Violence In Iraq, Dec 2015

December 2015 ended with the second lowest number of security incidents, while casualties stayed steady for the last quarter of the year. Anbar, Baghdad and Ninewa were the most violent. In Anbar the Ramadi operation was on going, in Baghdad IS was continuing with its terrorist campaign, and in Ninewa the insurgents opened a new winter offensive against the Peshmerga.

There were 553 incidents reported in the press in December 2015. That was the second lowest amount of the year with November’s 530 being the fewest. Baghdad had the most incidents by far with 240. Ninewa was second with 93, followed by 76 in Anbar, 65 in Salahaddin, 25 in Babil, 23 each in Diyala and Kirkuk, 5 in Basra, and 1 each in Karbala, Maysan, and Qadisiyah. There are always more attacks then what gets in the media.

Overall, violence across Iraq steadily declined during the year. There were an average of 27.3 attacks per day during the first quarter, down to 22.0 in the second, 19.5 in the third, and 18.1 by the fourth.

Avg. Attacks Per Day By Quarter In Iraq, 2015

1^st Qtr 27.3 per day

2^nd Qtr 22.0 per day

3^rd Qtr 19.5 per day

4^th Qtr 18.1 per day

During the month there were a total of 1,155 deaths reported and 1,252 wounded. The dead broke down to 6 Yazidi fighters, 20 volunteers at a Ninewa camp, 39 Sahwa, 47 Hashd al-Shaabi, 220 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 684 civilians. The injured were made up of 5 Sahwa, 12 Turkish soldiers, 30 volunteers, 50 Hashd, 52 Peshmerga, 138 ISF, and 965 civilians. These figures should be considered a minimum because the Iraqi government is suppressing losses and not all violence gets reported.

In Anbar there were 235 killed and 88 wounded. Almost all of those casualties, 212 dead and 61 injured, happened in and around Ramadi. The security forces successfully pushed their way into the center of the city by the end of the month resulting in some heavy losses for the ISF. In the aftermath 90 people were found executed within Ramadi and to the east. The Islamic State’s main response to the advances in Ramadi was launching 100 car bombs and 30 suicide bombers during December. 88 of the vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) were destroyed, while 12 hit their targets. 25 of the suicide bombers were also killed, and 5 got through.

Violence in Babil has remained at a relatively low level for the last year. There has been less then one attack per day in the province since March. During December, most of the attacks were improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 18, along with 4 shootings and 2 sticky bombs. All of these happened in the north in places like Latifiya, Mahmudiya, Yusifiya, where IS is based, and resulted in 29 fatalities, and 79 injured.

As the Islamic State has gone on the defensive since its summer offensive in 2014 it has concentrated upon terrorist attacks in the capital. The governorate regularly has the most attacks and casualties as a result. IS has concentrated on the southern section of Baghdad with 74 attacks there in December. It is active in many of the outer towns in that region such as Arab Jabour. The east had 64 incidents, but many of those were the work of criminals, vigilantes, and Hashd elements that carried out a beheading, three stabbings, four robberies, and all of the bodies dumped in the streets. IS also attacked the district with a suicide bomber and 19 IEDs. The north had 44 attacks. IS has bases in southern Salahaddin that it uses to launch attacks into that region of Baghdad. There were also 30 attacks in the west, and 24 in the center. Surprisingly, despite the emphasis upon hitting the capital, there was only one car bomb during the month, which was discovered and defused by the security forces. Before Baghdad was hit almost every week by car bombs. This might just be a break however, while IS reloads because it just ended a VBIED campaign in November.

Incidents In Baghdad Dec 2015

Center: 24 – 1 Car Bomb Dismantled, 1 Robbery,1 Kidnapping, 1 Grenade, 1 Shooting, 3 Sticky Bombs,

16 IEDs

East: 53 – 1 Suicide Bomber, 1 Beheading, 1 Kidnapping, 1 Robbery/Stabbing, 1 Robbery/Shooting, 2

Robberies, 3 Stabbings, 5 Sticky Bombs, 17 Shootings, 19 IEDs

Outer East: 11 – 1 Grenade, 2 Sticky Bombs, 8 IEDs

North: 32 – 1 Stabbing, 2 Robberies, 2 Kidnappings, 5 Shootings, 8 Sticky Bombs, 14 IEDs

Outer North: 12 – 4 Shootings, 10 IEDs

South: 48 – 1 Robbery, 2 Kidnappings, 2 Sticky Bombs, 4 Suicide Bombers Killed, 8 Shootings, 30 IEDs

Outer South: 26 – 1 Mortar, 4 Shootings, 24 IEDs

West: 20 – 1 Mortar, 1 Shooting, 2 Robberies, 3 Sticky Bombs, 4 Kidnappings, 9 IEDs

Outer West: 10 – 1 Mortar, 1 Bicycle Bomb, 1 Motorcycle Bomb, 1 Shooting, 6 IEDs

Unknown: 3 – 1 IED, 2 Kidnappings

Diyala remained rather quite in December. Like Babil, IS is using both governorates as bases to hit the surrounding areas like Baghdad. There was less than one incident per day during the month. There were two car bombs, but those are now rare occasions in the province. What IS has been doing off and on is firing mortars into towns in the center of the province.

