Iraq’s Sinjar Dist May Forever Be Changed As Few Yazidis Have Returned

(Wikipedia)

There have recently been two humanitarian reports on the situation in Ninewa’s Sinjar district. One looked at a subdistrict and found a severe lack of rebuilding. The second noted that the increase in Turkish air strikes on the area was another detriment to people returning. It found that only 30% of Yazidis have returned as a result.

People Slowly Returning To Sinjar

(Wikipedia)

This summer there has been a steady flow of people returning to the Sinjar district of Ninewa. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) the premier group working with Iraq’s displace (IDPs) reported 12,920 people went back to western Ninewa from June to July 2020. 92% of those went to Sinjar. There was no breakdown of the ethnicity of the IDPs but many were likely Yazidis who fled when the Islamic State captured the area.

International Organization for Migration Warns Fewer Displaced Returning In Iraq

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) the main group working with the Iraqi government and United Nations on displacement found that the number of returns has slowed in 2018.

Displacement Situation in Sinjar And What It Means For Rest Of Iraq

As of the end of May 2018 over 3.8 million Iraqis had returned home, while another 2 million remained displaced. Around 90% of those still without their homes said they want to go back. There are a number of issues that are making that difficult. The Sinjar district in western Ninewa is a perfect example. Many Yazidis have returned, but the southern half of the district still has unexploded ordinance, there are no jobs, and the majority of Arabs are afraid to go back.

Post Mosul Liberation Day 14 Jul 24 2017

No fighting has been reported in Mosul for the last few days but the Islamic State’s cells are still active. A car bomb went off in the western neighborhood of Bab al-Sinjar that left four dead and three wounded. These types of terrorist attacks will be the security challenge in the city for the coming weeks and months as IS attempts to scare the public and show that it is still active.

Sinjar Dispute Between The Hashd and Kurdistan Democratic Party Interview With Journalist Wladimir van Wilgenburg

(Wikipedia)

Sinjar in west Ninewa has become a flashpoint between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Hashd (PMU) and Yazidis after the Hashd liberated the remaining villages in the district from the Islamic State starting at the end of May 2017. The KDP immediately condemned the Hashd’s presence leading to a war of words between the two. Journalist Wladimir van Wilgenburg recently travelled to the district. Here is an interview about what he saw. He can be followed on Twitter @vvanwilgenburg.

Mosul Campaign Day 237 Jun 10 2017

After freeing Zinjali yesterday the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) were moving onto the Shifa neighborhood. Shifa is in central Mosul along the Tigris River. The ISF attacked the area at the start of the new offensive at the end of May seizing several hospitals, but that was a trap set by the Islamic State, which then drove the Iraqi forces out. An army brigade claimed it penetrated 50 meters into Shifa. The ISF are also trying to take Bab al-Sinjar, which is one of the entrances to the Old City district. Shifa and the Old City are the last two parts of the city that the insurgents hold.

Mosul Campaign Day 236 Jun 9 2017

Destruction wrought by fighting in Zinjali, West Mosul (AFP)

The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) freed the second neighborhood in their final push on Mosul. The Federal Police announced that Zinjali was finally liberated. The ISF were also moving on Shifa where there has been no real progress so far. With this victory, there is just Shifa and the large Old Mosul district left under Islamic State control. At the start of the new offensive the ISF made a push into the Shifa medical district, but got ambushed by IS and were forced out. The Old City has held up the police for four months nw.

Mosul Campaign Day 234 Jun 7, 2017

The heaviest fighting was still in Zinjali in west Mosul. The Iraqi forces gave different figures throughout the day on how much of the neighborhood they held. That ranged from a source that had it at 80%, the Federal Police commander General Raed Shakir Jawadat who had 85%, the Joint Operations Command who claimed 90%, and a Federal Police major who put it at 95%. The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have had problems with their numbers for this area for the last several days. Whatever the percentage was it appeared the ISF were on the verge of liberating it. The Iraqis were still pushing into Shifa as well as Bab al-Sinjar one of the entrances to the Old City district. Since the last push on Mosul began one neighborhood has been freed, and the remaining three are all under attack. Progress has been slow with the Islamic State putting up a tough defense.

