Security In Iraq, Dec 22-28, 2015

Iraq ended 2015 on a good note taking central Ramadi after a five month siege. There were still parts of the city to clear and most it was destroyed leaving a huge reconstruction project for the future. Violence in the rest of the country continued on the same pace as the last quarter of the year.

From December 22-28, 2015 there were 127 reported attacks in Iraq. Baghdad was the most violent as usual with 59 incidents, along with 24 in Ninewa, 21 in Anbar, 9 in Salahaddin, 7 in Diyala, 4 in Babil, 2 in Kirkuk, and 1 in Basra. There are always more attacks then what gets in the media.

Ninewa led the way with the most deaths during the week with 119 due to a combination of executions and attacks upon the Peshmerga. After that there were 91 dead in Anbar, 58 in Baghdad, 10 in Diyala, 7 in Babil, 5 Salahaddin, and 2 in Kirkuk. That broke down further as 3 Hashd al-Shaabi, 13 Volunteers at the Bashiqa camp in Ninewa, 17 Sahwa, 21 Peshmerga, 22 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 216 civilians fatalities and 5 Hashd, 7 Peshmerga, 8 Turkish soldier trainers, 12 ISF, 16 Bashiqa camp volunteers, and 298 civilians injured. In total there were 292 reported killed and 346 wounded, but the real numbers are always higher.

The biggest news was obviously the storming of central Ramadi. On December 22 the attack began from two different directions. The next day the ISF were said to be 1 kilometer from the government center in downtown (1), before finally taking it on December 27, and then the city was declared liberated on the 28^th. Depending upon the source 25-30% of Ramadi is still under IS control especially in the north and east. The same is true of many of the surrounding towns and suburbs. Albu Diab and Jeraishi for example were declared freed on December 22, but fighting continued there. If these areas are not cleared out IS will be able to re-infiltrate into other places and continue to threaten the city. There’s also the huge task of rebuilding Ramadi, which one member of the Anbar provincial council said could take up to 10 years. Overall, re-taking of Ramadi was a huge victory for the Iraqi government and its security forces. They were able to show that they could seize a large city without the help of the Hashd who were largely excluded from the offensive. It also revealed that the Islamic State couldn’t hold any large urban area in the country against a determined assault. It simply lacks the manpower to do so.

As IS has shifted to the defensive it has picked up its terrorist attacks on Baghdad. For a second week the eastern district had the most incidents at 18 with 17 more in the south, 9 in the north, 7 in the center and 6 in the west. Not all the security events in the east were due to the insurgents such as two robberies, a stabbing and a kidnapping. The 6 IEDs there however was the work of IS. As usual the main form of violence in the province were bombs with 45 total.

Security Incidents In Baghdad, Dec 22-28, 2015

Center: 7 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Sticky Bomb, 5 IEDs

East: 13 – 1 Stabbing, 1 Kidnapping, 1 Robbery/Stabbing, 1 Robbery/Shooting, 1 Sticky Bomb,

2 Shootings, 6 IEDs

Outer East: 5 – 1 Grenade, 4 IEDs

North: 6 – 1 Shooting, 2 Sticky Bombs, 3 IEDs

Outer North: 3 – 1 Shooting, 2 IEDs

South: 12 – 1 Robbery, 2 Kidnappings, 9 IEDs

Outer South: 5 – 5 IEDs

West: 5 – 1 Sticky Bomb, 4 IEDs

Outer West: 1 – 1 IED

Unknown: 1 – 1 IED

Diyala was hit by two car bombs during the week. On December 23 two detonated in Khalis. Diyala was a regular target of such attacks during the fall, but they are now rare since IS ended its car bomb campaign with the last vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) occurring a month ago. IS also fired mortars onto three towns, which has been happening off and on for the last several weeks. Despite these incidents the province is relatively quiet as IS is mostly using it as launching pad for operations in other parts of the country.

Ninewa led the country in deaths during the week because of a combination of IS executions and a new winter offensive by the group. 74 people were killed by IS from December 22-28 in Mosul, Badush, Qayara and Hadbaa including 3 police, 6 teachers, and 8 sheikhs. IS also continued with its attacks upon the Peshmerga and the Bashiqa camp. On December 22 mortars were fired on Tal Reem killing 7 Peshmerga and wounding 2. December 24 12 suicide bombers led an assault upon Khaza that was turned back with the help of U.S. air strikes. December 26 two more suicide bombers were used in the Sinjar district killing 9 Peshmerga and injuring 5. December 27 Wanke was attacked, and then Makhmour with 3 suicide bombers the next day, along with mortar fire on three towns. IS also attacked the Bashiqa camp for the third time with mortars killing 13 volunteers, wounding 16 others along with 8 Turkish trainers. IS initiated a similar offensive against the Kurds in the north during last winter. The group was hoping that the bad weather would allow it to launch surprise attacks upon the Kurdish positions and give them cover from coalition air strikes. Like the last time, that didn’t work. The militants also attacked the Bashiqa camp since it has been in the news so much lately because of a Baghdad-Ankara dispute over Turkish troops stationed there.

Tuz Kharmato in Salahaddin had another flare up. On December 26 two people were kidnapped, and there was a drive by shooting that killed a Peshmerga. Then the next day there was a gunfight between Turkmen Hashd and the Federal Police. The district was cleared in October 2014, but has seen constant flare ups since then as the Hashd and Peshmerga both want control over it, and there are also local disputes between residents all leading to constant tensions.

Finally, there were 13 VBIEDs during the week. That was the fewest car bombs in a week since the middle of June. Three reached their targets in Albu Diab, Anbar and two in Diyala killing 38 and wounding 18. The other 11 were destroyed. All of those occurred in Anbar and Diyala. Before IS was in the midst of its latest car bomb campaign with around 50 such attacks per week. That has now ended.

