Western Asia

Iraqi officials report that fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are advancing on the Haditha Dam, the second-largest in Iraq, raising the possibility of catastrophic damage and flooding. The ISIL militants are fighting for control of the Euphrates River dam, about 120 miles northwest of Baghdad and government forces were fighting to halt their advance. Army officers tell employees to stay inside and to be prepared to open the dam’s floodgates if ordered to do…

Water infrastructure are attacked, along with health centers and hospitals, in an offensive by Turkey in the Afrin and Tal Rifaat districts in Syria.

The Afrin Dam, a major dam and water source on the Afrin River in Syria, is captured by Turkish forces and their Syrian militia allies, causing concern for the nearby communities that depend on the dam for water. These same forces are also in control of nearby Maydanki dam. Interruptions to water and electricity in communities dependent on these dams have occurred, along with reports of attacks on civilian centers and populations.

The Islamic State attacks and successfully captures Tharthar Dam near Fallujah, on the Tigris River in Anbar province, Iraq. The attack leaves 127 Iraqi soldiers dead. After capturing the dam, the fighters open at least one floodgate, affecting downstream communities.

Israel, suspicious that Jordan is over-diverting the Yarmouk, leads two raids to destroy the newly-built East Ghor Canal, Secret negotiations, mediated by the US, lead to an agreement in 1970.

A water truck is destroyed when a bomb placed underneath it explodes. The truck was outside the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Two people are injured.

Fighting in Yemen has damaged water infrastructure in several cities. Airstrikes, shelling, and sniper attacks in and around the town of Al Mokha have killed and injured scores of civilians and halted most services, including the main market and the water supply system.

At least one Yemeni is killed and three wounded in clashes with police in Aden in southern Yemen over the cutting off of water.

Syrian government forces are driven out of Wadi Barada’s villages after the Free Syrian Army (FSA) cuts off water supply from Ain al-Fijah, a major spring serving the Damascus area.

Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, bomb the main pipeline carrying water to the city of Aleppo from the Euphrates River. More than 100 people are sickened by contaminated water.