Mosul Campaign Day 230 Jun 3 2017

Iraqi propaganda was again obfuscating the situation in west Mosul. First, each day the government releases a map of west Mosul showing the disposition of the opposing forces. Yesterday the Saha 1 neighborhood was freed. On the map, it had been colored in liberated for several days beforehand. Second, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) continued to give different figures on its progress in Zinjali. On June 2 two sources claimed 40% or 60% of the area was taken from the insurgents. June 3 the Federal Police said that 40-50% was cleared beforehand, and an additional 25% was liberated. Another source claimed that 85% of Zinjali was under government control. The commander of the Federal Police General Read Shakir Jawadat told the press that his forces were 800 meters into the neighborhood. Whatever the real percentage is reinforcements arrived to help with the fighting. The conflicting statements have been a trademark of official releases by the ISF. They must report progress every day to support the propaganda effort, and there is little coordination leading to different stories at any given time.

Mosul Campaign Day 227 May 31 2017

Zinjali on the left is where the biggest but still limited advance has been made so far in the final attack upon Mosul. In the top right there was penetration into Saha as well. (Ninewa Media Cell)

The final fight for Mosul continued to be a difficult one. Reuters reported that the Islamic State closed off the streets around the Grand Mosque in the Old City district. The insurgents have also been moving people out of Zinjali and into the Old City to try to prevent them from escaping. There were no advances reported. When the latest operation started Iraqi officials and the security forces were overly optimistic as usual. Zinjali, Shifa and Saha were predicted to fall by June 1, and the whole city in just a matter of days. With only limited results in four days it is hard to believe that either of those deadlines are going to be met.

Mosul Campaign Day 99, Jan 23, 2017

The big news of the day was the Defense Ministry claiming that all of east Mosul was liberated when it wasn’t. The Ministry made the announcement at the start of the day, but was quickly corrected by the forces on the ground, and the Joint Operations Command. General Yahya Rasool pointed out that the Rashidiya district in the northeast was still being attacked by the 9^th and 16 Divisions, while the Joint Operations Command told the media that it was the only body authorized to declare areas of the city under government control. The Defense Ministry had to acknowledged that it was mistaken. This happens all the time in Iraq as over anxious officers or competition between units and commands lead to premature declarations. That was why many of the neighborhoods in Mosul were said to have been taken multiple times. The Iraqi government has been pushing a victory narrative for the last three years, and it often times gets out of hand.

The Islamic State was continuing with its sabotage campaign and preparing its defenses. It blew up a power substation in Rashidiya that provided not only electricity for homes but also for a water treatment facility. In the west it was erecting barriers on the sections of the destroyed bridges across the Tigris in case the Iraqi Forces (ISF) attempted to use them. It was also occupying homes along the river to use them as firing positions. At the same time a Ninewa provincial councilman told the press that IS leaders were fleeing towards Syria. No one can tell how the fight for west Mosul will go. IS defenses collapsed in the east, but there’s no telling whether that will carry over to the east.

IS has used religious and public facilities as bases for years now. Mosul was no different as the ISF found that the Grand Mosque was used to build IEDs and car bombs, as well as fly drones out of. Earlier the Salam Hospital, which initially was believed to still be a health facility, turned out to be a major command and control center for the insurgents.

On the positive side life continued to return to sections of Mosul. 70 public schools and one private one re-opened. The government was trying to restart the food ration system within the city, and clean water was restored to three neighborhoods. Students at Mosul University showed up for a small demonstration demanding that their school be rebuilt. IS burned and destroyed large sections of the campus leaving it a wreck. Approximately 4,000 displaced returned to the city according to the Displacement Ministry. Almost as soon as an area is taken people start to come out into the streets, clean up, or head back to their homes. It’s good to see that the authorities are starting to move into the city as well. That will all help to win the loyalty of the populace to the Ninewa council and Baghdad, which was a major goal.

The ISF is putting together its plans for west Mosul. Commanders are talking about a quick turn around from the liberation of the east to assaulting the west. Engineers are building pontoon bridges provided by the United States to cross the Tigris. Iraqi planes started air strikes on the west as well. There is still going to be a pause as the various units need to re-supply and re-fit before they take on the second half of the city, but Iraqis want that to happen as rapidly as possible.

