Islamic State repels Iraqi military’s 3rd attempt to retake Tikrit
Iraqi forces broke off their advance on Tikrit after taking heavy fire from Islamic State fighters based in and around the capital of Salahaddin province.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Iraq
The Iraqi military and the Peshmerga claimed to have retaken control of Mosul Dam. The US launched 15 airstrikes to aid the Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 17 Islamic State fighters in an airstrike in Mosul.
US airpower supports Peshmerga, Iraqi forces to retake Mosul Dam
President Obama expanded the US military mission in Iraq to include protecting “critical infrastructure” and supporting Iraqi Army and Peshmerga offensive military operations in northern Iraq.
Iraq
The US launched airstrikes against the Islamic State near the Mosul Dam in support of Kurdish offensive operations to retake the dam. The chief of Iraq’s military objected to US airstrikes and the arming of Kurdish forces as violations of Iraq’s sovereignty. The Peshmerga retook control of the towns of Batmay and Telskef north of […]
Yemen
Six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and three Yemeni soldiers were killed during raids and clashes in Qatn in Hadramout province. The US killed three AQAP fighters in a drone strike along the border with Saudi Arabia in Hadramout.
Iraq
Kurds push to drive militants from Mosul Dam with US air support
Quetta airbase attacks carried out by Pakistani Taliban, IMU
The spokesman for Omar Khalid Khorasani, the leader of the Taliban in Mohmand, said the Quetta airbase attacks were executed with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
US airstrikes at Mosul Dam likely offensive in nature
Islamic State fighters at the Mosul Dam are neither directly threatening US personnel in Irbil, nor are they impeding the humanitarian mission on Mount Sinjar.
US drone kills 3 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen
The airstrike took place in a province in eastern Yemen where the terror group has been battling the government for control.
Taliban laud Afghan soldier who killed US general
The Taliban described Rafiqullah, the Afghan soldier who killed Major General Harold Greene, deputy commanding general of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, as a “martyr.”
Afghanistan
Afghan officials claimed 20 Taliban fighters were killed in airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika. A district police chief in Kandahar and seven officers were killed during in fighting. A female member of parliament said she supports the Taliban and its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Iraq
The military claimed it killed 31 Islamic State fighters in Dhabetiya and the group’s “financial officer” and six fighters in Babil. The Islamic State killed six Peshmerga and executed four civilians in Jalawla. The head of the Anbar Awakening said 25 tribes have united to fight the Islamic State. Prime Minister Maliki said he will […]
Afghan government negotiating with the Taliban in Sangin
Peace agreements with the Taliban on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border have always ended badly.
Iraq
Did the Pentagon misjudge the danger on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar?
Fedayeen-i-Islam claims suicide assaults on Pakistani airbases
Fourteen members of the Fedayeen-i-Islam were killed during the latest assault on a Pakistani airbase.
Iraq
The military claimed it killed 71 Islamic State fighters in Anbar, 17 in Bayji, and five more in Babil. The Islamic State killed five Peshmerga near Baqubah. The US destroyed two armored vehicles and an MRAP in airstrikes near Irbil.
Iraqi military claims to retake control of 4 cities north of Baghdad
Dhuluiyah, Ishaqi, Mutassim, and Balad weren’t considered to be controlled by the Islamic State before the military claimed to have liberated the cities.
Yemen
Three security personnel and two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed during fighting in Hadramout. Ansar al Shariah, AQAP’s political front, expressed “solidarity” with the Islamic State after the US launched airstrikes. An aide to former president Salih said the plot to kill the erstwhile leader was foiled.
Iraq
The military claimed it killed 17 Islamic State fighters in airstrikes in Anbar while the Peshmerga said it killed 11 more during operations in Jalawla. Eight Iraqis were killed in two separate bombings in Baghdad.
Yemen
Twenty people were killed as Houthi rebels clashed with government forces and tribe in Al Jawf in northern Yemen. Three Yemeni explosives experts and 10 civilians were killed in a bombing in Lahj.
Islamic State advances against jihadist foes in Aleppo
The jihadist group ejected the rival Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and allied jihadist groups from five towns and villages in Aleppo province.
US airstrikes have had ‘a very temporary effect’ on Islamic State
The Islamic State has “thus far shown the ability to attack on multiple axes,” General Mayville said. “This is not insignificant.”
Iraq
US military role in its 3rd Iraq conflict unlikely to accomplish much
Iraq
Iraq militants changing tactics, complicating US airstrike mission
Iraq
The US targeted an Islamic State mortar pit in an airstrike north of Sinjar. Nine Iraqis were killed in two bombings in Baghdad. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 89 Islamic State fighters in Diyala and 65 more in northern Hillah. The military also claimed it killed 14 more Islamic State fighters while clearing the […]
Chechen-led jihadist group in Syria releases video of training camp
Jamaat Ahadun Ahad, or the Group of the One and Only, is led by a Chechen commander and its fighters include “many Chechens, Turks, Arabs, Europeans, and even several former members of the Taliban.”
Iraq
Meet Haider al-Abadi, the man named Iraq’s new prime minister
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 20 civilians in fighting in Kunduz, and six policemen and three civilians in Ghazni. Afghan officials who were caught in an ambush in Badakhshan were freed by the Afghan military. The NDS captured a Taliban district governor and two suicide bombers in Kandahar.
Iraq
President Masoum appointed Haidar al Abadi as the new prime minister. Former Prime Minister Maliki said the move is “unconstitutional” and vowed to fight the appointment. The US is sending weapons and munitions to the Kurds. The US launched airstrikes against an Islamic State convoy near Irbil. The Iraqi military said it killed an Islamic […]
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Yemeni president vows relentless fight against militants