At least 45 people were killed and 127 more were wounded. Shi’ite "volunteers" sustained the greatest loses in several northern towns. The Kurds referred to them as being part of the old Badr Brigade. It is unclear if they actually were part of the Badr Organization or just Shi’ite volunteers from the region.
Politics:
ISIS/DAASH militants declared themselves a caliphate and renamed themselves "the Islamic State." They choose their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghadi, to become khalifah or caliph. The group had been called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or the Levant, giving them both ISIS and ISIL as acronyms). In Arabic, they were called al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām (DAASH or DAISH).
Going against U.S. preferences, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come out in support of an independent Kurdistan.
A spokesman for the Turkish Justice and Development Party said Ankara is ready to accept that Iraq is breaking up and an independent Kurdistan will form. In the past, they have said that would be a call to war but, under the present circumstances, they will accept it. The J.D.P is the ruling party.
Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri of the Iranian army and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps offered his help in the Iraq.
After assurances from Kurdish forces, thousands of Christians returned to the homes in the Hamdaniya area.
Russian advisors are in Iraq to, at the very least, help get the just-delivered warplanes into combat.
Fighting:
At least 20 Badr Brigade members were killed and 30 more were wounded during an intense battle with ISIS in Bashir. In response, ISIS militants fired mortars at Kurdish positions, killing one policeman and wounded seven Peshmergas. Peshmerga forces said the Badr Brigade had not coordinated with them and were lured into an ambush.
Twenty-seven Badr Brigade fighters went missing during an operation in Tuz Khormato. They also fought in Taza Khormato, where one of them was killed and others were wounded, and Duquq.
A roadside bomb injured seven militiamen between Tuz Khormato and Bashir.
Near Ramadi, gunmen killed Habbaniya’s police chief and three bodyguards.
Helicopters bombed a wedding party in Albu Hayazi, killing four people.
In Jalawla, clashes took place but militants were not able to expand their territory. An I.E.D. killed two Peshmerga fighters and wounded five more.
Iraqi troops pulled back in Tikrit but relaunched their efforts today. Yesterday, one of the air strikes killed two hospital workers and wounded seven more.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded seven more. One person was killed and another was wounded in a separate bombing.
A policeman was shot dead in Madaen.
Gunmen in Mansouriya wounded two policemen and a civilian.
Security forces in Iskandariya killed four militants.
An I.E.D. killed two militants in Saidiya.
In Baquba, security forces killed two militants.
