Iraq’s insurgency has drawn from many different groups in
Iraq, but two major ones were the tribes and Salafis. Many sheikhs turned
against the United States in 2003 due to the actions of the military and the
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). In the 1990s Saddam Hussein started his
Faith Campaign, which led to the growth of Salafism in the country. That
ideology fueled many to join Islamist insurgent groups later on. To help
explain these two phenomena is Dr. Amatzia Baram Professor Emeritus at the Department
of History of the Middle East and Director of the Centre for Iraq Studies at
the University of Haifa. He has authored several books on Iraq, his most recent
being Saddam Husayn and Islam, 1968-2003: Ba’thi
Iraq from Secularism to Faith.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Musings On Iraq In The News
My interview with Prof. Wayne Hsieh on Tuz Kharmato was
republished by eKurd and The Daily Journalist.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Security In Iraq, Nov 15-21, 2015
Major
fighting continued in Anbar and Salahaddin during the third week of November
2015 where government forces were attempting to clear areas. The Islamic
State’s car bomb campaign and terrorist attacks in Baghdad continued as well.
Several mass graves discovered in Sinjar after its liberation earlier in the
month led to a rise in casualties as well.
From
November 15-21 there were 140 security incidents reported in the press. That
broke down to 58 in Baghdad, 27 in Anbar, 23 in Ninewa, 20 in Salhaddin, 7 in
Babil, 3 in Diyala, and one each in Kirkuk and Irbil. That was the most attacks
for November, but was not much different from previous weeks.
There
were 358 deaths and 420 wounded for the week. 240 people were killed in Ninewa,
62 in Baghdad, 18 in Babil, 17 in Anbar, 16 in Salahaddin, and 5 in Diyala. 1
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighter died, along with 12 Hashd al-Shaabi, 27
Peshmerga, 32 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and 286 civilians,
while 1 Asayesh, 23 Peshmerga, 39 Hashd, 40 ISF, and 317 civilians were
injured. The number of casualties was up from the 265 dead and 354 injured from
the week before because of the discovery of several mass graves in Sinjar.
Violence In
Iraq By Week 2015
Date
|
Incidents
|
Dead
|
Wounded
|
Jan 1-7
|
205
|
466
|
464
|
Jan 8-14
|
176
|
733
|
518
|
Jan 15-21
|
193
|
403
|
528
|
Jan 22-28
|
197
|
492
|
899
|
Jan 29-31
|
91
|
306
|
568
|
JAN
|
862
|
2,400
|
2,977
|
Feb 1-7
|
159
|
408
|
688
|
Feb 8-14
|
178
|
443
|
566
|
Feb 15-21
|
175
|
592
|
383
|
Feb 22-28
|
178
|
391
|
730
|
FEB
|
690
|
1,834
|
2,367
|
Mar 1-7
|
186
|
373
|
595
|
Mar 8-14
|
156
|
398
|
656
|
Mar 15-21
|
170
|
1,304
|
505
|
Mar 22-28
|
186
|
273
|
406
|
Mar 29-31
|
76
|
205
|
219
|
MAR
|
774
|
2,553 + 4
|
2,381 + 150
|
Apr 1-7
|
130
|
218
|
422
|
Apr 8-14
|
140
|
674
|
531
|
Apr 15-21
|
175
|
729
|
717
|
Apr 22-28
|
167
|
497
|
483
|
Apr 29-30
|
51
|
162 + 7
|
182 + 299
|
APR
|
663
|
2,280
|
2,335
|
May 1-7
|
159
|
627
|
450
|
May 8-14
|
161
|
420
|
549
|
May 15-21
|
128
|
963
|
387
|
