Musings On Iraq Security Report March 8-14, 2014

 

Violence in Iraq took a slight dip in the second week of March 2014. The number of reported attacks and casualties both went down compared to the first week of the month, which was the worst of the year so far. The main cause of the decline was due to fewer car bombings by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). In fact, quite a few provinces reported the lowest number of attacks and casualties for the year. Despite that the week was still very deadly for the citizens of Iraq.

In The second week of March there were 206 reported security incidents in Iraq. That was below the first week’s 252, and tied for the second lowest amount for the year so far. The result was 322 killed, of which 119 were members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 8 were from the Sons of the Iraq and Awakening known as the Sahwa, and two were from the Asayesh, and 193 were civilians. Another 605 were wounded, made up of 434 civilians, 166 ISF,  4 Sahwa, and 1 Asayesh. Bombs were the most common form of attack at 101 for the week, along with 86 shootings. There were 13 suicide bombings, just around the same amount as the first week of the month, 11, but there were only 9 car bombings down from 20 the previous week. That reduction was one main cause for the drop in casualties.

Reported Violence In Iraq By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	245	285	202	240	204	227	265	251	252	206
Dead	363	372	358	308	296	255	347	374	412	322
Wounded	736	683	597	624	700	501	696	615	702	605

Reported Violence In Iraq By Province Mar. 8-14, 2014

	Attacks	Deaths	Wounded
Anbar	57	85	145
Babil	5	54	163
Baghdad	44	53	137
Basra	2	2	0
Diyala	13	21	42
Kirkuk	7	5	9
Ninewa	33	30	42
Salahaddin	43	70	65

Tamim

9

7

11

Despite the overall trend for the period Anbar remained very violent. There were 57 incidents there causing 85 killed and 145 wounded. Despite all the focus upon Fallujah, Ramadi has been the center of fighting lately. There were 26 incidents there for the week, including a large number of shootouts between the security forces and the insurgents. March 14 for example gunfire was exchanged in seven different parts of the city. Government shelling continued to take its toll as well. There were casualties due to artillery and mortars on March 8 in Ramadi and Fallujah, March 9 in Fallujah, March 12 in Fallujah, March 13 in Fallujah and Ramadi, and those two cities again on March 14. In total, 22 were left dead and 51 wounded as a result. Finally, on March 13 a suicide car bomb was used to destroy a bridge in Rawa leaving behind 19 killed and 20 injured. These have been some of the highest casualty figures in the province since the fighting started there at the end of December.

Reported Violence In Anbar By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	54	69	37	60	25	45	48	55	57	57
Dead	116	52	42	63	30	55	54	45	83	85
Wounded	243	126	47	245	79	131	89	136	108	145

Babil is another province that has become unstable since the middle of February. There were just five incidents there for the week, but one of those was a suicide bombing in Hillah on March 9 that caused 50 fatalities and 160 wounded. That was one of the worst single attacks in the last few years. The northern portion of the province has become a base for ISIS and a likely source for building car bombs that are sent into Baghdad and the south. The security forces recently tried to clear the area but were beaten back. That cost the provincial police chief his job. The suicide attack was a message to the government by the Islamic State saying that it was still strong and operating in the province.

Reported Violence In Babil By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	8	3	4	3	2	16	16	1	10	5
Dead	4	0	3	0	0	33	55	4	23	54
Wounded	28	7	3	5	0	70	137	0	46	163

 

Casualties in Baghdad dropped for the week due to there being fewer car bombs in the province. The week before there were ten such attacks leaving behind 33 dead and 116 wounded. In comparison, there were only five during this period. On March 8 one went off in Qahira leaving 6 dead and 14 wounded. Then there were three on March 13, one in Zayouna leaving 5 wounded, another in Sadr City with 9 injured, and then the final one in Nahda that didn’t hurt anyone. ISIS launches car bombs in waves in the capital. This week was simply one of those transition periods in between larger bombing attacks. In total, there were 44 incidents for the week, the fewest for 2014, leading to 53 deaths, the second lowest amount for the year, and 137 wounded. This was a lull in operations by insurgents, and the major reason why overall casualties were down for the period.

Reported Violence In Baghdad By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	59	58	69	58	65	47	52	54	70	44
Dead	106	147	172	90	148	50	79	113	118	53
Wounded	183	299	388	187	347	129	217	235	288	137

Salahaddin saw almost as many attacks as the week before they just weren’t as deadly. There were 43 incidents with 70 killed and 65 wounded. Tikrit, 16 attacks, Samarra, 6, and Baiji and Shirqat with five each saw the most violence. The ISF and Sahwa were the main targets accounting for 37 of the dead and 42 of the injured. The insurgency has successfully re-emerged in the province and has also gone after local politicians as a district mayor was killed in Tikrit on March 8. That same day there was an attempt on the life of a candidate from the Iraqi National Dialogue Front. March 9 a bus carrying workers from the North Oil Company was ambushed in Tuz Kharmato leaving three of them dead and 7 wounded. Most of the attacks in Salahaddin were small and targeted usually consisting of an attack upon a checkpoint or a drive by shooting or an IED on an ISF patrol.

