Saddam’s Faith Campaign & Iraq’s Tribes Two Pillars Of The Insurgency, Interview With Iraq Historian Prof. Amatzia Baram

Iraq’s insurgency has drawn from many different groups in Iraq, but two major ones were the tribes and Salafis. Many sheikhs turned against the United States in 2003 due to the actions of the military and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). In the 1990s Saddam Hussein started his Faith Campaign, which led to the growth of Salafism in the country. That ideology fueled many to join Islamist insurgent groups later on. To help explain these two phenomena is Dr. Amatzia Baram Professor Emeritus at the Department of History of the Middle East and Director of the Centre for Iraq Studies at the University of Haifa. He has authored several books on Iraq, his most recent being Saddam Husayn and Islam, 1968-2003: Ba’thi Iraq from Secularism to Faith.

TEEN VOGUE VIDEO: Salaam Dunk Iraqi Women Form Schools First Women's Basketball Team

ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE VIDEO: Conflict & Cultural Heritage Conference Iraq's Lost Heritage Dr Lamia al-Gailani

Musings On Iraq In The News

My interview with Prof. Wayne Hsieh on Tuz Kharmato was republished by eKurd and The Daily Journalist. 

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES VIDEO: Future of Iraq & FIght Against ISIS Toby Dodge

Security In Iraq, Nov 15-21, 2015

Major fighting continued in Anbar and Salahaddin during the third week of November 2015 where government forces were attempting to clear areas. The Islamic State’s car bomb campaign and terrorist attacks in Baghdad continued as well. Several mass graves discovered in Sinjar after its liberation earlier in the month led to a rise in casualties as well.

From November 15-21 there were 140 security incidents reported in the press. That broke down to 58 in Baghdad, 27 in Anbar, 23 in Ninewa, 20 in Salhaddin, 7 in Babil, 3 in Diyala, and one each in Kirkuk and Irbil. That was the most attacks for November, but was not much different from previous weeks.

There were 358 deaths and 420 wounded for the week. 240 people were killed in Ninewa, 62 in Baghdad, 18 in Babil, 17 in Anbar, 16 in Salahaddin, and 5 in Diyala. 1 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighter died, along with 12 Hashd al-Shaabi, 27 Peshmerga, 32 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and 286 civilians, while 1 Asayesh, 23 Peshmerga, 39 Hashd, 40 ISF, and 317 civilians were injured. The number of casualties was up from the 265 dead and 354 injured from the week before because of the discovery of several mass graves in Sinjar.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	205	466	464
Jan 8-14	176	733	518
Jan 15-21	193	403	528
Jan 22-28	197	492	899
Jan 29-31	91	306	568
JAN	862	2,400	2,977
Feb 1-7	159	408	688
Feb 8-14	178	443	566
Feb 15-21	175	592	383
Feb 22-28	178	391	730
FEB	690	1,834	2,367
Mar 1-7	186	373	595
Mar 8-14	156	398	656
Mar 15-21	170	1,304	505
Mar 22-28	186	273	406
Mar 29-31	76	205	219
MAR	774	2,553 + 4	2,381 + 150
Apr 1-7	130	218	422
Apr 8-14	140	674	531
Apr 15-21	175	729	717
Apr 22-28	167	497	483
Apr 29-30	51	162 + 7	182 + 299
APR	663	2,280	2,335
May 1-7	159	627	450
May 8-14	161	420	549
May 15-21	128	963	387
May 22-28	115	341 + 1,499	348
May 29-31	38	66	164 + 646
MAY	601	2,417 + 1,499	1,898 + 646
Jun 1-7	133	431	476
Jun 8-14	126	522 + 405	394
Jun 15-21	141	365	373
Jun 22-28	162	306	474
Jun 29-30	61	122 + 58	189 + 106
JUN	623	1,804	2,012
Jul 1-7	161	435	719
Jul 8-14	140	384	570
Jul 15-21	109	359	597 + 4,024
Jul 22-28	145	527	590
Jul 29-31	53	193 + 260	203 + 400
JUL	608	2,158	3,079 + 4,024
Aug 1-7	154	650 + 760	298
Aug 8-14	133	756	640
Aug 15-21	135	345	354
Aug 22-28	136	342	296
Aug 29-31	59	112	169
AUG	617	2,205 + 760	1,757
Sep 1-7	139	285	352
Sep 8-14	144	368	394
Sep 15-21	123	323	488
Sep 22-28	128	190	258
Sep 29-30	39	106 + 19	147 + 8
SEP	573	1,291 + 314	1,647 + 3,003
Oct 1-7	105	291	398
Oct 8-14	144	254	389
Oct 15-21	142	208	279
Oct 22-28	129	216	366
Oct 29-31	49	110	116 + 1
OCT	569	1,079	1,549
Nov 1-7	125	186	316
Nov 8-14	120	265	354
Nov 15-21	140	358	420

