Islamic State Executions In Anbar Keep Casualties High In 1st Week of Nov. 2014

The number of attacks per week in Iraq has remained relatively stable since the middle of October. Casualties took a jump at the beginning of November 2014 however due to a wave of executions by the Islamic State (IS) against the Albu Nimr tribe in Anbar. Baghdad has promised to come to their rescue, but nothing substantive has happened yet. In Babil, IS carried out counterattacks against the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) after losing their long time base in Jurf al-Sakhr. The Islamists also went after Shiite pilgrims in the capital with a series of car bombs. In Salahaddin however the ISF and militias retained the initiative as they pushed into the Baiji district in the northern section of the province. Overall, the insurgency remains strong in certain areas, but government forces and their allies have made their first real advances in the country.

In the first week of November there was a tie for the second fewest number of attacks of the year. In total the press had 153 incidents. September 22-28 saw the same number of attacks, with only August 15-21 at 150 having fewer. This has been the situation for several weeks now with 156 from October 15-21 and 159 from October 22-28. Broken down by province Salahaddin had the most attacks for the week with 49 followed by 41 in Baghdad, 29 in Anbar, 11 in Babil and Ninewa each, seven in Diyala, three in Tamim and then one each in Basra and Wasit.

From November 1-7 there was a jump in casualties. There were 601 deaths consisting of 64 members of the ISF, 3 Sahwa, and 534 civilians. Another 828 were wounded, made up of 123 members of the ISF, and 705 civilians. There had not been that many fatalities since September 15-21’s 620. The major cause of the increase was a large number of executions carried out by the Islamic State in Anbar against the Albu Nimr tribe where 495 people were killed from October 29 to November 4. For the week there were 290 deaths in Anbar, 172 in Baghdad, 87 in Salahaddin, 30 in Babil, four in Diyala, three in Wasit, and two in Tamim.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2014

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	244	363	736
Jan 8-14	273	364	683
Jan 15-21	205	358	616
Jan 22-28	236	305	618
Jan 29-31	57	93	237
JAN	1,015	1,483	2,890
Feb 1-7	204	296	700
Feb 8-14	226	258	505
Feb 15-21	264	346	703
Feb 22-28	251	374	618
FEB	945	1,274	2,526
Mar 1-7	253	412	702
Mar 8-14	206	324	612
Mar 15-21	216	423	736
Mar 22-27	211	279	580
Mar 28-31	110	168	271
MAR	996	1,606	2,901
Apr 1-7	238	259	550
Apr 8-14	223	362	646
Apr 15-21	251	406	786
Apr 22-28	226	347	744
Apr 29-30	61	82	179
APR	999	1,456	2,905
May 1-7	198	246	483
May 8-14	257	469	752
May 15-21	183	256	426
May 22-28	204	407	817
May 29-31	64	90	132
MAY	906	1,468	2,610
Jun 1-7	227	629	1,021
Jun 8-14	228	1,838	891
Jun 15-21	171	758	754
Jun 22-28	200	720	775
Jun 29-30	56	127	236
JUN	882	4,072	3,684
Jul 1-7	200	511	622
Jul 8-14	213	577	625
Jul 15-21	227	400	1,000
Jul 22-28	224	589	801
Jul 29-31	66	163	230
JUL	930	2,280	3,278
Aug 1-8	269	1,122	885
Aug 9-14	179	710	1,152
Aug 15-21	150	354	499
Aug 22-28	178	523	798
Aug 29-31	59	125	289
AUG	835	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	567
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	797	2,347	3,151 + 1,230
Nov 1-7	153	601	828

