Monday, February 2, 2015

Iraq’s Diyala Province An Insurgent Stronghold


Diyala is a perfect example of on going conflict in Iraq. When the insurgency regenerated itself in 2012, Diyala became one of its main bases. That prompted the entry of Shiite militias to fight them. In 2014 during the summer offensive the different factions joined together to seize control of the northern and eastern sections of the province. Recently the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and militias claimed that they had secured the entire province, but that was more propaganda than fact. The insurgents are still strong in rural sections and will continue to threaten not only Diyala, but neighboring Salahaddin and Baghdad as well.

Insurgents rebuilt their networks in Diyala in 2012 in the north around Qara Tapa and in the northeast by Sadiya, and used them to attack into the center of the governorate in Muqtadiya and Baquba (Institute for the Study of War)

When the insurgents were rebuilding their networks Diyala was one area they focused upon. They started by recruiting and re-establishing themselves in places like the Hamrin region and Sadiya and Jalawla in the east, which had never really been cleared of armed groups even during the height of the U.S. presence. In 2012 the Islamic State began asserting itself by hitting places like Baquba and the Diyala River Valley. In November 2013 it held a parade in Muqtadiya in the center of the province. The next month it declared a wilayat or governorate in Diyala. During those two months it also attacked an Emergency Police headquarters in Baquba, and a military base in Muqtadiya. The province was also used to move men and supplies into Salahaddin and Baghdad as well as hit targets there too. Diyala was an ideal area for the militants to rebuild. Its rural areas are noted for their heavy foliage, which offers perfect cover. The Diyala River Valley also provides access throughout the length of the governorate for the movement of men. These remain insurgent strongholds up to the present day.

As the militants began picking up their activities there was a response by Shiite armed groups. By the summer of 2013 there were the first reports of new militia activity in Diyala. Just as IS was marching through the streets of the province, the governor complained that militias were setting up fake checkpoints and carrying out extra judicial killings. Likewise, in April 2014 the Mutahidun party of Speaker Osama Nujafi demanded that the security forces do something about militia activity in the governorate. This was history repeating itself. In 2005 when the Badr Brigade took over the Interior Ministry it began sending in police commandos under its control into Diyala to carry out sectarian arrests, kidnappings and killings. Like then, the militias were retaliating in response to the insurgency. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also came to rely upon the Shiite armed factions more and more starting in 2013, as he was unhappy with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) who proved incapable of containing the growing violence throughout the country. Diyala was one of the first areas these militias went outside of Baghdad.

IS also built up its bases in eastern Diyala’s Baladrooz (Institute for the Study of War)

2014 was when security started really deteriorating in the province. At the start of the year there were complaints, especially in rural areas that there were no security forces to be seen. This was especially true as units were deployed from Diyala to Anbar where open fighting had broken out in January. That month the Islamic State took the town of Edheim in the northwestern section of the province, which had previously been used by Al Qaeda in Iraq. It was also spreading from the Hamrin Mountains and Diyala River Valley into Buhriz in the center, Bani Saad in the south, and Baladrooz in the east. The ISF responded with the first sweep of the year in the Hamrin area. In March, the insurgents picked up their attacks with a sophisticated assault upon Qara Tapa in the north above Lake Hamrin. That began with blowing up a bridge leading to the town to inhibit the security forces from responding. A police station and four checkpoints were then attacked forcing the ISF to withdraw. A neighboring town was then seized as well. It took six hours of fighting to retake the area. The security forces responded with mass arrests before withdrawing. The next month IS was still harassing Qara Tapa with mortar fire leading to the governor to demand help from the central government. At the end of the month the Islamists took over six voting centers in the area during parliamentary elections. At the start of 2014 the Islamic State ramped up its operations in several provinces to let the populace and authorities know that it was back. The dramatic attack upon Qara Tapa and then harassing operations afterward were the hallmarks of this campaign. The situation would only get worse when the summer started.

