Battle Of Anbar Begins In Iraq

The biggest news during the second week of July 2015 was obviously the announcement that the battle of Anbar had begun. After over a month of delay, the Iraqi government announced that it was moving to re-take not only Ramadi, but Fallujah as well. Baghdad’s forces made quick progress clearing out the surrounding towns and suburbs, but the real fight will began when they reach the core of each city. The Islamic State responded with a huge wave of car bombs across the center of the country in retaliation. If the government is successful the fight for Anbar could be a real game changer.

Musings On Iraq counted 140 security incidents from July 8-14, 2015. That was down from 162 the week before. So far this month there have been an average of 21.5 attacks per day just above June’s 20.7. The real number of attacks is always higher.

Baghdad was the most violence province as usual with 53 attacks. After that there were 32 in Anbar and 20 in Salahaddin, which were the focus of the fighting in the country, and then 12 in Diyala and Ninewa each, 5 in Babil, 4 in Kirkuk, and 1 each in Basra and Wasit.

Those incidents led to 436 killed and 725 wounded. The dead were made up of 1 sahwa, 12 Hashd, 110 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 261 civilians. The wounded were 10 Hashd, 45 ISF, and 525 civilians. Baghdad was also the deadliest province with 140 fatalities, and then 100 in Anbar, 65 in Salahaddin, 54 in Ninewa, 19 in Diyala, 4 in Babil, and 1 each in Basra and Wasit.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	189	466	464
Jan 8-14	172	733	518
Jan 15-21	189	403	528
Jan 22-28	195	492	899
Jan 29-31	91	306	568
JAN	836	2,400	2,977
Feb 1-7	155	408	688
Feb 8-14	177	443	566
Feb 15-21	169	592	383
Feb 22-28	171	391	705
FEB	672	1,834	2,342
Mar 1-7	176	373	595
Mar 8-14	137	398	656
Mar 15-21	146	1,304	505
Mar 22-28	174	273	406
Mar 29-31	72	205	219
MAR	705	2,553 + 4	2,381 + 150
Apr 1-7	127	218	422
Apr 8-14	137	676	542
Apr 15-21	172	729	717
Apr 22-28	163	497	483
Apr 29-30	50	162 + 7	182 + 299
APR	649	2,282	2,346
May 1-7	154	626	450
May 8-14	154	420	549
May 15-21	124	963	387
May 22-28	108	341 + 1,499	348
May 29-31	38	66	164 + 646
MAY	578	2,416 + 1,499	1,898 + 646
Jun 1-7	132	431	476
Jun 8-14	126	522 + 405	394
Jun 15-21	141	365	373
Jun 22-28	162	306	474
Jun 29-30	61	122	189
JUN	622	1,804	2,012
Jul 1-7	162	436	725
Jul 8-14	140	384	570