Security by Province Nov 2015

Provinces	Nov 1-7	Nov 8-14
Anbar	26 Incidents 9 Killed: 2 Civilians, 7 ISF 45 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 10 Civilians, 34 ISF 11 Shootings 3 IEDs 2 Mortars 19 Suicide Bombers Killed 24 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed	11 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Sahwa 3 Shootings 12 Suicide Bombers Killed 17 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	4 Incidents 3 Killed: 3 Civilians 12 Wounded: 12 Civilians 4 IEDs	3 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 2 Wounded: 2 Civilians 2 Shootings 1 IED
Baghdad	47 Incidents 58 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 3 ISF, 54 Civilians 156 Wounded: 1 ISF, 155 Civilians 14 Shootings 22 IEDs 3 Sticky Bombs 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed	54 Incidents 94 Killed: 2 Hashd, 5 ISF, 87 Civilians 263 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 19 ISF, 241 Civilians 12 Shootings 28 IEDs 7 Sticky Bombs 4 Suicide Bombers 1 Suicide Car Bomb
Basra	-	3 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 2 Shootings 1 Sound Bomb
Diyala	7 Incidents 8 Killed: 2 Hashd, 2 Civilians, 4 ISF 4 Wounded: 4 Civilians 3 Shootings 1 IED	6 Incidents 4 Killed: 1 ISF, 1 Hashd, 2 Civilians 3 Wounded: 3 ISF 2 Shootings 1 IED 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed
Kirkuk	6 Incidents 9 Killed: 1 ISF, 3 Civilians, 5 Peshmerga 16 Wounded: 4 ISF, 12 Peshmerga 3 Shootings 4 Suicide Bombers 1 Car Bomb	3 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Peshmerga 2 Wounded: 2 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 IED 1 Sticky Bomb
Ninewa	14 Incidents 70 Killed: 7 Peshmerga, 63 Civilians 30 Wounded: 4 Civilians, 26 Peshmerga 5 Shootings 1 IED 1 Car Bomb 2 Mortars 4 Suicide Bombers Killed 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed	21 Incidents 120 Killed: 23 Civilians, 45 Peshmerga, 52 ISF 53 Wounded: 53 Peshmerga 7 Shootings 2 IEDs 8 Suicide Bombers 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Mortar 1 Rockets 22 Suicide Bombers Killed 9 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	21 Incidents 29 Killed: 3 Civilians, 12 ISF, 14 Hashd 53 Wounded: 24 ISF, 29 Hashd 7 Shootings 53 IEDs 3 Suicide Bombers 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Mortar 14 Suicide Bombers Killed 22 Car Bombs Destroyed	19 Incidents 40 Killed: 6 ISF, 9 Hashd, 24 Civilians 31 Wounded: 2 Hashd, 10 ISF, 19 Civilians 11 Shootings 3 IEDs 10 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 1 Car Bomb Destroyed

Provinces	Nov 15-21
Anbar	27 Incidents 17 Killed: 2 Hashd, 4 Civilians, 11 ISF 45 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 2 ISF, 42 Civilians 8 Shootings 1 IED 5 Mortars 3 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Suicide Motorcycle Bombs Destroyed 20 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 14 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	7 Incidents 18 Killed: 4 ISF, 14 Civilians 35 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 4 ISF, 30 Civilians 2 Shootings 3 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber
Baghdad	58 Incidents 62 Killed: 2 Hashd, 6 ISF, 54 Civilians 204 Wounded: 6 Hashd, 14 ISF, 184 Civilians 14 Shootings 37 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Diyala	3 Incidents 5 Killed: 5 Civilians 11 Wounded: 1 ISF, 10 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 IED 1 Motorcycle Bomb
Irbil	1 Incident 1 Shooting
Kirkuk	1 Incident 1 Shooting
Ninewa	23 Incidents 240 Killed: 1 PKK, 10 ISF, 27 Peshmerga, 202 Civilians 65 Wounded: 23 Peshmerga, 42 Civilians 20 Shootings 1 Car Bomb 1 Mortar 1 Rocket 1 Suicide Bomber Killed 8 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	20 Incidents 16 Killed: 1 ISF, 8 Hashd, 7 Civilians 60 Wounded: 1 Asayesh, 9 Civilians, 19 ISF, 31 Hashd 18 Shootings 2 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers Killed 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 4 Car Bombs Destroyed

