2 tribal fighters killed, 3 wounded in western Anbar

A security source announced, Friday, that two persons were killed, while three others were wounded as armed clashes occurred among ISIS militants and tribal fighters in west of Anbar province.

"Al-Hamza brigades (affiliated to the Tribal Mobilization Forces) launched attack against IS militants in Rawa town, west of Anbar, which left two killed and three wounded of the tribal fighters, according to the source.

"Fierce clashes are spearheaded by al-Hamza brigades and al-Jaghaifa tribes in the regions stretching between Rawa and haditha towns," the source added. Meanwhile, Al-Hamza brigades reportedly killed on Thursday the group’s leader in Anbar, called Settir Kamel al-Dulaimi in Rawa.

On the other hand, ISIS has imposed curfew in Tal Afar town, located west of Mosul for unknown reasons.

"IS imposed curfew in Tal Afar on Friday deploying its armed detachments in the town,” the source, who preferred anonymity," informed sources said. According to the source, the organization usually imposes curfew when it feels danger, which was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

In the same context, police troops have killed three ISIS militants on Friday in northwest of Mosul. In a statement, Federal Police Chief Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said "troops killed three IS militants after besieging them in Hawi al-Kanisah district."

On the other hand, Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s Sadrist movement, underlined the importance to integrate government forces with the fighters of the Popular Mobilization Forces under the leadership of the prime minister and the commander of the armed forces, pointing out that he refuses to have two armies in the country.

“The presence of the Popular Mobilization Forces outside the state is causing many problems,” he said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

Sadr did not rule out allying with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the head of the National Coalition Ammar al-Hakim in the upcoming elections, saying: "I have no objection to the alliance (with them), not as a person, but as the Sadrist movement, especially as we are about to form a bloc of independent technocrats to take Iraq to safety while providing services to citizens."

The Iraqi official warned against the separation of Kurdistan, noting that he urged the region’s leaders to postpone the independence referendum, which will be held on September 25.

"We consider the Kurds as a component of the Iraqi people; however, problems accumulated by the previous governments have led them to call for independence," he said, adding that Kurdistan’s separation from Iraq would "bring problems from inside and outside" the borders.

Source: BNA