December 14, 2016
CTS in Mosul (Yalla)
Today’s Major Developments
Iraq
Watchdog group cites sophisticated Daesh weapons industry. [..]
Anbar PC raps judges for going easy on Daesh operatives. [..]
Daesh downs three electricity towers in southeast Diyala. [..]
Force of 16,000+ reported ready for Hawija liberation campaign. [..]
Iraqi forces fight off Mosul counter-attacks, move on NE Mosul, SE Mosul locations. [..]
IFP declares battle is over south of Mosul. [..]
PMFs consolidate control southeast of Tal Afar, plan to move west. [..]
Syria
Aleppo ceasefire quickly breaks down, then gets restarted, as thousands flee. [..]
UN blasts Syria for attacking civilians; others blame both sides. [..]
Libya
Ashton Carter confirms Daesh is gone from Sirte. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Prime Minister Abadi met with the EU ambassadors, according to a statement from his office. Abadi discussed the Ninewa liberation campaign and cooperation between Iraq and the EU regarding the stabilization of liberated areas and the training of Iraqi forces, especially local police. [Maalomah]
The PMF spokesman says in a press conference in Tehran that the Ninewa Liberation battles are on schedule but they will take months to finish. He also says the PMFs, after securing the Syrian border, might move to Syria, within “legal frameworks,” which means approvals from the Iraqi government, the CoR, and the Syrian government. [Hawar]
DaeshDaily comment. There is an apparent linkage in the minds of some Iran-supported PMF militias between the Iraq and Syria conflicts. This is somewhat worrisome, especially as the PMFs edge closer to the Syrian border. The war in Syria is not only about Daesh; the larger war is about a Baathist dictator who intends to stay in power no matter how many Syrians die. The other jihadi groups in Syria are dangerous, but if Iraq manages to defeat Daesh in Iraq it won’t need to send anyone to Syria.
An armament monitoring group says Daesh has a highly complex and well managed weapons industry. Armament Watch said that, using a supply chain from Turkey, Daesh is running an efficient arms industry with a structure similar to any “real” state. [Sumaria]
The Coalition says it conducted 5 airstrikes on Daesh targets in Iraq, in or near Mosul (3), Hawija (1), and Rawa (1)). [InherentResolve]
BAGHDAD
Security-related incidents reported
Center (Rusafa, Karkh, etc.)
The Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) says an IED explosion near Al-Firdous Square in the heart of Baghdad wounded one civilian. [Sumaria]
The BOC says an IED explosion in the Fadhwat Arab area targeting a liquor shop wounded one civilian. [Sumaria]
South (Dora, Yusufiyah, Mahmudiya, etc.)
The BOC says 55th army brigade destroyed 4 IEDS and found explosives caches while searching Arab Dawood, Mulla Rushdi, Brisam, Futouh, and Sadr Al-Yusufiyah. [BOC Facebook Page]
The BOC says 25th army brigade found an explosives cache during a search in the Tarajma area. [BOC Facebook Page]
Southwest (Rasheed, etc.)
The BOC says two consecutive IED explosions wounded several civilians in Awerej. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it detonated 2 IEDs on a “Shia gathering” in Awerej. [A3maq]
West (Ghazaliya, Abu Ghraib, etc.)
