1,958 Killed and 1,261 Wounded In Iraq In August 2017

While the number of security incidents was down from July to August 2017 the number of casualties went up due to several mass graves being discovered and the Battle of Tal Afar.

There was a total of 357 incidents reported in Iraq in August 207. That was down from 477 in July, and marked another low in the country since the 2003 invasion. With fighting in Ninewa winding down Baghdad returned to the most violent province in the country with 98 incidents. That was followed by 90 in Ninewa, 47 in Diyala, 41 in Anbar, 28 in Kirkuk and Salahaddin each, 13 in Babil, 3 in Dhi Qar, 2 in Basra, Maysan, and Sulaymaniya each, and 1 in Irbil, Karbala, and Qadisiyah each.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province August 2017

Baghdad 98

Ninewa 90

Diyala 47

Anbar 41

Kirkuk 28

Salahaddin 28

Babil 13

Dhi Qar 3

Basra 2

Maysan 2

Sulaymaniya 2

Irbil 1

Karbala 1

Qadisiyah 1

There were 1,958 deaths and 1,261 wounded in Iraq in August. The former consisted of 14 Peshmerga, 35 Hashd al-Shaabi, 58 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Hashd, 118 ISF, and 1,733 civilians. The latter was made up of 3 Sahwa, 40 Hashd, 53 Peshmerga, 100 ISF, 677 ISF and Hashd, and 388 civilians. By province that broke down to 2,393 casualties in Ninewa, 261 in Baghdad, 186 in Salahaddin, 130 in Anbar, 94 in Kirkuk, 60 in Diyala, 50 in Karbala, 41 in Babil, 2 in Irbil, and one each in Qadisiyah and Sulaymaniya.

Casualties In Iraq By Province August 2017

Ninewa 2,393 (1,645 Killed, 748 Wounded)

Baghdad 261 (79 Killed, 182 Wounded)

Salahaddin 186 (29 Killed, 157 Wounded)

Anbar 130 (73 Killed, 57 Wounded)

Kirkuk 94 (64 Killed, 30 Wounded)

Diyala 60 (33 Killed, 27 Wounded)

Karbala 50 (28 Killed, 22 Wounded)

Babil 41 (6 Killed, 35 Wounded)

Irbil 2 (2 Wounded)

Qadisiyah 1 (1 Killed)

Sulaymaniya 1 (1 Wounded)

There was only an average of 1.3 incidents per day in Anbar. The relatively high casualty figures of 73 dead and 57 wounded however, was due to a mass grave being discovered in Ramadi with 40 bodies in it. That was from when the Islamic State ran the city. The attacks during the month were mostly small like shootings and IEDs stretching from Ramadi to the west. The insurgents did attempt mass casualty bombings, 1 car bomb, 3 suicide bombers and 4 suicide motorcycle bombs, but they were all unsuccessful.

After months of being quiet low level violence has returned to Babil. For the last two months IS has been carrying out attacks in the governorate. In August, there were 13 incidents leading to 6 dead and 35 wounded. Almost all of these were in the north, especially in the Jurf al-Sakhr district. That area was liberated in 2014 and emptied of people by the Iraqi forces and remains barren since then. The militants are likely coming from Anbar, which is adjacent to the district. This is a sign that IS is attempting to rebuild its networks in the area.

Security remained greatly improved in Baghdad. There were just 98 incidents for an average of 3.1 per day. That left 79 dead and 182 injured. Most of the insurgent attacks continued to come from the north and south where IS still has cells, especially in the rural towns. It also attempted more large bombings in the city with 5 car bombs. One of those detonated in Sadr City killing 12 and wounding 28. Another 3 car bombs were discovered and 5 suicide bombers killed.

Diyala is the main area in which the Islamic State is attempting to re-build. Most attacks continued to be shootings and IEDs interspersed with larger operations such as 5 car bombs that were all destroyed or dismantled.

For the second month, IS was carrying out operations against the Peshmerga in Kirkuk. Of the 28 incidents during August 11 targeted the Kurds and resulted in 9 Peshmerga deaths and 29 wounded. This was a change, because over the previous year most of the incidents were executions or displaced people getting shot or running into IEDs attempting to flee Hawija. Speaking of which, that is the next target for the Iraqi forces. The operation should start in a few weeks as units are transferred from Ninewa to Kirkuk and Salahaddin.

