Slutspel i Irak? ISIS och allierade erövrar Mosul

The Information Minister in the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) was reportedly killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on the group’s headquarters in Iraq’s Ramadi, west of Anbar, officials reported on Tuesday.

“Salam Ismail Najm, who was serving as Minister of Information of Daesh (ISIS), was killed along with other armed escorts in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition forces in the district of Heet, west of Ramadi,” Ibrahim al-Fahdawi, head of the security committee in the district of Khalidiya north-east of Ramadi, said in a press statement.

• Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.
• Near Kisik, six strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL weapons caches, 12 ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
• Near Mosul, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache and two ISIL fighting positions.
• Near Ramadi, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles, an ISIL tunnel, seven ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL- controlled bridge, an ISIL vehicle borne explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL bed down location, an ISIL staging area, and cratered two ISIL roads.
• Near Sinjar, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL tactical vehicle, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

Impatient U.S. presses Iraqi army to get on with offensive to retake Ramadi
In a new show of impatience, the U.S.-led coalition combating the Islamic State pressed Iraq’s armed forces on Thursday to launch a final assault to recapture the key city of Ramadi, a campaign entering its sixth month with only limited progress .

“It's time for the Iraqis to…make this final move,” said Col. Steve Warren, the coalition military spokesman in Iraq.

The remarks reflect a change in the Pentagon's view of the pace of the offensive. Pentagon officials had earlier said the offensive had not stalled and emphasized the complexity of the battle. But now that the Pentagon has provided the assistance Iraq's armed forces had requested to retake the city, it is stepping up pressure on Iraq to move ahead against the militants holed up in the city, 80 miles west of Baghdad.

Warren said the coalition has provided enough air power, training and other support to launch a successful offensive against the heavily outnumbered Islamic State fighters, who seized the city in May. “All the pieces are in place,” Warren said.

-- Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL buildings.

-- Near Bayji, one strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle.

-- Near Kisik, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL bunker, and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache and three ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL command and control facility, 15 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL buildings, five ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL recoilless rifle, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL IED facility, an ISIL resupply warehouse, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL checkpoint.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas.