30 November 2014

The most significant development today has been the security forces' success in clearing and securing the Office of Migration and the Displaced in the southwestern Ramadi district of Hawz. 8 ISIL gunmen were killed in the action. The security forces are now in a position to move into the other districts in the city's southern sector.

Central Ramadi has ben relatively quiet, but Iraqi aircraft ran a number of low-level sorties over the area. Security forces also succeeded in disarming at least 40 explosive devices in the Sufiya area across the Euphrates River. A number of people suspected of having ties with ISIL have been arrested.

In Hit, security forces are still massed around the town, especially on its northern and northwestern areas. The western areas adjacent to the Baghdadi township boundary have now been mostly liberated. The Anbar Operations Command has announced that more than 10,000 tribal volunteers are now receiving training at the Ayn Al-Asad base in preparation for the operation to liberate the whole township.

In Fallujah, clashes and indiscriminate bombardment exchanges are continuing between the ISIL gunmen within the city and the security forces surrounding it. A number of residential districts were hit in the exchanges. One civilian was killed and seven were wounded, but material damage has been severe.

In Garma, clashes are also continuing in most of the town's sectors.

The Anbar Council is still calling for substantial support for the province, particularly following the announcement that the province is now bankrupt.

Meanwhile the townships under ISIL control are still completely blockaded, with nothing being allowed into or out of the areas.

29 November 2014

In Ramadi today, security forces supported by tribal fighters have been able to seize control of the Hawz district in southwestern Ramadi. Security forces have also confirmed that 13 ISIL gunmen were killed and 3 others captured following the penetration of the security forces into the city'd southern districts.

Also today, security forces have captured one of the most prominent ISIL leaders in the areas across the river from the city. Security sources have also reported that coalition aircraft have launched airstrikes against specific targets in various parts of Ramadi, hitting a number of vital ISIL positions.

Security forces have also announced that will erect concrete barriers around the districts involved in military operations in order to hold on to the ground they liberate.

Security forces supported by tribal forces have taken complete control of the Dulab village and other nearby villages at the extreme western edge of Hit.

The forces have also launched an operation in the north-easternmost sector of Fallujah adjacent to Garma Township where fierce clashes have enabled the security to kill 39 ISIL gunmen.

The situation in Fallujah City remains unchanged, with the usual clashes and bombardment exchanges continuing. A source at the General Hospital has announced that 3 residents have been killed and 7 wounded by the indiscriminate exchanges.

Some tribal sheikhs have today called on the central and local governments to provide the security and tribal forces with what they need, stressing that their fighters, in support of the security forces are advancing on the ground, particularly in Baghdadi Township and in the Ayn Al-Asad military base where more than 5,000 fighters are being trained and equipped to take part in the operation to liberate Hit.

Low temperatures and the severe food and fuel shortages are underlining the constant calls for urgent provisions and relief aid.

27 November 2014

Since the early hours of this morning, the fiercest clashes to date have been raging in Ramadi, between ISIL gunmen who have seized specific parts of the city's southern sector districts.

Security forces were able today to blow up a tank being driven by the gunmen, and 9 other gunmen were killed.

Security forces have also today secured all the environs of the government complex in central Ramadi. Anbar Operations sources are confirming that the area is under their full control. The Operations Command announced today that 3,000 volunteers have been recruited and will be embedded with the security forces during the coming week.

The Anbar Council called again today for the intensification of coalition and Iraqi airstrikes.

Garma has today been the scene of the fiercest clashes for five months. The fighting was concentrated on both the northern and southern outskirts of the town. The bombardment of ISIL positions in the town has killed 3 ISIL leaders, while at least 11 civilians were also killed; according to eyewitnesses, there are no medical personnel at the Garma hospital.

In Hit, an Anbar Operations source has said that at least 45 ISIL gunmen have been killed by the military campaign launched by security forces supported by Iraqi aircraft in the extreme western sector of the town and around the town's perimeter. Security forces have been advising Hit residents to leave the town in advance of the all-out military operation.

