The latest on Iraq, ISIS

The latest reports on Iraq and the terrorist group ISIS here on Mehr News reflects the scope of developments in Al-Maleki’s attempts to fight the terrorism.

A report in Al-Alam TV network quoted the official responsible for coordination of The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI or SIIC) who estimated the fighter members of the brigades of the Council to be 50,000 people. The official also was quoted to say that fighters would join the Iraqi army to fight ISIS (English acronym for Arabic DAESH) if necessary. Ala al-Mousavi said that these fighters responded to a religious decree mandating the preparation to fight terrorism by religious leaders.

Etelaf al-Mawatin, a website affiliated to the Council wrote also that the Council had received great number of volunteers in Baghdad and 15 other cities who joined Ashoura brigades. Amar al-Hakim had called for brigades to be established in a response to the religious decree.

Another report quoted Diala province police commander that a brave woman in village of Zeraiya in northern Bakuba had killed a member of ISIS.

Gen. Jamil al-Shemri told news website Al-Sumeria News that a member of ISIS attacked the village in 60 Km north of Bakuba. The local tribes fought him. The report said that the ISIS member was killed when he was trying to kill a woman’s husband. The brave women shot him dead.

Al-Shemri praised the woman’s brave act. On Saturday Iraqi army forces killed a relative of Saddam Hussein’s deputy Ezet al-Dowri and 5 companies. 4 other ISIS fighters and their foreign commander also reportedly were killed.

Reports also had it that extensive campaign against terrorists by Iraqi army and tribal forces in different parts of Iraq had been launched during which a number of ISIS commanders were killed in a strike on Nineveh province. The spokesman of the campaign told Al-Sumeriya News that the army air strike in Nineveh province on the hideout of Baathist and ISIS fighters killed many of them.

Iraqi minister of defense also said in Salahaddin and Nineveh, a number of other ISIS members were killed by airstrike by MI35 air fighters. Adnan al-Tamimi, the head of city council in Al-Miqdadiya was quoted to say that a joint campaign by tribal forces and police in Bulur village in east of Al-Miqdadiya killed 3 ISIS fighters. Meanwhile Sheik Sami al-Masoudi the deputy head of Iraqi Shiite Endowments Office said that ISIS had killed 12 of his personal bodyguards during a fight in southeastern Tikrit. The fight rendered also a number of ISIS members killed.

Ayatollah Sistani had called for improving of solidarity among different Iraqi ethnic groups. Al-Alam quoted Sistani saying that citizens should work to improve solidarity among them and avoid factionalism which, he believed, could jeopardize Iraq’s unity.

A report also had it that Al-Arabiya reporting team had resigned what the report believed to be ‘in objection to the network’s bias in reporting the events in Iraq.’

They reportedly accused the TV network of ‘partiality and bias’ in mirroring the news stories in Iraq.