Iraq Situation Report

ISIS and the Peshmerga continue to challenge one another for territorial control along the Kurdish internal boundaries in northern and eastern Iraq.

Baghdad security has become a heightened concern given the uncertain leadership of the Iraqi Security Forces.

ISF and ISOF were reportedly heavily deployed around the Green Zone and in strategic areas in Baghdad yesterday in what appeared to be a military coup.

The “largest bloc” was not tasked by the Iraqi president to form the government today, missing the deadline that was already extended for three days per a request from the president.

U.S. military engagement against ISIS remains limited. 

  Within the past 24 hours, ISIS seized Mosul Dam.

The status of the Mosul Dam remains unclear as reports conflict regarding who controls it.

ISIS control of Sinjar has severely escalated the humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq, especially for minority populations like the Yezidis that face brutal persecution if they attempt to subsist under ISIS control.

ISIS took control of the Sinjar district yesterday, while hundreds of families fled the area to the nearby Sinjar Mountain.