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ISIS or other anti-government armed groups such as the Ba’athist leaning JRTN may attempt to foment ethnic violence between Arabs and Kurds as well as sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi’a.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry (MoI) reportedly directed Iraqi Air Force (IAF) airstrikes that killed 53 would-be “suicide bombers,” 23 north of Hit and 30 in Fallujah, the latter reportedly staging for Baghdad.
ISIS launched a VBIED wave of at least 13 VBIEDS on Saturday, June 13 north and south of Fallujah, near Haditha, and south of Baiji.
The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the “Popular Mobilization” have strengthened their hold on Baiji district but clashes persist in the area amidst talk of upcoming operations against Baiji Refinery.
ISIS’s deployment of VBIEDs to Karbala and reports of ISIS’s movement of VBIEDs in Anbar suggest ISIS may be preparing for renewed offensive operations.
The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the “Popular Mobilization” have continued their southward advance on key infrastructure in the Thar Thar region, northwest of Fallujah, as fierce clashes and ISIS continued SVBIED attacks north and east of the city.
The purpose of this intelligence forecast is to outline ISW’s assessment of the most likely and most dangerous courses of action for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to pursue during Ramadan (June 17, 2015 to July 17, 2015). For the past three years, ISIS has conducted major offensive operations during the Ramadan holy month, accomplishing its major annual campaign objectives.
ISIS attacks on Iraqi Army (IA) bases north and south of Fallujah suggest a mobile defense of its positions in Ramadi.
ISIS is once again attempting to leverage Iraqi dams to force operational recalculations on the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
ISIS has launched major attacks against the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in the Thar Thar region, north of Fallujah and southwest of Samarra, in an effort to maintain freedom of maneuver and protect Ramadi’s northern flank.