Notice to readers: Iraq has declared a holiday for Monday, to celebrate the anniversary of Iraq’s victory over Daesh. We have decided to honor that and resume with our Tuesday night issue.
December 7, 2018
House Shelled by Daesh in Hatra District (DD Dec 7)
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Sadrists make death threats against TV talk show host. [..]
Daesh mass murderer killed in western Salahuddin. [..]
Erbil police chief announces installation of 10,000 security cameras. [..]
Turkey
Foreign Minister Cavusoglu asks US to leave northern Syria. [..]
Syria
Gen. Dunford says US needs to train 35-40,000 more Syrians for Syrian security operations. [..]
SDF, Coalition move further into Hajin; now control 70% of city. [..]
Other countries
Yemen: UN says civilian casualties in Yemen average 123 per week. [..]
Libya: Constitutional referendum may be held by February in Libya. [..]
Morocco: Daesh cell dismantled in Morocco. [..]
United States:
Trump appoints State Dept. spokesman Nauert to UN Ambassador post. [..]
Lebanese Hezbollah financier goes on trial in DC. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Iraqi Dijla TV presenter Sahar Abbas Jamil says she received death threats from supporters of Muqtada Al-Sadr, saying they threatened to break into the TV station. She says the threats were received after she hosted pro-Iranian journalist Najah Mohammed Ali on her “Monitor” program. Sadrists say that a delegation from their movement met the director of the TV station, asking him to pledge not to host Najah Mohammed Ali again for his antagonistic position towards Al-Sadr. [BasNews]
BAGHDAD
No reports
ANBAR
Ramadi
The Directorate of Military Intelligence says that its units in the 10th Army Division found a large Daesh hideout containing a large cache with 150 mortar shells and other types of ammunition in the Thirthar area to the north. The cache was destroyed on location. [IKH]
Rutba
Security sources in Anbar said that the Iraq-Syria border is “crowded” with planes, which were conducting overflights on a wide area of desert and agricultural land on both sides of the Euphrates, from Al-Baghouz in Syria to the Makr Al-Dhib area in Rutba. The sources said that these flights were seeking to catch Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi if he fled from his presumed location in Albu Kamal. [Sumaria]
SALAHUDDIN
Tikrit
Salahuddin Ops Command says that Army units, in cooperation with the 88th PMF Brigade, killed the Daesh “mufti” Hameed Jassam Al-Falo on the Salahuddin side of the Himrin Hills area, northeast of Tikrit. Al-Falo issued a fatwa (religious legal ruling) in 2014 to kill all men and capture all women from the large Jubouri tribe in Al-Alam, and took part in the murder of 22 Army officers Daesh had captured in Al-Alam. [Baghdadia]
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that PMF units surrounded 2 Daesh terrorists who were hiding in a tunnel in the Himrin Mountains area. The source said the PMFs asked, via loudspeakers, the terrorists to surrender, and when they refused, the PMFs shot and killed them. The source said the PMFs found weapons and food supplies in the tunnel.
The Center for Security Information says that Army units ambushed and killed a Daesh terrorist and wounded 2 others in the Salahuddin part of the Himrin Hills, as well as finding 13 IEDs in Al-Hasudiya (location unclear). [Ghad]
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that two tribal PMF members were killed while stopping a Daesh attack east of Al-Alam. The source said the PMFs killed 2 Daesh terrorists, including a local commander.
Eastern Salahuddin (Al-Daur, Tooz)
Daesh said on Thursday it killed or wounded PMF members and damaged their vehicle with an IED near the Huleiwa intersection, in the Tuz Khurmatu area. [ICDNDec6]
DIYALA
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
A local source says maintenance personnel from the Ministry of Electricity found an IED placed near a high-tension power pole near Qara Tapa in Kifri subdistrict. Army EODs defused the IED. [BaghdadToday]
KIRKUK
No reports
NINEWA
Nineveh Plain (Hamdaniya, Tel Keif, Bashiqa)
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that 70 families are still trapped in the Salamiyah camp for displaced people, between Nimrud and Hamdaniya. The source said the camp management secured hundreds of people, but no help arrived from the Ninewa provincial government.
Mosul city
The MoI says IFP intelligence units arrested a Daesh operative who used to provide Daesh with the names of state employees and contractors in Mosul. He also headed a team of 6 that planted 10 IEDs to target security forces, and was active in Daesh’s “Services Office,” digging trenches and constructing fortifications. [Sumaria] [Rudaw]
The Directorate of Military Intelligence says that its “special missions” units arrested a man on charges of supplying weapons to Daesh in Al-Faisaliya, east Mosul. [Sumaria] [Buratha]
Mosul District (Hamidat, Muhalabiya)
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that a woman and a child were severely wounded when Daesh targeted houses in Al-Hashash village, near Tal Abta, with mortars. The source said the terrorists fled the area when Iraqi Army 20th Division units arrived.
