December 6, 2018
Vehicle Bomb Captured Near Falluja (DD Dec 6)
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Minister of Oil alarmed by world oil price drop; may support reducing OPEC production level. [..]
South Oil Chairman explains why Iraq needs Iranian gas. [..]
CTS arrests an entire Daesh family of 5 in Hawija. [..]
Syria
Syria opposition leader wants US to exempt NE Syria from Syria sanctions. [..]
Manbij Military Council arrests sleeper cell of “Turkish spies.” [..]
SDF in major move against Daesh in Hajin; now controls half of the city. [..]
Daesh in Albu Kamal taking heavy losses from Coalition airstrikes. [..]
Other countries
Iran: Amnesty International says Iran killed 5,000 political prisoners in 1988. [..]
Pakistan: Khalilzad meets with Pakistan PM about Afghanistan. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
New government
The Al-Bina’ (Construction) bloc headed by Hadi Al-Amiri says that Faleh Al-Fayadh is the choice of Prime Minister Adel Abd Ul-Mahdi for the position of Minister of Interior and he has no intention to replace him with someone else. Razaq Al-Haydari, an Al-Bina’ leader, says that the “incidents” in the CoR on Tuesday just made the PM more set on nominating Al-Fayadh. [BasNews]
Economy
Iraq’s Minister of Oil, Thamer Al-Ghadhban, noted that Iraq was a founding member of OPEC and said that Iraq was ready to “reach an understanding” on OPEC’s production level. He added that he was concerned about the stability of the oil market, and that the drop in oil prices in the last 2 months did not favor Iraq or any other oil-producing country. [Rudaw]
Foreign policy
The Ministry of Oil says it would take Iraq 2 years to replace the use of Iranian gas with Iraqi power stations. Hayan Abdulghani, Chairman of the South Oil Company, says Iraqi gas production will reach 1.3 million cubic feet by the end of 2020, which will be an increase of 400,000 cubic feet compared to current production. He says that current gas production is not sufficient to operate power stations, and that at least 24 months are needed to bring new gas projects online. [Sumaria]
Sweden says its Parliament is extending the stay of its 70-soldier force in Iraq for the year 2019. It also says that expansion of the force to 150 soldiers is also possible. The aim of the Swedish force is to increase Iraqi forces’ capabilities. There are also 220 Swedish military personnel in Kurdistan, mainly engaged in training duties. [BasNews]
Anti-Daesh campaign
Kurdish Yazidi women who survived Daesh captivity demanded to take part in the trial of Lafarge, the French cement company, for funding Daesh. A French court accused Lafarge of paying $16 million to Daesh and other jihadi groups in Syria to allow its factory to continue operating. Amal Clooney, who represents the Yazidi women, says that her clients are willing to prosecute whoever supported Daesh in their persecution of the Yazidi minority. [Rudaw]
BAGHDAD
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
A security source said on Thursday that a person had been killed with silenced weapons in Shuala. [Sumaria]
Other security sources later said that Hussein Al-Hijami, a Sadrist leader and leader in Saraya Al-Salam, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Shuala. Iraqi media said he had been riding in a government 4WD-type vehicle when he was shot. [Shafaaq] [Rudaw] [Rudaw]
ANBAR
Falluja
Security personnel arrested a young man driving a vehicle bomb at the checkpoint at the eastern entrance to Falluja. [PUKMedia]
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that Iraqi Army units captured a car bomb at a checkpoint on the road between Falluja and Baghdad. The source said that the suicide bomber driving the car was an underage displaced boy from Al-Qa’im, and was on drugs. The source sent us photos of the car.
Ramadi
The Ministry of Transportation said on Thursday that it evacuated all families from the Kilo 18 IDP camp in Anbar to the Habbaniya camp, as a step toward returning them all to their home areas. It says that 760 IDPs, mainly from Al-Qa’im, were moved. [IraqPress]
Baghdad Ops Command says that the 44th Army Brigade arrested a man wanted on terrorism charges in Habbaniya. [Ghad]
Hit/Haditha
Daesh said on Thursday it killed Ra’ad Al-Jumaili, one of the mukhtars of Hit city, and his son, a tribal PMF member, in their house. [ICDNDec6]
A DaeshDaily source had said on Wednesday that Sheikh Ra’ad Shahab Al-Dulaimi of the Albu Nimr tribe was killed by Daesh terrorists who attacked his house in Kanan village in Hit. The source said that 4 days ago, the Sheikh had publicly expressed his desire to cooperate with the Coalition if it wanted to establish more of a presence in Anbar.
DaeshDaily comment. This is the same story. However, Daesh for some reason claimed, inaccurately, that the sheikh was from the Jumaila tribe.
