February 25, 2019
Iraqi Soldiers in West Anbar (DD Feb 24)
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Ninewa official says reconstruction projects stalled pending receipt of Kuwait funding. [..]
Macron, Salih meet in Paris; talk cooperation. [..]
Alleged Daesh money laundering scheme implicates Iraqi, Kurdish banks, Libyan money. [..]
SDF has transferred 280 prisoners to Iraqi custody. [..]
Competing informants place Al-Baghdadi at three different places. [..]
6 Najaf fishermen kidnapped, killed by Daesh near Lake Thirthar. [..]
Tribal PMFs in Anbar trap, kill 7 Daesh fighters in a tunnel. [..]
Police stop determined Daesh attack on a Baiji refinery. [..]
Human Rights Watch accuses Ninewa government of harassing aid workers. [..]
Mass grave found in Muhalabiya holds 23 victims. [..]
Human Rights Commission says at least 69 mass graves unopened in Sinjar. [..]
Syria
International Crisis Group says conditions in southern Syria still precarious. [..]
Lavrov says Russian troops may patrol northeast Syria “safe zone.” [..]
Assad meets Rouhani in Teheran. [..]
Iran agrees to build 200,000 housing units in Syria. [..]
Macron says French troops will help US troops protect SDF. [..]
Mass grave with 3,500 bodies found outside Raqqa. [..]
20 or more civilians killed by leftover Daesh land mine in eastern Hama. [..]
Daesh counter-attacks Al-Bagouz as thousands continue to evacuate. [..]
British report says 50 Yazidi girls executed savagely in Deir Ez-Zor. [..]
Other countries
Iran: Foreign Minister Zarif resigns in protest over exclusion from Assad visit. [..]
Nigeria: Boko Haram factions stage several ground, rocket, mortar attacks in NE Nigeria. [..]
Afghanistan:
UN says civilian war casualties 11% higher in 2018 than 2017. [..]
Khalilzad meets Taliban rep in Qatar for “introductory “ meeting. [..]
Kashmir: Indian Air Force bombs “terrorist” targets on Pakistan side. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Reconstruction
Ninewa Governor’s advisor for Christian Affairs and manager of Agriculture Directorate in Ninewa said that “thousands” of reconstruction projects in Mosul have been put on hold, pending funding from Kuwait. [Sumaria]
Foreign policy
French President Emmanuel Macron says that France will protect the Iraqi state. He also says that the success of the Iraqi government lies in solving problems among all political parties. Macron was speaking in a joint press conference in Paris with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih. [Sumaria]
At the same press conference, President Salih said that Iraq needs to work with partners to dry up terrorist resources, and praised the role of France as an economic partner of Iraq. He added that the victory over Daesh is not complete, and requires more momentum. [Sumaria]
Anti-Daesh campaign
“Highly placed” sources said that financial networks had developed in Baghdad and Erbil to launder millions of dollars for Daesh, coming from Libya. Sumaria wrote that it reserves the right to publish the names of the financial institutions involved when the investigation is completed. [Sumaria]
Repatriation
An Iraqi military officer said that the SDF had now handed over a total of 280 Iraqi detainees to the Iraqi military. This includes both an initial transfer of 150 detainees last Thursday and transfer of another 130 detainees on Sunday. The SDF and the Iraqi military reportedly have an agreement to transfer around 500 Iraqis in total. An unofficial military source claimed that the 280 already transferred included up to 14 French nationals and 6 Arabs of non-Iraqi nationality; the Iraqi military has said only Iraqi nationals were handed over. [ElDorar] [Reuters] [France24]
The French newspaper Le Figaro also quoted 2 Iraqi military sources as saying that the handover included 20 foreign Daesh prisoners, among them 14 French nationals. [ZamanAlWasl] [Baghdadia] [Buratha]
A DaeshDaily source said on Saturday that the SDF handed over 14 Daesh terrorists, including Omar Farhat Al-Turkmani, to the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The source said Al-Turkmani (The Turkmen) is a senior Daesh commander.
