At least 31 people were killed and 28 more were wounded. The low numbers, however, are deceptive. The Iraqi military also reported dozens of militant deaths across the country but gave no solid numbers.
Politics:
Germany has decided to supply the Kurds with arms. Although Germany bars itself from sending arms to conflict zones, it can make exceptions if its security interests are at risk. The Germans will start out by sending non-lethal equipment. Italy and Albania also announced their plans to provide arms.
Iran has already been providing advice the Kurds, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Marzieh Afkham. This development is interesting because Iran has been battling its own Kurdish rebels. However, the threat of the Islamic State defeating the Kurds and Iraq is likely behind this change in attitude. At the southernmost tip of the Kurdish region in Diyala province, the Islamic State is drawing uncomfortably close to the Iranian border.
A plane loaded with 100 tons of refugee supplies brought in by the United Nations arrived in Arbil today. Several more flights are planned. About 200,00 people displaced from Sinjar by the Islamic State are in immediate need of help, but hundreds of thousands more people also require help.
The F.B.I. has notified the family of James Foley that they believe a video of him released by the Islamic State is authentic. Foley was a journalist working in Syria when he was kidnapped by ISIS in 2012. He was executed in the video. Another journalist, Steven Sotloff also appears in the video but may still be alive. ISIS says they execute him if the U.S. does not leave Iraq. The U.S. military had conducted a rescue mission earlier this year, but the hostages were no longer at the location when forces arrived. Also, the militants had set a multi-million dollar ransom for Foley, but the government refused to pay it.
Kurdish politicians who had boycotted the federal government after outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused the Kurds of harboring jihadists are back in Baghdad. It is unclear if the prime minister designate will be easier to work with, but Maliki made his distaste of their return known. He said that people who don’t believe in Iraqi unity should not be part of the new government. The Kurds are seeking their independence from Iraq.
Fighting:
Two bombs in downtown Kirkuk killed two people, one a civilian, and wounded nine more.
In Baghdad, a bomb at a restaurant on Palestine St. left one civilian dead and five more wounded.
Gunmen killed one person and wounded five more during a drive-by in Jbela.
In Mahmoudiya, a bomb left one dead and five wounded.
In Muqdadiya, a mortar strike killed one person and wounded three others, including a child. Three militants were killed in a clash.
A sticky bomb wounded a policeman in Tarmiya.
In Barwana, 21 militants were killed in an airstrike.
In Ain Zala, dozens of militants were killed in an airstrike.
Clashes took place in Abu Ghraib.
Many militants were killed in Adhaim.
In Tikrit, airstrikes killed many militants.
Militants had to withdraw from Saheilah due to heavy losses.
Airstrikes in Haditha and Amiriyat al-Falluja inflicted heavy losses on militants. Strikes also took place in Rawa.
