August 16-17-18-19 Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo: The Battle for Mosul Dam

A Very heartfelt thank you for the Saker who allows for these SITREPs to be posted, and for him always fighting the good fight. May God continue to guide him. I will try to post the SITREPs more frequently.

16th Aug: Kurdish authorities plan to rearm their forces with modern and heavy equipment.
16th Aug: Mohammad Ali al-Hakim, Iraq’s Foreign Minister to the UN asks the nations of the world to collectively designate Daash as a terrorist entity and collectively work against it.
16th Aug: American planes begin softening Daash targets around Mosul Dam for what will be a joint Iraqi-Peshmerga land assault to try and recapture the Dam from Daash. Daash is believed to have not bombed the dam and released its waters as it would have flooded areas controlled by it.
The dam is in need of constant maintenance and is expected to have been damaged severely during the short time that Daash has held it.
16th Aug: Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister arrives in Baghdad to coordinate delivery of humanitarian aid. He is expected to visit Iraqi Kurdistan as well.
16th Aug: Three members believed to belong to Shia militias are killed and 10 injured in a road side bombing in the south of Samarra.
16th Aug: The Iraqi Air force bombs of convoy of 30 vehicles belonging to Daash/rebel fighters near Mosul Dam
16th Aug: Iraqi Air strikes target a meeting of Daash rebels in qaim, western Anbar and reportedly kill the following senior Daash leaders: Abu Mohammed al-Shami, Abu Fatima Moroccan, Sami Mahlawi , Abu Anas al-Samarrai, Omar al-Shishani , Ahmed Awad and Abu Mohammed al-Adnani
Another air strike Jurk al-Sakher, north of Babil kills 22 Daash rebels including seven foreign fighters
16th Aug: Malik al-Arak, a leader within Daash is killed in a targeted rocket attack carried out by the Iraqi Security forces in Latifiya, Southern Baghdad. Two of his fellow Daash terrorists were also killed.
17th Aug: Peshmerga forces continue their adavce towards Mosul Dam aided by American air power. Kurdish forces are engaged in Baqofa and Babera areas and progressing towards progressing towards Tilkaif , al-Qwesat and Wank.
The Peshmergas have also received advanced weapons from Western Countries to fight Daash. Peshmerga forces are also preparing to assault the Sinjar region and regain terrertory they had earlier fled from.
17th Aug: CENTCOM announces that it has carried out 9 air strikes near Mosul Dam and near Erbil that “destroyed or damaged four armored personnel carriers , seven armored vehicles , Humvee and an armored vehicle.” The air strikes were carried out by manned aircraft and drones.
17th Aug: A major assault on Dhuluiya town, Salah id Din, by Daash fighters is foiled by the local police force and pro government/anti Daash tribal fighters. Three policemen are injured and 12 Daash fighters are reported killed.
17th Aug: Daash fighters are reportedly regrouping in Tikrit and are digging in, in anticipation of an Iraqi army assault
17th Aug: The National Alliance and its Prime Ministerial Candidate name a negotiating committee that will meet with other political blocs and speed up government formation. The State of the Law Coalition reiterates that Haider Al Abadi will negotiate government formation with other blocs and will consider demands that are within Iraq’s constitution and reject/not consider demands that go against the constitution.
17th Aug: The five main Kurdish political parties form a joint negotiating team to discuss government formation in Baghdad.
17th Aug: Kisho Amo Selo, a survivor from the Kojo massacre/genocide states that after a ten day siege where they were expected to convert to Islam Daash entered the town and killed hundreds of young Yazidi men and boys and took 500 women and girls to Tal Afar.
17th Aug: Ghayeb Sarhan Sahlab, a leader within Daash, is killed in air strikes in Salah al Din Province.
17th Aug: The Iraqi Security Forces are claiming to have retaken a refinery in Haditha with the help of the Air Force.
17th Aug: Daash’s leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is targeted in a US drone strike on the Iraqi Syrian border on his way to Raqqa but survives.
18th Aug: Kurdish politicians are referring to the appointment of Haider Al Abadi as the Prime Minister designate as a golden opportunity for Iraq. All three ethnic groups can now sit down together and
18th Aug: In an unexpected manner, Daash releases 300 Yazidi refugees from Sinjar and allows them to head to mount Sinjar.
18th Aug: Daash executes Abu Jafar Naqshbandi, a former army officer and a leader within the “Naqshabandi Order”, along with his brother in Jalawla for refusing to follow Daash orders.
18th Aug: Despite a near total collapse of resistance, Peshmerga forces are advancing cautiously towards Tilkaif city south of Mosul Dam. Those that rush towards death are wary of car bombs and booby traps.
