An Update On ISIS Activities

March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

Iraqi Soldiers in Anbar

 

Today’s Major Developments

 

The US has trained 18,589 Iraqi soldiers since 2014.

Counter Terrorism forces now control area north of Thirthar Lake.

UN team tallies the damage in Ramadi.

Citizens in Taza, Kirkuk protest failure of Iraq to liberate Al-Bashir village.

More Iraqi troops arrive in Ninewa.

Peshmerga turn back Daesh attack west of Mosul.

YPG, SDF move closer to Raqqa with Coalition support.

 

REPORTS FROM IRAQ

 

BAGHDAD

Political developments

Thousands of Sadrists, and others, demonstrated near the Green Zone today and some said they would break into the Zone if Moqtada Al-Sadr told them to do so. [Mada]

Al-Sadr said in his recorded speech to the demonstrators that he feels surprised that “the same people we demonstrated to support are against the voice of the people”. (He was referring to PM Abadi’s last speech, which criticized Sadr, also without mentioning names.)

However, Sadr called on Iraqi cabinet members to resign in order to form a technocrat government. [Rudaw]

Sadr also asked the foreign embassies in Iraq to leave the Green Zone, especially the ones who claims they defend oppressed Iraqi people. [Mada] Sadr demanded that the CoR remove the “corruption government” and come up with a technocrat government. [Mada]

All roads and bridges leading to the Green Zone in Baghdad were closed by security and anti-riot forces, which deployed intensively in all surrounding areas. The BOC announced that there is no formal license to the Sadrists to demonstrate in the area, holding them responsible for any violations. [Sumaria]

Daesh Daily comment. Sorting out several recent Al-Sadr statements, he is clearly staking out a position as a reformer, probably to keep up with public opinion, but simultaneously trying to separate himself from Al-Abadi, the source and leader of the anti-corruption crusade. As he would help that cause more by showing political solidarity with Al-Abadi, the logical conclusion is that Al-Sadr’s reform initiative is more self-serving than public-spirited.

 

Al-Sadr’s Saraya Al-Salam militia of the Sadr movement is deployed in various areas of Baghdad. (video) [Ghad]

 

Ali Al-Timimi, the Governor of Baghdad (a Sadrist), said that the demonstrators have no intention to attack the Green Zone, are under total control, and have all come to pass a message. He said he was confident the demonstration would begin and end without a single problem. [Rudaw]

 

The government is jamming mobile communications and internet services in the Green Zone and its surroundings, sources in the area said. [Mawazin]

 

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Dhi Qar, Diwaniya, Diyala, Najaf, Wasit, Kerbala, Maysan, Babel and Muthanna, protesting corruption and demanding more reforms. Demonstrators in Maysan demanded to “freeze the constitution” and disband the CoR. Demonstrators in Muthanna demanded to disband the CoR and the government and that all political parties who participated in the governments after 2003 should not be part of any new government. [Sumaria] [Sumaria] [Mada] [Mada]

DaeshDaily comment. The demonstrations against corruption should be praised, but only the Baath party was in charge before 2003. Is that what the demonstrators, especially the Sadrists, really want? Weren’t they part of the government since 2003? So who are they criticizing, exactly?

 

Speaker Jubouri met with Brett McGurk, the special Coalition envoy to Iraq, to discuss the war on Daesh. Jubouri asked for more support to help provincial governments to hold the territory in the liberated areas. [Sumaria]

 

Security developments

The US Embassy in Baghdad said that since 2014, the international Coalition has trained over 18,589 Iraqi soldiers. [AIN]

 

The BOC announced it had detected and destroyed 6 IEDs in different areas around Baghdad. [AIN]

 

Daesh says its terrorists attacked an Iraqi Army barrier in Al-Tabi in Tarmiya with light and mid-size weapons. Daesh says the clashes lasted for 2 hours and two Iraqi soldiers were killed. Then, Daesh terrorists drew the Iraqi forces into an IED trap, destroying 2 Humvees and a personnel carrier. Daesh also says it detonated an IED on another Iraqi unit near the Tarmiya fuel station destroying a Humvee and killing some soldiers. Daesh says in total 20 Iraqi soldiers, including a captain, were killed and ten wounded, while all its terrorists returned back safely. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. We think Daesh will receive a phone call from a Hollywood director very soon. Such a good story deserves a movie, probably in the Fantasy genre.

