This week, ISIS suffered two additional blows in the strategically important Iraq-Syria-Jordan tri-border area. On May 17, 2016, the Iraqi Army announced the liberation of the city of Rutba, located near the tri-border area on the Baghdad-to-Damascus highway. Previously (May 13, 2016), the Al-Tanf (Al-Walid) border crossing between Syria and Iraq, near the tri-border area, was taken over by a rebel network known as the New Syrian Army.

On May 17, 2016, the Iraqi Army announced the liberation of the city of Rutba, located near the tri-border area on the Baghdad-to-Damascus highway. Previously (May 13, 2016), the Al-Tanf (Al-Walid) border crossing between Syria and Iraq, near the tri-border area, was taken over by a rebel network known as the New Syrian Army. The city of Rutba and the Al-Tanf border crossing are of major importance becausethey control the main route leading from Baghdad to Damascus and Jordan. In the ITIC’s assessment, the takeover of the city and the border crossing may increase the pressure on the presence of ISIS in the large Sunni Al-Anbar Province and disrupt the logistical and operational communication between ISIS in Iraq and in Syria .

becausethey control the main route leading from Baghdad to Damascus and Jordan. In the ITIC’s assessment, the takeover of the city and the border crossing . ISIS, on its part, has increased its terrorist attacks against Shiite targets in Baghdad.This week, ISIS carried out a series of attacks that killed nearly 200 people and injured hundreds more. Some of the most noteworthy attacks were car bomb attacks in crowded open markets in the Shiite neighborhoods of Madinat al-Sadr and Al-Shaab. Concurrently, ISIS continues to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Iraqi Army in the areas that it has taken over, especially the Al-Anbar Province.