 

Anbar is where the heaviest fighting is taking place in Iraq. The joint forces were making more headway towards the center of Ramadi. On November 15 the Euphrates River was crossed into downtown. Several important government facilities were cleared including the Anbar court complex, the Anbar Operations Command, and the Presidential palaces. On October 21 it was announced that the ISF and Hashd were just 500 meters from the Anbar Operations command. It took three weeks to cover that distance showing the difficulty of the campaign.

At the same time the government’s forces were struggling in other areas. Albu Faraj to the north of Ramadi was declared cleared on October 14, but there were 11 car bombs there during the third week of November. Likewise, Albu Hayat in the Haditha district in western Anbar was said to be freed on November 11, but fighting never stopped there. This points to a bad habit of officials to call areas secured before they actually are to promote an image of constant progress. It’s also true that IS is attempting to re-infiltrate areas causing repeated operations in the same areas again and again.

Southern Baghdad received the most attacks for the second week in a row. There were 25 incidents there with 21 from November 8-14. The violence in the south had the trademark of IS with 20 IEDs and two sticky bombs. After that there were 14 incidents in the east, 8 in the west, 5 in the north, three in unknown locations, and one in the center. As IS has stepped back from major offensives it has come to focus upon terrorist attacks in the capital to keep pressure on the government. That province is the only one in the country where incidents have gone up during the year.

Violence in Baghdad, Nov 15-21, 2015

Center: 3 – 1 Shooting, 2 IEDs

East: 13 – 1 Robbery, 5 IEDs, 7 Shootings

Outer East :1 – 1 IED

North: 1 – 1 IED

Outer North: 4 – 2 Shootings, 2 IEDs

South: 15 – 2 Shootings, 2 Sticky Bombs, 11 IEDs

Outer South: 10 – 1 Shooting, 9 IEDs

West: 5 – 1 Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb, 3 IEDs

Outer West: 3 – 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 IEDs

Unknown: 3 – 1 Car Bomb Dismantled, 1 IED, 1 Kidnapping

In comparison, there is hardly any insurgent activity in Diyala and Kirkuk recently. There was only one incident in the latter, which has been quiet for weeks now. In Diyala there was a surge of attacks in October, but in November that has died down with only 3 reported attacks from November 15-21.

Irbil had a rare case of violence when a man shot at the Peshmerga Ministry building in in Irbil on November 20.

In Ninewa the Peshmerga continued to mop up the Sinjar area. Six more villages were cleared in the area. Three mass graves were also discovered with 148 Yazidis executed by IS. The group also killed 53 people including two Peshmerga and 10 police in the Mosul area.

Mopping up operations continued in Salahaddin’s Baiji. The thermal power plant for example was cleared for the second time. There was also heavy fighting in the Makhoul Mountains to the north even though it was supposedly freed at the end of October. Intense clashes have been occurring outside of Samarra for several weeks as well in the center of the province.

IS’s car bomb campaign is still going on. From November 15-21 there were 51 vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) with only one hitting its target in Ninewa against the Peshmerga. There were 34 in Anbar, 8 in Ninewa, 7 in Salahaddin and one in Baghdad.

