Security In Iraq, Feb 1-7, 2016

Heavy fighting continued for the second month in Iraq. That was mostly due to the Islamic State carrying out counter attacks in Anbar after it lost Ramadi. Crime and violence was on going in the capital Baghdad, while a combination of Peshmerga and local Arab tribes were able to free several villages in Ninewa. A mass execution was also announced in the latter province.

There were 145 attacks reported in the media from February 1-7, 2016. That was on par with the levels seen in January, which was the highest amount recorded in five months. Baghdad led the country with 65 incidents along with 35 in Anbar, 16 in Salahaddin, 9 in Ninewa, 8 in Diyala, 6 in Kirkuk, 4 in Babil, and one each in Basra and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

562 people died and 313 were wounded during the week. The high number of deaths was due to a mass execution by the Islamic State in Mosul. 12 Peshmerga 18 Hashd al-Shaabi, 75 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 421 civilians were killed, and 3 Peshmerga, 3 Special Air Service (SAS), 10 Hashd, 56 ISF, and 241 civilians were injured. By province there were 321 reported deaths in Ninewa, 109 in Anbar, 76 in Baghdad, 6 in Salahaddin, 5 in Diyala, and 3 each in Babil, Kirkuk, and the KRG.

In Anbar, the security forces continued to clear out Ramadi’s suburbs, as fighting raged there and in other parts of the province. Albu Shigal, Albu Risha, Albu Soda for the third time, and Sajariya were freed and Juwayba was attacked. The joint forces were said to have cut the supply routes from Fallujah to Khalidiya Island, while there were violent clashes in Sjar, Niamiya, Jeraishi, East Husaiba, Husaiba in the Ramadi area, and Qaim, Thar Thar, Baghdadi and Garma in the eastern and western sections of the governorate. Four suicide car bombs hit the joint forces along with IS artillery fire that left 70 ISF and 13 Hashd dead, and 30 ISF wounded. This was one of the few weeks when the government forces admitted to taking casualties in Anbar. The high level of incidents was due to both the offensive operations of the security forces, and IS launching counter attacks to try to make up for its loss of Ramadi.

Baghdad led the country in violence again. As usual the southern section of the capital saw the most violence with 25 incidents that included 19 IEDs. After that there were 18 in the east, 15 in the north, 5 in the west and 2 in the center. Crime was an issue as usual with four major robberies, and three kidnappings. 17 dead bodies also turned up. That showed that the situation in Baghdad is not just made up of IS operations, but criminals, vigilantes, and Hashd elements.

Violence In Baghdad, Feb 1-7, 2016

Center: 2 – 1 Shooting, 1 IED

East: 13 – 1 Stabbing, 2 Robberies, 2 IEDs, 3 Sticky Bombs, 5 Shootings

Outer East – 5 – 2 Kidnappings, 3 IEDs

North: 9 – 1 Robbery, 1 Stabbing, 3 IEDs, 4 Shootings

Outer North: 6 – 1 Shooting, 5 IEDs

South: 14 – 1 Stabbing/Robbery, 2 Shootings, 11 IEDs

Outer South: 11 – 1 Kidnapping, 2 Shootings, 8 IEDs

West: 3 – 3 IEDs

Outer West: 2 – 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 IED

Turkey was blamed for killing 3 civilians and wounding 2 more in an air strike on the KRG aimed at Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) areas.

The Peshmerga and Arab tribes worked together to seize several towns in Ninewa. Merdi, Mahane, Wedimah, Gdelah, and Khattab in Qayara and Kudila and Karmendi in Makhmour were freed during the week. The Islamic State launched five days of attacks to try to take back those last two towns, but was turned back. The Kurdish lines throughout the north have been relatively static for months, so it’s a rare occasion when they launch offensive operations. These could be preliminary moves for the Mosul attack, which is planned for sometime this year. 3 members of the English Special Air Services (SAS) were also said to have been wounded in a reconnaissance mission in the province.

Elsewhere in Ninewa IS was blamed for a massive execution. The Iraqi press claimed that the group killed 300 members of the ISF and civilians in Mosul. Other than that there were only 12 other executions reported by the militants.

