libyan soldiers, including a notable commander, were killed in the battles. [AfriGate] [Wasat]

 

Daesh issues a video of the result of the alleged French bombing on the Qanfouda area west of Benghazi on Saturday. [A3maq]

 

Central coast

The National Accord Government Military says its troops captured Hay 1, one of Daesh’s last two areas in Sirte. [AfriGate] [Wasat]

 

Misrata Hospital said on Monday 480 Libyan soldiers were killed and 168 wounded in Sirte battles. The GNA military spokesman says his troops captured large quantities of weapons and ammunition and found the dead bodies of 35 Daesh fighters in Sirte. [Wasat]

 

The military hospital in Sirte says five Libyan soldiers were killed in Hay 1 on Monday. Libyan troops started a massive attack on Hay 1 and Hay 3 on Sunday. Daesh conducted 12 suicide attacks with vehicle bombs. Libyan troops captured half of Hay 3, including the main mosque in the area, trapping Daesh in less than 2 square km. 28 soldiers were killed and 158 wounded in Sunday’s fighting. [AfriGate] [AfriGate] [AfriGate]

 

Photos of the battles in Sirte [AfriGate]

 

A Misrata armed group says the Daesh “mufti” in Libya, Hassan Al-Karami, was killed in Sirte. [AfriGate]

Local sources say families of Daesh terrorists, including Karami, were allowed to leave Sirte on Sunday, and were under surveillance. [Wasat]

 

A Libyan MP from Benghazi says his son was killed while fighting alongside Daesh in Sirte. He says his son adopted the takfiri line of thinking and he lost contact with him 2 years ago. [Wasat]

 

The US AFRICOM command says it conducted 92 airstrikes on Daesh in Sirte so far. [Libya24]

 

Tunisia

The Tunisian Ministry of Defense spokesman says three soldiers were killed and seven wounded when a terrorist group attacked their convoy on Samama Mountain in Kasserine. He says Tunisian troops wounded 2 terrorists and confiscated explosives. He says the fighting is still going on. [Tunisien] [Tunisien]

 

Other countries

Yemen

Doctors Without Borders says at least 45 people were killed and many others wounded when a suicide terrorist attacked a gathering of local fighters in Aden. [Sumaria]

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on a Yemeni Army draft camp in Aden, killing 60 people. Daesh publishes photos of the suicide terrorist. [A3maq] [DawaAlhaq]

 

Russia

Moderate Muslim Sunni scholars from all over the world held a meeting in Chechnya. The meeting accused “radicals” of hijacking Sunni Islam, causing angry responses from the Salafists, who were not invited. The conference came up with several recommendations, including empowering the traditional Sunni schools and establishing a database for radical groups. [Arabi21]

DaeshDaily comment. This is a very important statement from Sunni scholars to isolate radicalism. Wahhabism is not the representative of Sunni Islam as it claims. It’s just the richest. Saudi Arabia is spending 3 billion dollars a year to spread Wahhabism, much more than all other groups could collect together. The old schools should be empowered, and such conferences should be held all over the world.     

 

The Philippines

Daesh says its terrorists broke into a prison in Marawi village in the southern island of Mindanao on Saturday, and released 30 prisoners, including some of its fighters and their wives. [A3maq]

Extremists believed to be linked to Daesh planned and carried out a massive jailbreak. An armed group of 50 raided the jail, freeing 23 detainees, media cited officials as saying.

The escape plan began with two women coming to the prison gate in Marawi under the pretense of delivering food for the detainees. As soon as the gates were opened, 50 armed men stormed the place, overwhelming the guards, AFP quoted provincial jail warden Acmad Tabao as saying.

The hooded men proceeded to free 8 of their own members who were imprisoned just a week ago. Amid the chaos, another 15 detainees made their way out of the prison. All of the inmates were jailed for serious offenses, Tabao said. [RT]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Videos of the Day

A video of the CoR brawl [YouTube]

 

Videos of battles in Jazeera Khaldiya [Harbi] [Harbi] [Harbi]

A video of IAA attacks on Daesh locations in Jazeera Khaldiya [MoD]

A video of a Daesh terrorist captured in Jazeera Khaldiya. He claims he is not Daesh but then he says he was on duty (with Daesh) in Mosul. [YouTube]

 

A video of a fire in a displaced persons camp near Kirkuk. Seventy tents were burned down, but no one got hurt. [Yalla]

 

A video of Qayara city children celebrating their liberation with Iraqi soldiers [Yalla]

 

A video of an American soldier allegedly fighting with Kurdish troops against Daesh in the Sinjar area. [Sputnik]

 

A video of Iraqi forces destroying a Daesh vehicle bomb [YouTube]   

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [YouTube]

 

Daesh issued a new video talking about the world war against it. Its terrorists who appear in the video were addressing the recent defeat and asking Daesh terrorists to be patient, promising victory. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh publishes an infographic about its recent suicide attacks in Kirkuk claiming the attacks resumed after stopping for 19 months. [A3maq]

 

 

August 26, 2016

Qayara

Qayara

Today’s Major Developments

Friday demonstrators protest firing of Defense minister. []

IFP commander estimates Daesh death toll in Jazeera Khaldiya at 900. []

Citizen, tribal opposition pressure Daesh in Anah. []

Mosul report says Baghdadi purged his security operation by replacing Iraqis with foreigners. []

Daesh has forced thousands to move toward Mosul as human shields. []

Kerry, Lavrov agree in Geneva there is no military solution in Syria, pledge cooperation. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Baghdad, again calling for reforms and anti-corruption measures. [Rudaw]

Demonstrators in Najaf, Diwaniya, Amarah, Basra, and Nasiriya protested the removal of the Minister of Defense and considered it a move to protect corrupt officials. [Mada] [Mada] [Mada] [Mada] [Sumaria]

Hundreds of people demonstrating in Babel celebrated the liberation of Qayara, and demanded that the government quicken the hiring of new ministers and new commissioners for independent agencies, and called for an investigation concerning the provincial government. [Mada]

 

The United Alliance, the Sunni CoR bloc, issued a statement protesting the firing of the Minister of Defense. It said the session was illegal and the decision was political. It says it will officially protest the decision. [Sumaria]

 

Moqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement saying he will give the government 45 days to fill the gaps in the Cabinet. He likewise protested the firing of the Minister of Defense. [Sumaria]

 

The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Louis Sako, issued a statement after meeting with the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Coalition, Terry Wolf saying that the US has a moral responsibility to support Iraq. He says Iraq needs a lot of help to fight Daesh and its like and to get rid of its dangerous line of thinking. He also says the situation is not clear in Iraq and it’s not wise to talk about the future of Ninewa now while most of its people are displaced. [Sumaria]

 

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq, three in Anbar in Ramadi District, the other five in Ninewa, around Sinjar, Kasik, Mosul, Qayara, and Sultan Abdullah. [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Center (Rusafa, Karkh, Karrada, etc.)

The MoI says a man wanted on terrorism charges was captured in Salhiya. [Sumaria]

 

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Hamamiyat in Taji. [Mada]

 

Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)

Iraqi Army 43rd brigade destroyed a Daesh boat in Rashidiya. [BOC Facebook Page]

A local police source says an MoI employee was killed when a sticky IED exploded under his vehicle in Husseiniya. [Maalomah]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says two people were killed and seven wounded when an IED exploded near a wholesale market near Abu Dsheer in Dora. [Mada]

An MoI source says one person was killed and six wounded when a sticky IED exploded under a bus in Hay Al-Sihha in Dora. [Mada]

A police source says an IED exploded near a bakery in the Uwairij area, wounding the bakery owner. [Sumaria]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 8 Daesh guesthouses and 19 IEDs in the Akhsaf area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

An MoI source says an owner of an auto parts retail store was killed when unknown armed men broke into his house in Hay Al-Amel and stole $50,000. [Mada]

An MoI source says two people were killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Hay Al-Furat. [Mada]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   10    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces defused 89 more IEDs, 20 land mines, and a booby-trapped house, and found large quantities of rockets and explosives in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

Jazeera Khaldiya

The IFP Commander says Iraqi forces have killed 900 Daesh terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya so far. He also says the remaining Daesh terrorists there are trapped in 15 houses. [PUKMedia]

 

The Anbar Police chief says his troops killed 6 Daesh terrorists and destroyed a booby-trapped boat and 2 other boats near the Euphrates River in Jazeera Khaldiya. [BasNews]

 

The IWMC says an IAA drone destroyed a Daesh hideout in Jazeera Khaldiya, killing the terrorists inside. [Mawazin]

 

Iraqi forces killed 2 suicide terrorists in an abandoned house in the Qurtan area. Iraqi forces also found 2 Daesh tunnels and an ammunition cache in the same area. [MoD Website]

 

Iraqi Army 39th brigade killed a Daesh terrorist in the Albu Bali area. [MoD Website]

 

Iraqi Army 32nd brigade found 2 Daesh tunnels and an explosives cache in the Tarabsha area. [MoD Website]

 

Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh rocket launcher in the Albu Ali Al-Jassem area. [MoD Website]

 

Other Ramadi reports

The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack on a checkpoint in the Zuwiya area east of Ramadi, killing 7 terrorists and destroying 2 vehicles. [Maalomah]

 

Iraqi forces killed a Daesh terrorist in East Hsaiba. [MoD Website]

 

Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee with mortar shells in the Jaraishi area, killing the soldiers inside. [JustPaste]

 

Hit/Haditha

The Jazeera Operations Commander says Coalition warplanes bombed a house where Daesh terrorists were hiding in Hay Al-Bakr, west of the city, killing 3 of them. [Sumaria]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

A tribal PMF commander says a Daesh commander called Ashwan Al-Ani, accompanied by many terrorists, arrived in Anah from Al-Qa’im and arrested tens of young men because they refused to join Daesh in the fight against Iraqi forces. [Maalomah]

 

The Jazeera Operations Commander says tribes in Anah revolted against Daesh and destroyed a Daesh hisbah vehicle in Anah city. [Harbi]

 

A member of the Ameriyat Al-Falluja subdistrict council says three civilians who fled Daesh-controlled areas in Anah District were killed and eight wounded in a road accident south of Falluja. [Maalomah]

 

A tribal PMF commander says his troops stopped a Daesh attack on the Al-Waleed border crossing at the Syrian border, killing 17 terrorists and destroying 5 vehicles. [BasNews]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

The Chairman of the Shirqat District Council says 2,000 people left their houses in Shirqat during the last 2 days raising the total number of people displaced from Shirqat to 95,000. He says he urged the military leadership in Salahuddin to liberate Shirqat, but there were no answers to his calls. He accuses “international parties” of delaying the liberation. [Mada]

 

A local source says Daesh cancelled its Friday prayer service in a mosque in Shirqat city after finding an IED planted in the mosque. The source says Daesh arrested several of its terrorists after finding the IED. The source says internal disputes have recently increased among Daesh terrorists in Shirqat. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. Several reports suggested that some local terrorists are trying to distance themselves from Daesh in order to avoid being targeted later by Iraqi forces.

 

Baiji

Iraqi forces captured 7 men wanted on terrorism charges who were trying to hide themselves among displaced families in the Hajjaj area. [MoD Website]

 

Samarra

Iraqi forces found 3 C4 explosive cans in the Tal Battar area in Samarra. [MoD Website]

 

Tooz

The IAA targeted a Daesh trench in the Zarqa area, killing 11 terrorists. Salahuddin Operations Command destroyed a Daesh vehicle bomb with a Kornet missile in the same area. [MoD Website]

 

Southern Salahuddin

Iraqi forces destroyed an IED that was planted near a fiber optic cable in Dujail. [MoD Website]

 

DIYALA

Baquba

A security source says a Police Emergency unit captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in west Baquba. [Sumaria]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A security source says 5 Daesh terrorists were killed when an IED they were planning to plant exploded on them near Khabaz village in Riyadh. The source also says internal clashes erupted between Daesh terrorists about the executions of civilians and treatment of displaced families in Mirbat village 40 km (25 miles) south of Kirkuk without giving more details. [Mada]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

A local source says Daesh leader Awwad Baghdadi has purged Daesh’s security structure and removed most of its Iraqi leaders in the Mosul area, giving their positions to foreign terrorists. [Buratha]

A report about major Daesh leaders in Ninewa [Al-Aan]

 

A local source says Daesh supporters in Mosul celebrated the CoR’s no-confidence vote against the Minister of Defense. [Karemlash]

 

A local source says unknown armed men shot a Daesh convoy in the Majmou’a Thaqafiya area in Mosul with an RPG rocket, destroying a vehicle. The source says the convoy might have had an important Daesh leader in it, given the large number of guards. Daesh arrested 20 people after the attack, according to the source. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh says it shot down a Peshmerga drone in Huqoul village northwest of Mosul. [JustPaste]

 

Makhmur

A PUK official says two Turkish Kurd refugees were killed and one wounded when two Daesh suicide terrorists entered the Rustam Camp for Turkish Kurd refugees east of Makhmur. He says one of the terrorists blew himself up when he was discovered, while the other was trapped and killed by the camp guards. [Sumaria]

The Kurdish Popular Defense Forces, HPG (the PKK’s armed wing), says it stopped a Daesh attack on the Rustam Camp in the Makhmur area, killing 2 terrorists. It also says one of its fighters and one civilian were killed in the attack. [Hawar] Rustam is a PKK-run camp for Kurdish Turks.

