28 May 2015

Security forces positioned on three fronts – northern, eastern, and western - around Ramadi have penetrated into certain parts of the city. The areas that had been under ISIL control in and around Sufiya and eastern Husayba. The forces are still engaged in clashes in Ramadi’s southern sector. Strict security measures have ben imposed following air strikes by Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes.

Also today, the People’s Mobilization militias have attacked ISIL positions and concentrations with rocket fire in the eastern and northern sectors. Security forces have also cleared a number of houses that had been booby-trapped by the gunmen and IED’s planted around Ramadi’s perimeter. Reinforcements from Habbaniya have also arrived and about 1,000 tribal fighters have graduated from their training courses.

The Anbar Police commander announced today that 1,700 security who had withdrawn from Ramadi have now reported back to their duties. Meanwhile, ISIL is still preventing residents from leaving the districts they are holding within Ramadi. Three Ramadi residents have been killed and 7 wounded by the bombardment of their central residential districts.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital announced today that 7 residents were killed and 9 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces along the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

12 May 2015

In Ramadi, military operations are still underway in various parts of the city: to the east, security forces have penetrated into the outskirts of Sufiya and disarmed a large number of explosive devices planted by ISIL gunmen, killing 3 gunmen in the area.

Security forces are also still fully surrounding the Bu-Farraj area

In the city’s southern sector, fierce clashes have raged in the Hawz and nearby districts. Iraqi gun ships have struck a number of ISIL positions in that area.

Meanwhile, the city’s central and eastern districts are relatively calm, normal activity has returned to the streets, and families are making their way back to their homes.

In Garma, major military operations are underway: security forces foiled an attack with 2 explosives-laden vehicles against the Subaihat district.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source has reported that 7 residents have been killed and 9 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces on the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

In Baghdadi, the residents blockaded in the town have again called for speedy action to save the hundreds of families who are now without food or water. The calls have been posted on the social media websites.

11 May 2015

ISIL gunmen have attacked Ramadi on two fronts: in the north and in the south. There was also a third incursion from the area east of the city. The first attack, in northern Ramadi, involved the areas between the Jaraisha area to the north and Ramadi city; security forces repelled the attack, killing at least 3 ISIL gunmen and were able to advance into the ISIL-held areas.

Meanwhile, the attack in the southern sector was also turned back by security forces.

The third attack was within Sufiya township east of Ramadi; security forces with Iraqi air support bombarded an ISIL concentration in the area.

The other Ramadi districts – particularly in the city’s central area – have been relatively calm and its marketplaces have been active.

In Fallujah, the central residential districts have been under heavy bombardment since yesterday – part of the ongoing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between security forces along the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen within the city. Casualty reports show that 10 residents, including women and children, have been killed and at least 15 wounded.

10 May 2015

Since noon today, ISIL gunmen have been attacking the Hayakel area south of Fallujah, and the Fallujah University building southwest of Fallujah. Fierce fighting is still underway: security forces have blown up 4 booby-trapped ISIL vehicles. Security forces with Iraqi air support have so far held back the attack but fierce fighting is continuing with ISIL positions being bombarded within the city’s southern and southwestern perimeter areas.

Elsewhere in Fallujah, a General Hoapital is reporting that many of the city’s residential districts have been targeted by mortar fire in these central and eastern districts, the source reports that 3 residents have been killed and 11 wounded by the random bombardment exchanges between the security forces and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

In Garma, security forces have today killed at least 23 gunmen during the ongoing military operations in the township where pockets of ISIL gunmen are still holding out. Meanwhile, the Garma police station that has long been shut down was reopened today.

In Ramadi, Iraqi gun ships have carried out a number of strikes northeast of Ramadi and an Operations source has reported that at least 22 ISIL gunmen have been killed, including some ISIL field commanders. Meanwhile security forces are advancing into the Bu-Farraj township.

A military operation has been underway since yesterday in the eastern Sufiya area where security forces have disarmed at least 150 explosive devices planted by the gunmen along the main roads and some of the areas buildings.

The southern sector districts and those around the government complex have been the scene of a number of skirmishes and security forces have thwarted ISIL attempts at advancing into the city’s central areas.

09 May 2015

The central residential districts in Ramadi have been relatively calm today following the return of more than 200 families to their homes between yesterday and today. Meanwhile, military operations are continuing in the areas around Ramadi, especially in the eastern Sufiya area where security forces have been able to penetrate deep into the town. Iraqi gun ships have also been in action there today, carrying out strikes against positions held by ISIL gunmen, of whom at least 17 have been killed according to Anbar Operations reports.

