Iraqi Forces Make Some Progress; 139 Killed

According to the Minster of the Interior, Iraqi forces are making some progress, if slow, in the Salah ad-Din operation. At least 139 were killed and 16 more were wounded.

The Independent High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq called on the Iraqi government to launch a relief operation for the city of al-Baghdadi, where civilians are suffering from a lack of food, drinking water and medicines, as well as the hardships of living in a combat zone.

Minister of Interior Mohammed Salem al-Ghaban announced that operations in Salah al-Din are going according to plan. He also said that 97 districts and sub-districts have been liberated. No large city has yet to be retaken.

At the Adhaim Dam, Shi’ite cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Rubaei reminded Shi’ite militiamen that their fight is ideological and they must respect civilians in the war zones. Many of the security members fighting in Salah ad Din are coming from Diyala province where they are accused of committing their own crimes after removing the Islamic State militants from the province. Reports are already surfacing that the militiamen are instituting their own brand of justice in Salah ad Din.

Some analysts believe an opportunity to bring the Sunnis and Shi’ites together is being squandered.

At least 139 were killed and 16 more were wounded.

In al-Baghdadi, three people were killed, including a child, and 10 more were wounded by mortar fire. A bombing left 25 militants dead. A civilian was shot dead.

Shi’ite militiamen executed a young boy near Tikrit after accusing him of belonging to ISIS/DAESH. Another 25 militants were killed in fighting. Militants killed 11 of their own for abandoning their posts.

In Baquba, a bomb killed one person and wounded two more.

A boy died under mysterious circumstances near his home in Abu Saida.

A bomb in Zaidan killed one militiaman and wounded three more.

Security forces at a checkpoint near Falluja killed a suicide bomber; one soldier was wounded. Another two suicide bombers were killed separately.

The 600-year-old Virgin Mary Church in Tal Kief was blown up.

Heavy clashes took place at the Ajil oil field.

Peshmerga forces killed fifty militants near Sinjar.

Nine militants were killed near Ramadi.

In Baghdad, four militants were killed.

A roadside bomb killed a prominent militant, Nouri Abu Mahdi, near Dour.

Two snipers were killed in Mkeshiefa.

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.