 

The PMF media announced killing 4 terrorists and defusing 20 IEDs in the Arab Jabour area in south Baghdad. However, Col. Karim Al-Barki of the PMFs was killed in the operation. It said battles in these agricultural lands are not easy due to the difficulty of their terrain. [Harbi]

 

The following security incidents were reported.

Northwest Baghdad

59th army brigade found an explosives cache in Karbuliya containing several C4 20-liter containers, a missile for a plane, and other munitions. [Harbi]

 

North Baghdad

An IED placed in a popular market in Husseiniya killed 2 civilians and wounded seven others. [Mada]

Two consecutive IEDs exploded near a joint checkpoint in Tarmiya District followed by a rifle shot from a nearby orchard, killing one soldier and wounding three. [Sumaria]

Daesh says one of its snipers killed an Iraqi soldier in Tarmiya. [JustPaste] It’s not clear if this is about the same incident.

 

East Baghdad

An IED placed in a commercial area in Al-Ameen killed two civilians and wounded seven others. [Mada]

A hand grenade thrown by an unidentified person killed the owner of a liquor store and wounded three persons standing near the shop in Mashtal. [Ghad]

 

Southeast Baghdad

Security forces defused an IED placed near the Technology Institute in Zafaraniya. [Ghad]

 

South Baghdad

An IED placed near commercial shops in Mahmudiya killed one civilian and wounded six others. [Mada]

17th army division defused two planted IEDs in Yusufiyah without any casualties. [AynIraq]

Two mortar shells hit a check point in Arab Jabour, killing one soldier and wounding five. [Mada]

A roadside IED placed in Arab Jabour wounded three soldiers patrolling the area. [Baghdadia]

A body of a Sahwa fighter was found hanged in Arab Jabour. [AIN]

Daesh says its terrorists killed a man and his son, accusing them of being Iraqi Army spies, in Arab Jabour in south Baghdad. [JustPaste]

Daesh says one of its snipers killed an Iraqi soldier in Sayafiya in Arab Jabour. Daesh also says its terrorists killed two Iraqi soldiers in Manari preventing Iraqi troops from advancing in the area. [JustPaste]

 

West Baghdad

The body of a man shot to death was found behind a marketplace in Al-Bakriya. [Maalomah]

An IED killed one civilian and wounded ten others in Wardiya. [Mada]

An explosion of a car bomb under the control of security forces took place in Hittin neighborhood in Mansour without causing any casualties. [Ghad]

 

Total Baghdad incidents reported:   17    (Not an overall total)

 

Coalition warplanes initiated 8 attacks on Daesh targets–in Sinjar, Kasik, Mosul, and Sultan Abdullah; Baghdadi and Falluja; and Baiji. The attacks destroyed 5 tactical units, 17 vehicles, 7 fighting positions, a storehouse, and 3 heavy machine guns. [Rudaw]

 

ANBAR

Counter Terrorism forces and PMFs took full control of the northern basin of Thirthar Lake, CT announced today. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. On a map, Thirthar Lake and surrounding desert area looks like the middle of nowhere. From a military perspective, however, it is strategically located, and controlling the area provides access to Samarra to the east, Falluja and Ramadi to the south, and Haditha to the west.

 

Sabah Karhout, Anbar Council Chairman, called on the government to expediently liberate Falluja and Hit, to end the humanitarian crisis faced by their populations. [Sumaria]

 

Falluja

The BOC said that its forces killed 32 terrorists, wounded two others, and destroyed two vehicles, two motorcycles, and an IED in Qarma. Rapid Intervention forces killed 2 terrorists in Nuaimiya south of Falluja, while the first battalion of the same force killed 7 terrorists in Subaihat after destroying their position.  [AIN]

 

An attack by Daesh with light and medium weapons on security positions in Subaihat and Rofa in Qarma district killed six and wounded 4 Tribal Mobilization fighters and destroyed four of their vehicles. [Mada]

 

