Yazidis Dying of Thirst at Refuge; 415 Killed Across Iraq

Battles and airstrikes killed most of the 415 dead today. Few civilians were killed in fighting; however, at least 40 people from Sinjar have died from thirst or starvation while awaiting help. At least 178 were wounded.

In Sinjar, 50 militants were killed as Peshmerga forces continued their operation to retake the city. Yazidis have formed their own militia groups to protect refugees in the Sinjar Mountains. Qassim Shashou, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) senior official claimed they have killed scores of militants. Iraqi military forces claimed to have killed 200 militants and wounded 150 more in air strikes.

Also, 40 children and elderly people have died due to conditions in the refugee camps, where there is little food and water.

Mortars in Tal Kief (Tel Keppe) killed one civilian and wounded six more as militants tried to take the predominantly Christian town. At least one more person was killed. More than 2,000 people have fled their homes. Peshmerga are already on the scene. Three small villages near the city are under Peshmerga control.

An operation in Halabsa left 23 militants dead.

In Mosul, airstrikes killed six militants, including a prominent leader. Ten civilians were wounded in an airstrike.

Peshmerga forces retook Rabeaa.

Airstrikes on Zumer killed militants.

Fifteen militants were killed in Dhuluiya. One more was killed east in the cemetery.

In Kirkuk, a civilian was shot dead. Five people were wounded in a bombing.

Security forces repulsed a surprise attack on Hawija, killing 20 militants in the process.

Nineteen militants were killed and seven were wounded during a failed attack on Alam.

An unidentified gunman killed four militants in Shirqat.

Saddam’s tomb was damaged during battles in Ouja. His remains had already been moved to a safer location.

In Abu Ghraib, gunmen killed a lieutenant colonel and his driver.

A suicide bomber detonated his car bomb on a bridge linking Ramadi and Falluja. No word on the total number of casualties. An airstrike killed a militant official.

Air forces bombed a large convoy of vehicles near Qaim.

Thirty militants were killed in the Lakes region of northern Babel province.

Islamic State militants now control Albu Aitha after security forces fled.

Violent clashes took place in Barwana.

Author: Margaret Griffis

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