The BOC says a car bomb exploded in Al-Washash, wounding several civilians. [Sumaria]
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. [A3maq]
An MoI source says EOD units safely defused an IED in Al-Washash. [Ghad]
The BOC says 6th army division EODs safely destroyed 22 IEDs in the Al-Abadi area. [BOC Facebook Page]
The BOC says a reconnaissance unit found and safely removed an explosives cache in Abbas Al-Arsan. [BOC Facebook Page]
Total Baghdad incidents reported: 9 (Includes only incidents reported)
Total IED incidents reported: 7
ANBAR
Falluja
The Anbar Provincial Council says many Daesh operatives have returned to Anbar cities, mainly Falluja, along with their families. The Council says the reasons are lax sentencing decisions by the judiciary and international pressure to expedite return of IDPs to their areas. [Maalomah]
Ramadi
Daesh says it severely wounded an Intelligence officer with an IED in the Al-Thaila area in Ramadi on Tuesday. [A3maq]
Hit/Haditha
The Chairman of the Hit District Council says four persons were released after being found not guilty on terrorism charges in the city. He also says 15 more will be released shortly. [Sumaria]
A Tribal Mobilization commander in Haditha says his units prevented a Katyusha attack on the Haditha Dam by obstructing a Daesh rocket unit about to initiate an attack. Three terrorists were arrested; two escaped. [Sumaria]
Rutba/Western Anbar
A military source says two Iraqi soldiers were killed and several vehicles damaged in a Daesh mortar shelling on Rutba. The source says the Iraqi Army killed two suicide attackers who entered the city to attack army and tribal forces positions. [BasNews]
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
Daesh says it killed five PMF fighters with a shell near the Thermal Station area, north of Baiji. [A3maq]
Samarra
The Salahuddin Governor says tens of displaced families will return to their home areas in Jazeera Samarra, Dijla subdistrict, and Mkaishifa. [Sumaria]
Southern Salahuddin
Basra Police Department says one of its units based in Samarra arrested four men wanted on terrorism charges. One of them is responsible for a car bomb attack in Ishaqi, near Balad. [Sumaria]
Samarra Operations Command says a special unit arrested 6 Daesh terrorists, including a local leader, in an ambush between Balad and Ishaqi. [Sumaria]
DIYALA
Baquba/southeast Diyala
The Chairman of the Khan Bani Saad subdistrict council says that destruction of three high pressure power towers in Khan Bani Saad south of Baquba indicates the presence and activity of Daesh sleeper cells. Explosives destroyed three towers of the line connecting Baquba to Baghdad, late night Tuesday. [Sumaria]
The Chairman of the Khan Bani Saad council also says families of victims of the 2015 terrorist attack protested publicly because the trial of the suspects was moved to Baghdad for no reason. Three hundred people were killed or wounded in the attack. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it attacked a PMF convoy in the Sukuk area, in Bizayez Buhriz. [A3maq]
A Diyala Police source says an IED killed one civilian and wounded another in Arab Jabbar, south of Baquba. [Sumaria]
Commander of Diyala Police says 26 terror cells have been dismantled and 36 persons arrested in the past few months. He also says that kidnapping incidents in the province have declined by 90% compared to last year. [Sumaria]
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, etc.)
A security source in Baquba says a roadside IED killed an Oil Police officer and wounded two other policemen patrolling a main road near Mansouriya in northeast Diyala. [Sumaria]
Daesh says it killed three Iraqi soldiers and destroyed a Humvee with an IED in the Albu Taraz area in Udhaim. [A3maq]
KIRKUK
Kirkuk
An Arab CoR member from Kirkuk held the Peshmerga accountable for the killing of two young men in Qutan village in Dibis yesterday. He says the two brothers were killed as they were checking on their house, from which their family had been displaced. He says the killing was a message to other families not to return. [Sumaria]
Hawija
A security source in Kirkuk says 16,000 men are ready to start the battle of Hawija. The force is composed of army, police, and PMF units. A brigade of Hawija residents composed of 2,800 men is also participating. The source says Coalition trainers trained most these forces earlier. [Sumaria]
A police source in Kirkuk says Daesh executed 28 ex-members of Sahwa and the police force in Hawija. The group was arrested by Daesh earlier on charges of communicating with security and Peshmerga forces. [Sumaria]
A security source in Kirkuk says tens of civilians escaping Daesh rule have arrived at the Maktab Khaled crossing in southwest Kirkuk, coming from Hawija. [Sumaria]