Tribal Mobilization battalion commander Mahmoud Murdhi Al-Jumaili said that an attack by four car bombs in Albu Abd Al-Awda and Qanater near Qarma was foiled by his forces, who destroyed all attacking vehicles. [Mada]

 

In a recent update of PMF operations in Qarma, the areas liberated so far are Qarma Bridge, Ma’amal Al-Iraqi, the Srab area near the Abu Ghraib silo, Harariyat Bridge, Subaihat, Qarma train station, and the water department.  The forces now are near the asphalt factory and have started clearing the areas of Kubaishat and Abadi, adjacent to Falluja.  5 PMF militias, 1st army Division, 24th army brigade, and BOC forces are participating in operations. [Harbi]

 

However, Ahmed Karim Badawi, commander of the 3rd battalion of the Tribal Mobilization, called on the government to cut off Daesh supply lines in Qarma. He added that they maintain their supplies through three routes, namely Sajar, Khatar village, and the Al-Askari neighborhood in Falluja. He said that there is no point to the liberation operation unless these daily supply lines are cut off. [Mada]

 

Daesh publishes photos of its air defense units in Falluja. [JustPaste]

 

Ramadi

Ibrahim al-Fahdawi, member of Khaldiya subdistrict council, said that army and security forces are about to initiate an attack on Jazeera Khaldiya east of Ramadi. He added that all preparations are made and Daesh supply lines cut off. Daesh is also facing internal conflicts in Jazeera Khaldiya, which makes the timing even better. [Maalomah]

 

A UN team says the destruction caused by Daesh in Ramadi is staggering and worse than any other place in Iraq. 5,700 buildings were damaged and 2,000 houses destroyed completely. [BasNews]

 

The Anbar Tribes Council says displaced people will not be returned to Ramadi until the clearing of Jazeera Khaldiya and several areas north of Ramadi. [Sumaria]

 

Daesh says its terrorists attacked 2 Iraqi Army positions in Albu Risha north of Ramadi and killed 8 soldiers and burned their positions. [JustPaste]

 

Hit/Haditha

Lt. Saud Harb Al-Ubaidi, spokesman of 14th Rapid Intervention battalion, said Coalition warplanes destroyed a Daesh convoy in Barwana, heading toward Al-Baghdadi subdistrict. 20 terrorists were killed including an important leader. [Maalomah]

 

Daesh says its terrorists attacked Iraqi forces on the outskirts of Albu Hayat in Haditha, killing or wounding several Iraqi soldiers and tribal fighters. [JustPaste]

 

Joint Operation Command called on the residents of Hit to stay in their houses, prepare their identification documents, and keep away from Daesh locations. It said that Iraqi Army, Counter Terrorism Service, IFP, and tribesmen will be entering the city under Iraqi and Coalition air cover. [Sumaria]

 

Western Anbar

The Coalition attacked a Daesh convoy of 6 machine gun-mounted vehicles, destroying 5 of them east of Al-Qa’im District, a security source said. [Baghdadia]

 

SALAHUDDIN

Shirqat

A PMF ambush deep in the desert west of Shirqat killed Abu Hafsa Al-Maghrebi, the logistics officer of Daesh, and three of his companions, who were leading a food convoy from Mosul to Shirqat. Some of the convoy trucks were destroyed, some only partially damaged; all had markings saying “The Islamic State.” The remaining terrorists escaped into the desert. [Sumaria]

 

An IED wounded four persons escaping Shirqat. All are from the same family and were crossing the Khalid Office area from Shirqat to the Peshmerga lines. [Sumaria]

 

Baiji

Daesh says its terrorists destroyed an Iraqi tank with a missile west of Baiji. [A3maq]

 

Tikrit

The PMF organization said a well-known Daesh field commander, Faiz Al-Sari, was killed by PMFs west of Tikrit. He was the Daesh leader in the battles in Aziz Balad and Al-Rawashid villages. [Ghad]

 

Samarra

An army helicopter destroyed a car bomb heading towards army units in Jazeera Samarra and a house used by Daesh in that area. [Ghad]

 

Large quantities of weapons and ammunition, flags, and cars were found in Daesh guest houses left behind after their speedy escape from Jazeera Samarra, the PMF media said. [Mawazin]