On the humanitarian front, it was announced yesterday that at least 18 displaced children have died   as a result of the hardships being experienced by the migrants who have fled from Hit and southwestern Ramadi.

26 November 2014

Ramadi has yesterday and today repelled the most violent attack by ISIL. Yesterday they captured and occupied the Education Directorate building, adjacent to the Anbar provincial government complex. They began attacking the complex from that position, until coalition warplanes launched airstrikes against the position, killing at least 9 of the gunmen and enabling the defenders in repelling the attack on the government complex.

In the southern Hawz district which the gunmen overran yesterday, fierce fighting enabled the security and tribal forces to retake the district and to drive the gunmen towards the southern fringes of the city.

In the other southern city districts, violent clashes are still underway.

Security commanders yesterday held an emergency meeting that included the Defense Minister, the Anbar Operations Commander, the interim Governor, and the Council leader, leading to the formation of a 3,000 -man tribal force - mostly composed of the Bu-Fahad and Bu-Alwan clans - in order to support the security forces in Ramadi.

In Hit, a military operation resulted in the killing of the ISIL field commander in Hit township, Sinan Mit'ib, who is believed to be responsible for the execution and killing of more than 500 members of the Bu-Nimr clan. He was targeted by coalition warplanes at his fortified command post in southwestern Hit. Three of his aides were also killed.

25 November 2014

The most significant development as of this hour today has been the operation launched by ISIL in the center of Ramadi, where the gunmen have seized the Ramadi Education Directorate and are now less than 20 meters away from the government complex that includes the Anbar Council Seat and the other government departments, including the prison and the province's intelligence branch directorates. The fiercest clashes are now underway, following ISIL's seizure of large parts of the city's southwestern districts.

Also this evening, the Anbar Council has issued a plea, saying that the province will fall within 24 hours if the government security forces and the Iraqi air force do not intervene, given that ISIL is the closest it has ever been to the government complex in Ramadi.

Ther were also fierce clashes today around Hit which some have expected to be part of the big operation by the security forces, but these forces are still deployed outside the town and have not penetrated into it.

Baghdadi and the Ayn Al-Asad Base are now the only places where preparations are being made for the campaign to liberate the rest of Anbar.

In Fallujah today, there were also fierce clashes, including indiscriminate bombardment, mortar fire, and gunfire exchanges, especially in the districts alongside the main highway to Baghdad. At least 11 civilians have been killed in the fighting. Mortar rounds have also hit in the vicinity of the city's general hospital, causing material damage but no casualties.

24 November 2014

In the areas around Hit today, Iraqi aircraft dropped large quantities of leaflets, calling on the civilian population to leave the town immediately in preparation for a major military operation in the town. Eyewitnesses are reporting that hundreds of families have been leaving since this morning, making their way to Baghdadi, Haditha, and also toward the capital, Baghdad, and other parts of Iraq.

Also today, security forces have airlifted military equiment to the Ayn Al-Asad military base in Baghdadi, describing the equipment as being sufficient for implementing a military operation to liberate Hit from ISIL forces. The areas around the Fedayee Hit have also been brought under security forces control. Reports from within Hit indicate that large numbers of ISIL gunmen have been fleeing the town following the announcement of the impending operation to liberate the town.

In Ramadi today, fierce clashes have killed 17 gunmen in the Khalidiya sector, northeast of the city. Source are reporting that tribal, especially Bu-Fahad, fighters carried out a security operation that resulted in the arrest of 27 ISIL supporters in that area.

Security forces have today entered the Hawz district and surrounding areas of southern Ramadi. Security forces have been deployed around the government complex in central Ramadi. The situation there is relatively calm, but reports are indicating that two regiments have arrived from Baghdad to launch another military operation in Ramadi aimed at destroying ISIL in Anbar.

The Anbar Council has called today on the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister to provide the province with quantities of military equipment. Five military aircraft have been allocated to transport the military supplies, as well as well as food relief aid.

