September 18, 2018
PMF Machinery Move to Basra
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Daesh Daily source details Daesh’s new leadership structure. [..]
Daesh stages deadly bus bombing against IFP in Kirkuk. [..]
Babel court issues death sentence to Daesh terrorist who helped kill 34 religious pilgrims in 2016. [..]
Syria
Russian military plane shot down in Syria—by a Russian missile. [..]
SDF source reports US assurances that it will remain in Syria indefinitely. [..]
Turkey’s Cavusoglu explains the Turkey-Russia Idlib deal. [..]
SDF frees 2 more kidnapped Yazidis. [..]
Daesh mass grave in Raqqa yields 2,600 bodies. [..]
SDF is advancing on three towns in Albu Kamal. [..]
Other countries
Afghanistan: 26 Daesh terrorists arrested for plotting attacks on Ashura holiday. [..]
Coalition troops storm Daesh hideouts in eastern Kunar. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
New government
Hadi Al-Amiri, head of the Al-Bina’ coalition, says he has withdrawn his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister, saying in a press conference that any nomination should be supported by all political parties. [Sumaria]
Kata’eb Hezbollah, a PMF group, threatened to overthrow the next Prime Minister if he does not respect the sacrifices of the PMF, and KH in particular, says Abu Talib Al-Sa’idi, a commander of the militia. He said that the ongoing political debates and developments would not be possible without the sacrifices of the militia. [BasNews]
DaeshDaily comment. This has become a tedious theme of pro-Iran propaganda. It propagates the myth that the war was won by the PMFs, supported of course by Iran, ignoring the Counter Terrorism Service, the Iraqi Federal Police, and the regular Army—and of course pretending that the Coalition airpower was actually unnecessary. Further north, the Kurdish leadership keeps pounding the myth that the war was won mostly by the Peshmerga. Given what happened to Al-Abadi, the Commander-in-Chief, in the election, apparently a lot of people believe this stuff.
A Kurdish source says that US Envoy to the Coalition Brett McGurk met with Mullah Bakhtiar, head of the Political Bureau of the PUK, to convince him to withdraw his candidacy for the post of President of Iraq. The source says the reason is McGurk’s wish to make it easier for the PUK to select its preferred candidate. [Ghad]
Reconstruction
South Korea provided US $1.2 million to Iraq to support humanitarian activities in Iraq. [BaghdadPost]
Anti-Daesh campaign
A Daesh Daily source says Daesh has reorganized its leadership structure in Iraq and Syria. The source produced names and current locations.
Within the military structure, Hamid Al-Badri, a cousin of Awwad Baghdadi, is the security commander in Iraq, working from the Jazeera Samarra area. Abu Saja Al-Shishani, a Moroccan, the general military commander, is in the Syrian Desert. Jassem Mohammed, aka Abu Ayesha, the security commander for Iraq, is in western Anbar. Abu Hamza Al-Shishani, the general official of soldiers, is in the Homs Desert. Abu Basir Al-Badawi, responsible for Daesh’s foreign recruiting, is in the Deir Ez-Zor area. All are essentially hiding out by working from remote places.
Within the religious structure, Abu Auf Al-Saudi, the general hisbah official; Abu Talha Al-Saudi, the general official for mosques; and Hassan Falih Taha, a Syrian who is general director of Daesh’s religious committee, are all in the Deir Ez-Zor area.
Among other officials, Khaled Harbous Khalaf, a Syrian serving as the Daesh police official, is in the Homs Desert; Ali Tahseen Al-Afri, the general economy official, is somewhere in Syria; Abu Ali Al-Libi, the natural resources official, is in the Iraq-Syria border area; and Abu Hamza Al-Amriki, the media official, is in the Deir Ez-Zor area.
DaeshDaily comment. We have no way to confirm this information, but this source has been reliable for many previous reports.
BAGHDAD
Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)
A security source says armed men shot and wounded a civilian near the Shurufi Mosque in the Ur neighborhood, in Adhamiya. [Sumaria]
A security source said on Tuesday that a roadside bomb exploded in the Shaab neighborhood in Adhamiya, injuring three people. [Sumaria]
Daesh said it killed or wounded 20 Shia in a religious gathering in Shaab, with two IEDs. [ICDNSep18] [ICDNSep18]
East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)
A police source says that explosives teams from the Ministry of Interior safely defused and removed 3 IEDs that had been placed at the municipal council building in Sadr City. [Sumaria]
West (Mansour, Abu Ghraib, etc.)
