Counterproductive Tactics Of The Iraqi Security Forces

 

Parts of Iraq’s Anbar province are in open rebellion right now against the central government. One of the main complaints of the Sunni population who is behind the revolt is the abuses of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). The army and police no longer carry out counterinsurgency operations where they attempt to protect the population, but rather act like the United States did before the Surge with indiscriminate shelling of population centers and mass raids and arrests. Because of these tactics many feel like they are suffering mass punishments simply because they live in the wrong area and happen to be Sunni. This is a major reason why some people have decided to take up weapons against the government once again.

One of the reasons why so many thousands of Anbaris have fled their homes during the current round of fighting is to escape government shelling. On January 4, 2014, Reuters reported that the army was shelling parts of Fallujah with mortars. One local source told the agency that eight had died as a result, while a medical source claimed the toll was much higher at 30. The next day a local Iraqi reporter in Fallujah provided the BBC with more details pointing out that Askari in the east, Shuhada in the west, Jufhifi in the north, and Nazzal and Andalus in the middle were all being hit by government shelling. This was leading to hundreds of people leaving their homes. January 16, the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) said that dozens more families departed Fallujah after another round of army shelling of the Golan, Shuhada, Andalus, and Jumhuriya areas. January 19 NINA reported that the army was hitting Nizzal, Shuhada, Askari, and Jebel, causing damages to homes, and more displacement, and that was repeated on January 21. This immediately became an issue with Anbar notables. On January 5 for example, a meeting took place of Fallujah religious leaders and sheikhs who called for a halt to military operations and the shelling of the city. Then during Friday prayers in Fallujah on January 17, clerics brought up the issue demanding that the army withdraw from Anbar, and to stop the artillery and mortar strikes on homes. While some of this fire might be aimed at insurgents, too much of it appears to be indiscriminate. This is destroying and damaging dozens of homes, and causing a huge out migration from the city. It also doesn’t give the impression that the federal forces care about the local residents or that they are going after the insurgents. This was exactly what the U.S. did before the 2007 Surge. In Ret. Lt. Col. Nathan Sassman’s Warrior King and Thomas Ricks’ Fiasco for example, they talked about how many U.S. units believed that they had to instill fear in the Iraqis so that they would not carry out attacks. A common tactic was to reply to mortar or gunfire with heavy artillery. Then American forces were mostly concerned with protecting themselves, and believed that an overwhelming response such as using artillery after a security incident would deter the gunmen, but it never did. The Iraqi government is repeating the same mistake.

(Getty Images)

Before and during the Anbar fighting the ISF was also carrying out mass punishments against Sunni neighborhoods. January 11, a parliamentarian from Mutahidun demanded that the prime minister stop security operations in Abu Ghraib, Latifiya, Radwaniya, Tarmiya, and others areas of Baghdad where the ISF were limiting the movement of residents. December 12, 2013, another politician called on the government to stop blockading the Tarmiya area in north Baghdad, claiming that it had been on lockdown for over a week. In November, militants assassinated the mayor of Fallujah. In response, the ISF arrested 400 people and held them for over two weeks with no charges according to their relatives. That same month Human Rights Watch issued a report saying that the Iraqi forces routinely cordoned off Sunni areas such as during Shiite pilgrimages. During the first week of Muharram for instance in November, the security forces raided houses and carried out mass arrests in Dora and Adhamiya in the capital, as well as Diwaniya in Qadisiyah, Hillah in Babil, and Fallujah and Hit in Anbar. Sheikhs told Human Rights Watch that this had become the norm. Whenever there were Shiite religious events the army and police would arrest people before the ceremony, and then release them afterward. Again, the ISF may believe that this is the way to impose security, but it only antagonizes the population. Many come to believe that they are being harassed and arrested simply because they are Sunni. Not only that but the mass arrests rarely include people actually involved with the insurgency. Instead it usually nets not only young men, but the family members of people the government is looking for who are held as virtual hostages until their relatives turn themselves in. This is another repetition of the mistakes that the Americans made from 2003-2006. The U.S. Army and Marines would routinely round up all fighting aged males. In turn, these men were often radicalized in jail or would turn against the government and sometimes join the insurgency after they were released. The same thing is likely happening again today.