May 22-28
|
115
|
341 +
1,499
|
348
|
May 29-31
|
38
|
66
|
164 + 646
|
MAY
|
601
|
2,417 + 1,499
|
1,898 + 646
|
Jun 1-7
|
133
|
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 + 58
|
189 + 106
|
JUN
|
623
|
1,804
|
2,012
|
Jul 1-7
|
161
|
435
|
719
|
Jul 8-14
|
140
|
384
|
570
|
Jul 15-21
|
109
|
359
|
597 +
4,024
|
Jul 22-28
|
145
|
527
|
590
|
Jul 29-31
|
53
|
193 + 260
|
203 + 400
|
JUL
|
608
|
2,158
|
3,079 + 4,024
|
Aug 1-7
|
154
|
650 + 760
|
298
|
Aug 8-14
|
133
|
756
|
640
|
Aug 15-21
|
135
|
345
|
354
|
Aug 22-28
|
136
|
342
|
296
|
Aug 29-31
|
59
|
112
|
169
|
AUG
|
617
|
2,205 + 760
|
1,757
|
Sep 1-7
|
139
|
285
|
352
|
Sep 8-14
|
144
|
368
|
394
|
Sep 15-21
|
123
|
323
|
488
|
Sep 22-28
|
128
|
190
|
258
|
Sep 29-30
|
39
|
106 + 19
|
147 + 8
|
SEP
|
573
|
1,291 + 314
|
1,647 + 3,003
|
Oct 1-7
|
105
|
291
|
398
|
Oct 8-14
|
144
|
254
|
389
|
Oct 15-21
|
142
|
208
|
279
|
Oct 22-28
|
129
|
216
|
366
|
Oct 29-31
|
49
|
110
|
116 + 1
|
OCT
|
569
|
1,079
|
1,549
|
Nov 1-7
|
125
|
186
|
316
|
Nov 8-14
|
120
|
265
|
354
|
Nov 15-21
|
140
|
358
|
420
|
Security by
Province Nov 2015
Provinces
|
Nov 1-7
|
Nov 8-14
|
Anbar
|
26 Incidents
9 Killed: 2 Civilians, 7 ISF
45 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 10 Civilians, 34 ISF
11 Shootings
3 IEDs
2 Mortars
19 Suicide Bombers Killed
24 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
|
11 Incidents
1 Killed: 1 Sahwa
3 Shootings
12 Suicide Bombers Killed
17 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
|
Babil
|
4 Incidents
3 Killed: 3 Civilians
12 Wounded: 12 Civilians
4 IEDs
|
3 Incidents
2 Killed: 2 Civilians
2 Wounded: 2 Civilians
2 Shootings
1 IED
|
Baghdad
|
47 Incidents
58 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 3 ISF, 54 Civilians
156 Wounded: 1 ISF, 155 Civilians
14 Shootings
22 IEDs
3 Sticky Bombs
1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed
|
54 Incidents
94 Killed: 2 Hashd, 5 ISF, 87 Civilians
263 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 19 ISF, 241 Civilians
12 Shootings
28 IEDs
7 Sticky Bombs
4 Suicide Bombers
1 Suicide Car Bomb
|
Basra
|
-
|
3 Incidents
2 Killed: 2 Civilians
2 Shootings
1 Sound Bomb
|
Diyala
|
7 Incidents
8 Killed: 2 Hashd, 2 Civilians, 4 ISF
4 Wounded: 4 Civilians
3 Shootings
1 IED
|
6 Incidents
4 Killed: 1 ISF, 1 Hashd, 2 Civilians
3 Wounded: 3 ISF
2 Shootings
1 IED
1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed
|
Kirkuk
|
6 Incidents
9 Killed: 1 ISF, 3 Civilians, 5 Peshmerga
16 Wounded: 4 ISF, 12 Peshmerga
3 Shootings
4 Suicide Bombers
1 Car Bomb
|
3 Incidents
1 Killed: 1 Peshmerga
2 Wounded: 2 Civilians
1 Shooting
1 IED
1 Sticky Bomb
|
Ninewa
|
14 Incidents
70 Killed: 7 Peshmerga, 63 Civilians
30 Wounded: 4 Civilians, 26 Peshmerga
5 Shootings
1 IED
1 Car Bomb
2 Mortars
4 Suicide Bombers Killed
1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed
|
21 Incidents
120 Killed: 23 Civilians, 45 Peshmerga, 52 ISF
53 Wounded: 53 Peshmerga
7 Shootings
2 IEDs
8 Suicide Bombers
1 Suicide Car Bomb
1 Mortar
1 Rockets
22 Suicide Bombers Killed
9 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
|