Baghdad Ops Command says that units from the 25th Army Brigade arrested an escapee from Abu Ghraib prison, somewhere “south of the capital.” A large group of prisoners convicted on terrorism charges escaped Abu Ghraib prison in 2013. [Sumaria]
Total Baghdad security incidents reported: 4 (Includes only incidents reported)
Total IED security incidents reported: 2
ANBAR
Anah (including Rawa)
A source in Jazeera Ops Command in Anbar says that Coalition planes executed 3 airstrikes on Daesh targets “deep in the desert” west of Rawa, killing and wounding several militants. [BasNews]
Daesh claimed on Tuesday that it stopped an “American” airborne operation in an unspecified Anbar desert location, killing three soldiers, wounding others, and forcing the rest to retreat. Daesh claimed it “lured” the American force into an ambush. [ICDNSep18]
Rutba
Daesh said on Tuesday it killed five Army soldiers, including an officer, and destroyed their vehicle with a roadside IED in the Kilo 120 area. [A3maq]
Daesh also claimed to have killed four Iraqi Army soldiers and destroyed their vehicle in an ambush near the Jordanian border. [ICDNSep18]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
Daesh said on Tuesday it killed a Tribal PMF soldier, wounded two others, and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in Isdaira village, south of Shirqat. [ICDNSep18]
Baiji
A Daesh Daily source said on Tuesday that Salahuddin SWAT units captured a former Daesh member, who later on joined Shia PMFs, in Baiji. He source said the man had stolen vehicles and furniture from government buildings when Daesh entered Salahuddin in 2014, and then joined PMFs in 2017 and started to kidnap people for ransom. The source sent us a photo of the suspect.
On Tuesday, security personnel arrested a distributer of Daesh audio and video productions at a checkpoint on the Baiji–Haditha road in Salahuddin Province, according to the Center for Security Information. Center spokesman General Yahya said in a statement that the detainee admitted to working with Daesh to distribute the materials. [PUKMedia]
Tikrit
The Ministry of Defense says that the 15th Army Division found Daesh IEDs, explosives, and tunnels in the Mtaibija area, in Salahuddin by the Diyala border. It found and destroyed over 24 IEDs and various explosives, as well as a Daesh tunnel. Supporting Army helicopters destroyed several Daesh safehouses in the process. [Baghdadia]
Samarra
A Daesh Daily source said on Tuesday that IFP units destroyed a Daesh vehicle bomb that was charging on Saraya Al-Salam PMF units in Jazeera Samarra, with a thermal rocket. The suicide bomber was a 16 year old boy. The source sent us photos of the destroyed vehicle.
DIYALA
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
Daesh said it wounded four Shia, including a mukhtar, and destroyed 3 houses and 2 vehicles in an attack “with multiple types of weapons” on a village in Khanaqin, on Monday. [ICDNSep18]
A security source says Daesh fired 4 mortar shells on a small village in Jalawla, wounding seven civilians. [Forat]
KIRKUK
Kirkuk/Dibis
A security source said on Tuesday that a roadside IED placed on the Baghdad–Kirkuk Road targeted a bus carrying Federal Police, killing one policeman and one civilian and wounding 14 others. [Sumaria]
Later Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said that the casualty toll from the Baghdad–Kirkuk Road bombing had risen to two dead and 15 wounded. [Sumaria]
Daesh claimed responsibility, saying it killed 12 IFP members and destroyed their bus with an IED. [ICDNSep18]
Hawija (Riyadh, Al-Zab, etc.)
The Center for Security Information says that intelligence units in the IFP destroyed 2 car bombs and 3 Daesh safehouses in Hawija. The statement says that the safehouses belonged to Daesh’s “Qadisiya” group, which is operating in the mountains between Ninewa and Diyala. [Baghdadia] [PressIraq]
A Daesh Daily source said on Tuesday that IFP and Rapid Intervention units, supported b the Iraqi Air Force and Iraqi Army Aviation, destroyed several Daesh hideouts in the Hawi Al-Zab area, killing 4 terrorists. An IFP commander told the source that the area was filled with Daesh terrorists who depended on help from sleeper cells in the area. The commander also said that the IFP would establish military positions in the area to prevent Daesh from returning. The source sent us photos of the results of the operation.
Daesh said on Tuesday it captured and then killed a Salahuddin Provincial Council employee in an ambush near Dhirban village, in Riyadh subdistrict. [ICDNSep18] [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said on Tuesday it killed 3 IFP members and wounded others by detonating an IED on their vehicle, in Riyadh subdistrict. [ICDNSep18]
Southwest (Daquq, Rashad, Taza, etc.)
