Security In Iraq, Aug 1-7, 2016

Violence remained at a low level for the seventh straight week in Iraq. Most of the casualties in the country were due to terrorist attacks in the capital Baghdad and executions by the Islamic State as it attempts to maintain control over the remaining areas under its control.

There were just 109 incidents reported in the press in Iraq from August 1-7, 2016. That was the lowest figure so far in the year. The huge reduction in violence in Iraq can be attributed to three main factors. First, the Islamic State’s spring offensive ended. Second, the group is trying to recover and regroup from its recent losses such as Fallujah, Garma, etc. Most of that is being done in the rural areas of central Iraq. Last, there are no major government offensives currently on going, which brings about a large number of militant counterattacks. 

During the week there were 66 incidents in Baghdad, 12 in Kirkuk, 10 in Diyala, 10 in Ninewa, 5 in Anbar, 4 in Salahaddin, and 2 in Babil.

Those resulted in 342 dead and 255 wounded. 1 Sahwa, 4 Hashd, 22 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 315 civilians were killed and 2 Sahwa, 14 Hashd, 37 ISF, and 202 civilians were injured. There were 175 fatalities in Kirkuk, 69 in Baghdad, 64 in Anbar, 25 in Ninewa, 6 in Diyala, 2 in Babil, and 1 in Salahaddin.

Anbar had just 5 incidents, but there were 64 dead. 46 of those came from a Coalition airstrike in the Qaim district in the west on August 2, and then there was another air strike the day before that killed 9. The Islamic State also executed 5 people in western Anbar.

The Iraqi forces were also doing clean up duty in the Khalidiya Island district, which had just been freed. The Waleed border crossing with Syria was also liberated. Unlike previous weeks there were not reported IS counterattacks during the week.

IS terrorist and insurgent attacks led to most of the 66 incidents, 69 dead, and 201 wounded in Baghdad. There were no mass casualty bombings during the week, but one truck bomb was discovered and dismantled, and two suicide bombers were killed in the outer south. That left the main killers in the province 33 IEDs and 4 sticky bombs. As usual IS concentrated on the south 25 incidents and north 19 incidents. There were also 18 incidents in the east, which is usually a mix of insurgent attacks, vigilantes, criminals, and Hashd, 4 in the west, and 1 in the center.

Violence In Baghdad, Aug 1-7, 2016

Center: 1 – 1 Shooting

East: 13 – 1 Shooting/Robbery, 1 Kidnapping, 2 Sticky Bombs, 3 IEDs, 5 Shootings

Outer East: 5 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Shooting, 3 IEDs

North: 10 – 1 Grenade, 1 Shooting/Robbery, 3 Shootings, 5 IEDs

Outer North: 9 – 1 Truck Bomb Dismantled, 1 Kidnapping, 1 Stickky Bomb, 3 Shootings, 3 IEDs

South: 15 – 1 Stabbing, 1 Sticky Bomb, 5 Shootings, 8 IEDs

Outer South: 10 – 2 Suicide Bombers Killed, 9 IEDs

West: 2 – 1 Shooting, 1 IED

Outer West: 2 – 1 Mortar, 1 IED

Diyala was the site of the only successful car bombing during the week. That occurred at a checkpoint north of Baquba that killed 1 Hashd and wounded 5 others. Otherwise, violence was at a low level as usual with four shootings and four IEDs. There were a total of 10 incidents with 6 fatalities and 11 injured.

There were just 12 incidents in Kirkuk, but 175 killed. That was due to 83 people being executed by the Islamic State in the Hawija district. As the insurgents have lost control of more territory and the Iraqi forces have moved north an exodus of people seeking to flee has begun. That was what led to the wave of killings during the week as IS struggled to maintain control. IS did launch three counter attacks upon the Iraqi forces during the week with several suicide car bombs that were destroyed, but 3 suicide bombers were able to get into a town in the district followed by an infantry assault that killed 15 and wounded 7. The Iraqi forces in turn have been rather quiet the last few weeks. They seized a road junction and one town, but appear to be holding ground for now, probably waiting for the Qayara air base to be refurbished before launching major operations again. IS also executed six people in the district.