Salahaddin
|
21 Incidents
29 Killed: 3 Civilians, 12 ISF, 14 Hashd
53 Wounded: 24 ISF, 29 Hashd
7 Shootings
53 IEDs
3 Suicide Bombers
1 Suicide Car Bomb
1 Mortar
14 Suicide Bombers Killed
22 Car Bombs Destroyed
|
19 Incidents
40 Killed: 6 ISF, 9 Hashd, 24 Civilians
31 Wounded: 2 Hashd, 10 ISF, 19 Civilians
11 Shootings
3 IEDs
10 Suicide Bombers Killed
2 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
1 Car Bomb Destroyed
|
Provinces
|
Nov 15-21
|
Anbar
|
27 Incidents
17 Killed: 2 Hashd, 4 Civilians, 11 ISF
45 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 2 ISF, 42 Civilians
8 Shootings
1 IED
5 Mortars
3 Suicide Bombers Killed
2 Suicide Motorcycle Bombs Destroyed
20 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
14 Car Bombs Destroyed
|
Babil
|
7 Incidents
18 Killed: 4 ISF, 14 Civilians
35 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 4 ISF, 30 Civilians
2 Shootings
3 IEDs
1 Sticky Bomb
1 Suicide Bomber
|
Baghdad
|
58 Incidents
62 Killed: 2 Hashd, 6 ISF, 54 Civilians
204 Wounded: 6 Hashd, 14 ISF, 184 Civilians
14 Shootings
37 IEDs
4 Sticky Bombs
1 Car Bomb Destroyed
|
Diyala
|
3 Incidents
5 Killed: 5 Civilians
11 Wounded: 1 ISF, 10 Civilians
1 Shooting
1 IED
1 Motorcycle Bomb
|
Irbil
|
1 Incident
1 Shooting
|
Kirkuk
|
1 Incident
1 Shooting
|
Ninewa
|
23 Incidents
240 Killed: 1 PKK, 10 ISF, 27 Peshmerga, 202 Civilians
65 Wounded: 23 Peshmerga, 42 Civilians
20 Shootings
1 Car Bomb
1 Mortar
1 Rocket
1 Suicide Bomber Killed
8 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
|
Salahaddin
|
20 Incidents
16 Killed: 1 ISF, 8 Hashd, 7 Civilians
60 Wounded: 1 Asayesh, 9 Civilians, 19 ISF, 31 Hashd
18 Shootings
2 IEDs
2 Suicide Bombers Killed
3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
4 Car Bombs Destroyed
|
Anbar is where the heaviest fighting is taking place in
Iraq. The joint forces were making more headway towards the center of Ramadi.
On November 15 the
Euphrates River was crossed into downtown. Several important government
facilities were cleared including the Anbar court complex, the Anbar
Operations Command, and the Presidential palaces. On October
21 it was announced that the ISF and Hashd were just 500 meters from the
Anbar Operations command. It took three weeks to cover that distance showing
the difficulty of the campaign.
At the same time the government’s forces were struggling in
other areas. Albu Faraj to the north of Ramadi was declared cleared on October 14, but
there were 11 car bombs there during the third week of November. Likewise, Albu
Hayat in the Haditha district in western Anbar was said to be freed on November
11, but fighting never stopped there. This points to a bad habit of
officials to call areas secured before they actually are to promote an image of
constant progress. It’s also true that IS is attempting to re-infiltrate areas
causing repeated operations in the same areas again and again.
Southern Baghdad received the most attacks for the second
week in a row. There were 25 incidents there with 21 from November 8-14. The
violence in the south had the trademark of IS with 20 IEDs and two sticky bombs.
