18 July 2014

In Ramadi, intermittent clashes have taken place in the southern sector snd the countryside areas outside the city along the banks of the Euphrates. Within the city similar clashes have taken place in the western parts of the city adjacent to the Anbar Operations Command and the 8th Brigade HQ. At this time we do not yet have casualty figures for any of the clashes. A number of gunmen have been reported killed in the southern sector in military operations, according to security and political sources at the Anbar Council.

In Fallujah, there have been attacks on the northern sector of the city and along the main Baghdad-Fallujah highway in a coordinated operation between Fallujah and Al-Garma, according to Defense Ministry sources. A number of residential districts in the city have been shelled, including Al-Sichir to the north and Al-Nu'aimiya to the south. The casualty count between last night and noon today shows that 17 residents have been killed and 39 others wounded, the highest count for more than a week. In one incident all 6 members of one family were killed by the shelling.

The main towns in western Ramadi are still under the gunmen's control and it is they who are running the day-to-day situation in those areas.

The negative reaction of many Anbaris to the election of Saleem Al-Juburi as Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament is similar to that when Usama Al-Nujaifi was elected as Speaker and Saleh Al-Mutlag as Deputy Prime Minister in the past. As they all belong to the same class and the same sect of those who live in Anbar.