Iraqi government forces have begun assaulting Islamic State insurgents based at the University of Anbar campus in the city of Ramadi. The university complex serves as a key command headquarters for ISIL in the city.
The Iraqi Security Force offensive in Ramadi, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes on ISIL positions, is part of the government’s operations to retake Anbar province. Concurrently, Hashd Shaabi or the PMF, the predominantly Shia militias, under the command of Iran’s Quds Force, and backed by Iraqi air force, have been conducting operations around Fallujah in the past few weeks in an attempt to retake the city, but have faced stiff resistance from ISIL. UPI reported that dozens of militiamen were killed near Fallujah last week.
Photo credit: An Iraqi Security Force soldier takes position near the Green Zone in Baghdad; 26 July 2015 (Mitchell Prothero/UPI)
Iran media imagery published 11JUN15 depicting joint Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and ISF assault on ISIL position, Battle of Baiji:
U.S.-supplied M1114 up-armored HMMWV bearing unit markings of Iraqi Army 3-34 Battalion, 9th Division
T-72M main battle tank before Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali checkpoint
ISIL position to be assaulted by Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali force
Advancing elements of Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali infantry equipped with AKM and AKMS type assault rifles, and RPG-7 type rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali infantry squad equipped with AKM and AKMS type assault rifles, PKM type machine gun and RPG-7 type rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Advancing elements of Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali infantry equipped with AKM and AKMS type assault rifles, and RPG-7 type rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali gunner equipped with PKM type machine gun
Gunner outfitted in very used tactical coverall and patches of ISOF, equipped with PKM type machine gun
Motorized elements of Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali forces, Battle of Baiji
Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali equipped with Iranian variant RPG-7 and PKM type machine gun
Iran-backed Kata'ib al-Imam Ali gunner poses next to crossed-out ISIL graffiti
The Hill reported on Monday that the U.S. military training mission at Al Asad base has stalled because the central government has not been sending new recruits. The base if one of the five U.S.-led coalition training sites in the country.
“Al Asad has zero. And Al Asad has had zero now for some time,” an unnamed U.S. defense official told The Hill.
President Obama said Monday after a discussion with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that the U.S. and allied have more training capacity than they have recruits.
“Part of my discussion with Prime Minister Abadi was how to make sure that we get more recruits in. A big part of the answer there is our outreach to Sunni tribes. We’ve seen Sunni tribes who are not only willing and prepared to fight ISIL, but have been successful at rebuffing ISIL. But (recruiting) has not been happening as fast as it needs to,” Obama said. (The Hill, 8 June)
The training and equipping of Sunni tribal fighters became more urgent after the fall of Ramadi last month. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar Province, the Sunni heartland.
The other four U.S. training sites are located in Baghdad, Erbil, Taj and Besmaya. In Baghdad site, approximately 910 trainees, mainly Iraqi special operations forces, are being trained. There are 800 trainees at the Erbil site, 255 trainees at Besmaya, and 630 trainees at Taj. (The Hill, 8 June)
Photo credit: President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, left, participate in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G-7 summit in Garmisch, Southern Germany; Monday, 8 June 2015 (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
ISIL
today seized the main government compound in the center of Ramadi and raised
its flag over the central building. Iraqi security forces are reportedly
remaining only in a few pockets in the city. The city, however, is still
contested. There has been a flurry of U.S.-led airstrikes on ISIL positions in
last several hours. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a
televised address that security forces “will retake Ramadi in the next few
hours.”
Capture
of the government compound and the city center is a huge victory for ISIL. The
fall of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, will be their biggest victory in Iraq
since they captured Mosul nearly a year ago. Photo
credit: ISIL flags at government compound in the center of Ramadi, Iraq;
15 May 2015 (AJE)
Iraqi
forces besieged inside the country’s largest oil refinery are running low on
food and ammunition and are pleading for reinforcement to save them from
Islamic State insurgents who have advanced deep into the compound in the past
week, Reuters reported on Monday.
They hold large sections of the sprawling refinery complex where some 200 elite
special forces, soldiers and federal police are holding out.
“We are
surrounded by Daesh (ISIL) from all sides… We can hear Daesh fighters shouting
and threatening to behead anyone they catch. We are running short of
ammunition, food and drinking water. We eat only one meal a day. We tear our
uniforms to bandage other solders’ and policemen’s wound,” said Mohanad, a
policeman speaking via telephone from the refinery where his unit has taken up
defensive positions inside the complex. (Reuters, 4 May)
The
refinery has been for all practical purposes destroyed during the fighting, but
remains one of the most fiercely contested spots in Iraq. The Iraqi security
forces are as fiercely battling ISIL nearby to secure a highway leading to the
refinery to send reinforcement and supplies.
On 18
April, Iraqi officials said they were fully in control of the compound, but the
insurgents have since gained ground and capture large portions of the complex.
Islamic
State insurgents have taken control of half Iraq’s largest oil refinery in
Baiji, and have cut supply line to the government troops who are holding out
inside the sprawling facility. Last November, Iraqi Security Forces broke a month-long siegeof the refinery by ISIL fighters. But they returned and are now on the
verge of capturing the refinery.