In June the insurgents made a major thrust in Diyala as part of its summer offensive. The Islamic Stated formed alliances with other armed factions such as the Naqshibandi, the Islamic Army, and the Revolutionary Tribes to carry out joint operations against the government. Attacks were focused upon Sadiya in the northeast, Qara Tapa in the north, Mansuriya in the east, and Baquba in the center. In the first two areas the ISF collapsed and abandoned their positions. The peshmerga filled this vacuum, but not soon enough to stop a tremendous loss of territory to the militants. 17 villages in Qara Tapa, 16 in Sadiya, 15 in Edheim, 12 in Jalawla, and 7 in Mansuriya fell. Only the attempt to take the provincial capital of Baquba was turned back. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responded by giving Transportation Minister, Badr Organization head and Diyala native Hadi Ameri control of security in the governorate. The ISF counter attacked at the end of June re-taking Edheim and Mansuriya. The events in Diyala mimicked what happened in many other regions of northern Iraq in June. The police and army simply gave up in many places giving the insurgents free reign. If not for the intervention of the peshmerga and the rallying of the ISF by the end of the month even more of the province would have fallen into the hands of the militants.

In the following months the ISF and peshmerga would launch operation after operation in Diyala, Many locations were cleared time and again only to have pro-government forces return to them. A classic example was the Hamrin Mountains cleared in July, October, and November. The ISF and peshmerga simply did not have the forces to hold an area for long. That meant after many security operations the insurgents would re-infiltrate leading to renewed fighting.

The last big piece of territory IS took in Diyala was the Sadiya-Jalawla area in August 2014 (New York Times)

IS had one more big push in it during the summer when it took the Sadiya-Jalawla area in the northeast. At the end of July, the peshmerga said that it had cleared the area, but ended up withdrawing allowing the IS to move right back in. In August the insurgents launched concerted attacks and took the area. It would take two months, but the peshmerga and militias finally retook Jalawla and Sadiya, leading to a whole new round of disputes as the Kurds claimed the region as part of the disputed territories, while the militias demanded that they leave. That argument has not been resolved yet.

The success of the summer offensive covered up the deep divisions and rivalries between the insurgents groups. The Islamic State like its predecessor Al Qaeda in Iraq wanted to dominate all Sunni armed groups in Iraq. In May it started fighting the Naqshibandi and Ansar al-Sunna in the Hamrin area in an attempt to undermine them with the hope that they could be taken over. Low level fighting continued into June, and by July, IS demanded that Ansar al-Islam pledge allegiance to it, which it refused to do. By the end of August IS appeared to be winning as several dozen Naqshibandi, Islamic Army and Mujahedeen Army members agreed to join in the Jalawla area, while the Islamists continued to assassinate rival leaders. A similar series of events played out across Iraq during the summer. Many armed factions believed they were entering into an agreement amongst equals to attack the government in June, but IS wanted to control them all. Given its size, armaments, organization and ruthlessness it was eventually able to incorporate many elements of these rivals groups into its own cadres.

Another conflict that emerged was a war over control of the water system in the province. The Islamic State seized several dams and irrigation systems in the center and northeastern half of Diyala and used them to threaten the surrounding areas. In September IS cut off water to Baladrooz, which prompted the ISF to try to retake the area. That stalled only after a few days. It then moved to the Sudour Dam in Muqtadiya. IS was still in control of that facility at the start of October and flooded two villages to block ISF operations in Sensl an IS base. In November the security forces did take the Edheim dam in the north. Then in December IS cut off the water to Baladrooz once again. This was another example of how the militants had a strong presence in the rural areas of Diyala. They were using them to attack the towns and cities of the province. This proved especially difficult for the ISF and militias to counter as the continuous security operations attested to.

Despite the constant back and forth the government declared victory over the insurgency in January 2015. On January 23 a new operation started to clear Muqtadiya led by Hadi Ameri. In just a few days, Ameri claimed that the entire province was freed of militants. That was repeated by General Abdul Amir al-Zaid who told the press that all cities, districts and sub-districts in Diyala were secured. Undermining his own statements, the general then said that a new operation was going to be started in the Hamrin Mountains. Ameri and the general were obviously getting ahead of themselves. While the militants in Muqtadiya were scattered, they quickly regrouped in the Diyala River Valley, Abu Saida and Mukhisa. They still have a strong presence in the east as well meaning that there will be continued sweeps to try to clear them out in 2015.

