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

August 15th Iraq SITREP: The king is dead, long live the king

12th Aug: The United States sends another 130 "Advisors" to Iraqi Kurdistan
13th Aug: The US is reporting that its reconnaissance missions are confirming that the plight of the Yazidis is not as severe as was expected
14th Aug: The US Secretary of Defence clarifies that US troops will not take part in military operations in Iraq
14th Aug: The Iraqi Airforce bombs a Daash position in Al Atheem and kills a large number of Daash fighters. Five vehicles are also reportedly destroyed in the raid.
14th Aug: The Iraqi a Security Forces suffer 10 casualties when a road side bomb planted by Daash explodes in Al Atheem district, north east of Baqouba.
The Iraqi forces have arrested a Saudi member of Daash in Al Atheem and have taken him for "questioning"
14th Aug: Daash has executed 4 Ethnic Kurds in Jalawla for providing intelligence to Peshmerga forces.
Daash has also marked fifty houses belonging to Officials and is expected to confiscate them
14th Aug: The a Gathering/Group of Scholars in Iraq, a Sunni Muslim organisation, has requested that a new Iraqi government be formed quickly and that it's leaders should learn from the sectarian mistakes of the previous regime. It should look at laws that were "controversial" and "sectarian," should be fair and unpartisan, should curb religious extremism, fight Daash, and move towards an equitable society.
14th Aug: eighteen Peshmerga fighters are killed in two separate instances of bombings in Diyala. IEDs and car bombs were used.
14th Aug: Masoud Barzani talks to Haider Al Abadi over the telephone and offers his full support in forming the new government
14th Aug: The Iraqi Airforce bombs 7 trucks belonging to Daash carrying weapons in Anbar. The trucks were travelling north of Hadetha.
14th Aug: Johnson Siawesh, a Christian and the Minister of Transport in Iraqi Kurdistan, resigns at the state of affairs of Christians in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan.
14th Aug: The Iraqi Airforce is reporting killing 28 fighters of Daash in airstrikes in the provinces of Salah Al Din, Nineveh, and Anbar.
14th Aug: Fighting breaks out between Daash fighters and the Iraqi Army on the outskirts of Fallujah. Fifteen people are reported dead.
14th Aug: The Iraqi army claims to have taken control of four cities: Al-Dhuluiya, Al-Ishaqi, Al-Mutassim and Balad in Salah Al Din province in the last two weeks after forcing out Daash.
The Iraqi army has killed 70 Daash fighters when it retook Haditha Dam in Anbar that it briefly lost to Daash
14th Aug: The US reports having delivered 15 million rounds of different types of ammunition and 10000 artillery rounds to the Iraqi government. Hellfire missiles were also delivered.
14th Aug: The US kills two Daash fighters in airstrikes in Sinjar
14th Aug: The Iraqi Army claims to be in complete control of Al Atheem sub district
15th Aug: Nouri Al Maliki appears on Iraqi television and endorses Haider Al Abadi in the "higher interest of Iraq"
15th Aug: The National Alliance has stated that the appointment of ministers in the new Haider Al Abadi cabinet will be based on meritocracy and not on political affiliation
15th Aug: The progress of the Iraqi army has more or less come to a stand still with no major offensives being carried out. There appears to be a lack of leadership and managerial experience in the army's leadership.
15th Aug: The National a Alliance is deciding between Hussein al-Shahristani and Shaikh Humam Hamoudi for the post of First Deputy Speaker that Haider Al Abadi has now vacated
15th Aug: the UK carries out an "aid air drop" over Mount Sinjar. The airdrop consists of 13200 litres of drinking water and 480 tents. Strangely solar batteries and lamps that can also be used to charge mobile phones were also dropped.
15th Aug: The Iraqi airforce has reportedly bombed Ghazlani camp in Nineveh That resulted in killing Abu Azzam al-Kandahari, a Daash terrorist, and Mohammed Ali al-Obeidi, in charge of military engineering for Daash.
Another airstrikes in Tal Afar district killed Haqi Farhat (in charge of Daash checkpoints) and 15 Daash fighters
15th Aug: The US and UK stop airlifting aid to Sinjar after claiming that the refugees are better off now. The number of refugees is now being reported as being less than 4000.
Obama says that US airstrikes will continue in Iraq with the aim of protecting US personnel and interests and that US airstrikes broke the siege of Mount Sinjar
15th Aug: Six Peshmerga fighters are killed and three injured in fighting in central Jalawla
15th Aug: Daash terrorists attack and kill 100s of Yazidis in the village of Kojo in Sinjar and take women and girls prisoner after they repurposed to convert to "Islam"
15th Aug: The US is planning to build an airbase in Iraqi Kurdistan
15th Aug: His Eminence Grand Ayatullah al-Sayyid Ali al-Hussani al-Sistani backs the new Prime Minister of Iraq, urges an end to corruption and instructs the Iraqi Army to hoist only the Iraqi flag and avoid factionalism

Further reading:
Special forces of the US and UK have been operating in Iraq for weeks:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11032684/SAS-sent-in-to-Iraq-as-US-troops-land-on-Mount-Sinjar.html
Insightful interview by Nasrallah:
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hezbollah-leader-reveals-secrets-july-2006-war

August 13th Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo

12th Aug: Car bombs in Zafaraniya and Karrada in Baghdad kill eight and injure another 51. Protesters in Karrada attack security checkpoints and force security personnel to withdraw at anger over the bombing that happened earlier.
12th Aug: Viyan Dikhil, MP of the Kurdistan Alliance is injured along with a number of journalists in a helicopter crash near Sinjar Mountain in Nineveh. The Iraqi Air Force evacuates the MP and the journalists to Iraqi Kurdistan for medical treatment.
13th Aug: Two car bombs have reportedly gone off in Baghdad causing casualties. Eleven people are reported killed.
13th Aug: France decides to ship arms to Iraqi Kurduistan unilaterally while the EU is still undecided. The weapons are expected to be delivered soon.
13th Aug: Khamenei throws his support and that of the Islamic Republic of Iran behind Haider Al Abadi: “I hope that the appointment of a new prime minister of Iraq would resolve the crisis and the formation of a new government and seeking to give a lesson to those who indoctrinate strife in Iraq.”
13th Aug: Qatar welcomes the nomination of Haider Al Abadi as the next Prime Minister of Iraq
13th Aug: The UN is reporting the detention and sexual abuse of over 1500 Christian, Yazidi, Turkoman Shia, and Shabak women, girls and boys by Daash. Atrocities include brutal rape, sexual slavery and the burying alive of minorities. May the Curse of God be on the oppressors!
The UN states that another 30000 refugees on Mount Sinjar are still threatened with the genocide.
13th Aug: Maliki criticizes the US and Saudi Arabia on their support for Haider Al Abadi calling his nomination unconstitutional. Maliki has stated that he will remain in his post till his objection has been ruled on by Federal Court. He stated that he was insisting on “his nomination” to defend the decision made by voters.
13th Aug: Peshmerga fighters claim to have killed 14 Daash fighters in their bombardment of Daash positions around Jalawla. The Peshmergas are planning a fresh assault on the town that they lost two days ago.
Daash has meanwhile raided the homes of security personnel in Jalawla and detained over 40. The men have been transferred to an unknown destination.
13th Aug: Haider Al Abadi has started planning and putting together his government to be by consulting with other political blocs.
13th Aug: Moqtada al Sadr of the Ahrar bloc and Osama al Nujaifi of the Motahedoun Bloc express optimism and their willingness to work closely with the new government. Nujaifi thanked Sadr for his willingness to work towards a unity government and called the appointment of Abadi as a remarkable national achievement.
13th Aug: Iraq plans to increase its oil output from the south of Iraq to 2.4 million barrels per day from the 2.2 million that was produced in July
13th Aug: Massoud Barzani requests the UK to follow the US lead and launch airstrikes against Daash in Iraq.
13th Aug: Kurdish MPs are criticizing statements made by the Chairman of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Al’eddin Boroujerdi on Monday the 11th where he referred to collusion between Kurdish forces and Daash (please refer to further reading section) as being contrary to realities on the ground.

Related:
11th Aug: Where political correctness has brought the UK; Wahabi supporters of Daash distribute pamphlets in Central London: http://rt.com/uk/179968-isis-supporters-uk-extremist/
12th Aug: Sectarian fighting between Shia Houthi rebels and the Islah party in northern Yemen leaves 15 dead. The fighting is on going in the al-Jouf region and both sides are using heavy weapons. The Islah party is believed to be close to the Muslim brotherhood.
13th Aug: Hezbollah calls on the Saudis to stop the trial of Shia Cleric Sheikh Nemer al-Nemer to maintain Islamic Unity.
13th Aug: Daash makes gains in North East Syria and takes over a number of towns around Aleppo: Akhtarin and Turkmanbareh and several villages in the area: Masoudiyeh, Dabiq and Ghouz.
Daash’s takeover of these towns is expected to cut off the supply lines of other rebel groups fighting the Assad regime.