The Security Media Center issued a statement on Sunday confirming that the Iraqi MoI had received 280 Iraqi Daesh fighters from the SDF. The statement said that the prisoners’ handover to the Iraqi authorities was conducted in order to avoid their release by the SDF. The statement also said that the MoI was checking their names against a database of people with outstanding arrest warrants and referring their cases to the courts for trial. Finally, it said that only detainees of Iraqi nationality were handed over. [Baghdadia]
However, Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Monday, during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, that Iraq would try 13 Daesh prisoners who were French nationals and had been handed over to Iraq last week. He said that the French Daesh fighters were accused of committing crimes against Iraqis, and so their trial in Iraq was authorized by international law. [Doualiya]
Sumaria recounted the story of Iyad, a 10-year-old boy who spent the last 4 years in Daesh captivity. He is a Yazidi who was abducted from Sinjar and recently rescued from Al-Baghouz. Iyad’s uncle said that the boy had not yet reached Iraqi territory, although he expected Iyad to arrive back in Iraq in the next 1-2 days. The uncle mused as to whether Iyad was still “the same boy,” or if he had become radicalized during his time with Daesh. [Sumaria]
The Financial Times also warned of the radicalization of Iraqi Daesh children following the arrest of their parents. It told the story of an Iraqi child who witnessed the arrest of the child’s mother from a tent in an IDP camp in Ninewa. [Sumaria]
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi
Security sources say Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has arrived in Anbar to reorganize Daesh fighters in the Anbar desert. The Emirati newspaper Al-Bayan quoted a US military source as saying that Al-Baghdadi had moved to Anbar after Daesh lost its territory in Syria. He reportedly used tunnels dug by Daesh between Deir Ez-Zor and Al-Qa’im, which can accommodate cars and motorcycles, to cross the border. The source said that information received by the US military indicated that Al-Baghdadi is in the Husseiniyat area in Anbar, along with hundreds of fighters. [Qasioun] [ElYowm]
An Iraqi intelligence source denied that Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was in Iraqi territory, calling the assertions in the above story “inaccurate and fundamentally incorrect.” The source claimed that Al-Baghdadi had not entered Iraq and that he was still being watched by Iraqi intelligence and the Coalition. [Buratha]
Another “senior military intelligence source” said on Monday that Iraqi military intelligence is hunting Al-Baghdadi on the Iraq-Syria border, and said that there was intelligence indicating that he was in the border area. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. Our readers know we have been consistently skeptical about all the Al-Baghdadi “sightings” by people who have not actually seen him. Not to our surprise, none of these rumors (perhaps too positive a word) has panned out. Today we have three reports—all from (supposedly credible) “security” and “intelligence” sources—telling us with all solemnity that Al-Baghdadi has been located in (1) western Rutba, (2) Syria, and (3) the Iraq-Syria border.
BAGHDAD
No reports
ANBAR
Falluja
A DaeshDaily source said on Saturday that PMF units found the bodies of 6 fishermen from Najaf who were killed, execution style, by Daesh near Lake Thirthar. The victims had been kidnapped by Daesh last week.
The PMF media office said that the 313th PMF Brigade attacked a Daesh gathering near the island of Umm Al-Ramal in the Lake Thirthar area with rockets, wounding and killing several of them. [Sumaria] [Buratha]
Ramadi
The Directorate of Military Intelligence said on Monday that its detachments from the 10th Brigade arrested a Daesh member in the Albu Dhiab area, northwest of Ramadi city. [Sumaria]
Haditha
A DaeshDaily source said on Saturday that Daesh released 6 civilians from Haditha who it had kidnapped last week.
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh doesn’t release anyone without a reason. The main goal here is to reestablish connections with the local communities in western Anbar. Daesh killed 6 Shia civilians and released six Sunnis. The message is clear.
Anah (including Rawa)
A DaeshDaily source said on Sunday that 2 PMF fighters were killed and their military vehicle destroyed in the Jazeera Rawa area. The source said PMF units have started a military operation to clear the area from Daesh.
Daesh said its snipers killed five Iraqi soldiers and wounded two others on Sunday, when it said it stopped a military campaign in the Anbar desert. Daesh also said it damaged two vehicles carrying heavy weapons. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Rutba
A DaeshDaily source said on Saturday that tribal PMF units trapped 7 Daesh terrorists in a tunnel near Horan Valley. The PMFs threw hand grenades in the tunnel, killing all of the terrorists. The source sent us a video of the aftermath.