Reported Violence In Salahaddin By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	39	40	39	41	37	46	54	49	44	43
Dead	43	79	50	57	57	48	84	83	121	70
Wounded	85	118	70	101	125	80	135	97	108	65

Diyala and Kirkuk remain largely off militants’ agenda. In the former there were only 13 incidents resulting in 21 killed and 42 wounded. In the latter there were just nine attacks with 7 dead and 11 injured. That tied for fewest attacks in a week, second lowest killed, and lowest injured. That was largely in line with the previous weeks.

Reported Violence In Diyala By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	17	20	12	19	14	12	19	19	15	13
Dead	42	25	49	37	13	12	13	33	19	21
Wounded	67	37	31	13	27	28	27	56	32	42

Reported Violence In Kirkuk By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	10	14	7	18	16	22	16	14	18	9
Dead	4	5	8	18	4	15	11	7	11	7
Wounded	70	21	27	33	25	23	26	10	41	11

Violence has gone down the last two weeks in Ninewa. There were 33 incidents for the week along with 30 killed and 39 wounded. That was the second fewest attacks and wounded, and the lowest amount of deaths. The provincial capital of Mosul is a major financial base for ISIS. In the last year or so it has attempted to intimidate and scare the local officials and ISF there, and that remains the main purpose behind attacks there.

Reported Violence In Ninewa By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	56	55	31	38	41	36	55	52	35	33
Dead	47	58	33	40	41	38	49	78	31	30
Wounded	60	66	30	40	94	36	72	75	52	39

Finally there were just a few attacks in southern Iraq. There were 2 in Basra leading to 2 killed, shootings each. That was it for the eight governorates of the region. The south was a major target for ISIS in the previous year. In 2014 however its focus has moved northward and the south has been left pretty much alone. There are shootings and explosions every now and then, some of which are likely the work of militias or gangs, but otherwise the insurgents have left the region alone.

Reported Violence In 8 Southern Provinces By Week 2014

	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Feb 1-7	Feb 8-14	Feb 15-21	Feb 22-28	Mar 1-7	Mar 8-14
Incidents	2	8	3	3	4	5	2	3	3	2
Dead	1	6	1	4	3	6	0	7	2	2
Wounded	0	9	1	0	3	4	0	5	1	0

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Iraq attacks kill nine, including parliament candidate," 3/8/14

- "Iraq suicide bombing death toll rises to 50," 3/10/14

-"Seven dead in Baghdad area attacks," 3/14/14

AIN, "Civilian killed central Basra," 3/12/14

- "Driver killed in Basra," 3/16/14

- "Security forces clash with ISIL elements in Ramadi," 3/14/14

Associated Press, "Suicide bomber uses Iraq police humvee in attack," 3/8/14

Buratha News, "Four Martyrs and six wounded, and the collapse of the bridge is part of a suicide bombing that targeted a gathering of army western Anbar," 3/13/14

- "Martyrdom and wounding six children by fall of a mortar shell on the playground on a popular football center of Ramadi," 3/14/14

Al Forat, "Mayor killed central Tikrit," 3/8/14

Iraq Times, "people dead and injured in the bombing of a bridge in Rawa, 39 which occurred yesterday in Anbar," 3/14/14

- "people were injured by a car bomb in Sadr City 9," 3/13/14

Al Jazeera, "Deaths in suicide bombing in Iraq," 3/9/14

Al Mada "Killed and wounded 14 civilians by random bombardment of the army on Ramadi," 3/13/14

- "Killing and wounding four soldiers in an armed attack south of Ramadi," 3/14/14

NINA, "/5/ Civilians Injury by Bombing of the City of Ramadi," 3/8/14

- "/23/ Civilians, Including Women and Children, Got Martyrdom and Wounded in the Shelling of Fallujah," 3/9/14

- "Armed clashes resumed between army and armed elements in Ramadi," 3/14/14

- "Car bomb goes off in Central Baghdad," 3/13/14

- "A child killed and four civilians wounded in Fallujah," 3/12/14

- "A civilian killed, six injured in Fallujah," 3/13/14

- "A Civilian Killed, Three Members of One Family wounded by Artillery Bombing to the City of Ramadi," 3/14/14

- "Two people, including a child killed and wounding seven others in Fallujah," 3/14/14

- "Urgent…one killed, ten others wounded of employees NOC in an armed attack south of Kirkuk," 3/9/14

- "A woman, a child killed, six wounded in bombing on Fallujah," 3/8/14

Al Rayy, "Five people were injured in eastern Baghdad bombing," 3/13/14

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraq: Bombs Kill at Least 8 People in Baghdad," Associated Press, 3/13/14

Xinhua, "41 killed in separate attacks across Iraq," 3/10/14