24 December 2014

The Defense Minister, Dr. Khalid Al-Ubaidi, arrived in Anbar last night, making his way to the Ayn Al-Asad Military Base in Baghdadi. He has been supervising the ongoing military operations there since the early hours of this morning. He met with a number of tribal leaders in Baghdadi.

A military operation today, supported by Iraqi aircraft, liberated the Sin Al-Dheeb on the outskirts of the town. Seven ISIL gunmen were killed, according to a military source. Another operation targeted the Jubba village, southwest of Baghdadi, that is still being held by the gunmen. The Anbar local government has announced that these operations are being supervised by U.S. military advisers based at Ayn Al-Asad. Three Apache helicopters have also been deployed against ISIL targets in the area.

In Ramadi, a broad security operation by the Anbar Police Command, supported by army units and tribal fighters has been launched to liberate the only eastern/northeastern areas of Ramadi still controlled by ISIL. 23 gunmen have been reported killed in the fighting.

In Fallujah, intermittent but violent clashes have erupted when ISIL gunmen attempted to attack the area across the main highway. The city's general hospital has reported that 3 residents have been killed, including one child, and seven wounded by the continuing bombardment exchanges.

The new Anbar Governor, Suhaib Al-Rawi, told his fellow citizens in a press statement that the next few days will see the local security and tribal forces supplied with new weapons and munitions, and that new plans have been drawn up for the liberation of Anbar's territory through the cooperation of the central and local governments. Anbar Council sources are reporting that a 50,000-man force will be ready in a few days to combat the ISIL gunmen. Most of the force is composed of local tribal fighters.