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
An IED left behind by Daesh exploded by the side of a road in Baiji District. [Dijlah]
Tikrit
A PMF statement said that the 88th PMF Brigade had killed 1 suicide bomber and wounded 2 others who tried to infiltrate Al-Alam. The statement said that the wounded terrorists fled toward the Himrin Hills. [Sumaria]
Samarra
The IFP arrested 4 Daesh members in Samarra and Baghdad on Thursday. [AIN]
DIYALA
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
Daesh said it set five trucks, four vehicles, and a factory that belonged to a “Peshmerga intelligence member” on fire in the Qulay area, western Khanaqin, on Wednesday. [A3maq]
In another version, Daesh claimed the man was an “Asayish intelligence member.” [ICDNDec6]
KIRKUK
Hawija (Riyadh, Al-Zab, etc.)
A security source in Kirkuk says Counter Terrorism Service units arrested a family of 5, who were all Daesh operatives. The father, mother, and 3 sons were all members of Daesh. 1 of the sons took part in an armed attack in Abbasi. [Buratha]
NINEWA
Nineveh Plain (Hamdaniya, Tel Keif, Bashiqa)
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that 2 PMF members were wounded when their pickup vehicle was destroyed by a Daesh leftover IED on the road between Khaznah village and Bartella, in northern Hamdaniya District.
Mosul District
West (Hamidat/Muhalabiya)
An NPR report covered a US-Iraqi patrol in Badoush and the degree of ongoing cooperation between Iraqi and US forces. The division commander noted for the reporter that the mountainous areas contained “dozens” of holes used by sleeper cells and Daesh fighters. He said that most of the tunnels had been previously destroyed, but Daesh returned and re-opened them. The division attempted to blow up the entrance to a tunnel, but only partly succeeded, so they burned tires near the entrance, so Coalition aircraft could find the target later and bomb it. [SotIraq] [NPR]
KURDISTAN NEWS
Ahmad Al-Jarba, head of the Syria Tomorrow Movement (an opposition party), visited Erbil and met with Masrour Barzani. The 2 men discussed developments in Syria and the progress of battles in eastern Deir Ez-Zor. The Syria Tomorrow Movement is allied with the SDF. [Qasioun]
ERBIL
The HPG (PKK) said that their units attacked Turkish units in Tal Lelikan, Sidekan subdistrict, killing 4 of them. [Hawar]
DAHUK
The Turkish military announced on Thursday that it had “neutralized” 8 PKK fighters in airstrikes on PKK positions in Metina near the Turkish border in Dahuk, the nearby Sinat-Haftanin area, and Hakurk, northern Erbil. [Anadolu]
SULEIMANIYA
The Center for Security Information said that on Thursday, units under the Directorate of Intelligence had arrested 3 persons in Suleimaniya, who were wanted on terrorism charges by the Bashiqa Court of Investigations. [AIN]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
Political developments
Bassam Ishaq, the Syrian Democratic Council’s representative to the US, demanded that the US exclude areas east of the Euphrates from US sanctions on Syria. He says the aim is to provide legitimacy to the educational process in the area, and for its schools to be able to accredit internationally-recognized diplomas. [EnabBaladi]
Northwest
Afrin/Azaz
The YPG and YPJ said that they carried out 3 attacks against pro-Turkey militias in Afrin, which they said killed “several” militia members, including commanders, and wounded many others. [Hawar]
Manbij /Al-Bab/Jarabulus
The SOHR reported 1 motorcycle bomb explosion in Al-Bab and another in Afrin, targeting pro-Turkey militia fighters. The SOHR says the areas captured by pro-Turkey militias are witnessing security instability as explosions, kidnappings, and assassinations continue. [SyriaHR]
The Manbij Military Council arrested a sleeper cell of Turkish spies, who they said committed several attacks in Manbij. [SyriaHR]
Northeast
Hasaka
Daesh said it shot a Syrian government official with a hand gun in Tal Al-Tibn village, southwest of Qamishli city, on Tuesday. [ICDNDec6]
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
An unidentified terrorist was killed while trying to plant an IED near Mary’s Church, south of Rasheed park in Raqqa. [Hawar]
North Raqqa (Ayn Eissa, Tal Abyad, etc.)
The SOHR says that security personnel arrested 3 men as they tried to plant mines and IEDs in Ayn Eissa. The 3 were accused of being recruited by Turkey to “spread anarchy in the area.” [SyriaHR]
Central and West
Latakia
The Syrian Army says that it thwarted an attempt by a radical group to attack a military position in Latakia north of Kinsabba, on the Latakia-Jisr Al-Shughur highway. (Jisr Al-Shughur is in western Idlib.) It says the Army killed several of the attackers, while the rest escaped towards the border with Turkey. [SyriaNow]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Deir Ez-Zor District
The SOHR says that the SDF is making arbitrary arrests in Al-Zir village, eastern Deir Ez-Zor district, on the pretext of looking for Daesh sleeper cells. 6 young men have already been arrested. The SOHR also reported that Daesh killed a Syrian soldier visiting his family in an SDF-held area, while unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at the house of an SDF soldier in Al-Zir village. [SyriaHR]
DaeshDaily comment. So maybe the arrests aren’t so arbitrary.
