Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

 

Scores of Iraqis Killed in Sunni Provinces by Government and US-Led Air Strikes and Attacks

November 20, 2017

Editor's Note:

The following are just examples of news stories about the continuous Iraq war. Daily news stories can be accessed from the news sources listed below and others in the internet.

 

Iraqi government militiamen, Al-Hashd-al-Shaabi, in the Sunni Province of Salahuddin, file, November 14, 2017	An Iraqi army officer and three soldiers were killed in Rawa, Anbar, when they attempted to enter a booby-trapped house, November 19, 2017

 

The following are news stories from the independent Iraqi Arabic news agency, Yaqein ( http://yaqein.net/ ):

***

An Iraqi army officer and three soldiers were killed in Rawa, Anbar, when they attempted to enter a booby-trapped house Yaqein, November 19, 2017 مقتل اربعة من الجيش بينهم ضابط بانفجار منزل مفخخ في راوة غرب الانبار 19 نوفمبر 2017 ،   لمصدر:وكالة يقين قتل اربعة من الجيش بينهم ضابط ، عصر اليوم الاحد ، بانفجار منزل مفخخ في احدى المناطق التابعة لمدينة راوة غرب محافظة الانبار ، اثناء محاولة تمشيطها عقب اقتحامها من قبل القوات المشتركة وميليشيا الحشد الشعبي وباسناد مباشر من طيران التحالف الدولي و التابع للجيش . وقال مصدر في الجيش بتصريح صحفي ، إن “منزلا مفخخا انفجر على قوة تابعة للجيش خلال قيامها بتمشيط البيوت والمناطق التابعة لمدينة راوة غرب مدينة الرمادي في الانبار “. وأضاف المصدر أن “الانفجار أسفر عن مقتل ضابط وثلاثة جنود”، مشيرا إلى أن “قوة من الجيش نقلت الجثث إلى الطب العدلي”. http://yaqein.net/category/politics

***

The following are news stories from a pro-Iraqi government website (http://www.iraqinews.com/), which usually reports those who are killed by Iraqi government attacks as Islamic State fighters, implying no civilians were killed by bombing residential neighborhoods:

***

Five Islamic State members killed in foiled attack near Iraqi-Syrian borders

by Nehal Mostafa Nov 19, 2017, 9:37 am

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) --

Five Islamic State militants were killed as the pro-government paramilitary troops repelled an attack near the Iraqi-Syrian borders, the media service reported.

“The 29th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] managed to thwart an attack by the militants through Tal Sufuk crossing on the Iraqi-Syrian borders,” a statement said. “Five militants were killed.”

The troops killed, on Thursday, seven militants, while the rest ran away in an attack against units in Tal Sufuk.

Despite declaring the victory over IS in Mosul, the group’s former bastion in Iraq, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared, in July, victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25000 militants were killed throughout the campaign.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition has been fighting, since October 2016, the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people. Thousands of others fled toward neighboring countries including Syria, Turkey and other European countries, since IS emerged to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.

Curfew imposed to look for Islamic State attackers of village, south of Mosul

by Nehal Mostafa Nov 19, 2017, 11:41 am

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) --

Security troops imposed on Sunday curfew in a village in south of Mosul as part of efforts to look for Islamic State militants who launched an attack, a source said.

“Troops imposed curfew in al-Eraij village in search for IS members, who launched an armed attack against the village on Saturday night,” the source told Shafaq News.

“The attack took place after four militants, who were hiding in residential houses in south of Mosul, were arrested,” the source added.

Earlier on the day, five IS members were killed as the pro-government al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] foiled an attack by the militants through Tal Sufuk crossing on the Iraqi-Syrian borders.

Shafaq News quoted a source on Wednesday as saying that unidentified gunmen killed two persons and a child as they opened fire against them in al-Eraij village, Hammam al-Alil region, south of Mosul.

Despite declaring the victory over IS in Mosul, the group’s former bastion in Iraq, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared, in July, victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25000 militants were killed throughout the campaign.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition has been fighting, since October 2016, the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people. Thousands of others fled toward neighboring countries including Syria, Turkey and other European countries, since IS emerged to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.

Tens of IS militants killed in liberation of last stronghold in western Anbar

by Nehal Mostafa Nov 18, 2017, 4:01 pm

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) --

Tens of Islamic State militants were killed during the liberation of the group’s last stronghold in western Anbar, an official was quoted saying on Saturday.

