Violence Up In Iraq In January 2015 As Insurgents Go On Offensive Again

The insurgency in Iraq carried out major offensive operations once again in January 2015 causing a decided increase in casualties. The Islamic State continued with its attempts to seize major cities and towns in Anbar. It also carried out multi pronged attacks in Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salahaddin as well. At the same time, IS lost one its major bases in Diyala. Before, attacks were going down during the winter, but they have now picked up once again.   

There were 811 attacks in January 2015. That was up from the 678 reported in December and the 593 in November. Baghdad had the most incidents with 205, followed by 164 in Salahaddin, 161 in Anbar, 124 in Ninewa, 54 in Kirkuk, 53 in Diyala, 29 in Babil, 14 in Basra, four in Maysan, two in Qadisiyah, and one in Irbil.

Those attacks led to 2,287 killed and 2,895 wounded. That was the most dead since October’s 2,347. January’s figure broke down to 326 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 83 peshmerga, 77 sahwa, 29 Asayesh, 8 members of the Syrian YPG, and 1,764 civilian deaths. The wounded consisted of 310 ISF, 192 peshmerga, 58 sahwa, 8 Asayesh, 2 YPG, and 2,325 civilians. By province, Ninewa witnessed 670 fatalities, 538 in Salahaddin, 357 in Baghdad, 318 in Anbar, 298 in Diyala, 54 in Babil, 38 in Kirkuk, 10 in Basra, two in Maysan, and one each in Irbil and Qadisiyah.

Violence In Iraq By Week Jun. 2014-Jan. 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jun 1-7	228	612	1,020
Jun 8-14	234	1,889	890
Jun 15-21	179	803	759
Jun 22-28	203	733	777
Jun 29-30	59	127	236
JUN	901	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	269	1,122	885
Aug 9-14	179	710	1,152
Aug 15-21	150	354	499
Aug 22-28	156	523	798
Aug 29-31	59	125	289
AUG	813	2,834	3,623
Sep 1-7	168	616	751
Sep 8-14	156	433	722
Sep 15-21	166	620	749
Sep 22-28	153	395	573
Sep 29-30	47	112	252
SEP	690	2,176	3,047
Oct 1-7	170	451	687
Oct 8-14	188	532	875
Oct 15-21	156	449	770
Oct 22-28	159	345	592 + 1,230
Oct 29-31	68	570	227
OCT	741	2,347	3,151 + 1,230
Nov 1-7	153	601	828
Nov 8-14	128	420	593
Nov 15-21	134	283	464
Nov 22-28	138	321	640
Nov 29-30	40	206	510
NOV	593	1,831	3,035
Dec 1-7	137	323	476
Dec 8-14	156	233 + 166	444 + 1,113
Dec 15-21	133	377	340
Dec 22-28	161	558	432
Dec 29-31	91	117	233
DEC	678	1,774	3,038
Jan 1-7	184	434	464
Jan 8-14	170	730	493
Jan 15-21	182	390	515
Jan 22-28	185	445	894
Jan 29-31	90	288	529
JAN	811	2,287	2,895