Daesh’s version says two of its Iraqi suicide terrorists sneaked into “Peshmerga headquarters” southeast of Makhmur and detonated 3 IEDs, then clashed with the survivors before detonating their explosive vests, killing or wounding many of them. [GooglePlus] Daesh publishes a photo of one of the suicide terrorists. [GooglePlus]

 

A PUK official says a group of Daesh terrorists attacked a checkpoint in the Al-Nour area near Haj Ali villages. He says clashes continued for hours and many Daesh terrorists were killed. [PUKMedia]

 

The IWMC says 10 Daesh terrorists were killed when a truck loaded with IEDs exploded in Makouk village, on the road between Qayara and Makhmur. [Anadolu]

 

Qayara

The Deputy Chairman of the Ninewa PC says Daesh terrorists forced 5,000 families from villages north of Diyala to move to Mosul’s Shura subdistrict in order to use them as human shields. [Baghdadia]

An Arab CoR member from Ninewa says Daesh is forcing people in areas south of Mosul to leave their houses in the direction of Mosul or they will be killed. He says Daesh is trying to prevent these people from joining Iraqi forces. [Sumaria]

 

The Mayor of Qayara District says the level of destruction in the city is 25%. He also says the Peshmerga supported Iraqi forces in the liberation. He says Daesh has collapsed and Iraqi forces advances in Ninewa will be easy. [Rudaw]

 

A PUK official says Iraqi forces should move ahead from Qayara toward Al-Houd village north of the city as soon as possible because Daesh could use the high ground of the village to attack Iraqi forces. A member of the Ninewa Provincial Council says young men from Qayara had killed 12 Daesh terrorists before Iraqi forces entered the city. [Mada]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

A security source says the IAF targeted a Daesh elite training camp in Tal Afar District, killing more than 60 terrorists. [Baghdadia]

 

South (Baaj, Hatra)

The IWMC says Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh weapons storehouse in Saadiya village, northeast of Hatra, killing 12 terrorists. [Anadolu]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Fourteen Daesh suspects were arrested in a coordinated early-morning raid on 18 different addresses in Ankara. [Cumhuriyet]

 

Security sources say Turkish Counter Terrorism units captured 20 Daesh suspects in Konya district. Counter Terrorism units also captured 20 more Daesh suspects, including women, in Adana. [Anadolu]

 

The city of Gaziantep is said to be on terror alert, with twelve concrete blocks (see photographs in the article) being brought in. Their intended use is thought to be as barricades for the area housing the police headquarters, town hall and provincial governorate buildings. Gaziantep police headquarters have already been the target of a vehicle bomb attack. [Cumhuriyet]

 

The Turkey Minister of Health says around 100 people were killed or wounded in an explosion near a police headquarters in Jazeera city. The PKK has claimed responsibility. [BasNews]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the situation in Syria had “dramatically deteriorated” since the “brief oasis of calm” provided by the cessation-of-hostilities agreement, and he promised that the U.S. and Russia were close to a new agreement on a more durable arrangement.

Kerry spoke in Geneva after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They discussed ways to agree on military cooperation and information sharing in a bid to defeat Islamic State militants in Syria—something both sides want.

Kerry said that Syrians benefited from the calm following the February accord, but that the gains were lost again when violations of the agreement began. He said “the cessation, even flawed, was valuable.” But he said violations “eventually became the norm, rather than the exception.”

 

Kerry said he and Lavrov agreed that there was no military solution to the Syrian situation. He said the past few weeks of talks had been “fair, diligent, productive” and that the remaining “technical issues” would be worked out in the next few days, to “overcome the deep mistrust on all sides.” “The conflict will not end without a political solution,” Kerry said. “It is really the only viable path towards the peace and security and normalcy that the Syrian people deserve.”

 

Kerry said the sides may differ about the causes for the rupture, but both agree more work is needed to revive the deal and make it enforceable. Until then, he says he does not want to make any announcement concerning a resumption of peace talks. “As Sergei said, the work that can be done in the next week has the ability to resolve some of these remaining issues. But, until we have, neither of us are prepared to make an announcement that is predicated for failure.” [VoA]

 

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the marathon talks with US State Secretary Kerry in Geneva helped to reduce mutual levels of misunderstanding. Both countries will boost their cooperation on Syria, including on the military level, he said. “We have agreed on concrete ways in which we will work with the sides: Russia–with the government and the opposition that is working with us, the United States–with the opposition which is cooperating with them,” Lavrov said.

 

In addition to that, the cooperation between Russian personnel at its Khmeimim air base and representatives of the American armed forces in the US base in Jordan is going to be ramped up.

“We have agreed to intensify the bilateral contacts that have somewhat stalled in the last several weeks,” Lavrov said, adding that his is confident that “a regular dialog without any pauses is a key to the realization of all our objectives.”  “It is an achievement that we have been able to reduce areas of misunderstanding and to reduce the level of mutual mistrust between the two countries,” Lavrov said.

 

Russia and the US have agreed on a number of issues as to how boost the peace process on Syria. According to the diplomats, experts from both states will meet in Geneva in the coming days to clarify the details of what has been agreed today. The Russian foreign minister stressed that separation of “moderate forces from the Jabhat al-Nusra militants” is key to reducing the violence in Syria. Lavrov said that Russia briefed the US on a number of rebel groups that it considers terrorists. “In fact, today our American partners for the first time gave us a list of rebel organizations who joined the cessation of hostilities after the US mediation,” Lavrov added.

“I don’t see any possibility of assuring a really durable, full-fledged ceasefire without the separation of healthy opposition forces from terrorists,” the minister said. “The understanding of this task between us and our American partners gets increasingly clearer.” [RT]

 

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the United States has not and will not establish “no-fly zones” over Syrian airspace. “The concern is that while it sounds simple to maintain that kind of area, ultimately you’re responsible for protecting the borders of that safe zone and then policing that safe zone once it’s been created,” he explained. “That would be work-intensive to say the least. It would be dangerous.”

Doing so also “would likely require a greater U.S. military commitment. And all of that would come at the expense of our ongoing efforts to focus on degrading, ultimately destroying, (Daesh),” Earnest said. [Hawar] [Examiner]

 

The Coalition says it conducted airstrikes 9 on Daesh targets in Syria, 4 near Manbij in Aleppo and 5 near Shaddadi in Hasaka. [InherentResolve]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

Daesh issues a propaganda video about the “world war” against Daesh in Raqqa. In this video 5 boys, supposedly the sons of Daesh terrorists from Egypt, the UK, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, and Kurdistan, are shown executing five “Kurdish infidels;” then 5 young men execute five opposition group fighters, calling them “Sahwa.” Then 4 old men execute four Syrian soldiers. [DawaAlhaq]

 

A new group called Kata’eb Al-Qadisiya issues a statement saying it will target the YPG in north Raqqa. [Dorar]

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Daesh attacked Syrian Democratic Forces in Anad village, south of Shaddadi, with a vehicle bomb, causing human casualties. [SyriaHR]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus

A Turkey-backed opposition group commander says Daesh had withdrawn from Jarabulus before the military operation. He also says the opposition groups are planning to move to Al-Ra’i then to Mare’. He says the opposition groups don’t want to fight Kurdish forces in north Syria, but they will if necessary. [Rudaw]

 

The Turkey Prime Minister says Operation Euphrates Shield is ongoing. Meanwhile, more military reinforcements arrived to Karkemish on the border near Jarabulus. [Arabi21]

 

Informed sources say 3 explosions erupted near the border gate between Turkey and Jarabulus. [Hawar]

 

A Turkey-backed opposition group commander says two of his fighters were killed during the liberation of Jarabulus, one by a mortar shell and one by a land mine. A photographer from another group, Ahrar Al-Sham, was also killed by a land mine. Other groups haven’t reported any casualties. [EnabBaladi]

 

Manbij campaign

Manbij Military Council troops liberated 3 villages southeast of the Tishrin Dam, killing 13 terrorists. The 3 villages are 35 km (22 miles) away from Manbij. [Hawar]

 

Daesh publishes photos of a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb conducted by a terrorist from Kazakhstan on the “PKK” north of Manbij. [JustPaste]

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on the YPG in Yaqoubiya village north of Manbij. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says several YPG fighters were killed or wounded in a land mine field while trying to advance in Shamsuddin village east of the Tishrin Dam. [JustPaste]

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

A Syrian Democratic Council member quote sources close to the YPG as saying that the Turkish Army targeted several villages in Rajo subdistrict in Afrin with heavy artillery, causing casualties among civilians. He also says Turkey backed opposition groups, including Nusra, targeted villages near Azaz with rockets. [ARA]

 

Local sources say Daesh kidnapped an entire family in Tal Jarrah village, north of Al-Bab. Daesh also emptied Hadabat village, north of Al-Bab, in order to plant land mines in the village. [Hawar]

 

The Turkish Army targeted civilians and YPG fighters in the Ain Diwar area near the border, wounding a YPG fighter. It also burned down the crops in the area. [Hawar]

 

An opposition group commander says opposition groups, supporter by Turkish artillery, attacked Daesh near Yahmoul and Jarez towns and captured several positions, killing several Daesh terrorists. Opposition groups also destroyed a Daesh vehicle near Kafr Ghan, near Azaz. [ARA]

 

Military sources say Turkey-backed opposition groups captured 3 Thuwar Al-Sham (an SDF faction) fighters near Kaljibrin, a village in Azaz, south of the city. [Dorar]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

A local activist says Syrian troops stopped a Daesh attack near the Deir Ez-Zor Military Airport, killing several terrorists. He says Russian warplanes attacked Daesh in the area, killing several terrorists and destroying a machine gun-mounted vehicle. He also says Daesh targeted Joura and Qusour neighborhoods in Deir Ez-Zor with artillery and mortars, wounding several civilians. Families of Daesh terrorists arrived in villages and towns east of Deir Ez-Zor after fleeing Jarabulus. [ARA]

 

Local activists say an unknown contagious disease is spreading among children in Deir Ez-Zor because of the lack of clean water. [ARA]

 

A local activist says Daesh terrorists raided the internet café of Baqris village, near Mayadin, and captured four men, including the café’s owner. [ARA]

 

Daesh publishes photos of fixing roads in Albu Kamal. [DawaAlhaq]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior says a government employee and 3 of his associates, 2 in Iraq, and 1 in Jordan, were arrested because they were part of Daesh’s caliphate electronic army. The Ministry says a 26-year-old man used his government computer to hack websites and spread Daesh ideals through social media. [Sumaria]

 

North Africa

Egypt

The Egyptian Military Command says security forces killed 4 terrorists who were trying to attack a security barrier in the Nafoura area, in Rafah. [ElWatan]

 

Eyewitnesses say Egyptian warplanes bombed several areas in southwest Sheikh Zuweid and east Rafah. Security forces destroyed 2 roadside IED near Dhahir village, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

The Libyan National Army says it captured more positions in west Benghazi and closed all exists on Daesh in the area. [AfriGate]

 

A Libyan Special Forces commander says one of his fighters was killed by a land mine in the Qawarsha area. [Wasat]

 

Central coast

A Misrata Hospital source says 442 National Accord Government fighters were killed and more than 2100 wounded in Sirte battles so far. [Wasat]

 

AFRICOM says it conducted 78 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Sirte so far. [Libya24]

 

Daesh says it damaged a National Accord Government tank in Sirte, killing its crew. [A3maq]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Videos of today’s demonstrations in Baghdad [Yalla] [Yalla] [Yalla]

 

A video issued by the just-deposed Minister of Defense shows him making previous visits to Sunni and Shia areas in Baghdad and being received and welcomed by thousands of people. The video generated more than 1.5 million views. [Facebook]

DaeshDaily comment. The Minister had gained a lot of popularity among Shia and Sunni Iraqis. His ouster generated a lot of anger against the CoR. Commentators accused the CoR Speaker, Saleem Al-Jubouri and former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, of conspiring against him.