In Fallujah, and in response to the gunfire by ISIL fighters, some shells have struck some of the city's residential districts. The General Hospital has reported that 2 residents have been killed and 7 wounded. 

23 November 2014

Security forces today were able to once again take control of an area in Khalidiya, killing 9 ISIL gunmen, while clashes are ongoing in other areas of the sector across the Euphrates from Ramadi. 13 gunmen were captured in the area. Meanwhile, strict security measures are in force throughout Ramadi, including a stringent curfew.

The Anbar delegation met today with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and secured the government's approval for providing the Province with military equipment and the wherewithal to arm the 3,000 volunteers.

At least 2 regiments of Emergency Forces have been deployed to Amiriyat Al-Fallujah and to the Ayn Al-Asad military base.

Later today, steps were taken to completely surround Hit, in preparation, according to security sources, for an imminent military assault on the town.

22 November 2014

ISIL gunmen today launched an attack on an area adjacent to Sufiya, and on an area of Al-Khalidiya. ISIL gunmen also executed 25 members of the Bu-Fahd clan that is still fighting against ISIL. 90% of the Al-Khalidiya area is now under security and tribal control. Nine snipers on the rooftops of some of the areas taller buildings were killed. Fierce clashes are still underway in Sufiya, northeast of Ramadi, that is still under security forces' control.

Sheikh Raf'i Abdul-Kareem, the leader of the the Bu-Fahd confirmed today that the combined tribal and security forces were able to take control of those areas. He called for help and support and for providing more weapons and munitions from the central government's Defense Ministry.

Coalition aircraft today missed their targets in Hit. Their rockets struck a number of homes, killing five residents and wounding 50 others, mostly women and children. There was also a broad security operation in the areas around Hit, where security forces were able, during the past 24 hours to establish their control. The operations, aimed at relieving the situation in Hit and its surroundings, have driven the gunmen to open a front leading into central Ramadi, but a massive response by the security forces succeeded in repelling the attack.

In Fallujah, exchanges of bombardment and fierce clashes continued today between the security forces outside the city line and the ISIL gunmen within the city.

The Anbar humanitarian situation is now the worst since more than 9 months. All roads have been cut, and it is not possible to enter or leave the residential districts, and residents are worried about the complete absence of food and fuel. The increase in military operations is also threatening to compound the looming humanitarian catastrophe. 

20 November 2014

In Ramadi today, an ISIL suicide bomber detonated himself and his vehicle on the Bu-Farraj Bridge that connects central Ramadi with the northern bank of the Euphrates. The blast killed 6 people: 4 security personnel and 2 civilians, and wounded 7 others.

Three ISIL gunmen were also killed in the central Andalus district of Ramadi when security forces, after two days of fierce clashes, entered the district and are continuing their cleanup operations within the city, according to security sources.

A decisive battle took place today, according to a security source, resulting in the liberation of the Dulab area to the west of Baghdadi and close to Hit township.

The bodies of 3 security personnel were found today in Hit, having been executed by ISIL gunmen. They belong to the Bu-Nimr tribe.

In Amiriyat Al-Fallujah, gunfire exchanges and low-level clashes have enabled security forces to take control of two of the township's districts.

A delegation of Central Euphrates tribal leaders has arrived in Amiriyat Al-Fallujah via Babel Province. They discussed the latest security developments with local leaders.

In Fallujah, 11 residents were wounded, 4 of them seriously, when clashes resumed in two of the city's central districts, amid the ongoing bombardment exchanges.

19 November 2014

In Ramadi today, security forces supported by tribal fighters repelled an attack by ISIL gunmen intending to penetrate into residential districts of the city. The Anbar Operations Command has confirmed that security forces killed 11 gunmen.

Meanwhile security forces in the rural areas across the river in western Ramadi have advanced into the city's western districts, but they still calling for increasing the number of volunteer fighters and providing them with weapons and munitions.

