Security In Iraq May 1-7, 2017

There was another record low number of security incidents in Iraq the first week of May 2017. Casualties on the other hand were about average for the year.

There were just 105 incidents in Iraq from May 1-7, 2017. That was the lowest recorded total for a full week since Musings On Iraq began following security in 2013. By province there were 50 incidents in Ninewa, 22 in Baghdad, 8 in Anbar, 7 in Diyala, 6 in Salahaddin, 5 in Kirkuk, 3 in Babil and Basra each, and 1 in Dohuk. The dip in attacks was due to a drop in incidents in Ninewa. As the battle for the city is winding down there have been fewer attacks reported.

The number of casualties was average even though attacks were down. There were 396 killed and 463 wounded. 3 Peshmerga, 3 Hashd, 50 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 340 civilians lost their lives, and 9 Peshmerga, 17 Hashd, 24 ISF, and 413 civilians were injured.

Ninewa led the country in deaths again. There were 322 there, along with 32 in Anbar, 11 in Baghdad, 10 in Kirkuk, 7 in Diyala, 3 in Basra and Salahaddin each, 2 in Babil, and 1 in Dohuk.

The Islamic State continued their comeback in Anbar. There were just 8 incidents in Anbar, but 32 dead and 40 wounded. The insurgents attacked the security forces several times including an assault upon an army base in Saqar, and a suicide bomber targeting a patrol. A suicide car bomb hit a market in Haditha, an IED went off in a crowd in Fallujah, and two suicide bombers were killed in Ramadi, which detonated their explosives. The provincial officials have been complaining for months that violence is increasing, and called for Baghdad’s aid. They want the government to free the western section of Anbar, which remains under IS control. Small, limited operations have been launched, but no real effort will be made to seize the insurgent areas until Mosul is finished. That will mean more of these types of incidents

A suicide bomber attacked Jurf al-Sakhr once again. The week before there were several more mass casualty bombings in the town. It’s not clear whether this marks a return of the Islamic State to the area or whether they were just harassing attacks from Baghdad or Anbar.

Security in Baghdad continued to improve. There were just 22 incidents with 11 dead and 36 injured. Since the Mosul operation started attacks in the capital province have dramatically decreased to the lowest level in years. 11 deaths for example used to be an average day’s total, now that is an average week. That didn’t mean the militants completely ignored Baghdad as two suicide car bombs were destroyed during the week.

Nearly every week local politicians in Diyala, Kirkuk, and Salahaddin complain about IS either controlling territory or returning. There were two security sweeps in Diyala in response, but they made no real impact. During the week, all three provinces were quiet. There were only 5 incidents in Kirkuk, 6 in Salahaddin, and 7 in Diyala. As usual despite the low figures the militants were still aiming towards mass casualty attacks. In Diyala, 3 car bombs were destroyed in two separate incidents. In Kirkuk IS attacked a Peshmerga base that included suicide bombers. In Salahaddin 2 suicide bombers hit Samarra, and three more were killed in Balad.

As usual, Ninewa drove the security situation in the country. There were 50 incidents leading to 332 killed and 354 wounded. The Islamic State was accused of executing 75 people. Coalition and Iraqi air strikes and artillery were blamed for another 191 deaths and 307 injured. There are only a few areas of Mosul still under insurgent control, which means fewer casualties are being reported, especially amongst civilians. They are still the overwhelming victims with 301 losing their lives and 348 being wounded during the week. There were likely many more casualties that never got into the press.

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	188	509	1,346
Jan 8-14	168	371	1,036
Jan 15-21	137	583	1,264
Jan 22-28	145	289	310
Jan 29-31	74	127	338
JAN	712	1,879	4,294
Feb 1-7	123	388	176
Feb 8-14	164	434	390
Feb 15-21	146	383	505
Feb 22-28	184	645 + 399	1,388 + 1,634
FEB	617	1850 + 399	2,459 + 1634
Mar 1-7	179	749	622
Mar 8-14	171	551	614
Mar 15-21	142	560	1,166
Mar 22-28	152	1,233	575
Mar 29-31	71	374 + 278	288 + 2,925
MAR	715	3,467 + 278	3,265 + 2,925
Apr 1-7	174	903	487
Apr 8-14	125	586	669
Apr 15-21	107	477	347
Apr 22-28	120	695	239
Apr 29-30	39	138	51
APR	565	2,799	1,793
May 1-7	105	396	463