Military operations have also been continuing in the Bu-Farraj area and on towards the areas around the government complex in central Ramadi, and further on toward the city’s southwestern districts that are now controlled by security forces.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital announced today that 3 residents have been killed and 6 wounded by the continuing random bombardment exchanges between security forces along the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city itself.

In Garma, most of its areas are under security forces’ control in and around the town where explosive devices planted by the gunmen are still being disarmed and cleared in the booby-trapped houses.

In Habbaniya, the volunteer receiving center was opened today to receive tribal volunteers for training at the Habbaniya Base. More than 1,500 tribal fighters have completed their training in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, and more than 2,000 more have been accepted for training so that they can join their brethren of the tribal forces.

08 May 2015

ISIL gunmen have attacked the Habbaniya township in easternmost Anbar, but security forces have been able to control the situation by repelling the attack and inflicting heavy losses on the attackers, according to an Anbar Operations source. The gunmen launched their attack from the direction of Khalidiya Island but were unable to approach Habbaniya. Four gunmen were killed and 6 personnel carriers were destroyed; the remainder withdrew deep into the Khalidiya area.

In Ramadi, it has been announced that the central Ramadi area has been brought under full control of the security forces, while 5 gunmen were killed in operations in the Sufiya area.

In southernmost Ramadi, security forces have carried out military operations in the Hawz and adjacent districts, killing at least 9 ISIL gunmen. Anbar Operations have stressed that security forces have fortified their positions around the government complex in the city center.

In the Bu-Farraj area in northern Ramadi, the area has now been surrounded but there is still fierce resistance by the gunmen in the town center.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source has reported that 3 residents have ben killed and 7 wounded by the ongoing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between security forces on the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

In Amiriyat al-Fallujah, the security situation is calm, but precautionary security measures are in place following reports of an imminent ISIL attack against the township.

In Garma, the situation is relatively calm following the takeover by security forces of most of the townships districts and areas.

07 May 2015

Military operations are still underway in a number of districts in Ramadi: security forces and Iraqi gun ships have killed an ISIL commander and 3 of his aides in the Jazeera area.

Operations in the eastern Sufiya area have enabled security forces to advance deep into the town, but ISIL resistance and counterattacks have been slowing the advance; security forces have reported that at least 13 gunmen have been killed there.

Operations are also continuing in Ramadi’s southern sector Hawz and adjacent districts toward the government complex in the city center where Iraqi air support has prevented the gunmen from reaching the complex.

Meanwhile life is back to normal in the city’s central districts, with substantial activity in the public marketplaces.

Also today, security forces have launched a number of attacks in the Bu-Farraj area in northernmost Ramadi. Operations began today in the Shjariya area and have made advances with the deployment of military equipment and vehicles into Ramadi.

In Baghdadi and its surrounding areas, military reinforcements have also been deployed in preparation for a major military operation on Baghdadi and Hit township, with the aim of liberating these areas from the ISIL presence.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source reported a short time ago that 6 residents have been killed and 6 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces around the city and the ISIL gunmen within the city that they have been holding for more than a year.

06 May 2015

In Ramadi security forces have successfully withstood a fierce attack by ISIL gunmen from each of the northern and eastern fronts. The forces blew up at least 2 booby-trapped vehicles which the gunmen tried to use to penetrate from the northern sector in the Bu-Farraj area, and from the easternmost area of Sufiya. Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes also struck targets amid the attacking gunmen who have now withdrawn on both fronts: back across the Euphrates, and deep into the Sufiya area where security forces and elements of the ‘Golden’ Division have launched a military operation, supported by police and tribal fighters. At least 11 ISIL gunmen have been killed in the fighting.

In Ramadi’s southern sector – in the Hawz and adjacent districts – military operations have continued and extended to the environs of the government complex in the city center.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source has reported that 2 residents were killed and 6 were wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces around the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen who have been holding the city for more than year.

Farhan Mohammed, an Anbar Council member, has revealed that ISIL forces are massing in western Anbar at Al-Qaim, apparently preparing to launch a major attack on Haditha and Baghdadi townships. Many gunmen have been deployed in the Al-Qaim, Ana, and Rawa areas for that purpose.

In Garma, security forces have taken full control of the township, but some areas are still booby-trapped while security forces are trying to clear the explosives; there have been some intermittent skirmishes in various parts of the township.

05 May 2015

Security forces have succeeded in thwarting two fierce ISIL attacks against central Ramadi: the first was from the eastern Sufiya area, in which the gunmen attempted to assault the city’s eastern districts, but security forces with Iraqi air support were able to turn back the attackers towards the Sufiya area; the second attack came from the Zankura area in northwestern Ramadi, but security forces with Iraqi air support and units of the ‘Golden’ Division were able to turn back the attack. The Anbar Operations Command has reported that at least 20 ISIL gunmen were killed in the fighting in both areas.