There was also major fighting in Salahaddin. There were clashes with the insurgents in the Makhoul and Hamrin mountains, and the Alas and Ajeel oil fields. IS has been attacking those fields for months, while Makhoul and Hamrin have been long time strongholds of theirs. There was one successful suicide car bomb in the governorate that hit a gas station wounding 4 Hashd in Tal Kasaiba.

The press had 75 car bombs during the week. 55 were in Anbar, and ten each in Ninewa and Salahaddin. The security forces have been exaggerating the number of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) that they have destroyed for months now so 75 is probably too high. 5 were successful in Anbar and Salahaddin leaving 64 dead and 18 wounded.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015-16

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
JAN	911	2,656	3,032 + 150
FEB	730	2,345	2,366
MAR	820	2,665	2,529
APR	751	2,753	2,621
MAY	672	2,546 + 1,499	1,888 + 646
JUN	706	2,141 + 405	2,006
JUL	612	2,192	3,078 + 4,024
AUG	620	2,239 + 760	1,757
SEP	578	1,303 + 314	1,650 + 3,003
OCT	585	1,127	1,554
NOV	530	1,174	1,455 + 124 + 1,322
DEC	553	1,155	1,252 + 5,920
Jan 1-7	150	808	421
Jan 8-14	140	436	417
Jan 15-21	135	275	227
Jan 22-28	132	392	322
Jan 29-31	41	81	334
JAN	598	1,992	1,721
Feb 1-7	145	562	313

Security By Province Feb 1-7, 2016

Province	Jan
Anbar	35 Incidents 109 Killed: 13 Hashd, 26 Civilians, 70 ISF 35 Wounded: 5 Civilians, 30 ISF 14 Shootings 3 IEDs 4 Suicide Car Bombs 2 Artillery 18 Suicide Bombers Killed 15 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 42 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil	4 Incidents 3 Killed: 1 ISF, 2 Civilians 10 Wounded: 2 Civilians, 8 ISF 2 Shootings 2 IEDs
Baghdad	65 Incidents 76 Killed: 4 ISF, 4 Hashd, 68 Civilians 233 Wounded: 8 ISF, 8 Hashd, 217 Civilians 15 Shootings 37 IEDs 4 Sticky Bombs
Basra	1 Incident 1 IED
Diyala	8 Incidents 5 Killed: 2 Civilians, 3 Peshmerga 3 Wounded: 3 Peshmerga 2 Shootings 8 IEDs
Kirkuk	6 Incidents 3 Killed: 1 Hashd, 2 Civilians 1 Wounded: 1 Civilian 3 Shootings 1 Rockets
KRG	1 Incident 3 Killed: 3 Civilians 2 Wounded: 2 Civilians 1 Turkish Air Strike
Ninewa	9 Incidents 321 Killed: 9 Peshmerga, 312 Civilians 6 Wounded: 3 SAS, 3 Civilians 7 Shootings 3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 7 Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin	16 Incidents 6 Killed: 6 Civilians 23 Wounded: 2 Hashd, 10 ISF, 11 Civilians 10 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber Killed 4 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 5 Car Bombs Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq, February 2016

Date	Location	Dead	Wounded
Feb 1	Tal Kasaiba, Salahaddin Jeraishi & Niamiya, Anbar – 9 destroyed Alas and Ajeel, Salahaddin – 4 destroyed		2
Feb 2	Albu Diab, Anbar Albu Diab, Jeraishi, Garma, Sjar, Thar Thar, Anbar – 10 destroyed	18
Feb 3	Albu Soda, Anbar – 4 destroyed Kudila, Ninewa – 4 destroyed West of Samarra, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Feb 4	Outside Fallujah, Anbar – 12 destroyed Kudila, Ninewa – 3 destroyed
Feb 5	Baghdadi, Anbar – 1 destroyed Alas, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Feb 6	Ain al-Assad, Fallujah, Ramadi, Anbar Husaiba, Jubba, Thar Thar, Anbar- 8 destroyed Kudila, Ninewa – 3 destroyed Hamrin, Salahaddin – 2 destroyed	46	16
Feb 7	Albu Shajal, Jeraishi, west of Ramadi, Anbar – 7 destroyed Mukashifa, Salahaddin – 1 destroyed
Totals	5 -  70 destroyed	64	18