After that there were 14 incidents in the east, 8 in the west, 5 in the north,
three in unknown locations, and one in the center. As IS has stepped back from
major offensives it has come to focus upon terrorist attacks in the capital to
keep pressure on the government. That province is the only one in the country
where incidents have gone
up during the year.
Violence in Baghdad, Nov 15-21, 2015
Center: 3 – 1 Shooting, 2
IEDs
East: 13 – 1 Robbery, 5 IEDs,
7 Shootings
Outer East :1 – 1 IED
North: 1 – 1 IED
Outer North: 4 – 2 Shootings,
2 IEDs
South: 15 – 2 Shootings, 2
Sticky Bombs, 11 IEDs
Outer South: 10 – 1 Shooting,
9 IEDs
West: 5 – 1 Shooting, 1
Sticky Bomb, 3 IEDs
Outer West: 3 – 1 Sticky
Bomb, 2 IEDs
Unknown: 3 – 1 Car Bomb
Dismantled, 1 IED, 1 Kidnapping
In comparison, there is hardly any insurgent activity in
Diyala and Kirkuk recently. There was only one incident in the latter, which
has been quiet for weeks now. In Diyala there was a surge of attacks in October,
but in November that has died down with only 3 reported attacks from November
15-21.
Irbil had a rare case of violence when a man shot at the
Peshmerga Ministry building in in Irbil on November
20.
In Ninewa the Peshmerga continued to mop up the Sinjar area.
Six more villages were cleared in the area. Three
mass graves were also discovered with 148 Yazidis executed by IS. The group
also killed 53 people including two Peshmerga and 10 police in the Mosul area.
Mopping up operations continued in Salahaddin’s Baiji. The thermal
power plant for example was cleared for the second time. There was also
heavy fighting in the Makhoul Mountains to the north even though it was
supposedly freed
at the end of October. Intense clashes have been occurring outside of Samarra
for several weeks as well in the center of the province.
IS’s car bomb campaign is still going on. From November
15-21 there were 51 vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) with
only one hitting its target in Ninewa against the Peshmerga. There were 34 in
Anbar, 8 in Ninewa, 7 in Salahaddin and one in Baghdad.
Car Bombs In
Iraq, November 2015
Date
|
Location
|
Dead
|
Wounded
|
Nov 1
|
Subhait, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Obied, Baghdad – 1 destroyed
Rabia, Ninewa – 1 destroyed
|
||
Nov 2
|
Balad, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
|
||
Nov 3
|
Dibis,
Kirkuk
West of Ramadi, Anbar – 5 destroyed
Leine, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
|
3
|
|
Nov 4
|
Hardan,
Ninewa
Adil & Rashad, Anbar – 9 destroyed
|
1
|
15
|
Nov 5
|
Zankura, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Siniya, Salahaddin – 7 destroyed
|
||
Nov 6
|
Baiji,
Salahddin
Albu Faraj & Jeraishi, Anbar – 4
destroyed
Sukker, Salahaddin – 13 destroyed
|
7
|
20
|
Nov 7
|
Albu Hayat – 9 destroyed
|
||
Totals
|
3 – 53 Destroyed
|
8
|
38
|
Nov 8
|
Sadr City,
Baghdad
Albu Hayat, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Mkeshivh, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
|
6
|
21
|
Nov 9
|
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Samarra, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed
|
||
Nov 10
|
|||
Nov 11
|
|||
Nov 12
|
Fallujah, Anbar – 6 destroyed
Sinjar, Ninewa – 6 destroyed
|
||
Nov 13
|
Niamiya & Subhait, Anbar – 7 destroyed
|
||
Nov 14
|
Sinjar,
Ninewa
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Mandali, Diyala – 1 destroyed
Harden, Ninewa – 3 destroyed
