1,200 Casualties In Iraq 2nd Week Of January 2015

Violence has been picking up in Iraq after a slight lull during the end of 2014. For the second week of January 2015 there were roughly the same number of attacks as the previous week resulting in just over 1,200 casualties. The Islamic State (IS) continued with its offensive operations in Anbar and Salahaddin, but also carried out attacks upon Diyala, Kirkuk, and Ninewa. The Iraqi Security Forces and militias on the other hand were concentrating upon rural Anbar and southern Salahaddin. Overall, fighting remains at a rough stalemate throughout the country.

Attacks have been going up since the end of December 2014. They were going down after the height of the summer offensive with an average of 31.2 in July, 26.2 per day in August, 23.0 in September, 23.9 in October, and 19.7 in November. This trend continued into the middle of December with an average of 20.2 for the first three weeks, but then they began creeping upwards. From December 22 to January 14 there has been an average of 25.2 incidents per day.

In the second week of January there were a total of 172 incidents. That was down from 184 the week before. Baghdad had the most attacks with 43, followed by 35 in Salahaddin, 33 in Ninewa, 28 in Anbar, 17 in Kirkuk, 9 in Diyala, 5 in Babil, and one in Maysan.

731 people lost their lives along with 493 people being wounded during the week. That was a big jump from the first week of the month, and was due to the discovery of a mass grave outside of Mosul that had 320 bodies in it. Otherwise casualties would have been roughly the same as January 1-7. The dead was made up of 63 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 14 peshmerga, 27 Asayesh, 8 members of the Syrian YPG, 7 sahwa, and 612 civilians. The wounded were 23 ISF, 11 peshmerga, 9 sahwa, 8 Asayesh, 2 YPG, and 440 civilians. Ninewa obviously had the most fatalities with 392. After that there were 182 in Salahaddin, 60 in Baghdad, 58 in Anbar, 25 in Diyala, 10 in Babil, and four in Kirkuk.

Violence In Iraq By Week Jun. 2014-Jan. 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jun 1-7	228	612	1,020
Jun 8-14	234	1,889	890
Jun 15-21	179	803	759
Jun 22-28	203	733	777
Jun 29-30	59	127	236
JUN	901	4,172	3,701
Jul 1-7	203	526	651
Jul 8-14	214	577	628
Jul 15-21	230	444	1,009
Jul 22-28	224	589	801
Jul 29-31	66	163	230
JUL	937	2,299	3,319
Aug 1-8	269	1,122	885
Aug 9-14	179	710	1,152
Aug 15-21	150	354	499
Aug 22-28	156	523	798
Aug 29-31	59	125	289
AUG	813	2,834	3,623
Sep 1-7	168	616	751
Sep 8-14	156	433	722
Sep 15-21	166	620	749
Sep 22-28	153	395	573
Sep 29-30	47	112	252
SEP	690	2,176	3,047
Oct 1-7	170	451	687
Oct 8-14	188	532	875
Oct 15-21	156	449	770
Oct 22-28	159	345	592 + 1,230
Oct 29-31	68	570	227
OCT	741	2,347	3,151 + 1,230
Nov 1-7	153	601	828
Nov 8-14	128	420	593
Nov 15-21	134	283	464
Nov 22-28	138	321	640
Nov 29-30	40	206	510
NOV	593	1,831	3,035
Dec 1-7	137	323	476
Dec 8-14	156	233 + 166	444 + 1,113
Dec 15-21	133	377	340
Dec 22-28	161	558	432
Dec 29-31	91	117	233
DEC	678	1,774	3,038
Jan 1-7	184	434	464
Jan 8-14	172	731	493