Further reading:
Iranians referring to collusion between the Kurds and Daash early on, before Daash turned its attention east: http://www.shiitenews.com/index.php/iran/11027-us-strikes-against-isil-just-a-show-of-force-iran-mp
Possible Israeli involvement with Daash:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930515000176

August 12th IRAQ SITREP by Mindfriedo

IRAQ SITREP 6th to 12th Aug

This is a partial SITREP as time did not allow to fill in more details, will post missed or overlooked news in subsequent SITREPs

6th Aug: Fighting breaks out between Iraqi Security Forces backed by Shia militias and Daash fighters in Ouja and Tigris south of Tikrit. The fighting followed separate Daash instigated assaults/attacks on both towns.
6th Aug: Fighting between Peshmerga forces trying to regain control of terrertory lost to Daash in Sinjar and Zammar results in casualties on both sides. The Kurdish forces were being backed by Iraqi helicopters.
6th Aug: The Human Rights Commission in Iraq stated that after having transferred over 500 women from Sinjar, Daash has also kidnapped Turkoman Shia women from Tal Afar airport and has offered them to its fighters as slaves.
6th Aug: The Iraqi army has taken control of two areas north of Ramadi, Anbar and killed 12 Daash fighters in a confrontation that is ongoing.
6th Aug: The Iraqi army aviation reports bombing and killing Abu Anas al-Muhajir, a judge in Mosul in charge of a juvenile prison. The bombardment of the complex helped the 300 detainees being held there escape.
6th Aug: Waves of refugees are making their way toward Kurdistan from areas that have been taken over by Daash: Sinjar and Zammar.
6th Aug: Peshmerga forces report attacking and taking control of a Police academy in Mosul and some intersections. The Peshmergas were backed by Iraqi Helicopters. Losses on both sides are unconfirmed.
7th Aug: Ali Jassim al-Maytoti, an MP from the Iraqi Forces Coalition blames the United States for civilian casualties that resulted from air strikes in Sinjar that the Iraqi Air Force. He blamed faulty intelligence for the loss of civilian life.
7th Aug: Daash is preventing residents of Saadiya from leaving and is reportedly using them as human shields against Iraqi Airstrikes. Daash is using residential housing as its command posts after government buildings were bombed last week resulting in casualties.
7th Aug: Iraqi security forces are reporting having cleared a number of villages in the road between Tuz Khurmato and Amerli in Salah id Din. The fighting is now intensifying around Yakenja village where Daash fighters are taking shelter. The security forces plan to free the village and advance towards Amerli. They are being backed by air strikes.
7th Aug: Peshmerga fighters attack Daash fighters in Do Kri and liberate the area near the Syrian Iraqi border.
7th Aug: Fighting between Peshmergas and Daash around Mosul Dam has resulted in the death of Chechen Daash Commander Abu Omar al-Shishani also known as Tarkhan Batirhvili. The Kurds are stating that they still control the Dam and that they have so far repelled assaults by Daash to take over the dam. The dam is now under Daash control.
7th Aug: Fuad Masum meets with Abdul Karim al-Samarrai, the Minister of Science and Technology and Ali al-Adeeb Minister of Science and Higher Education and discusses government formation with them.
Faud Masum expects the largest bloc of representatives (the Shia National Alliance bloc) to nominate Ibrahim al Jafari as its next Prime Ministerial candidate.
7th Aug: Three Kuwaiti nationals have been sanctioned by the US Treasury for supporting Jihadists in Syria and Iraq by collecting and transferring funds to them.
8th Aug: The Iraqi Security Forces raid and arrest a number of Former Iraqi Army officers and young men from different parts of Baghdad. The men are suspected to be part of a fifth column that planned an uprising that would have occurred prior to a concerted push being made by Daash led rebels on Baghdad.
8th Aug: Jamal Kojer, a member of Kurdistan Alliance, states that the Peshmergas are more than capable of taking on Daash and that they can regain all lost ground but would be in need of Iraqi Air Support.
8th Aug: The US carries out air strikes on mobile artillery belonging to Daash firing at Peshmerga forces near Erbil.
The US also airdrops relief supplies to refugees in and around mount Sinjar.
9th Aug: The government in Baghdad airlifts supplies to Kurdish forces in Erbil. The consignment consisted of mainly small arms needed by the Kurds to fight Daash.
9th Aug: The US starts to airlift additional emergency supplies to refugees in and around mount Sinjar. 7s packets consisting of 28000 meals and 1500 gallons of water are airdropped on refugee positions.
9th Aug: America carries out another two sorties against Daash elements firing mortars on Kurdish positions around Erbil. A Daash vehicle convoy is also targeted.
9th Aug: Daash launches a pre dawn attack on Tuz Khurmato from two different directions. The Peshmergas repel the assault. Both sides resorted to the use of artillery and heavy equipment. Civilians in the assaulted area flee the fighting. Casualties are unknown.
9th Aug: The Iraqi air force bombs a concentration of Daash fighters north east of Baqouba and kills 30 Daash fighters. Iraqi Security personnel are seeing a change in the tactics employed by Daash to avoid airstrikes: most movement is pre dawn and involves single vehicles as opposed to convoys.
9th Aug: Zervani forces of the Peshmergas ascend parts of mount Sinjar in an attempt to save stranded Iraqis from Sinjar.
9th Aug: Satee Abdullah al-Afri, a local commander of Daash in Mosul. The attack is being claimed by a little known group called the al-Ramah battalion. Another attack near Kirkuk by the group resulted in the death of Muhammad Jakh, another commander.
10th Aug: A leader within the Awakening movement is reporting the mass fleeing of over 100 Daash fighters west of Kirkuk. The Daash fighters in al-Zewiya and Sedira villages threw their arms away and fled to unknown parts. The entire area is suddenly devoid of terrorists.
10th Aug: Three Mortar shells fired by Daash Terrorists land 200 meters from the Al Askari shrine in Samarra.
10th Aug: Sustained airstrikes by US Aircraft and land assaults by Peshmerga forces have resulted in Daash fighters withdrawing from Makhmor and Al Kwer areas south of Erbil. The Daash fighters have withdrawn from nearby villages as well. The Peshmergas are being cautious and “not rushing to death” out of fear of ambushes and counter offensives. The Peshmergas enter and free Kwer area south of Erbil.
10th Aug: Iraqi Army troops are fighting Daash fighters to the east of Mosul. The Iraqi Air Force has targeted Daash in Solaiman Beck, al-Thabetiya, and al-Nebaee.
10th Aug: Peshmerga forces are reporting that they repulsed an assault on Jalawla by Daash. The assault was from three directions and was a major push for the town. Kurdish forces were being supported by the Iraqi Air force. Jalawla later fell on the 11th to Daash forces after two days of fighting. Ten Peshmergas were reported killed and 80 wounded. Daash had attacked the town with car bombs, suicide bombers and men dressed in Peshmerga uniforms and taken control of the centre of town. The Peshmergas are now planning a counter offensive. The Peshmergas are fighting street battles with Daash and shelling Daash positions in the southern parts of the town with artillery.
10th Aug: Daash fighters are using mortars to shell villages in Berwana sub district in Haditha, Anbar. The al-Jegheva tribe residing there has been resisting Daash and appears to be the target of the intense shelling carried out by Daash.
10th Aug: A government air strike on a Sharia Court in Al Karma, Anbar, reportedly kills 45 Daash fighters
10th Aug: Maliki makes a speech condemning the Iraqi President Faud Masum. Troops loyal to him then fan out across the green zone and take over key intersections. For those wanting to know more about Maliki’s ouster please refer to the links provided in the further reading section.
11th Aug: The National Allaince nominates Haider Abadi as its Prime Ministerial Candidate. The National Alliance is the largest coalition of mostly Shia parties in Iraq and, so far, also includes Maliki’s State of Law Coalition.
11th Aug: Fuad Masum, President elect of Iraq, nominates National Bloc nominee Haider Al Abadi as the Prime Ministerial Candidate. Outgoing PM Maliki (and current hopeful) criticizes the President of Iraq as having taken an unconstitutional step and threatens to resort or refer the matter to Iraq’s Federal Judiciary. Pro Maliki Security Forces are reported to have taken control of key intersections and points within the Green Zone in Baghdad.
12th Aug: Obama refers to the appointment of Haider Al Abadi as “a promising step forward.” The U S Secretary of State John Kerry hints at providing additional material support once Iraq has a new government: “We are ready to study additional political, economic and security choices as Iraq begins the formation of the new government.” Kerry went on to ask Abadi to form a “unity” government. He stated that the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Iraqis and resupplying the Kurds with arms had been undertaken on Baghdad’s behest.
12th Aug: Hoshyar Zebari pays back Maliki in kind (Maliki had earlier dismissed Zebari as Foreign Minister) states that any armed attempt by Maliki to hold on to power will be a disaster for Iraq and a coup. He stated that Maliki has lost the support of his allies and of “four” major political forces: the US, Iran, the religious authority (Sistani) and the UN.
12th Aug: Curiouser and curiouser: The Department of Defence states that the US will restrict its airstrikes to try and protect its interests (personnel) in Erbil and to help trapped Yazidis in Sinjar, but it will not bomb any further Daash targets or attempt to change the balance of power. The US has also stepped back from any attempt to open up a humanitarian corridor to trapped Iraqis in Sinjar and has instead stated that the focus of its mission is to ensure the safety of its air assets delivering aid to the trapped Iraqis.
12th Aug: Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and representative of Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei states that Iran supports “legal procedure paved for choosing the new Iraqi prime minister.” He has requested all Iraqi groups to unite behind the Iraqi Government.
12th Aug: The German Foreign Minister welcomes the appointment of Haider Al Abadi by Fuad Masum as the new Prime Minister in waiting. It also hopes that a national unity government will deprive Daash of its much needed political instability. The Italians also express hope in a future Iraq headed by Abadi.
12th Aug: The Iraqi PM in waiting, Haider Al Abadi, requests all political factions and people to unite behind the armed forces of Iraq and help them fight sectarianism in all its forms.
12th Aug: Brigadier Ghulam Askar Krimean, of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards warns Daash that any assault on Shi’ite Shrines in Iraq will not be tolerated and will be responded to. He has referred to Daash as a “counter revolutionary group” (not his exact words) that has attempted to weaken the resistance.
12th Aug: Kurdish Peshmergas are building up their forces on the outskirts of Jalawla and Saadia in preparation of an assault on the two towns. Inside the town, Daash fighters are preventing residents from leaving (a general curfew), they have raided the homes of security personnel, and have moved in heavy earth moving equipment to build earthen fortifications against any assault.
Kurdish political forces are drawing up plans to prevent any further loss of territory to Daash. Daash’s all on assault on Kurdish positions across a wide area is being seen as a reaction to their withdrawl under fire from areas around Erbil.
12th Aug: A group of men trading in “spoils” that Daash had looted from the people of Iraq in the north of the country have been arrested in Najaf. The group was selling the loot and allegedly repatriating profits to Daash.
12th Aug: Vian Dakhel, a Yazdi MP of Iraq, has stated that the fate of 600 Yazdi girls being held by Daash in Badush prison in Nineveh. He went on further to state that Yazdi families stranded on mount Sinjar are still in danger and are besieged by Daash. Daash has given the Yazdis a choice of converting or death.
12th Aug: The Iraqi Air Force bombs the former headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Sinjar. A number of Daash fighters are reported killed including Ahmad al Warshan, the newly appointed DI of Daash governor of the city.
12th Aug: Masoud Barzani has said that he supports the new Prime Minister in waiting of Iraq. Saudi Arabia and Turkey have also welcomed the news of Haider Al Abadi being nominated for Prime Minister.
12th Aug: Government claims for the day:
Four airstrikes launched on Daash fighters and their vehicles in Amerli, south of Tuz Khurma, East of Tikrit. Exact number of Casualties unreported.
12th Aug: US claims for the day:
A Daash mortar position firing on Peshmergas evacuating refugees in Sinjar has been bombed