Violence In Iraq By Province Nov 2014

Province	Nov 1-7
Anbar	29 Incidents 290 Killed: 12 ISF, 3 Sahwa, 275 Civilians 191 Wounded: 28 ISF, 163 Civilians 14 Shootings 2 Car Bombs 1 Suicide Car Bomb
Babil	11 Incidents 30 Killed: 5 ISF, 25 Civilians 84 Wounded: 5 ISF, 79 Civilians 3 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 2 Car Bombs
Baghdad	41 Incidents 172 Killed: 14 ISF, 158 Civilians 389 Wounded: 9 ISF, 380 Civilians 10 Shootings 22 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 4 Car Bombs 2 Suicide Car Bombs
Basra	1 Incident
Diyala	7 Incidents 4 Killed: 4 Civilians 5 Wounded: 4 ISF, 1 Civilian 5 Shootings 2 IEDs
Kirkuk	3 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 8 Wounded: 8 Civilians 2 Shootings 2 IEDs
Ninewa	11 Incidents 13 Killed: 2 ISF, 11 Civilians 9 Shootings 1 IED
Salahaddin	49 Incidents 87 Killed: 31 ISF, 56 Civilians 136 Wounded: 75 ISF, 61 Civilians 15 Shootings 73 IEDs 1 Car Bomb 4 Suicide Car Bombs
Wasit	1 Incident 3 Killed: 3 Civilians 15 Wounded: 2 ISF, 13 Civilians

The first week of November witnessed the end of the last car bomb wave and the start of another. From October 29 to November 2 thirteen vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VIBEDs) went off across Babil, Baghdad, Ninewa, and Salahaddin. There was a one day break, and then the next wave began starting on November 5 striking Anbar, and Salahaddin. Fort the first week of November there were a total of 16 VBIEDs leading to 154 deaths and 285 injured.

Car Bomb Attacks In Iraq Nov 2014

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Nov 1	Yusifiya, Babil Dora & Palestine St, Baghdad	47	119
Nov 2	Yusifiya, Babil Bayaa, Sadoun St, Sadr City, Baghdad	38	103
Nov 3	Tunis, Baghdad	36
Nov 4
Nov 5	Baiji Refinery, Salahaddin	4	7
Nov 6	Hit & Baghdadi, Anbar Baiji, Salahaddin	18	26
Nov 7	Baghadi, Anbar Baiji x3, Salahaddin	11	30
1st Wk Totals	16	154	285

Civilian Casualties From Government Shelling And Air Strikes Nov 2014

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Nov 1	Fallujah, Anbar	5	2
Nov 2	Fallujah, Anbar		7
Nov 3	Fallujah, Anbar	3	11
Nov 4	Fallujah, Anbar	2	13
	Qaim, Anbar	7	33
Nov 5	Fallujah, Anbar	9	23
	Qaim, Anbar	3	14
Nov 6	Fallujah, Anbar	18	25
-	-	47	128

Anbar was the main driver of the increase in casualties at the beginning of November. From November 1-4 189 members of the Albu Nimr tribe from the Hit district in central Anbar were executed by the Islamic State. This was part of a concerted program by IS to exact revenge upon the tribe for opposing it, and to make an example out of it to intimidate other tribes in the province. IS may not have been fully responsible for the massacres however as Niqash recently reported that other local tribes and even members of the Albu Nimr itself helped the insurgents carry out the killings. Leaders of the tribe have also blamed Baghdad for its predicament claiming that it asked for help for weeks, but received little. This points to the complicated tribal situation in Anbar. Not only are the tribes divided over whether to face the insurgency or not, there are internal divisions as well. This is a major reason why the authorities have been reluctant to assist them, because their loyalties are questionable even within the same tribe.

The government has promised major operations in Anbar, but nothing serious happened until the second week of November. There were some minor sweeps announced in the Hit area, and forces from Babil have massed on the outskirts of Amiriya Fallujah in the west. Tribal fighters have also been sent to the Al-Assad base to be trained into a new Ahmed Dulaimi Martyr Brigade. Otherwise security remained relatively the same with the Islamic State having surrounded some major towns in its attempt to take the entire governorate.

The ISF continues to hit civilian areas with mortars, artillery and air strikes. At the start of the month Fallujah and Qaim were hit eight times costing the lives of 47 people, and injuring 128.

