Security In Iraq, Dec 15-21, 2015

The third week of December 2015 saw continued pushes by the government’s forces in Anbar and Salahaddin, and a new wave of attacks by the Islamic State in northern Iraq. The most successful of the former was in Ramadi where the joint forces were making their way towards downtown. The Fallujah operation led by the Hashd restarted after a 2 month hiatus. IS on the other hand went from probing actions against the Kurds to large scale attacks against them in Ninewa and Kirkuk. Despite that the momentum continued to be against the insurgents.

From December 15-21 there were 140 reported security incidents. There were 62 in Baghdad, 26 in Ninewa, 15 in Anbar and Salahaddin each, 7 in Diyala and 7 in Kirkuk, along with 6 in Babil and 2 in Basra. The 140 was up from 128 the second week of the month, and 118 the week before that, but not different from other weeks in recent months.

Those attacks led to 242 dead and 326 wounded. There were 20 Sahwa, 23 Peshmerga, 25 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 33 Hashd, and 145 civilians killed, and 2 Sahwa, 11 Peshmerga, 23 Hashd, 34 ISF, and 178 injured. By province there were 74 fatalities in Anbar, 64 in Ninewa, 62 in Baghdad, 20 in Salahaddin, 17 in Kirkuk, 8 in Babil and 1 in Diyala.

Ramadi was where the heaviest fighting in the country was taking place. From December 15-21 the government’s forces were trying to consolidate their control over the perimeter of the city. There were operations in the Palestine Bridge, Albu Faraj, and Albu Diab all north of the city. These areas have changed hands several times and remain contested. IS was fighting back in those areas with over a dozen car bombs.

After two months of being dormant the Fallujah offensive restarted. The joint forces said they cleared Maamer to the south of the city even though fighting continued there afterward, and attacked Niamiya for the third time since July. The pro-Iranian Hashd groups started the Fallujah operation unilaterally despite Prime Minister Haider Abadi saying that Ramadi was going to be the focus after it fell to IS in May. It was attacked in July the same time as Ramadi and after some initial success quickly got bogged down in the surrounding towns before being shut down in October. The operation was supposed to show what the Hashd could do on its own without U.S. support and was an open challenge to Abadi’s leadership. It has not worked out as planned.

In recent weeks the Islamic State has increased its terrorist attacks in Baghdad to make up for its lack of offensive operations in the rest of the country. During the third week of December there were 62 incidents in the capital province, the most since the first week of May. The eastern section of the province had 19 incidents, followed by 17 in the south, 12 in the north, 8 in the west, and 6 in the center. In the east, there is always a mix of culprits. There were two sticky bombs that were probably the work of IS, but several bodies dumped in the district were probably done by vigilantes or Hashd groups. There was also a robbery by men in military uniforms showing the growing lawlessness in the country. That could have been common criminals or rogue elements of the ISF or Hashd. In the previous weeks the south had the most incidents. There IS has been more active with mortar fire on Arab Jabour, and sniper fire on a checkpoint in Dora. There was renewed activity in Abu Ghraib in the west as well with mortars on an army base, an IED on an army convoy, and a motorcycle bomb targeting a market. IS has attacked Baghdad for years hoping to stoke sectarian tensions and undermine the government.

Security Incidents In Baghdad, Dec 15-21, 2015

Center: 6: 1 - Grenade, 1 Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb, 3 IEDs

East: 16: 1 - Robbery, 2 Sticky Bombs, 5 IEDs, 8 Shootings

Outer East: 3 – 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 IEDs

North: 8 – 2 Shootings, 2 Sticky Bombs, 4 IEDs

Outer North: 4 – 1 Shooting, 3 IEDs

South: 10 – 2 Shootings, 2 Sticky bombs, 6 IEDs

Outer South: 7 – 1 Mortar, 1 Shooting, 5 IEDs

West: 3 – 1 Robbery, 1 Kidnapping, 1 IED

Outer West: 5 – 1 Mortar, 1 Shooting, 1 Motorcycle Bomb, 2 IEDs

Diyala has been relatively quite lately. In September and October IS was setting off car bombs there nearly every week and there was a slew of mortar fire as well. That eventually ended, but the third week there were two days of mortars again.

Kirkuk has been one of the more secure provinces in central Iraq, but that ended recently. Starting on December 17 IS attacked Turkmen Hashd in Bashir. The next day it attacked the Peshmerga in two towns in Dibis and Hawija leaving 12 dead and wounded.

IS also began attacking the Kurds in Ninewa. December 16 seven towns were assaulted with 14 car bombs, 4 suicide bombers and mortars killing 12 Peshmerga including a general and 6 Yazidi fighters. The next day three more towns were attacked. December 18 13 Peshmerga died and 4 were injured in fighting in another town. December 19 two suicide bombers were used in an assault leaving 28 dead and 4 wounded Peshmerga, and then finally on December 20 the 13^th town was targeted leaving 11 dead Peshmerga and 9 wounded. During the last winter IS attempted similar operations using the foggy conditions to sneak up to the frontlines and hoping that it would hide their movements from Coalition air strikes. Despite the heavy fighting the Kurds held their positions. During the 2014-15 winter IS launched a similar offensive in the north. It appears they are doing the same thing now.

The Peshmerga were not the only ones in Ninewa targeted during the week, the Bashiqa camp, which housed Turkish soldiers was hit for two days. On December 16 IS launched a huge rocket barrage on the base killing seven volunteers, and wounding four Turkish trainers and eleven volunteers. Two day later it was hit again injuring three more volunteers. The camp had recently caused a huge controversy between Baghdad and Ankara when the latter sent in a large military force without informing the Iraqi government. IS tried to exploit that publicity by firing on the base. Ironically elements of the Hashd claimed they were the ones that attacked the camp since they had led the protests against the Turkish presence there. 

On December 21 a U.S. air strike was blamed for killing 16 civilians and wounding 5 more in Mosul. The Americans were allegedly targeting a building used by IS leaders. The U.S. has been increasing its attacks in Iraq lately, so it was probably inevitable that something like this would happen.

IS executed 38 people in the Mosul area and Tal Afar. That included two Peshmerga, three families, five traders, and one imam. They also pushed 12 people off a tall building on December 19. Some have speculated that these murders are occurring because IS feels threatened by an eventual Mosul operation. It appears that this is actually part of their governance and punishments to enforce their control over the population and how they are following their Salafi beliefs.

Salahaddin had its usual mix of harassing attacks up and down the length of the province. Tarmiya and Taji are constantly hit by IEDs and shootings. IS fired rockets at Samarra on December 19. The militants also made probing attacks upon Alam just to the south of Tikrit, and there was continued clashes to the west of Samarra. The government are still fighting in the Makhoul Mountains to the northeast of Baiji, and clearing operation are on going in that district as well. This is significant as before the ISF and Hashd were only capable of carrying out one major operation at a time due to logistics and transportation problems. They are now fighting in both Ramadi and the greater Baiji area.

Finally, November was the last month of the IS car bomb campaign. Before December there were over 50 vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) per month. In the 1^st week of December there were just 36, 37 the next week, and 49 the third. Another sign that the offensive was over was the fact that all the VBIEDs were in Anbar, 29, Ninewa, 15, and Salahaddin, 6, and used in military operations. Previously a number of governorates were hit in both military and terrorist attacks. The shift to the former accounts for the relatively low casualties these bombings caused during the week, 12 dead and 17 wounded. If those had gone off in civilian areas they would have left behind far more carnage. Another change is that despite the fewer VBIEDs being used, far more are hitting their target then before. From December 8-14 11 out of 26 found their targets, and then 12 out of 37 the next week. In previous months only 18% of the car bombs were successful.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	226	540	525
Jan 8-14	187	776	514
Jan 15-21	197	438	528
Jan 22-28	207	573	898 + 150
Jan 29-31	94	329	567
JAN	911	2,656	3,032 + 150
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	120	337	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	584	1,124	1,549
Nov 1-7	125	186	316
Nov 8-14	121	265	354
Nov 15-21	140	358	420
Nov 22-28	107	289	261 + 124 + 1,322
Nov 29-30	37	52 + 24	103 + 1
NOV	530	1,174	1,455 + 124 + 1,322
Dec 1-7	118	158	249
Dec 8-14	128	246	248
Dec 15-21	140	242	326 + 5,920

