Security In Iraq, Jan 1-7, 2016

2016 got off to a violent start in Iraq. There was a surge in operations by the Islamic State. First, the group was trying to make up for the loss of central Ramadi by carrying out a wave of attacks in western Anbar. It was also continuing with its winter offensive against the Kurds in Ninewa. That along with the discovery of a few mass graves with victims of IS led to a bloody week in Iraq.

There were 150 reported security incidents in the first week of January. That was the most attacks since the first week of August 2015 when there were 154. Insurgent activity has been going down across the country since the start of last year. The surge in incidents was due to the Islamic State picking up its operations in Anbar and Ninewa. The former was in response to the loss of Ramadi. The latter was due to a new offensive against the Kurds that started in December.

There were 808 dead and 421 wounded during the week. Those were the highest figures since the second week of August when there were 756 killed and 640 injured. The heavy fighting in Anbar and Ninewa along with several mass graves being uncovered were the causes of those numbers. There were 510 fatalities in Ninewa, 184 in Anbar, followed by 70 in Baghdad, 23 in Salahaddin, 8 in Kirkuk, 6 in Diyala, and 6 in Babil.

The dead were made up of 1 Hashd al-Shaabi, 6 Peshmerga, 106 Sahwa, 145 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 421 civilians. There were also 3 Hashd, 82 ISF, 102 Sawha, and 235 civilians wounded. 

During the week the Iraqi forces were trying to clear out the rest of Ramadi. On January 3 it was said that 80% of the city was cleared, and the ISF entered a whole slew of new neighborhoods and surrounding areas. That include Jamiya, Thalah, 17^th Street, Albu Alwan, Andalus, Sufiya, Doctors Street, the Grand Mosque, the old stadium, Ramadi Hospital, Mukhabarat, Albu Faraj bridge, and others. The government claimed it had cleared out half of those before. Some were never freed, while others IS re-infiltrated into. The vast majority of the city and suburbs appeared to be cleared, but small insurgent cells were still running around, with more activity in the north and east. It will take a concerted effort to wipe out these units and make sure that IS does not re-assert control over sections in the future.

In response to its loss IS launched a huge number of attacks in the Ramadi region, in Thar Thar to the northeast, and around Haditha in the west. That included 84 car bombs and 37 suicide bombers, the vast majority of which were killed or destroyed. These attacks did lead to a large number of casualties including 131 ISF and Sahwa killed and 149 wounded. IS surrounded Haditha months ago and had not made any serious attempts on it for months. Thar Thar is adjacent to regions of Salahaddin that are still under IS control. In both cases, the insurgents were either aiming to draw the ISF away from Ramadi or looking for a target of opportunity where a sudden breakthrough could be made to claim a victory to make up for its setback.

After Baiji was liberated in October there was a debate about how important it was to IS compared to Ramadi. There were hardly any retaliatory strikes by the group after it lost Baiji and the nearby refinery, compared to an a wave of attacks after Ramadi fell. That seemed to confirm that the latter was the focus of the group, while Baiji was being used as a diversionary operation to draw away Baghdad’s forces from Anbar.

A mass grave in Ramadi was also discovered with 40 bodies in it killed by IS. The Anbar government claimed the militants killed several hundred before they left meaning more bodies are likely to turn up in the coming days.

Southern Baghdad remained the main target of IS. There were 19 incidents there compared to 11 in the north, 9 in the west, 8 in the east, and 4 in the center. The Islamic State is active in towns in southern Baghdad, northern Babil, and southern Salahddin, which it uses as launch pads into the capital.

Security Incidents In Baghdad, Jan 1-7, 2016

Center: 4 – 1 Stabbing, 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 IEDs

East: 7 – 3 IEDs, 4 Shootings

Outer East: 1 – 1 IED

North: 8 – 1 Robbery/Shooting, 1 Shooting, 2 Sticky Bombs, 4 IEDs

Outer North: 3 – 1 Shooting, 2 IEDs

South: 12 – 1 Car Bomb Dismantled, 1 Stabbing, 1 Robbery, 2 Shootings, 7 IEDs

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

West: 9 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Robbery, 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 Shooting/Robbery, 5 IEDs

Ninewa was the site of IS’s newest offensive against the Kurds. The militants attacked Peshmerga positions in nine different areas five out of seven days of the week. Since IS has not been concentrating upon one specific place it appears that the group is making exploratory attacks in search of a weak point. The Kurds have dug in positions and can quickly call in U.S. air strikes so this looks futile.