 

SOURCES

Adel, Loaa, "Anti-Terrorism forces advance toward Juwiba area east of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 2/6/16

- "Army forces advance to liberate Albu Shehab & Albu Shagl areas in Khalidiya Island," Iraqi News, 2/1/16

- "ISIS executes 300 police and army personnel, civil activists in Mosul," Iraqi News, 2/8/16

- "Security forces kill 44 ISIS militants north of Ramadi," 2/7/16

AIN, "Anbar operations: 82 terrorists were killed today and 68 civilians freed from Daash," 2/7/16

- "Anbar operations: 82 terrorists were killed today and 68 civilians freed from Daash," 2/7/16

- "Defense: freed two villages in southeastern Mosul," 2/3/16

- "Video..destroying a car bomb, killing Daash in Aviation pounding in Mukashifa," 2/7/16

Anadolu Agency, "ISIL attacks kill 37 in Iraq," 2/7/16

ARA News, "Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi allies recapture five villages in Nineveh amid ISIS retreat," 2/2/16

- "Kurdish Peshmerga repels ISIS attack, kills 30 jihadist north Iraqi," 2/7/16

Buratha News, "Iraqi aircraft destroy a car bomb south of Fallujah," 2/4/16

- "Killing at least 12 Daash and destroying three car bombs by shelling east of Ramadi areas," 2/6/16

- "Thwarted another Daash terrorist attack on Alas oil field," 2/5/16

- "Popular crowd thwarted a terrorist car bomb attack in Thar Thar," 2/2/16

- "Thwarted another Daash terrorist attack on Alas oil field," 2/5/16

eKurd, "Kurdish Peshmerga, Arab fighters retake northern Iraq village from Islamic State," 2/3/16

Al Forat, "16 Brigade liberated entire area of Albu Risha north of Ramadi," 2/2/16

- "The crowd blows up two car bombs and kill 10 Daash in Garma near Fallujah," 2/3/16

- "Destruction of 11 Daash car bombs in Fallujah," 2/4/16

- "Urgent counterterrorism clear Albu Soda area east of Ramadi," 2/3/16

Al Mada, "Security forces freed area north of Fallujah, killing 18 Daash members," 2/4/16

-"Two from the popular crowd injured in an explosion of a suicide car bomb east of Tikrit," 2/1/16

Al Masalah, "Foiled a Daash attack in the Hamrin Mountains," 2/6/16

- "War media cell declares victories for the joint forces," 2/1/16

New Sabah, "Security file," 2/5/16

NINA, "Anbar Operations continue to clear Ramadi areas and repel Daash attacks," 2/2/16

- "Daash Executes 12 University Students In Mosul," 2/3/16

- "Daash launched unsuccessful attack with car bombs on liberated sites near Mosul," 2/4/16

- "The Security Forces Finish The First Page Of Cleansing Albu Shijil Area, Kill 18 Terrorists," 2/7/16

-"Turkish Warplanes Bombing Kill 3 Civilians In Northern Kurdistan Province," 2/4/16

Prothom Alo, "IS attack kills over 18 Iraqi soldiers," 2/2/16

Reuters, "Three British troops injured in covert operation in Iraq," 2/6/16

Rudaw, "ISIS ousted from second Makhmour village in less than a week, Peshmerga say," 2/3/16

Sarhan, Amre, "Anbar Council announces liberating al-Sajariyah area east of Ramadi," Iraqi News, 2/4/16

- "Baghdad Operations announces liberating Albu Shajal west of Saqlawiyah, Anbar," Iraqi News, 2/3/16

-"Security forces cut off ISIS supply routes between Fallujah and Khalediya Island," Iraqi News, 2/1/16

Sotaliraq, "Federal Police repel car bomb attack in the Hamrin," 2/1/16

Xinhua, "15 Iraqi security members killed in IS bomb attacks in Anbar," 2/6/16