Violence In Iraq By Province, Jan. 2015

Province	Violence
Anbar	161 Incidents 318 Killed: 57 ISF, 67 Sahwa, 194 Civilians 569 Wounded: 69 ISF, 44 Sahwa, 456 Civilians 106 Shootings 4 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers 18 Suicide Car Bombs 14 Mortars 3 Rockets
Babil	29 Incidents 54 Killed: 11 ISF, 1 Sahwa, 42 Civilians 156 Wounded: 7 ISF, 149 Civilians 5 Shootings 15 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Car Bomb
Baghdad	205 Incidents 357 Killed: 23 ISF, 6 Sahwa, 328 Civilians 980 Wounded: 45 ISF, 13 Sahwa, 922 Civilians 63 Shootings 118 IEDs 17 Sticky Bombs 1 Motorcycle Bomb 4 Suicide Bombers 2 Car Bombs 1 Grenade 10 Mortars
Basra	14 Incidents 10 Killed: 10 Civilians 5 Wounded: 5 Civilians 8 Shootings 2 IEDs
Diyala	53 Incidents 298 Killed: 25 ISF, 25 Peshmerga, 2 Sahwa, 246 Civilians 522 Wounded: 11 ISF, 7 Peshmerga, 1 Sahwa, 503 Civilians 34 Shootings 14 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Car Bomb 6 Mortars
Irbil	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 6 Wounded: 6 Civilians 1 Mortar
Kirkuk	54 Incidents 38 Killed: 23 Peshmerga, 3 Asayesh, 1 Sahwa, 11 Civilians 186 Wounded: 175 Peshmerga, 3 Asayesh, 8 Civilians 26 Shootings 17 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 4 Suicide Bombers 1 Car Bomb 3 Mortars
Maysan	4 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 2 Shootings 1 Stun Bomb
Ninewa	124 Incidents 670 Killed: 78 ISF, 34 Peshmerga, 26 Asayesh, 8 YPG, 524 Civilians 14 Wounded: 7 Peshmerga, 5 Asayesh, 2 YPG 88 Shootings 30 IEDs 3 Suicide Car Bombs
Qadisiyah	2 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting 1 Sticky Bomb
Salahaddin	164 Incidents 538 Killed: 132 ISF, 1 Peshmerga, 405 Civilians 456 Wounded: 178 ISF, 3 Peshmerga, 275 Civilians 73 Shootings 106 IEDs 5 Sticky Bombs 4 Suicide Bombers 14 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Car Bomb 2 Grenades 8 Mortars

After a big dip in December, the Islamic State more than doubled the number of car bombs (VBIEDs) in January. There were just 21 in January a two year low. IS then launched 45 in January. There were many more car bomb attempts, but they were destroyed before they reached their intended targets. The vast majority of these VBIEDs were used in tactical attacks against the security forces or in attempts to penetrate cities. That shift was shown in the fact that Baghdad, which had traditionally been the major target, was only attacked two times during the month. Instead Salahaddin was hit five times and Anbar seven.

Car Bombs In Iraq Jan. 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1	Habaniya, Anbar
Jan 2
Jan 3
Jan 4	Sadoun St, Baghdad Outside Samarra, Salahaddin		5
Jan 5	Anaz, Anbar	4	7
Jan 6
Jan 7	Ayathiya x2, Ninewa	4	3
Totals	6	8	15
Jan 8	Yusifiya Babil Berhewa, Ninewa Samarra x5, Salahaddin	15	23
Jan 9	Mount Sinjar x2, Ninewa
Jan 10
Jan 11	Baiji Refinery & West of Samarra, Salahaddin	1	3
Jan 12
Jan 13
Jan 14
Totals	11	16	26
Jan 15	Baquba, Diyala Tarmiya, Salahaddin	3	21
Jan 16	Rahaliya, Anbar Hweish, Salahaddin	23	1
Jan 17
Jan 18
Jan 19	Ramadi, Anbar Mahmudiya, Babil	3	15
Jan 20	Abu Risha, Albu Ghanim, Nikhaib, Ramadi x7, Anbar	5	35
Jan 21
Totals	16	34	72
Jan 22	Horan, Anbar Taji, Salahaddin	15	24
Jan 23
Jan 24	Baladrooz, Diyala	1	4
Jan 25
Jan 26
Jan 27
Jan 28
Totals	3	16	28
Jan 29	Tarmiya, Salahaddin	3	10
Jan 30	Nikhaib & Shjariya, Anbar Babj al-Sharji, Baghdad Kirkuk, Kirkuk Samarra x3, Salahaddin	68	106
Jan 31	Northeast of Ramadi, Anbar	6
Total	9	77	116
JAN TOTAL	45	151	257

In Anbar, the Islamic State increased its attempts to take the remaining towns and cities in the province, but to no avail. The number of incidents went from 129 in December to 161 in January. These took place across the breadth of the province with Baghdadi in between Haditha and Hit in the west attacked eight times, Garma in the east by Baghdad province attacked ten times, Haditha ten times, Amiriya Fallujah in the southeast by Babil assaulted 13 times, and the provincial capital Ramadi 23 times. There were also major operations such as on January 20 when an army base in Nikhaib, Sheikh Abu Risha’s compound in Abu Risha, and the Howaz district of Ramadi were attacked by suicide car bombs, followed by infantry assaults. All of these attacks were turned back, often with the help of coalition air strikes. IS has not had any real gains in the province since October when it took Hit, but it has not given up trying.