Military operations are still underway in the city’s southern Hawz district, with security forces establishing a broader perimeter around the government complex in the city center.

Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have targeted the Ta’meem area west of Ramadi where at least 9 gunmen were killed.

Military operations are also still underway in Garma; a military source has reported that 3 Iraqi army personnel have been killed and 5 wounded when a booby-trapped house was detonated in Garma township.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source reported today that 2 residents have been killed and 4 wounded by the ongoing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between security forces around the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

ISIL has also blown up two schools: on in the Sufiya area and the other in central Ramadi.

04 May 2015

Security forces have established total control over the highway between Haditha and Baiji in Salahuddin Province. The forces also blew up the booby-trapped tankers that ISIL gunmen were trying to use in attacking security checkpoints and positions in the area. The forces also cleared more than 25 explosive devices laid by the gunmen. Four suicide bombers intending to attack the main entrance to Haqlaniya in Haditha township were also killed.

Regarding the continuing military operations in Ramadi, the Anbar Operations Commander announced today that a position at the Anbar University in southwestern Ramadi that has been reported to be an ISIL stronghold, was shelled, and that Abu Qutaiba al-Mar’awi, an ISIL commander, and five of his aides were killed.

Military operations in Sufiya and Bu-Farraj in eastern and northeastern Ramadi are continuing and security forces are now in control of the Street 40, Street 60, and Street 100 areas.

A member of the Anbar Council confirmed today that more than 70 families have returned to their homes today in Ramadi.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source reported today that 3 residents have been killed and 7 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces on the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

The Defense Minister today visited the Garma area. He stressed that security forces have achieved major victories against ISIL in the area.

03 May 2015

Multiple military operations are still underway in various parts of Ramadi: there have been clashes in the Sufiya area east of the city that have spread to the areas toward the city center. The northern and northeastern sectors of the city were reported to be under control, but some ISIL pockets are still operating. Security forces have been able to penetrate into parts of Sufiya – considered to be the eastern access route into Ramadi – where they have killed at least 13 ISIL gunmen.

Meanwhile, more than 30 families have today returned to their homes in some of the city’s central residential districts, amid strict security measures aimed at preventing gunmen from infiltrating alongside the returning families.

Also today, Iraqi army gun ships and coalition warplanes carried out a number of sorties against the city’s southern sector districts. The raids have killed at least 18 ISIL gunmen.

A security source has reported that security forces have liberated the areas around the Ramadi Teaching Hospital and the areas leading to the Hawz district.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source reported today that 4 residents have been killed and 11 wounded by the indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between security forces surrounding the city and the ISIL gunmen who have been holding the city for more than one year.

In Garma, security forces are still surrounding and blockading the town center but have been unable to penetrate all the way into the center. Security snipers have been able to pick off 3 ISIL gunmen within the town center. Some families have been returning to their homes in the liberated districts of the town.

In Baghdadi, families that have fled from their homes in the town’s eastern districts have called on the central and local governments to urgently intervene, while some children have been succumbing to the rise in temperatures and the lack of food aid.

02 May 2015

In Ramadi, security forces supported by tribal fighters have taken full control of Street 60 and Street 40 in eastern Ramadi, as well as the areas between eastern Ramadi and the city’s center. All these areas have been secured and some families have been returning to their residential districts there. Following yesterday’s and today’s fighting, all of the eastern and northeastern districts have been secured by security forces. The Anbar police commander announced today that security forces have advanced 700 meters on their way to liberating all of the Sufiya area. Security forces are also making headway in the Bu-Farraj area in northern Ramadi.

Security forces have today killed at least 37 ISIL gunmen in Garma township; fighting is still going on. An Anbar Operations source reported today that at least 14 army personnel were killed when a booby-trapped house was blown up in central Garma, while some families have ben returning to the liberated parts of the town.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital announced today that 3 residents have been killed and 5 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between security forces around the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen who have been holding the city for more than one year.

01 May 2015

The Anbar Council announced today that security forces have made significant advances in the Sufiya area east of Ramadi, pushing toward the town center and killing at least 17 ISIL gunmen; they have also cleared 23 homes of the explosives planted by the gunmen to hinder the advance of the security forces. Meanwhile security forces have seized large quantities of arms and ammunition left behind by the gunmen as they were driven back in the city’s southern Hawz and nearby districts. Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes also struck a number of positions in the sector, killing at least 8 gunmen. They have also struck a number of targets in the Ta’meem district which has been an ISIL stronghold.

