Distribution Of Iraqi Forces Along The Frontline

Dr. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy recently released a new report, “The Future of Iraq’s Armed Forces,” for the Bayan Center for Planning and Studies. The paper broke down the distribution of Iraq’s forces along the frontline. A plurality, 48% of the total, is in the Baghdad belts stretching from the capital to Fallujah in the west and Taji in the north. 20,000 of those are holding the perimeter around Fallujah and in western Baghdad in places like Abu Ghraib. 14 army and Federal Police Brigades, around 28,000 are in Baghdad itself providing security for the city itself.

	Total on duty	Army	Federal Police & Interior Min  combat units	Counter Terrorism Forces	Hashd	Sunni and Tribal forces
Baghdad Operations (Baghdad, Fallujah, Taji)	83,150 (48.1%)	50,000	22,000	3,000	5,500	650
Anbar Operations (Ramadi)	29,750 (16.8%)	13,000	6,500	3,000	250	500
Samarra Operations (Samarra, Tikrit, Baiji)	21,700 (12.2%)	4,000	8,000	2,000	5,200	500
Tigris Operations (Diyala, Hamrin, Tuz Kharmato)	22,000 (12.4%)	6,000	4,500		8,500
Jazeera and Baida Operations (Haditha, Assad, Barwana)	7,750 (4.3%)	4,000	500	500	250	2,000
All Iraq	177,000 (100%)

SOURCES

Knights, Dr. Michael, “The Future of Iraq’s Armed Forces,” Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies, 3/9/16