Battle Map: Iraqi Army Reaches the Baiji Oil Refinery; 6th German Suicide Bomber Killed in Iraq

The Iraqi Army has officially reached the entrance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) controlled Baiji Refinery after capturing the strategic city of Baiji yesterday afternoon. According to a military source, the Iraqi Army has engaged the ISIS fighters at the southern corridor of the Baiji Refinery, but they have yet to enter – he added that this battle will likely require Special Forces due to the number of ISIS fighters entrenched at the refinery.

Earlier today, an official from the Iraqi Government’s Ministery of Defense visited the recently captured city of Baiji and addressed the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF); he would commend them for their gallantry during the military operations inside Baiji, while also promising more victories in the coming weeks. With the city of Baiji under ISF control, the provincial capital of Tikrit will now become the primary focus due to its large ISIS presence.

A German citizen fighting with ISIS inside Iraq committed a suicide operation with 1 ton of explosives near a convoy of Abrams Tanks in northern Baiji. The German, Abu Taymiyyah Al-Almaani, committed the suicide attack with a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBEID) inside his Land Cruiser automobile; he was able to destroy 1 Abrams Tank, killing the men inside and wounding many others nearby. Abu Taymiyyah Al-Almaani becomes the 6th German suicide bomber inside Iraq since May 2014.