On the other hand the ISF, tribes, and militias were still working on the small towns outside of the major cities. Most of these were concentrated around Baghdadi and Shjariya outside of Ramadi. Insurgents surrounded Baghdadi in December, but that cordon was subsequently broken. Pro-government forces were especially concerned about securing that area because the Ain-Assad base is just outside of the city. It has become a major training center in Anbar with American advisers stationed there. Shjariya was focused upon to try to relieve the pressure on Ramadi, which insurgents had gained ground within in recent weeks.

Mortar and artillery hit Fallujah 23 out of 31 days. That left 126 dead and 298 wounded. That was 39% of the fatalities for the month and 52% of the injured. Sometimes this was due to dueling barrages between the government and insurgents, but more often then not it was indiscriminate shelling by the army into the center of the city. This has been going on for a year now, and has taken hundreds of lives.

Casualties Government Shelling In Anbar Jan. 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jan 2	Fallujah	20	30
Jan 3	Fallujah	3	9
Jan 5	Fallujah	4	16
Jan 6	Fallujah	4	11
Total	-	31	66
Jan 9	Fallujah	3	9
Jan 10	Fallujah	3	14
Jan 11	Fallujah	3	7
Jan 12	Fallujah	11	20
Jan 13	Fallujah	13	18
Jan 14	Fallujah	13	17
Total	-	46	85
Jan 15	Fallujah	4	7
Jan 16	Fallujah	3	6
Jan 17	Fallujah	4	17
Jan 18	Fallujah	2	25
Jan 19	Fallujah	6	19
Jan 20	Fallujah	3	7
Total		22	81
Jan 22	Fallujah	10	5
Jan 25	Fallujah	2	11
Jan 26	Fallujah	4	11
Jan 27	Fallujah		8
Jan 28	Fallujah	4	7
Total	-	20	42
Jan 29	Fallujah	2	5
Jan 30	Fallujah	5	19
TOTAL	-	126	298

  

IS is still recovering in Babil after losing its major base in Jurf al-Sakhr. It is now trying to re-group in the northern section of the province, which is where the majority of attacks now occur. There were 29 in January, which was roughly the same as December’s 27. IEDs were the main type of attack showing that the militants were not up to directly confronting the security forces like they did previously in 2014.

The type of attacks in Baghdad has also seen a change. Before the capital regularly had the most car bomb attacks as IS was attempting to stoke sectarian tensions and undermine the government. In January, Baghdad only received 2 VBIEDs. Instead, insurgents have used more and more improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In January there were 118, the most recorded in a year. That compared to 97 in December, 91 in November, 73 in October, and 85 in September.

At the end of January Badr organization head Hadi Ameri and the ISF suddenly declared that all of Diyala was secured. This was after a successful operation in Muqtadiya that cleared a major IS base in Sensl. Rather than defeating the insurgents however, they have simply been dispersed to Abu Saida and the Diyala River Valley in the east. 70 soldiers and militiamen were killed and 400 wounded in the operation. The province is still home to many insurgent groups, and the victory claim will probably mean that Diyala will not receive the manpower that it needs to hold and clear territory.

During the month a number of mass graves were also discovered in Diyala. January 14 16 bodies were discovered in Koubashi. Two days later 25 bodies were found in Sadiya, and then a second grave there turned up with another 26 people executed by IS on January 21. Finally, on January 31 11 ISF members were found dead in Sensl after it was cleared. This has occurred throughout the country. Whenever the Islamic State is pushed out of an area their victims are discovered. Many more of these types of cases can be expected in the future.

In Kirkuk the Islamic State surprised the peshmerga by attacking a number of villages. On January 10 it launched operations against six villages southwest of Kirkuk. Then January 24 and 28 it assaulted several towns in Daquq in the south. Then on January 30 IS took five villages just outside of Kirkuk that took 17 peshmerga lives including a general, and wounded 160 more. The fighting continued into the next day, and led to the death of another Kurdish general in Mullah Abdullah. This was the first time insurgents had carried out any major operations in the province in months. The drive at the end of the month was especially alarming as it threatened the provincial capital, and cost the lives of two peshmerga commanders.

