Heavy Fighting In Four Of Iraq’s Provinces During Start Of July 2015

There were a high number of security incidents in Iraq during the first week of July. That was due to heavy fighting in Anbar and Salahaddin. The Islamic State (IS) also launched large attacks upon the Kurds in Kirkuk and Ninewa, and continued its terrorist campaign in Baghdad as well. The violence during the week kept casualties high in Iraq.

The press reported 162 attacks in Iraq from July 1-7, 2015. The real number is always much higher. That was the same amount as the last full week of June. Those were the highest amounts of weekly attacks since the middle of May.

Baghdad and Anbar had the most incidents, as they have been the main focus of the Islamic State for the last year. The capital province had 56 attacks, while Anbar 42. After that there were 29 in Salahaddin, 15 in Ninewa, 10 in Kirkuk, 5 in Diyala, 4 in Babil, and 1 in Basra.

The press reported 436 fatalities and 725 injuries during the week. The real figures are much higher as the government has been withholding its losses and underplaying attacks to maintain the population’s morale. The dead were made up of 4 Sahwa, 7 Peshmerga, 48 Hashd al-Shaabi, 49 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 328 civilians. The wounded consisted of 12 Sahwa, 36 Peshmerga, 64 Hashd, 53 ISF, and 560 civilians. That was a total of 1,161 casualties, the highest since May 15-21 when there were 1,350. The increase in losses was mostly due to fighting in Anbar where 216 were killed and 287 wounded, and continued terrorist attacks in Baghdad leading to 112 deaths and 282 injured. After those two there were 48 dead in Salahaddin, 31 in Ninewa, 13 in Diyala, 9 in Kirkuk, and 7 in Babil.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	184	434	464
Jan 8-14	170	730	493
Jan 15-21	182	390	515
Jan 22-28	189	466	894
Jan 29-31	90	288	529
JAN	815	2,308	2,895
Feb 1-7	155	380	688
Feb 8-14	170	406	559
Feb 15-21	165	573	364
Feb 22-28	165	371	687 + 386
FEB	655	1,730	2,683
Mar 1-7	172	372	587
Mar 8-14	133	348	656
Mar 15-21	142	1,299	503
Mar 22-28	170	235	406
Mar 29-31	72	205	219
MAR	689	2,459 + 4	2,371 + 150
Apr 1-7	121	212	422
Apr 8-14	133	626	525
Apr 15-21	169	722	714
Apr 22-28	160	483	483
Apr 29-30	50	162 + 7	182 + 299
APR	633	2,212	2,625
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

Violence In Iraq July 2015 by Province

Province	Violence
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
Babil	4 Incidents 7 Killed: 7 Civilians 15 Wounded: 15 Civilians 3 IEDs
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
Basra	1 Incident 1 IED
Diyala	5 Incidents 13 Killed: 2 Hashd, 11 Civilians 22 Wounded: 22 Civilians 2 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Car Bomb
Kirkuk	10 Incidents 9 Killed: 3 Civilians, 6 Peshmerga 33 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 32 Peshmerga 9 Shootings 1 IED
Ninewa	15 Incidents 31 Killed: 1 Peshmerga, 30 Civilians 4 Wounded: 4 Peshmerga 9 Shootings 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 3 Car Bombs Destroyed
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

Car Bombs In Iraq, June 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jul 1	Riyahah, Salahaddin		1
Jul 2	Nukhaib, Anbar Fatah & Tal Abu, Salahaddin	9	12
Jul 3
Jul 4	Baya x2, Baghdad Baiji x2, Salahaddin	20	22
Jul 5	Amil & Dora, Baghdad Baladrooz, Diyala	16	55
Jul 6	Jubba, Anbar New Baghdad, Baghdad	11	11
Jul 7	Baiji x3, Salahaddin	10	35
Totals	16	66	136

 

During the week IS unleashed another round of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). There were 16 during the week with another 32 destroyed before reaching their targets. The main targets were Salahaddin with 8, Baghdad with 5, Anbar with 2, and Diyala with 1. Another 19 were destroyed in Anbar, 7 in Salahaddin and 6 in Ninewa. The reported losses were 66 killed and 136 wounded, but there were probably many more that did not get in the press. There was a decided dip in these types of attacks in the last half of June after IS used up its stocks, but it is apparent now that they have manufactured more of these devices.

Anbar has become the focal point of the Islamic State, the government and the Hashd after the fall of Ramadi last month. Baghdad’s joint forces seem to be in disarray however over how to proceed. While the ISF with the backing of the United States said that Ramadi should be taken first, the Hashd decided that Fallujah would be their target. Each has followed their own path attempting to surround the two towns and cut off IS supply lines in places like Saqlawiya, which is to the northwest of Fallujah. The ISF are also waiting for police and tribal fighters to be trained by the Americans to provide a holding force for after Ramadi is taken. Only a small fraction of recruits has gone through the U.S. program meaning that the attack upon the city is still some time off. The U.S. is helping with planning for the assault and wants the ISF to be in the lead with the Hashd only playing a supporting role in the surrounding towns. That’s the reason why they have chosen to focus upon Fallujah instead. Members of the Hashd and their spokesman are constantly talking about the coming battle to liberate Fallujah, but when pressed they say that could be weeks to months away. The lack of a unified command highlights the problems Baghdad is having in the war against IS. It doesn’t have real command over all of its forces leading to the current contradictory announcements being made in Anbar. That has played into IS’s hands giving it more time to entrench itself into Ramadi and lay down its defenses. If the city was moved upon in May it could have been taken quicker and with less casualties.

