Security In Iraq Aug 1-7, 2017

Since the end of the Mosul battle in July, violence in Iraq has remained at a very low level. Both security incidents and casualties have been at record lows as a result.

During the first week of August there were only 80 incidents. Ninewa had the most incidents with 25. That was followed by 22 in Baghdad, 15 in Diyala, 5 each in Anbar and Salahaddin, 4 in Kirkuk, and 2 each in Babil and Basra.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Aug 1-7, 2017

Ninewa 25

Baghdad 22

Diyala 15

Anbar 5

Salahaddin 5

Kirkuk 4

Babil 2

Basra 2

Salahaddin had the most casualties with 116. After that there were 81 in Ninewa, 51 in Anbar, 38 in Baghdad, 26 in Diyala, 10 in Kirkuk and 9 in Babil. That led to a total of 143 killed and 188 wounded for the week. 6 Hashd al-Shaabi, 6 Peshmerga, 23 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 108 civilians lost their lives, while 5 Peshmerga, 7 Hashd, 123 ISF, and 153 civilians were injured.

Casualties In Iraq By Province June 2017

Salahaddin 116 (3 Dead, 113 Wounded)

Ninewa 81 (67 Dead, 14 Wounded)

Anbar 51 (45 Dead, 6 Wounded)

Baghdad 38 (12 Dead, 26 Wounded)

Diyala 26 (10 Dead, 16 Wounded)

Kirkuk 10 (5 Dead, 5 Wounded)

Babil 9 (1 Dead, 8 Wounded)

There were very few incidents in Anbar, but high casualties. That was due to 40 bodies being found in a mass grave in Ramadi. This was a leftover from when the Islamic State ruled the city. Otherwise there was just two shootings, 2 IEDs, and a Coalition air strike that hit civilians. An American security firm arrived in the province to secure the international highway to Jordan. The company was probably doing scouting and preparing for logistics before it started the job.

The biggest news from Anbar was that Sayid al-Shuhada of the Hashd claimed they were attacked by the U.S. led Coalition. The group made that accusation on August 7 saying they were operating along the Iraqi-Syrian border when they were hit by aircraft. They later changed that to artillery. It demanded that Baghdad investigate the matter. At the same time, an Islamic State statement said it launched a suicide bombing near the Tanaf crossing on the Syrian side of the border against the Hashd. The Americans immediately denied the story, and were supported by Prime Minister Haider Abadi, the Joint Operations Command, and the Hashd media office. According to the latter two the incidents did not occur in Iraq, but rather another country meaning Syria. Iraq Newspaper reported that the unit had actually crossed over into Syria without telling Baghdad when they were struck suffering 45 dead and 35 wounded. A senior commander in Sayid Shuhada told Al Mada that it was actually a unit from the group operating in Syria not part of the Hashd that was struck. What likely happened was that Sayid Shuhada suffered heavy casualties at the hands of IS and blamed it on the Americans instead. This was the second time the group made this type of accusation, and neither time was it proven true. This was part of the pro-Iranian factions’ propaganda campaign to associate the U.S. with the Islamic State.

Northern Babil continued to be targeted by IS. There were two IEDs in Jurf al-Sakhr and a shooting in Hillah. Jurf al-Sakhr was emptied of people by the Iraqi forces. Over the last two months however, the militants have been re-infiltrating the area to lay explosives and conduct small ambushes.

Baghdad has been witnessing some of the best security in years. There were just 22 incidents leading to 12 dead and 26 wounded. One suicide bomber was killed, while the most common form of attack was 10 IEDs. As usual, most incidents occurred in the south, 9, with 5 in the north and west each, and 2 in the east. The Islamic State was never quite cleared out of the outer villages surrounding the capital, and is still using them as the base for its operations within the city. The Baghdad Operations Command also created a special office for the Hashd in an attempt to subordinate them to the ISF. This was an important step because some Hashd factions have demanded that they take responsibility for security in the province since it would give them great prestige and power. The Iraqi forces want to make sure that they remain in charge, which was what led to this move.

Besides the constant tribal clashes there was more low level political violence in Basra. The house of an investigator was shot at and a sound bomb set off at the office of the Jund al-Imam, which is part of the Hashd. Most of the security forces from Basra were sent north to fight the Islamic State. That has left the governorate open to constant fighting by tribes, criminal activity, and for various political factions to attack one another.

Diyala is the main area where the Islamic State is attempting to re-build. Most incidents were IEDs, but the organization also set off a motorcycle bomb, and fired mortars four times. Its target favorite target during the week were power pylons, which were struck four times. Almost all the attacks were in the center and northern sections of the province in places like the Abu Saida, Muqtadiya, and Khanaqin districts. The security forces have been conducting sweeps nearly every other week in Diyala, but they have not been able to stop the increase in operations by the insurgents.

Security in Kirkuk remained stable. There were just four incidents, two shootings and two IEDs. Three of those targeted the Peshmerga resulting in 5 dead and 5 wounded. IS still controls the southern Hawija district in the governorate, but has mostly been using it to send out cells to other areas rather than conduct attacks within Kirkuk itself.