IS was also active in Ninewa. There it started attacks upon Makhmour, which had just been retaken by the Kurds. On January 4 it took Gwar, and several other villages. Five days later it assaulted the same area surrounding several towns, launched two car bombs upon Mount Sinjar, and continued operations in that area until January 13. Then it attacked Makhmour again on January 25 and from January 30-31. The Kurds were on the offensives themselves in the Tal Afar area. During the winter the peshmerga seized back considerable territory from the Islamic State. Now IS was hitting back. Like in Kirkuk it gained no real ground, but let the Kurds know what it was still capable of.

The security forces and militias were still trying to consolidate ground that it had just taken in Salahaddin. There were clearing operations in Dhuluiya, one in Dujail on January 3, another on January 11 and a third on January 26, and two in Nibai. Government forces just seized these areas, but apparently did not have the manpower to fully hold the region. That was what led to the repeated sweeps through the same areas.

The Islamic State continued attacks throughout Salahaddin to try to stretch the security forces. It attacked the Baiji refinery several times, Baiji itself, Dujail, and Shirqat. There were also more sophisticated attacks such as a suicide car bomb on an army base in Taji, and two car bombings on Tarmiya. That was topped off by a truck bomb and assault upon the Samarra perimeter, a car bomb on an army base outside of the city, and then three suicide car bombs, and another infantry assault on Samarra on January 30. These were more signs that IS was picking up its activities in January. Samarra had not been seriously threatened for several weeks, and now it was a major focus. This effort was more like Anbar than Kirkuk or Ninewa. In the former, IS was attempting to take major towns and cities. Samarra is the home of the Askari shrine, which has been used as a rallying cry by the militias and Iran. While IS has gained no real ground in Salahaddin it has maintained operations throughout the province despite its losses. It is now attempting to gain back the initiative and regain some of this lost territory. For now though it is suffering huge casualties and opening itself up to coalition air strikes when it masses its forces.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Suicide bomber kills prominent tribal leader in Iraq," 1/31/15

AIN, “5 villages liberated, 26 ISIL terrorists killed southern Salah il-Din,” 1/3/15

Alsumaria, "The killing of five members of Daash and burn their cars south of Tikrit," 1/11/15

- "Killing one and wounding four others by a car bomb east of Baquba," 1/24/15

- "The outcome of the suicide bombing in Anbar yesterday is seven dead and five wounded," 1/31/15

- "Source: 44 dead and 70 injured toll of bombings in central eastern Baghdad," 1/30/15

- "A suicide car bomb explosion in Shjariya east of Ramadi," 1/30/15

Buratha News, “Tigris Operations kill five Daash while clearing roads and orchards in Dhuluiya,” 1/1/15

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - January 10, 2015," 1/10/15

- "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - January 21, 2015," 1/21/15

- "Senior Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga officer killed in Islamic State attack in Kirkuk," 1/30/15

Al Forat, "3 Terrorists of ISIL killed in Dejel district," 1/26/15

- "13 Persons killed, wounded in Tarmiya," 1/29/15

- “ISF wage security operation to purge Nebae area of ISIL,” 1/7/15

Hars, Ghazi, "Kurdish forces recapture lost areas in pre-dawn fighting," Rudaw, 1/25/15

Iraq Times, "31 martyrs and wounded of the federal police and the army reserve in Samarra bombings," 1/30/15

- "54 martyrs and injured in Samarra five bombings," 1/8/15

- "A car bomb exploded at a gathering of the army south of Tikrit," 1/11/15

Al Jazeera, "Several killed in Iraq clashes," 1/4/15

Al Mada, "Found a mass grave containing remains of 25 victims of Daash in Saadia," 1/16/15

- "Rudaw: 201 component of the Peshmerga were killed or wounded in Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyala," 1/30/15

- "Three soldiers were killed in suicide bombing in Shjariya east of Ramadi," 1/30/15

Mamoun, Abdelhak, "Anbar police repels ISIS' deadliest attack in Ramadi," Iraqi News, 1/21/15

NINA, "/13/ Element of the Peshmerga killed and wounded southwest of Kirkuk," 1/10/15

- "26 elements of Daash killed ,in Baiji," 1/5/15

- "The IS launch an attack on the axis of Al-Kuwyr and Makhmour south of Mosul," 1/4/15

- "More than /20/ elements of the IS killed in Hamrin hills northeast of Baquba," 1/27/15

