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.

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.

01 November 2014

Q: What are the most prominent developments in the past few hours?

A: In Baghdadi today, ISIL launched an attack on the township, accompanied by mortar and rocket fire aimed at the Jubba area of the central residential district. Five residents were killed and seven were wounded when the incoming fire struck their homes.

In Ramadi, a major military operation has been launched in the western and northeastern sectors of the city. Security sources are reporting that the aim is to liberate the areas across the river from Ramadi.

Q: What is the latest on Hit, following the criminal execution the Bu-Nimr tribesmen?

A: A leading member of the Bu-Nimr tribe, Sheikh Na'eem Gu'ood, announced today that ISIL has executed 62 of his fellow tribesmen today. The execution took place in the Tharthar area, southwest of Ramadi. Another Bu-Nimr tribesman who is also a member of the Iraqi parliament, Faisal Gu'ood, called today on the central and local governments to urgently intervene, as there are further 500 captives, many of them women and children, being held by ISIL.

31 October 2014

The most significant developments today are the continuing military operations in Anbar, especially in Hit township, and the aftermath of the massacre in which at least 238 men were shot to death in the Zuwaya area in the extreme southwest of the township. Security forces have launched a campaign against the locations of ISIL gunmen; there were intermittent fierce clashes. News reports confirmed by our sources indicate that ISIL has executed the top sheikh of the Bu-Nimr tribe, after having abducted him five days ago.

In Fallujah, a preliminary count has confirmed that 4 residents have been killed and 11 wounded by the bombardment exchanges between the security forces on the city's perimeter and ISIL gunmen within the city that they have been holding for nearly 10 months.

The Anbar Council has decided today to close the Al-Ma'arif University, run by the Al-Sa'adi tribe and owned by Sheikh Abdul-Malik Al-Sa'adi, because of the alleged role of Al-Sa'adi in 'supporting terrorism.'

In Ramadi, the intensity of military operations has receded, particularly in the central districts where a few families have been returning to their homes.

During the past two days two attacks have been launched: first on the Bu-Mahal area in northeastern Ramadi that had been held by ISIL gunmen. The second was in the central Mu'allimeen district. The operations, and the killing of ISIL gunmen has provided a morale boost for the fighters, especially the tribal fighters.

30 October 2014

There has been some escalation in the security situation, especially in the Province's western regions. A security source has announced the discovery of a mass grave where ISIL gunmen have buried a large number of the Awakenings of the Bu-Nimr tribe in the western part of Hit township. More than 130 bodies were buried there following the executions carried out by ISIL gunmen, including some children and elderly people.

A source from the Bu-Nimr has announced that the number of those executed from his tribe was at least 228.

The Anbar Council leader announced the start of a military operation to exact revenge for those victims; the area of operation includes the western parts of Hit.

In Ramadi, there have been two major clashes between the gunmen and security forces who were supported by Iraqi air support.

In Fallujah, 2 civilians were killed and 7 wounded by the exchange of bombardment by the security forces on the city's perimeter and the gunmen controlling the city.

In Ramadi today, A GMC vehicle was targeted by mistake in an Iraqi airstrike. It was carrying a family consisting of 5 members, but the Iraqi pilot thought it was carrying ISIL gunmen. The family was on its way from western Ramadi to Sulaymaniya Province in Kurdistan.

29 October 2014

ISIL has committed a massacre involving the execution of at least 50 tribesmen of the Bu-Nimr tribe that had been fighting for more than three weeks in the Zuwaya area to the west of Hit. The gunmen gathered 50 men of the police and Awakenings forces - who are reported to have announced their 'repentance' two days ago - at a roundabout in the Al-Bakr district in the western  sector of Hit township where everyone thought they would be released. But they were lined up and all 50 were summarily executed. The gunmen then evicted every family in the area where the victims had lived, and moved into the vacated houses. There was a mass migration today from Al-Bakr and Zuwaya with families making their way on foot towards Haditha township, more than 50-60 km away. The head of the Anbar Council, Sabah Karhout, has confirmed that 5 of the migrants died along the way, 4 children and an elderly woman. The local government and the Bu-Nimr tribe are expected to announce in the next two days a major operation to avenge the victims of today's mass execution.

In Fallujah, there are reports that at least 21 civilians have been killed or wounded as a result of fresh clashes and the renewed bombardment exchanges between the ISIL gunmen and the security forces.

In Garma, coalition warplanes have carried out airstrikes; an Anbar Operations source has reported that at least 14 gunmen have been killed and a number of their vehicles have been destroyed.

In Baghdadi, gunmen today launched an attack - the fifth in less than 10 days - aimed at seizing control of the town, but security forces at the Ayn Al-Asad military base provided support for the tribal fighters within the town in resisting the attack. Meanwhile, at least 70% - 80% of the town's residents have abandoned their homes, fleeing the exchanges of fire around them.

In Haditha today, there were some low-level military operations, with security forces setting up checkpoints around the town. Haditha is to be the training center for the 30,000 volunteers whose recruitment has been authorized by the Prime Minister.