The Iraqi army and police had years of training in counterinsurgency operations from the Americans, but after their departure they stopped because Premier Nouri al-Maliki did not want to cooperate with the Sunni community anymore. The result is that the ISF have reverted back to the routine of the pre-Surge U.S. forces carrying out raids, arrests, and indiscriminately firing artillery and mortars at populated areas. This use of group punishment only increases tensions between the populace and the government. It also provides the perfect environment for the insurgency to flourish. Not everyone in these areas that feel punished by Baghdad support militants, but some do, and their numbers appear to be growing. More importantly others turn a blind eye to their activities denying the ISF of valuable intelligence that would allow them to carry out more precise operations and round up the bad guys rather than groups of innocent people. It is up to the prime minister and his aides to recognize the missteps they are making, so that they can start to turn around the security situation, which is deteriorating with each day.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, “Iraq Forces Under Fire Over Abuse as Unrest Surges,” 12/30/13

BBC, “Residents flee occupied Fallujah amid army bombardment,” 1/5/14

Dreazen, Yochi, “Retired Colonel Criticizes Iraq Strategies in Book,” Wall Street Journal, 7/11/08

Human Rights Watch, “Deter Attacks With Investigations, Not Harassment,” 11/15/13

Al-Mada, “Khatib Fallujah: our city is under collective punishment because we raised our constitutional demands,” 1/18/14

- “Scholars and elders of Fallujah denounce the bombing of the city and hold the governor and the top responsibility for bloodshed,” 1/5/14

National Iraqi News Agency, “Bombardment to Neighborhoods South and Eeast of Fallujah Renewed,” 1/21/14

- “Breaking News..The Displacement of Dozens of Families in Fallujah as a Result of Shelling,” 1/16/14

- “mortar shelling resumed in east and south areas in Fallujah,” 1/19/14

- “MP calls prime minister to end blockade on Tarmiyah north of Baghdad,” 12/11/13

Reuters, “Iraqi army shells Falluja to try to dislodge militants,” 1/4/14

Ricks, Thomas, Fiasco, New York: Penguin Press, 2006

Shafaq News, “MP demands Maliki to lift the siege of Baghdad areas belt,” 1/11/14

Van Heuvelen, Ben, “Next door to Syria, an al-Qaeda-linked group is also gaining ground in Iraq,” Washington Post, 12/7/13

Dec 2013 Another Deadly Month For Iraq’s Ninewa Province

 

Iraq’s Ninewa province remained one of the most dangerous places in the country again in December 2013. That month saw the most attacks for the year, resulting in another large number of dead and wounded. Almost all the violence was centered around the governorate capital of Mosul, which has remained an insurgent stronghold since the beginning of the war.

(Wash Post)

In December militants remained focused upon killing and intimidating the local population of Mosul and its security forces. For the month there were 147 attacks surpassing November’s 142 for the most in the year. That averaged out to 4.74 security incidents per day. In comparison in January 2013 there were only 2.35 per day. Mosul has accounted for 2/3 or more of the incidents per month last year, and December was no exception with 106 attacks or 72% occurring there. The vast majority of those attacks were small ones involving shootings or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that usually only led to ten or less casualties. On December 1 a roadside bomb went off in Mosul killing two civilians and wounding another for example. That same day gunmen assaulted a checkpoint killing one soldier. The next day four IEDs went off in the city leading to two police being killed, and 11 wounded including six police and one peshmerga. During those two days there were also shootings in Hammam al-Alil, Yarmouk, Faisaliya, a kidnapping in Seetah, and a sticky bomb exploded in Refaq. The deadliest attack was on December 29 when a suicide car bomber targeted an army convoy leaving 10 soldiers killed, including the commander of the Army’s 3^rd Regiment, and 13 wounded. That type of events has been the exception however. Unlike Baghdad or the south, in Ninewa, insurgents are more interested in intimidating and imposing their will over the local security forces and population than causing mass casualties. The militants have seemingly achieved that acting with apparent impunity in Mosul and its environs at least.