On Sunday, the PMF group Al-Abbas Combat Division announced that it was undertaking the “largest operation … since its formation” to clear the western desert areas of Iraq from Daesh cells and sympathizers. Al-Abbas Combat Division Command said that the operation would cover 450 km2 between western Anbar, Rutba, and the Iraq-Syria border. [Nahrain]
On Monday, the Al-Abbas Combat Division Command said that Wadi Al-Ghadhaf, in the desert between Rutba and Nukhaib, had been completely cleared, and that Daesh tunnels and war detritus had been destroyed as part of the operation. [Ghad]
DaeshDaily comment. Al-Abbas Combat Division is a Coalition-supported PMF faction. It is one of Iraq’s most effective volunteer forces. One reason is that the division take orders from the Iraqi national command authorities. The division has consistently stated that it works fully under Ministry of Defense authority; receives its heavy weapons from the government, to which it will return them upon request; will not seek arrest powers; and is committed to dissolving at the government’s request. It was the right decision to assign this group to western Anbar.
An Anbar Provincial Council MP claimed that security personnel had not freed any civilians kidnapped by Daesh in the Anbar desert, saying that instead, a ransom of $10,000 was paid to secure their release. The MP, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that Daesh is building up its capabilities financed in part through kidnapping operations, and demanded a military operation take place to clear the desert. [BasNews]
Ali Al-Bederi, an MP in the CoR for the Islah (Reform) bloc, also noted what he said were “suspicious” Daesh movements on the Iraq-Syria border. He called on Iraqi and Coalition planes to attack and end these movements. [BasNews]
According to DaeshDaily sources, local activists from Anbar are calling on the Iraqi government to establish a special emergency operations room to deal with Daesh’s reemergence in western Anbar. The activists say that Daesh is reorganizing itself in western Anbar, with hundreds of terrorists who have fled from eastern Syria.
Daesh said it killed three PMF fighters on Saturday in clashes “with different kinds of weapons” near Nukhaib, in eastern Rutba. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
Salahuddin Police Commander Qandil Al-Jubouri said on Monday that police had stopped a terrorist attack on Salahuddin Refinery 1 in Baiji. He said that the attack lasted for 3 hours, and at least 15 attackers participated, including suicide bombers. He said that at least 3 attackers were killed, another was arrested, and the rest fled towards the Makhoul Mountains. [Baghdadia]
DaeshDaily comment. Surviving in the desert depends on raising enough money. This makes oil facilities a logical target, just as they were when Daesh built up its caliphate before. The continuation of such attacks is therefore guaranteed.
Samarra
The PMF media office said on Monday that units from the 43rd PMF Brigade had stopped a Daesh attempt to “infiltrate” the Samarra-Baghdad road near Al-Rufaiat. Its statement said that the PMF units attacked the terrorists with mortars and heavy machine guns, inflicting an unspecified number of casualties. [Ghad]
DIYALA
No reports
KIRKUK
Kirkuk/Dibis
The Security Media Center said on Monday that IFP units had arrested a Daesh agent in the Laylan IDP camp. The Center’s statement said that the arrestee was distributing aid to Daesh families within the camp. [Ghad]
The IFP said that it had found 14 Daesh “nests” near Qala Harbat village in Dibis. It said that inside the “nests” were 10 IEDs, military equipment, and fuel tanks, all of which were seized and destroyed. [IraqPress]
NINEWA
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday that authorities in Ninewa Governorate have threatened, harassed, and detained relief workers, and have pressured relief organizations to stop providing support to families believed to be affiliated with Daesh. Some relief workers are facing accusations of being Daesh members themselves. HRW wrote that 22 related incidents had been documented in Ninewa since January 2018. [BasNews] [Mada] [HRW]
Makhmur
A DaeshDaily source said on Sunday that the son of the mukhtar of Tal Al-Reem village was wounded when a sticky IED exploded under his vehicle.