National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayad said that there was nothing stopping the Hashd from taking Tal Afar to the west of Mosul. Turkey continuously complained about that happening when the operation started claiming that the units would commit abuses. Baghdad and Ankara reportedly signed an agreement to keep the Hashd out as a result. The ISF however are making no move to take the town as the original battle plan collapsed. A decision may have been made to just allow the Hashd to attack the village as a result, but that’s yet to be seen.

A story is circulating that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in an Iraqi air strike in the Baaj district by Tal Afar. This is the third time however that Iraqi sources have aired this story, and there is no way to confirm it.

The United States has stepped up its support for the ISF in the second phase of the Mosul campaign, but they are not the only member of the coalition. France 24 had another piece on French Special Forces operating inside Mosul. They are probably playing the same role as their American counterparts providing intelligence, air strikes, targeting for artillery, and advice to the Iraqi military.

The mayor of Sinjar Mahma Khalil called on the Iraqi forces to rescue Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State and taken to Mosul. He had information that up to 1,200 Yazidis were within the city and wanted the military to conduct targeted raids to free them. The Yazidi population was devastated when the Islamic State swept into their villages in 2014. The women and girls were separated from their families and sold off as slaves or forced into marriage with IS fighters. Many of them are still probably in Mosul, with others taken to Syria.

Prime Minister Haidar Abadi announced an investigation would be launched into reports that the ISF and Hashd have kidnapped and abused civilians. There was also a video of three unarmed IS members being executed, which the United Nations demanded be looked into. Baghdad has launched dozens of these probes, but they are for public consumption only as nothing ever comes of them. Transparency is not a strength of the Iraqi government, and it does not want to do anything that might jeopardize morale and question its fight against the insurgents.

The Ninewa Plains were one of the historic homelands of Iraq’s Christian community. Much of it has been liberated recently, but the towns have mostly been destroyed. Al Jazeera talked with an Assyrian family that went back to Qaraqosh east of Mosul. It was devastated and there were still plenty of IEDs, leading the family to say that they were afraid to stay there. That’s the reason why many of these Christian villages remain uninhabited.

Finally, an Iraqi parliamentarian told New Sabah that former governor Atheel Nujafi and ex-Finance Minister Rafi Issawi wanted to convert Ninewa into a federal region after it is freed. MP Abdul Rahim al-Shammari claimed this plan had the backing of Turkey. Nujafi has little support left in the province, and is widely unpopular outside of it. An arrest warrant was even issued for his ties with Turkey back in October, but it was never acted upon. He is hoping that the Mosul operation will restore him to power, but he will have to compete with the current Ninewa government along with Prime Minister Abadi neither of which have any intention of bringing Nujafi back.

SOURCES

Adel, Loaa, “Nineveh Council’s member: Dozens of IS leaders flee toward Syria,” Iraqi News, 1/23/17

AIN, “Joint Operations: Continued liberation of left coast of Mosul,” 1/23/17

Baruch, Uzi, “ISIS leader ‘critically’ wounded in Iraq air strikes,” Arutz Sheva, 1/23/17

CBS News, “U.S.-backed forces brace for ISIS’ last stand in Iraq,” 1/23/17

Chmaytelli, Maher and Hameed, Saif, “Iraqi forces take complete control of east Mosul,” Reuters, 1/23/17

eKurd, “Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief – January 23, 2017,” 1/23/17

Al Forat, “Fayad: No objection to the entry of the popular crowd into Tal Afar,” 1/23/17

France 24, “Iraq: Embedded with French special forces in Mosul,” 1/23/17

Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: Jan. 23, 2017,” 1/23/17

Al Jazeera, “Iraq army denies taking east Mosul from ISIL,” 1/23/17

Kurdistan24, “VIDEO: Is turned Mosul’s Great Mosque into bomb, VBIED factory,” 1/22/17

Al Maalomah, ‘Freed the northern part of Rashidiya in the left bank of Mosul,” 1/23/17

Al Mada, “Judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Atheel Nujafi on charges of communicating with a foreign country,” 10/20/16

