Security In Iraq, Sep 15-21, 2016

Security incidents have slowly crept up each week of September, but they are still at a low level compared to earlier in the year . The Islamic State was still focused upon its terrorist campaign in Baghdad, while the government forces attacked Shirqat in Salahaddin and the areas to the east and west of Ramadi.

There were 136 recorded incidents from September 15-21, 2016. There were 70 in Baghdad, 17 in Anbar, 15 in Incidents, 14 in Salahaddin, 13 in Ninewa, 3 in Diyala, 1 in Babil, 1 in Basra, 1 in Kurdistan, and 1 in Muthanna.

Those incidents led to 165 deaths and 305 wounded during the week. The dead consisted of 1 Sahwa, 4 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, 9 Peshmerga, 11 Hashd, 28 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 112 civilians. 1 PKK, 9 Peshmerga, 10 Hashd, 37 ISF, and 248 civilians were also injured. As usual Baghdad was the most violent province with 81 dead and 233 wounded.

After several weeks of inactivity, Prime Minister Haidar Abadi announced simultaneous operations in Anbar and Salahaddin. In the former, Baghdadi Island, Haditha Island, Ramadi Island, Khalidiya Island, and the Hit Island areas were all attacked. These are all to the west and east of Ramadi in central Anbar. Unlike previous offensives these new operations did not invoke a large number of counter attacks by IS. There were only 17 incidents recorded with 31 dead and 21 wounded. A Coalition air strike was blamed for 9 deaths and 9 injured.

There were 70 incidents in Baghdad during the third week of September. The south had 29 incidents, the north 20, the west 11, the east 8, and the center 1. Those incidents were split nearly 50-50 between the outer towns and the city itself. Those outer villages are where many IS cells are based and where many attacks into the center are launched from. There were no mass casualty bombings during the week, although a suicide bomber was killed, and a car bomb discovered and dismantled. As the war against the insurgents has turned, IS has focused more upon its terrorist campaign in the capital. The government has not been able to stem this tide at all. For example, the Eid al-Adha holiday just occurred in the middle of September, which led the government to deploy extra security. That had no affect as there were 73 incidents the first week of September, 66 the second, and 70 the third.

Violence in Diyala has gone through large swings in recent weeks. In the first week of September there were 4 incidents, then 13 the second, and 3 the third. In previous months there were nearly two incidents per day, but now IS does not seem to be as focused upon the governorate.

There were scattered incidents throughout Kirkuk province. That was a mix of IEDs, shootings, one execution by IS, a group of displaced being killed and wounded trying to escape Hawija, and one attack where 2 suicide bombers were killed. In total there were 15 incidents with 12 deaths and 30 wounded.

Every few days Turkey either bombs or shells northern Kurdistan targeting the PKK. It is rare for either side to publish casualties. The third week of September was a rare exception when Ankara claimed it killed 4 PKK members and wounded another in artillery fire.

There was the usual mix of executions and attacks upon the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in Ninewa. IS launched a three pronged attack upon the Kurds in the middle of the week that included mortars, car bombs, and infantry assaults. It also fired rockets on the Iraqi army in Qayara. It executed 18 people as well. A Coalition air strike was blamed for killing 2 civilians and wounding 2 others.

IS picked up its attacks in Salahaddin focusing upon its favorite targets such as the Hamrin and Makhoul mountains, and the Ajeel oil field. There was another flare up between the Peshmerga and Hashd in Tuz Kharmato. According to the Kurdish papers a Hashd vehicle would not cooperate at a checkpoint and shooting ensued. Thankfully this did not escalate as other flare ups have. Finally, the government finally attacked the Shirqat district in the north, which is the last bastion held by IS in the province. Nearly a dozen towns were taken in the first few days showing the militants continued collapse in the country overall.

There were 9 car bombs during the week. 3 were in Ninewa and 6 in Salahaddin all aimed at the Iraqi forces. The government claimed another 19 were destroyed, 1 in Anbar, 1 in Baghdad, 1 in Ninewa, and 16 in Salahaddin.

Violence In Iraq 2016

Date	Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	179	866	476
Jan 8-14	168	560	480
Jan 15-21	166	400	335
Jan 22-28	154	457	361
Jan 29-31	56	135	334
JAN	723	2,418	1,986
Feb 1-7	184	626	355
Feb 8-14	150	259	375
Feb 15-21	162	400	293
Feb 22-29	161	400	701
FEB	657	1,685	1,724
Mar 1-7	185	351	484
Mar 8-14	169	477	517
Mar 15-21	133	419	510
Mar 22-28	141	245	432
Mar 29-31	53	192	152
MAR	681	1,684	2,095
Apr 1-7	157	398	508
Apr 8-14	146	361	443
Apr 15-21	130	531	300
Apr 22-28	165	480	532
Apr 29-30	31	65	121
APR	629	1,835	1,904
May 1-7	164	386	422
May 8-14	147	407	687
May 15-21	127	387	617
May 22-28	150	315	445
May 29-31	85	142	313
MAY	673	1,637	2,484
Jun 1-7	177	592	1,639
Jun 8-14	136	345	472
Jun 15-21	154	416	523
Jun 22-28	123	329	410
Jun 29-30	40	429	3,405
JUN	630	2,111	6,449
Jul 1-7	120	589	635
Jul 8-14	129	242	316
Jul 15-21	123	168	272
Jul 22-28	115	234	366
Jul 29-31	43	95	119
JUL	530	1,328	1,708
Aug 1-7	109	342	255
Aug 8-14	121	176	245
Aug 15-21	155	388	392
Aug 22-28	134	269	312
Aug 29-31	55	88	172
AUG	574	1,263	1,376
Sep 1-7	119	341	381
Sep 8-14	125	197	313
Sep 15-21	136	165	305

