When the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) surrounded Fallujah in
January 2014 it quickly turned to indiscriminate shelling of the city. Some of
the strikes were targeted against insurgents, but the vast majority appeared to
be simply lobbing mortar and artillery shells into Fallujah in the apparent
belief that it was all enemy territory and therefore legitimate. Now that most
of northern Iraq has fallen to insurgents the ISF has began using air strikes
more and more against civilian targets with no apparent concern for casualties.
The Iraqi Army’s air arm has hit cities and towns in Ninewa,
Salahaddin and Kirkuk since the June insurgent summer offensive started. The
Iraqi press has reported 15 air strikes in Ninewa, 16 in Salahaddin, and two in
Kirkuk, which have resulted in civilian casualties. There are likely more that
have not gotten into the media. In total, 128 were killed and 147 wounded in
Salahaddin from these strikes, 57 dead and 176 injured in Ninewa, and 11
fatalities and 29 wounded in Kirkuk. An example of the indiscriminate nature of
these air attacks was on July 16 when Mosul University was hit resulting in two
deaths and eight wounded. The school is an obvious civilian institution with no
military value yet it was bombed. July 9 four houses in Dhuluiya, Salahaddin
were hit leaving 2 dead and 15 injured. Dhuluiya is a town that has resisted
forays by insurgents in the last few days. Why helicopters would target it must
have either been a mistake or bad intelligence since it was not occupied by
militants. Finally on June 27 Tikrit Hospital was bombed killing one and
injuring four nurses. Again this was an obvious civilian facility. To add to
these tragedies Human Rights Watch has documented cases where the Army Air
Corps has used barrel bombs. July 9 a barrel bomb was dropped on a group of
bathers in the Tigris River in the middle of Mosul, which killed 20 and wounded
dozens. No insurgents were around. These all follow a pattern the ISF has set
since the fall of Fallujah. It has indiscriminately hit towns and cities it has
lost to insurgents with little regard for civilian fatalities. It appears to
believe that all these areas are enemy territory and therefore everything is a
legitimate target.
Reported Air Strikes
In Salahaddin With Civilian Casualties
|
Date
|
Location
|
Dead
|
Wounded
|
|
Jun 13
|
3
|
6
|
|
|
|
7
|
10
|
|
|
Jun 22
|
7
|
13
|
|
|
Jun 24
|
22
|
12
|
|
|
Jun 25
|
10
|
20
|
|
|
|
2
|
3
|
|
|
Jun 26
|
1
|
3
|
|
|
Jun 27
|
1
|
4
|
|
|
Jun 30
|
6
|
13
|
|
|
Jul 2
|
18
|
18
|
|
|
Jul 6
|
1
|
8
|
|
|
|
19
|
|
|
|
Jul 9
|
2
|
15
|
|
|
Jul 20
|
4
|
|
|
|
Jul 22
|
5
|
6
|
|
|
Jul 23
|
Shirqat x2
|
20
|
16
|
|
TOTALS
|
16
|
128
|
147
|
Reported Air Strikes
In Ninewa With Civilian Casualties
|
Date
|
Location
|
Dead
|
Wounded
|
|
Jun 22
|
1
|
6
|
|
|
Jun 25
|
5
|
|
|
|
Jun 28
|
7
|
2
|
|
|
Jun 30
|
|
40
|
|
|
Jul 1
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
Jul 6
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
1
|
40
|
|
|
Jul 8
|
5
|
11
|
|
|
Jul 9
|
20
|
12
|
|
|
Jul 12
|
6
|
7
|
|
|
Jul 16
|
2
|
8
|
|
|
Jul 17
|
3
|
13
|
|
|
Jul 20
|
|
9
|
|
|
Jul 23
|
6
|
2
|
|
|
TOTALS
|
15
|
57
|
176
|
Reported Air Strikes
In Kirkuk With Civilian Casualties
|
Date
|
Location
|
Dead
|
Wounded
|
|
Jul 4
|
|
4
|
|
|
Jul 21
|
11
|
25
|
|
|
TOTALS
|
2
|
11
|
29
|
This is likely just a small sample of how many air strikes
have actually occurred with civilian casualties. Many more have probably
happened that did not get into the Iraqi newspapers. There are plenty of
legitimate targets to hit and the Iraqi government mentions them every day and
how many insurgents have been killed as a result of them. That makes it all the
more shocking that the Iraqi Army would spend the time, money, and material to
hit civilian targets in Ninewa, Salahaddin and Kirkuk over and over. They have
zero impact upon the military situation, and can only anger the people in the
locations that have been struck. This points to a lack of strategy and a waste
of resources by the Iraqi Security Forces, along with a disregard for the
population it is supposed to be protecting.