Mosul city
Daesh said it severely wounded an Iraqi National Security employee and destroyed his vehicle with a sticky IED on Friday in the Al-Maliya neighborhood in east Mosul. [ICDNFeb23-Telegram]
Daesh said on Monday it killed two Iraqi soldiers and destroyed their vehicle with a sticky IED in Al-Sukar neighborhood, northern Mosul. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Mosul District
West (Hamidat/Muhalabiya)
A police source said that on Monday, security personnel found a mass grave in Muhalabiya town, containing the bodies of 23 Yazidi citizens. [BasNews]
Daesh said on Sunday it killed two Iraqi soldiers when it set off an IED on their patrol in the Aski Mosul area in Hamidat, just west of the city. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
Western Ninewa
Tal Afar
The Directorate of Military Intelligence said on Sunday that a “dangerous” Daesh official called the “emir of invasions” had been arrested after crossing the border from Syria. The Directorate’s statement said that the “emir” organized Daesh “invasions” against Iraqi security forces in Anbar, hence his appellation. He was arrested in Rabi’a subdistrict in northern Tal Afar. [Buratha]
Sinjar
The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights said on Monday that 69 mass graves had been identified in Ninewa Province, mostly in Sinjar. The organization said none of these graves have been exhumed so far, but that an international organization was working to exhume one of them in Sinjar after coordinating with the locals there. A member of the Sinjar Committee of Elders, Mahmoud Al-Araji, said there were 74 mass graves in Ninewa, and that some of the mass graves in Sinjar had been destroyed by flooding. [PressIraq]
Southern Ninewa
Hatra
A DaeshDaily source said on Saturday that 2 PMF fighters were killed when their pickup vehicle was destroyed by a roadside IED near Hatra.
Baaj
A military source said that Daesh killed 2 civilians in Baaj, after kidnapping them, on charges of working with security organizations. Their bodies were found near their houses following their murders. [BasNews]
KURDISTAN NEWS
SULEIMANIYA
The Asayish (Kurdish security) media office said that Asayish units had arrested a “dangerous” terrorist in Darbandikhan, southern Suleimaniya. The office’s statement said that the terrorist was a national of an unspecified Arab country and had previously worked with Al-Qaeda in Iraq, losing an eye while planting an IED targeting Coalition forces. [Forat]
The local Asayish Directorate also said on Monday that its units had arrested a terrorist who had entered the Kurdistan Region with a fake ID. [PUKMedia]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
No reports
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
Political developments
An International Crisis Group report said that 6 months after the Syrian government had retaken southern Syria with help from Russian mediation, the security and living conditions there remain “precarious,” the Syrian government re-established authoritarian rule, and Iranian-backed militias were trying to establish a presence near the border with Israel. It also noted that there were increasing reports of assassinations of former rebel leaders, for which state security agencies could be responsible. The ICG also said IDPs were still discouraged from returning to their homes in southern Syria due to the lack of functioning infrastructure, services, or employment. [TheNational] [CrisisGroup]
Repatriation
The SDF said on Sunday that their infrastructure was strained by the number of people leaving the last sliver of Daesh-held territory. SDF-affiliated Kurdish political official Abdelkarim Omar said, “The numbers of foreign fighters and their relatives that we are holding is increasing drastically.” SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali also said on Twitter that dealing with foreigners who had fled Daesh-held territory would “remain as the biggest challenge awaiting [the SDF] unless governments take action and fulfil their responsibilities for their citizens.” [AFP]
The father of Shamima Begum, the British girl who ran away to join Daesh and was subsequently stripped of her UK citizenship, told the Daily Mail that he supported the Home Office’s decision. He said that while he knew she was stuck in Syria, this was because of things she had done. Begum’s father’s statements contradict the rest of her family, who have appealed to the Home Office to reconsider. [BasNews]
Also see related stories above under Iraq regarding repatriation of Iraqi Daesh fighters.
Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday that Russian military police could be deployed in the proposed “safe zone” on the Syria-Turkey border. Lavrov added that the format of the “safe zone” was in the process of being finalized, and that any decision regarding it would try to take into account the interests of both Syria and Turkey. [Reuters]
DaeshDaily comment. More bad news for The Sultan. Erdogan’s scheme to take over full control of northeastern Syria is opposed by not only the US and SDF but also Syria and Russia. He can’t bully everyone at once.
