08 December 2014

The most significant escalation today has been the major attack by ISIL gunmen against the government complex in Ramadi. Security forces, however, absorbed the attack which was launched at 7:00 this morning. By the time the clashes abated this afternoon, security forces had killed at least 22 of the gunmen, while Iraqi air support also struck positions occupied by ISIL forces.

ISIL gunmen have also launched a violent assault on the Hawz district of southwestern Ramadi. The clashes have been going on for more than five hours, with conflicting reports emerging about the actual situation there.

In Fallujah today, a preliminary casualty report indicates that 4 residents have been killed and 11 have been wounded by the ongoing clashes and mortar shells that have struck a number of the city's central and northern districts.

In Hit, security forces are still in control of the town's perimeter, while 14,000 volunteers are being trained at Ayn Al-Asad camp, where U.S. advisers are also present, according to Anbar Council sources.

Activity is increasing in Anbar, aimed at seeking a replacement for the Anbar Governor, Ahmed Al-Dulaimi, who was wounded last month while touring Birwana, near Haditha, and who is still undergoing treatment at a hospital in Amman, Jordan. The selection of a new governor is being thwarted by differences between the various political factions in the Province.