Daesh said it killed or wounded 5 IFP members in an ambush near Ali Saray village in Daquq District, on Monday. [A3maq]In another report, it said the attack was with an IED. [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said on Tuesday that it attacked the house of the mukhtar of Al-Fakhera village, south of Daquq. The mukhtar managed to escape; Daesh set one of his vehicles on fire and stole 2 guns. [ICDNSep18]
NINEWA
Mosul city
Nawfal Al-Akoub, the Ninewa Governor, says that 90 families have returned from the Jada’a refugee camp near Qayara to their homes in the Mosul neighborhoods of Zanjili, Al-Rifa’i, Boursa, and Sheikh Fathi, after spending 1.5 years in the camp. [Baghdadia]
A Ninewa police source says that an IED exploded in the Al-Ma’ash market, in east Mosul, seriously wounding 6 civilians. [BasNews]
Mosul District
South (Hammam Al-Alil/Shura/Qayara)
On Monday, detachments from the Directorate of Military Intelligence found and destroyed a large cache of equipment belonging to Daesh in the Shura subdistrict of Mosul. The Center for Security Information said that the cache contained 90 60mm mortar shells, 9 120mm mortar shells, and 2 82mm mortars. [SotIraq]
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Babel
The Higher Judicial Council says the Babel Criminal Court sentenced a Daesh operative to death for taking part in the terrorist attack that left 34 pilgrims dead in Al-Shawmali, Babel in 2016. [BaghdadToday]
Basra
A Daesh Daily source said on Tuesday that hundreds of pieces of PMF machinery that were used in reconstruction efforts in Ninewa, Salahuddin, and Anbar, were moved to Basra after getting orders from the Marji’ya to rehabilitate water purification units in Basra.
KURDISTAN NEWS
DAHUK
The Turkish Army says that it killed 5 PKK fighters in an airstrike in the Avasin-Basyan area in the Amedi subdistrict of Dahuk, near the Turkey border. [Anadolu]
ERBIL
Masrour Barzani, the advisor to the Security Council of the Kurdistan Region, met with a US delegation including Brett McGurk, the Envoy to the Coalition, Douglas Silliman, Ambassador to Iraq, and Steven Fagin, Consul General in Erbil. According to a statement, they discussed the formation of the new Iraqi government and the role of the Kurdistan Region. Barzani reportedly noted the “strong partnership” between the Kurdistan Region and the US, stressing the importance of long-term security cooperation between them. [BasNews]
Nechirvan Barzani, PM of the Kurdistan Region, met with Ursula von der Leyen, the Minister of Defense for Germany, to discuss security and humanitarian developments in the Kurdistan Region. The German delegation expressed the desire to learn more about how to assist with refugee and IDP programs in the Region. Barzani thanked the Germans for the visit and for the military and humanitarian assistance provided by Germany and the Coalition during the fight against Daesh, and expressed his desire for the German military advisors to remain in the Region. [SotIraq]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Military & security developments
Turkish security says it arrested Abdulkhaleq Al-Kurdi, a Daesh leader in Kayseri Province, central Turkey. Al-Kurdi is an Iraqi national and was active with his son in the Tal Afar District in Iraq. [Rudaw]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
Russia
A Russian plane went down in Syria. Russia says it was shot down by a Russian S-200 anti-air missile system, which it sold to Syria previously. Apparently the Syrians were trying to hit Israeli planes flying in Syrian airspace. However, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Israeli planes hid behind the Russian plane, leading the air defense system to target the Russian plane. 14-16 Russian military personnel were killed in the incident. [ZamanAlwasl]
Foreign policy
United States
The US on Tuesday issued a statement saying that the death of the crew of a Russian plane in Syria was “regrettable.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the incident was a reminder of the need to end the Iranian transfer of weapons systems through Syria. [BasNews]
DaeshDaily comment. The clear implication there is that if Iran were not trying to establish a military presence in Syria, the Israelis would not be there, so incidents like this would not happen.
A “senior source” in the SDF said on Monday that the Americans had told them the Coalition forces would remain in Syria indefinitely. [Qasioun]
Turkey
Turkey says that the recent agreement reached with Russia on Idlib will ensure protection of the province’s borders, according to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. He adds that Russia will make sure that the Syrian government won’t initiate any attack, while Turkey will guarantee the same regarding the opposition militias. A demilitarized area of 15-20 km deep was agreed upon in the recent summit between Putin and Erdogan. [EnabBaladi]
Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the PYD, said on Tuesday that there was an “agreement” between Turkey and Russia to transfer “Al-Nusra” (i.e. Tahrir Al-Sham) members from Idlib to Afrin. In a press statement, he said that this was a Turkish plan, and that if “Al-Nusra” members entered Afrin, the PYD would fight them, because their main objective was the liberation of Afrin. Muslim added that Iran was secretly involved with the Syrian Army in Idlib, and would not withdraw from Syria. [BasNews]
Anti-Daesh campaign
The SDF’s media office said on Tuesday that SDF special forces units had freed two kidnapped Yazidis, both from Sinjar. The statement said that the freed abductees were handed over to the authorities to arrange for reunification with their families. [PUKMedia]
Northeast
Hasaka
Local sources said that Asayesh units with the Kurdish autonomous government arrested 8 members of the Al-Sanadid militia, part of the SDF, in the town of Yarubiya. No reason for the arrests was given. In apparent retaliation, the Al-Sanadid fighters put up checkpoints on the road between Jawadiya and Qahtaniya and arrested 20 members of the Asayesh. [Dorar]
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
The Rapid Response Team of the Reconstruction Committee of Raqqa Civil Council finished recovering bodies from a Daesh mass grave in the old mosque in Raqqa, with 2,600 total bodies recovered. [Hawar]
Daesh said it shot and killed an SDF soldier in Matab Abu Rashid village, in Karama subdistrict east of Raqqa city. [A3maq]
Daesh said on Tuesday it killed or wounded 6 SDF members and destroyed an SUV with an IED near Al-Bustan Garden in Raqqa city. [A3maq]
Central and West
Idlib
See story above under Turkey and National News.