A security source in Hawija says Coalition warplanes destroyed the last bridge connecting Hawija to Ninewa, in the Shmet area. [Sumaria]
Daesh says the only bridge linking Hawija to Al-Zab is out of service because of an “American” airstrike. [A3maq]
NINEWA
Mosul
Mosul liberation campaign
Ninewa Provincial Council says over 45% of Ninewa is now liberated, and that there are still 600,000 persons living under Daesh control. [Mawazin]
The MoD says the Iraqi Air Force destroyed bomb-making workshops and weapon storage sites in six areas in Mosul. [Waradana]
East Mosul
The Security Committee of the Ninewa PC says Daesh initiated suicide attacks with explosive belts and vehicle bombs on the Al-Nour, Al-Tamim, and Qadisiya neighborhoods east of Mosul. The source says the attackers were killed and vehicles destroyed by CTS units controlling these areas. [Sumaria]
The Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) says it repelled an attack by a Daesh group that infiltrated liberated areas east of Mosul. 10 attackers were killed and 16 arrested. However, 8 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 21 civilians wounded in the battle. [Ghad]
A security source in Mosul says the army is now controlling the road leading to the Nabi Yunus shrine in east Mosul. [Etejah]
A local source says Daesh targeted Hay Al-Zuhour and Hay Al-Muthanna in east Mosul with mortars, causing civilian casualties. The source also says heavy battles are ongoing between the CTS and Daesh near Khosr River in Mosul. The source says Daesh terrorists prepared for this fight days ago and sent its terrorists, dressed as civilians and fishermen, across the river before the battle. [ARA]
Daesh claims it regained control of Al-I’lam neighborhood in east Mosul. [A3maq]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked Iraqi forces in Hay Al-I’lam, Hay Al-Nour, and Hay Al-Tamim. [A3maq]
Daesh says it conducted a suicide attack on Iraqi forces in Hay Al-Tamim. [A3maq] Daesh says it recaptured Hay Al-Tamim. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of battles in Hay Al-Tamim. [DawaAlhaq]
A military source in Mosul says an IED killed two women and wounded another in Hay Al-Falah, in east Mosul. [SotIraq]
Daesh says it killed two CTS members with a shell in Hay Al-Falah in Mosul. [A3maq]
A security source in Mosul says the army arrested 12 Daesh infiltrators in Kokjali, just outside east Mosul. The area is being searched for more infiltrators. [Maalomah]
An intelligence source says Daesh terrorists are using garbage trucks for their movements in Mosul. The source also says Daesh is burning down houses in parts of east Mosul before Iraqi forces arrive. [Ghad]
Northeast Mosul
IWMC says military intelligence took over a Daesh communications center in the Shalalat area in northeast Mosul near the Police Academy. The center contains monitoring screens, sophisticated communication equipment, cameras, speakers, computers, printers, etc. [Baghdadia]
A military source says that army units entered Hay Al-Sukkar in northeast Mosul under fierce resistance and bad weather conditions. The battle is still in its early hours, says the source. [Etejah]
A security sources says a mortar shell fired by Daesh killed twelve family members in a house in Hay Al-Sukkar. [Maalomah]
Southeast Mosul
A military source in Mosul says 9th army division units are advancing to recover Al-Salam Hospital in southeast Mosul, amid fierce street battles and Daesh snipers on tops of buildings. The source says five Iraqi soldiers have been killed and eight wounded against tens of casualties on the Daesh side. [SotIraq]
Local sources in Mosul say 9th Army brigade is transferring 300 families from southeast Mosul to safety in Khazer refugee camp. [Maalomah]
Ninewa Operations Command says Coalition airstrikes on Al-Wihda and the Saba’awi junction in southeast Mosul killed 13 terrorists. [BasNews]
Conditions in Mosul
The Ministry of Immigration and Displacement says total people displaced from Mosul since the start of war operations is 107,000. [IraqPress]
The Mosul population is suffering irregularities in distribution of food rations. Many have told the press that a rationing system for fair distribution of foodstuffs should be adopted. [Ghad]
Shura/Hammam Alil
The IFP Commander says IFP concluded its mission south of Mosul by liberating the whole southern sector of 1855 sq. km (725 sq. miles), including 96 villages, 56 oilfields, and the Mishraq Sulphur factory, and killing 1300 terrorists in the process. The IFP also sent three brigades to support Iraqi army units in Hamdaniya. [Harbi]
Prime Minister Al-Abadi orders the opening and inspection of a mass grave of Daesh victims found in Hammam Al-Alil subdistrict. [Ghad]
