June 17th IRAQ SITREP by Mindfriedo

• 16th June: Iraqi Airforce hits Daash targets in Tal Afar
• 16th June: All heavy military equipment is shifted by Daash from Mosul. They have taken most heavy equipment to Syria.
• 16th June: The Bathist governor of Mosul, Colonel Hashem al-Jammas, is ensuring twenty hours of power supply to Mosul residents as opposed to two hours being provided previously.
• 16th June: Saudi Arabia has blamed the current government for the ongoing Sunni rebellion. They blame Maliki’s sectarian policies as the main reason for Sunni dissatisfaction.
• 16th June: A bomb explodes in central Baghdad on a passenger bus killing six civilians.
• 17th June: The Iraqi government has blamed Saudi Arabia of siding with the rebels. In its statement it said: “We hold it (Saudi Arabia) responsible for what these groups are receiving in terms of financial and moral support. The Saudi government should be held responsible for the dangerous crimes committed by these terrorist groups”
• 17th June: Example of a misleading pro Daash tweet: Baghdad collapses. Shells on US and Iranian embassies. Maliki fled. Chief of Military Staff flees to Germany. Heavy casualties to Iranian forces.
• 17th June: The rebels constitute three elements:
• Islamists: Daash and other extremist Islamic groups-The Shock Troops
• The Military Council: Former officers of the Iraqi army-The mainstay, they had worked against the Islamist under the Americans but have now sided with the Sunni uprising
• The Naqshabandi Order: Former Ba’athist led by Ibrahim Izzat Al Douri. It is the weakest of the three and its members are mostly former Ba’athist.
• 17th June: Power sharing in Mosul involved Daash handing over administration to the Military Council. The military Council insisted that Daash withdraw its foreign fighters from the city.
• 17th June: Daash has asked women in Mosul to indoors and has banned all forms of entertainment and alcohol
• 17th June: Posters of Saddam that were hung all over Mosul were a point of contention between Daash and the Naqshabandi order
• 17th June: Ali Shamkhani , chief of the Iranian National Supreme Security Council on the purpoted Iran US co-operation in Iraq: That is part of a psychological war, and is totally unreal, information published in the West’s media. As we have already said, if there is an official Iraqi request we will be ready to study it under the framework of international rules, and this concerns no other country.”
• 17th June: Rouhani blames the spread of Daash as a direct outcome of the West and its allies arming the Syrian opposition, saying “We warned them a year ago that these terrorist groups were a danger for the whole region. [But] they sent them arms – or their colleagues in the region sent them arms.”
• 17th June: An overnight attack on Baquba police station resulted in the death of prisoners held there. The rebels claim that Shia militias and security personnel executed the Sunni prisoners when rebels tried to free them. The government claims the rebels killed the prisoners.
• 17th June: The UK has decided to reopen its embassy in Tehran
• 17th June: Syrian authorities claim that they foiled a chemical attack planned by Daash
• 17th June: Nasrallah stated on Sunday “If [Hezbollah] hadn’t intervened in Syria the right way and at the right time, ISIS would be in Beirut now.” He also mentioned that the call made by Sistani was not for the Shias of Iraq alone “not intended to protect a particular sect, but to protect Iraq as a whole.”
• 17th June: Heavy fighting has been reported in Baquba with rebel advances being met with heavy resistance.
• 17th June: The Turkmen village of Basheer, 15 kilometers south of Kirkuk was attacked by Daash. The Turkmen defenders and security services repelled the assault with the help of Kurdish forces. The clashes left a senior Kurdish police brigadier injured. Six of his bodyguards were also killed in the clashes.
• 17th June: Kurdish forces assisting the Turkmen in Basheer have reportedly left after being upset with comments made by Turkmen leaders that supported the Shia Government in Baghdad and Kirkuk’s status.
• 17th June: Daash has attacked Basheer a second time after the Kurds left.
• 17th June: The Al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq is now in the hands of the Free Syrian Army and the Nusra front. Iraqi secutiy forces had abandoned the post earlier.
• 17th June: Arshad Sahili the president of the Iraqi Turkmen Front has stated that if the Kurds “refuse to return Kirkuk [to the Iraqi government] we will fight back." He has announced the creation of a new Turkmen militia.
• 17th June: The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) says that it has no plans to hand back Kirkuk to the central government. They have insisted that they will protect all ethnicities under their protection.
• 17th June: The KRG had reportedly opened the local army base and allowed residents to arm themselves.
• 17th June: The telegraph reports that over 5000 Iranians have signed up to be drafted into militias that may be sent to defend Shia Shrines in Iraq
• 17th June: It is now confirmed that Ghasem Soleimani, the head of the Qods force, is in Iraq. The Americans were informed prior to his arrival.
• 17th June: There is now confirmation that Tal Afar is in Dassh hands. However, parts of the city are in the control of the Government.
• 17th June: The government has dispatched 1200 fighters of the Golden Brigade, its elite Shia unit, to Tal Afar to reinforce government troops there.
• 17th June: Hundreds of thousands of Shia families are now moving towards Kurdish controlled areas. They fear ethnic cleansing at the hands of Daash.
• 17th June: Nechirvan Barzani, the premier of the Kurdish enclave, has stated that there is no going back to the status quo that existed. His comments appear to support the partition of Iraq on ethnic lines. He has also suggested that Iraqi Sunnis be asked if they desire an independent state.
• 17th June: Al-Suleiman Majid Ali Suleiman, the chief of the Sunni Al-Dulaim tribe has stated “We reject any person who joins hands with Daash”
• 17th June: Daash controls a number of villages in the Saadia area in the north of Diyala province. Local administration officials are being forced to work. Half the population has fled. Local officials have asked the government in Baghdad to allow Peshmerga forces to assist in fighting Daash.
• 17th June: Baiji north of Samarra is in Dassh hands. The oil refinery outside of town is in government hands but is surrounded by rebels. Oil production has ceased and staff has been evacuated.
• 17th June: President of Iran Rohanni uploads photos of him watching Iran and Nigeria playing in the world cup. He is wearing pajamas and enjoying a cup of tea. The contrast with the bloodthirsty tweets of Daash is plain to see according to Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent.
• 17th June: Fighting in the north of Baghdad is ongoing.