SOURCES
Alsumaria,
"Killing a woman and wounding six children pounding west of Mosul,"
6/22/14
-
"Killing and wounding 26 civilians in bombing targeting a number of
building north of Tikrit," 7/23/14
-
"Killing and wounding eight civilians from the same family in bombing of
their home south of Mosul," 7/23/14
Aswat
al-Iraq, "4 wounded in south west Kirkuk," 7/4/14
-
"11 killed, 25 wounded in Haweeja, Kirkuk," 7/21/14
Damon,
Arwa, Carter Chelsea, and Smith-Spark, Laura, "Iraq crisis: Kurdish region
closes crossings to Iraqis fleeing Mosul conflict," CNN, 6/28/14
Human Rights Watch, “Iraq: Civilian Toll of Government
Airstrikes,” 7/23/14
Al
Mada, "Killing and injuring 11 people by warplanes in bombing south-west
of Mosul," 7/22/14
-
"Killing and injuring 20 people in a bombing by helicopters targeting a
gathering near a fuel station downtown Tikrit," 6/22/14
-
"Killing and injuring 28 people in aerial bombing east of Tikrit,"
7/23/14
-
"Killing and injuring eight people in renewed air strikes east of
Tikrit," 7/23/14
-
"Killing and injuring five people pounding central Tikrit," 6/25/14
-
"Killing and injuring six people from one family in aerial bombardment
north of Mosul," 7/16/14
-"Killing
and wounding 17 people from one family as helicopters targeted four houses
south of Tikrit," 7/9/14
-
"Killing and wounding 17 people in a plane bombing on a march on mosque
set by Daash for "repentance" of the Police in Baiji," 6/13/14
-
"Killing and wounding 30 people in the bombing of Baiji, north of
Tikrit," 6/25/14
-
"Killing and wounding 36 people in the bombing of Sharqat," 7/2/14
-
"Killing and wounding 40 people pounding by Army Aviation north of
Mosul," 7/6/14
-
"Killing and wounding four civilians in bombing north of Tikrit by Army
Aviation," 6/26/14
-
"Killing element in the civil defense and wounding another in aerial
bombardment on a number of areas of Mosul," 7/1/14
-
"Killed five people by pounding of the village of Tar Afar, east of
Mosul," 6/25/14
-
"Nine dead and wounded aerial bombing targeting a mosque in Tikrit where
Dash set for a "declaration of repentance of security forces,"
6/13/14
-
"Nine people were injured in aerial bombing in Mosul," 7/20/14
-
"Ten people injured pounding by drone of the University of Mosul in
northern city," 7/16/14
-
"Witnesses: killing four people amid aerial bombardment Baiji,"
7/20/14
NINA,
"13 killed, wounded in Mosul," 7/12/14
-
"/14/ Civilians killed and wounded by bombing west of Mosul," 7/9/14
-
"16/ people, including women and children, killed and wounded in an aerial
bombing of Mosul," 7/8/14
NINA-
-
"19/ Civilians, mostly women and children killed by missile strikes on
Tikrit," 7/6/14
-
"40 people injured due to aircrafts' bombing on several areas in
Mosul," 6/30/14
-
"Eight civilians injured in Mosul," 7/6/14
Rudaw,
"Iraqi Jets Bomb Tuz Khurmatu, Killing 12-Year-Old Girl," 7/6/14
Saad,
Mustafa, "Killing three civilians and wounding 13 others in bombing the
area of Rashidiya Mosul," Alsumaria, 7/17/14
Shafaq
News, "34 casualties, mostly women and children in Baiji bombing north of
Tikrit," 6/24/14
Xinhua,
"Iraq army in tug-of-war fights with Sunni militants," 6/30/14
2 comments:
"This points to a lack of strategy and a waste of resources by the Iraqi Security Forces, along with a disregard for the population it is supposed to be protecting."
Well said Joel.
We keep hearing Maliki's claims that his govt re-gained the initiative yet the events on the ground show that he is only reacting to ISIL's.
Yes Baghdad's response so far is to throw untrained recruits into the field and rely more upon militias while making an ill advised stab at Tikrit twice that has failed up to now.
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