Violence In Iraq By Province, Jan. 2015

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14
Anbar	43 Incidents 129 Killed: 23 ISF, 30 Sahwa, 76 Civilians 146 Wounded: 45 ISF, 101 Civilians 30 Shootings 1 IED 2 Suicide Bombers 2 Suicide Car Bombs 3 Mortars 3 Rockets	28 Incidents 58 Killed: 8 ISF, 1 Sahwa, 49 Civilians 106 Wounded: 1 Sahwa, 105 Civilians 19 Shootings 1 IED 1 Mortar 1 Rocket
Babil	6 Incidents 13 Killed: 2 ISF, 11 Civilians 44 Wounded: 4 ISF, 40 Civilians 2 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb	5 Incidents 10 Killed: 5 ISF, 1 Sahwa, 4 Civilians 31 Wounded: 31 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 IED 1 Suicide Car Bomb
Baghdad	40 Incidents 58 Killed: 6 ISF, 52 Civilians 147 Wounded: 1 ISF, 146 Civilians 12 Shootings 31 IEDs 5 Sticky Bombs 1 Car Bomb	43 Incidents 60 Killed: 4 ISF, 4 Sahwa, 52 Civilians 167 Wounded: 8 ISF, 8 Sahwa, 151 Civilians 17 Shootings 19 IEDs 3 Sticky Bombs 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Mortar
Basra	3 Incidents 4 Killed: 4 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting 1 IED	-
Diyala	11 Incidents 13 Killed: 2 ISF, 11 Civilians 23 Wounded: 1 ISF, 22 Civilians 8 Shootings 3 Mortars	9 Incidents 25 Killed: 25 Civilians 17 Wounded: 17 Civilians 5 Shootings 3 IEDs 2 Mortars
Kirkuk	6 Incidents 1 Mortar	17 Incidents 4 Killed: 2 Peshmerga, 1 Asayesh, 1 Sahwa 15 Wounded: 11 Peshmerga, 3 Asayesh, 1 Civilian 11 Shootings 10 IEDs
Maysan	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting	-
Ninewa	30 Incidents 119 Killed: 16 ISF, 4 Peshmerga, 99 Civilians 3 Wounded: 3 Peshmerga 20 Shootings 7 IEDs 2 Suicide Car Bombs	33 Incidents 392 Killed: 2 ISF, 12 Peshmerga, 26 Asayesh,      8 YPG, 344 Civilians 7 Wounded: 5 Asayesh, 2 YPG 30 Shootings 1 Suicide Car Bomb
Qadisiyah	1 Incident 1 Sticky Bomb	-
Salahaddin	43 Incidents 97 Killed: 23 ISF, 74 Civilians 99 Wounded: 84 ISF, 15 Civilians 17 Shootings 9 IEDs 3 Sticky Bombs 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Mortar	34 Incidents 181 Killed: 44 ISF, 137 Civilians 150 Wounded: 15 ISF, 135 Civilians 12 Shootings 23 IEDs 3 Suicide Bombers 6 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Car Bomb 4 Mortars

Car bombs remained at a low level with 6 the first week of January and 9 the second. The number of casualties jumped however between the two from 8 dead January 1-7 to 48 January 8-14. Most of those came on January 8 when 5 truck bombs were launched on Samarra killing 32 ISF and militiamen and wounding another 22 that was followed by an infantry assault by the Islamic State. That same day a suicide car bomb went off in Yusifiya, Babil resulting in 7 deaths and 21 injured. Despite the bloody increase the overall level of car bombs in Iraq remains extremely low from previous months when there were twice as much such attacks each week. IS’s networks have obviously been disrupted by recent security operations accounting for the recent decrease. 

Car Bombs In Iraq Jan. 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1	Habaniya, Anbar
Jan 2
Jan 3
Jan 4	Sadoun St, Baghdad Outside Samarra, Salahaddin		5
Jan 5	Anaz, Anbar	4	7
Jan 6
Jan 7	Ayathiya x2, Ninewa	4	3
Totals	6	8	15
Jan 8	Yusifiya Babil Berhewa, Ninewa Samarra x5, Salahaddin	47	45
Jan 9
Jan 10
Jan 11	Baiji Refinery & West of Samarra, Salahaddin	1	3
Jan 12
Jan 13
Jan 14
Totals	9	48	48

Casualties Government Shelling In Anbar Jan. 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jan 2	Fallujah	20	30
Jan 3	Fallujah	3	9
Jan 5	Fallujah	4	16
Jan 6	Fallujah	4	11
Total	-	31	66
Jan 9	Fallujah	3	9
Jan 10	Fallujah	3	14
Jan 11	Fallujah	3	7
Jan 12	Fallujah	11	20
Jan 13	Fallujah	13	18
Jan 14	Fallujah	13	17
Total	-	46	85

(Institute for the Study of War)

Violence continued throughout central Anbar. There was fighting in Haditha, Jazeera, parts of Ramadi, the Euphrates district outside of that city, and Amiriya Fallujah. The security forces and tribes concentrated on the Baghdadi area in between Haditha and Hit. This is the location of the Al-Assad Air Base, which is a major training center in the province and houses American advisers. Government forces and insurgents have been going back and forth in that area for weeks now. For example, on January 8, Jubba was cleared, militants moved back in, requiring another clearing operation there, which was completed on January 14. The ISF and tribes also began operations in Garma to the northeast of Fallujah on January 11, and in Rutba in the western desert on January 12. The pattern for months now is that IS dominates most of the major cities and towns, while the ISF and tribes are active around them with neither side making much headway.

Government shelling of Fallujah continued. For the week 46 people were killed and 85 wounded during six days of artillery and mortar fire on the city. That accounted for 79% of the dead and 80% of the injured in Anbar from January 8-14.

(NY Times)

Recently, IS has been threatening Muqtadiya in central Diyala. It was attacked three times during the week with mortar and gunfire. These incidents have caused major displacement in the area. A security operation is said to be in the works, but has not happened yet.

The peshmerga and militias cleared the Jalawla and Sadiya area of northeastern Diyala in November. Since then several mass graves have been discovered with victims of the IS. On January 14 one was found with 16 bodies of people executed by the IS. Each time an area is freed from the militants more of these types of sites are being found across Iraq. When the Islamic State takes over an area it kills people opposed to it including local officials, and members of the security forces and sahwa.

During the week there was increased activity in Kirkuk, which has been relatively quiet since the first half of 2014. On January 8 a shrine was blown up by IS, along with nine houses belonging to the sahwa. Then on January 11 several displaced families were kidnapped from Hawija and Riyad. More importantly on January 10 six villages were assaulted to the southwest of Kirkuk. These are the types of intimidation tactics the Islamic State has carried out to establish its control over areas.