Related:

12th Aug: The al-Shaaitat tribe in Deir Ezzor Eastern Syria is continuing to fight Daash despite the latter having resorted to terror tactics to try and subdue the tribal fighters. Daash has also tried to convince the Gharanij Brigades to stop supporting the tribe but has so far failed. The Syrian Air Force has dropped leaflets in the area welcoming the tribal revolt against Daash. The Syrian Tabaqa military airbase is the last government held territory in the area and it is coming under increased Daash assaults. The assaults have so far been repulsed.
12th Aug: The Lebanese army intelligence raids Syrian refugees in Koura
12th Aug: The Syrin army ambushes and kills militants fleeing the Lebanese town of Arsal for Qalamoun
12th Aug: Saad Hariri states that the $1 billion he brought back from his “masters” in Saudi Arabia will be used to buy modern military equipment for the Lebanese army

Further reading:
An Image of a Daash fighter who allegedly married a seven/nine year old girl in Iraq and his after death photo; an example of an anti Daash tweet, both pro and anti Daash tweets and messages abound:
http://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/isis-militant-announces-his-marriage-to-terrified-7-year-old-in-occupied-city-syria/
From Pessimism:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-winning-its-war-on-two-fronts-militants-conquered-sunni-regions-of-iraq-and-are-now-consolidating-hold-on-northeast-syria-9641167.html
To Optimism:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-crisis-american-intervention-against-isis-boosts-kurdish-morale-as-president-obama-launches-more-air-strikes-9659493.html

For those wanting details of Maliki’s ouster:
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235024632-maliki-defies-sistani-as-his-party-abandons-him/
and
http://foab.org/2014/08/feeling-heat-maliki-warns-sistani-against-opposing-third-term/

Daashing out of Iraq: Recent Military Maneuvers (by Mindfriedo)

Daashing out of Iraq: Recent Military Maneuvers

The timing of the Kurdish advance west in Daash held territory appears to be a well planned operation. Three events are significant.

The first was that the advance and confrontation of the Kurds did not begin till the return of Former President Jalal Talibani. He is pragmatic and astute as opposed to Massoud Barzani who is Kurdish nationalistic and believed to be close to Israel. A deal was being reported where he, Talibani, allowed the Iranians to send in 200 “Advisors”; this was denied by the Iranian press. But it is possible that the Kurds are now being “advised” by the Iranians.

The second is the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Mohammed al-Haj, who the Hezbollah confirmed was killed/martyred in Mosul, Iraq. This is very significant as the commander was killed deep in Daash territory. Three members of Iran’s Elite Qods Brigade have also been killed in Iraq. Kamal Shirkhani in June near Samarra, Ali Reza Moshajari mid June in Karbala, and Shojaat Alamdari Mourjani in Samarra Early July.

The third is the official backing, at this stage purely symbolic, of the Iraqi government to Sunni opposition groups willing to fight/already fighting Daash in Mosul. Also recent comments made by Sunni politicians that request the Iraqi Air Force to avoid civilian casualties and work closely with the Peshmergas and comments backing Sunni Militias opposed to Daash indicate an aligning of interests.

On a political and military level, the three sides appear to be aligning against their common enemy. The Iraqi Air Force/Army Aviation is now flying sorties for the Peshmergas. However, there is bound to have been some quid pro quo between the Kurds and the Iranians, and in Baghdad, between the Shia and the Sunni. The future of Kirkuk is going to be of great interest. The Kurds will eventually hand over Mosul and Sinjar to the Iraqi government, but control of Kirkuk and other cities with substantive Kurdish populations, such as Jalawla, is going to be contentious.

The Kurds had, like the Iraqi government earlier, requested the United States for air strikes. Obama did not oblige. The Iranians may have stepped in. The movement of heavy equipment and the Kurds investing their armour in the fight suggests that Iran may be willing/or may already be rearming and resupplying the Kurds.

The rebellion by the Shaitat tribe in Eastern Syria has forced Daash to pull back its fighters from Iraq and reinforce its fighters in Syria. This has been of significant tactical advantage to the Kurds. By attacking the Peshmergas, Daash has over played its hand and stretched itself thin. For now, Daash has lost the offensive.

Agust 5th Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo: Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war

Quote of the Day, Castro on Israel: I think that a new and disgusting form of fascism is emerging with considerable force at this moment in human history

4th Aug: Red Crescent is reporting the detention of 100 Christian and Yazidi families by Daash at Tal Afar airport on Monday. The men were executed while the women and children were sent off to be sold as slaves.
4th Aug: Nuri al Maliki asks the Iraqi Air Force to back the Peshmerga Forces in Sinjar and Zammar. The Iraqi Air Force starts bombing Daash positions.
4th Aug: President of Iraqi Kurdistan orders the Peshmergas to hit Daash with full force and for the Peshmergas to go on the offensive.
4th Aug: Attrition: The Iraqi Air Force bombs a Daash convoy to the south of Sinjar, in Baa’j, West of Mosul, Nineveh. The convoy consisted of over 60 vehicles, many of which were destroyed.
4th Aug: Iraq’s white Elephants: The first of the 36 ordered F16s is expected to arrive in Iraq at the end of the week.
5th Aug: On Cue: The Iraqi Air Force carries out airstrikes on Daash fighters in Sinjar. Over 2oo Daash fighters are reported killed and 150 injured. The airstrikes are in coordination with the Iraqi Directive of Intelligence.
5th Aug: The Kurds launch a counter attack on Sinjar and Zammar. They are now in control of large parts of Sinjar. Their counter offensive was started after the Iraqi Air force bombed Daash positions. Peshmerga forces are back in control of Zammar and Rabia.
5th Aug: Deception: The Kurds find fleeing Daash fighters wearing Peshmerga Uniforms in Sinjar and Zammar. The Daash fighters had shaved off their beards and were using Kurdish Peshmerga insignia on their vehicles
5th Aug: IMPORTANT/ATTENTION: Gunmen dressed as US Commandoes storm a Daash prison in Saadia, Diyala. The “US Troops” are armed with silenced weapons and kill four guards and injure another three that are guarding the prison and destroy two Daash vehicles. They free 17 prisoners believed to be important security personnel, government officials, and their families.
5th Aug: Qobad Talabani, the Vice President of Iraqi Kurdistan visits Yazidi refugees in Dohuk, north of Mosul.
5th Aug: Daash fighters attack Ouja and burn the grave site of Iraq’s bloody dictator and one time American ally Saddam Hussain. They were resisted by the Iraqi Army and loyal militias.
5th Aug: The Kurds are requesting for international humanitarian and military aid. Kurdish controlled territory is overwhelmed by refugees. The Peshmergas are in need of military assistance. Kurdish politicians are requesting the UN for aid.
5th Aug: Khaled al-Obeidi, a Sunni politician from the National Union Forces (A coalition of mostly Sunni Iraqi Parties) calls on the Iraqi Armed Forces to work closely with Kurdish Forces on the ground to try and avoid collateral civilian casualties. In a recent airstrike in Sinjar the Iraqi Air force bombed a mosque where arrested policemen were being held by Daash.
5th Aug: The Iraqi parliament meets and discusses the refuge problem in Iraq.
5th Aug: The Yazidi refugees in the mountains north of Sinjar are reporting the deaths of 120 children and 60 elderly refugees. The deaths are on account of harsh conditions and a lack of food and water. The Yazidis are referring to their plight as a “Second Karbala.” The Iraqi army is now planning to airdrop supplies to the mountains.
5th Aug: The Peshmergas are now reported to be fighting Daash on the outskirts of Mosul. The Iraqi army has inched closer to Mosul. The army is now in full control of Al Shirqat to the north west of Hawija.
5th Aug: Iraqi Securit Forces arrest 8 wanted individuals (including one woman) in Thi Qar, while police in Najaf arrest three (including one woman).
5th Aug: A car bomb goes off in Kirkuk province, casualties are yet unconfirmed; another car bomb explodes in Karbala, casualties remain unascertained. Two Civilians are killed and 5 injured in Jalawla when an IED explodes. A suicide bomber attacks a café in central Jalawla and kills three civilians and injures 6.
5th Aug: Government Claims for the day:
Airstrikes by the Iraqi Air Force kill 2 and injure 10 Daash fighters in Sinjar
20 Terrorists, including two suicide bombers, are killed by security forces in Taji, north of Baghdad