Another example of this problem was shown at the end of June when Hashd forces were accused of abuses in Nukhaib. On June 29, a Hashd unit was burning houses in that town and attacked the home of a prominent sheikh. The Anbar council demanded that the government remove this force from the province. That probably didn’t happen as the premier lacks real authority over these forces that follow their own commanders instead.

The operation to take Garma to the east of Fallujah continues to make little progress. That operation was started in the middle of May and surrounded the center of the town weeks ago, but has not been able to penetrate it since then.

Finally, the new focus upon Anbar has led to a new round of government shelling and air strikes that have caused a huge amount of civilian casualties. Fallujah, Saqlawiya, Ramadi, Sijar, and Niamiya were all hit during the week leading to 157 killed, 72% of the total, and 244 wounded, 85% of the total. Prime Minister Haider Abadi promised to end these practices when he first took office, but that never happened.

Baghdad has become a major target of the Islamic State since the end of 2014. There has been a dramatic increase in attacks there as a result. July was no exception. Premier Abadi has been keeping ISF units in Baghdad to try to secure the capital, but that has not worked. The insurgents have been able to hit every part of the province. That ranges from the outer towns like Abu Ghraib to the center of the city in places like Karrada to the east like New Baghdad. The result is that Baghdad regularly leads the country in attacks and has some of the highest casualties.

Attacks In Baghdad Jul 1-7, 2015

North: 2 – 1 IED, 1 Sticky Bomb

Outer West: 2 – 1 Mortar, 2 Shootings

Outer North: 3 – 3 IEDs

West: 3 – 1 IED, 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 Shooting

Outer East: 5 – 2 Shootings, 3 IEDs

Center: 6 – 1 Car Bomb, 2 IEDs, 2 Sticky Bombs, 1 Shooting

Outer South: 8 – 6 IEDs, 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 Shooting

South: 11 – 3 Car Bombs, 8 IEDs, 1 Shooting

East: 15 – 1 Car Bomb, 6 Shootings, 4 IEDs, 3 Kidnappings, 1 Burning

(“Outer” areas refer to towns outside main city)

In Kirkuk province, which had been quiet for weeks IS launched a massive assault on July 6. It attacked eight towns, seizing at least three of them for a time being before being turned back by the Peshmerga and Coalition air strikes. 6 Peshmerga were killed and 32 wounded in the fighting. Combat in the north is completely different from the rest of the country. The two sides mostly face each other along a set battle line with trenches. The Kurds also have close cooperation with the west, which has allowed it to quickly call in aircraft. The result is that IS attacks are regularly defeated.

Likewise in Ninewa IS was probing the Kurdish lines with attacks upon seven different places at the start of July including Mosul Dam and Sinjar. That included six car bombs that were destroyed.

Major fighting over Baiji continued in Salahaddin. 50-60% of the refinery there remains under IS control. Government forces seemed like they were making better headway in the neighboring town, but on July 4 IS attacked with two suicide car bombs and an infantry assault that allowed it to seize four neighborhoods and force the ISF and Hashd to retreat. IS launched several other car bombs in the area before and afterward against the joint forces. Baiji is really a diversionary operation for IS. It already achieved its two main goals there. One was to distract Baghdad in May from its main target, which was the taking of Ramadi. The other was to destroy the refinery, which it largely did last month. The continued clashes there are meant to tie down ISF and Hashd units, while its main focus remains Anbar.

SOURCES

AIN, "3 SVBIEDs target ISF, PMU in Baij, kill 10 fighters, wound 35 others," 7/7/15

- "Car bombs kill 11 in Baghdad at end of Ramdan fast," 7/5/15

Alsumaria, "Dead and wounded in a suicide bombing targting a gathering of the federal police and popular crowd west of Baiji," 7/2/15

Gordon, Michael and Schmitt, Eric, “Iraqi Forces Plan Offensive to Retake Ramadi From ISIS,” New York Times, 7/6/15

Al Mada, "Detonated two car bombs and dismantled six booby-trapped houes in the process of clearing the road between Baiji and Tikrit," 7/2/15

- “The joint forces begin the Battle of Anbar besiege Fallujah and Daash pulls its military councils from the city,” 7/7/15

Al Masalah, “Nouri: the popular crowd will not back down from the liberation of Anbar,” 7/7/15

- “Popular crowd: Daash will not be long in Anbar,” 7/7/15

- "Six martyrs and 29 injured in Baghdad bombing," 7/4/15

Morris, Loveday, “Iraqi militias vow to push Islamic State from Fallujah, site of tough U.S. battle,” Washington Post, 7/8/15

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "Bombings Kill 19 People In, Around Baghdad," 7/5/15

Radio Free Iraq, “29 June 2015,” Daily Updates from Anbar, 6/29/15

Al Rayy, "A car bomb driven by a suicide bomber in the Nukhaib district on the border between Anbar and Karbala," 7/2/15

- "High number of vicims in explosion in Nairiyah, security services investigating the incident," 7/6/15

Reuters, "Car bombs kill 11 in Baghdad at end of Ramadan fast," 7/4/15

- "ISIS target Iraq's Haditha town with vehicle bombs," 7/6/15

- “Islamic State suicide bombers strike in Iraqi refinery town,” 7/5/15

Shafaq News, "17 casualties of the security forces and PMU in a suicide attack northeast of Baiji," 7/2/15

- "ISIS progress in two neighborhoods after a suicide attack killed soldiers, "7/5/15

- "New deployment of Iraqi forces and ISIS in Baiji after Sunday's attacks," 7/6/15

Sotaliraq, "Injury to an element of the army blown up by a suicide bomber targeting a tank in Baiji," 7/1/15