After the latest security operation IS has regrouped in Abu Saida (BBC)

As insurgent violence increased in Diyala so did militia retaliatory attacks. This recently hit the international papers when Shiite groups allegedly killed 72 people in Barwana. Any army officer told the New York Times that the militias were frustrated by recent fighting in the area and carried out the murders in the town as revenge. This was just the latest example of the simmering sectarian conflict in Diyala. In March 2014, the town of Buhriz was temporarily taken over by IS. When SWAT and militias retook it they burned three mosques and executed 23 young men. Asaib Ahl Al-Haq was believed to be behind the incident. In June, during the panic of the summer attacks an imam and two aides were picked up by militiamen in Sadiya and later found dead in a morgue, 44 prisoners were executed outside of Baquba, and at the end of the month 23 men were found executed in Muqtadiya. The security forces were sometimes complicit in these attacks as Reuters quoted a police captain in Baquba who said that they shared information with militias to carry out extrajudicial killings. In August, after the town of Imam Weis was attacked by IS, 34 people were shot in retaliation inside a mosque. Finally, in December men in uniforms kidnapped three councilmen from Bani Saad outside of Baghdad. Two were Shiite and were released, while the third who was Sunni was found shot in the head. The incident was blamed on militias who were attempting to dominate the town’s government. The situation had gotten so bad that a parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the destruction of homes and mosques during security operations in January 2015, and Prime Minister Haier Abad pledged that militias would not be allowed to continue with these types of abuses. Again, this was exactly what happened in Diyala from 2005-2008. Militias responded in kind ot insurgent attacks by targeting civilians. Sometimes this was in retaliation and other times it was more deliberate to try to force people out of regions to deny the militants their support base. As fighting picked up in the province these incidents only increased.

Diyala is not a main battlefront between government and insurgent forces, but it has all the hallmarks of Iraq’s on going conflict. It was one of the provinces where the insurgency rebuilt itself in 2012. Likewise it was one of the earliest places militias began deploying outside of Baghdad to fight them. Today, despite official claims otherwise eastern Diyala is still a major insurgent base. In fact, the statements about the governorate being cleared probably means that it will still not receive the forces necessary to clear and hold any areas, and repeated security operations will continue there for the foreseeable future. That will allow the insurgents to continue to use its bases to attack central Diyala and more importantly neighboring Salahaddin and Baghdad, which has been its major role in the last few years.

SOURCES

Abi-Habib, Maria, “At Least 81 Iraqis Killed in Sunni Rebel Attack on Convoy,” Wall Street Journal, 6/23/14

Agence France Presse, “Iraq forces ‘liberate’ Diyala province from IS: officer,” 1/26/15
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AIN, “ISIL elements withdraw from Sa’diya villages,” 8/16/14
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Alsumaria, “Commander of the Tigris announce liberation of four farming villages east of Baquba,” 10/25/14
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- “Jalawla announce its purge of the armed groups,” 7/24/14
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Aswat al-Iraq, “Killing 44 Sunnis in Buhruz to prevent participation in elections, Mutahidoun, “ 3/31/14

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Bas News, “Peshmerga to Attack Strategic Town of Jalawla,” 8/11/14

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Buratha News, “Ameri appeal to the people of Muqdadiyah to leave the region before a heavy blow to Daash terrorists,” 12/28/14
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- “Diyala police and clans kill 20 Daash terrorists and cleanse the entire area of Mansuriya,” 6/26/14
- “Diyala police announced the killing of 40 Daash terrorists north east of Baquba,” 10/30/14
- “Hadi al-Amiri receives general supervision of the security file in Diyala province,” 6/13/14
- “Source revealed the outbreak of “war of the severed heads” between rival armed terrorist factions in Diyala,” 7/28/14

Fahim, Kareem, “Government Allies Are Said to Have Slaughtered Dozens of Sunnis in Iraq,” New York Times, 1/29/15

