Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited a relatively safe zone in the recently recovered city of Ramadi, where he promised to move the fighting against the Islamic State to the northern city of Mosul. However, there are reports that he was evacuated due to rocket fire. Meanwhile, Anbar’s governor, Suhaib al-Rawi, said over a thousand militants were killed during the battle for Ramadi. The true tallies of the fighting may never be publicly known.
Whether the same tactics used in Ramadi will work in Mosul is unknown. Because Anbar is a Sunni Arab province neither Shi’ite nor Kurdish militiamen were brought in as support for the Iraqi Army. It is unlikely that either group will bow out of the fight for Mosul, though, as Kurds and Shi’ite Arabs have conflicting claims on the city.
At least 92 were killed and 35 were wounded:
Monday’s attack on Ba’Shiqah produced more casualties that previously reported. Earlier reports suggested only five Turkish soldiers were wounded. It appears that three more were wounded, bringing the total to eight injured. Thirteen militiamen were also killed and 16 were wounded.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed two civilians in separate locations. A bomb in Shabb killed one person and wounded eight others. One person was killed and eight were wounded during a blast in Suwaib.
Twenty villagers were executed for cooperating with Peshmerga forces near Mosul. Two female teachers were executed for refusing to teach Daesh lessons. Six officers were executed after they tried to escape the militants.
In Akashat, 20 militant leaders were killed in a strike.
At least 10 militants were killed in fresh airstrikes in the Ramadi suburbs.
Nine militants leaders were killed in a strike on Baaj.
In the Makhoul Mountains, four militants were killed in a strike.
Three militants were killed in an airstrike in Jazira.
Security forces killed a suicide bomber in Albu Aitha.
Airstrikes also took place in Mosul and nearby Falluja.