In western Anbar, a broad military operation is underway by the Al-Jazeera Operations in the Baghdadi and Haditha areas. They have reported that at least 11 gunmen have been killed in the clashes in the areas separating the two townships.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source announced today that 3 residents have been killed and 7 wounded by the continuing indiscriminate bombardment exchanges between the security forces on the city’s perimeter and the gunmen holding the city.

In Garma, the ongoing military operations have not yet allowed the security forces from seizing the town center, but reports say that this may be achieved in the coming hours.

30 April 2015

In Ramadi, the city’s central residential districts have been relatively calm today, with the return of 2,433 families to their homes that the security forces have surrounded with strict security measures. Meanwhile the center’s public marketplaces have been active.

Clashes have been taking place in the Sufiya and Bu-Farraj areas and toward the city’s southern sector, especially in the Hawz and nearby districts. Security forces have been able to penetrate into Sufiya but they are facing fierce resistance by the ISIL gunmen.

A number of military units and supplies have reached Ramadi and have been deployed to the northern, eastern, and the western sectors and in the area around the government complex in central Ramadi where security forces have repelled an ISIL attack; at least 8 gunmen were killed in the fighting.

Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have struck targets in  the southern sector in and around the Hawz district where 3 gunmen have been reported killed.

In Fallujah, the random bombardment exchanges between security forces on the city’s perimeter and ISIL gunmen holding the city has killed at least 13 residents, including women and children, and wounded at least 12.

Military operations are still underway in Garma, with security forces now only 500 meters away from the town center.

29 April 2015

Military operations are continuing in most parts of Ramadi. In Sufiya, east of Ramadi, fierce clashes have enabled the security forces to seize some areas, but the biggest part is still under ISIL control; gunmen have booby-trapped the main roads and most of the buildings in the area.

Clashes have spread into central Ramadi, with Anbar Council reporting yet again that the city center is on the verge of falling unless military reinforcements and supplies are deployed to the city, especially as the ISIL gunmen are in control of the city’s western and southern sectors, as well as the northern Bu-Farraj area. Iraqi gun ships have carried out strikes on the southern sector of the city.

A number of mortar rounds have today struck the residential districts held by security forces.

An Anbar Council member, Adnan Ubaid Dhahi, announced today that the Council, the Prime Minister, and the U.S. have agreed to the participation of the Peoples’ Militias in the fighting to liberate Anbar Province, provided that they are under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the Prime Minister Hayder Abadi.

Militia fighters have taken part in the fighting in Garma.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital announced today that 3 residents have been killed and 5 wounded by the random bombardment exchanges between security sources surrounding the city that is still being held by ISIL gunmen.

28 April 2015

Many of Ramadi districts are still the scenes of broad military operations in which security forces have reported killing at least 17 ISIL gunmen deep within the Sufiya area east of Ramadi.

Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have also struck a number of areas within Ramadi, and the Bu-Farraj and Sufiya in particular.

In the Ta’meem area in western Ramadi, long an ISIL stronghold, security forces have reported killing at least 35 gunmen.

The forces have also reported turning back an ISIL attack from the city’s southern Hawz district, killing at least 13 gunmen.

Meanwhile security forces have penetrated into the residential districts of central Ramadi, and have announced taking control of all the central and east/central districts of Ramadi.

In Fallujah, the General Hospital announced today that 6 residents have been killed and 7 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between the security forces positioned around the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

In Garma, security forces have successfully advanced toward the town center but have not yet reached the central residential districts.

In Amiriyat al-Fallujah, strict security are in place, following reports that ISIL is planning to assault and seize the town, although security forces have thwarted a number of ISIL attacks on the southwestern sector of the town.

27 April 2015

Security forces have carried out an expanded operation in the Sufiya area east of Ramadi; sources have just reported that the forces have made significant advances toward the town center. Iraqi gun-ships and coalition warplanes have also struck positions within the town that is considered the eastern access route to Ramadi.

Security forces have also today taken control of two more districts in central Ramadi. Coalition warplanes today carried out a number of sorties in the Bu-Farraj area north of Ramadi. An Anbar Operations source has confirmed that at least 55 ISIL gunmen were killed in the areas around Bu-Farraj. Meanwhile, security forces supported by tribal fighters have taken control of the adjacent Bu-Dhiab area.

The Anbar governor has announced today that a center has been set at the Habbaniya base to receive tribal volunteers from Ramadi and from the tribes fighting ISIL in western Anbar.

