Security In Iraq Apr 8-14, 2023

Ramadan is almost over and the Islamic State has still not launched its annual offensive in Iraq. This is the latest sign of the decline of the group which has become inconsequential in the country.

 

From April 8-14 there were just 4 incidents reported in the press. Those occurred in Anbar (1), Baghdad (1) and Ninewa (2).

 

This was the eleventh week in a row that incidents were in single digits. So far 13 of 14 weeks in 2023 have seen incidents in single digits. This continues the trend started in 2022.

 

There was just one casualty during the week with one civilian wounded in Ninewa.

 

In Anbar, a suicide bomber was cornered by the security forces and detonated his device killing himself. This happened in the western part of the province where the Islamic State is still active trying to smuggle its people from Syria into Iraq to bolster its dwindling numbers.

 

A Hashd patrol was shot at in Tarmiya in northern Baghdad. This is a long time insurgent hub which has been very active the last few months. The attack was to try to keep government forces out of the area.

 

The Islamic State made a probing attack upon the Peshmerga in the Makhmour district of Ninewa which is a disputed area. That was the only offensive operation during the week. The militants have tried defenses in this area before hoping to exploit gaps between the central and regional governments forces. An old IED also wounded a civilian in Hatra. That means there were only 3 actual attacks during the week.

 

As usual all the incidents during the week were in rural areas where there are few people and little government presence. The Islamic State is barely hanging on in these areas having lost its networks and having few members left anymore. It’s the reason why the group has no real impact upon Iraq these days.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Apr 1-7	Apr 8-14
Anbar	-	1
Baghdad	-	1
Kirkuk	3	-
Ninewa	1	2
Salahaddin	1	-
TOTAL	5	4

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Apr 1-7	Apr 8-14
Kirkuk	4 (1K, 3W)	-
Ninewa	2 (2W)	1 (1W)
Salahaddin	2 (2W)	-
TOTAL	8 (1K, 7W)	1 (1W)

 

Security In Iraq 2022-23

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
Jan 1-7	18/9	3	4
Jan 8-14	35/21	3	18
Jan 15-21	12/5	17	12
Jan 22-28	16/3	8	19
Jan 29-31	6/2	2	6
JAN	87/41	33	59
Feb 1-7	11/3	1	10
Feb 8-14	14/6	8	3
Feb 15-21	9/1	-	11
Feb 22-28	8/4	1	5
FEB	42/14	10	29
Mar 1-7	7/3	1	-
Mar 8-14	18/3/1	6	5
Mar 15-21	10/4	5	6
Mar 22-28	6/1	7	4
Mar 29-31	4/1	-	5
MAR	46/12/1	19	21
Apr 1-7	16/8	-	6
Apr 8-14	21/7	8	25
Apr 15-21	22/2	10	22
Apr 22-28	44/4	14	44
Apr 29-30	6/1	2	6
APR	111/22	34	103
May 1-7	31/3	8	25
May 8-14	9/2	2	7
May 15-21	18/6	10	6
May 22-28	13/1	21	11
May 29-31	2/1	-	2
MAY	73/13	41	51
Jun 1-7	6/2	-	8
Jun 8-14	12/4	1	9
Jun 15-21	10/2	5	2
Jun 22-28	12/6	1	14
Jun 29-30	-	-	-
JUN	40/14	7	33
Jul 1-7	7/1	6	11
Jul 8-14	3	-	2
Jul 15-21	11/2	14	16
Jul 22-28	18/7	9	21
Jul 29-31	4	4	4
JUL	43/6	33	54
Aug 1-7	9/1	6	15
Aug 8-14	14	2	14
Aug 15-21	7/2	-	6
Aug 22-28	23/4	14	15
Aug 29-31	4	2	4
AUG	57/7/1	24	54
Sep 1-7	11/1	3	20
Sep 8-14	5	-	12
Sep 15-21	12	4	14
Sep 22-28	10/2 M	2	16
Sep 29-30	3/1 M	-	2
SEP	41/1/3 M	9	64
Oct 1-7	9/2 M	6	16
Oct 8-14	8/2/1 M	5	19
Oct 15-21	6	4	7
Oct 22-28	3	2	1
Oct 29-31	2	-	2
OCT	28/2/3 M	17	45
Nov 1-7	7	1	3
Nov 8-14	6	1	8
Nov 15-21	8	7	17
Nov 22-28	2	1	-
Nov 29-30	-	-	-
NOV	23	10	28
Dec 1-7	13/1	6	11
Dec 8-14	6	7	8
Dec 15-21	6	29	15
Dec 22-28	6	-	4
Dec 29-31	2	-	-
DEC	33/1	42	38
Jan 1-7	7	4	2
Jan 8-14	6/1	5	2
Jan 15-21	11/1	2	7
Jan 22-28	5/2	1	2
Jan 29-31	1	-	2
JAN	29/4	12	15
Feb 1-7	6/2	1	5
Feb 8-14	1	-	2
Feb 15-21	4	4	8
Feb 22-28	9/1	7	3
FEB	20/3	12	18
Mar 1-7	3	10	4
Mar 8-14	2	2	1
Mar 15-21	2	1	3
Mar 22-28	1	2	-
Mar 29-31	1	3	-
MAR	9	18	8
Apr 1-7	5	1	7
Apr 8-14	4	-	1

 

Violence By Province Apr 1-7, 2023

Province	Violence	2018 Avg	2019 Avg	2020 Avg	2021 Avg	2022 Avg	2023 Avg
Anbar	1 Incident   1 Suicide Bomber Killed	12.6 incidents/ month	8.6 incidents/ month	7.0 incidents/ month	4.6 incidents/ month	2.0 incidents/month	0.6 Incidents/month
Babil	-	4.0 incidents/month	3.0 incidents/month	2.7 incidents/month	2.5 incidents/month	2.0 incidents/month	0.3 Incidents/month
Baghdad	1 Incident   1 Shooting	33.0 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	7.3 incidents/month	5.6 incidents/ month	3.5 incidents/month	3.6 Incidents/month
Diyala	-	38.6 incidents/month	30.0 incidents/month	30.6 incidents/month	22.8 incidents/month	12.2 incidents/month	5.3 Incidents/month
Kirkuk	-	36.5 incidents/month	18.6 incidents/month	13.9 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	8.2 incidents/month	1.3 Incidents/month
Ninewa	2 Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian   1 Shooting 1 IED	20.0 incidents/month	13.2 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	8.4 incidents/month	6.0 incidents/month	3 Incidents/month
Salahaddin	-	21.7 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	11.2 incidents/month	11.5 incidents/month	5.5 incidents/month	2.3 Incidents/month
IRAQ	4 Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian   2 Shootings 1 IED 1 Suicide Bomber Killed	166.6 incidents/month	95.5 incidents/month	85.5 incidents/month	69.9 incidents/month	40.2 incidents/month	17 Incidents/month

 

SOURCES

 

NINA, "A civilian injured when an explosive device left by ISIS exploded south of Mosul," 4/10/23

 

Shafaq News, "Anbar .. A Suicide bomber who tried to blow himself up was killed among shepherds in the west of the province," 4/8/23

- "Peshmerga forces announce repelling an attack by ISIS militants near the Kurdistan Region," 4/8/23

- "Unidentified gunmen attack a Tarmiya Hashd patrol, north of Baghdad," 4/11/23