Violence In Iraq July 2015 by Province

Province	July 1-7	July 8-14
Anbar	42 Incidents 216 Killed: 17 ISF, 19 Hashd, 180 Civilians 287 Wounded: 16 ISF, 20 Hashd, 251 Civilians 23 Shootings 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Car Bomb 4 Mortars 2 Rockets 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed 18 Car Bombs Destroyed	32 Incidents 100 Killed: 24 ISF, 76 Civilians 135 Wounded: 9 ISF, 126 Civilians 14 Shootings 15 IEDs 17 Suicide Car Bombs 4 Mortars 1 Rockets 22 Suicide Bombers Killed 4 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 22 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	4 Incidents 7 Killed: 7 Civilians 15 Wounded: 15 Civilians 3 IEDs	5 Incidents 4 Killed: 4 Civilians 25 Wounded: 2 ISF, 23 Civilians 4 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb
Baghdad	56 Incidents 112 Killed: 3 Hashd, 4 Sahwa, 13 ISF, 92 Civilians 282 Wounded: 6 Hashd, 12 Sahwa, 28 ISF, 236 Civilians 14 Shootings 28 IEDs 5 Sticky Bombs 5 Car Bombs 1 Mortar	53 Incidents 140 Killed: 2 Hashd, 29 ISF, 109 Civilians 336 Wounded: 13 ISF, 323 Civilians 11 Shootings 28 IEDs 6 Sticky Bombs 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Suicide Car Bomb 6 Car Bombs 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Basra	1 Incident 1 IED	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting
Diyala	5 Incidents 13 Killed: 2 Hashd, 11 Civilians 22 Wounded: 22 Civilians 2 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Car Bomb	12 Incidents 19 Killed: 2 ISF, 3 Hashd, 14 Civilians 25 Wounded: 4 ISF, 21 Civilians 3 Shootings 6 IEDs 2 Sticky Bombs 1 Car Bomb
Kirkuk	10 Incidents 9 Killed: 3 Civilians, 6 Peshmerga 33 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 32 Peshmerga 9 Shootings 1 IED	4 Incidents 2 Shootings 1 IED 1 Mortar
Ninewa	15 Incidents 31 Killed: 1 Peshmerga, 30 Civilians 4 Wounded: 4 Peshmerga 9 Shootings 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 3 Car Bombs Destroyed	12 Incidents 54 Killed: 10 ISF, 44 Civilians 7 Wounded: 7 Civilians 8 Shootings
Salahaddin	29 Incidents 48 Killed: 5 Civilians, 19 ISF, 24 Hashd 82 Wounded: 9 ISF, 35 Civilians, 38 Hashd 10 Shootings 7 IEDs 8 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Rocket 10 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 5 Car Bombs Destroyed	20 Incidents 65 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 7 Hashd, 13 Civilians, 44 ISF 40 Wounded: 10 Hashd, 15 ISF, 15 Civilians 9 Shootings 6 IEDs 1 Car Bomb 9 Car Bombs Destroyed
Wasit	-	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 ISF 2 Wounded: 2 ISF 1 IED

Car Bombs In Iraq, June 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jul 1	Riyahah, Salahaddin		1
Jul 2	Nukhaib, Anbar Fatah & Tal Abu, Salahaddin Baiji-Tikrit Road, Salahaddin– 2 destroyed	9	12
Jul 3
Jul 4	Baya x2, Baghdad Baiji x2, Salahaddin Khursabad & Nouran, Ninewa – 3 destroyed	20	22
Jul 5	Amil & Dora, Baghdad Baladrooz, Diyala Hadith Dam, Anbar – 7 destroyed	16	55
Jul 6	Jubba, Anbar New Baghdad, Baghdad Haditha, Outside Haditha & Saqlawiya, Anbar - 12 destroyed Baiji, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed	11	11
Jul 7	Baiji x3, Salahaddin Sinjar, Ninewa – 3 destroyed Tal Abu Jarad, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed	10	35
Totals	16 & 32 Destroyed	66	136
Jul 8	Sakran, Anbar Ramadi, Anbar – 1 destroyed	1	1
Jul 9	Alwa, Baghdad Husaiba, Anbar – 1 destroyed Tal Abu Jarad, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed		1
Jul 10	Khalidiya x7, Anbar Amil & Zafaraniya, Baghdad	23	48
Jul 11	Abu Fleis x3, Anbar Husaiba & Saqlawiya, Anbar – 11 destroyed Bjara, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed	8	5
Jul 12	Bunuk, Iskan, Kadhimiya, &Shaab, Baghdad Tarmiya, Salahaddin Sadr City, Baghdad – 1 destroyed Albu Juari & Hawi, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed	43	103
Jul 13	Fallujah x5, Anbar
Jul 14	Nukhaib, Anbar Khalis, Diyala East of Husaiba, Saqlawiya, Shehan, Anbar – 13 destroyed	8	16
Totals	26 & 36 Destroyed	83	174

The Islamic State upped the number of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) once again. There were 16 the first week of July and another 32 destroyed. That was followed by 26 the second week and 36 destroyed. The main target was Anbar where IS tried to stave off the government’s offensive using these types of attacks. There were 17 successful suicide car bombings there with another 26 VBIEDs destroyed. After that there were 7 in Baghdad where IS continued with its terrorist campaign there against civilians. Finally there was 1 in Baiji in Salahaddin where Baghdad has another operation going on, and another 9 were destroyed there. The last bombing was in Diyala, which has seen one of these types of attacks about every other week.

