Violence Remains Stable In Iraq Start Of April 2015

Violence in Iraq has been slowly receding since the peak of the summer of 2014. There was a jump in March due to the fighting in Tikrit. With that operation now over the numbers for attacks have gone down once again, while casualties have remained largely the same.

For the first week of April 2015 there were 121 attacks reported in the press. That was lower than any number recorded this year or last. As usual, Baghdad had the most security incidents with 44. Salahaddin had 30, Anbar 22, Diyala 10, Ninewa seven, Kirkuk four, Babil three, and Basra one.

Casualties were largely unchanged from the last full week of March. From April 1-7 there were 212 deaths in the news and 423 wounded. Again that was the lowest number of reported fatalities over the last sixteen months. It was made up of 63 killed in Baghdad, 60 in Anbar, 48 in Salahaddin, 23 in Diyala, 12 in Ninewa, four in Babil, and one each in Basra and Kirkuk. By type two members of the Syrian People’s Protection Unit (YPG), four Sahwa, 20 Hashd al-Shaabi, 49 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 137 civilians died at the start of April. The injured consisted of 2 peshmerga, 54 ISF, 83 Hashd, and 284 civilians. There were a total of 635 casualties during the week, which was much the same as the 641 reported from March 22-28. 

Violence In Iraq By Week Jun. 2014-2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jun 1-7	228	612	1,020
Jun 8-14	234	1,889	890
Jun 15-21	177	804	755
Jun 22-28	207	740	800
Jun 29-30	59	127	236
JUN	905	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	270	1,122	885
Aug 9-14	180	710	1,152
Aug 15-21	150	731	499
Aug 22-28	156	523	798
Aug 29-31	59	125	289
AUG	815	3,211	3,623
Sep 1-7	169	616	751
Sep 8-14	168	467	731
Sep 15-21	170	625	794
Sep 22-28	157	396	576
Sep 29-30	49	126	287
SEP	713	2,230	3,139
Oct 1-7	175	456	687
Oct 8-14	189	560	880
Oct 15-21	159	499	780
Oct 22-28	160	346	596 + 1,230
Oct 29-31	72	574	227
OCT	755	2,434	3,170 + 1,230
Nov 1-7	154	611	828
Nov 8-14	134	470	607
Nov 15-21	139	323	479
Nov 22-28	139	321	640
Nov 29-30	40	206	535
NOV	606	1,931	3,089
Dec 1-7	148	581	482
Dec 8-14	156	233 + 166	444 + 1,113
Dec 15-21	133	377	340
Dec 22-28	161	558	494
Dec 29-31	91	117	233
DEC	689	2,032	3,106
Jan 1-7	184	434	464
Jan 8-14	170	730	493
Jan 15-21	182	390	515
Jan 22-28	189	466	894
Jan 29-31	90	288	529
JAN	815	2,308	2,895
Feb 1-7	155	380	688
Feb 8-14	170	406	559
Feb 15-21	165	573	364
Feb 22-28	165	371	687 + 386
FEB	655	1,730	2,683
Mar 1-7	172	372	587
Mar 8-14	133	348	656
Mar 15-21	142	1,299	503
Mar 22-28	170	235	406
Mar 29-31	72	205	219
MAR	689	2,459 + 4	2,371 + 150
Apr 1-7	121	212	423

Violence In Iraq By Province Apr 2015

Province	Violence
Anbar	22 Incidents 60 Killed: 4 ISF, 56 Civilians 72 Wounded: 72 Civilians 13 Shootings 2 IEDs 4 Mortars 1 Rocket
Babil	3 Incidents 4 Killed: 1 ISF, 3 Civilians 11 Wounded: 4 ISF, 7 Civilians 2 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb
Baghdad	44 Incidents 63 Killed: 7 ISF, 1 Sahwa, 55 Civilians 196 Wounded: 13 ISF, 183 Civilians 8 Shootings 25 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs 2 Car Bombs 1 Mortar 1 Rocket 1 Grenade
Basra	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 ISF 1 Shooting
Diyala	10 Incidents 23 Killed: 10 ISF, 1 Hashd, 12 Civilians 92 Wounded: 12 ISF, 69 Hashd, 11 Civilians 7 Shootings 1 IED 1 Car Bomb
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Hashd 2 Shootings 1 IED
Ninewa	7 Incidents 12 Killed: 2 YPG, 4 Hashd, 6 Civilians 2 Wounded: 2 Peshmerga 5 Shootings
Salahaddin	30 Incidents 48 Killed: 26 ISF, 3 Sahwa, 14 Hashd, 5 Civilians 50 Wounded: 25 ISF, 14 Hashd, 11 Civilians 22 Shootings 3 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers 2 Mortars 1 Grenade

Car Bombs in Iraq Apr 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Apr 1
Apr 2	Bab al-Mudham, Baghdad	7	26
Apr 3
Apr 4	Mansour, Baghdad
Apr 5
Apr 6	Imam Abdullah bin Imam Ali al-Hadi shrine, Diyala	4	7
Apr 7
Total	3	11	33

Over the last three months the Islamic State (IS) has been launching more and more vehicle improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). At the start of April however, there were only three. Two were in Baghdad and one was in Diyala. Unlike most of the attacks this year these were all aimed at civilian targets such as a shrine in Diyala. There were a total of 11 reported deaths and 33 wounded from these bombings.