 

A video of PMF rockets falling on Daesh targets in Jazeera Khaldiya [Harbi]

 

A video of IFP battles in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube]

 

A video of Daesh targets attacked by an Iraqi drone in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube]

 

Videos of Qayara people celebrating with Iraqi forces [Facebook] [MosulEye]

 

A video of Iraqi forces in Qayara [Mosuliya]

 

A video of Iraqi soldiers receiving displaced families in the Qayara area [YouTube]

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]

 

August 25, 2016

US Artillery Supporting Iraqi Forces (CJTFOIR)

US Artillery Supporting Iraqi Forces (CJTFOIR)

 

Today’s Major Developments

Iraq announces the liberation of Qayara city. []

CoR votes no-confidence in the Minister of Defense. []

Border Guard fights off Daesh attack on Anbar-Jordan border. []

Salahuddin Governor survives assassination attempt. []

Daesh executes 48 people in Hawija. []

IAF takes out a Daesh police headquarters in Mosul, killing 36. []

Human Rights Watch director pressures KRG over journalist assassination. []

Contention, confusion continue over Turks, Kurds, and Jarabulus. []

Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri tells Iraq’s Sunni Iraqis to fight the government through them. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Abadi issued a statement congratulating the Iraqi people on the liberation of Qayara. [Mada]

 

President Masoum, Prime Minister Abadi, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaafari met separately with the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Waleed Al-Mu’alim, to discuss security along the Iraqi-Syrian border, according to a statement from Abadi’s office. [Mada] [Sumaria] [Mada]

 

The CoR officially passed a no-confidence vote against the Minister of Defense, Khalid Al-Obeidi. A CoR source says 142 MPs voted to oust the Minister out of 263, while 105 opposed. The Minister apologized after the vote to Iraqi people for having to leave his post, saying that he fought the corruption as much as he could but the corrupt officials are stronger. [Mada] [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. The truth about the Minister’s corruption allegations against other officials has not been fully determined, though his charges against CoR Speaker Jubouri did not result in charges, so no conclusive judgment can be made about them.

However, this could have not have come at a worst time. Iraqi forces just liberated Qayara and are heading to Mosul soon. The Minister is from Mosul, where people have lost their trust in their former and current leaders. He is himself a military man, and holds a Ph.D. The Minister could have stood as a trustworthy leader for the people of Mosul. Many officials who have been involved in corruption, or failed miserably to protect the country, were not punished and are still in office.

 

Prime Minister Abadi met with a senior PUK delegation in his office in Baghdad. Abadi told the delegation that liberated areas in Ninewa should be run properly and without conflicts, according to a statement from his office. [Sumaria]

A member of the delegation says that Abadi said that he won’t oppose the Kurds’ right to decide their future, but there must be some discussion between Iraq and the KRG before that, in order to decide whether they stay together or separate and become good neighbors. [Rudaw]

DaeshDaily comment. We would like to see the Prime Minister confirm this if true (and we’re not doubting it necessarily). This would be a highly significant story for the future of both Iraq and Kurdistan.

 

A senior military source says Iraq received two more of the L159 military aircraft from the Czech Republic. Iraq has received four of the planes so far out of the 13 promised. [Mada]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

A police source says the police found the bodies of two unknown men tied and shot in the Thaaliba area. [Sumaria]

 

Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)

An MoI source says unknown armed men shot and killed a money exchange office owner in his vehicle in Adhamiya and stole $100,000 dollars. [Mada]

An MoI source says two people were killed and five wounded when an IED exploded near a garage in Shaab. [Mada]

An MoI source says one person was killed and eight wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area near Hay Ur. [Mada]

The MoI spokesman says Iraqi forces defused an IED in Adhamiya center. [Etejah]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Niariya. [Mada]

A police source says the bodies of two unknown men were found shot in Ameen. [Sumaria]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

The Iraqi Army 17th division commander says his troops started a campaign to clear several areas in south Baghdad from IEDs and booby-trapped houses. He says the troops destroyed 10 houses filled with weapons and explosives, in addition to many IEDs (photos). [Sumaria]

An MoI source says a joint security force captured 11 people wanted on terrorism charges in Yusufiyah. [Mada]

A police source says two civilians were wounded when a parked car bomb exploded in Arab Jabour. [Sumaria]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade found an IED and 3 hand grenades in an elementary school in the Thuwar area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

A police source says a civilian was killed and his son wounded when a sticky IED exploded under their vehicle in Hay Al-Hussein. [Maalomah]

 

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)

A police source says one person was killed and three wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Subaihat in Abu Ghraib. [Maalomah]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   13    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces defused 31 IEDs, a booby-trapped house, and an explosives vest, and found a chlorine factory and 3 rocket launchers, in addition to other weapons and explosives in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

Jazeera Khaldiya/Jazeera Ramadi

The Deputy Chairman of the PMF Commission, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, says Iraqi forces had thought there were only a few terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya, but after arriving in the area they counted between 1,000  and 1,300 terrorists–most of whom have been killed. He says the Daesh terrorists barricaded themselves in the Albu Kanaan area but the PMF killed most of them. [Maalomah]

 

Iraqi Army 50th brigade trapped 2 Daesh suicide terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya, forcing them to detonate their explosive vests. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says Iraqi forces, supported by the IAA, killed 11 Daesh terrorists including several suicide bombers while clearing the Albu Bali area. [Maalomah]

 

The PMF Press says the PMFs killed 2 Daesh doctors (a male and a female) who have Italian passports and were working with Daesh medical units in Jazeera Khaldiya. [AIN]

 

Daesh says an IFP major and two AAH commanders were killed in the Jazeera Khaldiya battles. [Mu’ta]

DaeshDaily comment. Many Daesh fanboys collect these photos from Iraqi social media sources who issue statements mourning their dead fighters.

 

An Anbar Operations Command source says Iraqi forces killed 3 Daesh terrorists and destroyed their boat in the Ali Al-Jassem area. [Mada]

 

The Anbar Police chief says Iraqi forces will liberate Jazeera Ramadi in the coming days. He says the battle will be easier than Jazeera Khaldiya because of the collapse of Daesh. [Mada]

 

Other Ramadi reports

A Coalition airstrike on Daesh targets in Ramadi District destroying 4 rocket systems and 4 rocket rails. [InherentResolve]

 

The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says local police killed 4 Daesh terrorists who were trying to infiltrate the Madhiq area. [Sumaria]

 

A security source says two children were killed when a roadside IED exploded on them in the Zangoura area. The area was liberated from Daesh more than two months ago [Sumaria]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

A tribal PMF commander says the Iraqi Border Guard stopped a Daesh attack on a border station in the Dhaba’at area in Rutba near the Jordan border, killing 30 terrorists and destroying 2 vehicle bombs. Twelve Border Guards were wounded. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh publishes photos of attacks on Iraqi forces east of Rutba. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh publishes photos of an attack on Iraqi forces near the Al-Tanaf border area. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh publishes photos of its air defense units in Al-Qa’im. [DawaAlhaq]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A security source says Iraqi forces found a Daesh tunnel in the Tilul Al-Baj area (photos). [AIN]

 

A security source says unknown armed men attacked a Daesh field hospital on the outskirts of Shirqat with a hand grenade, killing a Daesh terrorist and wounding 2 others. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh says “American” warplanes launched more than 30 airstrikes on a poultry factory northeast of Shirqat. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. We are expected to believe that Daesh had nothing to do with this “poultry factory,” and that all the victims were innocent farmers (and chickens).

 

Baiji

The Intelligence Service captured 29 men wanted on terrorism charges, including an Iraqi Army major, as they tried to sneak into the Hajjaj area with their families. [MoD Website]

 

A security source says Iraqi forces stopped a Daesh attack with several vehicle bombs in the Himrin Mountain area, killing or wounding several terrorists. [Maalomah]

 

An informed source says Iraqi forces found small mobile Daesh oil refineries in the Siniya area. [Baghdadia]

 

Daesh says it damaged 2 Iraqi forces Humvees in the Makhazen area, north of Baiji. [A3maq]

 

Tikrit

A SWAT unit captured a man and his 2 sons wanted on terrorism charges in Tikrit. [MoD Website]

 

Daesh says its snipers killed a “PMF fighter” in Allas oilfield. [JustPaste]

 

Tooz

The IAA killed 6 Daesh terrorists who attacked Iraqi forces in the Zarqa area. [MoD Website]

 

Southern Salahuddin

A security source says an IED exploded near a checkpoint in Dujail, targeting the car of the Governor of Salahuddin, without causing human casualties (photos). [BasNews]

 

DIYALA

The Military Intelligence Service captured 2 Daesh terrorists and seized a large weapons and explosives cache in Diyala. [MoD Website]

 

Baquba

Daesh says it killed four policemen and wounded two with an IED in Baquba. [A3maq]

 

Iraqi Army 18th division found a large weapons and explosives cache in Buhriz. [Harbi]

 

Northern Diyala

A PMF commander says Daesh is using a new route for its terrorists to sneak between Diyala and Salahuddin after Iraqi forces launched a campaign to clear the Al-Hawi Basin area. He says Daesh is making moves in the area depending on people in the area for shelter and logistic report. [Sumaria]

 

Southern Diyala

A security source says two Sahwa fighters were killed when armed men attacked their military position in Arab Jabbar village in Khan Bani Saad. [Sumaria]

 

The MoI spokesman says Diyala police found a weapons, ammunition, and explosives cache in the Bardiya area in Khan Bani Saad. [Etejah]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A displaced man from Hawija says Daesh’s presence in Hawija is now reduced, and most of its leaders have escaped with their families. He also says Daesh is taking money from people who want to leave,  and other people are leaving the city with smugglers who are close to Daesh. He says many of the Daesh terrorists who had left are now in Erbil and Kirkuk, claiming to be “sources” for the authorities. [Yalla]

DaeshDaily comment. The same scenario has developed in areas that were liberated previously, including Falluja, Ramadi and Rutba. Corrupt officials release terrorists, either for money or because of family ties, and claim the terrorists were “sources”.  

 

Al-Abbas Combat Division, a Shia PMF, says it will accept the Peshmerga’s call for support in liberating Hawija as long as it’s done under the Iraqi government command and Prime Minster Abadi’s orders. [Sumaria]

 

A security source says Daesh killed 20 civilians, including 9 women, and captured 45 others, including 6 women. The source says the civilians were trying to escape Hawija when they fell into a Daesh ambush. [Mada]

 

An Arab COR member from Kirkuk says Daesh executed more than 25 young men who had been in a Daesh prison for some time. [Sumaria]

 

A local source says Daesh executed three young men from Mahmudiya village in Hawija District after accusing them of communicating with Iraqi forces. [Mada]

 

Daesh publishes photos of collecting and destroying satellite receivers in Hawija. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. The more Daesh gets trapped, the more it tries to isolate people from the world. They are so busy executing people, it’s surprising they can find the time to do this.

 

NINEWA

Mosul

The IWMC says Iraqi F-16s destroyed a Daesh police headquarters in Mosul, killing 36 terrorists, including 16 foreigners, and 2 senior officials. [Baghdadia]

 

Coalition warplanes conducted 5 airstrikes on different locations north of Mosul, killing 10 terrorists and destroying 3 vehicles, including a vehicle bomb, 3 rocket launchers, a cache of mortars, and a checkpoint. [MoD Website]

 

A security source says unknown armed men set 4 empty Daesh offices in Mosul on fire. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh publishes photos of its road repair work in Mosul. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. This of course proves once again that everything is normal in the caliphate.