 

The second phase of the Jazeera Samarra operation is starting, according to the MoD. This phase includes defusing and destroying IEDs, mines, booby-trapped houses, and car bombs left by Daesh in various places. Three car bombs were destroyed under control already. [Baghdadia]

 

The process of evacuating civilians in Jazeera Samarra to safe locations in Tikrit and Samarra has started, according to Salahuddin Operations Command. [Ghad]

 

The IWMC said that safe access routes were opened for families evacuating southeast of Thirthar and in the Jazeera Samarra area after clearing all IEDs planted by Daesh. Engineering units of Saraya Al-Jihad militia of the PMFs removed the IEDs, and are also moving civilians to safe areas. [Mawazin]

 

The Salahuddin Governor says 150 families returned to their houses in Al-Salam village after it was liberated from Daesh. [Sumaria]

 

A statement by the Sadrist Al-Ahrar party of the CoR claimed that the Sadrist Saraya Al-Salam militia had liberated 29 villages and regained control of the Thirthar Lake area and Jazeera Samarra. [AIN]

DaeshDaily comment. All by themselves? The rest of our news items show that many military organizations contributed to these successes, not just Saraya Al-Salam.

 

Southern Salahuddin

A unified Sunni-Shia prayer was held in Balad, attended by Sunni and Shia clerics from Salahuddin and Najaf in addition to Muslim clerics from the UK. [Sumaria]

 

DIYALA

Baquba

Daesh publishes photos of shelling the Al-Waqf area north of Baquba with mortars. [JustPaste]

 

Muqdadiya/Abu Saida

The Tameem tribe in Diyala says Sunday is the last day for the government to open an investigation with security leaders in Muqdadiya and with MPs responsible for changing security forces in the city, which led to the terrorist attack. A tribal leader says the situation in Muqdadiya is very tense and can explode any time.  [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. With the first attack on Muqdadiya, Daesh managed to generate a lot of revenge attacks. Some of them were reportedly fake, and this attack might make things even worse. The Daesh incubator media will make use of this and make the situation worse still. The problem with the political situation in Iraq is that each side complains only about the attacks on its people, ignoring the attacks on other people.

 

Northern Diyala

The Mayor of Jalawla District in Khanaqin says 500 displaced families of government employees were allowed to return based on an exception. The returns to the city is organized by a schedule. [Sumaria]

 

Southern Diyala

Daesh says it detonated an IED on an Iraqi Army Humvee in the Al-Nida area in Mandali, destroying it and killing or wounding the 3 soldiers inside. [JustPaste]

 

Daesh says it detonated an IED on PMFs in Huwaish in predominantly Shia Judaida subdistrict, killing three fighters. [JustPaste]

 

KIRKUK

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Taza subdistrict south of Kirkuk, demanding liberation of Al-Bashir, the Taza council announced. The demonstrators said that Daesh has been shelling them for 21 months without a reaction by the government, whose excuse has been that there will be a comprehensive operation to liberate the whole area of southwest Kirkuk.  They threatened to demonstrate in front of the Green Zone if the government does not respond in 1 week. [Sumaria]

 

Al-Abbas Combat Division of the PMFs said that it could liberate Al-Bashir village by itself, but said it is consulting with the government, the PMFs, and the Peshmerga. It said that the decision on liberation has been delayed for a long time now, which might force it to act on its own. [Harbi]

 

NINEWA

Mosul

A statement by Ninewa Operations command instructed Mosul’s population to listen constantly for directions from its radio station once the liberation operations begin. Initial instructions provided also indicate how to put stickers on windows to avoid being targeted by air attacks and the safe distances required to keep away from projectiles. It also called on the population to avoid listening to Daesh propaganda. [PUKMedia]

 

Abu Shuaib, the wali of Dijla, and seven of his companions were killed by a Coalition strike on their command center in a village in Qayara south of Mosul, a source in Ninewa said. [Mada]

 

An anti-Daesh suicide attacker with an explosives belt entered a Daesh command center on his bicycle in Mahalbiya subdistrict west of Mosul and exploded, killing over 20 terrorists and wounding many more, a source in Ninewa said.  [Maalomah]

DaeshDaily comment. Maalomah previously reported a suicide attack against Daesh in Mosul and we couldn’t confirm that from any other source.