In Anbar, the security situation remained deadlocked. The main struggle was over control of the provincial capital Ramadi. There was fighting there during most of the week. During the end of 2014 IS gained ground in the city and began assaulting the government center and security bases on the perimeter. During the week IS also began firing mortars and rockets at Amiriya Fallujah. On the other side, Baghdad was finally beginning to pay attention to the province. On April 3, it was reported that reinforcements were being sent to the Habaniya army base in preparation for a major campaign. Three days later Prime Minister Haider Abadi authorized Anbar’s governor to buy weapons to arm local tribes. Government forces also made some progress in its month long offensive in Garma clearing an eastern section of the area, while starting a new operation in Shjariya outside of Ramadi.

Attacks declined in Diyala during the first week of April, but the situation was still precarious. In January, Badr Organization head Hadi Ameri claimed that the province was cleared after an operation in Muqtadiya in the center of the governorate. That was a huge exaggeration as there has been no change in the number of attacks there over the last four months with 55 in December, 55 in January, 51 in February, and 59 in March. In April, a parliamentarian and the district head in Abu Saida both called for renewed security sweeps to restore order and counter the Islamic State. This highlights a constant problem the security forces and Hashd have been running into, which is a lack of manpower to hold territories after they are cleared. The Muqtadiya sweep simply dispersed IS fighters to other parts of the province. After the government forces moved on to Salahaddin, the militants moved back in hence the lack of change in violence over the last several months.

Last month the peshmerga began a push into southern Kirkuk with the goal of reaching Hawija, the main IS base in the province. Some Hashd forces joined in attacking from Salahaddin. Together they made steady progress last month, but that apparently stalled in April as there were no reports on that front. On the positive side insurgent activity has largely subsided in the governorate. In the first week of April for example, there were only 4 incidents reported in the news.

One of the few other places where the Islamic State has been massing forces and carrying out large scale attacks has been in Ninewa. Every week, it launches attacks upon Peshmerga positions. In April it assaulted Khazar and Sinjar. These have gained no ground and usually result in high losses for the insurgents. IS also continued with its executions in Mosul killing 10 people.

Tikrit in Salahaddin was finally freed at the end of March, but there were still clearing operations in the northern Qadisiya district, and fighting around the Ajil and Alas oil fields outside of the city. IS also launched three attacks in the Baiji area, and attempted a large thrust in the Hamrin Mountain range. These clashes killed 26 members of the ISF, 3 Sahwa, 14 Hashd and five civilians, and wounded 25 ISF, 14 Hashd, and 11 civilians.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, “Iraq battles IS in Tikrit week after city ‘retaken,’” 4/7/15

AIN, "ISF repel ISIL attack in Al-Alam, kill 14 terrorists," 4/1/15

Alsumaria, "Diyala security announce foiling largest Daash attack inside Hamrin range in Salah Din," 4/7/15

- "Killed nine Daash militants including a French national suicide bomber north of Tikrit," 4/7/15

- "The outcome of the bombing of the holy door at seven dead and 26 injured," 4/2/15

Fox News, “Iraq claims victory over ISIS in Tikrit, but US military official says ‘block-to-block’ fighting ongoing,” 4/1/15

Independent Press Agency, "Tamimi demanding security forces be sent to Diyala province," 4/7/15

Iraq Times, "A car bomb explosion in the Mansour district in western Baghdad," 4/4/15

Al Jazeera, “Iraq army hunts ISIL fighters after Tikrit breakthrough,” 4/1/15

Kurd Press, "IS receives new defeat from Kurds in Shingal," 4/4/15

Al Mada, "17 members of Daash killed in clashes north of Tikrit," 4/2/15

Al Masalah, “The formation of a new organization by Daash in Diyala,” 4/7/15

Millet, "Two Gerilla Fighters Martyred in Shingal," 4/4/15

NINA, "Liberation of eastern area of Karma area from Daash occupation," 4/4/15,

Radio Free Iraq, "07 April 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 4/7/15,

Rudaw, "Peshmerga fight off ISIS assault on Khazir front," 4/4/15

Shafaq News, “Abadi and al-Obeidi authorize the governor of Anbar to buy weapons in preparation for the battle to liberate the province,” 4/6/15

- “The arrival of reinforcements from Baghdad to Anbar,” 4/3/15

- "More than 70 elements including 13 Arab terrorists killed in attacks and battles in Salahuddin," 4/6/15