Musings On Iraq Security Report Mar 15-21, 2014

 

After a slight dip in operations the Iraqi insurgency came back with a vengeance in the third week of March 2014. While the total number of attacks was within the range of previous weeks of 2014, the casualties were the highest of the year so far. This was largely the result of a large number of car bombings by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which are used in mass casualty attacks.

The number of reported attacks in the third week of March was only a few more than the previous week but the resulting deaths and wounded were the highest of the year. The press recorded 217 security incidents from March 15 to 21. That was up from 206 from March 8 to 14, and down from 253 seen in March 1 to 7. The insurgency has been averaging over 200 attacks per week in 2014, so this was well within the annual range. However for the week there was 423 fatalities and 738 wounded, both the highest marks so far, surpassing 412 deaths seen in the first week of March, and 736 injured in the first week of January.

Date	Security Incidents	Killed	Wounded
Jan 1-7	245	363	736
Jan 8-14	267	372	683
Jan 15-21	202	358	597
Jan 22-28	240	308	624
Jan 29-31	58	93	227
JAN TOTAL	1,012	1,379	2,634
Feb 1-7	204	296	700
Feb 8-14	226	258	505
Feb 15-21	264	347	703
Feb 22-28	251	374	618
FEB TOTAL	945	1,275	2,526
Mar 1-7	253	412	702
Mar 8-14	206	324	607
Mar 15-21	217	423	738
MAR TOTAL	676	1,159	2,047

 

The main reason why casualties were up was due to 29 car bombings in the third week of March. March 15 saw six of them used in Baghdad’s Amin, Hurriya, Shula, Sadr City, Qahira, and Amil costing 33 lives and wounding another 95. There were three more on March 18 in Dora, Mahmudiya and Ghaziliya leaving 7 dead and 23 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) launches these types of attacks in waves across the capital. This was just the tale end of the latest one that started on March 13. There were also 4 car bombings in Anbar, 3 in Babil, 2 in Diyala, 4 in Ninewa, 5 in Salahaddin, and 2 in Kirkuk that cost the lives of 57 people and wounded another 148. Just as important, on March 18 there were coordinated vehicle delivered explosives in Karbala and two locations in Wasit. On February 3 there was a car bombing in Wasit, and another on March 6, but before that there had not been any since November 2013. That marked the end of an eleven month campaign by ISIS to attack the south each month. After that the group appeared to be focusing upon other areas such as Anbar and Salahaddin, but now it has marked its return to the south once again showing that it is the only insurgent group with the network and personnel that can carry out attacks in every part of the country.

Province	Attacks	Dead	Wounded
Anbar	42	88	168
Babil	13	24	43
Baghdad	52	106	269
Basra	2	2	0
Diyala	18	29	24
Karbala	1	4	15
Kirkuk	10	5	38
Maysan	1	1	0
Ninewa	43	42	34
Salahaddin	33	115	134
Wasit	2	7	13

 

Salahaddin again led the nation in casualties during the week. There were 33 reported security incidents leading to 115 killed and 134 wounded. That was the second most fatalities in one week for the year and tied for the most injured. Attacks were spread out across the province with 7 in Shirqat, 6 in Tikrit, 5 in Samarra, 4 in Tuz Kharmato, and 3 each in Baiji and Ishaqi, along with several other towns. The worst day was March 21, which was topped off by a car bombing and then an IED in Tuz Kharmato that killed 8 and wounded 21, an attack upon a police station outside of Samarra that resulted in the deaths of 8 police and wounding another 13, and an attempt to storm the town of Sarha with a suicide truck bomb that left 27 fatalities. Usually Baghdad receives the most casualties but Salahaddin has become more violent in recent weeks since the fighting in Anbar started. The province is the home to several insurgent groups including Ansar al-Sunna, Jaish Rijal al-Tariqat al-Naqshibandi, and the Islamic State.

Baghdad had the most attacks for the week. There were 52 total with 106 killed and 269 wounded. Along with the 9 car bombs that struck the governorate there were also 21 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 9 sticky bombs and one suicide bombing. Abu Ghraib has become a base for ISIS and saw 7 attacks followed by 4 in Sadr City, 3 in Dora, 3 in Madain, and 3 in Tarmiya along with various other neighborhoods.

Fighting in Anbar continued as well. There were 42 incidents there with 88 killed and 168 wounded. Ramadi again saw the most violence with 18 violent acts. Clashes with insurgents continued in the same neighborhoods such as Malab and 60th Street, which have been contested since the city was taken over at the end of December 2013. Indiscriminate government shelling resulted in the deaths of 36 and 108 injured in Fallujah.