Anbar has been the main focus of the Islamic State in 2015 and the government finally recognized it needed its full attention. Baghdad has been trying to re-take Garma to the east of Fallujah for the last two months. That is still going on, but after surrounding the city and taking the suburbs it has been unable to take the center for the last several weeks.

At the start of July, ISF, Hashd and tribes started preparatory work to take back Ramadi and Fallujah. That started in places like Saqlawiya and Khalidya, which are between Ramadi and Fallujah. Habaniya is between them, which is home to an army base and U.S. trainers, and was probably used as a jumping off point for some of these attacks.

On July 13 the official announcement was made that the Ramadi-Fallujah operation had started, although there was still a bit of confusion about that, which has characterized the fight in Anbar. The head of the Badr Organization Hadi Ameri said that the campaign would not start for another week showing the discord between all the groups involved, but that appeared to have been worked out. 10,000 ISF, Hashd and tribes were said to be involved. That’s actually smaller than the battle for Tikrit, which involved three times as many fighters. Still, the government announced immediate results taking more towns and entering the suburbs of the two major cities. The real struggle however, begins when the center of Ramadi and Fallujah are reached. IS has not been able to stop any overwhelming force, but it has been able to draw out operations for a long time and cause heavy casualties like what happened in Tikrit. Fallujah has been under insurgent control for more than a year and a half, while Ramadi was taken two months ago. That gave IS plenty of time to build up its defenses. On the other hand, the ISF is supposed to be in the lead in this operation, and that will mean it will have U.S. air strikes at its disposal, which was crucial for the final clearing of Tikrit. If IS is driven from both Ramadi and Fallujah, it would be a major loss for the group as Anbar has been its main base, and the only province where it continues to gain territory.

As the war has come to Anbar the number of civilian casualties due to government shelling has increased as well. In the second week of July the ISF and Hashd were responsible for more than half of the casualties. 49 civilians were killed and 80 wounded by shelling in Fallujah out of 100 dead and 135 injured total in Anbar during the week.

Baghdad has been the other major target of IS. It has been increasing the number of bombings there since the winter of 2014. During the second week of July there were 1 suicide bombings, 6 sticky bombs, 28 IEDs, 1 suicide car bomb, and 6 car bombs, with another one dismantled before it went off. The south and east have been the main targets, but IS has shown the ability to hit any part of the capital when it wants to. This is despite the fact that Prime Minister Haider Abadi has committed more and more forces to Baghdad to try to secure it, which has obviously not worked.

Baghdad Attacks, July 7-14, 2015

Center – 3: 1 Car Bomb, 2 IEDs

East – 13: 1 Car Bomb dismantled, 1 Kidnapping, 1 Sticky Bomb, 4 Shootings, 6 IEDs

North – 5: 1 Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 Suicide Bomber, 1 Suicide Car Bomb, 2 Car Bombs

Outer East – 1: 1 IED

Outer North – 4: 2 Shootings, 2 IEDs

Outer South – 7: 1 Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb, 6 IEDs

South – 12: 1 Car Bomb, 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 Shootings, 9 IEDs

West – 7: 1 Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 Car Bombs, 3 IEDs

In Ninewa, almost all of the casualties come from IS executions, while the organization continues to probe the Kurdish lines. From July 8-14, 38 people were killed by IS along with a mass grave being discovered with 9 IS victims found in it. Coalition air strikes were blamed for another 15 dead and 7 wounded in three towns. IS also conducted three attacks upon the peshmerga in Sinjar, Bashiqa and Gabarra. The frontlines are set all along the north with trenches and fortifications, but that hasn’t stopped IS from giving the peshmerga a poke about once a week. This usually ends with coalition air strikes destroying the attacking forces.