Related:
4th Aug: The Grant Mufti of Saudi Arabia, blind since 18, issues a Fatwa against Palestinian Solidarity Marches. Abdul Aziz Al Ash-Sheikh “are just useless demagogic actions, that won’t help Palestinians.” “Demagoguery does not work. It is just an exaggeration.”
4th Aug: Abu Hassan al-Filastini, Daash’s Emir in Qalamoun is killed in clashes on Monday. He is reported to have been fatally wounded in army shelling on Sunday.
5th Aug: 40 Nurses from India who were trapped in Tikrit have returned to their homes in India. Meanwhile, two men are arrested in southern India for posing in a group photograph wearing Daash (ISIS) T shirts. The photograph features 26 men wearing pro Daash t Shirts.
5th Aug: Saudi money on both sides. The Lebanese military requests France to speed up the delivery of weapons that Saudi had paid for as fighting in Ersal intensifies. France has delayed the delivery of these weapons.
Two Lebanese soldiers are reported killed, both brutally.
While Hezbollah has backed the Lebanese army no such political backing has been forthcoming from Lebanon’s Future Movement. Their masters in Saudi Arabia are also silent. The Cease fire referred to as a “humanitarian truce” being brokered by the “Association for Muslim Scholars” has so far failed.
5th Aug: Sunni Cleric Sheikh Abu Taqiyeh in Ersal blames Hassan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah for continued fighting and the failure to broker a cease fire.
The Takfiri militants in Ersal and their Ulema are trying to broker a cease fire to try and prevent them from losing their foot hold in Lebanon. The Hezbollah is unlikely to allow them breathing space as not fighting them now, will imperil Lebanon’s future.
5th Aug: Takfiri terrorists in Ersal are executing civilians trying to flee and those suspected of being informants.


Further reading:
Recommended by Hezbollah’s Al Manar:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-brings-its-war-to-lebanon--and-it-could-be-a-key-part-of-a-masterplan-9648009.html
Fleeing for Survival:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/iraqi-yazidis-if-move-they-will-kill-us-20148513656188206.html

August 3rd adn 4th Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo

3rd Aug: Qassim Atta, spokesperson for the Iraqi Army states that the Iraqi government is willing to back local fighters from Mosul in their fight against Daash. He said that they should come within the fold of/assimilate into the regular armed forces.

3rd Aug: The Iraqi Army’s spokesperson, Qassim Atta, singles out two Television channels: Al Babiliya and Tagheer, as being sectarian. The Channels are owned by Saleh al-Mutlaq (Iraqi Front for National Dialogue) and the Iraqi Islamic Party, respectively. Both these parties are Sunni Islamic parties that have worked with the government of Iraq and have been part of it in the past.

3rd Aug: A Committee established to investigate the mass murder of 1000 student cadets by Daash Jihadists at the Speicher Base in Tikrit concludes that the murders did in fact take place. Local sources unfriendly with Daash have confirmed the movements of the students prior to their execution.

3rd Aug: Daash terrorists enter Sinjar to the west of Tal Afar and destroy a Shiite Shrine: The local Sayeda Zainab (as) Shrine. They execute 10 Kurdish Shias. Daash fighters overrun Sinjar, Zammar, Wana and Mosul dam that leads to an exodus of its minorities including Yazdis. An oil field was also captured by Daash. These areas were earlier with the Peshmergas. The Peshmergas made tactical withdrawal from Sinjar to allow the Iraqi Air Force to carry out airstrikes on Daash targets.

The capture of the dam seems significant as Daash can now withhold water supply (a medieval battle tactic) or flood areas as a tactical defensive measure (Saddam’s tactics in the Iran Iraq war). The Peshmergas withdrew without offering much resistance. They withdrew their mechanized troops before the deadline set by Daash expired. Iraqis in the north are questioning the “rushing toward death” of the Peshmergas in view of them fleeing.

3rd Aug: The Kurds are engaging Daash/rebel fighters to the west of Mosul. The attempt appears to be to cut the supply lines of Daash into Syria. The attack has centered on Sinjar west of Tal Afar and close to the Syrian Border. Heavy reinforcements are reported to be heading west.

3rd Aug: Security Forces backed by local militias have attacked and dislodged Dassh/rebel fighters from an old airport in Muqdadiya, east of Baqouba. Daash/rebel fighters abandoned villages near the area and have fled to the mountains north in fear of Air Strikes.

The free men of Saadia, the militia assisting the security forces, hang the body of a Daash Commander on display as a message to Daash.

3rd Aug: The irrelevance of the United States: Atta announces the arrival of additional Sukhoi SU 25 jets to Iraq.

4th Aug: Daash bulldozes a graveyard east of Saadia and refers to the practice of visiting graves idolatry. Daash fighters have given the residents of Saadia 72 hours to surrender their weapons and join the ranks of Daash. Daash executes two men it suspects of belonging to the “free men of Saadia.”

4th Aug: Wana area in between Tal Afar and Mosul and south of Mosul Dam has been recaptured by the Peshmergas after the arrival of reinforcements.

4th Aug: Yazidi Iraqis have released photos of those displaced by Daash in Sinjar. The displaced number 200000 and are hiding in the mountains north of Sinjar. There is no access to drinking water or shelter and women and children have to face extreme temperatures. Reports of atrocities being committed by Daash are also surfacing. Sinjar also had a substantial Christian population. Shia refugees are also taking shelter in the mountains.

4th Aug: In a World of his own, a lot like the politicians of the Lebanese Future Movement: Former Vice President and Sunni Politician Tariq al-Hashimi, wanted by the Judiciary for his involvement in sectarian bombings and currently under the protection of the Turkish Government, states that Daash should ally itself and cease attacking the Peshmergas. He stated that the Sunni Arabs and Kurds should find common ground against the Shia Government.

4th Aug: Government airstrikes have killed Abdul Rahman al- Pakistani, as his name suggests a Pakistani national and a founding member of Daash, in al-Tayaran, Mosul city. The strike was coordinated with intelligence on the ground.

4th Aug: Lufthansa is continuing to fly its planes to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan but it will avoid Daash “controlled/threatened” airspace.

4th Aug: The Kurds tell Washington to put their money where their mouth is. Falah Mustafa, Foreign spokesperson for Iraqi Kurdistan asks Washington to stop thanking and praising the Kurds and start supplying them with weapons and ammunition.

4th Aug: Athel al-Nujaifi, Governor of Nineveh plans and envisions the setting up of a Sunni Arab force similar to the Peshmergas. He has referred to the “Awakening Members” as ineffective and divisive.

4th Aug: The National alliance fails to agree on a Prime Ministerial candidate. Maliki is expected to be able to garner more votes than his rivals, but is being resisted by Sadr’s Ahrar bloc, the Supreme Council, and Sunni and Kudish parties.

4th Aug: The UN approaches the US to airlift supplies to Yazidis sheltering in Sinjar Mountains.

4th Aug: The Iraqi Army arrests 24 suspected individuals, including a woman, in Maysan in the East of Iraq. Another 4 wanted individuals are arrested in Karbala. Police arrest another 6 in Maysan on terrorism charges.

4th Aug: The Iraqi Army is organizing a major offensive in Haditha, Anbar to flush out Daash fighters. The army is being backed by the air force, and tribal militias.

4th Aug: Awakening Members assist the Security Services in arresting 4 Daash fighters in Tuz Khurma, Salah al Din, east of Tikrit.

4th Aug: The Iraqi Army kills 8 fighters of Daash and destroys eight vehicles belonging to them in the north of Babil.

4th Aug: Daash kidnaps the 11 year old daughter of a Peshmerga fighter, after killing his brother earlier, in an attempt to coerce him to join Daash in Saadiya, Diyala.

4th Aug: The Iraqi army replaces its Babil Commander Abdulhussein al-Baythani with his recently appointed deputy Kadhim Risan.

3rd and 4th Aug: Government claims for the Day:

3rd: 300 Daash fighters killed in the west of Mosul in Air Strikes

3rd: Government air strikes target a gathering of Daash fighters in Baiji district

4th: Government airstrikes kill 35 Daash/rebel fighters in Eastern Mosul

4th: Government airstrikes kill 117 Daash fighters north of Baghdad, destroy 24 vehicles, and kill the Mufti of Daash Jalal Arak al-Halbosi. His assistant Mahmoud Hussein Kasar al-Lehebi is also reported killed.

Skepticism over government claims: The body count that the government reports in terms of Daash fighters killed in airstrikes should be taken with a pinch of salt. Most government claims are by way of airstrikes, the government at times does not have sources on the ground that can corroborate claims being made by pilots. In most likelihood, the government is killing a number of Daash fighters in air strikes but not at the scale at which it reports. However, the government has been accurate in its reporting of killings of specific members within Daash in Mosul and elsewhere. This indicates the presence of some sort of intelligence network behind enemy lines.