In Baghdadi, 2 security personnel were killed today and 7 were wounded when ISIL gunmen launched an attack from the township's western front. Mortar fire has hit a military barracks at an entry point into the town causing the mentioned casualties.

In Fallujah, gunfire and bombardment are still being exchanged between ISIL gunmen within the city and security forces outside it. The Fallujah General Hospital is reporting that 4 residents have been killed, including a child, and 9 wounded by the exchanges.

In Amiriyat Al-Fallujah, ISIL has attempted to carry out surprise operations against the township, but security forces have succeeded in liberating a village in the southern part of the township, adjacent to Habbaniya.

The Defense Minister has authorized the use of aircraft to airlift relief aid to the beleaguered residents in Anbar. 

17 November 2014

In the village of Jubba in Baghdadi township, two suicide bombers detonated the cars they were driving: one at the bridge linking Jubba to Baghdadi, and the second also in Jubba across from Haditha. The blasts did not cause any casualties but inflicted heavy structural damage. Gunfire erupted following the blasts, with some witnesses saying that the ISIL gunmen were trying to seize the village, one of the few that are still controlled by security forces.

In Ramadi, the level of fighting is escalating in the southern and southwestern sectors of the city, and also in the city western districts. Security forces are still stressing that the liberation of these areas is still in its early stages, but that the aim is to fully liberate them.

In Amiriyat Al-Fallujah, ISIL gunmen have once again tried to seize the whole township, but the security and tribal forces were able to repel the attack. Security sources are saying that at least 12 gunmen were killed in the fighting.

In Fallujah, yesterday was a day of intensive mortar attacks, leaving many, mostly children, killed or wounded. The Fallujah General Hospital was today hit by 6 mortar rounds from an unknown source, with security forces claiming that ISIL gunmen are to blame. Other sources are ascribing blame on the security forces surrounding the city.

16 November 2014

In Haditha township, volunteer registration has begun today at the Jazeera Operations Command for western Anbar.

A broad military operation is under way in Hit township and its smaller towns and villages.

43 captured Bu-Nimr tribal members were librated today from ISIL captivity; they include women and children.

There have been fierce clashes in the areas between Ramadi and Hit. Meanwhile, Anbar Operations and the Anbar Police Commands are affirming that the expected major campaign has not yet begun, and the more than 20,000 fighters will be armed and supplied within the next few days to launch that offensive in hit township.

In Ramadi, clashes have been taking place in the city's southern and southwestern sectors when ISIL gunmen attempted to assault the area, but security and tribal forces have repelled the attack.

In Fallujah and Garma, the situation is relatively calm. Some districts were hit by mortar fire but there were no casualties. 

15 November 2014

In Hit, security and tribal forces have launched a broad security operation which resulted today in the re-taking of the Hit military camp where ISIL gunmen had captured large quantities of equipment and weapons, Also re-taken was the northwestern riverside area  that had been home to members of the Bu-Nimr tribe. The clashes have left 14 gunmen killed.

Iraqi military aircraft have attacked specific targets in western Ramadi and the areas between the city and Hit, where fierce clashes have been taking place. Also today, ISIL has executed at least 36 members of the Bu-Nimr tribe in Hit, most of whom were security personnel and Awakenings fighters.

Security forces in Baghdadi and Habbaniya have begun receiving tribal volunteers and armed forces members who have been flocking there to take advantage of the amnesty granted to those who have been AWOL. 

Calls for humanitarian relief have been increasing from the blockaded township of Baghdadi, with the continuing ban on any food or fuel reaching the township.

In Amiriyat Al-Fallujah, a security operation is continuing, especially to the south, near the border with Babel Province, where Iraqi air support has also been in action.

There are reports that a senior ISIL leader has been killed in the Ramadi fighting.

13 November 2014

In Hit township today, ISIL has executed at least 16 members of the Bu-Nimr tribe, including 2 children and a woman. They were executed because their family members were formerly with the Awakenings in Hit. A source in the Bu-Nimr tribe has announced that ISIL are holding 100 hostages and will execute them in the coming hours if the Iraqi army embarks on an assault against Hit. The Bu-Nimr hostages include a number of women and children.

