June 5, 2018
Manbij
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Court ruling says courts can’t nullify election results or mandate manual recounts. [..]
News report suggests Al-Fath-Rule of Law coalition may now have advantage in forming government. [..]
Iraqi citizens reporting returned Daesh members to law enforcement in large numbers. [..]
Turkey’s ambassador assures that new Tigris dam will provide water for Iraq. [..]
Another mass grave with Daesh murder victims found in Hammam Al-Alil. [..]
PMF command demands that pro-Kurdish Yazidi militia in Sinjar disarm. [..]
Syria
Russia negotiates concessions to Israel to exclude Iranian, Hezbollah troops from border area. [..]
. . . but Iran militiamen reported returning in Syrian uniforms. [..]
Manbij crisis ended by US-Turkey agreement for PYD departure, US-Turkey-France shared control, & a local council. [..]
SDF military control of Raqqa will be passed to Arab units. [..]
Tahrir Al-Sham kills 22 Daesh members in Idlib. [..]
Daesh counter-attack in Deir Ez-Zor continues. [..]
Other countries
Somalia: Al-Shabab attack kills at least 9, including two parliament members. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Election/New government
Election
The Supreme Judiciary Council of Iraq says that the law does not allow nullifying the election results or enforcing a manual recount of votes of the May 12 elections. It says all protests shall be provided to the Elections Commission which is to decide positively or negatively. It says that the Elections Commission will investigate protests individually, adding that Iraqi laws do not provide alternatives to this method. [Anadolu]
The Federal Court said on Tuesday that they have not ratified the names of the winners of the CoR election yet for the simple reason that those names have not yet reached them. Court spokesman Iyas Al-Samuk made the remarks in response to a journalist’s question. [Sumaria]
UNAMI Special Envoy Ján Kubiš addressed the CoR elections in an interview with Rudaw. Kubiš said that the elections were a necessary step in Iraq’s democracy, and noted that Daesh attempts to sabotage the election had failed. He said that complaints about the elections and electoral process should be brought to IHEC and the Iraqi judiciary, and that IHEC was currently reviewing complaints about the elections. He then emphasized that the UN was not part of the electoral process. Kubiš also said that the Security Council was reviewing potential solutions to the issue of Kirkuk and the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. [Rudaw]
New government
According to the Iraqi Constitution, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi will turn over the government to a caretaker government 25 days from now. Bas News commented that the potential coalition of Al-Fath (Conquest) and Nouri Al-Maliki’s Rule of Law seems to have a better chance now. They wrote that “media reports” had confirmed that there were initial agreements in place between Al-Fath, Rule of Law, the Kurds, and a Sunni alliance. Saad Al-Mutlabi, a leader in Rule of Law, told Bas News that dialogues with other parties were ongoing, that there were fundamental points of agreement with “most of the winning electoral lists,” and that their allies going forward would be Kurds, Sunnis, and “the large Shi’a lists.” [BasNews]
Corruption
The Ministry of Justice says 518 prisoners were released from state prisons, including 106 released in accordance with a general amnesty law passed by the Council of Representatives in 2016. The law was revised to exclude Daesh prisoners from eligibility under this law. 62 women prisoners are among those released. [Anadolu]
Iraq-KRG Issues
The former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, said on Tuesday that there was an opportunity to resolve the outstanding differences between the administration of the Kurdistan Region and the federal government. Barzani issued a statement which said that there were new opportunities following the May 12 elections, if Baghdad and the Region worked within “the principles of partnership and harmony and balance.” [Anadolu]
DaeshDaily comment. Translation: The KDP is conditioning its participation in the new government on concessions on disputed territories and possibly on future political status. This may be related to the story above under “New government.”