Al Forat, “37 Terrorists killed in Hemren Hills,” 10/28/14
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- “ISF liberate 3 villages in Muqdadiyah,” 9/24/14
- “MoD declares purifying Adhem Dam of terrorists,” 11/14/14
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Hubbard, Ben, “Gunmen Massacre More Than 50 Sunni Worshipers in Central Iraq,” New York Times, 8/22/14

Human Rights Watch, “Iraq: Pro-Government Militias Trail of Death,” 7/31/14
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Iraq Times, “Moussawi: reveals the end of military campaign to lift the siege of Balad Ruz since last Saturday,” 9/13/14
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Jasim, Ali, “Governor of Diyala warns of collapse of the security situation in Muqdadiyah after recording six assassinations,” Alsumaria, 12/28/14

Jubouri, Adam, “Bahrez occupation reveals the strained relationship between the parent and the local government and the size of the sensitivity of sectarianism,” Al Mada, 3/25/14

Kakayi, Bestun, “ISIS controls a number of polling stations,” Bas News, 4/28/14

Lewis, Jessica, “The Islamic State Of Iraq Returns To Diyala,” Institute for the Study of War,” April 2014

Al Mada, “Parliament forms a committee to investigate the burning of homes and mosques in Diyala and exonerate innocent mujahideen,” 1/26/15
- “Peshmerga popular brigades in Diyala: Daash fought with us,” 11/30/14
- “Tigris Operations launched major security operation to liberate northern Muqdadiyah areas: the end of the first phase of the plan and freed some areas,” 1/23/15

Al Masalah, “Defense: fully cleanse the area of Daash in Hamrin Mountains,” 7/14/14

National Iraqi News Agency, “12 Terrorists Killed In Diyala Province,” 12/1/14
- “/15/ element of the IS killed in a military operation in the north east of Baquba,” 12/9/14
- “20 elements of ISIS killed, 10 vehicles burned in Mansuriyya area, of Diyala province,” 6/26/14
- “/30/ Elements of the IS killed in a military operation northeast of Baquba,” 10/27/14
- “Army controls a large part of Muqdadiya district,” 8/10/14
- “Cleansing Cohani villages in Mansuriya in Diyala,” 9/25/14
- “Cleansing villages located in the north-east of Baquba from Daash domination,” 7/18/14
- “Defense announces cleansing series of Hamrin Heights,” 8/9/14
- “Diyala police chief announces cleansing the areas of Dawalib and Al-Sherwin in al
- “Four employees of the security forces injured in the battles, northeast of Baquba,” 9/20/14
- “Freeing of three villages and killed four elements of Daash northeast of Baquba,” 9/29/14
- “The IS drown two villages north of Muqdadiyah in Diyala,” 10/7/14
- “IS Executes Nine, Kidnapped Six Other In Qara Tabba, Northeast of Baquba,” 10/20/14
- “Islamic State to Disqualify Four Of Its Field Leaders in Diyala Province,” 11/8/14
- “Kurdish security cuts the supply of the (IS) in Hamrin Basin, northeast of Baquba,” 9/9/14
- “Liberation of the eastern and western perimeters areas surrounding al-Soudor dam in Diyala from the IS control,” 10/25/14
- Mansuriyya northeast of Baquba from the control of the - “Islamic Party accuses some security elements of complicity in the events in Bahrez,” 3/27/14
- “A military Operation Launched in Northeast of Diyala province,” 7/12/14
- “A military operation launched to clear areas of northeast Baquba from the control of the (IS),” 9/20/14
- “A military operation started to liberate the Hamrin basin areas in Diyala of the IS control,” 11/13/14
- “More than /450/ volunteers from the tribes of Diyala are willing to fight the IS and take it out of the villages of Sherwin in al- Mansuriya,” 10/3/14
- “Mottahidoon coalition count the armed attacks by militias in Diyala province as deliberate approach to achieve demographic change,” 4/10/14
- “Peshmerga liberates a village was under Islamic State’s control,” 9/15/14
- “Security forces control most areas of Edhim district, north of Baquba,” 6/23/14
- “The security forces seize control on Edhaym district in Diyala,” 8/11/14
- “A security source: A Military Operation To Cleanse Agricultural Area south of - “A security source in Diyala: The IS organization controls a number of villages east of Baquba,” 12/20/14
- “The start of a military operation to liberate Imam Wayis in Diyala,” 11/18/14
- “Ten Terrorists Killed North of Baquba,” 10/24/14
- “Tigris Operations cleanses Mansouriet al-Jabal areas in Diyala, killing 25 of the IS elements,” 10/29/14
- “Two villages liberated north of Muqdadiyah from the IS control,” 11/27/14