Military Intelligence, in cooperation with local residents, found 2 ammunition caches in Ghalawin village in Hammam Al-Alil. [MoDWebsite] [Harbi]
MoD says the Iraqi Air Force (IAF) destroyed a Daesh explosives workshop and a vehicle bomb in Albu Saif, in Hammam Al-Alil just south of Mosul city. [Waradana]
Nineveh Plain
A displaced woman passed away today for lack of medical supplies in the Al-Khazer refugee camp, press sources say. [Sumaria]
A government source in Mosul says the Ninewa Governor informed Prime Minister Abadi that the health directorate is not functioning well in the displacement camps in Ninewa. The source also says Kuwait opened health clinics in the Hassan Sham and Al-Khazer camps. [Ghad]
Northwest (Tal Afar, Sinjar)
MoD says the IAF destroyed a Daesh explosives workshop and a vehicle bomb in Tal Afar. [Waradana]
MoD says the IAF attacked a Daesh gathering south of Tal Abta, killing 20 leaders and 50 of their military escorts. [Mawazin]
The PMF Press says PMF forces are advancing in two directions; northwest and southeast, aiming to liberate remaining villages in the territory between Tal Abta in the southwest Mosul subdistrict and the Tal Afar Airport. [Buratha] It says that after liberating 10 villages and clearing the Tal Abta–Tal Afar road, all Daesh supply lines from the south are cut off. [Buratha]
PMF commander Hadi Al-Amiri says PMFs will liberate all western Ninewa areas to the Syrian border. He says the circle is closing on Daesh after the cutting off of its supply lines. He also says Daesh attacks every day and night to break down this circle, but in vain. [PressIraq]
The PMF Press says PMFs destroyed 4 Daesh vehicle bombs and a shovel. Daesh raised an Iraqi flag for purposes of deception as it approached PMF frontlines near Sharai’ village west of Tal Afar. [Buratha]
South (Baaj, Hatra)
The PMF Press says PMFs shot down a Daesh drone in Hatra using medium weapons. [Sumaria]
KURDISTAN
A KRG spokesman issued a statement saying that the leader of the AAH Shia militia, Qais Al-Khazali, was wrong and irresponsible when he said that the next danger in Iraq after Daesh will be the Kurds, especially President Barzani. It threatened the AAH with a fate similar to Daesh’s. [ARA]
DaeshDaily comment. The statement is presumably to defend Barzani, not the KRG as a whole. Bombastic statements from Erbil aside, the AAH leader is likely not the only Iraq leader who holds this opinion. A lot of previous bombastic statements are part of the reason.
SOUTHERN IRAQ
Basra
A Security source in Basra says a locally made IED killed an employee of the Ministry of Electricity near his house in Abu Al-Khasib. [Sumaria]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
The Turkish President Erdogan announced a “national alert” against terrorist organizations. He says Turkey has killed, wounded, or arrested 9,500 PKK fighters. He also says 40,000 people were arrested and 100,000 fired from their jobs since the military coup. He also says the Turkey killed 1,800 YPG and Daesh fighters since August. [ARA]
DaeshDaily comment. In other words, all those government employees fired for no specific reason are no better than terrorists. Erdogan’s witch hunt continues, under the banner of an anti-terrorist crusade but essentially targeting all perceived political opponents.
The PKK claims it shot down a Turkish F–16 in Diyarbakir at 07:30 Monday morning. The Turkish Army says the plane crashed for technical reasons. [Shafaq] [Hawar]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
The Coalition says it conducted two airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, near Ain Eissa. [InherentResolve]
Northeast (Hasaka, Raqqa)
Raqqa
The SDF captured Kharba Jahasha village, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Raqqa, killing 3 Daesh terrorists. Daesh terrorists took a family from the village as hostages, but then one of the terrorists detonated himself, killing two members of the family and wounding two. [Hawar]
A female YPG commander says tens of women from the SDF-liberated villages have joined the Raqqa liberation campaign. [Hawar]
Coalition planes launched heavy airstrikes on the northern outskirts of Raqqa causing damage to civilian property. The Coalition targeted Daesh military positions in Al-Ridani village west of Raqqa. Heavy battles are ongoing between Daesh and the SDF near Ahmediya village, and Coalition planes heavily targeted the area. [Qasioun]
General Townsend refuted media reports about the Coalition delivering weapons to Arab and Kurdish forces by helicopter. [Rudaw] BasNews had reported, according to a field military source, that 7 Coalition helicopters delivered weapons and ammunition to the YPG near Ain Eissa.