In Ninewa attacks by insurgents have remained relatively stable. There were 43 reported attacks with 34 of them being in Mosul. That led to 42 killed and 34 wounded. Most violence was targeted consisting of IEDs and shootings.

Babil, Diyala, and Kirkuk were at the same levels as previous weeks. The security forces recently attempted to storm Jurf al-Sakhr in northern Babil, but were repulsed by ISIS. It has been carrying out retaliatory attacks since then. There were a total of 13 incidents there with 24 killed and 43 wounded. In Diyala there were 18 attacks, 29 killed, and 24 wounded. Most of those were shootings aimed at the security forces. The governorate was far more violent in 2013, but it appears that militants have shifted resources to other areas this year. In Kirkuk there were only 10 incidents leading to just 5 deaths and 38 wounded. That province is another area that has seen a large reduction in insurgent activity since this year started.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "27 killed across Iraq as militants seize village," 3/21/14

- "Iraq officials say bombings kill 12 people," 3/18/14

AIN, "Car bomb goes off in Haditha," 3/15/14

- "Urgent…8 IP Elements killed, wounded southern Mosul," 3/16/14

- "Urgent…20 Persons Killed, wounded in Tikrit," 3/15/14

Buratha News, "Martyrdom and wounding 29 people in a car bombing in Tuz," 3/21/14

Al Forat, "4 policemen killed, 3 others injured in Baiji car bombing," 3/18/14

- "Diyala: Death toll of attack targeted IFP Commander hits 11 deaths, 18 injuries," 3/21/14

Iraq Times, "martyrs and wounded by a car bomb north of Kut," 3/18/14

- "martyrs and wounded in two car bombs targeting 30 families celebrating Nowruz festival in Kirkuk," 3/21/14

Al Jazeera, "Baghdad rocked by deadly car bombings," 3/15/14

Al-Khafaji, Osama, "Armed attacks in Samarra, ending the killing and wounding of 21 police officers," Alsumaria, 3/21/14

Al Mada, "Army announces the restoration of Sarha of insurgents," 3/22/14

- "Killed five people and wounded by a car bomb north east of Mosul," 3/20/14

- "Killing and wounding 12 people in a car bomb targeting a checkpoint south of the capital," 3/18/14

- "Person injured by a roadside bomb near a primary school north of Kut," 3/6/14

Al Masalah, "Killing 7 and injuring 10 roadside bombs north of Wasit," 3/18/14

- "Killing 20 civilians and wounding 67 with a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad," 3/15/14

- "Killing three soldiers and wounding 5 in suicide bombing that targeted a checkpoint in Ramadi," 3/16/14

NINA, "/3/ Civilians Injured by a Car Bomb North of Wasit," 2/3/14

- "/3/ civilians killed and 11 others wounded in Fallujah," 3/21/14

- "13 Civilians Killed and Wounded in a Car Bomb in al-Ameen Area South of Baghdad," 3/15/14

- "16/civilians wounded south of Kirkuk, and clashes near Hamrin Mountains," 3/21/14

- "BREAKING NEWS. 17 people killed and wounded in a roadside car bomb explosion north of Karbala," 3/18/14

- "Breaking news..A car bomb, an explosive device exploded alternately in central Tikrit," 3/21/14

- "Breaking News..Victims of the bombing of Fallujah rose to 56 killed and wounded, mostly women and children," 3/19/14

- "A Child, a Woman Killed, Five Members of one Family Wounded by Artillery Shell on Fallujah," 3/17/14

- "A Civilian Killed, Four Others Wounded, Including Two Children by Artillery Shelling on Fallujah," 3/18/14

- "Four civilians wounded in a bombing to Amir Dulaim host," 3/17/14

- "Two people injured, north east of Baquba," 3/21/14

- "Two soldiers wounded west of Anbar province," 3/18/14

Radio Nawa, "Killing and wounding 58 people, armed clashes in Fallujah," 3/20/14

- "Wounding at least 12 civilians in a car bombing in downtown Tuz," 3/21/14

Al Rayy ,"The death of one soldier and wounding five others in a suicide bombing that targeted a gathering of the army in central Ramadi," 3/17/14

- "The death of two members of the Peshmerga north of Mosul," 3/20/14

- "Martyrdom and wounding 20 people in the proceeds of a bomb explosion in Sadr City," 3/15/14

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraq Officials Say Bombings Kill 15 People," Associated Press, 3/18/14

- "Wave of Attacks Across iraq Kills 28 People," Associated Press, 3/21/14