 

Qayara

The Joint Operations Command (JOC) says Iraqi forces, supported by the IAA, IAF, and Coalition warplanes, liberated Qayara completely and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings. [Mada]

 

The Ninewa Operations Commander says Daesh has lost an important source of revenue because they used to smuggle out more than 100 fuel tanker trucks filled with fuel every day. He says he doesn’t have the number of Daesh terrorists killed so far, but their dead bodies are all over the city. The Counter Terrorism Service Commander says Daesh desperately defended Qayara because of its importance for its revenues. [Rudaw]

 

A member of the Qayara subdistrict council says the people of Qayara celebrated the liberation of the city by burning down several Daesh guesthouses. He says Iraqi forces will move ahead to the Shura and Hammam Al-Alil subdistricts soon. [Sumaria]

 

A Mosul forensics source says the bodies of 300 Daesh terrorists killed in the Qayara battles have arrived at the morgue in Mosul, most of them foreigners. [BasNews]

A Ninewa forensics department says it received the bodies of 123 Daesh terrorists, including a female Sudanese doctor, who were killed in the Qayara battles. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh publishes a photo of one of its Iraqi terrorists and says he was killed. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. Daesh does this all the time, but some reports suggest that Daesh claims some still-living terrorists were killed in order to hide them.

 

KURDISTAN

“The KRG should provide serious answers about how it came to be that this journalist (Wadat Hussien) was kidnapped and killed in broad daylight, following repeated interrogations by Asayesh forces,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “He is one of dozens of journalists in KRG territory who have been killed, beaten, detained, or harassed.” [HRW]

DaeshDaily comment. International pressure is now on the KRG. The implication is that someone in authority is responsible for this “hit.”

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the Kurdish PYD party, the political arm of the YPG, wanted to unite Kurdish-controlled cantons east of Jarabulus with those further west. “We cannot let this happen,” he said. “(Daesh) should be completely cleansed; this is an absolute must. But it’s not enough for us . . . . The PYD and the YPG militia should not replace Islamic State there,” Isik told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone on Thursday that YPG fighters were retreating to the east side of the Euphrates, as Turkey has demanded, foreign ministry sources in Ankara said.

A spokesman for the Coalition said the Syrian Democratic Forces (which prominently includes the YPG)  had withdrawn across the Euphrates “to prepare for the eventual liberation” of Raqqa. [Reuters]

The Turkey Minister of Defense says Turkish troops will remain in northern Syria until the Free Syrian Army (FSA) controls the area. He also says Turkey aims to push to YPG into areas east of the Euphrates within the week. [SyriaNow] [SyriaNow]

DaeshDaily comment. What’s in a name? The term “Free Syrian Army” no longer refers to the previous Free Syrian Army but is Turkey’s politically correct label for the mostly radical militias who support Turkey, whom we have previously called “Turkey-backed opposition groups” for lack of a better term.

 

During his visit to Sweden, the US Vice President Joe Biden says the Turkish Army is ready to fight Daesh in Syria and it wants to stay in Syria as long as it takes. He says the Turkish government changed its position after realizing the magnitude of Daesh’s danger. [ARA]

 

In an article with the headline: “Three expert views: a PYD Operation Appearing to be against Daesh”, the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper asked three experts for their views on Turkey’s participation in the Jarabulus operation. The three experts agreed the operation was not aiming at Daesh, but at the PYD. Read full article here. [Cumhuriyet]

DaeshDaily comment. We thank our ready from Turkey for translating this article.

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

The Coalition says it conducted 13 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, including 7 in the Manbij area, and the others around Shaddadi (3), Raqqa (1), and Deir Ez-Zor (2). [InherentResolve]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

A local activist says Daesh raided houses in Raqqa looking for receivers. Daesh issued penalties of imprisonments, lashings, and $30 dollar fines against the violators. [ARA]

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says heavy battles continued between Syrian Democratic Forces and Daesh in Azzawi and Safian villages south of Shaddadi. [SyriaHR]

 

Daesh says it captured a rocket launcher in an attack on Tal Al-Hamidat village south of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says one of its Syrian suicide terrorists attacked Kurdish troops south of Anad village, west of Shaddadi, with a vehicle bomb, killing or wounding many of them. Daesh issues photos of the attack. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh publishes photos of its “bird farms” in Raqqa. [DawaAlhaq]

DaeshDaily comment. The photos show a couple of ostriches and a couple of peacocks. Such posts are common from Daesh, but reflect its pathetic efforts to prove that there is an actual “state” and that it has “bird farms,” “factories,” “service”, and “cultural activities.” Such media efforts should hurt rather than help Daesh’s image, but Daesh knows its fanboys are not sophisticated enough to realize this.

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Eyewitnesses say 30 trucks loaded with fighters and weapons headed from Kurdistan to Turkey and might be on its way to north Syria after reports of an agreement between Turkey and the KRG to send Roj Ava Peshmerga (Syrian Kurds trained by the KRG) to Syria. [SotKurdistan]

 

Jarabulus

A late report from a Daesh Daily reader says that Turkish troops fired howitzers at YPG units detected in Jarabulus. [Cumhuriyet]

Local sources say clashes erupted between the Turkey-supported opposition groups and a group of fighters in the same uniforms in Hay Al-Mahatta in Jarabulus. 2 IEDs exploded during the clashes and 80 fighters were reportedly killed. [Hawar] [Hawar]

DaeshDaily comment. Yesterday, Hawar reported that some Daesh terrorists dressed in Turkey-backed opposition groups uniforms remained in Jarabulus. We can’t confirm these reports so far.

 

A Turkish official says 20 Turkish tanks entered into Syria and more will be sent if needed. [SyriaNow]

 

Opposition group commanders say the “Free Syrian Army” will run Jarabulus city until it is completely secured, then several organizations, led by the Jarabulus Local Council (which is located in Karkemish city in Turkey) will run the city later. [EnabBaladi]

 

The General Commander of Sultan Murad Division, a Turkey backed opposition group, says the SDF has not yet withdrawn from areas west of the Euphrates. [Qasioun]

Two other FSA commanders say Syrian Democratic forces have not yet withdrawn from Manbij but may do so in the coming hours. [EnabBaladi]

 

Turkish military sources say the Turkish Army targeted PYD forces that captured 7 villages south of Jarabulus after Daesh’s withdrawal. The sources say the PYD violated the Turkish-American agreement that designated the Sajur River as a line for the Syrian Democratic Forces. The Turkish sources say the SDF is actually “PYD” with several Arab members who are with them. [ARA]

 

The Turkey-supported opposition groups, supported by Turkish troops and warplanes, captured Amarna village after battles with Syrian Democratic Forces. [Qasioun]

Local sources say a Turkish warplane bombed the radio station in Amarna southwest of Jarabulus, 1 km northwest of the village. [Hawar]

 

The PYD backed Hawar publishes photos of civilians who were wounded by Turkish shelling on Dandaniya village northwest of Manbij, claiming the shells may have contained chemicals. [Hawar]

 

The Jarabulus Military Council, created by the Syria Democratic Forces a few days ago before the Turkey invasion, issued a statement saying its war is not against the opposition groups, nor with the Turkish Army, but with Daesh. At the same time, it says it will defend itself against any attack. [Hawar]

 

The Syrian Army is reported to be securing the road for the return of thousands of displaced people to Jarabulus. [Anadolu]

 

Manbij campaign

Manbij Military Council troops liberated Tal Othman and Nafila villages south of Manbij, killing 4 terrorists, and destroying a vehicle bomb, capturing weapons and ammunition. Battles are still ongoing in several villages south of Manbij. [Hawar]

Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists attacked the “infidel Kurds” in Nafila village with a vehicle bomb, killing or wounding “tens” of them. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh says one of it suicide terrorists attacked Kurdish troops with a vehicle bomb in Kasra village south of Manbij, killing at least fourteen fighters. [DawaAlhaq] It says it killed or wounded more YPG fighters in the village after the suicide attack. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it killed nine YPG fighters in 2 attacked on Tal Hudhan and Sayyed villages, south of Manbij. [A3maq]

 

The YPG issues a statement saying it completed its mission liberating Manbij and has returned to its bases after turning the military leadership over to the Manbij Military Council, and handed its civilian leadership to a civilian council in Manbij on August 15th. [Qasioun]

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

A local activist says Daesh launched a massive attack on Ikada village near Azaz, but opposition groups stopped the attack, killing several Daesh terrorists. [ARA] [Qasioun]

 

The FSA stopped a large YPG attack on Kaljibrin village in Azaz, capturing 3 YPG fighters. The YPG also targeted areas near Mare’ with heavy machine guns, wounding a woman. Warplanes launched extensive airstrikes on YPG positions in Ming, Deir Jamal, and Tal Rifaat north of Aleppo. [Qasioun]

 

Daesh says it killed or wounded several opposition group fighters by detonating 5 IEDs on 3 of their vehicles between Dalha and Hawar Kilis villages, north of Aleppo. [JustPaste]

 

In Afrin, in Syria’s far northwestern corner, Turkey-backed opposition groups targeted Ain Dara village with 2 mortars, causing material damages. [Hawar]

 

Nusra Front launched a large operation and captured the headquarters and storehouses of the former FSA’s division 16 in Aleppo city. [EnabBaladi]

DaeshDaily comment. The situation in Aleppo is changing rapidly, and bigger groups will try to take over smaller groups in order to create the anticipated new united opposition front.

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

Heavy battles erupted between Syrian troops and Daesh near the Tadmur silos while Russian warplanes dropped bombs in the area. [Qasioun]

 

Daesh says four Syrian soldiers surrendered to its terrorists in the Jab Al-Jarrah area east of Homs. [A3maq]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

Daesh issues a video of targeting Syrian Army positions in Deir Ez-Zor with mortars. [A3maq]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh issues a video and photos of its attack on Syrian opposition groups near the Jordan border. [DawaAlhaq]

Daesh had said yesterday that it killed twenty-six FSA fighters in the attack.

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

North Africa

Egypt

Security sources say an officer and two soldiers were wounded by 3 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis mortar shells on a security barrier in Rafah. [ElWatan]

 

Security sources say Egyptian Counter Terrorism troops killed 3 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis troops and wounded 3 in Touma village, south of Sheikh Zuweid. The source also say Counter Terrorism troops killed 3 Ansar Bair Al-Maqdis terrorists and wounded 1 as the terrorists were planting IEDs in Bala’a village, west of Rafah. [ElWatan]

 

Daesh issues a video of executing an Egyptian Ministry of Interior member on a street in Arish. [DawaAlhaq]

Security sources confirmed that the victim in the Daesh photos was the kidnapped police driver. Eyewitnesses say Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists brought the driver handcuffed in a pickup vehicle and then executed him in a street in Hay Al-Masaeed in Arish. [ElWatan]

DaeshDaily comment. We reported two days ago that Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists had captured a police chief’s driver near the Wadi Bridge in Arish and hijacked his vehicle.

A policeman was wounded when a mortar shell fell near the police station in Sheikh Zuweid. [VetoGate]

 

A security source says an officer and a soldier were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle south of Sheikh Zuweid. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

The Libyan National Army spokesman says his troops captured the Qawarsha area in west Benghazi completely. A military source says the troops also captured the Chinese Buildings area. [AfriGate] [Wasat]

 

A medical source says one Libyan soldier was killed and ten others wounded in a Daesh suicide attack in the Qanfouda area, west of Benghazi. [Wasat]

 

A Libyan commander says seven members of his Explosives Ordinance Disposal team were killed and twelve wounded by land mines and IEDs in west Benghazi so far. He says the area is still dangerous for civilians and many of them were killed or wounded because they returned to their houses prematurely. [AfriGate]

 

Central coast

A military source says a Daesh Saudi commander and several other terrorists were killed in battles in Hay 3 in Sirte on Wednesday. [Wasat]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

The Al-Qaeda leader, Zawahiri, issued a statement asking Sunni Iraqis not to surrender to the current situation and to review their mistakes as a first step to unite and fight the Iraqi Government that belongs to Iran. He says the Iraqi Government is trying to annihilate the Sunnis under the guise of fighting Daesh. He asks the Sunnis to fight the “Crusader-Safavid-Nusairiya Coalition” in a long guerrilla war that aims to control the region. He also asked the Syrian groups to help the Sunnis in Iraq since “their battle is one.” He also asked Iraqi Sunnis to follow the way of the former AI-Qaeda leader, Zarqawi (video). [Arabi21] [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. With Daesh’s demise, Al-Qaeda is trying to come back to Iraq. Several Iraqi experts said that Al-Qaeda has been building a base in Iraq during the last two years, helped by the fact that no one is fighting it in Iraq now. Al-Qaeda is more of a long-term planner, and it is preparing to gather the defeated Daesh terrorists under its umbrella, in Iraq and elsewhere.