Reports where Government security forces fight/Peshmergas/allied militias claim to kill Daash fighters are likely to be more accurate, since they can be verified in terms of number of dead bodies, but may be inflated as well.

All terrorist acts committed by Daash, and advertised/used as propaganda, appear to be accurate. But conflict reports by Daash may be just as misleading for propaganda purpose and their psychological effect on enemy morale.

Related:

3rd Aug: Walid Jumbaltt changes his views once again and refers to blaming of Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as being responsible for terrorism as incorrect and something that needs to stop. He is pessimistic of the future and the survival of minorities.

3rd-4th Aug: The Lebanese army detains Abu Ahmed Jumaa in Ersal Eastern Lebanon, on a suspected Hezbollah tip off. Following his arrest hostilities break out and under the orders of Abu Hassan al-Filastini, the commander of the DI of Daash (ISIS) in Qalamoun, Daash overruns the town. The Al Nusra Front after a pause joins the fight and overruns the Base of the Lebanese 85th Battalion. Daash takes 6 soldiers hostage, but the Lebanese Army claims 13 are missing. The bases were overrun after Daash fighters flooded the streets and intersections.

Daash is preventing civilians from fleeing or leaving the town as this will allow the Lebanese and Syrian army and air force to pummel the town.

4thAug: General Jean Qahwaji, Lebanese army commander, terms the militant attack on Ersal premeditated and states that the army is ready to take on the takfiris. Sixteen Lebanese army soldiers are now reported killed.

4thAug: Hezbollah issues a statement that it is willing to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Lebanese army against the militants.

4th Aug: The Lebanese army begins shelling the mountains around Ersal and the Syrian Air force starts carrying out air strikes.

4th Aug: Prime Minister Tammam Salam, a Sunni Politician, meets with Salafi cleric from Tripoli, Sheikh Salem al-Rifi’I, and Sunni Bekaa Mufti, Khalil al-Mais, to try and reach a cease fire in Ersal.

4th Aug: Hezbollah refers to the current crisis in Ersal as a reaction by the militants to avoid their encirclement. Hezballah has been progressively encircling militant positions and Ersal would have been the next focal point. The militant takeover has been seen as a means to complicate the situation and a result of their fear of being encircled.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleh_al-Mutlaq

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Islamic_Party

George Galloway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H72HMpgnX6E

Illustrated SITREP for Iraq, 2nd Aug:

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2014/08/ISIS%208.2%20update.jpg

Daash Recruitment:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/04/abducted-tortured-indoctrinated-the-tale-of-a-teen-who-escaped-isis.html

August 2nd Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo

1st Aug: UN figures for fatalities in Iraq in July: 1,737 Iraqis killed, 1,978 injured
1st Aug: The Iraqi Air force attacks gatherings of Daash/rebel fighters in Jurf Al Sakhar, North West of Musayib in Babil province south of Baghdad. The attacks result in 200 militants being killed.
1st Aug: Daash rebel attack Peshmerga positions to the north of Mosul. The attack was on an oil terminal and dam. The check post of Zumar was also attacked. Fourteen Peshmergas were reported killed in the fighting.
1st Aug: Daash launches an assault on the town of Jurf al-Sakhr, south of Baghdad. The attack started with a mortar barrage and led to the deaths of 11 Iraqi Soldiers and 12 fighters belonging to the Asaib Ahl al Haq. Another 7 soldiers were injured when the Iraqi army counter attacked.
1st Aug: A fire broke out on an oil pipeline in Bajwan village in Kirkuk. The fire was brought quickly under control.
2nd Aug: Daash/rebels have appropriated salaries that were paid to government staff in Nineveh province by the Federal Government. Displaced employees of the government are now requesting that their salaries be paid to them in their new locations where they can be/were engaged in providing other services. The government had earlier decided to hold salaries in areas where it has lost ground till after the end of the conflict.
2nd Aug: Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the former speaker of Iraq warns of the consequences of delays in forming a national unity government. He has asked all political blocks to work together.
2nd Aug: Peshmerga forces amass and launch a multi pronged attack on Daash held territory west and north west of Mosul: Zammar and Rabia. Peshmerga forces used heavy weaponry, tanks and mortar launchers. Over 90 Daash/rebel fighters are believed dead and another 45 captured.
Peshmerga forces are reporting that the Daash captives were under the influence of drugs.
2nd Aug: The Iraqi army launches an artillery strike near Haditha in Anbar. The strike was based on intelligence inputs and resulted in the death of Omar Adel al-Ani, Ali Tariq Dallah Ali, and Omar Abdul Razak al-Rawi. The army reported the deaths of Mahdi Ahmed al-Rawi, Khaled Hassan al-Rawi, Yassin Najeh al-Rawi, Amin Hilal al-Rawi, and Muhammad Muslim al-Rawi in Anbar as well. All eight men are being described as the “most dangerous” men.
2nd Aug: Daash has doubled its personnel manning checkpoints in Mosul. This has been in response to increasing attacks on Daash members in Mosul. Eight to 25 Daash militants are believed to have been killed in recent weeks. The attacks seem to have intensified after the destruction of Shrines in Mosul.
2nd Aug: Daash carries out an assault on Hamrin, 50 km north of Baqouba in Diyala, and beheads 17 volunteer militia fighters. The executed men belonged to the Chosen Brigade.
2nd Aug: The Zarkosh clan in the north of Baqouba, Diyala has formed militias to fight against Daash/rebel fighters. The clan has assisted the security forces in attacking Daash in Hamrin and Imam Wees, killed 30 Daash fighters and cleared the roads leading up to these areas. The Zarkosh clan is Kurdish.
2nd Aug: Daash and allied rebels launch another offensive on Jalawala but are forced to withdraw by its Peshmerga defenders. Daash fighters withdrew to al-Wehda and al-Tajneed suburbs in the south of the city that they now control.
2nd Aug: Three gifts from Daash to the women of Mosul:
Niqaab: Hijab of any other kind, other than the one that covers even the face and consists of unshapely apparel, has been banned by Daash. Women are being forced to wear the all encumbering veil. During the Eid holiday, women accompanying their families not following the diktat of Daash were prevented to enter amusement parks and forests on the outskirts of Mosul. Makeup is also banned and women are being asked to wash their faces before entering Public Buildings.
Female Circumcision: Daash is denying rumors that they had made it mandatory for women to undergo circumcision. The women of Mosul have never been known to follow this practice.
List of Eligible Widows: Cases of forced marriages have been reported where Daash fighters have forcibly married girls that were denied to them earlier. Daash has used mosques in Mosul to compile a list of women whose husbands have died in the recent fighting. These lists are to help Daash fighters take additional wives. Welcome to Saudi Ar…
2nd Aug: The Kurdish Change Bloc headed by the Hoshyar Abdullah is calling on Fuad Masum, President of Iraq, to use his powers in more than just a nominal role. Abdullah claims that the powers of the President are executive and not ceremonial.
2nd Aug: Iran has denied claims that 200 of its elite “Advisors” have entered Iraqi Kurdistan. Regional press was reporting that the fighters/advisors entered the region under an agreement with Jalal Talibani, former President and head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
2nd Aug: Jordan has decided to suspend its flights to Iraq till the improvement of the security situation and till after it has consulted with its ally the United States.
2nd Aug: A car bomb explodes in the south of Tikrit and injures 14 civilians
2nd Aug: Daash has been burying its dead in Rbidha village, Eastern Tikrit. Locals witnessed Daash driving the corpses to the location.
2nd Aug: Government claims for the day:
13 Daash fighters killed in north eastern Baqouba. The militants that included foreign fighters were killed in Jibal Sidoor area of Muqdadiya
The Iraqi Air Force attacks 8 vehicles belonging to Daash/rebel fighters in Himreen, Diyala and kills 15 of them
The Iraqi Air Force strikes Daash/rebels in Anbar, destroys four pieces of heavy equipment, destroyed 7 vehicles and kills 60. The air strikes took place in Haditha district.