- "One Soldier Killed, Three Others Injured In A Car Bomb On A Bridge In Western Anbar," 1/22/15

- "Peshmerga besiege Tal Afar and liberated a umber of villages in the region," 1/24/15

- "The remains of /11/ employees of security forces executed by Daash found north of Muqdadiyah in Diyala," 1/31/15

- "Seven elements of Daash killed in clashes with the Peshmerga in Kirkuk," 1/24/15

- "Six elements of the IS killed south of Kirkuk," 1/28/15

- “The Sons of the clans liberated two villages western Anbar from the IS elements,” 1/2/14

- "A tribal member killed and /5/ soldiers wounded in northeast of Ramadi," 1/31/15

Radio Free Iraq, "14 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/14/15

- "20 January 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 1/20/15

Al Rayy, "The killing of four members of Daash and burning their vehicles north of Tikrit," 1/23/15

- "Security forces thwart an attack by Daash on the Baiji refinery," 1/4/15

- "Shammari announce the start of a massive operation to liberate the areas of Nibai," 1/12/15

Rudaw, "Eight Peshmerga, dozens of militants killed in fighting on various fronts," 1/30/15

- "Peshmerga repel ISIS offensive led by group's leader al-Baghdadi," 1/9/15

- "Second Kurdish commander killed as Peshmerga retake villages south of Kirkuk," 1/31/15

Shafaq News, "16 Wounded from the crowd and police in clashes with ISIS as it controls towers in Samarra," 1/30/15

- "ISIS attacks north of Samarra and south of Mosul," 1/13/15

- "ISIS controls Abu Risha's host place and a suicide bombing in Nikhaib," 1/20/15

Tomlinson, Simon, "Dozens die in wave of ISIS bombings across Iraq as terror group kills Kurdish commander in major attack on Kirkuk," 1/30/15

Xinhua, "IS militants launch major attack on Iraq's Samarra," 1/8/15

Yacoub, Sameer, "Bombings kill 14 soldiers, militiamen in Iraq," Associated Press, 1/22/15

- "Iraq Authorities Find 16 Bodies in Mass Grave," Associated Press, 1/14/15

Iraq’s Diyala Province An Insurgent Stronghold

Diyala is a perfect example of on going conflict in Iraq. When the insurgency regenerated itself in 2012, Diyala became one of its main bases. That prompted the entry of Shiite militias to fight them. In 2014 during the summer offensive the different factions joined together to seize control of the northern and eastern sections of the province. Recently the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and militias claimed that they had secured the entire province, but that was more propaganda than fact. The insurgents are still strong in rural sections and will continue to threaten not only Diyala, but neighboring Salahaddin and Baghdad as well.

Insurgents rebuilt their networks in Diyala in 2012 in the north around Qara Tapa and in the northeast by Sadiya, and used them to attack into the center of the governorate in Muqtadiya and Baquba (Institute for the Study of War)

When the insurgents were rebuilding their networks Diyala was one area they focused upon. They started by recruiting and re-establishing themselves in places like the Hamrin region and Sadiya and Jalawla in the east, which had never really been cleared of armed groups even during the height of the U.S. presence. In 2012 the Islamic State began asserting itself by hitting places like Baquba and the Diyala River Valley. In November 2013 it held a parade in Muqtadiya in the center of the province. The next month it declared a wilayat or governorate in Diyala. During those two months it also attacked an Emergency Police headquarters in Baquba, and a military base in Muqtadiya. The province was also used to move men and supplies into Salahaddin and Baghdad as well as hit targets there too. Diyala was an ideal area for the militants to rebuild. Its rural areas are noted for their heavy foliage, which offers perfect cover. The Diyala River Valley also provides access throughout the length of the governorate for the movement of men. These remain insurgent strongholds up to the present day.

As the militants began picking up their activities there was a response by Shiite armed groups. By the summer of 2013 there were the first reports of new militia activity in Diyala. Just as IS was marching through the streets of the province, the governor complained that militias were setting up fake checkpoints and carrying out extra judicial killings. Likewise, in April 2014 the Mutahidun party of Speaker Osama Nujafi demanded that the security forces do something about militia activity in the governorate. This was history repeating itself. In 2005 when the Badr Brigade took over the Interior Ministry it began sending in police commandos under its control into Diyala to carry out sectarian arrests, kidnappings and killings. Like then, the militias were retaliating in response to the insurgency. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also came to rely upon the Shiite armed factions more and more starting in 2013, as he was unhappy with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) who proved incapable of containing the growing violence throughout the country. Diyala was one of the first areas these militias went outside of Baghdad.