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Iraq PM orders investigation into abuses reported in Mosul battle,” Iraqi News, 1/23/17

- "Iraqi forces storm last Islamic State location in eastern Mosul," Iraqi News, 1/23/17

- “More than 4000 displaced families return to eastern Mosul Monday,” Iraqi News, 1/23/17

- “Northern Mosul district recapture from IS, makeshift bridges erected for west battles,” Iraqi News, 1/23/17

New Sabah, “Daesh destroyed infrastructure in Mosul,” 1/24/17

- “Defectors from Mutahidun: Najafi al-Issawi and repackaging the Sunni region project,” 1/23/17

- “Engineers proceed to erect bridges over the Tigris River in preparation for the start of freeing the right bank,” 1/23/17

- “Joint Operations: surprise plans to liberate Mosul,” 1/23/17

Al Sumaria, “Joint Operations Command Contradicts Defense Ministry: liberation of left coast of Mosul still on going,” 1/23/17

Thomas, Claire, “Iraqi Christians return to ISIL’s wreckage,” Al Jazeera, 1/23/17

Security In Iraq, Mar 15-21, 2016

Security in Iraq remained relatively stable during the third week of March. Attacks were down from the previous two weeks, but casualties were relatively the same. Major fighting continued in Anbar, while protests in Baghdad led to a dip in attacks there. The Islamic State continued to probe the Kurdish lines in Kirkuk and Ninewa, while things were stalemated in Salahaddin.

Attacks have gone down each week of March. After a high of 183 incidents the first week, they decreased to 168 the second week, and then 130 the third. As usual Baghdad led the nation with 58, then there were 20 in Anbar, 14 in Kirkuk, 12 in Ninewa, 10 in Salahaddin, 8 in Diyala, 7 in Babil, and one in Kurdistan.

Those attacks led to 349 killed and 409 wounded. The dead broke down to 1 U.S. Soldier, 2 Turkish soldiers, 2 Hashd al-Shaabi, 3 Peshmerga, 5 Najafi Hashd, 34 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 45 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, 84 Sahwa, and 173 civilians. The wounded were made up of 4 Najafi Hashd, 6 Hashd, 8 U.S. soldiers, 20 Peshmerga, 27 ISF, 57 Sahwa, and 287 civilians.

By province there were 118 dead in Anbar, 84 in Ninewa, 66 in Baghdad, 45 in Kurdistan, 17 in Salahaddin, 8 in Kirkuk, 6 in Babil, and 5 in Diyala.

Anbar remained the focus of the Iraqi forces. A new operation was launched this month in the Hit district. That caused approximately 10,000 people to flee the area. Mohammadi was attacked on March 16, and then cleared the next day. Hit itself was then surrounded, several neighborhoods were said to be cleared, and then Kubaisa, which is to the West was declared freed as well. Then the military told the press that no advances had been made into Hit, and that Kubaisa was still under IS control. By the end of the week the offensive was actually called off. The official cause was to allow civilians to evacuate the area, but then Agence France Presse reported that the protests in Baghdad actually led to troops being re-deployed from Hit back to the capital.

There were government operations in other parts of Anbar as well. Albu Obeid in the Ramadi district and two towns in the Garma district were cleared, the effort to free Albu Shijil outside Fallujah was on going, and a new sweep through Khalidiya Island was made. The government also announced that 100 ISF and Sahwa had died removing IEDs from the Ramadi area, and another 50 had been wounded.

The Islamic State responded with 17 attacks throughout Anbar. That included three car bombs. The Iraqi forces claimed they destroyed another 28 car bombs and killed 27 suicide bombers, but that was a huge exaggeration. For instance, on February 21 IS claimed it hit a checkpoint in Baghdadi with four suicide car bombs (SVBIEDs) and an infantry assault. The Iraqi press had the four SVBIEDs in the earliest reports, but as the day went on the numbers went up and up. The car bombs went from four to five and then eight, and then 3 dead suicide bombers were added to the mix, which eventually went to 25 by the day was done. This happens all the time as the security forces and Hashd exaggerate their victories in their propaganda war against IS.