Security By Province Sep 15-21, 2016

Province	Incidents
Anbar	17 Incidents 31 Killed: 6 Hashd, 11 ISF, 14 Civilians 21 Wounded: 2 ISF, 19 Civilians 6 Shootings 2 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers 1 Mortar 9 Suicide Bombers Arrested 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Babil	1 Incident 3 Wounded: 3 ISF 1 IED
Baghdad	70 Incidents 81 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 4 Hashd, 10 ISF, 66 Civilians 233 Wounded: 7 Hashd, 26 ISF, 200 Civilians 12 Shootings 42 IEDs 6 Sticky Bombs 1 Grenade 1 Rockets Dismantled 1 Suicide Bomber Killed 1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Basra	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting
Diyala	3 Incidents 2 Killed: 2 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 IED
Kirkuk	15 Incidents 12 Killed: 1 Hashd, 2 ISF, 7 Civilians 30 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 27 Civilians 6 Shootings 7 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers Killed
KRG	1 Incident 4 Killed: 4 PKK 1 Wounded: 1 PKK 1 Turkish Artillery
Muthanna	1 Incident 1 Killed: 1 Civilian 1 Shooting
Ninewa	13 Incidents 30 Killed: 3 ISF, 7 Peshmerga, 20 Civilians 12 Wounded: 1 ISF, 2 Civilians, 9 Peshmerga 3 Shootings 1 IED 3 Suicide Car Bombs 1 Mortar 1 Rockets 5 Suicide Bombers Killed 1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Salahaddin	14 Incidents 3 Killed: 1 Civilian, 2 ISF 5 Wounded: 5 ISF 6 Shootings 2 IEDs 6 Car Bombs 1 Mortar 9 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed 7 Car Bombs Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq Sep 2016

Date	Car Bombs	Dead	Wounded
Sep 1
Sep 2
Sep 3	Shah Siwan, Salahaddin	7	8
Sep 4
Sep 5	Karrada, Baghdad	12	37
Sep 6
Sep 7
Totals	2 – 0 Destroyed	19	45
Sep 8
Sep 9	Palestine St, Baghdad	40	60
Sep 10
Sep 11
Sep 12	Mosul-Baghdad Road & Zaizaa, Ninewa – 9 destroyed
Sep 13	West & Thar Thar, Anbar – 2 destroyed Khalis, Diyala – 1 destroyed Houd, Ninewa – 7 destroyed
Sep 14	Shirqat & Telul Alpag, Ninewa – 2 destroyed
Totals	1 – 21 Destroyed	40	60
Sep 15
Sep 16
Sep 17
Sep 18	Khazir x3, Ninewa Sadoun St, Baghdad – 1 destroyed Al Hud, Ninewa – 1 destroyed	6	7
Sep 19
Sep 20	Shirqat x6, Salahaddin Baghdadi Island, Anbar – 1 destroyed Shirqat, Salahaddin – 7 destroyed
Sep 21	Shirqat, Salahaddin – 9 destroyed
Totals	9 – 19 Destroyed	6	7

SOURCES

ARA News, "Scores of Kurdish Peshmergas killed in ISIS attack near Iraq's Khazir," 9/19/16

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - September 18, 2016," 9/18/16

Al Forat, "6 car bombs tried to block the advance of security forces around Sharqat," 9/20/16

Iraqi News, "Iraqi forces completely liberate Haditha island from ISIS," 9/21/16

- "Peshmerga forces thwart ISIS attacks near Mosul," 9/18/16

Al Maalomah, "The killing of four members of the Peshmerga and wounding nine blown up by suicide bomber south of Irbil," 9/18/16

- "The start of a security crackdown to purge al-Baghdadi island, Hit western Anbar," 9/19/16

Al Mada, "Cleared two regions and killed dozens of Daesh north of Ramadi," 9/20/16

- "The destruction of four Daesh car bombs north Salahuddin," 9/20/16

- "The destruction of nine suicide bombers in air strikes southwest Sharqat," 9/21/16

- "Foiled attempt to blow up a car bomb near the headquarters of Iraqi Airways central Baghdad," 9/18/16

- "Freed region of Hit Island and raising Iraqi flag over buildings," 9/21/16

- "The joint forces stormed Albu Diab in Ramadi Island and kill dozens of Daesh," 9/20/16

- "Popular crowd announce the liberation of all of al-Baghdadi Island west Anbar," 9/20/16

NINA, "8 Daesh Militants, 6 Peshmerga Killed In Fierce Clashes Northeast Of Mosul," 9/19/16

- "The martyrdom and wounding of four soldiers bombed by Daesh Qayyarah base south of Mosul,' 9/18/16

- "A Number of Daesh Killed, 7 Car Bombs Destroyed Outskirts Of Sharqat," 9/20/16

- "Two Villages In Baghdadi Island Liberated," 9/20/16

Reuters, "Turkey kills four Kurdish militants in north Iraq: army sources," 9/20/16

Rudaw, "Iraqi forces liberate 6 villages in push for Shargat," 9/20/16

- "Kurdish-Iraqi clashes in Khurmatu leave on wounded," 9/19/16

Xinhua, "Iraqi forces recapture 7 villages around IS-held town of Shirqat," 9/20/16