New Sabah, “70 militants of Naqshbandi and the Islamic Army and the Mujahideen Army swear allegiance to Baghdadi,” 8/27/14
- “Council Diyala: sharp differences between armed groups,” 5/5/14
- “With Arab nationalities are trying to consolidate their image in the scene,” 7/20/14

Parker, Ned, “Iraq’s Maliki defies call to reach out, accuses Saudis of ‘genocide,’” Reuters, 6/17/14

Parker, Ned, Rasheed, Ahmed and Salman, Raheem, “Sectarian strife threatens Iraq ahead of election,” Reuters, 4/27/14

Al Rafidayn, “Army governs full control on Muqdadiya,” 7/13/14
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- “Video…the Iraqi army forces and the popular crowd liberated areas in the city of Buhriz Diyala,” 11/5/14

Rasheed, Ahmed, “Iraq Shi’ite militias use hit lists to pick off foes: police,” Reuters, 7/31/14

Al Rayy, “15 farming villages in Qara Tapa freed northeast of Baquba from Daash control,” 11/26/14
- “”Ansar al-Sunna” renews his refusal to swear allegiance to “Daash” in terms of Saadia northeast of Baquba,” 7/26/14
-“Diyala police announce clearing the villages of Bani Saad, killing four Daash,” 11/28/14
- “Federal Police and the popular brigade waging a three-pronged attack on Daash nests in Lake Hamrin,” 11/26/14
- “The displacement of 100 families from the villages north of Muqdadiyah because of public executions by Daash,” 9/24/14
- “Peace Brigades liberated village in Muqdadiyah from Daash,” 9/24/14
- “The people of Qara Tapa elements of Daash forced to retreat westward,” 10/21/14
- “Security forces and the popular crowd purify the eastern part of the helm’s irrigation northeast of Baquba,” 9/28/14
- “A security source reveals the infiltration of some Daash elements in the valley of Jalawla Baquba,” 7/27/14

Reuters, “Iraq’s PM pledges hard line against alleged militia abuse,” 1/31/15
- “Two local Iraqi officials killed execution style after kidnap,” 12/16/14

Rudaw, “Peshmerga in Push to Retake Jalawla from Militants,” 8/11/14
- “Peshmerga launch major assault on ISIS in northern Diyala,” 11/18/14
- “Peshmerga Suffering Losses against ISIS,” 7/26/14

Salaheddin, Sinan, “Sunnis pull out of Iraq talks after mosque attack,” Associated Press, 8/22/14

Shafaq News, “ISIS Militants return to neighborhoods South of Jalawla,” 7/31/14
- “Peshmerga and popular crowd enter the main strongholds of ISIS in Diyala and kill 30 ISIS elements,” 11/19/14
- “Peshmerga besiege Jalawla from three entrances and kill dozens of insurgents,” 8/25/14
- “Peshmerga launches wide operation in Qara Tapa and liberate four villages,” 11/26/14
- “Peshmarga regain control of large parts of Saadia and Jalawla,” 10/19/14

Sly, Liz, Hauslohner, Abigail and Morris, Loveday, “Fears of sectarian killings rise in Baghdad after Sunni imam, two aides found dead,” Washington Post, 6/17/14

Sly, Liz and Morris, Loveday, “Iraqi parliament to convene July 1; insurgents battle toward key gas field,” Washington Post, 6/26/14

Xinhua, “Iraq braces for fierce clashes in seizure of towns,” 6/15/14

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