14 June 2015

In Baghdadi today, ISIL gunmen have assaulted a number of military barracks on the southwestern edges of the town, using 4 explosives-rigged vehicles, two of which were blown up by security forces before they reached their targets. Fierce clashes ensued, also involving Iraqi air support that struck several ISIL positions. The security situation in the area is one of caution, following reports of an imminent ISIL assault on the residential complex from areas across the river from the town.

Security forces, tribal fighters, and People’s Mobilization volunteers are engaged in fierce clashes in and around Garma, following the success of the joint forces in taking control of most of the areas between Garma and the Salahuddin - Samarra boundary.

The Defense Minister visited the liberated areas in Garma township where he undertook to provide the tribal forces with the weapons they need to hold the ground.

In Ramadi, the city is still fully blockaded amid reports of an impending military operation within the coming days, following the reinforcing and re-arming of the security forces around the city.

Iraqi and Coalition aircraft have carried out strikes in the Bu-Farraj area and on towards Shjariya, as well as the industrial and central districts of Ramadi. Casualty figures are not yet known.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital reported today that 3 residents were killed and 9 wounded by the ongoing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges into and out of the city.

07 June 2015

Joint Iraqi forces supported by tribal fighters and People’s Mobilization militiamen today established control over the Tigris Arm area that lies between three Provinces: Anbar, Salahuddin, and Mosul. Security forces have also taken control of the area along the boundary between Anbar and the areas adjacent to Samarra.

Meanwhile Iraqi aircraft and Coalition warplanes carried out a number of strikes on several areas of Tharthar and on to the areas across the Euphrates from Ramadi. Anbar Operations and Police sources are reporting that at least 23 ISIL gunmen were killed by the strikes.

The security situation in Ramadi: following the failed ISIL attack against the areas east of the city, security forces have advanced into areas that had been recently captured by the gunmen to the southwest of Husayba and the eastern outskirts of Ramadi; Iraqi gunships carried out a number of strikes on ISIL positions within the city, killing at least 7 gunmen gathered around an ISIL observation post facing the front lines in Ramadi. The Bu-Farraj and Bu-Ghanim areas were also struck.

Elsewhere in Anbar, Coalition warplanes struck an ISIL position in the area between Haditha and Baiji in Salahuddin Province, killing 3 of the gunmen.

In Fallujah, 3 residents were killed and 9 were wounded by the ongoing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between security forces around the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen who have been occupying the city for more than one year.

In Garma, 1^st Division sources are confirming that security forces have been able to penetrate 20 km into the township and that they are continuing their operations in the area against the ISIL gunmen holding the town center.

03 June 2015

Ramadi city perimeter is still fully surrounded; there were clashes today on more than one front: in the city’s southern sector security forces are slowly advancing into the southern districts.

There were also clashes in Ramadi’s eastern and northern sectors since early this morning.

Within the city, ISIL has been still holding and shutting down the Ramadi Barrage to the west of the city, resulting in a major drop  in the water level in the Euphrates. Anbar officials are warning that ISIL’s continued closure of the barrage will adversely affect the water reaching eastern Anbar and on toward the southern Iraqi provinces.

Meanwhile, clashes, bombardments and Iraqi and coalition air strikes are continuing in the areas east of Ramadi and on into the central districts of the city.

ISIL is continuing its pressures on the youth in the areas they hold to join their ranks in fighting against the security forces.

Security sources are reporting fierce clashes in the areas between Samarra city and the Tharthar areas in southwestern Anbar. Security forces are advancing to take control of the Tharthar Barrage.

In Fallujah, 5 residents were killed and 7 wounded by the continuing random bombardment exchanges between security forces along the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

A number of districts in Garma have been bombarded and clashes are continuing in the Sheeha and Subayhat areas.

15 February 2015

In Baghdadi, the Anbar Operations command announced today the start of a three-pronged military operation aimed at restoring control over this vital area that encompasses the Ayn al-Asad military base. The operation began in the Haditha area toward Baghdadi from the west. The second part of the operation began at the Ayn al-Asad base toward the opposite bank of the Euphrates. The third part of the operation was carried out by the 7th Division from its headquarters in the central and southern sectors of Baghdadi. Meanwhile there are reports that large quantities of arms and ammunition, as well as forces from the 'Golden Division' have arrived in the area of Baghdadi in order to liberate the town from the ISIL presence established during the last three days. There are also reports that ISIL has deployed more than 1,000 of its gunmen from the Syrian town of Raqqa to Baghdadi.