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "IS attack in western Iraq kills 10 soldiers," 5/2/17

Airwars, "May 4th 2017: 17 July 17th neighbourhood, West Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

- "May 4th 2017: Several Neighbourhoods, North-West Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

- "May 5th 2017: Agrarian Reform and other neighbourhoods, West Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

- "May 5th 2017: Iktisadeen (Economists) neighborhood, West Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

Anadolu Agency, "Daesh suicide attack kills 2 policemen in northern Iraq," 5/2/17

Associated Press, "IS kills 2 in attack on Iraqi Kurdish base," 5/7/17

Baghdad Post, "2 Tribal Mobilization terrorists killed, injured in southern Baghdad," 5/2/17

- "4 injured in blast in northern Baghdad," 5/1/17

- "11 killed, injured in suicide attack in southern Baghdad," 5/1/17

- "12 government forces killed in attack in Mosul's al-Yarmouk neighborhood," 5/3/17

- "14 killed, injured, including 2 policemen, in 2 separate blasts in Anbar," 5/3/17

- "240 civilians killed, injured in 4 days by gov't shelling in Mosul," 5/4/17

- "Iraqi police foil ISIS attack on power pylons, says official," 5/3/17

- "Iraqi prosecutor survives assassination attempt in Kirkuk," 5/7/17

- "ISIS terrorists execute 6 civilians in Kirkuk," 5/7/17

- "Militants kill man, his wife in northern Baghdad," 5/6/17

- "Three explosive devices dismantled in eastern Baqubah," 5/3/17

- "Two suicide bombers killed in Ramadi," 5/3/17

Bas News, "IS Executed 51 Civilians in Mosul," 5/1/17

-"IS Militants Attack Hashd Al-Shaabi Forces in Khanaqeen, Diyala," 5/3/17

- "Peshmerga Officer Killed in Tuz Khurmatu Bombing," 5/5/17

Buratha News, "Eight martyrs and wounded toll of Turkish shelling north Dohuk," 5/3/17

-"The Popular Crowd blows up two terrorist booby-trapped trucks in Diyala," 5/6/17

Coles, Isabel, "Iraqi forces gain foothold in northwest Mosul after surprise new push," Reuters, 5/5/17

Daily Sabah, "81 killed in Mosul school bombing during anti-Daesh operations," 5/5/17

El Fagr, "Nine Iraqi police killed in a car bomb explosion west Mosul," 5/6/17

Al Forat, "The popular crowd caused heavy losses in repulsing a failed attack south of Mosul," 5/1/17

- "Video: A suicide bomber blows himself up after being surrounded in Mutaibiji 5/5/17

IMMAP, "Iraq: Mosul Humanitarian Response: Weekly Explosive Incidents Report (7-13 May 2017," 5/13/17

Iraq News App, "Iraq: Iraqi forces thwarted an attack by two car bombs in Musheirfa within west Mosul," 5/7/17

Iraq Oil Report, "Inside Mosul: May 1, 2017," 5/1/17

- "Inside Mosul: May 2, 2017," 5/3/17

- "Inside Mosul: May 3, 2017," 5/3/17

- "Inside Mosul: May 6 & 7, 2017," 5/7/17

Al Jazeera, "Mosul: Iraqi army denies air raid targeting civilians," 5/5/17

Kittleson, Shelly, "Southern front lies stalled for weeks in west Mosul," Al Monitor, 5/14/17

Al Maalomah, "13 civilians including members of the security forces were wounded in a suicide bombing in Ramadi," 5/2/17

- "Death and wounding of five civilians from one family in the Old City of West Mosul," 5/1/17

- "Death of an employee and wounding another in an explosion north of Fallujah," 5/3/17

- "Dismantled an explosive device north Baghdad," 5/2/17

- "Five civilians wounded by an explosive device north Baghdad," 5/4/17

- "Foiled the infiltration of Islamic State in Makhoul," 5/3/17

- "A kidnapped person was released and his kidnappers arrested southeast Baghdad," 5/4/17

