June 12: ISIS and other armed groups in Fallujah reopened the three entrances of Maftul, in northern Fallujah, Falahat, west of Fallujah, and Amriyat south of Fallujah. ISIS took down barriers surrounding the Maftul entrance and published images to send the message that it is ‘freeing people’ from a blockade. ISIS is also now in control of the Yabani [Japanese] Bridge. The ISF had earlier withdrawn from these areas. Significance: The Bridge will be an important tactical objective in a broader movement to the southern Baghdad belt; ISIS now controls the whole area. ISIS removing barricades from a bridge in Fallujah June 12: The Secretary General of the Ministry of Peshmerga, Jabbar al-Yawar, announced that “Kirkuk is entirely under the control of Peshmerga,” and that there is no Iraqi army presence in the city. Later in the day, the media advisor to the Kurdistan Parliament, Tariq Jawhar, stated that the next parliament meeting will focus on “Kurdish areas outside the administration of the Kurdistan Region.” Also, an explosive device targeted the convoy of the Minister of Peshmerga, Jaafar Sheikh Mostafa, as he traveled southwest of Kirkuk. The Minister escaped unharmed. Mostafa later stated that Peshmerga forces took control of Tal al-Ward, Kirkuk province from ISIS. The source added that the Tal al-Ward area contains the headquarters to the IA’s 47th brigade of the 12th division. Significance: Kirkuk is the big prize for the Kurdish regional government, but the Peshmerga are also conducting operations beyond the borders of Kirkuk city in order to recover the equipment that the Iraqi Army left behind, consolidate their gains.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 00:46:55 +0000