Reported Security Incidents In Ninewa 2013

Month	Attacks	Attacks In Mosul	Gunfire Incidents	Bombings	Deaths	ISF Deaths	Civilian Deaths	Wound.	ISF Wound.	Civilian Wound.
Jan	73	57	41	28	78	42	35	61	32	29
Feb	79	63	48	33	115	59	56	70	54	16
Mar	100	73	54	50	102	60	40	119	67	52
Apr	74	55	41	29	85	61	23	94	75	19
May	110	89	50	57	128	80	48	182	116	66
Jun	98	68	41	54	122	61	61	228	105	123
Jul	114	85	55	55	180	103	74	223	99	124
Aug	107	83	45	68	128	85	41	150	59	89
Sep	114	85	52	91	193	98	94	236	78-112	135
Oct	89	74	41	52	218	81	137	339	92	247
Nov	142	99	81	63	195	76	116	251	73	176
Dec	147	106	90	75	177	77	96	221	90	130

Ninewa is regularly the second or third most deadly province in Iraq each month. Mosul remains a major urban base for a variety of insurgent groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Ansar al-Sunni, and the Naqshibandi to mention just a few. They rely upon the city as a major source of financing. Their goal therefore is to control the city and its businesses rather than cause mass deaths. That’s why the vast majority of attacks are drive by shootings or small roadside bombs instead of the suicide or car bombs regularly seen in other parts of the country. As the insurgency has reconstituted itself during 2013 it has carried out more and more operations in Ninewa, now regularly averaging around 100 per month. The situation is so bad that it can be said that the militants are the ones that really run Mosul, having scared and intimidated everyone else. Baghdad has done nothing about his situation focusing instead upon the rural and border regions of Ninewa when it launches military operations. The security situation therefore cannot be expected to improve any time soon, and the populace will suffer as a consequence.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Suicide bomber attacks Shiites as Iraq unrest kills 9," 12/18/13

AIN, "2 Brothers killed, wounded in Mosul," 12/8/13

- "2 gunmen killed, eastern Mosul," 12/14/13

- "2 IP elements killed of western of Mosul," 12/21/13

- "2 IPs, student injured southern Mosul," 12/10/13

- "3 civilians injured in Mosul," 12/2/13

- "4 IP elements killed, wounded in Mosul," 12/24/13

- "9 houses belong to security elements detonated in Nineveh," 12/29/13

- "Asayish element, woman killed eastern Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Chancellor of Mosul University survives assassination attempt," 12/3/13

- "Civilian killed eastern Mosul," 12/19/13

- "Civilian killed of northern Mosul," 12/17/13

- "Civilian wounded northern Mosul," 12/16/13

- "Civilian's dead body found in southern Mosul," 12/22/13

- "Engineer assassinated western Mosul," 12/19/13

- "Former candidate of PC elections assassinated in Mosul," 12/18/13

- "IA key officer injured in southern Mosul," 12/28/13

- "IA Soldier assassinated in Mosul," 12/15/13

- "IA soldiers injured in western Mosul," 12/29/13

- "IP injured eastern Mosul," 12/4/13

- "Mayor of Mosul survives assassination attempt," 12/11/13

- "Mayor, teacher killed eastern Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Policeman, civilian killedin Mosul," 12/22/13

- "Policeman killed, eastern Mosul," 12/2/13

- "Policeman killed in western Mosul," 12/12/13

- "Urgent….FPS officers injured in northern Mosul," 12/20/13

- "Urgent…7 Persons killed, wounded western Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Urgent..Police commander survives assassination western Mosul," 12/10/13

Aswat al-Iraq, "2 cops killed west of Mosul," 12/22/13

- "2 soldiers killed west of Mosul," 12/27/13

- "5 cops injured in Ninewa," 12/11/13

- "Sticky bomb exploded in Mosul University campus," 12/11/13

- "University teacher assassinated west of Mosul," 12/29/13

- "Youth killed east of Mosul," 12/8/13

Buratha News, "Martyrdom of police and the killing of two terrorists in armed clash west of Mosul," 12/29/13

- "The strength of the army kills two terrorists tried to assassinate gallery owner in eastern Mosul," 12/23/13