ISIL now
controls “all the major buildings” at Baiji complex, an Iraqi officer told a
reporter at McClatchy. 80 percent of
the watch towers around the facility is also captured by ISIL fighters, and
they have flanked government positions with “snipers and suicide bombers.” (McClatchy,
2 May)
The push
by ISIL is an indication of the precarious security situation in Iraq and the
fact that the security forces are spread too thin. The refinery has been shut
down for a while, but the loss of the facility would be a blow to the
government and a huge success for ISIL.
Meanwhile,
ISIL took responsibility for late-night car bomb attacks late Saturday in the
Karrada district, in the heart of Baghdad, killing at least 19 people. Police
said the dead and wounded were mainly shoppers and people commemorating the
death of Imam Ali, the key figure in Shia Islam. There has been a major spike in
car bombs in Baghdad over the past week, leading to speculations that the insurgents
have infiltrated the capital by hiding among thousands of the displaced persons
fleeing the fighting in Ramadi.
File
photo: Baiji Oil Refinery during its better days (The Guardian)
Video stills of Iran-origin HM-20 multiple rocket launcher system (MLRS) in use with Iraq's Tigris Operations Command (TOC) during ongoing Hamrin Mountains Operations against ISIL. Video posted 14APR15 on YouTube by Iraqi Ministry of Defense (see below).
SBIG/DIO Hadid HM-20 122 mm MLRS on Mercedes-Benz NG 2626 truck platform
What appear to be ISF crewmen and militiamen attached to TOC openning ammunition crates containing 122 mm unguided rockets.
Variety of ammunition crates evident in this MLRS supply of rockets
Unpackaging of 122 mm unguided artillery rockets
Supply transport seen in background consisting of a commercial semi-trailer truck, with rocket ammunition crates tied atop a flatbed trailer.
Shipping pallet halves and empty rocket ammo crates improvised as a load ramp for HM-20 MLRS
UPDATE: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that Tikrit is now liberated from ISIL, state-run Iraqiya TV reported late afternoon Tuesday (2 PM GMT).
*****
Iraqi security forces have retaken the Salaheddin provincial government complex in Tikrit from ISIL insurgents, a significant advance in the battle to recapture the city, AFP reported today. Some major Shia militia groups, like Badr Organization, took part in the fighting today alongside the Iraqi forces. But Iran’s Quds Force advisers and personnel, including General Soleimani, and some other major Shia militia groups stayed away from the offensive in protest to U.S. airstrikes over Tikrit.
Gen. Soleimani, who planned and commanded the Battle of Tikrit that began on 2 March, and was frequently photographed at the frontlines near Tikrit, with the pictures widely published in the social media, has not been seen lately. His photos attending state functions in Iran emerged last week, suggesting that the general and probably his top advisers might not have returned to Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition began its airstrikes over Tikrit.
Photo credit: Iraqi security forces and militia fighters fly the country's flag on the provincial government building in Tikrit; 31 March 2015 (Twitter)
Iraqi security forces battled ISIL insurgents in central Tikrit on Sunday, amid warning by local officials that the battle to retake the city would not be quick.
“A rapid advance in a city where the ground is littered with bombs and booby-traps is too tough to achieve,” said Mayor Osama al-Tikriti. (Reuters, 29 March)
On Sunday, the U.S.-led coalition continued airstrikes against ISIL positions in and around the city. But most of Iran-backed Shia militia groups boycotted the offensive in protest to U.S. airstrikes, which began on Thursday at the request of the Iraqi government.
Today, an Iraqi attempt to infiltrate Tikrit from the southern district of Shishseen was thwarted by ISIL militants. They used anti-tank missiles to destroy an armored bulldozer being used by the military to clear path around booby-trapped roads, and Iraqi official said. The setback underscored that even areas under government and militia control south of Tikrit remain vulnerable to attacks by ISIL fighters.
Photo credit: Iraqi security forces check their weapons in Tikrit, 28 March 2015 (Thaier al-Sudani/ Reuters
Fifty video stills in near order from a compilation video depicting an improvised, small unit armored force during last week's action in the Salaheddin Campaign. (Complete video at end of post.)
Iran-supplied T-72S tank alongside U.S.-supplied M1A1M tank, in combat action together during the Salaheddin Campaign
Iran-supplied T-72S main battle tank, thought to be operated by elements of the Iraqi Army
U.S.-supplied M1A1M main battle tank operated by elements of the Iraqi Army
U.S.-supplied M113A2 armored personnel carrier alongside Iran-supplied T-72S main battle tank. M113A2 shows markings of the 4-34 Mechanized Battalion, 9th Armored Division.
Iraqi Army Aviation Command (IqAAC) Eurocopter EC-635T-2 multi-purpose light helicopter
Caterpillar wheel loader operated as a combat engineering vehicle
Detail of M113A2 hull-side markings of the 4-34 Mechanized Battalion, 9th Armored Division
HMMWV alongside mixed elements of improvised mechanized infantry
Camouflage detail of improvised small unit force HMMWV
Caterpillar wheel loader operated as combat engineer vehicle