 

Videos of the Day

A video of the Iraqi forces searching houses in Jazeera Khaldiya. Daesh even booby-trapped the dead bodies of its fighters. [Yalla]

A video of an Iraqi Abrams tanks targeting a group of Daesh terrorists in Albu Kanaan [YouTube]

 

A video of battles in Jazeera Khaldiya [Harbi]

 

A video of the Daesh emir of Albu Bali after being captured by the IFP [YouTube]

 

Photos of displaced people from Shirqat. [Yalla]

 

A video of Qayara people celebrating their liberation [Yalla]

 

Videos of Qayara people welcoming Iraqi forces [MoD] [Mosuliya]

 

A video of Iraqi forces in Qayara city center [MoD]

 

A video of a battle in Qayara [YouTube]

 

A video of Iraqi soldiers facing a charging Daesh vehicle bomb [YouTube]

 

Photos of Coalition artillery supporting Iraqi forces with indirect fire [CJTFOIR]

DaeshDaily comment. A Daesh-linked website republished the photos and claimed they were from the Qayara battle.

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]

 

August 24, 2016

Iraqi Soldiers in Qayara (Sumaria)

Iraqi Soldiers in Qayara (Sumaria)

Today’s Major Developments

Ambassador Jones says goodbye to Iraq. []

Iraqi forces capture most of Qayara city and capture the Qayara oilfield. []

Turkey crosses the border with Coalition air support, seizes Jarabulus and surrounding area. []

Biden says PYD must stay east of the Euphrates. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

President Masoum received in his office US Ambassador Stuart Jones, who is at the end of his term in Iraq. [Sumaria]

 

Prime Minister Abadi met in his office with the chairman of the United Coalition (Sunni), Osama Al-Nujaifi, and discussed the liberation of Mosul and the needs of displaced people, according to a statement from Abadi’s office. The meeting also discussed “speaking with the same voice,” avoiding disputes, and supporting Iraqi forces in the war against Daesh. [Sumaria]

 

The Saudi Ambassador in Baghdad asks the Iraqi government to clarify its position regarding a Shia militia commander who publicly threatened the Ambassador’s life in a TV interview. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. The same idiot was condemned widely because of a previous statement against the people of Falluja.

 

A PUK CoR member says the PMFs should participate in the Ninewa liberation because they are part of the Iraqi military organization. He also says the Peshmerga are essential to winning the battle. [SotKurdistan]

DaeshDaily comment. Aside from the nice rhetorical balancing act, the statement supporting PMF participation is significant because Barzani and the KDP have opposed it. This seems to separates the PUK (and Gorran) from Barzani’s scheming over Ninewa.

 

The Coalition says it conducted 4 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq. Three were in or near Ramadi (2) and Hit (1) in Anbar; the other on Sinjar in far western Ninewa. [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

Northwest (Kadhimiya)

An MoI source says a Baghdad Airport security man was severely wounded when unknown men broke into his house and stabbed him multiple times in Shula. [Mada]

 

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

Iraqi Army 59th brigade found 6 IEDs and other explosive materials in the Bani Zaid area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says 4 men impersonating PMF fighters were captured at a checkpoint in Zayouna. [Mada]

An MoI source says an MoD major and his driver were killed when unknown armed men shot into the officer’s civilian car using silenced weapons on Qanat Street. [Mada]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

Iraqi Army 55th brigade found an explosives cache in the Baijiya area. [BOC Facebook Page]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade defused an IED and found a hand grenade in the Thuwar area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Southwest (Rasheed)

An MoI source says two people were killed and six wounded when an IED exploded near a sheep market in the Suwaib area. [Mada]

 

West (Mansour, Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib)

An MoI source says two people were killed and nine others wounded when 2 mortar shells fell on a residential area in Al-Nasr Wa Al-Salam village in Abu Ghraib. [Mada]

A local police source says a school teacher was killed by unknown armed men who shot him using silenced guns in Hay Al-Adel. [Maalomah]

An MoI source says two people were killed and five wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Washash. [Mada]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   10    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces defused 8 booby-trapped houses, 7 IEDs, 2 explosives vests, and a vehicle bomb in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

The Anbar Operations Commander says his troops killed 4 Daesh terrorists who were trying to sneak into Jazeera Khaldiya from the river. [Ghad]

 

The PMF Press says the PMFs finished over 95% of their military operations in the Albu Kanaan area in Jazeera Khaldiya, destroying Daesh tunnels and defusing houses and streets from IEDs. It says more than 300 Daesh terrorists were imprisoned in the area. [Maalomah]

 

The IFP says its troops killed 49 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 11 hideouts, a tunnel, and 3 military positions in the Sadda and Albu Bali areas in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh publishes photos of battles in the Jaraishi area north of Ramadi. [Ana Al-Muslim]

 

Hit/Haditha

Daesh says it stopped an Iraqi attack by boat from a river near the Haditha Dam. [A3maq]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

Daesh says seven people, including three women and two children, were wounded by “an American airstrike” on a residential area in Al-Qa’im. [A3maq]

 

SALAHUDDIN (No reports)

 

DIYALA

The Diyala Police Chief says his troops captured 2 men wanted on terrorism charges in Diyala. [Sumaria]

 

Baquba

The Diyala Police spokesman says a police emergency unit captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in Baquba after getting information from his brother. [Sumaria]

 

The IWMC says Iraqi forces captured 10 Daesh weapons storehouses and 10 guesthouses in the Hashemiyat area west of Baquba and arrested the Daesh military official of Diyala. [Mawazin]

[Mawazin]

 

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

The PMF Press says Iraqi forces started a military operation to secure several villages and areas in north Muqdadiya. Daesh had conducted several attacks on civilians in those areas [Etejah]

 

KIRKUK

Hawija

A PMF commander says Daesh is searching for 3 teenage suicide bombers who escaped from a house in which they were imprisoned in Hawija. [Sumaria]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

A local source says unknown armed men on a motorcycle killed a local Daesh commander with a hand grenade in Mosul city center. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh issues photos of its sharia training for teachers in Ninewa. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Makhmur/Qayara

The IWMC says Iraqi forces, supported by Coalition warplanes, captured the Government Compound in Qayara, in addition to the Qayara oil refinery, killing more than 40 Daesh terrorists. [IraqPress]

The Counter Terrorism Service reported that Iraqi forces captured the General Hospital as well as the Government Compound. [AIN]

 

The IWMC says Counter Terrorism troops, supported by the IAA, captured the Qayara oil refinery and its residential compound, in addition to the Qayara Bridge, after killing tens of Daesh terrorists, destroying many vehicle bombs, and defusing hundreds of IEDs on the first day of military operations. It also says three Iraqi soldiers were killed and twelve wounded. [Etejah] The JOC spokesman says Daesh lost a big revenue source when Iraqi forces captured the oilfields. [Etejah]

 

Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army armored vehicle “on the outskirts” of Qayara city. [A3maq]

Daesh says it damaged an Abrams tank and destroyed 2 Humvees “near” the Qayara Bridge south of the city. [A3maq]

Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Cougar armored vehicle, 2 Humvees, and damaged an Abrams tank “near” the hills west of Qayara city. [A3maq]

Daesh says it killed three Peshmerga fighters in the Qaraqiya hills near Kanhash. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. These typical “victorious” stories from outside the real battlefield seem to confirm that Daesh lost. Daesh is always victorious (even when it isn’t).

 

However, the Ninewa Operations Commander says Iraqi forces destroyed 20 Daesh vehicles, killing the terrorists inside, and killed 10 more suicide terrorists in Qayara. However, 18 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the fighting. He also says Iraqi forces are moving towards areas in north Qayara. [ROJ]

 

Photos of Iraqi forces in Qayara [Sumaria]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

Daesh says ten people were wounded in “American airstrikes” on a commercial area in Tal Afar city. [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video showing results of the airstrikes. [A3maq]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Babel

The Babel Police say a joint security force captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in Jbala. [Mada]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

News from Turkey revolved around issues related to Turkey’s incursion into Syria to capture the city of Jarabulus from Daesh. (See Northwest Syria report below)

 

Vice President Joe Biden left Ankara after a brief visit to meet with the President, Prime Minister, and Parliament Speaker. Biden said in a press conference that the YPG should not cross the Euphrates to the west and threatens that the United States would cut off its support if the YPG crosses the river. “We’ve made it absolutely clear” to the YPG that “they must move back across the river,” Biden said. “They cannot—will not—under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.” [Anadolu]

DaeshDaily comment. This is the right policy under the circumstances, but Biden’s statement is more significant because it was not clear previously that this was the policy, and the YPG has made strenuous efforts to capture territory west of the Euphrates, meeting opposition from Turkey and other opposition groups as well as Daesh. The YPG and the larger SDF played a major if downplayed role in the Manbij campaign and Manbij is west of the river.

 

Turkey’s Prime Minister Yildirim says Assad cannot be ignored if any solution is to be reached in Syria. [SyriaNow] He says Turkey has no ambition to control Syrian land, and all Turkey cares about is that Syrian lands aren’t occupied by terrorist organizations like the PYD and YPG. Yildirim says Jarabulus will be under the control of Syrian people. [Anadolu]

 

A Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs source says countering terrorism on the Turkish-Syria borders is very important, but Ankara should coordinate with Syria about it. [EnabBaladi]

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that Moscow is deeply worried over the potential consequences after Ankara sent troops into Syrian territory, saying that the Turkish operation could lead to a further deterioration in the situation and casualties among civilians. [BasNews]

 

Turkish media sources say Istanbul police launched a raid campaign against Daesh suspects in several areas of the city.  [BasNews]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

The Coalition says it conducted 17 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, including 10 in the Shaddadi area in Hasaka, and the others around Manbij (4), Raqqa (1), and Deir Ez-Zor (2). [InherentResolve]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

People in Hasaka are returning to their houses after the cease-fire between the Syrian government and the PYD. [Hawar]

 

Zaman Al-Wasl, a Syrian anti-government TV outlet, says the battles in Hasaka happened because the Syrian government was trying to arm the Arab tribes, and because Syrian forces captured Kurdish young men (in Arab villages) to force them to join its compulsory military service. [Zaman Al-Wasl]

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh locations in the Zayanat area near Shaddadi. It also says heavy battles continued between Syrian Democratic Forces and Daesh in the Azzawi area. It says the SDF recaptured the areas it had lost to Daesh yesterday. [SyriaHR]

 

Daesh says it killed or wounded eight YPG fighters with an IED southeast of Al-Hawl. [A3maq]

Daesh publishes photos of its attacks on YPG fighters south of Shaddadi. [DawaAlhaq]

 

Daesh says a group of its terrorists attacked YPG units in the Salman area west of Shaddadi, capturing a Humvee, a machine gun mounted vehicle, and a truck loaded with ammunition. [A3maq] [A3maq]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus military operation

Turkish military sources say opposition groups, supported by Turkish special forces, captured Jarabulus city and 4 villages in the west, after killing 46 Daesh terrorists, including the Jarabulus emir. [BasNews]

One thousands opposition groups fighters and 250 Turkish Special Forces troops participated in the attack. [Hawar]

 

Local sources say the Turkish Army troops, artillery and warplanes, and Syrian opposition groups, attacked Jarabulus city and its villages, killing more than 49 civilians. [Hawar] The villages captured included Jamel village, south of Jarabulus. [ARA]

 

The Syrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty. [Hawar]

The Syrian Democratic Council, the political leadership of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a statement condemning the Turkey attack on Jarabulus. [Hawar]

 

Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S. jets conducted airstrikes supporting Turkish efforts to clear Daesh from Jarabulus in northern Syria.