Finally, the struggle to re-take Baiji and the refinery there continued for another week. IS originally attacked the area as a diversion from its real goal, which was taking Ramadi. After that was accomplished it left behind a holding force, which has successfully held off the government for two months now. IS also continues attacks up and down the length of the province all of which are meant to hold down the government, which it has been very successful at so far. That’s just starting to change with the Anbar operation.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Car bomb kills at least 5 in Iraq town of Khalis," 7/15/15

AIN, "3 citizens killed, 14 others wounded by car bomb west of Baghdad," 7/13/15

- "Campaign to liberate Anbar starts with participation of 10 thousand fighters," 7/13/15

Alsumaria, "A truck bomb exploded near a vegetable market in Alwa northeast of Hilla," 7/9/15

Bradley, Matt and Adnan, Ghassan, “Iraq Security Forces Launch Operation to Oust Islamists From Anbar Province,” Wall Street Journal, 7/13/15

Buratha News, "A car bomb resulted in four martyrs and 17 wounded," 7/14/15

- "Federal Police Chief announced the destruction of seven car bombs and the dismantling of 17 booby trapped homes east of Ramadi," 7/14/15

- "Federal police foil attack of two car bombs north of Tikrit," 7/11/15

Ersoy, Erol, "Iraq: 72 dead, 24 injured in Baghdad attacks," Videonews.US, 7/10/15

Al Forat, “Anbar Liberation Operation starts with participation of 10 thousand fighters,” 7/13/15

- "Death toll of Za'afarniyah bombing increases," 7/10/15

- "ISIL attack foiled in eastern Ramadi, says Muhamadi," 7/8/15

Fox News, "Iraq launches operation against ISIS in Anbar province," 7/13/15

Al Mada, "Bomb toll rises to 34 people dead and wounded," 7/13/15

- "Death toll rises to 18 dead and wounded in bombing in Iskan," 7/12/15

- "Killing and injuring 13 people in a suicide bombing targeting a gathering of security forces," 7/12/15

Mamuzini, Hazhar, "Islamic State Launches Attacks East of Sinjar," Bas News, 7/12/15

NINA, "10 terrorists killed in east of Ramadi," 7/9/15

- "22/ civilians killed and wounded by air strikes of the international coalition in southern areas of Mosul," 9/7/15

- "Five policemen killed and wounded in east of Ramadi," 7/10/15

- "Peshmerga Repulse An Attack For Daash In Bashiqa, North Of Mosul," 7/14/15

- "Popular Defense Forces Destroy 4 Car Bombs In Baiji Sector," 7/12/15

- "Security Forces Blow Up Three Car Bombs East Of Ramadi," 7/11/15

- "Security forces thwart an attack by Daash in north of Fallujah," 7/1/15

- "Security forces thwart an attack by Daash in north of Fallujah," 7/14/15

- "Three car bombs blown up in Baiji," 7/9/15

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "Islamic State Militants Attack Iraqi Forces In Anbar," 7/10/15

Al Rayy, "Popular crowd forces destroyed two car bombs in the village of Shehan west of Fallujah," 7/14/15

Reuters, "Baghdad car bombs and suicide attacks kill 35 - sources," 7/12/15

Shafaq News, "33 people dead and wounded by a car bomb in Baghdad," 7/10/15

- "Truck bomb at a security location causes casualties near Fallujah," 7/8/15

Sotalirq, "Killing 31 militants, most of them suicide bombers in clashes east of Ramadi," 7/11/15

- "Eight people killed and wounded by a roadside bomb in Bunuk north Baghdad," 7/12/15

- "The killing of three border guards in a suicide bombing in Nukhayb," 7/14/15

- "Peshmerga thwart an attack by Daash in Sinjar," 7/14/15

Xinhua, "Clashes, bomb attacks kill 38 in Iraq," 7/12/15

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraqi officials say bombings in Baghdad, town south of Iraqi capital have killed 16 people," Associated Press, 7/9/15