Insurgents are still operating throughout Ninewa after their defeat in Mosul. There were incidents nearly every day in Mosul, including a suicide bomber blowing up a building being used as a headquarters by the Golden Division. Qayara in the southeast was another favorite target. ISF units were being pulled from Mosul to prepare for the upcoming Tal Afar operation. The Federal Police were taking their place. IS was said to be herding people from the Tal Afar district into the town itself to be used as human shields, a tactic they employed during the Mosul campaign. Finally, a policeman was suspected to have been killed by the Imam Ali Brigade in Qayara. The police accused the Hashd unit of smuggling oil, and closed a nearby bridge to try to stop them. That led to an argument, and then the policeman’s body was later found. This was just the latest example of criminality by the Hashd in the province.

The militants launched a large operation in Salahaddin. In the Shirqat district, which the insurgents still partly control, IS shot down a helicopter, attacked three villages, and cut off the Baghdad-Mosul road for a time. The fighting lasted for a day before the Islamic State was driven off. IS is launching more of these large assaults each month in the province. Usually they are mass casualty bombings, but this incident showed a new level of boldness.

Finally, the low-level rivalry between the Iranian backed Hashd and the prime minister continued. Kataib Hezbollah claimed it blocked the Americans’ attempt to control the Iraq-Syrian border. It went on to say that the U.S. was trying to run Iraq, but that the Islamic resistance had stopped it. During the Ninewa campaign the Hashd stated that it would secure the length of the Iraq’s western border. In fact, it seized only about 25% in Ninewa and Anbar before stopping. Badr’s Hadi Amiri blamed Abadi for the halt, but it appeared that the Hashd lacked the manpower and logistics to take on the task. The Tehran backed forces not only want to clear the border, but to use it to ship men and material from Iran through Iraq to Syria to support the Assad government. There are many Hashd units that would also like to cross over into Syria. This already happened with the Sayid Shuhada incident. There was also a report that Kataib Hezbollah sent some men into Syria as well. This occurred despite the premier banning cross border operations. These were signs that these groups were testing Baghdad to see what they could get away with.  

Security In Iraq 2017

Week	Security Incidents	Dead	Wounded
Jan 1-7	188	509	1,346
Jan 8-14	168	371	1,036
Jan 15-21	137	585	1,262
Jan 22-28	145	289	310
Jan 29-31	74	127	338
JAN	712	1,881	4,292
Feb 1-7	123	388	176
Feb 8-14	164	434	390
Feb 15-21	148	393	508
Feb 22-28	185	647 + 399	1,390 + 1,634
FEB	620	1,862 + 399	2,464 + 1,634
Mar 1-7	179	749	622
Mar 8-14	171	551	614
Mar 15-21	143	571	1,166
Mar 22-28	152	1,233	575
Mar 29-31	71	374 + 278	288 + 2,925
MAR	716	3,478 + 278	3,265 + 2,925
Apr 1-7	174	903	487
Apr 8-14	126	599	669
Apr 15-21	108	479	449
Apr 22-28	122	698	328
Apr 29-30	39	138	51
APR	569	2,817	1,984
May 1-7	106	405	468
May 8-14	109	601	386
May 15-21	132	363	224
May 22-28	106	433	150
May 29-31	69	214	236
MAY	522	2,016	1,464
Jun 1-7	136	1,403	487
Jun 8-14	127	658	174
Jun 15-21	114	480	101
Jun 22-28	119	340	246
Jun 29-30	37	349	127
JUN	533	3,230	1,135
JAN-JUN	3,669	15,262 + 677	14,497 + 4,559
Jul 1-7	141	798	331
Jul 8-14	105	298	86
Jul 15-21	87	124	72
Jul 22-28	107	189	122
Jul 29-31	37	50	25
JUL	477	1,459	636
Aug 1 -7	80	143	188

Violence By Province Aug 1-7, 2017

Province	Violence
Anbar	6 Incidents 78 Killed: 33 Hashd, 45 Civilians 6 Wounded: 6 Civilians 3 Shootings 2 IEDs
Babil	2 Incidents 1 Killed: 1 Hashd 8 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 2 ISF, 5 Hashd 1 Shooting 2 IEDs
Baghdad	22 Incidents 12 Killed: 6 Civilians, 6 ISF 26 Wounded: 4 ISF, 22 Civilians 7 Shootings 10 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber Killed
Basra	2 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 Sound Bomb
Diyala	15 Incidents 10 Killed: 1 Hashd, 1 Peshmerga, 3 Civilians, 5 ISF 16 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 7 ISF, 8 Civilians 10 IEDs 1 Motorcycle Bomb 4 Mortars
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 5 Killed: 5 Peshmerga 5 Wounded: 5 Peshmerga 2 Shootings 2 IEDs
Ninewa	25 Incidents 67 Killed: 1 Hashd, 12 ISF, 54 Civilians 14 Wounded: 1 Hashd, 3 Civilians, 10 ISF 19 Shootings 3 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Suicide Bomber Killed
Salahaddin	5 Incidents 3 Killed: 3 Hashd 113 Wounded: 113 Civilians 5 Shootings

