July 9th Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo

NB: Please note that I am not mentioning/addressing the Israeli Palestinian conflict in these SITREPs. I expect very little to change there in terms of (im)Balance of Power, unless Hezballah decides to step in (unlikely for now). The suffering of the people there, is endless.

Correction: In yesterday's SITREP I referred to Tom Malinowski as the US Ambassador to Bahrain. He is not, he is the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, a diplomat only. Thank you anonymous for pointing this out.

8th July: Tom Malinowski on being deported "Seems #Bahrain government decision not about me but about undermining dialogue."
9th July: Fifty three bodies are found in a Shia neighbourhood of Baghdad. the dead were shot in the chest and head and are believed to be Sunni men suspected of being militants, killed and dumped arbitrarily
9th July: Maliki on TV: "We will never be silent about Irbil being a headquarters for the terrorist operations of [the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant], and Baathists and al-Qaeda."
9th July: Massoud Barzani says that the Kurds are no longer liable to Iraq's constitution
9th July: Milliyet newspaper in Turkey reports that Daash fighters are using over 1000 vehicles stolen in Turkey within Syria
9th July: Daash fighter to a released Turkish truck driver "Order came from upper ones and we have to release you."
9th July: Daash claims that the watch worn by Baghdadi is neither a Rolex nor an omega but one that tells "prayer time." Why not wear a sun dial? It will be so in keeping with their thinking.
9th July: Daash claims responsibility for suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad
9th July: Trucks transporting goods to Iraq have been stopped by Truck Unions in Jordan out of safety concerns
9th July: Sheikh Hatem al-Suleiman, head of the Dulaim tribe in Ramadi: "Maliki is more dangerous than Daash." On being asked about the composition of the rebels "First they are the sons of true tribes and their affiliates, including many armed factions. For example the Islamic Army, the Naqshbandi Army, police officers who defected and stood alongside their people, and former experienced army officers who train and lead attacks and military operations."
9th July: The Kurds claim to have killed 200 Daash fighters in Northern Iraq in regions bordering Turkey
9th July: the Peshmergas have warned the government in Baghdad of any further air raids or attacks on Tuz Khurmatu that they control. The government has stated that recent air raids were a mistake and were meant to target Suleiman Beg which is held by rebels
9th July: The arms bazaars in Kurdish areas are seeing a fall in the prices of firearms. This is on account of a higher demand for American made weapons such as the M16, M4, and M60 that the Iraqi army abandoned and fled
9th July: The provincial council of Najaf bans the sale of Saudi merchandise. Merchants have been given a time extension before the ban comes into effect to sell off existing stock
9th July: The Iraqi government tells the UN that it is unable to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons as the Muthanna chemical complex has been taken over by rebel fighters on the 11th of June and remains outside government control
9th July: Three car bombs explode in Hilla, Babel province killing 3 civilians and injuring 8 civilians and 3 security personnel
9th July: Abu Usama al-Musrati, Baghdadi's appointed Emir of Sa'diya district is killed in an IED attack on his convoy in Diyala along with two of his bodyguards/assistants. It is unclear if this is the same incident reported earlier on the 5th.
9th July: A rebel sniper kills a policeman and injures another in the north east of Baqouba
9th July: Abbas Al Khafaji the commander of federal police forces in Babel is injured when rebel fighters attack his patrol
9th July: Rebel/Daash fighters burn 1000s of acres of farmland cultivated with crops of melons and watermelons in northern Diyala
9th July: Atta's/Government claims for the day:
Sukhoi fighters bombed rebel/Daash positions in Babel killing 28
Anti terrorism units of the government in coordination with army aviation bomb Daash/rebel positions in Salah-il-Din province

Related news:
9th July: The Houthi Shias in Yemen have done a Daash for Amran. In overnight fighting that saw the top commander of a military base in Amran killed, the Houthis have seized prisoners, arms, and heavy equipment. A civil conflict is expected to start afresh with Saudi Arabia expected to intervene militarily.
9th July: Qatari intelligence operatives are arrested in the UAE
9th July: Syria's opposition National Coalition replaces Ahmed al Jabra with Hadi Al Bahra in Turkey. Mr Bahra has spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia, an added qualification for any future Syrian President
9th July: Military reports in Syria suggest that most rebel leaders in Aleppo are fleeing to Turkey
9th July: A little known but active and vicious terrorist group in Karachi, Pakistan, the Tehreek e Khilafat has pledged allegiance to Baghdadi's DI

Further reading:
The politburo of DI of Daash: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10956193/Revealed-the-Islamic-State-cabinet-from-finance-minister-to-suicide-bomb-deployer.html