ISIS Claims Attack That US Denies Launching; 73 Killed in Iraq

The United States denied staging an airstrike against an Iraqi Shi’ite militia group that left at least 40 killed and about 80 wounded near the Syrian border. Yesterday, the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia accused the U.S. of launching an airstrike against them in Okashat, near the al-Waleed (known as al-Tanf in Syria) border crossing. Even before the U.S. denial, Islamic State militants had already claimed responsibility. According to some reports, the Iraqi militia group was across the border in Syrian territory.

The United Nations is expecting another wave of refugees from upcoming operations in Tal Afar, Hawija, and in Anbar province. About 3.3 million Iraqis are currently displaced from their homes. Many have already returned to their homes in Mosul, but some neighborhoods, particularly in the west, were completely destroyed.

The Central Criminal Court sentenced 27 people to death for their roles in the Camp Speicher massacre.

At least 73 were killed and 87 were wounded in recent violence:

One militiaman was killed and five were wounded in a double bombing in Jurf al-Nasr (Jurf al-Sakhar).

In Taji, gunmen killed a shopowner.

Two civilians were wounded in a blast in Radwaniya.

Artillery strikes on Beshmata, near Tal Afar, killed 17 militants.

In Riyadh, an airstrike killed six militants, including the “one-eyed emir.”

Four militants were killed in a strike on Hawija, including a security chief.

Three militants were killed trying to flee Tal Afar.

Security forces killed a militant in Shirqat.

Author: Margaret Griffis

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