The car bombing in Diyala was the only successful one in the country for the week. The government claimed to have destroyed 19 more, in Baghdad, Ninewa and Salahaddin.

Violence In Iraq 2016

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	171	856	421
Jan 8-14	160	517	413
Jan 15-21	160	403	223
Jan 22-28	149	445	320
Jan 29-31	55	133	334
JAN	695	2,345	1,711
Feb 1-7	176	611	312
Feb 8-14	143	230	323
Feb 15-21	157	392	239
Feb 22-29	160	382	690
FEB	635	1,615	1,565
Mar 1-7	184	333	482
Mar 8-14	169	477	515
Mar 15-21	132	418	502
Mar 22-28	141	245	432
Mar 29-31	53	192	152
MAR	679	1,665	2,083
Apr 1-7	157	398	510
Apr 8-14	145	361	443
Apr 15-21	130	531	300
Apr 22-28	166	480	532
Apr 29-30	31	65	121
APR	629	1,835	1,906
May 1-7	164	386	422
May 8-14	147	407	687
May 15-21	127	387	617
May 22-28	150	315	445
May 29-31	84	122	313
MAY	672	1,617	2,484
Jun 1-7	177	592	1,639
Jun 8-14	136	345	472
Jun 15-21	154	416	523
Jun 22-28	123	329	410
Jun 29-30	40	429	3,405
JUN	630	2,111	6,449
Jul 1-7	120	589	635
Jul 8-14	129	242	316
Jul 15-21	123	168	272
Jun 22-28	115	234	366
Jul 29-31	43	95	119
JUL	530	1,328	1,708
Aug 1-7	109	342	255

Security By Province Aug 1-7 2016

Province	Incidents
Anbar	5 Incidents 64 Killed: 4 ISF, 60 Civilians 4 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 3 ISF 2 IEDs
Babil	2 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 4 Wounded: 4 Civilians 1 IED
Baghdad	66 Incidents 69 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 2 Hashd, 5 ISF, 61 Civilians 201 Wounded: 2 Sahwa, 9 Hashd, 22 ISF, 168 Civilians 21 Shootings 33 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs 1 Mortar 1 Grenade 2 Suicide Bombers killed 1 Truck Bomb Dismantled
Diyala	10 Incidents 6 Killed: 2 Hashd, 4 Civilians 11 Wounded: 3 ISF, 3 Civilians, 5 Hashd 4 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Suicide Car Bomb
Kirkuk	12 Incidents 175 Killed: 175 Civilians 19 Wounded: 19 Civilians 6 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Rockets
Ninewa	10 Incidents 25 Killed: 12 ISF, 13 Civilians 16 Wounded: 7 Civilians, 9 ISF 2 Shootings 22 IEDs 3 Suicide Bombers 1 Mortar 15 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	4 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 ISF 1 Shooting 1 Mortar 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq Aug 1-7 2016

Date	Car Bombs	Dead	Wounded
Aug 1	Shirqat, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed
Aug 2	Hadhar & Qayara, Ninewa – 15 destroyed
Aug 3	Tarmiya, Baghdad – 1 destroyed
Aug 4	North of Baquba, Diyala	1	5
Aug 5
Aug 6
Aug 7
Totals	1 – 19 Destroyed	1	5

SOURCES

Airwars, "August 4th 2016: Baoizh village near Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

Iraq Body Count, “Recent events”

Iraqi News, "Aerial bombing in Anbar kills civilians," 8/3/16

- "Baghdad Operations kills two suicide bombers south of Baghdad," 8/7/16

- "Iraqi Army liberate Ramah village in Mosul," 8/6/16

- "Iraqi forces regain two areas south of Mosul," 8/2/16

- "Shia militia with international coalition liberate Waleed along Syrian border," 8/3/16

Al Maalomah, "Killed and wounded in a car bombing north Baquba," 8/4/16

Al Mada, "Khalidiya security: start of security operation against Daash in Khalidiya island," 8/5/16

NINA, "A booby-trapped tanker found hidden in one of the groves in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad," 8/3/16

- "Number Of Terrorists killed, Car Bombs Destroyed In Qayyarah And Hadhar South Of Mosul," 8/2/16

Sotaliraq, "Iraqi army thwarts three suicide bombings in Sharqat," 8/1/16