IS also built up its bases in eastern Diyala’s Baladrooz (Institute for the Study of War)

2014 was when security started really deteriorating in the province. At the start of the year there were complaints, especially in rural areas that there were no security forces to be seen. This was especially true as units were deployed from Diyala to Anbar where open fighting had broken out in January. That month the Islamic State took the town of Edheim in the northwestern section of the province, which had previously been used by Al Qaeda in Iraq. It was also spreading from the Hamrin Mountains and Diyala River Valley into Buhriz in the center, Bani Saad in the south, and Baladrooz in the east. The ISF responded with the first sweep of the year in the Hamrin area. In March, the insurgents picked up their attacks with a sophisticated assault upon Qara Tapa in the north above Lake Hamrin. That began with blowing up a bridge leading to the town to inhibit the security forces from responding. A police station and four checkpoints were then attacked forcing the ISF to withdraw. A neighboring town was then seized as well. It took six hours of fighting to retake the area. The security forces responded with mass arrests before withdrawing. The next month IS was still harassing Qara Tapa with mortar fire leading to the governor to demand help from the central government. At the end of the month the Islamists took over six voting centers in the area during parliamentary elections. At the start of 2014 the Islamic State ramped up its operations in several provinces to let the populace and authorities know that it was back. The dramatic attack upon Qara Tapa and then harassing operations afterward were the hallmarks of this campaign. The situation would only get worse when the summer started.

In June the insurgents made a major thrust in Diyala as part of its summer offensive. The Islamic Stated formed alliances with other armed factions such as the Naqshibandi, the Islamic Army, and the Revolutionary Tribes to carry out joint operations against the government. Attacks were focused upon Sadiya in the northeast, Qara Tapa in the north, Mansuriya in the east, and Baquba in the center. In the first two areas the ISF collapsed and abandoned their positions. The peshmerga filled this vacuum, but not soon enough to stop a tremendous loss of territory to the militants. 17 villages in Qara Tapa, 16 in Sadiya, 15 in Edheim, 12 in Jalawla, and 7 in Mansuriya fell. Only the attempt to take the provincial capital of Baquba was turned back. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responded by giving Transportation Minister, Badr Organization head and Diyala native Hadi Ameri control of security in the governorate. The ISF counter attacked at the end of June re-taking Edheim and Mansuriya. The events in Diyala mimicked what happened in many other regions of northern Iraq in June. The police and army simply gave up in many places giving the insurgents free reign. If not for the intervention of the peshmerga and the rallying of the ISF by the end of the month even more of the province would have fallen into the hands of the militants.

In the following months the ISF and peshmerga would launch operation after operation in Diyala, Many locations were cleared time and again only to have pro-government forces return to them. A classic example was the Hamrin Mountains cleared in July, October, and November. The ISF and peshmerga simply did not have the forces to hold an area for long. That meant after many security operations the insurgents would re-infiltrate leading to renewed fighting.

The last big piece of territory IS took in Diyala was the Sadiya-Jalawla area in August 2014 (New York Times)

IS had one more big push in it during the summer when it took the Sadiya-Jalawla area in the northeast. At the end of July, the peshmerga said that it had cleared the area, but ended up withdrawing allowing the IS to move right back in. In August the insurgents launched concerted attacks and took the area. It would take two months, but the peshmerga and militias finally retook Jalawla and Sadiya, leading to a whole new round of disputes as the Kurds claimed the region as part of the disputed territories, while the militias demanded that they leave. That argument has not been resolved yet.

The success of the summer offensive covered up the deep divisions and rivalries between the insurgents groups. The Islamic State like its predecessor Al Qaeda in Iraq wanted to dominate all Sunni armed groups in Iraq. In May it started fighting the Naqshibandi and Ansar al-Sunna in the Hamrin area in an attempt to undermine them with the hope that they could be taken over. Low level fighting continued into June, and by July, IS demanded that Ansar al-Islam pledge allegiance to it, which it refused to do. By the end of August IS appeared to be winning as several dozen Naqshibandi, Islamic Army and Mujahedeen Army members agreed to join in the Jalawla area, while the Islamists continued to assassinate rival leaders. A similar series of events played out across Iraq during the summer. Many armed factions believed they were entering into an agreement amongst equals to attack the government in June, but IS wanted to control them all. Given its size, armaments, organization and ruthlessness it was eventually able to incorporate many elements of these rivals groups into its own cadres.