- "The popular crowd foiled attack near Baiji," 5/7/17

- "Two civilians were killed and three others wounded from a single family as they tried to leave Qaim," 5/5/17

Al Mayadin, "Iraq: Al-Mayadin correspondent in Iraq: The toll of the suicide bombing in Haditha reaches 5 martyrs and 8 wounded," 5/5/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, "Attack foiled on road security deployment west of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 5/3/17

- "Eleven civilians die in western Mosul airstrikes, coalition suspected," Iraqi News, 5/4/17

- "Islamic State execute 10 for escaping western Mosul districts, assisting security," Iraqi News, 5/1/17

- "Three policemen wounded in southern Baghdad blast," Iraqi News, 5/5/17

Mostafa, Nehal, "Civilians killed, injured due to Islamic State attack, coalition airstrikes in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 5/7/17

- "Iraqi troops say further progress made in central Mosul, IS snipers killed in the west," 5/1/17

- "Military offensive launched in four regions, eastern Baquba," Iraqi News, 5/6/17

- "Mortar missile kills child, wounds another in Basra," Iraqi News, 5/2/17

- "One killed, two injured in two IED blasts in Baghdad," Iraqi News, 5/3/17

- "Two civilians killed, three wounded in two blasts, western Baghdad," Iraqi News, 5/6/17

- "Updated: More locations liberated in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 5/4/17

New Sabah, "The joint forces penetrate 500 meters and control several buildings in the Hermat neighborhood in Mosul," 5/6/17

NINA, "4 Civilians Of One Family Killed In A Rocket Attack Of Daesh In Mosul," 5/1/17

- "Int'l Coalition Destroy 5 Vehicle Bombs, Driven By Suicide Bombers West of Mosul," 5/6/17

- "An officer in the Peshmerga injured in a roadside bomb explosion," 5/5/17

- "PMF Foil An Attack To Daesh To Break The Siege On Tal Afar And Kill 40 Terrorists," 5/7/17

- "PMF Foils An Attack To Daesh In Sinia Desert In Salahuddin Province," 5/2/17

- "Police Kill 3 Terrorists, Arrest 10 Others In Failed Attack South Of Mosul," 5/6/17

- "Retrieved the body of an unidentified young man from the Euphrates River south of Hilla," 5/1/17

- "The Security forces are saving the life of a kidnapped man and arrested his hijacker south of Baghdad," 5/6/17

- "A Student Killed, 12 Injured In Missile Attack By Daesh North Of Mosul," 5/3/17

"Three suicide bombers killed and their boat seized north of Balad in Salah al-Din," 5/1/17

Rojkan, Mira, "IS Once Again Attacks Civilians in Mosul with Chemical Weapons," Bas News, 5/3/17

Rudaw, "Iraqi forces gain ground northwest of Mosul after intensive fighting, army," 5/6/17

- "Peshmerga repel predawn ISIS assault in Kirkuk, killing five," 5/7/17

Shafaaq News, "Five killed, including two policemen, in a suicide bombing in Haditha," 5/5/17

- "The release of kidnapped and the arrest of the kidnappers in two areas in Baghdad," 5/1/17

Sobir, Shoguna, "Iraqi Forces Retake Further Areas in West Mosul," Bas News, 5/6/17

Sotaliraq, "The body of an unidentified young man found shot dead southeast Baghdad," 5/5/17

Al Sumaria, "Aborted attack by Dash on popular crowd checkpoints in Naft Khanah Diyala," 5/3/17

- "Baghdad operations announce suicide bombing attack north of capital," 5/2/17

- "Baghdad operations announced the release of a kidnapped person and arrested the kidnappers south capital," 5/3/17

- "A civilian was injured by a sound device explosion southeast Baghdad," 5/3/17

- "An exchange of fire killed a member of the Basra police," 5/4/17

- "The killing a member of the tribal crowd by a Daesh attack east of Baquba," 5/5/17

- "Unknown gunmen kill Mukhtar in an agricultural village south of Baquba," 5/6/17

- "Unknown gunmen shoot a retired naval officer in Basra," 5/6/17

Xinhua, "Three killed in spate of gunmen attacks in Iraq," 5/2/17