Western Ninewa
Tal Afar
The Center for Security Information said on Thursday that 17,600 sheets of counterfeit US $100 bills had been seized in Rabi’a subdistrict in northern Tal Afar. [Rudaw]
KURDISTAN NEWS
The journal Sada, published by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Carnegie, carried an analysis regarding the KDP’s relationship with the PUK and the Gorran (Change) Movement. The piece argued that the KDP has moved away from its previous strategy of power-sharing with the PUK, and now seeks to dominate the KRG politically without attempting to form consensus with the PUK or Gorran. [Sada]
ERBIL
Abdul Khaleq Tallat, the Erbil Police Director, announced a major project to install 10,000 security cameras in the streets of Erbil. He also says that his department made 4,324 arrests since the beginning of the year. [Shafaaq]
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Foreign policy
On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Minister called on the US to cease its activities in northern Syria. He told US Envoy James Jeffery that the US should sever its ties with the YPG, and remove its observation posts in northern Syria. [ElDorar]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
Foreign policy
United States
General Joseph Dunford says that the US needs to train 35,000-40,000 fighters in Syria, saying that 20% are already prepared. He added that this troop level is needed for the fighters to be able to stabilize and secure the areas they control. [Qasioun]
Anti-Daesh campaign
On Thursday, the Coalition nations held a meeting to discuss the fate of the more than 700 Daesh prisoners held by the SDF. 13 countries met in Ottawa to discuss the destiny of these prisoners; Canada said that each country would define the destiny of its citizens. The SDF says it is holding 795 Daesh fighters and 584 of their wives as prisoners. [Hawar]
DaeshDaily comment. There has been professed reluctance by home countries to take such people back, which leaves the SDF in the middle.
The BBC broadcasted an interview with a Saudi Daesh fighter being held prisoner by the SDF. Mohammed Al-Shammari refuses to go back to Saudi Arabia, as he is accused of terrorist operations there, and he is certain that death penalty is waiting for him under the rule of Mohammed Bin Salman. He is also accused by the US of recruiting and sending fighters to France and Germany to carry out terrorist attacks. [Qasioun] [Sumaria]
Northwest
Manbij/Al-Bab/Jarabulus
A joint US-Turkey statement said that both states are committed to accelerate progress in the Manbij “roadmap,” beginning implementation by the end of 2018. The statement said that the 2 countries’ Foreign and Defense Ministries agreed to collaborate on counter-terrorism, restoring stability and security, providing humanitarian assistance, and preserving Syria’s territorial integrity. [Qasioun]
Northeast
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
Furat says that the bodies of 50 SDF fighters arrived in Raqqa on Friday. All were killed in the previous 2 days, fighting Daesh in eastern Deir Ez-Zor. [Qasioun]
North Raqqa (Ayn Eissa, Tal Abyad, etc.)
Daesh said it stabbed and killed an SDF member near Suluk town on Friday morning. [ICDNDec7]
Central and West
Idlib/Aleppo
The “National Liberation Front,” a pro-Turkey militia, carried out an attack on Friday in Aleppo against the Syrian Army, killing 4 militia fighters loyal to Assad. [ElDorar]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Mayadin District
The SOHR reported that unidentified armed men attacked a car carrying a member of the Deir Ez-Zor municipal council in Suwaidan, which is held by SDF. It also reported that armed men wearing SDF uniforms broke into a jeweler’s house and stole SL 4.5 million worth of jewelry (about $8,700 US). [SyriaHR]
In Daesh’s version, it said it killed four SDF members and wounded another when it targeted their vehicle with machine guns in Suwaidan village.
Daesh also said it killed five SDF members and wounded three others when it targeted their vehicle with machine guns in an ambush in Dhiban town, on Thursday. [A3maq] [ICDNDec7]
Albu Kamal District
The SDF says it is advancing in Hajin and already controls several neighborhoods inside the city. Ridur Khalil, an SDF commander, adds that liberating Hajin is not the end of Daesh, and the war against this terrorist organization will take a long time. [ElDorar]
The SDF also said in a statement that they had killed 12 Daesh fighters and advanced 700 meters from one direction and 1 km from another inside Hajin. [BasNews]
The SOHR reported a heavy presence of Coalition planes over Hajin, following heavy artillery and air bombardment on Daesh positions in the area. It says that the SDF and its allies are now in control of over 70% of Hajin, but advancing slowly due to intense minefields and IEDs planted by Daesh. The SOHR says over 300 Kurdish reinforcement fighters arrived at the front lines. [SyriaHR]
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that Coalition planes killed 15 Daesh terrorists, including an “important” military commander in airstrikes on several areas in Hajin. The source said that SDF units advanced in Hajin and captured Hajin hospital in addition to Al-Sha’itat and Al-Sinbal, two major areas in the city. The source also said the SDF freed hundreds of civilians.
Forat writes that Iranian forces and Iraqi PMF units are establishing checkpoints in Albu Kamal. These forces are on alert for possible Daesh attacks, given the pressure on Daesh by the SDF and the Coalition. [EnabBaladi]
Daesh said on Friday that Coalition planes conducted more than 100 airstrikes on Hajin since Thursday evening. [A3maq]
Daesh said on Friday that Coalition planes bombed a hospital in Hajin. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh use of hospitals, and other civilian buildings, as headquarters is well documented. It was basically the same tactic in Ramadi, Falluja, Manbij, Mosul, Raqqa, etc.