Speaking to Russian Sputnik news agency, Na’eem al-Kaoud, head of Anbar provincial council’s security committee, said troops killed sixteen IS members on Friday during battles in Rawa.

Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command, announced in a statement on Friday, achieving “great victory” in Rawa, stressing that advance will resume in the depth of desert toward the Syrian borders.

Iraqi Interior Minister has said that the military presence of IS is over after the liberation of Rawa in western Anbar.

The War Media Cell said operations launched on the dawn of Friday for the “liberation of Rawa”.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, earlier this month, liberation of Qaim in record time. Troops also freed Ebeidi and Krabla regions in western Anbar.

Operations were launched, late October, to liberate Qaim and Rawa towns. Both have been held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”.

According to United Nations counts, the war against IS has displaced five million people.

Three corpses of Islamic State members found in Diyala

by Mohamed Mostafa Nov 17, 2017, 12:10 pm

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) --

Authorities in Diyala have run into three decomposed Islamic State members bodies in northeast of Diyala, a local official was quoted saying on Friday.

Awwad al-Rubaiy, head of the security committee at Abu Saida precinct, told Alsumaria News that the corpses were found in Mekheisa, 30 km northeast of Baqubah.

The borders between Diyala and neighboring Salahuddin have seen occasional attacks by Islamic State militants and counterattacks from security forces backed by the U.S.-led international coalition.

Iraqi forces are currently fighting Islamic State members out of their very last enclave in Iraq, western Anbar’s city of Rawa. A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition has, since October, managed to recapture the group’s former capital, Mosul, the town of Tal Afar, west of Nineveh, Kirkuk’s Hawija, and Anbar’s Annah and Qaim.

Islamic State declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014. Though the group is nearing a total loss of its territorial influence in Iraq through the Rawa battle, with tens of thousands of local and foreign fighters either killed or remaining at large, many believe it will still pose a security threat in Iraq by maintaining dormant cells and staging lone wolf attacks. 

Fourteen IS members, security personnel killed in confrontations in Kirkuk

by Nehal Mostafa Nov 14, 2017, 11:00 pm

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) --

Fourteen Islamic State militants and security personnel were killed as confrontations broke out in south of Kirkuk, a security source said on Tuesday.

“Al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] invaded Kadamat village, south of Kirkuk, where confrontations occurred against IS militants,” the source told Baghdad Today. “Troops managed to kill 10 IS members.”

Moreover, the clashes “left four PMFs personnel killed,” according to the source.

“The operation was carried out to comb the regions between Kadamat and the borders of al-Rashad, southwest of Kirkuk, and follow the militant group’s pockets,” the source said.

Operations were launched in late September to liberate Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, before Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced freeing the town in October.

Iraqi troops managed to retake several Islamic State strongholds including Mosul and Tal Afar in Nineveh, Hawija in Kirkuk and Annah and Qaim in Anbar.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

114 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 244 others were wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly release by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), issued on Wednesday.

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, coming in the first place with 177 civilian casualties (38 killed, 139 injured). Anbar province followed with 36 killed and 55 injured, and then Kirkuk with 18 killed and 33 injured.

Commander: Iraqi forces kill, arrest 12 Islamic State members in Mosul

by Mohamed Mostafa Nov 14, 2017, 11:38 am1 Comment

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) --

 Iraqi army forces killed and arrested 12 Islamic State  militants northwest of Mosul, a commander in Nineveh province was quoted saying on Tuesday.

Baghdad Today quoted Emad al-Bayati, head of the army’s Nineveh Operations’ media, saying that border security troops engaged with the militants at Yaaribi border area with Syria, killed seven and arrested five others after setting up an ambush.

He added that the troops seized the militants’ weapons and took the arrested ones for interrogation.

Iraqi troops, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, took over Mosul from Islamic State militants early July, ending more than eight months of operations. Since then, security forces have launched efforts to clear the city from dormant IS cells and occasionally sustained attacks from militants, while arresting others among refugees.

Mosul was the birthplace of the Islamic State’s self-styled “caliphate” when the group’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared its establishment in a famous sermon from Mosul’s Grand Nuri Mosque.