Security By Province Dec 2015

Province	Dec 15-21
Anbar	15 Incidents 17 Killed: 17 ISF 22 Wounded: 22 ISF 7 Shootings 1 IED 1 Rockets 1 Mortar 1 Suicide Car Bomb 3 Suicide Bombers Killed 28 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	6 Incidents 3 Killed: 1 ISF, 2 Civilians 22 Wounded: 5 ISF, 17 Civilians 5 IEDs
Baghdad	62 Incidents 66 Killed: 3 Hashd, 13 ISF, 50 Civilians 194 Wounded: 5 Hashd, 15 ISF, 174 Civilians 16 Shootings 31 IEDs 8 Sticky Bombs 1 Motorcycle Bomb 1 Grenade 2 Mortars
Basra	2 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting 1 IED
Diyala	7 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 2 IEDs 2 Mortars
Kirkuk	7 Incidents 8 Killed: 3 Peshmerga, 5 Civilians 10 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 9 Peshmerga 6 Shootings
Ninewa	26 Incidents 131 Killed: 6 Yazidi Fighters, 7 Volunteers, 52 Civilians, 66 Peshmerga 50 Wounded: 4 Turkish Soldiers, 9 Civilians, 14 Volunteers, 23 Peshmerga 14 Shootings 15 IEDs 4 Suicide Bombers 2 Suicide Car Bombs 9 Car Bombs 1 Mortar 2 Rockets 4 Suicide Bombers Killed 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed 3 Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	15 Incidents 14 Killed: 3 Hashd, 5 ISF, 6 Civilians 27 Wounded: 7 Hashd, 9 ISF, 11 Civilians 7 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Mortar 1 Rockets 1 Suicide Bomber Killed 5 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed 1 Car Bomb Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq, December 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Dec 1
Dec 2	Baghdadi & Ramadi, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Dec 3	Albu Aetha & Hamidiya, Anbar – 5 destroyed
Dec 4	110 Kilo, Albu Faraj & Jeraishi, Anbar – 6 destroyed
Dec 5	35 Kilo, Albu Faraj, Baghdadi, Ramadi, Anbar – 19 destroyed
Dec 6
Dec 7	Samarra Island, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed
Totals	0 – 36 Destroyed
Dec 8	Ajeel & Alas oil fields, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Dec 9	Albu Faraj & Warrar Bridge, Anbar – 4 destroyed Shirqat, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed
Dec 10	Albu Diab, Albu Faraj, Albu Taiban, Anbar – 7 destroyed
Dec 11	Baghdadi & Kubaisa, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Dec 12	Nukhaib & Ramadi x3, Anbar Aski, Ninewa Albu Jassim & East Husaiba, Anbar – 3 destroyed	43	39
Dec 13	Kazak, Ninewa – 3 destroyed
Dec 14	Albu Faraj  x5 & Ramadi, Anbar Central Baghdad, Baghdad – 1 destroyed Sinjar, Ninewa – 2 destroyed	35	2
Totals	11 – 26 Destroyed	78	41
Dec 15	Tal al-Mushahid & Palestine Bridge, Anbar – 18 destroyed	2	6
Dec 16	Kaske x2 & Nawaran x9, Ninewa Husaiba & Palestine Bridge, Anbar – 7 destroyed Domuz Military Base & Baira, Ninewa – 4 destroyed	7	6
Dec 17	Hiyakil, Anbar Hiyakil, Anbar – 3 destroyed West of Samarra, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed	3	5
Dec 18
Dec 19
Dec 20	Baiji, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Dec 21
Totals	12 – 37 Destroyed	12	17

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "15 ISIS suicide car bombs targeting Iraq forces 'repelled,'" 12/15/15

AIN, "Freed Niamiya police station and the village of Ma'ameer southeast of Fallujah," 12/16/15

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - December 17, 2015," 12/17/15

Fantz, Ashley, "Kurds suffer losses against ISIS in Iraq," CNN, 12/16/15

Iraq Times, "12 martyrs and wounded by a bicycle bomb west Baghdad," 12/16/15

Al Mada, "14 Daash members killed and four car bombs destroyed repelling an attack east of Ramadi," 12/16/15

- "The joint forces liberated the police center in Niamiya southeast of Fallujah," 12/16/15

- "Killing and wounding six members of Daash and a member of the Turkmen popular crowd south of Kirkuk," 12/17/15

- "Killing seven Daash member north Anbar," 12/15/15

- "Two people injured in a rocket attack in Samarra," 12/19/15

New Sabah, "Security file," 12/15/15

NINA, "20 Elements Of Peshmerga Killed And Wounded In An Attack Carried Out By Daash Northwest of Mosul," 12/20/15

- "/21/ civilians killed and wounded, including women and children, in bombing by the international coalition east of Mosul," 12/21/15

- "32 Of The Peshmerga Killed And Wounded In An Attack Of Daash Southeast of Mosul," 12/19/15

- "Daash blow up ten houses belonging to Christians, and executed an officer in the Peshmerga in Mosul," 12/15/15

- "Peshmerga forces repulsed a terrorist attack on one of the villages of Tal Afar," 12/16/15

Al Rayy, "A Daash car bomb destroyed by rocket attack in Baiji," 12/20/15

- "Daash executed a preacher in front of a mosque in central Mosul," 12/20/15

Rudaw, "Peshmerga foil 9 car bombs on northern Mosul front," 12/16/15

Sarhan, Amre, "8 soldiers killed, wounded In two separate attacks in Baghdad," Iraqi News, 12/17/15

- "Anbar Operations announces liberating 50% of Albu Ziyab north of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 12/21/15

- "Iraqi army begins operation to liberate Albu Ziyab north of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 12/20/15

Shafaq News, "Breaking News..Peshmerga repel suicide attack of ISIS and kill 20," 12/16/15

- "ISIS Suicide attacks by four car bombs western Samarra foiled," 12/17/15

- "Killing and wounding 12 members of the Peshmerga in clashes with Daash northwest of Kirkuk," 12/18/15

- "Killing at least 40 Daash outcome of battles Friday," 12/19/15

Sotaliraq, "Daash executed 12 civilians throwing them from a high building in central Mosul," 12/19/15

- "Killing and injuring 21 Daash members in repelling attack west of Mosul," 12/18/15

- "Killing and wounding seven people in the fall of mortar shells south Baghdad," 12/19/15

- "Killing one soldier and wounding six others including an officer in the fall of mortar shells west Baghdad," 12/18/15

- "Renewed shelling of camp where Turkish troops are stations in Iraq wounding three," 12/18/15

- "Three car bombs destroyed in a second attack by Daash north of Ramadi," 12/16/15

- "Three soldiers killed and wounded by a sniper, south Baghdad," 12/21/15

Xinhua, "30 IS militants killed in clashes, 5 suicide car bomb attacks in Iraq," 12/17/15