Anti-Daesh campaign
The Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that there was a “high rate” of reports of Daesh members in “liberated areas,” as covered by Mawazin. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed wrote that Iraqi military reports showed an “unprecedented” increase in the rate at which people were providing tips to Iraqi military and police hotlines to reported suspected Daesh members or suspected terrorist activity. They quoted an unnamed intelligence official as saying that military and police receive at least 30 tips a day originating from the “liberated areas.” Other citizens and police officers interviewed confirmed the importance of intelligence collection in finding Daesh members. A member of the civil society Iraqi Rehabilitation Organization, Talal Al-Hayani, said he thought the Daesh propaganda machine had largely been defeated, and that the increased rate of reporting against Daesh reflected the low public opinion of them. [Mawazin]
On Tuesday, CoR Security and Defense Committee member Iskander Witwit warned that Daesh may exploit certain fragile areas. For example, Samarra has active Daesh cells and more Daesh fighters may emerge from the desert of Anbar and Diyala Provinces. Daesh cells may also be hiding along the borders and outskirts of those areas. An official told Baghdad Today that it is imperative to conduct a broad campaign to purge Daesh from all such areas. [BaghdadToday]
Sumaria reported on documents written by the then-deputy leader of Daesh, Adnan Ismail Najm Al-Dulaimi, aka Abu Abdulrahman Al-Bilawi, killed in June 2014 by Iraqi forces. A researcher on security and extremist groups, Hisham Al-Hashemi, commented on the documents, noting that Al-Bilawi was at that time the head of the military council for Daesh. Al-Bilawi served in Saddam’s Republican Guard before joining Al-Qaeda in 2005. In July 2007, he was arrested and imprisoned in Abu Ghraib prison, which he broke out of, along with many other prisoners, when Daesh attacked the prison.
The documents found on Al-Bilawi when he was killed indicated that Daesh was trying to direct units from Tal Afar and Ayadhiya to make short, coordinated attacks on the west side of Mosul, while conducting military drills at the same time in Mosul and Samarra, then bring Daesh detachments in from the desert areas and Thirthar, in order to paralyze and frighten Iraqi forces in the area. The documents indicated that Daesh was waiting for the Iraqi armed forces commanders to respond to this process, and particularly to the scale of the military drills in Samarra.
Al-Hashemi said that the death of Al-Bilawi was a reason for postponing the attacks on west Mosul, and that some Daesh fighters remained stationed in west Ninewa for 3 days afterward waiting for his orders. Al-Hashemi added that they were also waiting for a reaction from the Iraqi forces regarding the Samarra drills, but the Iraqi leadership tried to keep people from being afraid by denying that the event happened. Al-Hashemi said that the main reason the Iraqi security forces fled Mosul was the bombing done by Abu Omar Al-Jazrawi, targeting a group of army leaders in front of the Mosul Hotel, which led to the morale of the Iraqi Army collapsing, and their withdrawal to the east side of Mosul, followed by orders from Baghdad to withdraw completely. [Sumaria]
The New York Times responded to criticism of its handling of Daesh documents, as covered by Sumaria. Sumaria noted that both the international and Western press have accused the NYT of stealing the documents and taking them to the NYT HQ in the US without the knowledge of Iraqi authorities. These criticisms have noted that there were both moral and legal objections to taking these documents to keep them from Daesh rather than turning them over to law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
The NYT and the reporter responsible for the story said that they were helped by Iraqi forces, who knew the story the NYT was working on, and that they had to smuggle the documents out of Iraq to prevent them from being lost or destroyed in a war zone. The NYT added that Iraqi military intelligence was aware of its work and that military intelligence units had prevented it from taking some sensitive documents. They said that the Iraqi forces aware of the story also hoped that the story would convince some of their allies of the danger of Daesh and the seriousness of their fight. The NYT said that they would keep the documents safe, and that in the future they would be fully digitized and available on the Internet. [Sumaria]
Foreign policy
Turkey’s Ambassador to Baghdad says that Turkey has planned to build the Ilısu Dam for over 10 years, saying that all steps taken were made in consultation with neighboring countries, including Iraq. He stressed that Turkey would supply Iraq with enough water quantities, as it was not built just for storage, but to generate power as well. [Arabi21]
PM Haider Al-Abadi called on Turkey to respect Iraq’s sovereignty in the course of Turkey’s war on the PKK. Al-Abadi made the remarks at his weekly press conference. He added that he would not accept the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on other countries, including Turkey, and would coordinate with Turkey on border security, but that there currently was no coordination mechanism that would permit Turkish troops to enter Iraqi territory. He further noted that although there had been a small Turkish military presence in northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Region since the 1980s, if Turkey tried to increase such a military presence, he would consider it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. The Prime Minister is raising an issue we have addressed before. Reality is that Iraq has done essentially nothing to prevent its territory from being used by the PKK for military camps in northern Iraqi Kurdistan, from which its armed personnel cross the border and kill Turkish citizens. The KRG has also essentially done nothing, in part because the PKK’s declared cause of an independent Kurdistan has a lot of sympathizers among Kurdish voters. Al-Abadi manages not to mention the PKK combatants who are operating in Iraqi space but is making an issue of the Turks. The Erdogan government has created a lot of issues in Iraq with its high pressure and constant scheming, but let’s be fair. If Iraq, including the KRG will not prevent these PKK sanctuaries in Iraq, Turkey’s only option is to deal with them on their own. Political posturing won’t solve that problem.
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Northeast (Adhamiya, etc.)
Baghdad Ops Command announced on Tuesday that it had arrested wanted persons in various parts of the capital, including 2 suspects wanted on terrorism charges. A statement said that the terrorism arrests were made in the Adhamiya and Rashidiya areas. [Ghad]
South (Dora, Yusufiyah, Mahmudiya, etc.)
Iraqi Federal Police IFP) command announced on Tuesday that it had arrested several Daesh fighters. In a statement, it said that after receiving a tip about Daesh activity in Mahdia, in the Dora area of Baghdad, Federal Police in the 8th Brigade of the 2nd Division had arrested a “resident of Suleimaniya and Halabja” who was in possession of false identity documents. After being interrogated, he confessed to being a Daesh member who received false civilian identities from another person and sent them to other Daesh members. The Federal Police then arrested the second person in Dora, who confessed to selling forged documents to the first arrestee. The same units later arrested a third person living in Ghazaliya, close to Abu Ghraib, who admitted to belonging to a Daesh group in Diyala. [Ghad]
ANBAR
Falluja
See stories below under Samarra regarding operations in the Samarra-Anbar desert area.
SALAHUDDIN
Tikrit
Salahuddin Operations Command announced on Tuesday that units in the Salahuddin Anti-Explosives Department, as well as units under the Directorate of Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism, had found various explosives in Diba’i, just south of Tikrit. In a statement, Command said the discovery included 50 anti-armor mines, 4 thermal grenades, 12 detonators for anti-armor mines, 10 “homemade” grenades, 25 explosive detonators, and a variety of lighters. The Center for Security Information confirmed the discovery and added that they had also found a book of records used by Daesh’s “Islamic Police.” [Ghad] [Ghad]
On Tuesday, the PMF announced that it had foiled an effort by Daesh to smuggle oil from the Allas oilfields in eastern Salahuddin. [BaghdadToday]
Samarra
On Tuesday, Samarra Ops Commander Imad Al-Zuhairi said that operations launched by the Iraqi forces against Daesh were conducted in coordination with the Sadrist Saraya Al-Salam PMF organization. The official media of Saraya Al-Salam confirmed the spread of Daesh in Samarra District in Salahuddin governorate. [Youm7]
Saraya Al-Salam itself, which is assigned to the Samarra area, announced on Tuesday that it had killed 13 Daesh fighters in a joint operation with the Iraqi Army around the Tigris and to its west in areas near Lake Thirthar in Anbar. The operation described covered an extremely wide area, including Albu Jarub, west of Samarra; Subaihat in Falluja’s Qarma subdistrict, and an obscure place in Anbar called Al-Hadidi. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. We wish the Army would put out the official version of the story. However, places like this are where the remaining fight against Daesh has to be carried out. It’s the deserts, the mountains, and all the other places in between the urban areas where Daesh control has been essentially eliminated.
A DaeshDaily source says Daesh attacked a Saraya Al-Salam battalion headquarters in Jazeera Samarra, killing 2 fighters and stealing weapons and ammunition. The source says Daesh terrorists set the place on fire before retreating.
DIYALA
Baquba/Southeast Diyala
Daesh issues a video of detonating an IED on two Iraqi soldiers in the Al-Waqf area. Daesh had claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday. [A3maq]
Central Diyala (Muqdadiya/Abu Saida)
The Diyala Police announced that it had arrested 12 people, including several terrorists affiliated with Daesh, in Muqdadiya and in the Jalawla area in Khanaqin in northeast Diyala. [Forat]
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
A DaeshDaily source says 3 Badr PMF fighters were killed and their vehicles destroyed when an IED exploded on their convoy in the Udhaim Dam area.
KIRKUK
Hawija (Riyadh, Al-Zab, etc.)
