16 October 2014

Our sources in Salahuddin have reported that ISIL gunmen yesterday blew up the home of the commander of the Ishaqi Salvation Regiment, Nu'uman Al-Mujama'ee, after deploying explosives within the house, but without causing any casualties.

ISIL gunmen also blew up a primary school south of Tikrit yesterday.

There were also fierce clashes yesterday between ISIL gunmen and local defenders along the main highway west of Samarra; there are no casualty figures yet from either side.

Similar clashes also took place in the Zalayah area south of Tikrit, in which 5 locals were wounded. In the same area, a regimental commander of the 4th Division and a number of his men were wounded in clashes with the gunmen.

A member of the 'Awakenings' was killed in clashes with ISIL gunmen north of Samarra. 

14 October 2014

There was a meeting yesterday between the Salahuddin tribal elders and the Provincial Council and a number of Salahuddin members of the Parliament. The Council called on all politicians and tribal leaders to work toward finding a way out of the crisis plaguing the province. The meeting tabled a number of demands, calling on the international coalition to work seriously toward ending the suffering of the Iraqi people, and calling on the government to shoulder its responsibilities and apologize to the Iraqi people for 'its failures in leading the country'. The tribal elders called for convening a gathering of central and southern tribal leaders and those from Salahuddin to study the issue of those missing from Camp Speicher, pointing out that the perpetrators do not represent their tribes, but rather represent the terrorist agenda. The Council also called on the government to hasten the formation of the National Guard.

The Peoples' Gathering forces clashed yesterday with ISIL gunmen in the Owaynat area south of Tikrit. There were unknown numbers of casualties on both sides.

Sources say that a car bomb was detonated near a security post in the vicinity of Samarra: 2 federal police personnel and 3 civilians were wounded by the blast. There were also clashes near Dhulu'iya that has been reported by its residents as being 80% in the gunmen's hands. Only the Jubur village has remained steadfast in the face of the ISIL forces that attempted yesterday to seize the village but were repelled by the Jubur tribal fighters and some Samarra security elements.

07 October 2014

A suicide bomber driving a Hummer yesterday targeted a "People's Army" position in the Zallaya area south of Samarra. Meanwhile Samarra itself is calm but its environs are still seen as hot zones. A people's army fighter was killed and 12 were wounded in an attack by the gunmen on another area northwest of Samarra.

News reaching us indicates that ISIL gunmen are re-taking control of the eastern and northern sectors of Dulu'iya, and they are in control of Khazraj and other areas. Operations are now underway by the army and Jubur tribesmen to regain control there.

02 October 2014

The to-and-fro clashes are continuing between security forces and ISIL gunmen. Yesterday, ISIL forces launched an attack on Iraqi security forces in the Al-Mu'tassim township south of Samarra.

In Uwaynat Village south of Tikrit, fierce clashes took place for about 5 hours. The action was so intense that our sources have been unable to provide us with details of the fighting.

The center of Samarra is calm and the situation is normal, but the town's outlying areas are still the scenes of unrest; ISIL gunmen and sleeper cells are still in the area.

Meanwhile citizens are actively getting ready to celebrate the Eid Al-Adha holiday that is about to start on Saturday, October 4.

01 October 2014

According to our sources, gunmen yesterday blew up the home of Husayn al-Shutb, a former member of the Salahuddin Province Council, in the Mu'tasim suburb of Samarra. The same area was yesterday also the scene of clashes between ISIL gunmen and government forces, both using a variety of light and heavy weapons. No casualty count is yet available for either side.

A suicide bomber has blown up the vehicle he was driving near a gathering of local fighters in the Ishaqi suburb of Balad township, south of Tikrit.

30 September 2014

Our sources in Salahuddin province have confirmed that the Samarra region is relatively calm following the re-establishment of police control over the city that had been seized by ISIL forces.

However, the Uwaynat area south of Tikrit was the scene of clashes yesterday between local resistance forces and ISIL gunmen, resulting in 2 local fighters being killed, according to sources quoting medical authorities, but there is no way to obtain casualty reports from ISIL sources who have their own medical facilities. The Duluiya area, 80% of which is under ISIL control, also saw the gunmen attempting to seize the remainder of the area which is populated by Jubur clans, but the clansmen turned back those attempts.