There was a rare downturn in violence in Baghdad during the week. The apparent cause was the protests in Baghdad, which Moqtada al-Sadr called. The added security disrupted IS operations leading to only 58 total incidents from March 15-21 compared to 72 the week before and 80 the first week of March. As usual the south with 21 incidents was the most dangerous part of the province. That included 16 IEDs, 2 sticky bombs, and mortar fire.

Violence in Baghdad, Mar 15-21, 2016

Center: 3 – 1 Robbery, 1 Stabbing/Robbery, 1 Shooting

East: 9 – 2 Sticky Bombs, 3 IEDs, 4 Shootings

Outer East: 1 – 1 Sticky Bomb

North: 6 – 1 Grenade, 1 Robbery, 1 Shooting, 3 IEDs

Outer North: 8 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Shooting, 6 IEDs

South: 11 – 1 Robbery, 1 Shooting, 2 Sticky Bombs, 7 IEDs

Outer South: 10 – 1 Mortar, 9 IEDs

West: 6 – 1 Robbery, 1 Shooting, 2 Sticky Bombs, 2 IEDs

Outer West: 4 – 4 IEDs

IS launched 13 attacks in Kirkuk. That included another chemical rockets attack upon Taza that killed one. There were also a wave of infantry attacks upon the Peshmerga and Hashd that included two car bombs and 11 suicide bombers that were killed. 3 Peshmega were killed and 20 wounded along with 3 Hashd.

As terrorist attacks have picked up in Turkey, Ankara has increased its air attacks upon northern Kurdistan. In one such raid the Turks claimed they killed 45 PKK fighters.

As preparations for the Mosul operation have ramped up, IS has tried to disrupt them. It sent three suicide bombers against the 15^th Division base at Makhmour, which wounded four soldiers. It launched rockets at a firebase that the U.S. set up in Makhmour that killed one U.S. soldier and wounded 8 more, and then attacked it with suicide bombers a few days later. Mortars hit the Zilkan camp where Turkey is helping former Governor Atheel Nujafi train fighters, which killed 2 Turks, 5 volunteers, and wounded 4 others.

There was other violence in Ninewa. A new mass grave of Yazidis killed by IS was also discovered with 70 bodies in it. There were reports that 90 Yaizdi homes were blown up in the Sinjar district, and 120 homes belonging to members of the security forces and relatives were destroyed by the militants in Qayara. A U.S. air strike was blamed for killing 10 civilians and wounding 13 in Mosul.

In Salahaddin things have not changed since Baiji and its refinery were freed. There is still fighting in that district, along with the Alas and Ajeel oil fields, and the Makhoul mountains. There were also three incidents in Tuz Kharmato. The Hashd were talking about clearing the entire province after Baiji fell, but their manpower has been depleted by Iran’s call for more fighters in Syria. Now no real moves have been made in the province, and things have become stalemated there.

During the week there were 40 reported car bombs, but that was an exaggeration. Three hit their targets in Anbar. 28 were said to have been destroyed in Anbar, 5 in Salahaddin, and 2 each in Kirkuk and Ninewa. The real figure was probably half that due to inflation by the Iraqi forces.

Violence In Iraq 2015-16

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
JAN	911	2,656	3,032 + 150
FEB	730	2,345	2,366
MAR	820	2,665	2,529
APR	751	2,753	2,621
MAY	674	2,565 + 1,499	1,952 + 646
JUN	708	2,153 + 405	2,174
JUL	688	2,716	3,198 + 4,024
AUG	684	2,440 + 760	1,777
SEP	649	1,731	1,668 + 3,003
OCT	589	1,144	1,555
NOV	530	1,174	1,455 + 124 + 1,322
DEC	553	1,155	1,252 + 5,920
Jan 1-7	150	808	421
Jan 8-14	140	436	417
Jan 15-21	135	275	227
Jan 22-28	132	392	322
Jan 29-31	41	81	334
JAN	598	2,052	1,721
Feb 1-7	146	575	313
Feb 8-14	119	146	323
Feb 15-21	130	225	239
Feb 22-29	153	371	690
FEB	549	1,281	1,566
Mar 1-7	183	321	478
Mar 8-14	168	404	415
Mar 15-21	130	349	409

