27 June 2014

There has been a marked advance by the gunmen in taking control of large portions of the western Anbar townships. They are now in control of Al-Qa'im, Ana, Rawa, and the areas around Haditha. They have also seized control of Rutba. They are also moving swiftly toward the perimeter of Al-Baghdadi which is near the Ayn Al-Asad military base which is one of the biggest bases in Iraq. There are also fears of a surprise attack to seize these areas.

Security precautions are underway, such as security forces reinforcements, to the Haditha Dam which is one of the biggest in Iraq, where army forces opened five additional sluice gates on Wednesday, resulting in a rise in water levels of the Euphrates River, the cutting of several smaller bridges, and flooding along the river banks.

There is also concern over the escalation of the security situation in Ramadi, after gunmen took control of the previously quiet Al-Ta'ameem district, and the torching of the Al-Shaheed police station in western Ramadi. The gunmen are now fully in control of those areas, and they are still approaching the Anbar Operations Command compound.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital announced that 5 residents were killed and 7 were wounded as a result of the shelling of several residential districts, Al-Sichir to the north, and Al-Nu'aimiya in southwestern Fallujah.

To the northeast, in Al-Garma, military operations are still ongoing along the Tigris River branch and at the April 28th Bridge that connects Al-Garma to Fallujah.

There is still fear that the gunmen will seize control of most of Anbar, the largest Iraqi governorate (138,000 square kilometers) that borders three neighboring countries and four Iraqi governorates. The fear is that the fall of Anbar would lead to the gunmen's ability to move on into these other governorates and cause trouble in the neighboring countries.

Late last night, Syrian military aircraft launched light attacks on border posts, but we have yet to hear about the results or the casualty count. The local Anbar government has issued statements expressing surprise at the Syrian incursions into Iraqi airspace. The local government is still conducting meetings with tribal sheikhs and leaders, seeking at least an attempt to find a belated solution.