22 April 2014

In Ramadi, the Iraqi security forces have entered the Al-Hawz district, one of the districts that have been the scene of extensive security operations during the past three days; one of its police stations has been reopened after the district was totally secured on all sides. There have also been scattered clashes in a number of other Ramadi districts, particularly in the city's southern sector.

In Al-Khalidiya, there was an attempt on the life of its police chief, Major Mohammed Mar'ee, via the detonation of 3 explosive devices on the main road through the township; he and three others were injured in the attack.

Within Fallujah, the city is closed off on all sides, now that the security forces have closed the Maftoul crossing; this was the only way into and out of the city.

There has also been indiscriminate shelling of a number of the city's residential districts; first reports indicate that 6 residents have been killed and 7 others injured by the shelling.

Also today, a primary school was blown up by gunmen in the Al-Nu'aimiya district; no reason has been determined, but there was no loss of life in the incident.

In Al-Garma, to the northeast of Fallujah, gunmen today attacked an army unit near the April 28th Bridge that spans the Tigris branch; heavy fighting broke out in the aftermath of the attack. The Al-Garma township is still closed off on all sides, following yesterday's violent clashes and the aerial and artillery targeting of the town. The fighting subsided at around dawn today, leaving the area relatively calm.

In Ramadi, a candidate of the Iraqi Union Coalition in the upcoming parliamentary election, Sa'eed Hamoud Darweesh, was injured when 3 explosive devices were detonated near his home; 3 civilians were injured in the attack. This is the second attempt to assassinate a candidate, and this has raised the fear among other candidates with regard to their campaigning.

Campaigning is virtually non-existent in both Ramadi and Fallujah, while there is some low-key campaigning in the governorate's relatively calm western regions, although there were some skirmishes in Hit yesterday, where a mortar round struck a building close to the Local Council. Nobody was injured but the building sustained some light damage.