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.
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.
The US military is issuing bizarre spin about events in both Iraq and Syria.
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.
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.
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.
The audio, which features Al Douri discussing recent events, refutes reports that he was killed last month in the Hamrin Mountains.
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.
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.
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.
“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
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.
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.
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.
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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 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.
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The Islamic State makes a push in Anbar’s capital and takes control of a district as Iraqi forces and Shiite militias are reportedly preparing an offensive in the western province.
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Several Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups continue to operate in Tikrit, despite claims by US government officials that most of these militias had left the battle. The US continues to launch airstrikes to support Iraqi forces and these militias, many leaders of which are responsible for killing US and Coalition servicemen during the Iraq War.
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A Pentagon spokeman’s statement that members of the Popular Mobilization Committee “have resumed their offensive operations on the ground in Tikrit” is an admission that the Shiite militias are still involved in the fighting.