Security By Province Mar 15-21, 2016

Province	Incidents
Anbar	20 Incidents 118 Killed: 7 Civilians, 29 ISF, 82 Sahwa 72 Wounded: 2 Hashd, 16 ISF, 54 Sahwa 9 Shootings 1 Suicide Bombers 3 Suicide Car Bombs 27 Suicide Bombers Killed 19 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 9 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	7 Incidents 6 Killed: 6 Civilians 19 Wounded: 19 Civilians 2 Shootings 4 IEDs
Baghdad	58 Incidents 66 Killed: 2 Sahwa, 5 ISF, 59 Civilians 263 Wounded: 3 Sahwa, 7 ISF, 253 Civilians 9 Shootings 34 IEDs 7 Sticky Bombs 1 Mortar 1 Grenade
Diyala	8 Incidents 5 Killed: 2 Hashd, 3 Civilians 2 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 1 Hashd 2 Shootings 1 IED 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Mortar
Kirkuk	14 Incidents 8 Killed: 3 Peshmerga, 5 Civilians 28 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 5 Civilians, 20 Peshmerga 9 Shootings 1 IED 2 Rockets 11 Suicide Bombers Killed 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
KRG	1 Incident 45 Killed: 45 PKK 1 Turkish Air Strike
Ninewa	12 Incidents 84 Killed: 1 U.S. Soldier, 2 Turkish Soldiers, 5 Najafi Hashd 24 Wounded: 4 ISF, 4 Najafi Hashd, 8 U.S. Soldiers, 8 Civilians 4 Shootings 210 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers 1 Rocket 1 Mortar 6 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	10 Incidents 17 Killed: 17 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 6 Shootings 1 Mortar 4 Suicide Bombers Killed 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 2 Car Bombs Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq Mar 1-7, 2016

Date	Car Bombs	Dead	Wounded
Mar 1	Leine, Tikrit & West of Samarra, Salahaddin Samarra Island & Shirqat, Salahaddin – 8 destroyed	4	29
Mar 2	Baghdadi & Lake Qadisiyah, Anbar – 5 destroyed Bashir, Kirkuk – 1 destroyed Samarra & Samarra Island, Salahaddin – 18 destroyed
Mar 3	Samarra Island, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed
Mar 4	Albu Abdul, Anbar – 4 destroyed Mansour, Baghdad – 1 destroyed
Mar 5
Mar 6	Hillah, Babil Albu Abad, Anbar – 1 destroyed	61	95
Mar 7	East of Ramadi, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Totals	4 – 42 Destroyed	65	124
Mar 8
Mar 9	Kirkuk-Sulaymaniya Road, Kirkuk – 1 destroyed	2	2
Mar 10	Khalis, Diyala – 1 destroyed
Mar 11	Khashim, Anbar – 1 destroyed Baiji, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Mar 12	Safiriya, Anbar – 3 destroyed
Mar 13	Makhoul & ?, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed
Mar 14	Albu Aasi, Albu Taiban & Safiriya, Anbar Albu Aasi, Aqba, Keserat & Masri, Anbar – 5 destroyed	25	20
Totals	3 – 14 Destroyed	27	22
Mar 15
Mar 16	Shuhada, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Mar 17	Fallujah, Anbar – 5 destroyed
Mar 18
Mar 19	Albu Sayah & Husseiniya, Anbar – 3 destroyed
Mar 20	Hamadiya x2, Anbar Albu Obeid, Haqlaniya, Kubaisa, south of Hit, Anbar – 8 destroyed Makhoul, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Mar 21	Albu Obeid, Anbar Albu Obeid & Baghdadi, Anbar – 11 destroyed Bashir & Taza, Kirkuk – 2 destroyed Ain Tallawi, Ninewa – 2 destroyed Baiji & Siniya, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed	8	13
Totals	3 – 37 Destroyed	8	13

SOURCES

Adel, Loaa, "Security forces kill 5 foreign suicide bombers while trying to attack Makhmur camp," Iraqi News, 3/21/16

- "Security forces liberate Kabisa vicinity south of Heet," Iraqi News, 3/19/16

- "Shiite militias foil ISIS attack on Taza, kill 20 ISIS members," Iraqi News, 3/21/16,