In the Mosul area IS executed a huge number of people during the start of January. The group reportedly killed 206 people including 75 members of the ISF and 83 from the Jabour tribe. 288 Yazidis were also found in a mass grave in the Sinjar district. Several similar sites were found after the Kurds re-took the area. As more time passes, more of these types of reports are likely.

IS also carried out a retaliatory attack in Salahaddin after Ramadi. On January 3, 2 suicide car bombs and 7 suicide bombers penetrated the defenses at Camp Speicher outside of Tikrit and killed 20 police recruits and wounded 17 more. Otherwise, IS operations in the province have fallen off since Baiji fell.

There were a total of 87 car bombs during the week. 84 of those were in Anbar in retaliation for Ramadi, again showing how important the city was to the Islamic State. Of the three others, one was dismantled in Baghdad, and the two others were used in the Camp Speicher raid. 

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015-16

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	651	448
May 8-14	167	450	542
May 15-21	149	996	390
May 22-28	131	362 + 1,499	344
May 29-31	49	87	164 + 646
MAY	672	2,546 + 1,499	1,888 + 646
Jun 1-7	155	534	475
Jun 8-14	145	648 + 405	389
Jun 15-21	143	367	373
Jun 22-28	162	306	474
Jun 29-30	61	122 + 58	189 + 106
JUN	666	2,035 + 405	2,006
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
Dec 29-31	40	203 + 14	83
DEC	553	1,155	1,252 + 5,920
Jan 1-7	150	808	421

Security By Province Dec 2015

Province	Dec
Anbar	42 Incidents 184 Killed: 1 Hashd, 27 ISF, 104 Sahwa, 52 Civilians 162 Wounded: 13 Civilians, 50 ISF, 99 Sahwa 26 Shootings 4 IEDs 6 Suicide Car Bombs 2 Car Bombs 1 Rockets 1 Mortar 1 Motorcycle Bomb Destroyed 37 Suicide Bombers Killed 60 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 18 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	10 Incidents 6 Killed: 1 ISF, 5 Civilians 21 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 4 ISF, 14 Civilians 3 Shootings 8 IEDs
Baghdad	52 Incidents 70 Killed: 2 Sahwa, 3 ISF, 65 Civilians 207 Wounded: 3 Sahwa, 5 ISF, 199 Civilians 10 Shootings 31 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs 1 Mortar 1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Diyala	8 Incidents 7 Killed: 1 ISF, 6 Civilians 3 Wounded: 3 Civilians 5 Shootings 1 Mortar
Kirkuk	8 Incidents 8 Killed: 8 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 5 Shooting
Ninewa	19 Incidents 510 Killed: 6 Peshmerga, 91 ISF, 413 Civilians 3 Wounded: 3 Civilians 8 Shootings 1 Rocket 1 Mortar 4 Suicide Bombers Killed
Salahaddin	11 Incidents 23 Killed: 1 Civilian, 22 ISF 24 Wounded: 2 Civilians, 22 ISF 6 Shootings 2 IEDs 7 Suicide Bombers 2 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Rockets 1 Grenade

Car Bombs In Iraq, December 2015

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1	North of Ramadi x4, Anbar 35 Kilo, Haditha & North of Ramadi, Anbar – 11 destroyed	60	70
Jan 2	Albu Faraj, Anbar – 1 destroyed
Jan 3	Camp Speicher x2, Slaahaddin Barwana, Garma, Haditha Nazim & Ramadi, Anbar – 46 destroyed	20	17
Jan 4	Outside Haditha, Anbar Wadi Horan, Anbar - 3 destroyed Baya, Baghdad – 1 destroyed	11	30
Jan 5	Nikhaib x2 & Ramadi, Anbar Barwana, Niamiya & Ramadi, Anbar – 13 destroyed	8
Jan 6	Ramadi, Anbar – 2 destroyed
Jan 7
Totals	10 – 77 destroyed	99	117

SOURCES

AIN, "70 Daash killed, including 12 suicide bombers and destroy their cars in Ramadi," 9/1/15