Related News:
30th July to 2nd Aug: The DI of Daash is facing an uprising of its own. The Shaitat tribe in Eastern Syria has attacked and dislodged Daash fighters from Abu Hamam, Kashkiyeh and Ghranij villages in Deir Ezzor Eastern Syria. Clashes are continuing on the outskirts of al-Bukamal, al-Tayyana and al-Mayadeen towns in Deir Ezzor province. The set back has dislodged Daash from Syria’s Oil Rich regions.
The clashes started when Daash fighters detained seven members of the Shaitat tribe and claimed they were being held for being traitors. The Shaitat tribe had an agreement with Daash that its members were not to be harmed in exchange for neutrality.
1st-2nd Aug: Syrian Soldiers along with Hezbollah fighters kill over 50 Jihadists in the Qalamoun region of Syria.
2nd Aug: Two Lebanese Army soldiers are killed when trying to prevent Jihadists from entering Lebanon in the Lebanese city of Ersal.
Armed fighters were earlier preparing to confront reinforced army troops who had earlier arrested a Nusra Front Commander. Abu Ahmad Jomaa was the commander detained.
2nd Aug: Iran plans to build the largest gas complex in Bushehr, Iran
2nd Aug: Syrian news agency, SANA, is reporting gains against rebels
http://www.sana.sy/en/?p=8726

Further Reading:
Links that provide excellent information on Walid Jumblatt and the Druze in Syria, Lebanon and Israel and their conflicting loyalties:
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/15162
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/5157
http://www.globalresearch.ca/hezbollah-fighting-in-syria-to-defend-lebanon-from-bloodbath/5340688
Questions being raised about the true nature of Daash:
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/why-isn%E2%80%99t-islamic-state-fighting-israel

July 31st - August 1st Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo

Correction: The report regarding the resettlement of 10000 families by the government of Baghdad to four provinces of Central Iraq, dated

26th July, should in fact read 10000 individuals, not families.
25th July: Indian Sunni Cleric Salman Nadvi writes a letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia offering to raise an army of 500000 Sunni Muslim volunteers from India to help fight in Iraq (against Shia militias) and establish a Saudi backed Caliphate.
28th July: The government of Iraqi Kurdistan has approached a Texas court in the United States that states that the oil that was aboard the United Kalavrvta vessel was owned and lawfully belongs to Iraqi Kurdistan and can be sold by them. The Kurdistan Government has also informed the court that the matter does not fall within the jurisdiction of a US court.
30th July: The Judge hearing the dispute over the ownership of the oil being carried by United Kalavrta in the United States has stopped the ship from offloading its cargo in Houston, Texas.
30th July: Arabt camp in Sulaimaniyeh that used to house Syrian refugees will now be empties of Syrians to house Iraqi Refugees displaced internally.
31st July: Playing with Demographics: Daash has cleared the centre of Saadia, Diyala of Shiites and Kurds. It has also been spreading the rumor that the Shia Kurds there are trying to expel Sunnis from there.
31st July: Christoph Katsaan, the Charge d’affaires of France to Iraq visits with the Iraqi President Fuad Masum and delivers a letter from French President Francois Hollande.
31st July: Daash fighters reenter the south of Jalawala that was freed last week. Daash managed to enter the town after the Peshmergas acted slowly in redeploying to the recently freed south. Local residents are requesting the Peshmergas to act quickly and decisively.
31st July: Over 150 Daash/rebel fighters flee from the north and north east of Baqouba, Diyala. The Daash fighters fled intense resistance by local tribes in al-Mansuriyya and Hamrin village.
31st July: There are no coincidences: Leonard Blavatnik, a Ukraine born, US Oligarch, has been identified by Kurdish press as the billionaire behind the company that is buying Kurdish Crude from Iraq.
31st July: Amir al- Kanani of the Ahtrar Bloc (Moqtada Sadr’s) has stated that most parliamentarians from within the Shiite National Alliance are so far agreeing that Maliki should not be given a third term. The Ahrar bloc is requesting the State of the Law Coalition to continue to be a part of the National Alliance.
01st Aug: Hezbollah Commander Ibrahim Mohammed al-Haj’s funeral is held in Mashghara, Eastern Lebanon. Hezbollah has stated that he died performing his religious duty in “Iraq.” His funeral was held on Wednesday, the 30th of August. The most significant news that is being reported is that he was killed, behind enemy lines, near Mosul, northern Iraq. He is being referred to as one of the men that had snuck over the fence into Israel in 2006 and kidnapped Israeli Soldiers.
In photos released by Hezbollah a large group of mourners is seen with his young son clinging to his father’s coffin.
1st Aug: The UN warns of oil trading with Daash either in Iraq or Syria, telling member states that such actions may lead to sanctions.
1st Aug: Anger and frustration with Daash in Mosul is growing. The residents of the city are angry at the destruction of shrines, tombs and historic and cultural monuments. However, they remain powerless to do anything.

Related:
28th July: Walid Jumblatt, MP from the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Lebanon meets with Hassan Nasrallah to discuss regional issues.
30th July: Islamic brigades in Aleppo detonate explosives below Syrian government positions and kill 13 fighters loyal to Bashar Al Assad.
31st July: It’s so much easier to take: Chinese hackers close to the government in Beijing are suspected of stealing classified military files from Israeli defense contractors. The hacks primarily targeted information concerning Missile shield Systems, ballistic missiles, and drone technology.
1st Aug: Walid Jumblatt, MP from the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) states that the Druze and Christian communities in the region face extinction. He also expressed his opinion that there seems to be a huge gap in thinking between the “modern” Future movement and Sunni “Islamists.”
1st Aug: Saad Hariri has praised the King of Saudi Arabia for his stand on the Palestinian Issue. It is rumored in Syria that Saad Hariri is in some ways “related” to King Abdullah.

Iraq SITREP 24th 25th 26th 27th and 28th July by Mindfriedo

Iraq SITREP 24-25-26-27-28th July: The Spice/Oil must flow-Iraq announces exporting 2.42 million barrels of oil per day in the month of June

Quote of the Day, Shaykh Zakzaky (on possibly the start of Shia resistance in Africa): They shot our brothers and sisters; my son Mahmud, who came from a university in Beirut, was shot in his stomach and died on the way to the hospital. They came back and arrested three of my sons alive and killed two while in their custody. How did they arrest my children without resistance? Our submission to the Nigerian authority is not in doubt hence they took them away. And so what lies are they telling?

24th July: Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations meets with Sistani and releases a press statement after his meeting. He praises Sistani for preventing Sectarian conflict in Iraq, the UN’s gratitude for the civilian lives he has helped save, and seconded Sistani’s call toward the formation of a unity government.
Sistani has refused to meet any EU or US officials so far, from even before the 2003 invasion. He has sanctioned the United States from himself.
24th July: The Iraqi Speaker, Salim Al Jubouri, meets with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, in Baghdad
24th July: The Peshmergas carry out a multi pronged attack on the remaining southern part of Jalawala, west of Khanaqin, and clear out Daash/rebel fighters. The Peshmergas suffered one dead and seven injured.
24th July: Fuad Masum is elected the President of Iraq by the Iraqi parliament. He receives 211 votes and becomes the seventh President of a dying Iraq.
24th July: A convoy carrying prisoners that left from Taji prison, north of Baghdad, is attacked by arm men who later fled. 70 prisoners and a guard are killed. The Iraqi government has instituted an enquiry.
26th July: Qasim al-Fahdawi, A Member of Parliament from Anbar blames the local government in Anbar for “misguiding” the central government. He stated that the advice given by the local government led to the decisions made by the Baghdad government that weakened the security forces and that they are yet incapable of fighting the Daash led rebels.
26th July: Riyad al-Athath, the head of the Baghdad Provincial Council is kidnapped by unknown gunmen after they attacked his home in Adhamiya, Baghdad.
26th July: Tribes from the Eastern parts of Karma, North West of Fallujah have started to assist the security forces against Daash/rebel fighters. The tribes were hostile to Daash, which has controlled the area for more than six months, but were unable to act on their own.
26th July: Bombing out of existence: Daash bombs the Prophet Sheet (as) Mosque in Mosul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT6NP6rJaR8
Daash had earlier destroyed the Prophet Younus and Jerges shrines in Mosul by bombing them.
26th July: Maliki orders the release of Dawood al- Jubouri, a Sunni politician and head of the council of Adhamiya a northern suburb of Baghdad, arrested under the country’s anti terrorism laws. Dawood had allegedly “confessed” to security personnel of collusion with Daash/rebels and that Adhamiya would have been used as a base for a rebel push on Baghdad. His release has been brought about by the efforts of Sunni politicians, Osama al Nujaifi, and the current speaker Salim al Jubouri.
26th July: The Iraqi government has relocated over 10000 Turkoman families from Mosul and Tal Afar to four central provinces of Iraq: Najaf, Karbala, Babil, and Wasit. The families had travelled through Iraqi Kurdistan to get to Baghdad.
26th July: 15 Daash/rebel fighters are killed by security forces when clearing out the Hamrin gas fields north of Baqouba.
26th July: Maliki arrives in Sulaimaniyeh to visit former President Jalal Talibani on the latter’s return from Germany
26th July: Hoshyar Zebari, Former Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, blames the council of ministers for the current sectarian atmosphere in Iraq and corruption for the collapse/capitulation of the army in early June.
27th July: The Municipality of Baghdad has planned a carnival like atmosphere for the celebration of Eid. The festivities include games, bazaars and fireworks to light up Baghdad’s night sky.
27th July: The Iraqi speaker of Parliament, Salim al- Jubouri, arrives in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. He is expected to visit Christian families in refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan.
27th July: The Iraqi Human Rights Commission issues a statement that over 150 children, mostly Shia, have died on account of heat and disease. The children belonged to families displaced from Tal Afar and Mosul that fled the onslaught of Daash.
27th July: The Iraqi Kurdistan government is denying claims that appeared in Turkish media that suggested the Kurds had requested the Turkish Army train Kurdish Peshmergas.
27th July: Security forces are carrying out combing operations in Al Atheem to clear the area of Daash fighters and make it possible for displaced families to return. Eight Daash fighters are killed and six vehicles destroyed on Sunday, arms and ammunition was also recovered.
27th July: The Iraqi government has reopened social networking sites that were blocked subsequent to the events of June.
28th July: Counter Insurgency: Government forces kill Nashwan Jassim Mohammed Ibrahim a terrorist wanted for sectarian killing. He was one of the men respomsible for the “liquidation” of Shia and Kurdish prisoners in Badush prison in Mosul. The extermination of Shia and Kurdish prisoners started after Daash took Mosul on the 10th of June.
28th July: Athel Al Nujaifi, Governor of Nineveh, on the formation of Sunni militias in Mosul to take on Daash “The army that fell apart in that awful defeat and lost its weapons can’t come back to fight again and militias can’t fight in a land that does not accept its presence , in front of this failure in the Iraqi security system and its sectarianism composition , the people of Mosul can only rely on themselves and on Brigades of their sons, which will liberate Mosul.”
28th July: Former Ba’athist from the Naqshabandi army start to break ranks with Daash, “the forces of counter-revolution... began to emit its toxins in the ranks of the revolutionaries ... where a group has committed crimes against Iraq and its people through the displacement of citizens , blowing up landmarks , religious shrines and residential buildings
28th July: Nikolay Mladenov, the representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations to Iraq congratulates the people of Iraq on the occasion of Eid and implores them to stand united.
28th July: The Parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan has asked the President of Iraq, Fuad Masum, to work towards resolving economic and political issues between the Government in Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan.
28th July: Ismat Rajab of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) survives an assassination attempt on his convoy by an IED. No casualties reported.
28th July: Terror tactics: Daash is threatening to execute young men in Saadia, 60 km north of Baqouba, if the attacks on Daash are not called off. Two youths have been executed so far.
28th July: War of Attrition: 10 security personnel including voluntary militia members are killed when a booby trapped house explodes in Al Atheem, Diyala. Security forces continue to defuse explosives.
28th July: Abu Wissam, a Tunisian and a commander of al Zarqawi battalion is killed along with five terrorists in al Karma, west of Baghdad and north east of Fallujah in Anbar province.
28th July: Iraq Fighting back: Army trrops and volunteer fighters are gathering in force to attack and break the Daash siege of Amerli, Salah al-Din province south of Tuz Khurma. The sub district was running short of fuel and food and the local elders asked government troops to air lift supplies as an interim measure.
28th July: Salim Al Joubouri calls for a general amnesty for prisoners on the occasion of Eid excluding those with blood on their hands, but not necessarily on their conscience.
28th July: No shame in playing politics: Massoud Barzani thanks the people of Kurdistan in accommodating refugees from other parts of Iraq despite the “sanctions” of the Baghdad government
28th July: The deputy governor of Diyala, Furat al-Tamimi, warns of the threat of reinforced Daash fighters on Hamrin Dam. He pointed out the strategic importance of the dam and requested the armed forces to try and cut the supply lines of Daash and fight a proactive campaign. The key to chess is offence.
28th July: Iraqi Government suspends its planned fireworks display over Baghdad out of security concerns
28th July: A fire breaks out on a rubbish heat in Kut al-Hajaj, Basra. Firefighters have to battle hard to extinguish the fire that destroys tons of rubbish.
28th July: Daash is preventing mourners from visiting cemeteries. They are referring to it as heresy.
28th July: Fahad al-Qahtani, a Saudi Dassh fighter is killed on the outskirts of Mosul
28th July: Hamid al-Mutleg, an MP from the Wataniya Coalition condemns the destruction of shrines in Mosul and urges the citizens of Mosul to fight Daash
28th July: Jalal il-Din al-Sagheer, Iraqi politician and Imam of the Shi'a Buratha Mosque in Baghdad, is targeted with mortar fire on his visit to Shia volunteer militias in Southern Baghdad. No casualties are reported.
28th July: Thirty one bodies of Daash/rebel fighters are found in Baqouba
28th July: A roadside bomb kills two civilians in southern Baqouba
28th July: Four Peshmerga fighters are killed and eight others (including civilians) injured in a car bomb attack on a Peshmerga security Headquaters in Diyala
28th July: France, a state that claims to be secular, offers asylum to Christians displaced by Daash
28th July: Government claims for today:
7 Daash/rebel fighters killed and three vehicles destroyed in air strikes north of Baqouba
The Iraqi Air Force/Army Aviation kills 200 Daash/rebel fighters in Salah al-Din Province, in and around Kirkuk and another 34 Daash/rebel fighters in Dhuluiya town, Sala al-Din along with 7 vehicles
Air Force carries out bombings of Daash/rebel targets in Fallujah
Hamdi al-Oubaidi, a leader of Daash, is killed in Baqouba along with three Daash/rebel fighters in Baqouba

