Iran-backed Cleric Among 53 Killed in Iraq

Among the 53 killed in Iraq was a Shi’ite cleric who was vehemently opposed to Kurdish territorial goals. Another 27 people were wounded.

A new “reality show” on state television forces terrorism convicts to face their victims, but it does not address the corrupt justice system. Many of the convicts may have been tortured into confessing their crimes.

The battle for Sinjar intensified. At least two Peshmerga were killed and 25 more were wounded in fighting.

The Iraqi Army was forced to pull out of the city of Baiji after losing ground to ISIS/DAASH militants. They still control Camp Speicher and the Baiji Refinery, they say. Battles are being fought along the highway that is the major supply route to the area. Seventeen militants were killed.

Mortars killed one person and wounded two more, including a child, in Muqdadiya.

An Iranian-backed militia leader was assassinated in Adhaim. Wathiq al-Battat lead the al-Mukhtar Army and was known for his opposition to Kurdish territorial claims. He threatened to fight the Kurds as he has fought against ISIS.

Gunmen killed an FPS officer in Khalis.

In Baghdad, a dumped body was found.

Eighty militants were killed or wounded during operations to recapture villages in Samarra.

Fifteen militants were killed in Tikrit.

In Falluja, nine militants were killed.

The bodies of three militants were taken to a morgue in Kirkuk.

Two Moroccans were among several militants killed in Hit.

Security forces killed a suicide bomber in al-Baghdadi.

Police arrested a number of injured militants at a hospital in Ramadi.

by Margaret Griffis, December 22, 2014