The IFP announced on Tuesday that Federal Police in the 4th Brigade of the 6th Division had found 3 IEDs in Hawija subdistrict while supporting PMF groups in Kirkuk. Federal Police from the 5th Brigade also arrested 5 persons wanted for terrorism in Kirkuk, some of whom were Hawija residents. [Ghad]
NINEWA
Mosul
West Mosul
The Center for Security Information, through spokesman General Yahya Rasul , reported that a joint force assigned to clear the Badoush Mountains had found 2 “SPG”-type rockets, 5 explosive charges, 8 IEDs, and a Katyusha rocket launcher. [Baghdadia]
The Ministry of the Interior said that 20 Daesh members were arrested in west Mosul. Ministry spokesman General Sa’ad Ma’an said that units under Ninewa Police Command carried out the arrests, adding that among them were members of Daesh’s “security” and “Islamic police” groups. [Sumaria]
A DaeshDaily source says Ninewa SWAT units captured Muhannad Al-Obeidi, the Daesh security official of Hatra, who was hiding in a house in Hay Al-Shuhada [“hay” = neighborhood]in west Mosul. The units confiscated a silenced gun from the house.
East Mosul
A DaeshDaily source says Ninewa SWAT units captured 2 Daesh members in a house in Hay Al-Sihha in east Mosul, based on information obtained from residents of the area. The source also says the units confiscated passports and money from the house. The source says the terrorists had been in hiding since the Mosul liberation and were planning to flee to Turkey.
A DaeshDaily source says Rapid Intervention units captured 6 Daesh members in Hay Al-Zahra, in east Mosul.
Daesh says it killed an officer by detonating an IED on his vehicle in the North Garage area, in east Mosul, on Monday. [A3maq]
Southern Ninewa
Mosul subdistrict/ Hammam Al-Alil/Shura
A DaeshDaily source says local police and PMF units found a mass grave of civilians killed by Daesh in the desert near Hammam Al-Alil. The source says the victims were blindfolded and shot in the head. The source sent us photos of the mass grave.
The Center for Security Information announced on Tuesday that security personnel under Ninewa Ops Command had found an explosives belt in the village of Khan, in the Muhalabiya area of Mosul subdistrict near the Tal Afar border. A destroyed safehouse and 2 more IEDs were found in Lazzaqa. [Baghdadia]
Western Ninewa
Tal Afar
The Center for Security Information announced on Tuesday that security personnel under Ninewa Ops Command had found a cache of explosives in the village of Al-Shahadin in Ayadhiya subdistrict northeast of Tal Afar city. Center spokesman General Yahya said the find included 15 explosives belts, 30 mortar shells, and 2 “SPG”-type rockets. [Baghdadia]
Sinjar
The PMF organization demanded that the Êzîdxan Protection Force (HPÊ), a Yazidi militia, disarm. The PMF said that it would not permit the HPÊ to carry weapons in the center of Sinuni and Sinjar. Haydar Shesho, commander of the HPÊ, said that they were not responsible to the PMF, and that the HPE security personnel were official forces who had approval from the Peshmerga Ministry. He added that the PMF were just trying to obstruct the HPÊ. US troops have been deployed in Sinjar over the past few days. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. This has nothing much to do with security in Sinjar and everything to do with the long-standing Kurdish (and especially KDP) scheme to gain permanent political control of Sinjar. (It is a mere inconvenience to the Kurds that Sinjar is not contiguous with Kurdistan.) Some Yazidis are pro-Kurdish and some are not, in part because some identify as Kurdish and some don’t. Those upset that they were suddenly abandoned overnight by the Peshmerga as Daesh invaded Sinjar in 2014 are in the anti-Kurdish group. There have been militias on both sides of this divide. The Iraqi government having reasserted predominant control over Sinjar, the obviously pro-Kurdish HPE is asserting authority it doesn’t have but is promoting the Kurdish solution to the political status issue, which is its real purpose as seen from Erbil.