January 10 the Joint Special Operations Command in Kirkuk said that the ground forces commander approved forming three regiments of local volunteers in the province. These new units will be deployed in the southeast and consist of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen to clear areas such as Hawija, Taza, and Daquq. Other governorates have made similar announcements showing that local officials are taking up Premier Haider Abadi’s National Guard idea despite the legislation to form it being deadlocked in parliament.

The Islamic State went on the offensive in Ninewa during the week. It attacked the Gwar area, which is in the eastern section of the province along the Irbil border. On January 9, IS came across the Tigris and Ze Rivers in boats and rafts in a night attack against nine villages held by the Kurds. They blamed an Iraqi Army unit on the Khadhir River, who fled in the face of the insurgents before the attack upon Gwar and did not inform the Kurds of the impending assault. Fighting the area lasted several days until January 12, with some being re-attacked the next day. 30 Asayesh and peshmerga were killed during the fighting. This caught the Kurds by surprise, and was the first major fighting in the governorate for several weeks.

(New York Times)

Southern Salahaddin remained the main focus of the ISF and militias in January. After several major success there however, the government forces are now returning to several districts after insurgents re-infiltrated. For example, Dujail was cleared on October 15, and then again on December 10. It was said to be have been freed a third time on January 5, only for a new operation being announced on January 11. Similarly, Baiji was secured on November 8, and then the ISF and militias had to go back in on January 11. Finally, Nibai was cleared on January 7, and then a new sweep began there five days later. IS continues to be on the offensive in the governorate as well. On January 8 and 11 there were major attacks upon Samarra that included the use of seven car and truck bombs, which were then followed by infantry attacks. This is the way the Islamic State is increasingly deploying its vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) as tactical weapons against the security forces. At the same time, IS’s VBIED networks have been partially broken up in Salahaddin. For example, on January 13 ten workshops for making car bombs were discovered in Dhuluiya, which was recently secured. Nibai is also a major VBIED base as well. These operations in part account for the recent drop in car bombings across Iraq.

SOURCES

AIN, "11 ISIL elements killed in Anbar," 1/8/15

Alsumaria, "The killing of five members of Daash and burn their cars south of Tikrit," 1/11/15

- “Security forces liberated the area south of Tikrit, killing 30 elements of Daash,” 12/10/14

Al Forat, “ISF fully liberate Baiji district form ISIL terrorists,” 11/8/14

- “ISF wage security operation to purge Nebae area of ISIL,” 1/7/15

- "ISIL kidnaps dozens families in Tikrit," 1/11/15

- "Tikrit: ISF, volunteers entirely liberate Nibai area from ISIL," 1/15/15

Iraq Oil Report, "Iraqi forces repel IS attacks on key locations," 1/13/15

Iraq Times, "54 martyrs and injured in Samarra five bombings," 1/8/15

- "A car bomb exploded at a gathering of the army south of Tikrit," 1/11/15

Al Mada, "Daash destroys eight houses of police, army and Awakening south and west of Kirkuk," 1/8/15

- "The killing of the military commander in Garma and seven of his aides east of Fallujah," 1/12/15

NINA, "A broad crackdown start to liberate Rutba district far western Anbar," 1/12/15

- “Ten Workshops For Car Bombs And IEDs Found In Dhluiyah, South of Tikrit,” 1/13/15

- "Wali of the Euphrates region killed near Haditha," 1/9/15

Radio Free Iraq, "10 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/10/15

- "11 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/11/15

- "14 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/14/15

- "15 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/15/15

Al Rayy, “Defense agrees to the formation of three regiments of volunteers from Kirkuk to free southwest of province,” 1/10/15

- "The killing of seven members of Daash in security operation north of Tikrit," 1/11/15

- "Shammari announce the start of a massive operation to liberate the areas of Nibai," 1/12/15

- “Sons of Khazraj tribe liberate Dujail area of Daash control,” 10/15/14

- "Sources: Daash blows up religious shrine and awakening leader's home southwest of Kirkuk," 1/8/15

- "Urgent..security forces kill 69 Daash and its Wali western Anbar," 1/9/15

Rudaw, “24 members of Kurdish security killed in major confrontation with ISIS,” 1/9/15

Sadiq, Hoshmand, "Eight Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga Killed on Zumar Frontline," Bas News, 1/8/15

- “Iraqi Army Hinders Peshmerga in Gwer,” Bas News, 1/10/15

Salaheddin, Sinan, “Official: Islamic State group battle in Iraq kills 30 Kurds,” Associated Press, 1/11/15

Sarhan, Amre, “Joint forces kill 42 ISIS elements, free al-Jabbah western Ramadi,” Iraqi News, 1/8/15

Shafaq News, “Security forces and fighters of popular crowd liberate northern Dujail fully and head towards al-Nibai,” 1/5/15

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraq Authorities Find 16 Bodies in Mass Grave," Associated Press, 1/14/15

- "Suicide attacks kill 23 in Iraq," Associated Press, 1/8/15