- "Wounding a civilian by a roadside bomb west of Mosul," 12/26/13

Al Forat, "2 policemen killed in western Mosul," 12/25/13

- "4 civilian including child killed, injured eastern Mosul," 12/29/13

- "16 persons killed, injured in Mosul," 12/7/13

- "Mosul suicide bombing death toll hit 14 deaths, injuries," 12/29/13

Independent Press Agency, "Killed in an armed attack in the Peshmerga Rashidiya area Mosul," 12/23/13

- "Killing and wounding four people, including a soldier and the bombing of an armed attack in Mosul," 12/1/13

- "The killing and wounding of four members of the military armed attack south of Mosul," 12/18/13

Iraq Times, "The death of a family of three people by a roadside bomb in Mosul," 12/28/13

- "The martyrdom of three civilians shot by unknown assailants in three separate incidents in Mosul," 12/20/13

Al Jazeera, "Female TV presenter among 20 killed in Iraq," 12/15/13

Al-Mada, "11 people were injured when a car bomb targeted a bus carrying pilgrims returning from the people of Tal Afar from Karbala," 12/25/13

- "23 dead and wounded in the final outcome of the car bombing that targeted the army convoy in eastern Mosul," 12/29/13

- "The death of imam and an employee of the Department of Water carried out in two attacks west of Mosul," 12/27/13

- "Five of the injured people of Tal Afar in explosion upon their return from a visit east of Mosul," 12/24/13

- "Found the body of a member of the local council in Nineveh, a day after he was abducted," 12/25/13

- "Gunman killed and 13 others arrested in separate operations of the army and police Nineveh," 12/25/13

- "Killing a traffic policeman and director a school carried out in two attacks by gunmen in eastern Mosul in separate incidents," 12/31/13

- "Killing and wounding six members of the Federal Police in suicide bombing west of Mosul," 12/30/13

- "The killing of a professor in the Faculty of Religion in armed attack west of Mosul," 12/28/13

- "The killing of four police officers armed attack west of Mosul," 12/24/13

- "The killing of two members of the Facilities Protection bombing targeted a patrol west of Mosul," 12/23/13

- "Killing one soldier and wounding two armed attack east of Mosul," 12/11/13

- "Killing three policemen armed attack south of Mosul," 12/28/13

- "Najat lieutenant-colonel survives assassination attempt, killing and wounding three of his bodyguards in southern Mosul," 12/20/13

- "Policeman killed an armed attack west of Mosul," 12/1/13

- "Soldier killed in a car bombing west of Mosul," 12/27/13

- "Soldier killed in the bombing targeting an army patrol south of Mosul," 12/31/13

- "Submitted injured police armed attack west of Mosul," 12/28/13

National Iraqi News Agency, "2 Gunmen killed, 2 policemen wounded in Mosul," 12/29/13

- "2 Policemen killed in Mosul," 12/28/13

- "3 Federal policemen, civilian killed, 4 civilians wounded in Mosul," 12/30/13

- "3 Persons killed south Mosul," 12/5/13

- "3 Police members wounded in Mosul," 4/12/13

- "/3/ policemen injured, south of Mosul," 12/14/13

- "3 Soldiers killed, 5 wounded south Mosul," 12/10/13

- "8 Policemen killed, wounded in Mosul," 12/2/13

- "/10/ People killed and wounded in central Mosul," 12/7/13

- "Associate Director of a polling station injured in an armed attack in Mosul," 12/26/13

- "BREAKING NEWS 15 Military personnel killed, wounded in Mosul," 12/29/13

- "BREAKING NEWS. Adviser of Nineveh governor killed in Mosul,"12/2/13

- "BREAKING NEWS Car bomb exploded wounding 12 persons from Talafar while on their way back from Karbala," 12/25/13

- "Breaking News….Senior Army officer killed in Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Child killed, another wounded in Mosul," 12/20/13

- "A civilian killed and his sister wounded, west of Mosul," 12/18/13

- "Civilian killed in a sticky bomb explosion in Mosul," 12/2/13

- "A civilian killed, northern Mosul," 12/17/13

- "A civilian killed west of Mosul," 12/14/13

- "The death of an employee and wounded his wife west of Mosul," 12/1713

- "Former military pilot killed in Mosul," 12/29/13

- "Gunmen assassinate a civilian and wound his brother in Mosul," 12/4/13

- "Gunmen assassinate a policeman in Mosul," 12/11/13

- "Gunmen blow house of lawmaker south of Mosul," 12/16/13

- "Gunmen blow up eight houses southeast of Mosul," 12/16/13

- "Gunmen, in military uniforms, kill a police officer and his son on the night of his wedding south of Mosul," 12/5/13