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Babel
The Babel Police command announced on Tuesday that its forces had arrested 44 wanted persons, including 1 wanted on terrorism charges and 1 accused of kidnapping. The Director of the Babel Emergency Police, General Abbas Al-Zarkani, said that the terrorism suspect had been arrested at a checkpoint in the north of the province, next to Baghdad, and that he had 2 grenades hidden in his vehicle at the time of his arrest. The 4 persons traveling with him were also arrested. [Baghdadia]
Dhi Qar
The Dhi Qar Criminal Court announced on Tuesday that it had sentenced 4 terrorists to death for their role in a plan 9 years ago to blow up explosives in the Husseiniya neighborhood of the Rashidiya subdistrict in north Baghdad. [Ghad]
KURDISTAN NEWS
(No reports)
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said that Turkish forces would continue military operations in Syria and Iraq until “the elimination of the last terrorist with his gun aimed at Turkey,” as quoted in the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu. Erdoğan added that this included entering Sinjar, if necessary, as part of Turkey’s campaign against the PKK. [Dorar]
Also see stories below under “Manbij”
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
Foreign policy
A Spanish paper says Russia agreed with Israel to dissolve pro–Assad militias in Syria and integrate them into regular forces. The paper said this was discussed between the Russian and Syrian presidents in Sochi recently. [Dorar]
Russian Military Police are deployed on all the crossings between Harmal and Al-Qasr, Lebanon on the Syria-Lebanon border, and more are about to be deployed in the area between Beqaa and Qalamoun, placing Hezbollah supply lines virtually under its scrutiny. Some sources say recent Russian movements are the result of a Russian-Israeli-US understanding on Syria. [Qasioun]
However, sources in militant opposition factions say Iranian and pro-Iranian militias are returning to the areas they left, putting on the uniforms of regular Syrian forces. Government checkpoints are allowing them to pass easily, says the sources. [Qasioun]
DaeshDaily comment. All of this is confusing, but shows the consistency of Russian diplomacy in trying to clear out all the obstacles to reassertion of Assad’s control over all of Syria. With the difficult opposition pockets in and near Damascus cleared, the focus has shifted to southern Syria. This looked to Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran like an opportunity to move their forces close to the Israeli border. This has brought Israel into the Syrian conflict with threats to invade southern Syria and otherwise attack Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria in order to prevent that. Russia has apparently negotiated an arrangement acceptable to Israel under which, within 25 km of the Israeli border, the Syrian Army will deal with southern Syria on its own, possibly a risky move for the exhausted Syrian military if the opposition is particularly stubborn. This has created some conflict between Russia and Iran, but the Russians are clear-headed about their core objective of serving Assad’s interests first. Assad can’t tell the Iranians and Hezbollah to back off; he owes them too much. But the Russians can.
France
Lafarge, the French cement giant, demanded to postpone its court hearing regarding the company’s alleged funding of Daesh. The court hearing was set for today in Paris. The company is accused of paying over 12 million euros to armed groups in Syria, including Daesh, to keep its factory in Syria operational, and allow personnel to come and go at the factory. [Qasioun]
Anti-Daesh campaign
Syrian military sources say that Daesh had turned the schools in the Yarmouk refugee camp and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad into training sites for raising young Daesh recruits. Sumaria published pictures from the areas after they came under Syrian regime control, including signs painted on the walls, apparently referring to the children there as “Cubs of the Caliphate–State of Hama.” A representative from the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that Daesh had been training children under 13 as gunmen and suicide bombers. Video recordings of the children’s training showed children lined up in uniform taking military orders, engaging in target practice, and being present during executions. [Sumaria]
Northwest
Manbij /Al-Bab/Jarabulus
The US State Department said on Tuesday that all parties would accept the settlement that has been reached to stabilize the situation in Manbij. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news conference that the US and Turkey had come to an agreement that provided for the withdrawal of the YPG/PYD from Manbij to areas east of the Euphrates. [Anadolu]
Turkey and the US agreed on a 6-month “road map” to manage affairs in Manbij, which would include the withdrawal of all Kurdish forces, the formation of a joint Turkish, US, and French command, and the establishment of a civil council to run the city. [Qasioun]
PYD General Command has announced the withdrawal of its units from Manbij, following the US-Turkey understanding. A few “trainers” stayed in the city in coordination with the Coalition, according to the Manbij Military Council. [Qasioun]
Northeast
Hasaka
The SDF announced the start of a new operation to capture Dashisha south of Hasaka, saying it already holds some forward positions in the area. However, Qasioun also reports that Daesh killed several SDF fighters in an ambush near the town of Dashisha. [Qasioun] [Qasioun]
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
A Kurdish website says that the SDF agreed to the deployment of Arab units in its areas of control in north Syria. The Arab units will start deploying in Raqqa, where the US is planning to withdraw its troops. [Dorar]
The Turkish Foreign Minister threatened to enter Kobane and Raqqa, by duplicating the Manbij example. He said that other than Turkey and the US, there will be no role for any other state in Manbij, be it the UK, France, or Belgium. He says Russia is in Tartus, while there is no Syrian or Russian presence in Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor. Daesh is in the desert areas. [Qasioun]
DaeshDaily comment. The Manbij agreement is hopefully a positive step that could calm US-Turkish relations, but now the ever bombastic Erdogan regime puts out another bullying statement. This is offensive, but objectivity requires the concession that the bullying strategy has worked so far and so the Turks are probably justified in assuming that it will continue to work.