Related News:
25th July: Daash in Syria overruns a Syrian army base in Raqqa and beheads captured Syrian Soldiers. It later mounts their heads on poles and releases a video. The Syrian army is organizing a counter attack.
26th July: A UN report warns that Daash is day by day growing in strength in Syria. More and more rebels are breaking away from other rebel groups and joining Daash.
26th July: Nigerian police open fire on Shias returning from a rally held in support of Palestinians. Twenty four civilians are killed and another 40 seriously injured. Sheik Zakzaky’s son, Mahmud Ibraheem Zakzaky is shot in the stomach and bleeds to death. Three of the Sheik’s sons, Ahmad, Hameed and Ali, are abducted by security personnel and two of them, Ahmed and Hamid, are killed in custody and Ali is left injured with a fractured leg.
28th July: Iran plans to unveil new radar and missile systems in September
28th July: The UAE carrier Emirates has decided not to fly its planes over Iraq
28th July: Bashar Al Assad attends Eid prayers in Damascus. The Syrian government had earlier captured

Further reading:
US formed counter insurgency death squads in Afghanistan:
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/23/exclusive-a-killinginandar.html
Saudi Efforts to buy off the Palestinians, subvert the resistance, and collude with Israel:
http://wilayah.info/en/saudi-arabia-behind-effort-to-disarm-the-palestinian-resistance/

July 23rd Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo: Fighting all around

Quote of the day, Ron Dermer, Israeli envoy to the United States: The Nobel Peace Prize should be given to Israeli forces for their “unimaginable restraint” in their offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip

Thought of the Day: Yes we can!

23rd July: A deputy of the Imam Ali (as) shrine in Najaf, Zuhair Shurba, expressed the willingness and desire of the shrine to host Christian families dispossessed by Daash terrorists. He said the shrine was capable of accommodating many of them.
23rd July: The Iraqi Parliament begins the process of selecting the next Iraqi President
23rd July: The Iraqi Parliament delays and defers the appointment of the President to Thursday. The speaker, Salim al Jubouri, adjourned the parliament session after being requested to do so by the Kurds. He had initially refused the request of the Kurds and had insisted that they make the decision by 2pm.
23rd July: The Kurdish KDP (Kurdish Democratic Party-Massud Barzani) and the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan-Jalal Talibani) met to discuss the next Presidential candidate. The current front runners are Barham Salih and Fuad Masum
23rd July: The Iraqi parliament forms a committee to resort issues that had arisen with the Federal Budget of 2014. One of the disputes relates to the allocation of federal funds towards Iraqi Kurdistan. The Iraqi government sought to deduct revenue corresponding to the exports of oil the Kurds were directly making, leading to opposition.
23rd July: Maliki is expected to visit Iraqi Kurdistan now that Jalal Talibani (Current President of Iraq) is back after treatment in Germany. Maliki enjoys better relations with Talibani than with Massoud Barzani (President of Iraqi Kurdistan).
23rd July: Faris Sadeeq, a Christian MP from the KDP calls a press conference and urges the UN to provide immediate relief to the Kurds. Over 500000 students have been unable to attend exams on account of the upheaval in Mosul.
23rd July: Maliki has criticized the yet to be named conference of Sunni opposition groups: Ba’athist, Ex Army Officers, Islamist, and Tribal leaders held in Amman, Jordan. Maliki has asked the neighbouring “friendly” country of Jordan to explain itself.
23rd July: The Naqshabandi Order has “declared war” on Daash. The party that had earlier supported the Daash led revolt has now declared its open rejection of Daash policies. A statement issued by the former Ba’athist referred to the expelling of Christians as the last straw in an ever increasing list of Daash atrocities that have forced the allies apart.
23rd July: Daash free housing: Daash hands over homes abandoned by fleeing Turkoman Shia residents of Mosul to refugees from Diyala. It has asked the refugees to pay rent to no one.
23rd July: Eleven members of the same family are killed and five injured in government air strikes on Sharqat district, north of Tikrit.
23rd July: Eight members of Iraqi Special Forces and three volunteer fighters are injured when Daash assaults their patrol on the outside of Dijla, north of Samarra.
23rd July: Eight unidentified bodies are found on the banks of the Tigris River near Samarra. The dead who had been shot in the head and chest were taken for forensic examination.
23rd July: Clashes between security forces and Daash fighters in Sherwen, al-Mansuriyya, 45 km north east of Baqouba. Another two gunmen are killed and a policemen injured 6 km south of Baqouba
23rd July: Clashes between Peshmergas and Daash/rebel fighters have resulted in the deaths of 10 Daash fighters and another ten wounded in Tall Kayf, north of Mosul
23rd July: Fighting between Peshmerga forces and Daash/rebel fighters is intensifying around and to the north of Mosul City. Peshmerga forces have taken over the Nineveh Pharmaceutical Plant 12 km to the north of Mosul on the Dohuk Mosul Highway. The plant had been under Daash’s control since the fall of Mosul on the 10th of June. Three Peshmmerga fighters including an officer were killed. Daash casualties are unconfirmed.
Fighting also intensified around Tall Kafy with Daash fighters assaulting the Peshmerghas at multiple points but were repulsed. The local inhabitants of the area have started to return after hearing of Daash’s defeat.
23rd July: A suicide car bomb at a check point at the entrance to the Kadhimiya district in Baghdad has left 23 people dead (some sources indicate 14) and has wounded 40. Most of those killed were believed to be Shias on their way to the Imam Musa Al Kadhim (as) shrine.
23rd July: Daash has banned all types of paraphernalia: photos, poetry, stickers etc from the windshields of cars in Diyala.
23rd July: Daash terrorists (kidnappers) kidnap the husband, Omer Al Jobouri, of Member of Iraqi Alliance Sanaa al Jobouri and demand a ransom of 20000 USD in Northern Tikrit. She pays the ransom but her husband is not released, at this point she curses the captors and is assassinated on returning to her home.
23rd July: Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) plans to build, and is courting the Iraqi government in this regard, an airfield in the south of Iraq. The company also wants to sign contracts to maintain the other air fields in Iraq. The airfield in the south is expected to house 24 Korean FA-50 (Iraqi variant called the T-50 IQ) that are expected in 2016.
23rd July: Government claims for the day (Atta is no longer making statements to the press; the government is using multiple representatives along with Atta):
Government forces kill Abu Omar, a Chechen field commander of Daash, in airstrikes that were carried out in coordination with military intelligence. The airstrikes were carried out east of Tikrit.
The government (Atta) claim to have killed “dozens” of Daash/rebel fighters in Jurf Al Sakhar, Babil, north east of Karbala and west of Alexandria (Sikandriya). Atta stated that operations in the area were progressing slowly on account of difficult terrain but will continue till all insurgents are removed. Another 10 Daash/Rebel fighters are reported killed when of their buildings is bombed by security Forces in Sa’adiyat, Jurf Al Sakhar.
Air force kills 50 Daash/rebel fighters in Anbar

