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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

ISIS overruns Iraqi Army brigade headquarters




(Long War Journal)  -  The Islamic State overran the headquarters of an Iraqi Army brigade stationed in the Thar Thar area northwest of Baghdad late last week. Scores of Iraqi soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured, according to reports from Iraq and images released by the jihadist group.

The Islamic State released photos showing its attack on the Iraqi Army’s Brigade 26 headquarters in the Thar Thar area, which is also north of Fallujah. The photos bear the title of Wilayat Shamal Baghdad (North Baghdad), the jihadist group’s declared administrative division which includes areas immediately north of Baghdad and as far north as Samarra in Salahadin province. The release of photos from Wilayat Shamal Baghdad and not Wilayat Anbar more than likely represents operational overlap.

The photographs, which were publicized on March 13, show Islamic State fighters entering the headquarters of Brigade 26. Several photos display severely damaged or burning Humvees, while a number of other vehicles appear to have been abandoned by Iraqi Army personnel. The last photo in the set shows what appears to be more than a dozen Iraqi soldiers taken captive by the jihadist group.
According to Al Jazeera, the Islamic State launched four attacks on the headquarters which left at least 30 Iraqi Army personnel dead and forty wounded.

Thar Thar is a strategic area for both the Iraqi military and the Islamic State. Control of the region allows the Islamic State to move forces and supplies between eastern Anbar province and southern Salahaddin province. Additionally, the jihadist group has used the Thar Thar area to launch attacks against against Iraqi Security Forces and Shiite militias as they travel between Baghdad and Samarra, as well as the towns of Taji, Shabab, Dujail, Ishaqi, and Balad. The road between Baghdad and Samarra has been a battleground in the past, and the Iraqi military and Iranian-back militias currently claim to control it.

The attacks in Thar Thar took place as the Islamic State also launched two suicide attacks to the west, in Anbar’s provincial capital of Ramadi.

Read More . . . .

Iraqi Security Forces personnel taken captive by the
Islamic State at Brigade 26’s headquarters

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