Agence France Presse, "Extremist attack kills six soldiers in western Iraq," 3/21/16

AIN, "Starting the process of freeing the Mohammadi area west of Ramadi," 3/16/16

- "Urgent security forces blew up three car bombs in Haqlaniya," 3/20/16

Buratha News, "The killing of 37 Daash terrorists and eight car bombs in attack on al-Baghdadi," 3/21/16

Al Forat, "Popular crowd seizes armored car bombs and destroys a third in Makhoul," 3/20/16

- "A truck bomb destroyed south of Fallujah," 3/16/16

- "Urgent detonated two Daash car bombs in the vicinity of Kubaisa Cement Plant," 3/20/16

George, Susannah, “Baghdad politics slows fight against IS in Anbar,” Associated Press, 3/22/16

Khalid, Herman, "Yazidi Mass Grave Discovered near Mosul," Bas News, 3/19/16

Kurd Press, "45 PKK militants forces in Turkish air strikes," 3/15/16

Mamoun, Abdelhak, "Security forces liberate 2 areas, kill 40 ISIS militants in eastern Fallujah," Iraqi News, 3/19/16

Al Maalomah, "Cleared Amina neighborhood and Arboretum in Hit," 3/20/16

- "Pictures international coalition bombed civilian and ignores the Daash leaders in Mosul," 3/20/16

- "Security forces clear Hit Gas Plant and kill 13 Daash western Anbar," 3/19/16

- "Thwarted suicide car bomb before hitting military units western Anbar," 3/20/16

Al Mada, "100 security forces and clan fighters killed in the process of removing IEDs in Ramadi," 3/21/16

- "Combined forces repel Daash attack," 3/21/16

- "The joint forces liberated Khalidiya island area east of Ramadi," 3/19/16

- "Killing and wounding four American soldiers in an attack on Makhoul camp," 3/20/16

- "Security forces have surrounded Hit and waiting to clear it," 3/18/16

- "The temporary stop to the operation to free Hit until civilians evacuated," 3/21/16

- "Thwarted Daash suicide attack and the death of seven members of the organization south Kirkuk," 3/21/16

Mamoun, Abdelhak, "19 ISIS militants killed in cleansing battles northeast of Ramadi axis," Iraqi News, 3/21/16

- "Security forces liberate 2 areas, kill 40 ISIS militants in eastern Fallujah," Iraqi News, 3/19/16

NINA, "/11/ elements of the national crowd and the Turkish forces killed and wounded in shelling by Daash targeted Zhelkan camp northern Mosul," 3/19/16

- "15 Daash members killed and destroyed a car bomb in Baiji and Jabber," 3/21/16

- "/48/ elements of Daash killed, and their hideouts destroyed in the outskirts of Baghdad," 3/17/16

- "Anti-terrorism device declares the killing of /50/ elements of Daash in the structures area in Fallujah," 3/17/16

- "Daash blew up /90/ Aezidein houses in an apartment complex in Sinjar, west of Mosul," 3/1616

- "Daash blew up /120/ houses belonging to police officers and staff south," 3/16/16

- "The death of a second child in Taza from wounds sustained from mustard attack," 3/17/16

- "Military Media Cell: News About Freeing Kubaysa And Part of Hit Areas incorrect," 3/21/16

- "The Office of the Governor of Anbar province declares the liberation of the military neighborhood in the Heet district," 3/19/16

- "Peshmerga Kill 11 Terrorists, Destroyed Two Car Bombs," 3/21/16

Rudaw, "Pre-dawn ISIS suicide assault wounds four Iraqi soldiers," 3/15/16

Sarhan, Amre, "Clashes erupt between Iraqi forces and ISIS elements east of al-Baghdad," Iraqi News, 3/21/16

- "Security forces repel ISIS attack on Albu Obeid east of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 3/21/16

Sotaliraq, "Army blows up two car bombs south of Hit," 3/20/16

Tilghman, Andrew, "U.S. Marines report second attack on 'Firebase Bell' in northern Iraq," Military Times, 3/21/16

Xinhua, "Security forces free village from IS militants in Iraq's Anbar," 3/17/16