Iran
Hawar wrote that Bashar Al-Assad met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on Monday in Tehran. It was the first visit of this type since the Syrian crisis began 8 years ago. [Hawar]
Also see major related story below under Iran.
An MoU was signed between the Iranian and Syrian governments to build thousands of residential units in various parts of Syria. 200,000 units will be built by Iranian contractors. [ElDorar]
Foreign policy
Great Britain
The UK Ministry of Defense said that UK Special Forces participated in the fight against Daesh, going against the decision of the UK Parliament. An MoD representative responded to questions regarding the death of a British sergeant by saying that UK units abroad are subject to commands issued by host countries. [Qasioun]
France
France’s President Emmanuel Macron thanked the SDF for its efforts in defeating Daesh, and added that he will keep French troops alongside US forces to continue supporting the SDF. [Hawar]
Northwest
No reports
Northeast
Hasaka
Daesh said it killed or wounded SDF members and damaged their vehicle with an IED on Sunday in Harir Hatim village, south of Shaddadi city. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
A mass grave containing about 3,500 bodies was found in farmland on the outskirts of Raqqa. About 120 bodies have been exhumed by Raqqa Civil Defense so far. [France24]
Daesh said on Sunday it shot and killed an SDF “operative” in Al-Makef neighborhood, in Raqqa city. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
Central and West
Hama
The state-run official news agency SANA said on Sunday that a land mine left behind by Daesh had hit a van transporting workers near Salamiyah city in rural eastern Hama. SANA said that between 20 and 24 civilians were killed. [AP]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Deir Ez-Zor District
The SOHR reported the killing of 3 Syrian soldiers by a Daesh mine in Deir Ez-Zor. [SyriaHR]
Albu Kamal District
The Daily Mail wrote on Sunday that Coalition units found 50 severed heads of Yazidi girls in Al-Baghouz that had been dumped in waste bins.
A WhatsApp conversation between a Daesh leader in eastern Syria and a Yazidi leader in Iraq discussed the fate of the last Yazidi girls held by Daesh. The Daesh leader said that no Yazidi girls were permitted to leave the Daesh-held portion of eastern Deir Ez-Zor on the orders of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. The Daesh leader also said that a decision was made “before the New Year” to kill 50 Yazidi girls in retaliation for the Coalition bombing of Daesh-held territory. The Daesh official asked the Yazidi leader to negotiate with Daesh to release the remaining Yazidis held by Daesh. [Sumaria]
On Monday, the SDF launched a new attack on Baghouz. A source from the SDF said that it had evacuated about 2,000 civilians who are related to Daesh members. [BasNews]
The Wall Street Journal wrote on Sunday, however, that the SDF offensive is still being slowed by the civilian presence in and around Al-Baghouz. It said that around 5,500 to 6,000 civilians have been evacuated by the SDF in the past 5 days, and that the SDF estimates that an equal number are still inside the Daesh-held portion of Al-Baghouz, including Daesh fighters’ families. [WSJ]
As the siege on remaining Daesh-held areas in Al-Baghouz goes on, the number of civilians exiting the area is increasing, many of them still affected by Daesh thought. A woman whose Daesh husband was killed in Al-Baghouz was quoted as saying that she does not have any regrets, and that those who are fighting are fighting for the sake of God. “Those who are exiting are the weak who cannot fight,” she added. [Rudaw]
South
No reports
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Iran
On Monday, Mohammad Javad Zarif announced his resignation from the post of Iranian Foreign Minister. [Rudaw]
Al-Monitor wrote that Zarif’s resignation came after he was excluded from the Monday meeting with Bashar Al-Assad, who was visiting Tehran. According to its sources, Zarif “expressed indignation” at the Foreign Ministry being left out of the proceedings. It is unclear whether President Rouhani will accept Zarif’s resignation. [AlMonitor]
DaeshDaily comment. We may learn something from this. A plausible explanation may be that Assad was invited and hosted by the Revolutionary Guard, which conducts its own foreign policy under the supposed leadership of Khamenei and is all over Syria. When a head of state shows up, however, the host country’s head of state is obliged diplomatically to greet him. This is another indication that the elected side of the Iran government and the “revolutionary” side are not aligned, though this is less obvious recently because the pressure of US sanctions has forced the two sides closer together.