Alsumaria, "Security forces freed the stadium area southern Ramadi," 12/10/15

Buratha News, "22 terrorists were killed and the destruction of 4 car bombs in repelling a Daash attack west of Garma," 1/3/16

- "Anti-terrorism forces regained control of all of Barwana area," 1/4/16

- "Dismantling of a car bomb in Bayaa 20 Street," 1/4/16

- "Foiled Daash attack with three suicide car bombs on security headquarters north of Fallujah," 1/3/16

- "Military units and tribes destroy 16 Daash car bombs in Anbar," 1/3/16

- "Security forces repel a Daash attack destroying seven terrorist car bombs north of Barwana," 1/5/16

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - January 5, 2016," 1/5/16

Al Forat, "52 Daash killed, including bombers in Ramadi," 1/4/16

- "Killing of Daash members and the destruction of car bombs in the northern area of Ramadi," 1/6/16

- "The start of a military operation to purge the Grand Mosque and the old stadium in Ramadi," 1/5/16

Iraq Times, "The martyrdom and wounding of 130 members of the army and tribal crowd in wide Daash attack on 10th Army headquarters in Ramadi," 1/1/16

Al Mada, "Cleared two near areas north of Ramadi, killing dozens of Daash militants," 12/27/15

- "Clearing all the areas in central Ramadi, killing dozens of Daash," 1/3/16

- "Daash executed 83 from the Jabour tribe in Qayyarah," 1/3/16

- "Daash resorting to suicide attacks after loss of Ramadi and army repels their violent attacks," 1/4/16

- "Federal police clear eastern Ramadi area," 7/26/15

- "Four car bombs blown up, killing three Daash snipers in the center of Ramadi," 1/5/16

-“Joint forces have surrounded Barwana west of Ramadi,” 11/14/14

- "Killing and wounding 30 security members including officers in suicide attacks targeting Nineveh police camp in Spyker," 1/3/16

- "Started freeing the villages in western Anbar's Barwana," 1/3/16

Al Masalah, "Counter Terrorism Force raised the Iraqi flag over the Grand mosque in Ramadi," 1/7/16

- "Counter-terrorism unit freed Ramadi's hospital," 1/6/16

- "Destroyed three Dash dens north of Ramadi," 1/2/16

- "Freed 80% of the center of Ramadi," 1/3/16

-"War media declares victories of the joint forces," 1/7/16

New Sabah, "Security forces begin the final process of freeing Albu Faraj bridge and Howaz and move toward the center of Ramadi," 12/26/15

NINA, "Anti-terrorism device raised the Iraqi flag in Ramadi," 1/7/16

- "An army force backed by the sons of the tribes liberated Barwana district western Anbar," 7/17/14

- "Breaking News..Anti-terrorism forces liberated new areas in Ramadi," 1/3/16

- "Breaking News.Cleansing Barwana area from the IS elements," 9/8/14

- "Daash executed /75/ employees of the police and the National Guard in Mosul," 3/1/16,

- "The Ministry of Defense announces the Liberation of the sit-ins square in Ramadi," 10/18/15

- "Urgent…6 Suicide Bombers Storm Camp Speicher, Kill And Wound A Number Of Nineveh Police Trainees," 1/3/16

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "IS Claims Suicide Bombings At Iraqi Military Base," 1/3/16

Radio Free Iraq, "07 August 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 8/7/14

Rudaw, "Iraqi army reports more gains against ISIS," 1/4/16

Salaheddin, Sinan, "IS attacks troops in western Iraq, killing 11," Associated Press, 1/4/16

Sarhan, Amre, "Army forces foil ISIS attack on Police Headquarters in Anbar," Iraqi News, 1/2/16

Sattar, Sardar, "First Mass Grave Discovered in Ramadi," Bas News, 1/4/16

Shafaq News, "Security forces and PMU progress toward the center of Ramadi," 8/18/15

Sotaliraq, "Army expands its control over Ramadi and incure dozens of dead," 1/1/16

- "Destroyed 12 Daash car bombs and the killings of dozens of its member in Barwana," 1/3/16

- "Killing dozens of soldiers in attack on headquarters in Ramadi," 1/1/16

- "Repelled an attack by two suicide car bombs in Haditha," 1/1/16

- "Violent clashes in the center of Ramadi and set off a Daash bomb," 1/5/16