Related:
20th July: France has termed pro Palestinian rallies/protests in Sarcelles as “anti-Semitic”
23rd July: A suicide attack on Kabul airport has left 4 people dead that include four foreign security personnel. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack that it said targeted the counter narcotics building.
23rd July: Suspension of flights to Tel Aviv by US and European airlines has been extended.
23rd July: Takfiri Jihadists in Qalamoun are negotiating with the Syrian government for safe passage out of the area
23rd July: A political power play is under way in Turkey with the ruling government of Erdogan (expected to win in the next elections) arrests 105 police and intelligence officers for wire tapping and espionage. The arrested men were believed to be close to Erdogan’s rival Fethullah Gulen.
23rd July: The turmoil in Ersal on the Lebanese Syrian border is growing. A Lebanese soldier abandons his posts and defects to the side of the Al Nusra front.
23rd July: The Syrian Opposition Coalition the “National Coalition of Syria” has dissolved its interim government and will be electing a new one. It is expected to be led by Hadi Al Bahra, a Saudi backed figure.
23rd July: Qatar’s Emir Shaikh Tamim has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks

Further Reading:
Foreign “Jihadists” fighting for Israel:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/jihad-israel-201472272438651885.html
Victims of Iraaq have no where to go
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2014/07/ailing-iraqis-caught-sectarian-crossfire-2014722192716541356.html

July 22nd Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo: A normal day in Iraq

Quote of the Day, the bringer of Peace, the great hope of the Arabs, the destroyer of WMD, the remover of tyrants, and the liberator of oil, Tony Blair: I spend two-thirds of my time on unpaid work
Thought of the day: Does he mean unpaid or unpunished?

Second Quote of the day, Ban Ki Moon: I saw Hamas rockets hitting Israel! It is very sad!
No more thoughts for today, enough said!

Quote of the day Three, Professor Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University (courtesy of the Israeli paper, Haaretz): “The only thing that can deter terrorists, like those who kidnapped the children and killed them, is the knowledge that their sister or their mother will be raped.”

22nd July: Daash has employed its female fighters to search women at checkpoints. The primary purpose these women serve is to confiscate valuables from fleeing women (as happened in the case of Christian women fleeing Mosul) and to try and indentify former security personnel from amongst fleeing residents.
22nd July: The Red Crescent is distributing thousands of packets of food aid to the displaced in Diyala
22nd July: Peshmerga forces are trying to get Daash fighters to withdraw from Jalawla, Diayla. Peshmerga forces control the north and centre of the town, while Daash fighters control the southern part that has arab inhabitants. The constant fighting has the local residents scared and the local tribes are asking Daash to leave rather than continue fighting the Peshmergas.
Daash terrorist carry out the death sentence for five residents of Jalawla by taking them to the centre of the town and publicly executing them
22nd July: Mosul is now empty of Christians. Daash rebels have called the azan (Muslim call for prayer) in the seized Mar Afram Syriac Church in Mosul. Loud speakers were installed on the church to make the call.
Muslims are not allowed to pray on or in stolen/snatched property, but then Daash are not Humans, let alone Muslim, Sistani’s Fatwa:
875. The first condition: The place where the prayers are offered should be Mubah. If a person prays on a usurped property, then as an obligatory precaution, his prayers are void, even if he prays on a carpet, or a couch, or similarly objects. However, there is no harm in offering prayers under a usurped roof or a usurped tent.
876. Prayers offered in a property whose use and benefit belongs to someone else, will be void, unless permission is taken from the entitled person. For example, if a house has been rented out, and the owner of the house, or anyone else offers prayers in that house without permission of the tenant, then as a measure of precaution, his prayers are void. And if a person made a will before his death that one-third of his estate should be used for a particular cause, prayers cannot be offered in that property until that one-third has been dispensed with.
22nd July: The Security Council unanimously condemns the persecution of Christians in Iraq
22nd July: The Government of Iraqi Kurdistan has decided to pay its employees in USD, as it does not have enough of Iraqi currency.
22nd July: Lukman Faily, the Iraqi Ambassador to the US, has asked the United States to bomb Daash targets in Iraq and those crossing over from Syria. He has pointed out that the “bureaucratic delay” in delivering Apache attack helicopters and F16 aircraft has raised serious questions in Baghdad. He has also stated that Iraq has so far refused the help that was offered by the Iranians.
Henry Wotton: An ambassador is an honest man sent abroad to lie for his country.
22nd July: Iraqi Kurdistan is facing an acute financial crisis because of suspension of payments by Baghdad in February after a dispute over Federal Budget allocations.
22nd July: The Naqshabandi army has rejected Daash’s levy of Jiziya (religious tax) from the Christians in Mosul. It has gone on to state that it does not believe in divisive policies being carried out by Daash fighters. The order stated that it believes in equal rights for all irrespective of ethnicity or religion.
22nd July: After the Shia and the Christians in Mosul, the Daash terrorists are putting pressure on the Kurds to leave Mosul city.
22nd July: Massoud Barzani rubbishes claims made by Baghdad that he visited Iran to gauge Iranian response/acceptance of an independent Kurdish state. He stated that Kurdistan does not need anyone’s permission.
22nd July: Ahmed al-Shami of the Fallujah Health Office stated that Iraqi Government Air Strikes have killed 19 civilians (mostly women and children) and injured another 38. The government is being blamed for the use of “barrel bombs.”
22nd July: The Iraqi Government has withdrawn its ambassador to Jordan over a “conference” held in Jordan of groups wanting to change/overthrow the government in Iraq.
The Jordanian government claims that it was not officially sponsoring the conference and had no say in the content being discussed or its conclusion.
22nd July: Al Qaida has renewed its allegiance to Mullah Omar in Afghanistan as its Emir. Looks like Caliphs are not welcome.
22nd July: Security Forces in Kirkuk are reporting rescuing a child kidnapped by a “Daash” rebel
22nd July: Security Forces in Kirkuk recover the body of 6 taxi drivers kidnapped and executed by Daash. Three men accused of kidnapping them have been arrested.
22nd July: First photos of the Caliph’s wife:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10973341/Is-this-the-wife-of-Iraqs-new-Islamist-overlord.html
Not sure if her “level” of Hijab is acceptable to Daash
22nd July: The Imam of a mosque, Abdul Rahman al-Jobouri, is killed by Daash terrorists in eastern Baqouba
22nd July: A shell fired by insurgents in central Baiji kills a man and injures his wife
22nd July: Atta’s/Government claims for the day (Most statements are not being made by Atta any more but by other government spokespersons:
The Air Force claims to have killed 100 Daash/rebel fighters in Salah id Din
The Air Force kills five Daash/rebel fighters in southern Baqouba
Checkpoints of Government forces in Tikrit are attacked by rebels, but the assault is repelled

Related:
22nd July: The Syrian army claims to have killed scores of anti regime fighters “terrorist” throughout Syria
22nd July: Resistance news sources are reporting the death of Eftar Terceman, the son of the Israeli army’s south region commander
22nd July: Israel may have to end the war soon: US and European flights to Israel have been closed out of security concerns
22nd July: CNN says that most Americans support Israeli operation in Gaza
22nd July: Israel enjoys a huge base of support amongst Indian net commentators on Facebook and social media, most seem to hold an anti Muslim bias
22nd July: Mehmet Gormez, the Turkey’s Top Cleric calls the DI of Daash “illegitimate”
22nd July: The Israeli army states that the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas is dead
22nd July: The UAE is livid over accusations made by Al Jazeera that UAE ministers met with Israelis to discuss the situation in Gaza. The UAE is asking for an official apology.
22nd July: “Moderate” rebels have been fighting hard to try and expel “Jihadist” fighters from four regions of Damascus. But have lost considerable ground to Islamists in the north of Syria.
22nd July: 2 women are stoned to death in Raqqa, Syria by Daash

Further Reading:
An excellent article by Reuters available on Haaretz (on Dassh’s use of terror tactics)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.606590
and Al Arabia
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/07/22/ISIS-crushes-and-coerces-on-march-towards-Baghdad.html