In Fallujah, a General Hospital source has confirmed that 6 residents have been killed and 11 wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between the security forces along the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

26 April 2015

In southwestern Ramadi, an army barracks was attacked by an explosives-laden vehicle, killing 7 security personnel and wounding 5 others. Security forces have repelled another surprise ISIL attack armed with light and medium weapons in the same area. There are still reports indicating ISIL’s intention to attack that area.

Meanwhile in Baghdadi, security forces have confronted since the early hours of this morning a fierce two-front ISIL attack: one was from the eastern reaches of the town and the second from the western Jubba area. The security forces’ Emergency Regiment repelled the attack, reporting that they have killed 14 of the attacking gunmen.

Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have attacked a number of areas and ISIL positions. There are also reports of an imminent campaign by security forces to take control of the eastern sector of Baghdadi.

The Sufiya area east of Ramadi came under heavy bombardment and it is reported that security forces are planning to penetrate into the Sufiya in the coming hours, after Iraqi air support and coalition warplanes pave the way for them to advance.

In central Ramadi, ISIL has blown up a building housing at the Anbar University college.

Meanwhile security forces are advancing into Ramadi’s southwestern sector, particularly the Hawz district.

Also today, military reinforcements have reached the city center and the Bu-Farraj area.

Since yesterday, more than 2,000 families have returned to the central Ramadi districts.

In Tharthar, troops have parachuted into the vicinity of the Warwar Barrage held by ISIL gunmen in this extreme southwestern area of the province.

In Fallujah, two booby-trapped fuel tanker trailers were detonated by security forces on the city’s northern outskirts. At least 19 gunmen were killed by bombardments launched by security forces in the area; meanwhile, sources are reporting that there have been civilian casualties in southwestern Fallujah.

In Garma, the military operation to seize control of the town is in its second day and fierce clashes are still continuing there. 

25 April 2015

Today, ISIL gunmen have occupied the Tharthar Barrage in southern Anbar. ISIL launched an attack on a military barracks manned by the Iraqi army’s 1^st Division, and then took control of the other barracks after bombarding the positions.  Fierce fighting ensued, but the security forces have been calling for more than a week for military reinforcement and supplies to these barracks, but no aid has been forthcoming. Security sources have reported that at least 141 army and security personnel were killed in the fighting, among them the 1^st Division’s commanding officer, Brig.-Gen. Hassan Abbas, and a regimental commander. ISIL gunmen have taken control of all the areas between al-Thathar and Fallujah. Meanwhile Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have struck a number of positions in these areas and security forces have announced that at least 30 gunmen were killed.

At the Treybil border crossing on the Iraqi-Jordanian border, ISIL gunmen using 3 explosives-laden vehicles have killed at least 5 security personnel were killed and at least 11 were wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile, military operations are at their fiercest in the eastern Ramadi Sufiya area where security forces have penetrated into the town byt ISIL gunmen have counterattacked.

In the southern sector of Ramadi, security forces have taken control of the Hawz district and a number of other districts in southern Ramadi. Security forces have succeeded in penetrating into the Bu-Farraj area north of Ramadi where broad military operations are still underway. Iraqi gun ships and coalition warplanes have carried out numerous strikes on the areas along Ramadi’s perimeter.

23 April 2015

Security forces in Ramadi have announced that they have now taken control of two districts in central Ramadi after having killed at least 17 ISIL gunmen and having disarmed a large number of explosive devices and booby-traps.

Security forces have also stopped a heavy attack against the government complex in Ramadi’s city center, and killing at least 12 ISIL gunmen.

Security forces have also penetrated into the residential districts in western Ramadi and established their control over them.

Meanwhile fierce clashes are underway in the Sufiya area and Street 40 in northeastern Ramadi; security forces are still advancing into the areas.

Troop reinforcements have also arrived from Baghdad and some of the neighboring provinces and are now being deployed in central Ramadi; there are reports that a major battle for the liberation of Anbar is imminent.

Iraqi air support ans coalition warplanes have carried out a number of sorties against targets in Ramadi’s northeastern sector.

In Fallujah, a general hospital source has reported that 8 residents have been killed, including 2 women and a child, and at least 14 have been wounded by the ongoing random bombardment exchanges between the security forces controlling the city’s perimeter and the ISIL gunmen holding the city.

In Garma, fierce clashes have been raging since the early hours of this morning aimed at establishing control over the town center, following the security forces’ success in capturing and holding the town’s perimeter and its outlying areas.

On the humanitarian front, Haditha is still suffering because no relief aid has been reaching the township, but earlier reports indicate that large quantities of foodstuffs are being readied in Baghdadi’s Ayn al-Asad military base, to be dispatched to Haditha.