US claims 10,000 Islamic State fighters killed since start of air campaign
If true, US intelligence assessments on the strength of the Islamic State are grossly underestimated.
Tag Archives: Iraq
Islamic State shows off ‘spoils of war’ from recent battles near Fallujah
The video features footage from recent fighting near the town of Karmah, just northeast of Fallujah.
Qods Force commander Soleimani reportedly spotted in Anbar province
Qods Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani was also photographed in Baghdad with Popular Mobilization Committee chief Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and Imam Ali Brigade leader Shebl al Zaydi. The images contradict US official’s claims that Iran and its Shiite militia proxies are not involved in the Anbar counteroffensive.
Iranian military commander killed fighting in Ramadi
Commander Jassem Nouri is likely a member of Qods Force, the external operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force. He was advising Shiite militias, such as Hezbollah Brigades, who are engaged in fighting in Iraq’s Anbar province.
US support for Iranian-backed Shiite militias ‘should not alarm us,’ General Allen says
US officials and generals continue to downplay the involvement of Iranian-backed Shiite militias in offensives in Iraq, and their dominance of the Popular Mobilization Committee.
Islamic State reportedly seizes all of the Al Waleed border crossing in Iraq
The capturing of the Iraqi side of the Al Waleed border crossing comes just days after the jihadist group captured the Syrian side.
Iranian-backed militias lead Iraqi counteroffensive to retake Ramadi
Iranian-supported militias, including Hezbollah Brigades, a US-listed Foreign Terrorist Organization, are advancing against the Islamic State east of Ramadi. The US is providing air support.
2 French suicide bombers used in Islamic State assault on Haditha
Haditha is one of the few towns in Anbar that have resisted the Islamic State’s onslaught in Anbar province.
Islamic State seizes Syrian side of Al Waleed border crossing with Iraq
The fall of the strategic location means that the Syrian regime has lost control of all crossings with Iraq.
Islamic State breaks Iraqi defensive line outside of Habbaniyah
According to Iraqi police and tribal officials, the defensive line that was established outside of Habbaniyah with the help of the US has been breached.
‘Iraqi forces not driven from Ramadi, they drove out of Ramadi’
The US military is issuing bizarre spin about events in both Iraq and Syria.
Islamic State, Shiite militias square off east of Ramadi
The Islamic State is attacking Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shiite militias that have regrouped at Habbaniyah, the last major city between Ramadi and Fallujah.
‘Strategy to defeat Islamic State is working,’ US Department of Defense claims
The poorly timed DoD report was issued the same day that the Islamic State took control of the government center, and two days before all of Ramadi, including the Anbar Operations Command and the large military base there, were overrun.
Islamic State overruns Anbar Operations Command, takes full control of Ramadi
The 8th Brigade headquarters also appears to have fallen. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Iraqi forces in the Fallujah-Ramadi corridor are in complete disarray and are withdrawing from Habbaniyah and other areas.
Izzat Ibrahim al Douri emerges in new audiotape
The audio, which features Al Douri discussing recent events, refutes reports that he was killed last month in the Hamrin Mountains.
Islamic State seizes government center in Ramadi
The loss of the government complex, which has been under siege since the Islamic State renewed its push to take control of Ramadi in April, is a major blow to the Iraqi military and government, which have sought to regain the initiative in Anbar after a string of losses there over the past year.
US military denies it targeted Islamic State’s deputy emir in airstrike on mosque
Iraq’s Ministry of Defense claimed that Abu Alaa al Afari and a large number of Islamic State fighters were killed in a coalition airstrike that targeted a mosque. CENTCOM denied it launched a strike on a mosque.
Fighting at Iraq’s Baiji oil refinery is ‘flowing in the wrong direction’
Iraqi and US military officers have warned that the facility is close to falling to the Islamic State. The Iraqi government and Iranian-backed Shiite militias are sending reinforcements to besieged troops.
Muqtada al Sadr threatens to ‘unfreeze the military wing,’ attack US interests
“If America persists” in advocating for a Sunni and Kurdish state outside of Iraq, “then it will cease to exist,” the Iranian-backed cleric threatened.
Iraqi forces overpowered at Baiji refinery
Iraqi forces overpowered at Baiji refinery
Islamic State releases new video from the Baiji oil refinery
The jihadist group shows more fighting that has taken place at the facility. It is unclear when some of the footage was recorded, as some scenes have been previously featured in photo reports. While the Iraqi Security Forces have claimed to have regained control of the refinery after a recent Islamic State offensive, attacks are still occurring at the complex.
Islamic State releases video of recent battles near Ramadi
Footage shows the jihadist group battling Iraqi Security Forces in the Al Sufiyah area of Ramadi. The area is said to be “75 percent” cleared, but fierce fighting is still ongoing.
Islamic State captures dam, overruns base in western Iraq
More than 120 Iraqi soldiers, including the commander of the 1st Iraqi Army Division, are reported to have been killed after the Islamic State took control of the Thar Thar dam and a military barracks.
McCain: New ISIS War Powers Request ‘Is Not Going Anywhere’ – Defense One
McCain: New Islamic State war powers request 'is not going anywhere'
Wily, methodical Kurds learn what it takes to drive back surprisingly resourceful ISIL fighters | National Post
Wily, methodical Kurds learn what it takes to drive back surprisingly resourceful Islamic State fighters
Iraqi forces fight to rout Islamic State militants from Ramadi | Reuters
Iraqi forces fight to rout Islamic State militants from Ramadi
Police personnel, residents return to Iraqi city of Ramadi as panic subsides
Police personnel, residents return to Iraqi city of Ramadi as panic subsides
Obama warns Iran its fighters in Iraq must answer to Baghdad
Obama warns Iran its fighters in Iraq must answer to Baghdad
Islamic State overruns Iraqi Army headquarters near Thar Thar
The jihadist group has remained on the offensive in Anbar province despite its recent loss in Tikrit. Islamic State fighters have overrun two Iraqi Army bases in Thar Thar in the past month.
Islamic State assaults Baiji oil refinery
Islamic State fighters penetrated the perimeter of the Baiji oil refinery complex, the largest in Iraq, after a suicide bomber thought to be from Afghanistan or Pakistan detonated outside the main gate.