After having lost its major base in Jurf al-Sakhr in Babil IS has relocated to the north and conducted a number of retaliatory attacks upon the ISF there. At the start of the month there were eleven reported attacks almost all of which were in Latifiya, Mahmudiya, and Yusifiya. There were also three incidents in Jurf al-Sakhr itself. The security forces and militias are now trying to clear those areas.

In Baghdad IS went after pilgrims at the start of the month. On November 1 two VBIEDs went off in Dora and Palestine Street in the east killing 25 and wounding 94. The next day, two more car bombs were detonated in Bayaa and Sadoun Street in downtown leaving 23 dead and 52 injured. There were two other VBIEDs in the capital not aimed at the religious services, one in Sadr City on November 2 and another in Tunis on November 3. Every year Shiite ceremonies are targeted and November was no different.

Mount Sinjar remains threatened in Ninewa province. The area is surrounded by the Islamic State, and there were two clashes there during the week, the first on November 3 and then another on November 5. The Kurds continue to claim that they are going to free the entire Sinjar area, but they have been making the same assertions for weeks now with no real change in the situation.

At the same time, Donatella Rovera from Amnesty International reported that the peshmerga may be carrying out retaliatory attacks upon Sunnis in the province. On November 1 Rovera had an article in Annahar on a trip she made to the village of Barzanke where she observed destroyed homes. While some of the damage was done by the insurgency, she speculated that the peshmerga might have been responsible as well. That was because the Kurds considered the locals supporters of the Islamic State and did not want them back.

In Mosul, IS continues to dish out its own form of Islamic Justice. On November 4 six people were shot by the group including four reporters. November 5 two women were executed, followed by three more people on November 7. These executions happen quite often, and are a major cause of casualties in the province.

After its victory in taking Jurf al-Sakhr in Babil the ISF and militias then focused their attention upon northern Salahaddin. There the two are attempting to clear the Baiji district above Tikrit. The pro-government forces are in several sections of the town of Baiji itself. IS retaliated by launching several car bombs on the security forces. One was used outside the Baiji Refinery on November 5, and three went off on November 7. The government is hoping that by taking Baiji it can cut off all of the insurgents in central and Salahaddin from their supply lines and then move to free Tikrit and eliminate this entire northern threat.

There were continued reports of sectarian cleansing in Salahaddin by Shiite militias. Tirana Hassan in Foreign Policy went to Yengija, which was occupied by the Khorasani Brigade. She saw entire neighborhoods of the town devastated, and interviewed families who said that Shiite gunmen had destroyed their homes. When some of the displaced tried to return they were accused of supporting the insurgency and were taken captive, beaten, or disappeared. These same tactics have been employed in other sections of the country to secure the areas and exact revenge upon Sunni civilians who are considered one and the same as the militants.

SOURCES

Abdul-Zahra, Qassim and Yacoub, Sameer, "Islamic State group kills 50 Iraqis," Associated Press, 11/2/14

AFP, "IS group executes at least 36 more tribesmen in Iraq," 11/3/14

AIN, "High rank police officer killed northern Tikrit," 11/7/14

- "ISIL executes 2 women in Mosul," 11/5/14

- “Urgent…Maliha district liberated from ISIL,” 11/5/14

Alsumaria, "Killing and injuring 43 people mortar shells fall on Fallujah," 11/6/14

- "Source: bombing neighborhood Tunisia yesterday by a suicide bomber killed 36," 11/4/14

Associated Press, "Attacks in Iraq, mainly targeting troops, kill 13," 11/6/14

Awara, Omar, "IS Militants Kidnap 12 Journalists in Mosul," Bas News, 11/1/14

Al Forat, “3 Areas within Latifiya district purified by ISF,” 11/1/14

- “Askari neighborhood in Beji purged of terrorists,” 11/2/14

- “Asrai neighborhood liberated of ISIL,” 11/3/14

- "IA soldier killed due to car bombing in Beji," 11/6/14

- “ISF liberated Masafi area in Baiji district, 3 ISIL snipers killed,” 11/1/14

- “ISIL flee of Shurqat towards Mosul,” 11/1/14

Habib, Mustafa, “Iraq’s Tribes Not United On Extremists – And Bloody Tribal Justice Will Likely Prevail,” Niqash, 11/6/14