- "Gunmen kidnap Mukhtar of a village west of Mosul," 12/2/13

- "Gunmen kill a lieutenant colonel in Mosul," 12/3/13

- "Gunmen kill a police intelligence agent in Mosul," 12/3/13

- "Gunmen kill a policeman and wound three others in Mosul," 12/19/13

- "Gunmen kill a programs presenter in Mosul," 12/15/13

- "Gunmen kill two policemen in Mosul," 12/8/13

- "Gunmen shot dead a policeman in Mosul," 12/19/13

- "Killing and wounding /4/ civilians, west of Mosul," 12/19/13

- "Lawyer assassinated in eastern Mosul," 12/10/13

- "Lawyer killed, his brother wounded in Mosul," 12/9/13

- "A man and his wife killed, in eastern Mosul," 12/31/13

- "MP escapes an assassination attempt in Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Nineteen man and a woman killed and injured in Nineveh," 12/24/13

- "Policeman and his brother killed, four soldiers wounded in two separate incidents in Mosul," 12/24/13

- "Police corporal wounded, in Nineveh," 12/30/13

- "Policeman, his mother killed in Qayara," 12/20/13

- "Policeman, his wife, a former army officer killed in two separate incidents in Mosul," 12/26/13

- “Policeman killed, his brother kidnapped south Mosul," 12/8/13

- "A policeman killed, three civilians wounded in two separate incidents in Mosul," 12/30/13

- "Sahwa member killed, 2 policemen wounded southeast Mosul," 12/19/13

- "A soldier killed and wounding another, west of Mosul," 12/17/13

- "Soldier, worker killed in Mosul," 12/14/13

- "Teacher killed south of Mosul," 12/1/13

- "Three policemen killed, another wounded in Mosul," 12/10/13

- "Toll of victims in Mosul up to 19 dead and wounded," 12/16/13

- "Two civilians, a grenade explosion in central Mosul," 12/4/13

- "Two civilians wounded in IED explosion in Mosul," 12/8/13

- "Two policemen killed in Mosul," 12/9/13

- "Two policemen killed, two others wounded in Mosul," 12/4/13

- "Two policemen wounded in a car bomb explosion in Mosul," 12/10/13

- "Two soldiers wounded in Mosul," 12/18/13

- "University student killed in Mosul," 12/22/13

- "University student killed, Shabak citizen killed in Mosul," 12/5/13

Radio Nawa, "The assassination of a former candidate for the list are united west of Mosul," 12/11/13

- "Former army officer killed in eastern Mosul," 12/4/13

- "The killing of four suicide bombers stormed the headquarters of the Police Directorate in Ninewa," 12/28/13

- "A policeman was killed and an employee in the electricity Nineveh silenced weapons in eastern Mosul," 12/2/13

Al Rayy, "The death of a woman and wounding three, including a child in explosion targeting visitors to Arbain east of Mosul," 12/24/13

Al Rayy, - Mosul," 12/2/13

- "Gunman killed and wounded soldiers clash south of Mosul," 12/23/13

- "Height of the victims of the car bomb explosion on a military patrol in eastern Mosul to 16 people," 12/29/13

- "Killing two terrorists tried to attack the checkpoint silenced weapons in Mosul," 12/23/13

- "Martyrdom and wounding four policemen when a roadside bomb south of Mosul," 12/22/13

- "The martyrdom of one of the elements of the army and the woman armed clash near a checkpoint in eastern Mosul," 12/3/13

- "Wounding three civilians and two policemen were wounded in a car bomb attack west of Mosul," 12/23/13

Salaheddin, Sinan, "7 Killed As Iraqi Troops Arrest Sunni Lawmaker," Associated Press, 12/28/13

Xinhua, "25 killed in attacks in Iraq," 12/21/13

- "46 killed, 100 wounded in violent attacks in Iraq," 12/20/13