 

Coalition warplanes destroyed two rocket launching platforms and several 155 mm guns in Qayara, the southernmost subdistrict of Mosul. [Sumaria]

 

Ninewa Operations command said that Daesh deployed long range missiles and artillery pieces in the villages of Zawiya, Tel Al-Sha’ir, and Hawi in Qayara subdistrict to target the anticipated Iraqi forces. [Mada]

 

Nineveh Plain

15th army division artillery killed 18 Dash terrorists after shelling their positions in Sultan Abdullah, at the south end of Hamdaniya District next to Makhmur, while the Coalition destroyed five rocket launching platforms. [Mada]

 

Makhmur

A new group of Iraqi army forces arrived to Makhmur late Thursday night, said the Ninewa Operations Command. The 2nd battalion of 72th brigade of the 15th division arrived with its equipment and vehicles and was immediately deployed to the front lines. [Maalomah]

 

Peshmerga forces repelled a Daesh attack on the Gwer-Makhmur front, killing seven but losing two Peshmerga fighters, said Serwan Al-Barzani, the Peshmerga commander of the area. [Rudaw]

 

For the second day in a row, Daesh shelled Iraqi army units in Makhmur with Katyusha rockets, but without causing any casualties. [IraqPress]

 

Daesh says Iraqi forces withdrew from the Karasur camp because of its repeated shelling. [A3maq]

Daesh publishes photos of shelling Peshmerga positions in Makhmur. [JustPaste]

 

Northwest Ninewa (Tal Afar, Sinjar)

Peshmerga forces repelled a Daesh attack from three directions on its front lines west of Mosul. The attackers came from Kasik, Aski Mosul, and Shandoukha. “Tens” of Daesh bodies were scattered in the battlefield as the terror group failed to recover them, a Peshmerga source said.  [Shafaq] In the same battle, Peshmerga Lt. Col. Mohsen Sulaivani said the attackers used two Humvee bombs that were destroyed by Coalition warplanes. He said intelligence indicated the presence of 300 Daesh fighters and 400 Katyusha rockets in Kasik and Aski Mosul. [IraqPress]

Daesh’s version is that its fighters attacked Peshmerga positions in Shandoukha with light and mid-size weapons, destroying 5 of the Peshmerga positions. Daesh says that after the initial attack, an Azeri (Azerbaijan) suicide terrorist attacked the Peshmerga with a vehicle bomb. At the same time Daesh shelled and rocketed the area while its air defense units forced a Coalition warplane to withdraw from the area. Daesh says “tens” of Peshmerga fighters were killed in the attack. [JustPaste]

DaeshDaily comment. It is amazing that in Daesh’s version of all its reported attacks the defenders don’t do anything but die, get wounded or flee. No serious person can believe this. Count us among the skeptical also on Daesh’s claim that its prehistoric air defense units, mentioned above in Falluja reports, could force top-notch Coalition warplanes to escape. Saddam’s minister of information would be very proud of Daesh’s media people.  

 

Here Daesh says 28 Peshmerga fighters were killed in the attack on Shandoukha, northeast of Tal Afar. [A3maq]

 

Daesh says its terrorists attacked Peshmerga positions in Aski Mosul with heavy and mid-size weapons. Daesh says one of its suicide terrorists attacked the Peshmerga with an explosives vest killing or wounding many of them. Daesh says it shelled the location with 300 120mm mortars. [JustPaste]

 

Other Governorates  

KURDISTAN

Kosrat Rasool, the PUK’s first deputy secretary says the lack of transparency caused political, economical and social problems in the IKR. [Sumaria]

 

SOUTHERN IRAQ

Qadisiya

Diwaniya security authorities imposed strict security measures in anticipation of Sadrist demonstrations expected on Friday. [Ghad] (See story in Baghdad section))

 

REPORTS FROM TURKEY

 

PKK fighters shot down a Turkey Black Hawk” helicopter in Hakkari in far southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border. 6 Turkish military were killed in the attack, media sources said. [IraqPress]

 