“U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft participated in these operations near the Syria-Turkey border,” Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Anadolu Agency in a written statement.

Galloway said the Coalition’s airstrikes were in support of the operation by vetted Syrian opposition forces seeking to clear Daesh from Jarabulus–located 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border.

According to Galloway, the Coalition’s intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets have been regularly monitoring the border as it is “a key transit point for (Daesh) fighters moving back and forth between Syria and Turkey.” The spokesman added that the Coalition is continuing to monitor ongoing operations along the border. [Anadolu]

 

The opposition-affiliated Dorar says more than 1,200 fighters from the Sham Corps, Sultan Murad, the Islamic Movement of Ahrar Al-Sham, Nour Al-Din Al-Zanki Movement, the Liberation Army, the Mountain Hawks, and the Jabha Shamiya participated in the attack on Jarabulus. [Dorar]

Other groups participating included M’utasem Brigade and the Northern Division. [EnabBaladi]

 

YPG sources say Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, participated in the attack. [Hawar]

DaeshDaily comment. This has not been confirmed from other sources and the Nusra Front would not have passed any US vetting process.

 

Turkish military sources say Turkish F-16s targeted 12 Daesh locations in Jarabulus. [Dorar]

 

A local activist says the Free Syrian Army captured Jarabulus completely, while Daesh terrorists left the city to the south. [EnabBaladi]

3,000 civilians reportedly left their houses in Jarabulus toward Manbij. [Hawar]

A local activist says large numbers of civilians left Jarabulus toward Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor. [ARA]

 

An opposition group commander says the opposition group forces will head to Al-Bab after liberating Jarabulus. [Zaman Al-Wasl]

 

Political consequences

The military results are clearer than the political fallout.

Turkey’s Minister of Interior says the Euphrates Shield operation will continue until the entire threat on the Turkey border with Syria is removed. [Dorar]

Turkey’s President, Erdogan, being more specific, says the operation targets Daesh and the YPG in north Syria. [Hawar]

Several Kurdish opposition groups withdrew from the Jarabulus operation after this statement, according to the PYD-backed Hawar. [Hawar]

 

The PYD President says Turkey will lose a lot in the “Syria swamp”. [Hawar]

The Turkey Prime Minister responded to the PYD president’s comment by saying that the PYD is not interested in fighting Daesh, and only interested in establishing a state in north Syria. He says the YPG troops that participated in liberating Manbij should withdraw to areas east of the Euphrates; otherwise Turkey will take action. [Zaman Al-Wasl]

 

Elizabeth Trudeau, Director of the Office of Press Relations at the State Department, says Kurdish leaders in Syria promised the United States that they would leave the areas they liberate from Daesh, and hand them to local residents. She says the United States is expecting the Kurdish organizations to keep their promise. [Anadolu]

 

Qasioun claims that Coalition warplanes targeted SDF forces in Amarna village, north of Manbij and 8 km (5 miles) south of Jarabulus, according to opposition sources. [Qasioun] However, an SDF commander refuted the report. He also said there were no battles between the SDF and the FSA near Jarabulus. [Qasioun]

A field source says SDF withdrew from 5 villages south of Jarabulus, including Amarna. The source says the SDF received orders to withdrew to areas 15 km south of Jarabulus, based on an agreement between the US and Turkey. [BasNews] [BasNews]

 

One report said that Turkish artillery targeted YPG locations north of Manbij. [Dorar]

The PYD-backed Hawar media outlet says Turkish troops and opposition groups attacked Manbij Military Council fighters from Jarabulus in Amarna village and that the battles are still ongoing. [Hawar]

Hawar claimed later that the MMC stopped the Turkish and opposition group advances toward the liberated areas in Manbij. [Hawar]

 

Meanwhile, a tribal source says the commander of the newly established and PYD-backed Jarabulus Military Council was killed over a personal dispute. The JMC had issued a statement accusing Turkey of the assassination, which happened a couple of hours after the JMC was established 2 days ago. [BasNews]

 

PYD officials say the Turkish Army has started construction of a concrete wall between Suruc and Kobane. [BasNews]

 

Manbij campaign

Manbij Military Council troops captured Haqnah and Hanna villages south of Manbij, killing several Daesh terrorists. [Hawar]

 

Daesh issues a video of destroying the YPG bulldozer yesterday with a guided missile in Nahliya village south of Manbij. [A3maq]

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

Turkish artillery also shelled the northern villages of the Al-Bab area. [Hawar]

Turkey-backed opposition groups stopped a Daesh attack on Ikada village, in the Azaz area along the border. [ARA]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

Battles continued between Syrian troops and Daesh in the Arak oilfield area east of Homs. Syrian warplanes bombed Daesh locations in the Taiba and Sukhnah areas east of Homs. [SyriaHR]

 

Syrian warplanes destroyed Daesh vehicles and machinery, killing “tens” of terrorists east of Ithariya. [SyriaNow]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

Daesh issues a video of damaging a Syrian Army tank with a guided missile in the Panorama area in Deir Ez-Zor. [A3maq]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Daesh says it attacked a Free Syrian Army (FSA) camp in the Matouta area, 5 km (3 miles) from the Jordan border. Daesh says a Syrian suicide terrorist attacked the camp with a vehicle bomb, then a group of its fighters entered the headquarters and killed several FSA fighters, and captured 2 SUVs, in addition to ammunition. Daesh says 26 FSA fighters were killed in the attack. [A3maq] [JustPaste]

 

A Syrian military source says a Syrian Army unit destroyed Daesh fuel tanker trucks in the Rashida oilfields area east of Suwayda. [SyriaNow]

 

The Jabha Sharqiya (Eastern Front), an FSA faction, says its troops stopped a Daesh attack on the Syrian desert, killing 30 terrorists and destroying 5 vehicles and capturing one. [EnabBaladi]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

North Africa

Egypt

Daesh claimed responsibility for killing an Egyptian Army officer and a police officer in Arish yesterday. [A3maq]

 

A security source says Egyptian Apaches are searching North Sinai for a police vehicle that was hijacked by Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis yesterday. The terrorists have hijacked government vehicles previously and used them as a vehicle bombs. [ElWatan]

 

Libya

Northeast

Two paramedics were wounded when their field hospital was targeted deliberately by mortar rounds in the Chinese Buildings area in west Benghazi, according to the hospital’s manager. [Wasat]

 

Central coast

AFRICOM says it conducted 7 more airstrikes on Daesh locations and vehicles in Sirte. The National Accord Government Military spokesman says Daesh withdrew suddenly from Hay 3 in Sirte. [AfriGate]

He also says his forces have captured 95% of Sirte, and Daesh is operating in only two neighborhoods, where it is trapped. He anticipates that the battles will be over within few weeks. [AfriGate]

 

A security source says Libyan troops captured a Daesh Libyan leader east of Sirte. As usual, the terrorist had shaved his beard. [Wasat]

 

Tunisia

A Tunisia Ministry of Interior source says security forces captured in Souse a terrorist cell of 6 members who were sending terrorists abroad. [Tunisien]

 

The Tunisia Ministry of Defense spokesman says his troops found a terrorist training camp in the El-Kef Mountains. He also says one of the soldiers was wounded by a land mine in the area. [Tunisien]

 

Other countries

Bangladesh

Daesh says a group of its terrorists attacked the priest of a Hindu temple with knives in the Narsingdi area in central Bangladesh. [A3maq]

 

Finland

A senior Finnish security official says a 24-year-old Iraqi man indicted by Iraq for his role in the Speicher Massacre, was arrested in Finland. This is the third person the Finland authorities have arrested for the same reason so far. [Ghad]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Social media activists published an audio recording of a phone call between a Nusra terrorist and the mother of a Syrian soldier. The terrorist tells the mother her son was beheaded. [ARA]

DaeshDaily comment. This is not the first time such a recording got published. It shows that the level of jihadi hatred and inhumanity have gone deeper than anyone could imagine. This is not about Assad, who actually benefits from such hatred; it is about the future of Syria. How could Syrian people trust people from such groups? 

 

Daesh supporters link the Turkey attack on Jarabulus to the climactic Dabiq battle described in its ideology. Interestingly enough, Turkey chose the date of August 24th, which the same date as the battle of Marj Dabiq, when Ottoman troops defeated the Mamluk Army in 1516 and captured Egypt and most of the Middle East after that. [Ana Al-Muslim]

DaeshDaily comment. In Daesh’s theory, this Dabiq battle is the sign of the end of days, where Rome comes to fight. The fact is that the vast majority of Muslims don’t believe this story because it came from weak historical sources.

 

Videos of the Day

A video of the explosion of a Daesh terrorist who detonated his explosives vest when he got trapped by Iraqi forces in Jazeera Khaldiya [Harbi]

A video of IFP troops in the Albu Kanaan area in Jazeera Khaldiya. The video shows a Daesh “police station.” [Yalla]

 

A video of Iraqi forces during a Daesh suicide attack in Qayara. The suicide terrorist was killed before reaching his target. [Mosuliya]

Videos of Iraqi forces in Qayara [MoD] [MoD] [YouTube]

A video of a Daesh Saudi terrorist captured by Iraqi forces in Qayara [YouTube]

 

A video of a Coalition airstrike destroying a Daesh fighting position near Sultan Abdullah on August 9. [CJTFOIR]

 

Videos of opposition fighters inside Jarabulus, Syria [YouTube] [YouTube]

DaeshDaily comment. There are no signs of heavy battles in these videos.  We couldn’t find videos of battles in Jarabulus today.

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [YouTube]

 

Daesh issues a propaganda video of its suicide attacks in Ninewa. Several suicide terrorists from Gulf countries, Iraq, and one from Denmark appear in the video. [Archive] [YouTube]

August 23, 2016

Iraqi Forces in Qayara (Sumaria)

Iraqi Forces in Qayara (Sumaria)

Today’s Major Developments

Iraq, UNHCR brace for a further huge increase in displaced people. []

Controversial CoR move to fire Minister of Defense postponed for lack of a quorum. []

Ramadi District Mayor says 50,000 families have returned to Ramadi. []

Iraqi forces attack Qayara city, seize much of city center. []

Syrian Army-YPG clashes end in Russian-brokered cease-fire. []

Biden arrives in Ankara for talks with Erdogan, Barzani. []

Turkey has reportedly sent troops into Syrian border city of Jarabulus. []

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Abadi says in a press conference his government has approved the Amnesty Law and asks the CoR to pass it. The law was up for consideration today but the vote was postponed to next week. [Sumaria] The law provides amnesty for previous crimes by Iraqis, but not foreigners, and does not include terrorism, kidnapping, human trafficking, incest, rape, drug dealing, smuggling, counterfeiting, bribery, and other major crimes. Those imprisoned for murder in cases in which a settlement was reached with the victim’s family would be among those released.

DaeshDaily comment. Amnesty laws in Iraq serve important political purposes but also have some bad history. They have at times been concessions to Sunni Arabs but have also been used to get a lot of people convicted of corruption out of jail, one reason for Iraq’s continuing corruption problem. When even serious crimes have a political solution, respect for the rule of law is undermined.

 

Abadi also says that KRG President Masoud Barzani has informed him that the Kurds don’t have any ambitions in Ninewa. Abadi repeated his demand for the Turkish troops to withdraw from Bashiqa. [Sumaria]

In another story, Abadi says the central government calls on all people of Ninewa to cooperate with the KRG after the liberation, but also says the Peshmerga should not extend its presence in the liberated areas. He also says the Iraqi government doesn’t have enough capacity to deal with the pending displacement problem in Ninewa and asks the international community for help. [Mada] [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment.  Actually, the situation surrounding Barzani’s previously expressed independence and territorial ambitions, the Atheel Nujaifi-led separatist movement, and the Turkish troops is confused. However, some clarity may come from ongoing conversations in Ankara among Barzani, Nujaifi’s brother and former Vice President, and Erdogan, to be shortly joined by Vice President Biden. (See below under “Reports from Turkey.”) Something seems to be up but it’s not yet clear what that is.