Car Bombs In Iraq, November 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Nov 1	Subhait, Anbar – 1 destroyed Obied, Baghdad – 1 destroyed Rabia, Ninewa – 1 destroyed
Nov 2	Balad, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Nov 3	Dibis, Kirkuk West of Ramadi, Anbar – 5 destroyed Leine, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed		3
Nov 4	Hardan, Ninewa Adil & Rashad, Anbar – 9 destroyed	1	15
Nov 5	Zankura, Anbar – 1 destroyed Siniya, Salahaddin – 7 destroyed
Nov 6	Baiji, Salahddin Albu Faraj & Jeraishi, Anbar – 4 destroyed Sukker, Salahaddin – 13 destroyed	7	20
Nov 7	Albu Hayat – 9 destroyed
Totals	3 – 53 Destroyed	8	38
Nov 8	Sadr City, Baghdad Albu Hayat, Anbar – 1 destroyed Mkeshivh, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed	6	21
Nov 9	Albu Faraj, Anbar – 1 destroyed Samarra, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed
Nov 10
Nov 11
Nov 12	Fallujah, Anbar – 6 destroyed Sinjar, Ninewa – 6 destroyed
Nov 13	Niamiya & Subhait, Anbar – 7 destroyed
Nov 14	Sinjar, Ninewa Albu Faraj, Anbar – 2 destroyed Mandali, Diyala – 1 destroyed Harden, Ninewa – 3 destroyed	2	23
Totals	2 - 30 Destroyed	8	44
Nov 15	Albu Faraj & Jeraishi, Anbar – 4 destroyed
Nov 16	Haraym, Ninewa 5 Kilo, Albu Faraj, Zaytoun, ? – 10 destroyed Haraym, Ninewa – 1 destroyed	12	20
Nov 17	5 Kilo & Jeraishi, Anbar – 9 destroyed Raood Bridge, Bahgdad – 1 destroyed Makhoul Mts, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed
Nov 18	Albu Faraj, Anbar – 4 destroyed Bashiqa, Ninewa – 1 destroyed Massoud & Mkeshivh, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed		12
Nov 19	Albu Faraj, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Nov 20	Albu Faraj, Anbar – 4 destroyed
Nov 21	Mosul Dam, Ninewa – 7 destroyed
Totals	1 – 50 Destroyed	12	32

SOURCES

Abdulrazaq, Hawar, "KRSC: Peshmerga Kills 28 IS Militants Near Mosul Dam," Bas News, 11/21/15

AIN, "20 Daash killed and destroyed 3 car bombs in Salahuddin," 11/18/15

Alsumaria, "Counter terrorism deals with five car bombs west of Ramadi," 11/17/15

- "Counter-terrorism destroys five car bombs west of Ramadi," 11/16/15

BBC, "Iraqi forces preparing for assault on IS-held Ramadi," 10/14/15

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - November 16, 2015," 11/16/15

- “Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - November 18, 2015," 11/18/15

Al Forat, "Control the thermal power plant in Baiji area," 11/21/15

- "Killing of three terrorists and the destruction of three car bombs in Anbar," 11/19/15

Al Mada, "Anbar officia: cleared two areas and killed dozens of Daash in west Ramadi," 11/18/15

- "The joint forces approaching the Anbar Operations headquarters from north Ramadi," 10/21/15

- "Peshmerga forces repel Daash attack on the center of Bashiqa," 11/18/15

- "Security forces stuck the "Hole" area and the freeing of the thermal power station," 11/14/15

Mamoun, Abdelhak, "3 mass graves containing remains of 148 Yazidis found in Sinjar District," Iraqi News, 11/15/15

- "Security forces liberate Anbar Traffic Directorate, reach the center of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 8/18/15

Al Masalah, "Entire area of Albu Hayat freed in Anbar," 11/11/15

- "War media declares victories of the joint forces," 11/18/15

- "War media declares victories for the joint forces," 11/20/15

New Sabah, "Anti-Terrorism Unit crosses the Euphrates River and will remain in the center of Ramadi," 11/15/15

NINA, "/21/ elements of Daash killed in operations of clearing the province," 11/16/15

- "Anbar Operations Command, The Presidential Palaces And The High Criminal Court in downtown Ramadi Liberated," 11/17/15

- "Dozens Of Peshmerga Killed And Wounded In Daash Attack West Of Mosul," 11/16/15

- "Federal Police Chief: Makhoul Mountains in Baiji Fully Cleansed," 10/27/15

- "Federal Police Repel An Attack To Daash, Kill More Than 60 In Makhoul Mountains," 11/17/15

- "Two Areas Liberated In Anbar Province," 7/22/15

Shafaq News, "12 policemen injured while liberating a village north of Beiji," 11/18/15

- "Car bomb intended to target Argeniya visitors dismantled northwest of Baghdad," 11/17/15

Sotaliraq, "Four vehicle bombs destroyed targeting security forces north of Ramadi," 11/15/15

- "Security forces destroyed four Daash car bombs north of Ramadi," 11/17/15

Xinhua, "Security forces retake areas in IS-held Ramadi, 54 killed in battles with IS in Iraq," 11/16/15