Daesh publishes photos of an olive mill in Al-Tabaqa. [DawaAlhaq]
Northwest (Aleppo, Idlib)
Aleppo city
Heavy battles erupted between the Syrian Army and its allied militias and remaining opposition militiamen in east Aleppo, ending the declared ceasefire just after it started. Nusra Front and Mujahidin Al-Sham attacked the Syrian forces with 2 vehicle bombs near Al-Haj Bridge, killing or wounding “tens” of soldiers and militiamen. The first group of sick and wounded people was supposed to leave in the early morning and the rest at 5 am, but government allied militias obstructed the process. Russia and the Syrian government accused the opposition of breaking the ceasefire. [Hawar] [Hawar] [Hawar] [Qasioun] [EnabBaladi] [ZamanAlWasl]
Enab Baladi, an opposition backed source, says the reason for the violation of the ceasefire was 4 heavy artillery shells that targeted west Aleppo. It says the shells came from Iran-backed militias. [EnabBaladi]
Opposition sources said the delay in civilians exiting Aleppo was due to the lack of a neutral party to supervise their departure. Opposition sources say Iran–backed militias broke the ceasefire and launched tens of rockets on east Aleppo. Syrian warplanes launched airstrikes on east Aleppo, wounding several civilians including women and children. [Qasioun] [Qasioun] [Qasioun]
Later on, opposition sources say they reached another ceasefire with the Russians and the first group of wounded people and civilians will leave on Thursday morning to areas west of Aleppo. [Qasioun]
The Russian Ministry of Defense says 6,000 civilians, including 2,000 children, and 366 opposition fighters, left east Aleppo during the last 24 hours. [Sumaria]
Turkish presidency sources say President Erdogan and Russian President Putin stressed the importance of full implementation of the ceasefire in Aleppo in a phone call. [Anadolu]
The UN issued a statement saying it’s not participating in evacuating civilians from east Aleppo, but is ready to do so. [Dorar]
Prior to the renewed ceasefire, there were numerous allegations and counter-allegations that amounted to many people killed, by actions of both sides.
An opposition Civil Defense member tells Anadolu that 1,138 civilians were killed in east Aleppo in the past 30 days. [Dorar]
The SOHR says the Syrian Army killed more than sixty civilians, opposition fighters, and their families in several areas in east Aleppo, either by shelling or by directly shooting them. [SyriaNow]
The SOHR says the opposition shelled the government controlled areas in west Aleppo while the Syrian government bombed, shelled, and rocketed areas in east Aleppo. [SyriaHR]
Six people were killed and others wounded by opposition shelling on Hay Bustan Al-Qasr and Al-Hamdaniya. [SyriaNow] [SyriaNow]
The Syrian official news agency SANA says three people were killed and forty-five wounded in opposition shelling and rocketing in other areas. [SyriaNow]
The Syrian government said, in response to the failure of the first ceasefire, that implementation of the ceasefire and evacuation has not happened and the negotiations are facing “big complications”. [SyriaNow]
Expressing shock at the apparent collapse of a deal enabling evacuation of thousands of civilians from eastern Aleppo, the United Nations human right chief said that the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by Syrian Government forces and their allies on civilian-populated areas “is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes.”
“The way this deal was dangled in front of this battered and beleaguered population – causing them to hope they might indeed live to see another day – and then snatched away just half a day later is also outrageously cruel,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al–Hussein said in a statement issued by his Office (OHCHR). [UN]
The United Nation’s Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) said Wednesday it had noted the grave allegations leveled against pro-government forces in Aleppo, including “summary executions, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and forced conscription.”
The Commission said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was now in “effective control” of eastern Aleppo, and therefore had “primary responsibility” for ensuring that violations in the city are stopped.
And, with the deal struck late Tuesday for the evacuation of rebels from Aleppo on hold, the COI echoed a call made across the humanitarian community that civilians be allowed to leave conflict zones safely.
The report also mentioned that it had received reports that opposition fighters were blocking civilians from fleeing Aleppo and using them as human shields.
In a statement, the COI said it had “allegations of opposition groups … preventing civilians from leaving as well as opposition fighters embedding themselves within the civilian population, thus heightening the risk to civilians of being killed or injured.” It specifically implicated al-Qaeda’s former affiliate Fateh Al-Sham (Nusra) Front and the Ahrar al-Sham militia. [ArabyNews]
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Ahrar Al-Sham targeted Hay Salahuddin in Aleppo city with mortars. [SyriaNow]
Idlib
The SOHR says opposition groups targeted Kefraya and Al-Fawaa, Shia towns east of Aleppo, with tens of shells, causing human casualties. [SyriaHR]
Opposition sources say Iran-backed militias set conditions for allowing wounded people to leave Kefraya and Al-Fawaa. [EnabBaladi] [ZamanAlWasl]
A later reports says opposition and government sources say an agreement has been reached and 15,000 people trapped in Kefraya and Al-Fawaa will be evacuated. [Arabi21]
Al-Bab
An opposition source says opposition groups, supported by Turkish airpower, captured the Zamzam area and parts of Souq Al-Hal near Al-Bab, killing ten Daesh terrorists and wounding “tens”. He also says the Turkish Army bombed and shelled the Al-Bab area. [ARA]
Daesh says it killed seven opposition fighters in an attack on Al-Zerzour village, east of Al-Bab. [A3maq]
Daesh claims Turkish warplanes initiated 3 airstrikes on Al-Bab hospital. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. If Al-Bab’s hospital is like those in other Daesh-held cities, it has been converted into primarily a Daesh headquarters.