Hassan, Tirana, “The Gangs of Iraq,” Foreign Policy, 11/3/14

Independent Press Agency, "Gaood: Daash executed 24 people from Albu Nimr…and implementing same for rest of clan," 11/4/14

- "Toll rises suicide bombing south of Baghdad to 76 killed and wounded," 11/1/14

Iraq Times, "martyrs and injured in the bombing of Tunis neighborhood 24 north of Baghdad," 11/3/14

Landay, Jonathan, “Slaughter of Anbar tribesmen shows weakness in U.S. plan to beat Islamic State,” McClatchy Newspapers, 11/3/14

Al Mada, “Jurf al-Sakhr documents reveal Daash places and weapons,” 11/1/14

- "Killing and injuring 16 people in a suicide bombing west of Ramadi," 11/6/14

- "Killing and injuring seven people and destroying drinking purification in army pounding of Fallujah," 11/1/14

- "Killing and wounding 27 people in a suicide bomb attack on a convoy in Sadr City," 11/2/14

NINA, "/15/ Civilians killed and wounded in bombing on Fallujah," 11/4/14

- "17 Killed and injured in Bombing on Qai'm, Western Anbar," 11/5/14

- "/22/ Soldiers and SWAT elements killed and wounded by the explosion of two car bombs and detonate two cars under control in Baiji," 11/7/14

- "/34/ Civilians killed and wounded by bombing of the international coalition planes in al-Qaim," 11/4/14

- “An army Force, Backed By Tribes, Besieges Albu Shihab Area Between Hit and Ramadi,” 11/1/14

- "Breaking News../11/ citizens killed, 42 others wounded by a car bomb on Hosseini parade in Palestine Street in Baghdad," 11/1/14

- "Breaking News…11 Soldiers Killed, Wounded In Suicide Attack Near Baiji Refinery," 11/5/14

- "Islamic State Executes Three Women, Working In A Beauty Shop," 11/7/14

- "Islamic State Executes Two Women In Mosul," 11/4/14

- “A large-scale military operation Starts to liberation cities and areas west of Ramadi, including Hit,” 11/4/14

- "Nine Civilians Killed, 23 Injured in Shelling in Fallujah," 11/5/14

- “Military forces, backed by tribesmen, begin a big offensive to liberate western Anbar areas,” 11/1/14

- “Peshmerga Launches Massive Operation To Liberate Zummar, Northwest Of Mosul,” 11/1/14

- "Six civilians killed and wounded in bomb explosion in Baghdadi western Anbar," 11/7/14

Prothero, Mitchell and Landay, Jonathan, “Iraqi military, bolstered by Shiite militias, poised to attack idled oil refinery,” McClatchy Newspapers, 11/4/14

Radio Free Iraq, "01 November 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 11/1/14

- "02 November 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 11/2/14

- "03 November 2014," Daily Updates From Anbar, 11/3/14

- “05 November 2014,” Daily Updates from Anbar, 11/5/14

- "06 November 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 11/6/14

Radio Nawa, "Daash executed four Iraqi journalists out of the 12 arrested in Mosul," 11/4/14

Al Rayy, “Anbar declares that the first batch of the Brigade of Martyr Ahmed Dulaimi will complete its training this week,” 11/4/14

- "The death and wounding of 39 by a car bomb Yusifiya," 11/2/14

Rovera, Donatella, “Stoking the fire of Iraq’s sectarian conflict,” Annahar, 11/1/14

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraqi officials: IS extremists line up and kill 50," Associated Press, 11/1/14