A YPG statement issued Friday said its positions in Afrin in northern Aleppo were targeted by Turkish tank shells from across the border. Turkish military sources say they shelled Daesh positions in Syria but deny shelling YPG positions in Afrin. Local sources in Afrin countryside report that Turkey launched four shells on Dikmadash village, which landed without causing casualties. Russia alleged that Turkey shelled YPG units fighting against the Nusra Front in Syria. [Welati] [ARA]

 

REPORTS FROM SYRIA

 

Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)

The YPG made advances in the northern Raqqa countryside on Friday, seizing control of the areas of Tuwal Al-Aba and Al-Haba, south of Kantari. The advances came after heavy fighting with Daesh and with Coalition warplanes backing the YPG fighters. In tandem with the YPG advance, units of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) are advancing toward Raqqa from Shaddadi in Hasaka, taking control on Friday of the area of Luqta, 50 km (30 miles) from Raqqa, also under Coalition air support. YPG units north of Raqqa captured five Daesh militants. [Qasioun]

 

Raqqa has been two days without water and electricity after Russian planes struck key infrastructure earlier in the week. [Qasioun]

 

The pro-YPG Hawar continues its series of stories about the aftermath of the Daesh surprise attack on Tal Abyad last week, including a story (with photo) of a 65-year-old civilian who was killed by Daesh in Tal Abyad and a story about the massacre of two families in a nearby village. Both stories allege the involvement of Turkish support for Daesh. [Hawar] [Hawar]

 

Daesh says 180 YPG fighters and 20 of its supporters were killed in its attack on Tal Abyad and Suluk in February 27. Daesh says Coalition warplanes conducted 50 airstrikes during the battles, and some of them targeted local families. [A3maq]

 

The SDF killed “tens” of Daesh fighters in the last two days, and captured three villages (Shamandour, East Saraya, and Al-Tarwaziya) southeast of Suluk, a YPG fighter said. Coalition planes struck multiple sites in the Hasaka countryside in support of the SDF advance, killing, among other Daesh members, two of the group’s “emirs,” Abu Al-Athir and Muawiya Al-Halabi, activists said. [Welati] [ARA]

 

Daesh says its terrorists destroyed a YPG Humvee southwest of Mount Abdul Aziz. [A3maq]

 

A 67-year-old man who fled Daesh in Deir Ez-Zor was injured by gunfire from Turkish border troops when he attempted to enter Turkey on Thursday at a border crossing near Ras Al-Ayn. The pro-YPG Hawar headlines its story “He escaped Daesh but he could not escape the Turkish Army.” (photo) [Hawar]

 

Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)

The city of Aleppo has been without water for 80 days due to the siege imposed by Syrian troops and Daesh on the rebel-held city. Water could arrive this week, says the Public Services Administration, which is under the control of the Nusra Front, but efforts are ongoing to secure fuel to pump it. [Qasioun]

 

The YPG repelled a Daesh attack in the countryside west of Kobane after a small Daesh force infiltrated into the village of Nasariya east of the Euphrates, sparking clashes between the two militias in which some Daesh fighters were injured before the entire raiding party was forced to flee, a YPG fighter said. [ARA]

 

Daesh, which controls most of the fuel supply in northern Syria, has allowed fuel and relief supplies to flow into areas controlled by opposition militias north of Aleppo, an activist said. [ARA]

 

Daesh publishes photos of destroying a YPG Humvee east of Mount Abdul Aziz. [JustPaste]

 

Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)

Daesh and Syrian Army troops battled near the Hazl oilfield east of Homs amid a Syrian attempt to push Daesh back from the strategic area. The two sides also fought continued battles near Al-Dowa east of Homs. [Qasioun]

 

South

The Jaysh Al-Islam Sunni Islamist militia announced it is leaving the truce agreement in Syria and will not continue to observe the cease-fire, citing violations by the Syrian government and the YPG. [Erem]

 

OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS

 

Neighboring countries

Jordan

Images are circulating on social media of what appear to be affidavits signed by parents or relatives of slain members of a Daesh cell in the northern Jordan city of Irbid, in which the relatives pledge to the government to quickly bury the dead without taking the body home and to avoid public mourning or laying of the body in the mosque (photos). [Arabi21]

DaeshDaily comment. Celebrations for slain terrorists have caused big issues in the past. They prompt gatherings of terrorists celebrating that the terrorist (supposedly) went to Heaven, rather than being an occasion for condolences. Such demonstrations anger relatives of the victims.