SOURCES

Al Aalem, “Member of Yazidi Genocide Committee accuses them of condoning the burning of three mass graves in Sinjar,” 8/3/17

AIN, “Opening a section for the popular crowd in the Baghdad Operations,” 8/1/17

Baghdad Post, "2 women killed in mortar attack in Diyala," 8/7/17

- "7 police officers killed, 4 injured in suicide attack southwest Mosul," 8/4/17

Daily Star, "Iraq finds mass grave in former Daesh-held city," 8/4/17

Dolamari, Mewan, "Road side IS bomb kills one, injures three Peshmerga in southern Kirkuk," Kurdistan 24, 8/6/17

eKurd, “UN says Yazidi genocide still ongoing, unaddressed,” 8/4/17

Elmanzalawy, Elwy, "Army soldier snipped north of Baghdad, suicide bomber killed," Iraqi News, 8/1/17

Al Forat, “URGENT Popular body denies attack on its workers in western Anbar,” 8/9/17

Al Ghad Press, “Daesh urged inhabitants on the outskirts of Tal Afar to flee into the town to protect them,” 8/4/17

- "Four mortar shells landed on village including on a communications tower northeast Diyala," 8/5/17

- “Head of the popular crowd: Tal Afar battle will be decisive and quick,” 8/3/17

- "A member of the popular crowd was killed and 5 wounded by an explosive device in the Jurf al-Sakhr area north Babylon," 8/7/17

- "One person was injured when a roadside bomb went off in Busiya village, west of Hit," 8/7/17

-"Unknown gunmen shoot at the house of a criminal investigator in Basra," 8/4/17

Iraq Newspaper, “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter: 14^th Brigade of Sayid Shuhada Brigade Admitted To Entering Syrian Territory Four Days Ago Ad Did Not Inform Baghdad,” 8/8/17

- "Iraq Newspaper Reporter Daash Terrorists Blow Up Electricity Towers From Iran In Diyala And Kill Asayesh," 8/3/17

- "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter: Helicopter Downed And Battles In The Village of Sheikh Ali," 8/4/17

- "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter: The Number Of Dead And Wounded By Suicide Bombing At Headquarters Of The Golden Division In Mosul," 8/5/17

Al Maalomah, “Fifth Division in the Federal Police receives the security file in West Mosul,” 8/1/17

- "Four civilians were killed by a roadside bomb explosion north of Ramadi," 8/5/17

- "One woman was killed and three others were injured by bombing of international coalition west of Ramadi," 8/3/17

- "Three Daash killed in clash with security forces west Ramadi," 8/3/17

- "Three people were injured by an improvised explosive device explosion in Qara Tapa district of Diyala," 8/1/17

- “US security company arrives in Anbar and is based at Trebil complex,” 8/1/17

Al Mada, “Iraq is waiting for Syrian action simultaneously to close its border in an encouraging manner,” 8/1/17

- “Leader in Sayid Shuhada: We were subject to a double attack inside Syrian territory,” 8/10/17

Al Mayadeen, "Iraq: 7 civilians and military killed in a suicide bombing in new Mosul district of Mosul," 8/4/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Officer’s corpse found at Mosul site of recent inter-troop disputes,” Iraqi News, 8/6/17

Mostafa, Nehal, "Four civilians killed, others injured by mortar missiles, IED blasts in Diyala," Iraqi News, 8/7/17

- “Joint Operations Command denies attack against paramilitary troops,” Iraqi News, 8/9/17

- "Peshmerga officer shot dead in Kirkuk," Iraqi News, 8/7/17

- “U.S.-led coalition denies shelling paramilitary troops near borders,” Iraqi News, 8/8/17

NINA, "4 Mortar Shells Land Near Al-Mansuriya Power Station In Diyala," 8/3/17

-"An engineer and a policeman wounded in a roadside bomb exploded north of Babylon," 8/2/17

- "A policeman was shot in Hilla," 8/5/17

- "Targeting the office of the Jund al-Islam Movement in Basra in a voice bomb," 8/5/17

Al Rafidain, “Haider al-Abadi: International coalition forces do not have the authority to carry out strikes inside the country without the consent of Baghdad,” 8/8/17

Rudaw, “Hashd force claims ‘large number’ of casualties in US airstrike,” 8/7/17

- "Three Peshmerga killed in IED explosion south of Kirkuk," 8/4/17

Shafaaq News, "Suicide bomber targeting anti-terrorism forces headquarters killed west Mosul," 8/4/17

Sotaliraq, “Kataib Hezbollah: The Americans’ goal of controlling the Iraqi-Syrian border has been stopped,” 8/3/17

Sulaivany, Karzan, “IS claims over 60 Iraqi soldiers killed in suicide bombing: SITE,” Kurdistan 24, 8/7/17

Xinhua, "3 mourners killed in bomb explosion in western Iraq," 8/5/17