Another conflict that emerged was a war over control of the water system in the province. The Islamic State seized several dams and irrigation systems in the center and northeastern half of Diyala and used them to threaten the surrounding areas. In September IS cut off water to Baladrooz, which prompted the ISF to try to retake the area. That stalled only after a few days. It then moved to the Sudour Dam in Muqtadiya. IS was still in control of that facility at the start of October and flooded two villages to block ISF operations in Sensl an IS base. In November the security forces did take the Edheim dam in the north. Then in December IS cut off the water to Baladrooz once again. This was another example of how the militants had a strong presence in the rural areas of Diyala. They were using them to attack the towns and cities of the province. This proved especially difficult for the ISF and militias to counter as the continuous security operations attested to.

Despite the constant back and forth the government declared victory over the insurgency in January 2015. On January 23 a new operation started to clear Muqtadiya led by Hadi Ameri. In just a few days, Ameri claimed that the entire province was freed of militants. That was repeated by General Abdul Amir al-Zaid who told the press that all cities, districts and sub-districts in Diyala were secured. Undermining his own statements, the general then said that a new operation was going to be started in the Hamrin Mountains. Ameri and the general were obviously getting ahead of themselves. While the militants in Muqtadiya were scattered, they quickly regrouped in the Diyala River Valley, Abu Saida and Mukhisa. They still have a strong presence in the east as well meaning that there will be continued sweeps to try to clear them out in 2015.

After the latest security operation IS has regrouped in Abu Saida (BBC)

As insurgent violence increased in Diyala so did militia retaliatory attacks. This recently hit the international papers when Shiite groups allegedly killed 72 people in Barwana. Any army officer told the New York Times that the militias were frustrated by recent fighting in the area and carried out the murders in the town as revenge. This was just the latest example of the simmering sectarian conflict in Diyala. In March 2014, the town of Buhriz was temporarily taken over by IS. When SWAT and militias retook it they burned three mosques and executed 23 young men. Asaib Ahl Al-Haq was believed to be behind the incident. In June, during the panic of the summer attacks an imam and two aides were picked up by militiamen in Sadiya and later found dead in a morgue, 44 prisoners were executed outside of Baquba, and at the end of the month 23 men were found executed in Muqtadiya. The security forces were sometimes complicit in these attacks as Reuters quoted a police captain in Baquba who said that they shared information with militias to carry out extrajudicial killings. In August, after the town of Imam Weis was attacked by IS, 34 people were shot in retaliation inside a mosque. Finally, in December men in uniforms kidnapped three councilmen from Bani Saad outside of Baghdad. Two were Shiite and were released, while the third who was Sunni was found shot in the head. The incident was blamed on militias who were attempting to dominate the town’s government. The situation had gotten so bad that a parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the destruction of homes and mosques during security operations in January 2015, and Prime Minister Haier Abad pledged that militias would not be allowed to continue with these types of abuses. Again, this was exactly what happened in Diyala from 2005-2008. Militias responded in kind ot insurgent attacks by targeting civilians. Sometimes this was in retaliation and other times it was more deliberate to try to force people out of regions to deny the militants their support base. As fighting picked up in the province these incidents only increased.

Diyala is not a main battlefront between government and insurgent forces, but it has all the hallmarks of Iraq’s on going conflict. It was one of the provinces where the insurgency rebuilt itself in 2012. Likewise it was one of the earliest places militias began deploying outside of Baghdad to fight them. Today, despite official claims otherwise eastern Diyala is still a major insurgent base. In fact, the statements about the governorate being cleared probably means that it will still not receive the forces necessary to clear and hold any areas, and repeated security operations will continue there for the foreseeable future. That will allow the insurgents to continue to use its bases to attack central Diyala and more importantly neighboring Salahaddin and Baghdad, which has been its major role in the last few years.

SOURCES

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