19th Aug: American air power breaks the back of Daash near Mosul Dam, paving the way for Peshmerga forces to take over the complex. Daash had earlier brought in a Libyan national engineer to manage the Dam. Daash decided to withdraw its forces that were being hit by accurate and sustained bombardment. However, Daash has booby trapped and left traps for advancing Peshmerga forces in houses, government buildings, and even bodies of dead Daash fighters.
The Daash forces began to crumble on the 17th of August. They more or less abandoned the areas of Tilkaif, Khorsapad, Bashiqa and Bartalah and fled to Mosul city.
19th Aug: The UN has decided to deliver relief supplies to half a million Iraqi refugees. The aid will include tents, food and water, and basic medication. Most aid will be shipped in through Turkey and Jordan; the same directions that Daash entered from.
19th Aug: The south of Iraq is floating in oil. Russia’s Lukoil has shipped an oil tanker from the West Qurna 2 oil field that is estimated to hold 13 billion barrels of oil. The Greedy Empire will not let the Shia South rest or prosper.
19th Aug: The Iraqi army has cleansed two areas north of Baghdad: al-Thaar and Tal Tasa of Daash presence.
19th Aug: Shia Militias a Long way to go: The Iraqi Army launches an assault on Tikrit early this morning. The army was being backed by Shia militias/volunteer fighters and local tribal fighters. Fierce resistance by Daash forces the army to withdraw after suffering one fatality and 5 injured. The army lost its positions in the south of Tikrit and had to withdraw further south. A lack of effective air cover is being cited as one of the reasons of the failed assault.
The Iraqi army is claiming that the leaders within Daash have now fled Tikrit. Daash forces have withdrawn from Al Alam district east of Tikrit. Daash has also thoroughly mined and booby trapped (by planting IEDs along the main roads in Tikrit) most of the city’s main roads.
19th Aug: Abu Mohammed al- Adnani, spokesperson for Daash and Saeed Arif of the Al Nusra front are put on the US sanctions list; a farcical list that includes Iranians and Russians.
Meanwhile, the United States has confirmed that Daash is using American armored personnel carriers that are installed with Israeli made modifications. The vehicles that are designed to survive the blast from IEDs and mines and sustain assaults from small arms fire are being used by Daash to fight the Kurds and other rebel groups in Syria. Daash is also using American made artillery.
Obama has asked the Iraqis to form a unity government and not grow complacent now that the US is bombing Daash fighters. The US has carried out 68 air strikes since the 8th of August primarily aimed at helping the Kurds in the north.
19th Aug: Wasit in the south of Iraq has received 21000 refugees from Mosul. Most are believed to be Shia.
19th Aug: All love for the Kurds: Sweden issues a statement that it backs Iraqi Kurdistan in its fight against terrorism and its support of refugees. Massoud Barzani welcomes Sweden’s stance and stresses that the Kurds need better and more weapons to fight “terrorism.”
19th Aug: The UK showers its affections: Stewart Rory, the head of the defense committee of the British Parliament meets with Massoud Barzani and conveys the greetings of David Cameroon.
19th Aug: Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Shia national Alliance meets with Saleh al-Mutlaq of the Sunni al-Arabiya party meet to discuss government formation and the status of refugees in Iraq.
19th Aug: Three flags belonging to Daash are found hanging on poles and lamp posts in Dhi Qar district, south east of Najaf.
19th Aug: Government claims for the day:
33 Daash fighters are killed in airstrikes in Babil
22 Daash fighters are killed in an artillery strike by the Iraqi Army on their positions in Fallujah
19th Aug: US claims for the day:
17 Daash fighters are killed in airstrikes north of Mosul

Related:
18th Aug: A video has emerged showing a Japanese man being held by Daash terrorists in Syria and him being beaten up by his captors. May God protect him.
19th Aug: Daash commander Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi is killed by the Syrian army in Qalamoun. He is believed to be responsible for several car bomb and suicide attacks in Lebanon.
The Daily Star is reporting that it was the Hezbollah that carried out a sophisticated assassination of the man responsible for many attacks against Lebanon’s Shia areas:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Aug-20/267790-hezbollah-kills-jihadist-who-trained-suicide-bombers.ashx#axzz3AsXnxtq9
19th Aug: Containing blowback: Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, blind since age 18, calls Al Qaida and Daash as Enemies No 1 of Islam.
19th Aug: Jebran Bassil, the Lebanese Foreign Minister states that Iraqi refugees are not welcome in Lebanon and that they should remain in Iraq
19th Aug: Daash releases a live video of it executing US journalist James Foley. May God Curse the oppressors (Daash).
Daash has released a video that threatens Americas everywhere for attacking it in Iraq.

Further Reading:
The Un-Islamic teachings of Daash:
“let the patients die, it is not important, what matters is your veil.” http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/isis-militants-threaten-mosul%E2%80%99s-female-doctors