19 May 2015

Military operations are still underway in the eastern areas of Ramadi, where ISIL have taken over the Juwayba and wide areas of eastern Husayba and fierce fighting is still underway there.

Security forces have repelled three ISIL attacks on eastern Husayba in Khalidiya township. All security forces in the area have been ordered to gather within 24 hours in the areas that are being targeted by the gunmen to prevent them from taking control of the vast area between Habbaniya and Amiriyat al-Fallujah.

Security forces today also repelled a strong attack on the southern areas of Khalidiya. Meanwhile Iraqi and coalition planes carried out a number of sorties against target areas in eastern Anbar.

Air strikes have also been launched against a number of Ramadi areas; coalition warplanes have launched 19 air strikes on ISIL positions, reportedly killing dozens of the gunmen.

Amiriyat al-Fallujah was heavily bombarded overnight with ISIL targeting most of the town’s residential districts killing one resident and wounding 6.

In Fallujah, fighting has continued in the city’s southern industrial area. Nine residents were killed and 23 were wounded by the random bombardment exchanges between security forces on the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

There are still more than 12,000 people being held up at the Bzaybiz access route where the actual crossing point toward Baghdad is now closed. Some basic relief aid has reached the massed migrants at the crossing who are without any kind of shelter and are in urgent need of food supplies.