|
2
|
23
|
Totals
|
2 - 30 Destroyed
|
8
|
44
|
Nov 15
|
Albu Faraj & Jeraishi, Anbar – 4 destroyed
|
||
Nov 16
|
Haraym,
Ninewa
5 Kilo, Albu Faraj, Zaytoun, ? – 10
destroyed
Haraym, Ninewa – 1 destroyed
|
12
|
20
|
Nov 17
|
5 Kilo & Jeraishi, Anbar – 9 destroyed
Raood Bridge, Bahgdad – 1 destroyed
Makhoul Mts, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed
|
||
Nov 18
|
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 4 destroyed
Bashiqa, Ninewa – 1 destroyed
Massoud & Mkeshivh, Salahaddin – 4
destroyed
|
12
|
|
Nov 19
|
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 2 destroyed
|
||
Nov 20
|
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 4 destroyed
|
||
Nov 21
|
Mosul Dam, Ninewa – 7 destroyed
|
||
Totals
|
1 – 50 Destroyed
|
12
|
32
|
SOURCES
Abdulrazaq,
Hawar, "KRSC: Peshmerga Kills 28 IS Militants Near Mosul Dam," Bas
News, 11/21/15
AIN,
"20 Daash killed and destroyed 3 car bombs in Salahuddin," 11/18/15
Alsumaria,
"Counter terrorism deals with five car bombs west of Ramadi,"
11/17/15
-
"Counter-terrorism destroys five car bombs west of Ramadi," 11/16/15
BBC,
"Iraqi forces preparing for assault on IS-held Ramadi," 10/14/15
eKurd,
"Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - November 16, 2015," 11/16/15
-
“Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - November 18, 2015," 11/18/15
Al
Forat, "Control the thermal power plant in Baiji area," 11/21/15
-
"Killing of three terrorists and the destruction of three car bombs in
Anbar," 11/19/15
Al
Mada, "Anbar officia: cleared two areas and killed dozens of Daash in west
Ramadi," 11/18/15
-
"The joint forces approaching the Anbar Operations headquarters from north
Ramadi," 10/21/15
-
"Peshmerga forces repel Daash attack on the center of Bashiqa,"
11/18/15
-
"Security forces stuck the "Hole" area and the freeing of the
thermal power station," 11/14/15
Mamoun,
Abdelhak, "3 mass graves containing remains of 148 Yazidis found in Sinjar
District," Iraqi News, 11/15/15
-
"Security forces liberate Anbar Traffic Directorate, reach the center of
Ramadi," Iraqi News, 8/18/15
Al
Masalah, "Entire area of Albu Hayat freed in Anbar," 11/11/15
-
"War media declares victories of the joint forces," 11/18/15
-
"War media declares victories for the joint forces," 11/20/15
New
Sabah, "Anti-Terrorism Unit crosses the Euphrates River and will remain in
the center of Ramadi," 11/15/15
NINA,
"/21/ elements of Daash killed in operations of clearing the
province," 11/16/15
-
"Anbar Operations Command, The Presidential Palaces And The High Criminal
Court in downtown Ramadi Liberated," 11/17/15
-
"Dozens Of Peshmerga Killed And Wounded In Daash Attack West Of
Mosul," 11/16/15
-
"Federal Police Chief: Makhoul Mountains in Baiji Fully Cleansed,"
10/27/15
-
"Federal Police Repel An Attack To Daash, Kill More Than 60 In Makhoul
Mountains," 11/17/15
-
"Two Areas Liberated In Anbar Province," 7/22/15
Shafaq
News, "12 policemen injured while liberating a village north of
Beiji," 11/18/15
-
"Car bomb intended to target Argeniya visitors dismantled northwest of
Baghdad," 11/17/15
Sotaliraq,
"Four vehicle bombs destroyed targeting security forces north of
Ramadi," 11/15/15
-
"Security forces destroyed four Daash car bombs north of Ramadi,"
11/17/15
Xinhua,
"Security forces retake areas in IS-held Ramadi, 54 killed in battles with
IS in Iraq," 11/16/15
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