Iraq forces are currently working on seizing back the group’s last haven in Iraq: the western Anbar city of Rawa on the borders with Syria.

The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people.

12 police personnel killed, injured in suicide attack, south of Mosul

by Nehal Mostafa Nov 12, 2017, 9:01 am

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com)--

 Twelve police personnel were killed and injured in suicide attack in south of Mosul, a security source source from Nineveh said on Saturday.

“Five policemen were killed, while seven others were wounded as an attacker, wearing suicide belt, blew up himself targeting a checkpoint in al-Houd village, which links al-Qayyarah to Shirqat, south of Mosul,” Cap. Azhar Mohamed told BasNews.

“The bomber blew himself up while between security personnel,” he added. “The forces cordoned off the blast spot and transferred the wounded to hospital. Investigations on the accident were conducted.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

114 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 244 others were wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly release by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), issued on Wednesday.

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, coming in the first place with 177 civilian casualties (38 killed, 139 injured). Anbar province followed with 36 killed and 55 injured, and then Kirkuk with 18 killed and 33 injured.

The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.

The total figure marked a decline from last month’s, which reached more than 500 civilians. The victims went down from 196, while the injured decreased down from 381.

***

The following are news stories from the US Department of Defense website (http://www.defense.gov/News) :

***

US-Led Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Nov. 17, 2017 —

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 34 strikes consisting of 56 engagements Nov. 13-16, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve. DoD graphic

Officials reported details of the strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Yesterday in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets near Dayr Az Zawr. The strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS vehicle and three explosive hazards.

On Nov. 15, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets near Dayr Az Zawr. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

On Nov. 14, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets near Dayr Az Zawr. The strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed three explosive hazards, two fighting positions and a command-and-control center.

On Nov. 13, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS vehicle and an ISIS headquarters.

Strikes in Iraq

Yesterday in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed an ISIS improvised explosive device facility and an artillery piece.

On Nov. 15, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb factory.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed four ISIS vehicles and damaged a fighting position.

On Nov. 14, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS vehicles, a weapons cache, a vehicle-borne-bomb factory and two suicide vests.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed an ISIS supply route.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIS bunker and four ISIS vehicles.

-- Near Rawah, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle-borne-bomb factory, an ISIS-held building, a weapons cache and an ISIS headquarters and facilitated effective fire on ISIS targets.

On Nov. 13, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne-bomb factory.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes destroyed two ISIS tractor-trailers and two vehicle-borne-bomb factories.

Previous Strikes

Additionally, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement near Qaim, Iraq on Nov. 11. The strike destroyed an ISIS supply route.

Officials Provide Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Nov. 13, 2017 —

U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 39 strikes consisting of 67 engagements Nov. 12 through yesterday.

Strikes in Syria

On Nov. 10 in Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, seven strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and damaged a heavy machine gun.

On Nov. 11 in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle and a fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units.

Yesterday in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 18 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tactical vehicle.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, seven strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed a heavy machine gun, a fighting position and an ISIS vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

On Nov. 10 in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building and a missile.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes destroyed four ISIS tunnels, a weapons cache, an ISIS truck, an ISIS sedan and an ISIS fuel truck.

-- Near Rawa, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS staging area.

-- Near Tuz, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tunnel, two weapons caches, an ISIS truck and a tunnel entrance.

On Nov. 11 in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS-held building, an improvised-explosive-device storage facility and five ISIS supply routes.

-- Near Hawija, two strikes destroyed four IEDs.

-- Near Rawa, three strikes suppressed an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building and facilitated effective harassing fire on ISIS targets.

Yesterday in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement near Rawa, destroying an ISIS fighting position.

Previous Strikes

Officials also provided details today on nine strikes consisting of 20 engagements in Syria and Iraq for which the information was not available in time for the most recent previous report:

-- On Nov. 5 near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed two ISIS supply routes.

-- On Nov. 5 near Qaim, a strike destroyed four ISIS supply routes.

-- On Nov. 7 near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed eight ISIS supply routes.

-- On Nov. 7 near Qaim, three strikes destroyed four ISIS supply routes.

-- On Nov. 8 near Abu Kamal, a strike facilitated effective counter fire on ISIS targets.

-- On Nov. 9 near Qaim, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building.

***

Share the link of this article with your facebook friends