Albu Kamal District
On Thursday, the SDF made advances against Daesh in Hajin after fierce fighting, taking the battle to neighborhoods inside the city. Ridur Khalil, an SDF commander, stated that while the SDF gained control over some neighborhoods in Hajin, heavy fighting against Daesh continues. Khalil also said that “safe routes” were opened to civilians to allow them to flee combat zones. [Rudaw] [Qasioun]
The SOHR says the SDF now controls half of Hajin, and is continuing to advance under cover of the heaviest bombardment since the start of the operation on September 10. Recent battles in eastern Deir Ez-Zor left 34 Daesh fighters and 17 SDF fighters killed in the past 48 hours. [SyriaHR]
Amid “strong clashes” between the SDF and Daesh fighters on Thursday, the SDF succeeded in freeing about 300 civilians from Daesh control in Hajin. They opened up a safe corridor between Daesh-controlled and SDF-controlled areas, and a source reported that SDF fighters assisted civilians by walking with them on foot to safe areas. [Hawar]
Ahmad Al-Sultan, another SDF commander, said that fighting was ongoing in Al-Baghouz and Al-Susah as well as Hajin. He added that a recent Coalition airstrike had killed 13 Daesh fighters. [BasNews]
The SDF says that it killed 228 Daesh fighters in battles in eastern Deir Ez-Zor since Monday, while the Coalition carried out 115 airstrikes, destroying 23 Daesh positions, 6 vehicles, and an SA gun. [Qasioun]
Daesh said on Thursday it shot down an SDF recon drone over Al-Bahra town. [A3maq]
DaeshDaily comment. This reflects a classic Daesh propaganda tactic. It is losing ground and suffering big casualties, so to distract public attention it puts out a “victorious” story. It’s trivial by comparison, and maybe it’s made up, but it creates a counter-narrative that will please the naïve.
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Iran
At least 4 people, including 2 policemen, were killed and 23 wounded in a suicide attack targeting a Chabahar police station in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, southern Iran. Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister for Iran, said that terrorists supported by foreign countries were behind the attack in Chabahar, adding that those crimes would not go unpunished. [Arabi21] [Rudaw]
Amnesty International wrote in a report that Iran killed 5,000 political opposition members in its prisons in 1988. It says 99% of the names of missing persons were not found in the official death logs of the Iranian authorities. [ZamanAlWasl] [Amnesty]
DaeshDaily comment. This would have been about nine years after Khomeini’s revolution.
Qatar
Qatar-based academic Steven Wright published an article regarding Qatar’s abrupt announcement that it was leaving OPEC. Wright argued that Qatar’s decision was not closely related to Qatar’s poor political relationship with Saudi Arabia, but was a function of its long-term plans to focus its energy sector around natural gas production and export. [AlJazeera]
North Africa
Egypt
Daesh said on Thursday it wounded several Egyptian Army members with an IED near Al-Dhahir village, south of Sheikh Zuweid. [A3maq]
Daesh said on Thursday its snipers killed an Egyptian soldier in the Al-Rasm area, west of Rafah. Daesh claimed the army was conducting a “dredging campaign” in the area. [A3maq]
It also said it destroyed an Egyptian Army bulldozer with an IED in Al-Rasm. [ICDNDec6]
Libya
Afrigate reported on Thursday that the 276th Infantry Battalion of the Libyan Army and the High Sirte Ops Room conducted joint patrols in the Oil Crescent region to protect it against “criminal gangs.” [AfriGate]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
EUROPE
Great Britain
The Times says the UK will keep overlooking what Saudi Arabia and the UAE do, as long as they pay well. An article in the paper referred to the way that the UAE treated British national Matthew Hedges, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of spying, and then released through a presidential pardon. The article asked rhetorically whether this was the way to treat a national of a friendly country. It also mentioned the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying that only the blind cannot see that he was killed on the Crown Prince’s orders. [ZamanAlWasl]
ASIA
Afghanistan
The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission said on Thursday that all voting results for the October parliamentary elections from Kabul polling stations were invalidated “due to various legal issues.” A spokesman said that the elections would have to be re-conducted in Kabul. [Khaama]
The Afghan Military in the Southeast claimed that at least 72 Taliban fighters were killed during recent operations in Ghazni, including airstrikes. 40 of the slain fighters were said to Pakistani Taliban members. [Khaama]
Daesh said on Thursday it killed an Afghan intelligence member with a hand gun and stole his car in the Khalis Family area, in Jalalabad. [A3maq] [ICDNDec6]
Pakistan
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with Pakistani PM Imran Khan on Wednesday. On Thursday, Khalilzad returned to Afghanistan and met with President Ghani to discuss his recent trips. [Khaama] [Khaama]
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