Key Takeaway: The Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga are establishing a security zone around Jalula in northeastern Diyala, northeastern Iraq. On November 23, the Peshmerga along with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Iraqi Shi'a militias were able to regain both Jalula and Sadia, which is also in northeastern Diyala, from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The Peshmerga ar
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Key Takeaway: On November 14, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) which include Iraqi Shi'a militias were able to achieve significant advances against the Islamic State of Iraq al-Sham (ISIS) in the strategic town of Baiji in Salah ad-Din province in northern Iraq. Baiji has been under the control of ISIS since June of this year and is also h
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Crude from Bai Hassan and Avana dome, fields formerly operated by federal authorities, is now flowing by pipeline to Turkey for KRG export. ERBIL - Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is now exporting oil from fields it recently seized from federal authorities - a step that takes Kurdistan much closer to economic independence and farther away from political r
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Key Takeaway: The weekend reports of the killing or wounding of the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, have not yet been confirmed. The lack of confirmation will result in continuing speculation about Baghdadi's fate and the future strength of ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi government, with the reported backing of U.S. adviso
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By Ahmed Ali and Nichole Dicharry, Institute for the Study of War Iraq Updates (IWS) Key Takeaway: The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) which include Iraqi Shi'a militias are continuing to challenge the presence and positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the Baiji area north of Tikrit in northern Iraq. The ISF and PMUs ha
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