In Ramadi, security forces have successfully pushed back the gunmen from the government complex in central Ramadi. The complex is home to more than 2,500 families of the security forces and the local government officials.

In Khalidiya northeast of Ramadi, the local 'Awakenings' leader, Odeh al-Khalidi, announced that 6 gunmen attempted to assault the town while a surprise ISIL offensive in the area was being driven back.

Meanwhile, security forces have announced that they have secured the main highway between Anbar and Samarra city in Salahuddin Province.

Also in Ramadi, there are reports that an ISIL attack on the city's southern sector has been repelled.

In the northeastern Shjariya area, an announcement today stated that 90% of the area and the neighboring Bu-Ghanim area is now under the control of security forces who are now dealing with pockets of ISIL resistance.

In Fallujah, a medical source has announced that the general hospital has not received any casualties  today following yesterday's lull in the bombardment exchanges.

In Garma, more than 60 explosive charges have been disarmed and a number of ISIL's bomb-making locations have been bombed. 

20 August 2014

In Rawa, in the town's Stadium district, an administrative position held by gunmen who have been controlling the town was hit by army shelling. Two women were wounded nearby that location.

In Ramadi, the local police command supported by 'Awakenings' forces have announced that they have seized control of areas lying between Ramadi and Hit.

A military parade has been held in the districts that had been controlled by the gunmen in the city's southern sector.

In Fallujah, 7 residents were killed and at least 13 wounded by the bombardment of numerous central residential districts.

In Al-Garma, 3 residents were killed and 5 were wounded in the targeting of a home within the town.

In Salahuddin province, army forces attempted today to assault Tikrit from three fronts: from the west, north, and east of the city, but informed security sources have said that their forces were unable to take the city in the face of fierce resistance by the armed groups. Many access points had been booby-trapped, and there were many sniper positions that took their toll of the security forces. An airborne attack by paratroopers into the city allowed the forces to take some positions within Tikrit. A security source has reported big explosions in a number of the city's districts; these were explosive charges that were detonated when security forces approached their locations. No casualty figures are available yet.

Eyewitnesses are reporting that hundreds of families have been fleeing the city's residential districts. The precarious security situation has been preventing essential supplies from reaching them.

In Samarra, a new provincial governor has been elected for Salahuddin to replace the Parliament member Ahmed Al-Jubouri who ha submitted his resignation to the Parliament; he is Dr. Ra'ed Al-Jubouri, the former Health Director-General in Samarra.

07 June 2014

At 06:30 this morning, gunmen attacked and seized the Anbar University building in southwestern Ramadi after fierce clashes that continued for several hours. Three university guards were killed at the main entrance to the university campus. The gunmen also blew up the bridge connecting the university with Ramadi city, causing severe structural damage. There were more than 1,000 students in the buildings during the six-hour battle; fortunately, this took place on a Saturday, when classes are limited at all of the university's colleges. College administration and teaching staff were able to open a gate in the campus' security fence, allowing all the students to reach the 5 km district. Up to this minute security forces are saying that some of the buildings are in the hands of the gunmen, but army and police forces have not resorted to shelling them. There are however intermittent clashes taking place, especially at the Political Science College building, as well as at the university's administration building. 
There was also an armed confrontation and the detonation of two car bombs driven by suicide bombers in the 'Ceramic' district that is adjacent to the Anbar University district. Security forces say that they have not recorded any deaths among the university students or the teaching staff. Security precautions are in place around the university's perimeter.

At dawn today, a security source in Haditha township in western Anbar announced that ISIL gunmen using more than 35 all-terrain vehicles and carrying medium and heavy weapons attempted an assault on Haditha from both its western and northeastern approaches, but they were met head-on by security forces that prevented them from entering the town.

In Fallujah, fierce clashes erupted today in the outlying districts of the city. A medical source at the Fallujah General Hospital has confirmed that 6 people, including 4 children were wounded by the shelling of the city.
The UN has announced that there are more than 5,000 families inside Fallujah who are unable to leave the city because of their lack of financial and other material resources.

The Anbar Governorate Council held a number of meetings and emergency conferences today to discuss the latest initiative proposed by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.

In Samarra, 130 km from Anbar in Salahuddin governorate, life was almost normal today and the curfew has been lifted in most of the city. Observers say that activity within the city is normal. The final casualty count after the two days of fighting shows that 43 people were either killed or wounded in the fighting. 
An important issue is that the displaced Anbaris who sought refuge in Samarra over more than 4 months are now facing being displaced yet again, either to other Salahuddin townships or to western townships of Anbar. 

Samarra Military Command forces announced today that they have killed at least 22 suspected ISIL gunmen in various areas within Samarra, thus trying to avoid the recurrence of the gunmen's infiltration into the township. 
The local Samarra Council has stressed that it will do whatever it can to prevent such an eventuality, and promising the residents that it would reinforce its defensive capabilities to achieve that end. Samarra residents are dismayed by the burning down of most of the town's business and trading establishments, and by the fact that many businesses were looted. Local residents are saying that 7 people were killed by the SWAT forces that were sent in to the township, but security forces have, of course, denied that such an incident had taken place. Salahuddin Council is expected to launch an investigation into the incident, particularly as 7 bodies have indeed been found, 2 of whom are Anbari refugees, apparently shot to death.

06 June 2014

A curfew has been imposed on Ramadi as a precaution against the possibility of armed assaults similar to those that targeted Samarra in Salahuddin governorate yesterday. The same is true in Mosul in Nineveh governorate.

In Fallujah, intermittent clashes have been going on since last night and into this afternoon in a number of the city's districts, especially in Al-Sichir and Al-Nu'aimiya. A number of districts have also been shelled. An initial casualty count shows that 3 children under the sge of twelve have been killed.

There has been total support expressed at meetings held between the local Anbar government and tribal sheikhs and religious scholars for the conference called for by Nouri Al-Maliki to address and resolve the Anbar situation.

In Samarra today, a curfew is still in force because of concerns over a return of the gunmen to the city. The Air Force has reported that 82 sorties have killed at least 17 ISIL gunmen in the city.

In the northern region of Mosul in Nineveh governorate, military operations were underway today. Two car bombs were detonated in an area populated mainly by Shabak residents. The military action is aimed at regaining and imposing control over most of Mosul city, after the gunmen succeeded in taking over a number of the city's districts.

05 June 2014

The contagion in Anbar seems to have spread to Salahuddin governorate, and the only crossing that was available for Anbaris on their way to Baghdad has been closed in Samarra, one of biggest districts in Salahuddin, with a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants.

Since 04:00 a.m. today, more than 150 ISIL gunmen have been able to seize control of the eastern parts of Samarra - about 40% of the province. Army and police forces withdrew suddenly from the checkpoints in those areas. Some police and army vehicles were burned and an initial count shows that 55 people - mostly police and army personnel - have been killed or wounded in Samarra. A very large re-enforcement operation is underway to Samarra, and air raids have been launched against some of the groups of gunmen within the city. The security situation is in a state of confusion, while security forces have imposed a curfew on Samarra, as well as on several other districts in the governorate as a precautionary measure to prevent a security collapse such as that which took place in Samarra. Security forces are also stating that they will re-establish control within the next few hours.

In Fallujah, the civilian exodus is still underway and the city will soon be emptied of its civilian inhabitants. Dr. Ahmed Al-Shami, the senior resident at the Fallujah General Hospital, announced today that the shelling of Fallujah has since last night killed 8 residents and wounded 10 others, among them 4 women and 2 children.

An important development has been the shooting down of an aircraft ; it crashed in the Al-Sichir, northeast of Fallujah, according to eyewitness reports.

Some Ramadi areas are relatively calm and other areas are tense, with occasional widely-dispersed gunfire. We have observed the return of more than 6,000 residents to their homes in some of the districts of central and west-central Ramadi.

The conference called by Nouri Al-Maliki aimed at getting the displaced families home for the month of Ramadan is still being supported by some and rejected by others. Both the residents and the local government have rejected plans to build new residential districts to replace those that have been severely damaged; the districts are being described as historically important. They are also concerned that they will lose money by giving up their centrally located homes by being moved out into the city's outlying areas.