Legal sources in Jordan expect that militants captured in the operations against the cell in Irbid will be charged with intention to carry out deadly terrorist acts, which is punishable by death, among other charges. [Erem]

 

North Africa

Egypt

Daesh publishes photos of detonating an IED on an Egyptian Army vehicle south of Khariza in central Sinai. [JustPaste]

Daesh publishes photos of detonating an IED on an Egyptian Army patrol in Karm Al-Qawadis. [JustPaste]

Daesh says one of its snipers killed an Egyptian soldier near Al-Tawil village east of Arish. [JustPaste]

 

Libya

Northeast

The spokesman of the Oil Facilities Protection Guard has denied reports that there is a plan to merge the Oil Facilities Protection Guard into the Libyan Army commanded by Lt. Gen. Khalifa Hafter. [Wasat]

 

Libyan Army troops and allied local militias besieged Daesh inside the Benghazi University Thursday evening in the Garyounis area of west Benghazi city, militia sources said. The source announced that the military had taken control of the areas around the university last month but was pursuing operations to deal with the remaining presence of Daesh and its allied militias. [Wasat]

 

Central

A sniper in Sirte, Khaled Al-Warfali, killed four Daesh members from atop his house before Daesh discovered his location and killed him by rocketing the house. Al-Warfali killed two Tunisian Daesh members, one Sudanese, and one Libyan as well as destroying some Daesh vehicles. Daesh has also captured the sniper’s father. [QanatLibya]

 

Two individuals, a Libyan and a Tunisian, have been detained on suspicion of belonging to Daesh, a Misrata Operations Room sources said Thursday. The men were detained in Abu Qurayn, on the road between Sirte and Misrata, as they drove a private car along the road in the direction of Tripoli, the source added. [Wasat]

Northwest

More than 20 Daesh members have been killed or captured in Sabratha in the last two days, most of them Tunisian nationals, the Sabratha municipal council announced. The 20 were among Daesh members who fled to the Al-Jafara area recently. The statement said Sabratha’s Joint Operations Room would continue its campaign against Daesh in Sabratha. [Wasat]

 

Two Italian hostages who were kidnapped last summer have been freed in a raid on Friday in Sabratha after two of their abducted companions were killed, possibly in a firefight with Daesh, two days before. [Reuters (English)]

 

Sabratha Joint Operations Room troops discovered three Tunisian passports bearing the name of Noureddine Bin Tahir Chouchane, one of Tunisia’s most wanted terrorists, who is suspected of involvement in the deadly attack at the Bardo museum in Tunis in 2015. The passports were found in the course of a raid on a Daesh site in Sabratha (photos). [QanatLibya]

 

Other countries

Spain

Spanish police announced the dismantling of a network supplying Daesh and other terror groups with military supplies. 3 containers containing over 20,000 second hand military uniforms intended for terror groups, including Daesh, were confiscated by the police from the ports of Valencia and Alicante. [IraqPress]

 

Czech Republic

The annual report of Czech MoI stated that many European nationals used Vaclav Havel airport in Prague as a crossing point to the Middle East to join Daesh. It added that some were arrested and returned to their countries, but some crossed to their destination. [Etejah]

 

Denmark

Denmark is redeploying its F-16s, withdrawn last year, to Iraq, the Danish Prime Minister said. [Mada] The Danish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has voted in favor of the Danish president’s request to send 400 Special Forces troops to fight Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The move will come up for a vote on April 15 in the Danish parliament. [Aawsat]

 

SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Facebook Page of the Day

Another pro-Daesh page from Libya

 

Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day

https://twitter.com/EodQlma

https://twitter.com/mwhd_18_18

https://twitter.com/ccolin201500

https://twitter.com/a62447131

https://twitter.com/bintotba195

 

Other Daesh media   

Daesh audio newsletter in Arabic [JustPaste]

Another Daesh promotional video [VideoWood]

 

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