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	168	572	689
Feb 8-14	183	462	572
Feb 15-21	177	697	383
Feb 22-28	202	614	722
FEB	730	2,345	2,366
Mar 1-7	196	408	595
Mar 8-14	164	419	655
Mar 15-21	178	1,312	505
Mar 22-28	201	310	406
Mar 29-31	81	212 + 4	218 + 150
MAR	820	2,665	2,529
Apr 1-7	153	276	422
Apr 8-14	165	864	525
Apr 15-21	190	880	714
Apr 22-28	187	564	479
Apr 29-30	56	169	182 + 299
APR	751	2,753	2,621
May 1-7	176	652	449
May 8-14	162	441	542
May 15-21	128	963	390
May 22-28	115	342 + 1,499	348
May 29-31	39	66	164 + 646
MAY	620	2,4165 + 1,499	1,893 + 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 + 405	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
Dec 22-28	127	292	346

Security By Province Dec 2015

Province	Dec 22-28
Anbar	21 Incidents 91 Killed: 15 ISF, 17 Sahwa, 59 Civilians 12 Wounded: 12 Civilians 4 Shootings 5 Suicide Bombers 1 Suicide Car Bomb 2 Mortars 18 Suicide Bombers Killed 8 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 3 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	4 Incidents 7 Killed: 1 ISF, 2 Hashd, 4 Civilians 20 Wounded: 4 Hashd, 16 Civilians 4 IEDs
Baghdad	59 Incidents 58 Killed: 58 Civilians 239 Wounded: 8 ISF, 231 Civilians 5 Shootings 39 IEDs 6 Sticky Bombs 1 Grenade
Basra	1 Incident 1 Shooting
Diyala	7 Incidents 10 Killed: 1 Hashd, 2 ISF, 7 Civilians 22 Wounded: 4 ISF, 18 Civilians 1 Shooting 2 Car Bombs 2 Mortars
Kirkuk	2 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 1 Shooting
Ninewa	24 Incidents 119 Killed: 3 ISF, 13 Volunteers, 20 Peshmerga, 83 Civilians 42 Wounded: 7 Peshmerga, 8 Turkish Soldiers, 16 Volunteers, 11 Civilians 10 Shootings 16 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers 4 Mortars 15 Suicide Bombers Killed
Salahaddin	9 Incidents 5 Killed: 1 ISF, 1 Peshmerga, 3 Civilians 11 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 10 Civilians 5 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber Killed

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
Dec 22	Albu Diab, Anbar South of Ramadi, Anbar – 1 destroyed	31
Dec 23	Khalis x2, Diyala Ramadi, Anbar – 4 destroyed	7	18
Dec 24	Jeraishi & Ramadi, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Dec 25	160 Kilo, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Dec 26	South of Ramadi, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Dec 27	Ramadi, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Dec 28
Totals	3 – 11 Destroyed	38	18

FOOTNOTES

1. Al Mada, "1 km separates troops from liberating government complex in Ramadi," 12/23/15,

SOURCES

BBC, "Iraq declares Ramadi liberated from Islamic State," 12/28/15

Buratha News, "Destruction of a car bomb before it could target a military convoy in Ramadi," 12/25/15

Al-Jawoshy, Omar and Chan, Sewell, "Iraqi Forces Fighting for Ramadi Make Their Way Toward City Center," New York Times, 12/22/15

Al Mada, "Anbar's tribes: The security forces just 500 meters from storming the government complex and clear it in center of Ramadi," 12/25/15

NINA, "3 Police Killed, 3 Wounded In Armed Attack In Diyala Province," 12/27/15

- "9 Peshmerga Killed And Wounded, Daash Executes 3 Police Officers In Mosul," 12/22/15

- "/14/ elements of the Peshmerga killed and wounded northwest of Mosul in a suicide attack, and the killing of /12/ elements of Daash in aerial bombardment," 12/26/15

- "Breaking News..dozens of elements of the national crowd and Turkish forces killed and wounded in bombing by Daash on Zlican camp north of Mosul," 12/28/15

- "Daash executed two women teachers in Mosul for refusing to teach their program," 12/28/15

- "Peshmerga Repulse Deadliest Attack For Daash In Khazar East Of Mosul," 12/24/15

- "Security forces continue military operations for the Liberation of Ramadi and other areas," 12/24/15

Al Rayy, "Four car bombs driven by suicide bombers thwarted in attacking Ramadi," 12/23/15

Salaheddin, Sinan, "Wave of attacks kills at least 15 civilians across Iraq," Associated Press, 12/23/15

Salim, Mustafa and Morris, Loveday, "Iraqi forces storm downtown Ramadi in bid to oust Islamic State occupiers," Washington Post, 12/22/15

Sarhan, Amre, "Iraqi army kills 8 ISIS elements, dismantles 260 IEDs north of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 12/27/15

Shafaq News, "Clashes between security forces and Turkmen popular crowd in Tuz," 12/27/15

- "ISIS fails to reach Peshmerga sites and resort to old tactics," 12/28/15

- "Suicide attack by ISIS boys foiled southwest of Mosul," 12/28/15

Sotaliraq, "Car bomb driven by a suicide bomber destroyed south of Ramadi," 12/26/15

- "Gunmen kidnap two civilians amid Tuz area," 12/26/15

- "One Peshmerga member killed in an armed attack in the Tuz area," 12/26/15

- "A security source: foiled a suicide car bomb attack in a military vehicle south of Ramadi," 12/22/15

VICE News and Reuters, "Iraq Declares Victory Over Islamic State in Ramadi," 12/27/15

Waarmedia, "Wanke: scores of IS terrorists killed," 12/27/15