North Africa
Egypt
Daesh said it killed or wounded Egyptian soldiers and destroyed their armored vehicle on Saturday near the International Barrier, south of Rafah. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
AFRICA
Somalia
Daesh said on Monday it shot and killed a Somali policeman and an intelligence officer in the Howlwadaag area, in Beledweyne city, Hiiraan Province. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Nigeria
Daesh said it killed three Nigerian soldiers and stole their weapons on Friday in an attack on Zabarmari village, near Maiduguri city, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
The Daesh-backed faction of Boko Haram (ISWAP) claimed to have fired rockets at Maiduguri city and airport. A security source said that Boko Haram/ISWAP had attempted to enter the city but had been repelled, and resorted to firing RPGs at the city. Another source said that there had been explosions at a military headquarters, leaving 1 soldier killed and 20 injured. Airport authorities said there were no reports of damage at the airport. [VanguardNGR]
Daesh said that on Saturday morning, it targeted Maiduguri city airport with five Grad rockets. It also said it targeted Nigerian Army positions in two different areas with five more rockets. [ICDNFeb23-Telegram] Daesh issued a video of launching the rockets. [A3maq]
In a report on Sunday, Daesh said it killed 21 soldiers and wounded others on Saturday when it targeted army positions in Maiduguri city with grad rockets. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
Daesh said it targeted Nigerian Army positions in Dambuwawa town, in Borno State, with eight mortar shells, on Saturday. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Security sources said that fighters attacked Geidam, Yobe State, but were driven off by troops. [VanguardNGR]
Daesh’s version said that in order to hinder the elections in Nigeria, it killed or wounded “many” Nigerian soldiers in a Saturday attack on military positions in Geidam town, near Mngono city. Daesh said it used heavy and mid-sized weapons in the attack. [ICDNFeb24-Telegram]
Vanguard NGR reported “clashes” in Goniri. [VanguardNGR]
Daesh said it targeted Nigerian Army soldiers with ten mortar shells on Saturday in Goniri town, in Yobe State. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Daesh said it killed one Nigerian soldier and wounded others on Saturday when it targeted a military position in Yoni Badi, in Yobe State, with ten mortar shells. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Kenya
Media sources said that Kenya is investigating Hadi Faraj Wind, the Iranian ambassador to Nairobi, on charges of attempting to facilitate the flight from Kenya of 2 Iranians facing terrorism charges. The ambassador reportedly was looking for “high-level” contacts with Kenyan state officials to free the 2 Iranians and smuggle them out of Kenya. [Sumaria]
ASIA
Afghanistan
The UN said in a report that the civilian death toll of the war in Afghanistan hit a high point in 2018, with 3,804 civilians killed during the year. The report said that that was an 11% increase over 2017. The report attributed 63% of the civilian casualties to anti-government forces and 24% to pro-government forces, and said that the increase was driven partially by an increase in suicide bombings by the Afghanistan Daesh affiliate (ISIS-K). [WSJ]
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met with the head of the Taliban’s political office, Mullah Abd Ul-Ghani Baradar, in Qatar on Monday. The meeting was described as “introductory.” [Khaama]
The National Directorate of Security said that 8 tons of explosives were seized in a raid on a Haqqani terrorist network hideout in Logar Province, central Afghanistan. [Khaama]
Daesh said it killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded two others with an IED on Saturday in the Kuru area, in Manogai, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
Daesh said it shot and killed two municipal officials on Sunday in Torkham, in Momand Dara district in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan. [ICDNFeb25-Telegram]
India/Pakistan
Early Tuesday, Indian Air Force (IAF) jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Kashmir to bomb what the IAF said were “major” terrorist camps on Pakistan’s side of the LoC. Pakistan claimed that the IAF jets had bombed an area in Balakot, in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 60 km (37 miles) away from the LoC. Pakistan said that the Pakistan Air Force had “immediately scrambled” in response to the IAF crossing the LoC, and that the IAF had retreated in response. [Scroll] [IndianExpress] [TheNews] [IndiaTimes]
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