 

As for the displacement problem already, in recent months, some 213,000 people have fled their homes in different parts of the country. This includes 48,000 from the Mosul area, 87,000 from the Falluja area, and 78,000 from Shirqat, Qayara and surrounding areas, based on estimates by the UNHCR.

Mosul is Iraq’s second largest city, so the humanitarian impact of a military offensive there could be enormous, affecting up to 1,200,000 people according to UNHCR. UNHCR says it is doing what it can, but additional funding and land for camps is still needed.

Iraq already faces one of the world’s worst internal displacement situations. Some 3,380,000 people have fled their homes since January 2014, among them families displaced more than once. [UNHCR]

 

The CoR postponed a vote on firing the Minister of Defense because of the lack of a quorum. Speaker Jubouri postponed the vote without giving a new date. [BasNews]

DaeshDaily comment. This is another example of Iraqi politicians risking the nation’s interests in order to serve their own political purposes. The Minister set off a firestorm recently in the CoR by accusing Speaker Jubouri among others of corruption in dealings with his Ministry. The Speaker sought an immediate investigation and was cleared. Now it looks like political payback time. However, the country is in the middle of a war and the Minister’s leadership has seemed to make a positive contribution to the war effort. Al-Abadi has opposed firing him and Ambassador Jones, while remaining neutral, made it clear the timing was bad. At least the issue is not sectarian, but it’s unlikely any good will come from this initiative. The lack of a quorum seems to reflect the legislative tactic of being absent so as to prevent the body from passing something you oppose (a political trick not invented in Iraq).

 

The Baghdad Operations Command spokesman says 34 explosive detection vehicles (XBLM) entered service and will be used in Baghdad. [Rudaw]

DaeshDaily comment. It took almost 10 years and thousands of casualties before the Iraqi government admitted that the magic sticks it was using to detect explosives were worthless.

 

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq, near Qayara (4), Kasik (1), Ramadi (1), Haditha (1), and Baghdadi (1). [InherentResolve]

 

BAGHDAD

Security-related incidents reported

North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)

Iraqi Army 22nd brigade destroyed a Daesh guesthouse and found an explosives vest and 6 grenades in the Hiyaliyeen area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)

An MoI source says the owner of a street electricity generator was killed and two other civilians wounded when an IED exploded near the generator in Hay Al-Basateen, in Shaab. [Mada]

A security source says a civilian was wounded when unknown armed men shot him in Shaab. [Sumaria]

 

East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)

An MoI source says two people were killed and seven wounded when an IED exploded near a commercial area in Ameen. [Mada]

 

Southeast (Mada’in, etc.)

A police source says the body of a man was found shot in his car in the Diyala Bridge area. [Sumaria]

 

South (Dora, Mahmudiya)

An MoI source says two people were killed and nine wounded when an IED exploded near a busy market in Mahmudiya, in far south Baghdad. [Mada]

Iraqi forces captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in Mahmudiya who led them to 2 ammunition and explosives caches. [MoD Website]

An MoI source says an Iraqi Army officer was killed and two soldiers wounded when a sniper shot at their checkpoint in Latifiya, in far south Baghdad. [Mada]

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade defused 6 booby-trapped houses in the Air Defense, Ukaidat, and Khtaimiya areas. The brigade also captured a man wanted on terrorism charges in the Fadhla area in Mahmudiya. [MoD Website

Iraqi Army 23rd brigade destroyed 3 Daesh guesthouses and defused 2 IEDs in the Baijiya area. [BOC Facebook Page]

A local police source says an Iraqi soldier was killed and three others wounded when an IED exploded on their patrol in the Albu Aitha area. [Maalomah]

The MoI spokesman says the Intelligence Service captured in south Baghdad a terrorist who was recruiting young men from his own tribe to join Daesh. [AIN]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   13    (Includes only incidents reported)

 

ANBAR

Falluja

Iraqi forces defused 28 IEDs and destroyed a booby-trapped hideout, 2 explosives vests and large quantities of explosives and ammunition in the Falluja area. [BOC Facebook Page]

 

Ramadi

Jazeera Khaldiya

A Tribal PMF commander says Iraqi forces are in control of Jazeera Khaldiya after killing more than 600 Daesh terrorists. He says most of the terrorists had fled from the Falluja battles. Anbar officials say Iraqi forces will move to west Anbar after securing Jazeera Khaldiya. [Mada]

 

The Chairman of the Khaldiya subdistrict council says Iraqi forces killed more than 200 Daesh terrorists during the last 4 days, including tens of suicide terrorists, in a military operation to clear the area between Albu Bali and the international highway. He says Iraqi forces cleared the road between Ramadi and Falluja and east toward Baghdad. [Maalomah]

 

The IFP commander says his troops captured the Daesh emir of Jazeera Khaldiya, an Iraqi terrorist called Ghayeb Al-Mar’awi, in the Albu Bali area. [Harbi]

 

A military source says Iraqi forces found a mass grave with the bodies of 20 Daesh members in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Sumaria]

 

Prime Minister Abadi says Iraqi forces found huge Daesh weapons storehouses in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Mawazin]

 

Iraqi Army 39th brigade killed 2 Daesh terrorists in Jazeera Khaldiya. Iraqi Army 50th brigade found 5 Daesh tunnels and 10 IEDs, defused 2 booby-trapped houses, and destroyed several car bombs, and explosives vests in the Qurtan area. [MoD Website]

 

The chairman of the security committee in Khaldiya District Council says 2 Tribal PMF brigades were commissioned to hold the ground in Jazeera Khaldiya. [Mada]

 

Elsewhere in Ramadi

The Mayor of Ramadi District says 50,000 families have returned to their houses in the city so far. (Multiplying by 5 would convert this to an estimated 250,000 people.) He says most of the city has been cleared from Daesh IEDs and landmines, but there are still some areas that need to be cleared. He also says there are only 11,000 policemen in Ramadi district, which is not sufficient. There were 21,000 before the District fell to Daesh. [Mada]

 

A Tribal PMF commander says his fighters captured a Daesh terrorist in Tameem in the southwest corner of the city. [Sumaria]

 

Coalition warplanes killed 3 Daesh terrorists in the Albu Dhiab area. [MoD Website]

 

Rutba/Western Anbar

Daesh says a group of its terrorists, supported by mortar shelling, attacked Iraqi forces in the Kilo 160 area, killing or wounding several soldiers, before returning safely. [JustPaste]

 

Daesh publishes photos of agriculture in Al-Qa’im. [JustPaste]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Tikrit

The IAA destroyed 3 Daesh fuel tank trucks and killed 6 terrorists in Allas oilfield. [MoD Website]

 

Samarra

Iraqi Army 74th brigade captured 2 men wanted on terrorism charges in the Samarra area. [MoD Website]

 

Tooz

The Tooz mayoralty spokesman says unknown armed men shot a young Kurdish man in Tooz, wounding him severely. [BasNews]

 

KIRKUK

Kirkuk

A security source says the reluctant Daesh suicide boy who was captured in Kirkuk told the authorities that Daesh trained 50 boys, age 8-15, to conduct suicide attacks in different areas in Iraq. [Sumaria]

 

Hawija

A security source says a man and a one-year-old child were wounded by a Daesh IED as they were trying to escape the Hawija area. [Sumaria]

 

A video of displaced people from Hawija [Sumaria]

 

Daesh issues a video of its charity activities [JustPaste]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

A PUK official says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh convoy in the Ghabat area, killing tens of terrorists, including a local commander. [PUKMedia]

 

A PUK official says Mosul is facing a huge fuel crisis because of the extensive Coalition airstrikes on Daesh fuel tanker trucks during the last few days. He also says Daesh terrorists have disappeared from Mosul streets, and many have fled to areas west of the city or to Syria. [PUKMedia]

 

The IWMC says Iraqi planes dropped thousands of leaflets on Mosul asking citizens not to leave the city and to stay away from Daesh locations. [AIN]

 

A security source says Daesh mosque speakers told the people of Mosul that Daesh will issue a “general alert” ordering all the people of Mosul to “defend the caliphate”. Daesh also threatened doctors in Mosul who might order any sick leave to its terrorists. Many Daesh fighters have pressured the doctors to get such leaves in order to escape battles. The bodies of 40 Daesh fighters, and more than 80 wounded terrorists, arrived at the Mosul hospital and morgue during the last 2 days, most killed by airstrikes. More than 20 airstrikes have targeted Daesh locations in Mosul. [Karemlash]

 

Daesh says nine people were killed and seven wounded, including women and children, by “American” airstrikes on residential areas in Hay Al-Hadba’ and Hay Al-Zuhour in Mosul. [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video of the results of the airstrikes. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it finished “quick” 3-day/30-minute religious seminars in 10 centers in Hay Al-Zinjili in Mosul, then move to Wadi Al-Hajar, and will continue so as to cover the entire city. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. Time is running and Daesh wants to recruit as many suicide terrorists as possible. The “quickness” will recruit more young and uneducated people who fit the Daesh target profile.

 

Qayara

Qayara city

The Joint Operations Command issued a statement saying Counter Terrorism troops and Iraqi Army 9th armored division, supported by the IAF and Coalition warplanes, started the military operations to liberate Qayara city, after surrounding it from all sides. [Mada]

A security source says Iraqi forces entered Qayara from four sides at the early hours of the morning, killing tens of terrorists. [Baghdadia]

 

A military source says large numbers of Daesh terrorists fled Qayara toward Mosul after Iraqi forces broke into the city. [Ghad]

 

A Ninewa Operations Command (NOC) source says Iraqi forces advanced towards Qayara city center from the south, driving Daesh to the north, and killed 12 terrorists. Iraqi forces captured the Qayara subdistrict council building. [Maalomah]

The NOC issued a separate statement saying Iraqi forces captured the Qayara main market and the hospital in the city center. [Mada]

 

An Iraqi Army officer says ten Counter Terrorism Service soldiers were killed by a Daesh vehicle bomb attack in Qayara city. [Rudaw]

 

The Qayara subdistrict manager says there are 15-20 thousand civilians in Qayara. [Arabi21]

 

The Ninewa Operations Commander says Iraqi forces specified secure routes for people to leave Qayara. However, he says Daesh will prevent people from moving, and he urges them to stay in their houses and raise white flags. [Etejah]

 

Daesh’s version says it stopped an Iraqi forces attack on Qayara. Daesh says Iraqi forces are at the Qayara Bridge, the refinery, and the western hills areas, and are 3 km away from the city. It also says Iraqi forces’ attempt to surround the city has failed. [A3maq]

 

Daesh issues a video of its terrorists in Qayara claiming it is still control of the city. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. In this video, a handful of terrorists show up on empty streets. Daesh issued similar videos in Ramadi and Falluja.

 

The Ninewa Operations Commander says Iraqi forces captured several government buildings in Qayara city, in addition to the residential compound of the Qayara oilfield. He says Iraqi forces stopped the attack because of the darkness and because of the land mines and vehicle bombs, and will continue Wednesday morning. [BasNews]

 

Elsewhere in Qayara

An informed source says Iraqi forces captured 6 oilfields in the Qayara area, after heavy battles with Daesh, killing “tens” of terrorists. [Baghdadia]

Daesh says it destroyed 3 Iraqi Army Humvees and a bulldozer near the Qayara Refinery. [A3maq]

 

A security source says Iraqi forces killed 10 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 3 vehicle bombs in Qayara. [Baghdadia]

 

A security source says Iraqi forces killed the Daesh military commander of Qayara, a Chechen terrorist called Abu Al-Futouh, in addition to 10 suicide terrorists and destroyed more than 20 Daesh vehicles in Qayara. [Sumaria]

 

A PUK official says Coalition warplanes bombed the house of a local Daesh commander in Asbagha village in Qayara subdistrict, killing him and several of his associates. [PUKMedia]

 

In revenge for its defeat in Qayara, Daesh blew up the houses of 20 policemen and PMF fighters in different villages in Qayara subdistrict, according to a Ninewa Police source. [BasNews]

 

Daesh says it damaged 2 Iraqi Army personnel carriers on the outskirts of Shabali village, south of Qayara. [A3maq]

DaeshDaily comment. Daesh feels kind of embarrassed to say it lost these villages, so it uses terms like “near” or “in the outskirts of.”

Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army Humvee in the Hawasem area, south of Qayara. [A3maq]

 

Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

A PUK official says Coalition warplanes bombed a Daesh vehicle in the Hassan Koi area, killing 4 terrorists. [PUKMedia]

 

South (Baaj, Hatra)

A Ninewa Operations Command source says Daesh executed in Baaj ten young men from Mosul who were trying to escape toward Syria. [Etejah]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Kerbala

The Kerbala Police chief says his troops captured 7 men wanted on terrorism charges who were fleeing Anbar toward Kerbala through the desert area, and 3 more at a checkpoint who were also trying to enter Kerbala.  [Mada]

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday discussed strategy for fighting both Daesh and Kurdish PKK militants with visiting KRG President Masoud Barzani, sources at Erdogan’s office said.

They said Erdogan and Barzani also addressed necessary steps to shut down schools and institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan that are affiliated with Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Islamic cleric whom Turkey blames for last month’s failed military coup.

The meeting in Ankara comes as Turkey faces multiple threats from Daesh at home and across the border in neighboring Syria as well as from the PKK militants whose bases are in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. It also coincides with Iraqi and Kurdish forces gradually closing in on Mosul. [Reuters]

Unlike previous meetings, the KRG flag was not displayed in the room. [SotKurdistan]

According to Turkish media sources, Barzani met with the Turkish Intelligence chief before he met with Erdogan. [SotKurdistan]

Barzani also met with Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, and will meet tomorrow with the US Vice President Joe Biden, who will arrive in Ankara. [ARA]

 

Turkish security sources say the authorities started evacuating Karkemish after 9 Daesh mortar shells from Jarabulus fell on civilian areas in the city, without causing human casualties. The source say Turkish artillery responded by shelling Daesh locations in Jarabulus. [ARA]

 

Turkish media outlets say the Turkish Army brought more reinforcements to the Karkemish area. [Dorar]

 

The Turkey Minister of Foreign Affairs says Turkey will provide “all the necessary support” to help opposition groups to capture Jarabulus. [ARA]

 

The Turkish opposition leader says sending Turkish troops to foreign lands (Jarabulus) is not right unless it is done within international law. [Dorar]

 

Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet says according to documents found in the house of a Daesh terrorist who detonated himself in June when security surrounded him, Daesh prepared 150 terrorists to conduct attacks in Turkey against several targets, including Alawite villages, Kurdish and leftist parties, international organizations, and amusement places and night clubs. [Arabi21]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

The Coalition says it conducted 8 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, four in the Manbij area, the others in Raqqa (1), Deir Ez-Zor (2), and Albu Kamal (1). [InherentResolve]

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

Hasaka city

Details were revealed on the cease-fire deal reached yesterday between the Syrian government and the PYD. The agreement includes these points: Syrian troops and allied militia will withdraw from the city, the YPG will hand over its positions to the Asayesh, the two sides will exchange prisoners, the roads will be reopened, the Syrian government will “reconsider” the issue of the allied militias, and the fired government employees will return to their jobs. [Hawar] [Hawar]

According to the agreement, Syrian police will continue their job as security for the government compound in the city. Tens of families returned to their houses in Hasaka after the cease-fire. [SyriaHR]

The Asayish issued a statement asking the people of Hasaka to return to their houses. Hundreds of people have left the city since the battles started last week. [Hawar]

 

Media source say the meetings between Syrian and PYD officials continued on Monday, under Russian sponsorship, in the Khmeimim airbase. [ARA]

 

A Syrian government sniper killed an 18-year-old girl in Hay Al-Nashwa in Hasaka on Monday. [Hawar]

 

Elsewhere in Hasaka

The YPG-backed Hawar says heavy battles erupted when Daesh launched an attack on Syrian Democratic Forces in Azzawi village, south of Shaddadi, at 3 am. It says the battles are still going on. [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it captured Kashkash Jubour and Tal Safiya villages, and half of Azzawi village, after 2 suicide attacks. [A3maq]

Daesh says it captured three YPG fighters in Azzawi village. [A3maq] [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video of one of the captured fighters. [A3maq]

Daesh issues a video of its attack on areas south of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it captured Sheikh Othman village, south of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on YPG fighters near Sheikh Othman village. [A3maq]

Daesh says it captured Hamidat village, south of Shaddadi. [A3maq]

Daesh targeted Shaddadi city with rockets, with no reports of human casualties. [SyriaHR]

 

Daesh says it captured Sheikh Hilal village, in addition to the other four and half villages, after launching a major attack on these areas. Daesh says it started with 3 suicide attacks, and a fourth one that targeted YPG fighters while they were fleeing Sheikh Othman village. Daesh says it killed 124 YPG fighters so far. [A3maq]

 

Later on, Daesh says it killed 23 YPG fighters in attacks on Atshana and Hajar Kabir villages, raising the total of YPG casualties in the Manbij and Shaddadi areas to 195. [A3maq]

 

Daesh publishes photos of religious seminars in Tabaqa. [JustPaste]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

Jarabulus

[Late news flash]  Turkish Anadolu reports that Turkish Special Forces, supported by Coalition warplanes, have started a military campaign in Jarabulus. [Anadolu]

 

An earlier report said Russian warplanes launched extensive airstrikes on Daesh locations in Jarabulus. Daesh brought military reinforcements near the city anticipating an opposition groups attack. [Qasioun]

DaeshDaily comment. By reading the previous two stories, you can see the absurdity and complexity of the situation in Syria. It’s the Turks and the Americans. No, it’s the Russians. However, taking Jarabulus away from Daesh, especially after its loss of Manbij, would further restrict its ability to move men and supplies across the Turkish border.

 

The YPG-allied Jarabulus Military Council issued a statement saying it captured the killer of its commander and of a “secret network” that is linked to Turkish intelligence. The commander was killed yesterday, hours after he announced the formation of the JMC. [Hawar]

The Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement supporting the JMC, and asking the Coalition to keep its promises to “provide international protection for our country” from regional powers. [Hawar]

DaeshDaily comment. We have a feeling they mean Turkey, when they talk about regional powers, but we need to verify. 

 

Local sources say Turkish artillery continued its shelling on west Jarabulus for the fourth day in a raw. [Hawar]

 

Manbij campaign

Manbij Military Council fighters stopped a Daesh attack on Hajira Saghira village, south of Manbij, killing 7 terrorists. MMC fighters also captured several strategic hills south of Manbij, killing 2 terrorists and destroying a vehicle. North of Manbij, MMC fighters stopped a Daesh attack on Arab Hassan village near the Sajur River, and the battles are still going on. [Hawar]

MMC fighters stopped a Daesh attack on Atshana village, killing 14 terrorists. [Hawar]

The fighters found Turkish weapons in Atshana village (video). [Hawar]

 

Daesh says forty YPG fighters were killed or wounded in a land mine field in Yashli village, northwest of Manbij. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says it destroyed a YPG bulldozer with a guided missile in Nahilya village, south of Manbij. [JustPaste]

 

Mare’

An opposition groups commander says Daesh launched a heavy attack on Mare’ accompanied by shelling and rocketing, but opposition groups, supported by Coalition warplanes, stopped the attack and forced Daesh to retreat. He also says Coalition warplanes bombed Daesh locations in nearby Harbal and Um Hawsh. [ARA]

Later on, he says opposition groups attacked Daesh locations in Harbal and Tal Maled, southwest of Mare’, and the battles are still going on. [ARA]

 

Other Northwest Syria reports

Turkish troops killed a 15-year-old Syrian boy in the border area in Kobane (video). [Hawar]

 

Around 800 more displaced civilians arrived in Afrin on Tuesday from Jarabulus, Al-Ra’i, Al-Bab, Deir Ez-Zor, Albu Kamal, and Tadmur. [Hawar]

 

Daesh says it killed 25 YPG fighters in a booby-trapped house and IEDs explosions in Haqna village, east of the Tishrin Dam. [A3maq]

 

Turkey-backed opposition groups targeted Sheikh Maqsoud extensively with rockets and heavy artillery. [Hawar]

 

Daesh publishes photos of battles near Kowaires Airport. [JustPaste]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

A local activist says Syrian troops and allied militias, supported by warplanes, attacked Daesh locations in the Talila area, near Tadmur, killing or wounding several terrorists. Russian warplanes targeted Daesh locations in the Tadmur Silos area. Another activist say Daesh stopped a Syrian troops attack on the Silos area. He also says Daesh snipers killed two Syrian soldiers in the Sha’er oilfield area. [ARA] [ARA]

 

Syrian warplanes destroyed Daesh vehicles and killed several terrorists in the Arak, Sukhnah, and Al-Hail areas in Homs. [SyriaNow]

 

East (Deir Ez-Zor)

Russian warplanes launched more than 10 airstrikes on Daesh in Deir Ez-Zor city, the Deir Ez-Zor airport area, and Mayadin. Battles continued in Deir Ez-Zor between the Syrian Army and Daesh. [Qasioun]

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the bodies of three people, including a young woman, were found in Albu Kamal and their organs were taken out. It also says Daesh executed one of its local security officials in Kashkiya village, in Deir Ez-Zor. [SyriaHR]

 

One civilian was killed in a Daesh shelling on the Joura area in Deir Ez-Zor. [SyriaHR]

 

South (Rif Damashq, Suwayda, Daraa, etc.)

Syrian troops killed several Daesh terrorists and destroyed their vehicles in Al-Qassr village, north of Suwayda. [SyriaNow]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Saudi Arabia

Saudi media sources say security forces killed a terrorist and captured another as they tried to attack a Shia mosque in Qatif, in eastern Saudi Arabia. [Arabi21]

 

North Africa

Egypt

A 16-year-old young man was killed when unknown armed men shot him in the head in Arish city. [VetoGate]

 

Security sources say two police officers were killed when 3 Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis terrorists shot at them in Arish city center. [ElWatan]

Security forces launched a campaign in Hay Al-Safa in Arish after the attack. [ElWatan]

 

Eyewitnesses say unknown armed men kidnapped a police chief’s driver near the Wadi Bridge, in Arish. [ElWatan]

 

Security source say Egyptian forces destroyed 2 roadside IEDs on the international road between Sheikh Zuweid and Arish. [VetoGate]

 

Libya

Northeast

The Libyan Special Forces spokesman says two of his soldiers were killed and two others wounded by a land mine in Qawarsha, in west Benghazi. [Wasat]

 

A Libyan Special Forces commander says his troops captured more Daesh positions in the Qawarsha area. [Wasat]

 

The Benghazi Criminal Investigation Office issued a statement mourning the death of two of its members who were killed during the battles against Daesh in west Benghazi. [Wasat]

 

Central coast

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations, said Marine AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters participated in strikes against Daesh over the weekend.

Daesh terrorists retreated “to the densest, most built-up part of the city,” the official said. “[The AH-1] is a platform that lends itself well to that kind of mission.” [WashingtonPost]

AFRICOM issued a statement saying American forces conducted 9 airstrikes from Friday to Sunday, targeting Daesh vehicles and machinery, in addition to 25 fighting positions. The US has conducted 74 airstrikes on Daesh in Sirte since the beginning on August, according to the statement. [Wasat]

 

A military source says Libyan troops captured a Daesh field hospital and arrested its doctor in Hay 1 in Sirte. [Wasat]

 

Other countries

Nigeria

The Nigerian Army says the Boko Haram leader, Shikaw, was severely wounded and several other top commanders killed in an airstrike by an unattributed source on Smabisa Forest in Borno State on Friday. [Libya24]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

A video of Iraqi forces in Jazeera Khaldiya [Yalla]

Videos of battles in Jazeera Khaldiya [Iba] [Etejah] [YouTube]

Videos of IAA helicopters attacking Daesh in Jazeera Khaldiya [YouTube] [YouTube]

 

A Facebook page from Anbar that exposes local Daesh terrorists who fled to the West as refugees [Facebook]

 

Photos of the leaflets dropped on Mosul [Yalla]

 

Videos of Iraqi forces in Qayara [Mosuliya] [Mosuliya] [RT] [Kut] [YouTube]

A video of the Ninewa Power Plant in Qayara after it was liberated from Daesh [Mosuliya]

 

OTHER DAESH MEDIA

 

Daesh audio newsletter for today [JustPaste]

 

Daesh publishes a new issue of its Naba’ magazine. [DawaAlhaq]