Afrin
Three hundred displaced people arrived in Afrin on Monday and Tuesday coming from Raqqa, Al-Bab, Qabasin, Deir Ez-Zor, Albu Kamal, and Tadmur. [Hawar]
Manbij
The Manbij Civilian Council says 200 families are arriving in the Manbij area every day. It says there are more than 18,000 displaced people in small camps the Council established in the area, and there are thousands of others suffering from the bad weather conditions due to the lack of displacement camps. [Hawar]
Daesh publishes photos of its municipal services in Maskanah city. [DawaAlhaq]
Central and West (Homs, Hama, etc.)
The Coalition commander, General Steven Townsend, says Daesh captured armored vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons in Tadmur. [Dorar]
Daesh says it’s close to placing full siege on T4 airport after advancing there from multiple routes. It added that two suicide attacks were executed on Syrian Army positions between Al-Qaryatayn and Faraqlus and between the airport and Faraqlus. [A3maq]
A local activist says Daesh captured more areas near the T4 Airport after several attacks with vehicle bombs. [Arabi21]
The SOHR says warplanes targeted several areas near Tadmur. It also says Daesh targeted the Al-Sharifa area east of Homs with a vehicle bomb. [SyriaHR]
Daesh says it captured Al-Sharifa village, which is west of T4 airport. [A3maq]
A high ranking Iranian officer, Brig. Hasan Akbari, was killed during the Tadmur battles. [DawaAlhaq]
Daesh issues a video of its heavy artillery shelling on Al-Jadida village, east of Homs. [A3maq]
Daesh publishes photos of Syrian Army positions it captured in the Qasr Al-Hayr Al-Gharib area, in Homs. [DawaAlhaq]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Heavy battles continued between Daesh and the Syrian Army and its allied militias south of Deir Ez-Zor. Battles also erupted near Al-Jufra village near the Deir Ez-Zor Military Airport. Daesh targeted the airport with mortars. The Syrian Army shelled or rocketed Daesh–controlled areas in Deir Ez-Zor city, and Daesh targeted government controlled areas with mortars. [Qasioun]
Battles also erupted between Daesh and the Syrian Army in Al-Haweiqa in Deir Ez-Zor city. Battles also erupted near the Al-Baghailiye area west of the city. [Qasioun]
Daesh publishes photos of a herb shop in Al-Mayadin. [DawaAlhaq]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
North Africa
Egypt
Five soldiers were wounded when an IED exploded on their armored vehicle in Arish. [ElWatan]
Security sources say armed men shot at a security barrier in Al-Masaeed west of Arish, wounding one soldier. [ElWatan]
Security sources say an IED exploded on the International Road near Arish, damaging a security vehicle, without causing human casualties. [VetoGate]
Daesh says it stopped an Egyptian Army campaign south of Sheikh Zuweid after 3 hours of fighting, forcing the Army to retreat. It also says it destroyed 3 M113 armored vehicles and 4 Humvees with IEDs in different areas of North Sinai, killing or wounding soldiers. [DawaAlhaq] [A3maq]
Eyewitnesses say security reinforcements arrived south of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah. [ElWatan]
Libya
Northeast
The Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman says all LNA personnel should prepare for “liberating Tripoli”. [Libya24]
Central coast
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced the conclusion of US airstrikes on Sirte, saying the city got rid of Daesh. [Libya24]
The GNA Military is raiding houses in the Abu Hadi area, south of Sirte, looking for Daesh terrorists. [Libya24]
The Government of National Accord (GNA) Military spokesman, General Mohammed Al-Ghasri, says he submitted his resignation for health reasons. [Libya24]
Tunisia
A judicial spokesman says a cell of 11 terrorism suspects was arrested in Sfax. He says the cell was providing financial and logistical support for terrorists who are hiding in the mountains. [Tunisien]
Other countries
Finland
The trial of two Iraqi twin brothers accused of involvement in the Speicher massacre has started in Finland. One of them appeared in a Daesh video, killing eleven cadets. [PUKMedia]
SOCIAL MEDIA
Videos of the Day
A video of SDF fighters in the liberated Kharba Baqir village northeast of Raqqa [Hawar]
DAESH MEDIA
Daesh audio newsletter for today [Bayan]