A major security operation is underway in Ramadi on three fronts: the southwestern and western front targeted a number of districts; the second was concentrated on the rural areas across the Euphrates which have been liberated to a large extent by the security forces; the third front covered the eastern outskirts of Ramadi. The forces have killed a number of ISIL gunmen, while Iraqi aircraft carried out a number of raids. According to an Anbar Operations source, at least 35 gunmen have been killed in the rural areas across the river.

It was announced today that fighting units totaling 5,000 men have been formed, consisting mainly of tribal fighters and local Anbar security forces, in apparent preparation for the start of a broad military operation into Hit, Kubaisa, and Baghdadi that form the area lying between Haditha and Ramadi.

In Fallujah today, 4 residents were wounded by the ongoing exchange of bombardments between security forces  and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

12 November 2014

The central and southern districts of Ramadi have today experienced the most violent clashes following a recent period of relative calm, between groups of ISIL gunmen and security forces supported by tribal fighters. The clashes escalated at dawn this morning and have been continuing into this evening. The result has been that the gunmen have retreated deep into the southern districts. This might be the beginning of the military campaign aimed at liberating all of the ISIL-held districts of the city.

Fierce clashes have also taken place in the northern rural areas of the city, involving Iraqi airstrikes. A source at the Anbar Operations Command has announced the formation of fighting units composed of 3,000 men belonging to a number of Anbar tribes, following the completion of their training at the Ayn Al-Asad Base in Baghdadi. These forces will support the security forces charged with liberating and re-taking Hit township from the ISIL gunmen.

In Fallujah, at least 7 residents have been reported injured in the exchanges of bombardment between the security forces on the city's perimeter and the ISIL gunmen controlling the inner city.

Humanitarian support and relief aid is still very weak: the Fallujah General Hospital has announced severe medical shortages, while the blockaded townships of Haditha and Baghdadi are being deprived by ISIL of any kind of food or fuel supplies. There is an airlift operating between Baghdad and Baghdadi, but the supplies it is providing fall far short of the requirements that have increased with the increased number of displaced families.

The mentioned military activity comes in the wake of the visit by the Parliament's Speaker, Saleem Al-Juburi, to Ayn Al-Asad and to the Provincial Seat where he held a number of emergency meetings that resulted in the approval of arming the tribes and providing the security forces with the weapons and munitions required by the broad campaign that could recapture the areas and townships that have been seized by ISIL.

09 November 2014

ISIL has achieved revenge for the attempt yesterday by security forces to penetrate into Hit Township. Bu-Nimr tribal sources have announced that ISIL has executed more than 70 tribal members, and there are more than 300 who are listed as missing. It is thought that they are being held in prisons within the township.

Military operations have continued overnight in Baghdadi and in the Kubaisa area west of Hit. The SWAT commander in Baghdadi, Col. Sha'aban Al-Obaidi, has confirmed that security forces have repelled an ISIL attack aimed at taking the area. 11 gunmen were killed while trying to infiltrate the areas.

An Anbar Council source has confirmed that the airstrike against a gathering of ISIL members was indeed targeting the ISIL leadership, including its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi who is believed to have been severely wounded in the attack, and has been moved into Syrian territory. Further similar airstrikes are expected.

The Anbar Council held a press conference today, during which its leader confirmed that several meetings have been held with tribal leaders and religious scholars aimed at shedding light on all the issues of concern in the Province.

On the humanitarian front, Baghdadi and its surrounding areas are suffering the effects of the total blockade by ISIL forces that has prevented any food or fuel from reaching these areas. Amiriyat Al-Fallujah is also being subjected to a stranglehold blockade that has caused serious food and fuel shortages.

Meanwhile the Fallujah General Hospital announced today that 3 residents have been killed and 11 wounded by the bombardment exchanges between the security forces surrounding the city and the ISIL gunmen within it.