There was a slight upsurge in activity in Kirkuk as IS launched a new winter offensive against the Kurds. On December 18 the militants attacked two towns in the Dibis district and one in Hawija. IS then focused upon Kurdish positions in Ninewa.

In Ninewa, IS was looking for a weak point in the Peshmerga defenses, but failed to find one. It started its offensive on December 12 attacking a new town every day with a mix of mortars, gunfire, suicide bombers, and car bombs. It also attacked the camp in the Bashiqa district that housed Turkish trainers after it got into the news when Baghdad demanded that Ankara remove its forces from there. By the end of the month 6 Yazidi fighters, 20 volunteers at the Bashiqa camp, and 121 Peshmerga were dead and 12 Turkish soldiers, 30 volunteers and 43 Peshmerga were wounded.

IS also kept up its steady pace of executions in the areas it controls in Ninewa. That cost the lives of 197 people. A mass grave was discovered with 120 bodies in it, most of which were ISF members with a few civilians as well.

Since the joint forces retook Baiji violence in Salahaddin has dropped off. IS is still active up and down the length of the province, and holds the Shirqat district in the north. There was heavy fighting outside of Samarra and in the Makhoul Mountains in the northeast where the ISF and Hashd are trying to clear out IS pockets. That meant attacks in the province were a mix of harassing operations like drive by shootings, 29, and IEDs, 17, along with a steady flow of suicide, 11, and car bombs, 14. That left 57 dead and 99 injured.

There were 143 car bombs during the month. 26 were successful and 117 were destroyed. While December’s total was comparable to November’s 164 VBIEDs, there was a decided decline in their frequency until Ramadi fell, and IS launched a slew of them in Anbar at the end of the month. All but three of the VBIEDs were used in military operations in Anbar, Ninewa and Salahaddin. Before car bombs were used in both attacks on the joint forces and civilians in terrorist attacks. That pointed to IS’s car bomb campaign ending in November.

 

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	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

Security By Province Dec 2015

Province	Dec
Anbar	76 Incidents 235 Killed: 30 Hashd, 36 Sahwa, 45 ISF, 124 Civilians 88 Wounded: 19 Hashd, 24 Civilians, 45 ISF 20 Shootings 2 IEDs 5 Suicide Bombers 12 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Rockets 3 Mortars 25 Suicide Bombers Killed 64 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 24 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	25 Incidents 29 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 2 ISF, 4 Hashd, 22 Civilians 79 Wounded: 2 Sahwa, 8 Hash, 10 ISF, 59 Civilians 4 Shootings 18 IEDs 2 Sticky Bombs
Baghdad	240 Incidents 261 Killed: 6 Hashd, 19 ISF, 236 Civilians 809 Wounded: 5 Hashd, 55 ISF, 749 Civilians 43 Shootings 136 IEDs 26 Sticky Bombs 1 Bicycle Bomb 1 Motorcycle Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber 3 Mortars 2 Grenades 4 Suicide Bombers Killed 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Basra	5 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 2 Wounded: 2 Civilians 3 Shootings 2 IEDs
Diyala	23 Incidents 17 Killed: 2 ISF, 2 Hashd, 13 Civilians 32 Wounded: 6 Hashd, 7 ISF, 19 Civilians 5 Shootings 10 IEDs 2 Car Bombs 4 Mortars
Karbala	1 Incident 1 Shooting 5 Suicide Bombers Killed
Kirkuk	23 Incidents 36 Killed: 1 Hashd, 3 Peshmerga, 32 Civilians 15 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 3 Civilians, 9 Peshmerga 11 Shootings 1 Mortar
Maysan	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting
Ninewa	93 Incidents 518 Killed: 6 Yazidi Fighters, 20 Volunteers, 121 Peshmerga, 138 ISF 128 Wounded: 12 Turkish Soldiers, 30 Volunteers, 43 Peshmerga, 43 Civilians 40 Shootings 33 IEDs 6 Suicide Bombers 2 Suicide Car Bombs 10 Car Bombs 7 Mortars 3 Rockets 22 Suicide Bombers Killed 12 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 3 Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	65 Incidents 57 Killed: 1 Peshmerga, 2 Sahwa, 4 Hashd, 14 ISF, 36 Civilians 99 Wounded: 3 Sahwa, 9 Hashd, 21 ISF, 66 Civilians 29 Shootings 17 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber 3 Mortars 1 Rockets 10 Suicide Bombers Killed 5 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 9 Car Bombs 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
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
Dec 29	Albu Aetha, Anbar – 1 destroyed Domiz, Ninewa – 1 destroyed
Dec 30	Sinjar, Ninewa – 5 destroyed
Dec 31
DEC	26 – 117 Destroyed	128	76