Homs
Syrian intelligence units killed 2 Daesh militants and captured 7 others in an ambush near Palmyra, and captured drugs, weapons, and communications equipment. The Daesh group, moving from Al-Tanaf in the southeast, was heading through the desert, towards Raqqa. [SyriaNow]
The Syrian government says that it made advances against Daesh in the “Syrian desert,” an area it defined as reaching from rural eastern Homs to the Deir Ez-Zor desert. [Qasioun]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Albu Kamal District
The SOHR noted continued fighting between the SDF and Daesh in Al-Baghouz, Al-Susah, and Hajin. It says that SDF units have advanced in these 3 areas and captured several positions. Mines and tunnels, as well as counter-attacks with car bombs, are the main Daesh means of defense, in view of the air superiority provided by the Coalition. [SyriaHR]
Kurdish sources say that the SDF liberated the bridge connecting Al-Baghouz Foqani “Upper Baghouz” to Albu Kamal. [Hawar]
The SDF killed 6 Daesh militants while thwarting a Daesh counter-attack on the bridge. [Hawar]
A Daesh social media account said on Tuesday that Daesh deployed snipers in the Baghouz areas in order to “lure” SDF and Coalition to the area. [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said on Tuesday it wounded SDF members by targeting the military positions north of Baghouz Foqani with 15 mortars. [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said on Tuesday that 25 SDF members, including three commanders, who were killed or wounded in the Baghouz area, arrived in Sari Military Hospital in Hasaka. [A3maq]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Libya
On Monday evening, the Sirte Protection Force discovered a quantity of unexploded ordnance, RPGs, and mortars left behind by Daesh in the Sirte Central Clinics Complex. Salim Al-Amil, a spokesman for the de–mining group within the Sirte Protection Force, said on Tuesday that it had found the explosives while surveying the area in preparation for re-equipping the clinical facilities there. [Wasat]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
AFRICA
Somalia
Daesh says it shot and killed a Somali customs employee in Bakara Market, in Mogadishu. [A3maq]
ASIA
Afghanistan
The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), says a group of at least 26 Daesh terrorists have been arrested for planning attacks on mourners during the Ashura Day. A knowledgeable source has said the militants have been arrested during separate operations in Kabul. The leader of the group, identified as Abdullah son of Sultan Shah, has also been arrested by the NDS. [Khaama]
Coalition troops stormed Daesh hideouts in eastern Kunar Province, leaving a number of militants dead or wounded. Local officials in Kunar said the operations were conducted late Sunday night in the Watapur District. Provincial Security Chief Amir Mohammed Zaman confirmed the raid and said at least 3 Daesh militants were killed during the raid and 2 others arrested. He said a Daesh commander identified as Abuzar was among those killed during the operations.
Meanwhile, the 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Military in the East said US forces based in Afghanistan carried out airstrikes using unmanned aerial vehicles (likely drones), targeting the Daesh militants in Watapur District and leaving at least 2 dead. [Khaama]
Daesh said it killed 6 guards of a Sufi shrine, then set the shrine on fire in Surkh Rod District, in Nangarhar. Daesh also said it stole AK machine guns. [A3maq] [ICDNSep18] [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said it shot and killed a US Army “spy” and destroyed his vehicle near Khost, on Monday. [ICDNSep18]
Daesh said it killed three pro-government militiamen in clashes in the Momand area in Nangarhar, on Monday. [ICDNSep18] [A3maq]
Philippines
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Albayalde said at least 7 people, including a 6 year old girl, were injured by an IED in General Santos City around 11:40 AM on Sunday. [Rappler]
Daesh said it wounded 7 Christians with an IED in a village in General Santos City. [A3maq]
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