South
Daraa/Quneitra
Unnamed sources say that the Lebanese Hezbollah is re-deploying its units in southern Syria, following recent Israeli missile attacks on its positions in Al-Kiswah, south of Damascus. It moved its units toward Daraa, including rockets launching pads. [Arabi21]
On Thursday, a land mine explosion in Daraa killed 1 newly-graduated Syrian Army officer and injured 5 others. The explosion occurred as they attempted to dismantle the mine. [ElDorar] [Qasioun]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Yemen
The United Nations’ refugee agency said Friday there were nearly 1,500 civilian casualties in Yemen from August through October, the latest grim tally to emerge from a four-year civil war as opposing parties hold talks in Sweden.
The announcement came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, met for a second day for U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the bloodshed.
UNHCR urged the two sides to do more to protect civilians, saying data from Yemen shows an average of 123 civilian killed and wounded every week during the three-month period, in a war that has killed at least 16,000 civilians.
On Friday, at the venue in a castle in the town of Rimbo, north of Stockholm, U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths and various delegates from Yemen were seen walking on the grounds.
The talks opened Thursday on an upbeat note, with the warring sides agreeing to a broad prisoner swap, boosting hopes that the talks would not deteriorate into further violence as in the past.
In a release from Sanaa later Friday the rebels said their delegation had met with Griffiths and looked forward to having success in the talks and making concrete progress. [AP]
The U.N. warned Friday the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is getting worse. Because of an ongoing civil war, more than 20 million in Yemen face starvation. The U.N.’s humanitarian chief has described what’s happening here as a major catastrophe and he said it has the potential to become the worst situation this generation of aid professionals has ever seen.
[CBSNews]
Saudi Arabia
Two sources said that Saud Al-Qahtani had personally overseen the torture of at least 1 detained female activist earlier this year. The sources said that the woman and at least 3 other activists were subjected to sexual harassment, electrocution, and flogging as part of their detention, and said that Al-Qahtani was present when at least 1 of the women was tortured. Al-Qahtani was an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) until October, when he was sacked over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. [Reuters]
North Africa
Libya
Emad Al-Sayeh, head of the Libyan Elections Commission, says a referendum will be held regarding a new constitution for the country before the end of February. Authorities could not confirm the mechanism or final date of the referendum. Al-Sayeh says this is a step towards ensuring the unity and stability of the country. [Hawar]
EOD teams in Benghazi found 2 IEDs “ready to explode” inside a school in the Al-Saberi neighborhood of the city. [Libya24]
A civilian was shot and killed by a “stray bullet” in the Al-Salmani area of Benghazi city. [Libya24]
Morocco
The Moroccan MoI says it dismantled a Daesh cell of 6 members in Beni Mellal, in the interior of the country. Moroccan security captured communication equipment and publications promoting Daesh radical thought; initial investigations indicated that the cell worked on recruiting young men in the city. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
UNITED STATES
President Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating current State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to the be the next US Ambassador to the UN. [Anadolu] [CNN]
DaeshDaily comment. This appointment is being criticized, based on Nauert’s lack of diplomatic experience. We have noticed, however, in numerous State Department press statements we have covered, that Nauert, formerly with Fox News, has been a knowledgeable and articulate spokeswoman.
The US Department of Justice says that Qasim Taj Al-Din, a major financier of Hezbollah, is standing trial in Washington for evading sanctions that ban him from dealing with US companies. He was listed by the Justice Department in 2009 as an important financier for Hezbollah. [BasNews]
EUROPE
France
French media said that in June, a Pakistani and a Russian national from Chechenia were arrested after plotting to kill gay men by seducing them through social media. They were arrested after French security monitored their contacts with 20 potential victims. One of the potential victims contacted the police after a harsh conversation with the Pakistani suspect. The Pakistani suspect denied being gay, and said that he was a Muslim and against terrorism; however, authorities found that he had a collection of about 7,000 photos of Daesh. [ZamanAlWasl]
ASIA
Afghanistan
On Friday, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan said that it rejected the decision of the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) to invalidate votes cast in Kabul during the October parliamentary elections. The IEC called the decision of the IECC “illegal and biased” and said it would continue its work as normal. [Khaama]
DAESH MEDIA
On Thursday, Daesh published the 159th issue of its Naba’ magazine, which includes an infographic about its attacks last week in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and west Africa. It claimed it conducted 67 attacks, killing or wounding more than 197 people and destroying 34 vehicles. Daesh also published a story about 3 Egyptian security officers who defected and joined Daesh, and were killed later. Daesh had issued a video about the 3 terrorists. [ICDNDec6]
Daesh published on Friday a photo of one of its terrorists, saying he was killed in the Albu Kamal area. [ICDNDec7]
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