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Kirkuk
- ISIS (Da’esh) intensified attacks against the security forces and power towers in Kirkuk. On Wednesday. August 4th, the Ministry of Electricity announced that over a span of 48 hours, Da’esh had exploded 13 power towers that transferred electricity between Kirkuk, Mosul, and Tikrit. According to the ministry, since May, Da’esh terrorists have targeted 149 power towers. Some of the towers were targeted more than once. On Monday, August 2nd, Da’esh ambushed federal police near al Rashad sub-district, killing two police officers and wounding two others. Over the past two weeks, Da’esh attacks have been centered in sub-districts west of Kirkuk, including Rashad and Riyad. Meanwhile, security forces announced the discovery of two Da’esh tunnels near Daquq district and the arrest of several terrorists in Kirkuk city after raids.
- The Daquq Agriculture Division announced a 50% decrease in both agriculture and animal husbandry production this year due to a drought facing the region. The number of fish farms has decreased from 976 to 676.
- The Arab coalition and the Turkish-backed Iraqi Turkmen Front held a small protest in front of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) branch in Kirkuk, demanding the government to annul the recent changes in the leadership of the IHEC. Both sides also accused the IHEC of canceling the revocation of 50,000 voting cards. The head of the IHEC, Loay Kakaie’s rejected the accusation and said only 1,000 cards had been canceled due to duplicity. Kakaie also said the changes in the IHEC came from Baghdad, and they have no power over those decisions. The election fever is rising in Kirkuk and across the country as the snap parliamentary election is set to hold on October 10, 2021.
- According to Iraq’s Oil MInistry, 3,012,435 barrels of oil have been exported from Kirkuk to Cihan port in July, grossing 212,674,410 USD. The Ministry traded a barrel of crude to 70.599 USD. Kirkuk province has five major oil fields: Bai Hassan, Avana, Qoy Tapa, Jambour, and Khabaza.
- The demand for vaccinations has significantly increased after the Covid cases spread reached high levels and the government’s new mandatory vaccination policy. The Health Department announced the increase of the vaccination rate from 300 per day to 600.
- On Tuesday, August 3, dozens of people in the Pirde (Alton Kopry) sub-district held a protest for a shortage of electricity supply. The town receives only tens of hours of electricity a day, raising anger among the people. People across the province suffer from electricity shortages, and many anti-government protests have occurred in recent months.
- General Tala’at Abulkhaleq, the Representative of Interior and Peshmerga Ministries in the Joint Operating Command, told Rudaw that two Peshmerga divisions will return to the disputed territories. Tala’at announced that the US-led coalition trains the two Peshmerga divisions, and their return to the disputed territories comes in coordination with the Iraqi forces. Since the removal of the Peshmerga forces by Baghdad on October 16, 2017, the security of the disputed territories has deteriorated dramatically, mainly due to Da’esh reemergence and the deployment of Iranian-backed militias.
- According to a source, the Integrity Commission has 183 corruption cases on nearly 300 million dollars against Kirkuk’s administration, mainly construction projects and aid for displaced people. The source said that due to political pressure from Baghdad, most of the corruption cases are passed in the middle of proceedings. Previously, the Integrity Commission issued an arrest warrant against Kirkuk’s acting governor on corruption charges but was released on bail.
Khanaqin
- On Monday, August 2nd, Da’esh terrorists launched an attack against Iraq’s fifth army brigade between Jalawla and Khanaqin. The attack resulted in the death of four army members and the injury of one. Further, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced the killing of a Da’esh leader named Abu Saad al Sameen near Hamrin mountains during a raid.
- Due to Da’esh attacks on power towers, Jalawla, Sadia, and Qara Tapah remain without electricity for over a week. The Khanaqin administration accused the Electricity Ministry of negligence in fixing the towers and restoring power to several towns.
- On Wednesday, August 4th, three Shia Iranian-backed political parties held a protest in front of the Khanaqin mayor’s office against the return of the Peshmerga forces to the region. The small gathering was organized after a Kurdish security official announced the return of the Peshmerga forces in coordination with Baghdad.
- The security forces in Khanaqin arrested five civilian activists after a complaint by a police officer alleged the activists attacked him during an anti Government protest. The organizer of the protest called for the immediate release of the activists denying the allegation. Khanaqin faced weekly protests due to a shortage of water and electricity.
Shingal (Sinjar)
- Due to the deterioration of the security situation and lack of primary services, 237 Yazidi families left Shingal again and returned to displaced camps. According to the Joint Crisis Coordination Center in Shigal, the number of families leaving the town is increasing. Since the Yazidi Genocide in 2014, 45,000 Yazidis remain displaced in the Kurdistan region, and 3,000 remain missing by Da’esh terrorists.
- On the seventh anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, locals in Snuny town unveiled the Mother Guli (Daya Guli) statue in a ceremony attended by several Yazidis survivors of the genocide. The statue portrays a Yazidi mother who defended the town during the Da’esh invasion using a light gun to face several terrorists. Daya Gula killed an American Da’esh member and injured several more before being caught and executed in front of her children.
- On the seventh anniversary of the Da’esh genocide against Iraq’s Yazidis, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called for the implementation of the Sinjar agreement between Baghdad and Erbil. Kurdish officials have also demanded implementing the agreement, which would station Peshmerga and Iraqi forces outside Sinjar, task local police forces with security inside the town limits, and evict all other forces and militias from the area. Meanwhile, the fate of 3000 Yazidis, primarily women, remains unknown.
Tuz Khurmatu
- During a Da’esh attack on Iranian-backed militias (Hashad), two militants were killed, and one was injured near the Zarga area of Tuz Khurmatu. Initially, a militant lost his life in the clashes, but a second one died from an IED explosion when militias attempted to evict the wounded.