With the number of forces in the Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias possibly being twice that of Iraq’s army, the U.S. government faces the challenge that it may win the war against the Islamic State militants but still lose Iraq to Iran. The militias may also be destroying any hope of future Iraq unity.
At least 148 people were killed and 31 were wounded.
Security forces clashed with militants for several hours at a dam near the town of Adhaim. At least 15 soldiers and militiamen were killed. A separate car bomb killed three policemen.
Fifteen Peshmerga were executed in Hawija.
In Husseiniya, four bodies were found, all bearing gunshot wounds.
Four bodies were found near Kirkuk.
Militants abducted 28 police officers in al-Baghdadi and killed three of them, so far.
Three people were killed when a bomb exploded in Widha.
In Mosul, two doctors were executed. Four other civilians were executed as well. Airstrikes left 20 militants dead and 13 wounded.
In Baghdad, two people were killed and five were wounded in a double bombing in Awiridj. In a double bombing in Waziriya, two people were killed and seven were wounded.
A body bearing torture marks was found in Zubayr.
A policeman was killed by a sticky bomb in Baquba.
A bomb in Haswa wounded three civilians.
In Basra, gunmen wounded three people.
Forty militants were killed north of Baghdad.
Airstrikes killed 15 militants of mostly European extraction in Sinjar.
In Dijla, 14 militants were killed.
A large number of militants were killed in Samarra.