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a traffic circle in Raqqa, according to the SDF media center. [Hawar]
Central and West
Aleppo/Idlib
Daesh supporters claim that Tahrir Al-Sham killed 22 civilians in the Idlib area after accusing them of being Daesh members. [ICDNJun5]
Qasioun provided a different version of the story, reporting that Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) killed 22 Daesh fighters on Tuesday in fighting near the city of Salqin, according to the HTS media outlet. They added that they had also captured 4 other fighters and seized 40 Kalashnikov-style rifles, machine guns, and rockets. [Qasioun]
Homs
The Maghawir Al-Thawra (“Commandos of the Revolution”) opposition faction claimed in a statement that it thwarted a Daesh suicide bomb attack on one of its patrols near the Al-Tanaf base, on the Jordanian border in far southeastern Homs. The two-hour battle ended with all attacking fighters killed. [Qasioun]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Deir Ez-Zor District
Daesh initiated a large attack on government forces near the Al-Taym oilfield near Deir Ez-Zor, capturing some strategic positions. The attack started from Mayadin. [Qasioun]
Mayadin District
The fierce fighting between Daesh and government forces east of the Euphrates is continuing, resulting in the killing of 45 government soldiers and at least 26 Daesh fighters so far, SOHR reported. Daesh is attacking a 100 km-long front, aiming to confuse government forces and their allies west of the Euphrates. The Albu Kamal–Deir Ez-Zor road was cut off as a result of the fighting. [Hawar]
Albu Kamal District
After taking Bagouz village Monday, Daesh attacked government positions in Albu Lil and Mo Hassan. Local sources reported an American airstrike in the area. [Qasioun]
A DaeshDaily source says Daesh started to dig a trench around Al-Sha’afa town and has deployed snipers in order to stop SDF units from advancing.
South
Damascus/Rif Damashq
A pro-government website says fierce clashes took place in Qardaha, Latakia between government forces and a militia led by Jaafar Shalish, a relative of President Al-Assad. Police say that the security operation against the militias is continuing, while several casualties were reported. [Dorar]
Daraa
Daesh affiliate Jaish Khaled said on Monday that 2 of its terrorists attacked opposition fighters in Hait town, west of Daraa, on Saturday, killing five fighters, including two commanders, before returning safely. [ICDNJun3
However, Daesh published a photo of one of its terrorists who attacked opposition fighters near Hait and said he was killed. [ICDNJun5]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Tunisia
On Monday, June 4, the Tunisian National Guard arrested a 23-year-old in Jendouba Governorate on charges of belonging to and promoting a terrorist organization. The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Tuesday that the arrestee had been running a Facebook page called Tawheed, which glorified Daesh and promoted terrorism. [Tunisien]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
U.S./EUROPE
United States
A US report warned that Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi may coordinate with US terrorist websites. The London-based, Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat quoted the report as saying that some people in the US would always be receptive to religious slogans exploiting personal sensitivity and the idea of hostility between Islam and the West. The report called on Internet companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter to take action against the “New Daesh-ites.” The report was published by the New America think tank in Washington, DC, and co-authored by Mitchell Silber, former Director of Intelligence at NYPD, and Jesse Morton, a former jihadi turned FBI informant. The report referred to Morton’s past activities, running the website Revolution Muslim for an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist cell in NYC, as a possible template for Al-Baghdadi’s ability to spread Daesh ideology outside of Iraq and Syria after the physical destruction of the Daesh “Caliphate.” [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. For a guy who hasn’t been seen in years, and is not provably even alive, and whose “caliphate” has been almost completely destroyed, Baghdadi seems to inspire a lot of anxiety.
Great Britain
The British government convicted an adolescent from London of planning to attack the British Museum with a hand grenade. This was her response to a decision that prevented her from traveling to Syria to marry a Daesh terrorist. [Shafaaq]
AFRICA
Somalia
At least nine people, including two local representatives in the parliament, were killed in an attack by Al-Shabab in the state of Hirshabelle, part of Middle Shabelle in southern Somalia. Local officials said that the Al-Shabab militants ambushed a military convoy that was transporting officials, including the two legislators. [Anadolu]