There were very high casualty figures in Ninewa, 1,645 fatalities and 748 wounded because of mass graves and the Tal Afar operation. A grave in Mosul was found with 30 bodies, another 80 in Tal Afar, and around 500 in Badush. On top of that, the Tal Afar district to the west of Mosul was taken in 11 quick days. That cost the lives of 115 members of the ISF and Hashd, and another 679 wounded. Unfortunately, with the Tal Afar operation, reporting on Mosul virtually disappeared, although there were still scattered reports of a few incidents there.

Salahaddin was the other governorate where IS was making a comeback. Recently the insurgents have been carrying out a few large-scale operations there. On August 4, they shot down an ISF helicopter and cut the Baghdad-Mosul road for a few hours. August 13, the militants cut the highway to Tikrit. There was also a car bombing, and two suicide bombers, with another 2 vehicle bombs destroyed, and 10 suicide bombers killed. The return of intricate attacks was another step in IS rebuilding, and its move back towards insurgency.

In southern Iraq there were a few incidents, mostly political, but also a militant attack in western Karbala. 1 Suicide car bomb was destroyed, and then a gun battle ensued and a suicide bomber set off his device. In total, 28 people lost their lives and 22 were wounded. That Hashd attempted to whitewash the incidents by only mentioning that the vehicle bomb was foiled, and not the ensuing fighting.

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
Aug 8-14	88	955	124
Aug 15-21	73	97	100
Aug 22-28	85	674	132
Aug 29-31	31	30	40
AUG	357	1,958	1,261

Weekly Violence By Province In Iraq, August 2017

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Anbar	5 Incidents 45 Killed 45 Civilians 6 Wounded 6 Civilians 2 Shootings 2 IEDs	11 Incidents 13 Killed 3 Hashd 10 Civilians 20 Wounded 2 ISF 5 Hashd 13 Civilians 4 Shootings2 IEDs 1 Mortar 1 Rockets 1 Grenade 2 Suicide    Bombers    Killed	8 Incidents 5 Killed 5 Civilians 6 Wounded 6 Civilians 1 Shooting 2 IEDs 1 Suicide    Bomber    Arrested 4 Suicide    Motorcycle    Bombers    Killed 1 Suicide Car    Bomb    Stopped	15 Incidents 8 Killed 2 Hashd 3 ISF 3 Civilians 22 Wounded 8 Civilians 14 ISF 3 Shootings 8 IEDs 1 Mortar 1 Sticky Bomb    Dismantled	2 Incidents 2 Killed 2 Civilians 3 Wounded 1 ISF 2 Civilians 1 Mortar

4

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Babil	2 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Hashd 8 Wounded 1 Civilian 2 ISF 5 Hashd 1 Shooting 2 IEDs	3 Incidents 9 Wounded 9 Hashd 3 IEDs	2 Incidents 5 Killed 5 Hashd 3 Wounded 3 ISF 2 Shootings	6 Incidents 15 Wounded 7 Hashd 8 ISF 2 Shootings 3 IEDs 1 Suicide    Bomber    Killed	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Baghdad	22 Incidents 12 Killed 6 ISF 6 Civilians 26 Wounded 4 ISF 22 Civilians 7 Shootings 10 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Suicide    Bomber    Killed	18 Incidents 5 Killed 5 Civilians 27 Wounded 9 ISF 18 Civilians 5 Shootings 9 IEDs 1 Car Bomb 2 Suicide    Bombers    Arrested 1 Car Bomb    Dismantled	21 Incidents 11 Killed 2 ISF 9 Civilians 41 Wounded 3 Sahwa 3 Hashd 4 ISF 31 Civilians 2 Shootings 15 IEDs 3 Sticky Bomb	21 Incidents 31 Killed 1 ISF 30 Civilians 66 Wounded 2 ISF 64 Civilians 5 Shootings 9 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 3 Car Bombs 2 Suicide    Bombers    Killed 1 Car Bomb    Dismantled	16 Incidents 20 Killed 3 Hashd 8 Civilians 9 ISF 22 Wounded 4 Hashd 7 ISF 11 Civilians 5 Shootings 7 IEDs 1 Car Bomb 1 Grenade 1 Car Bomb    Dismantled

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Basra	2 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 Sound Bomb	-	-	-	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Dhi Qar	-	1 Incident 1 Shooting	1 Incident 1 IED	-	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
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	15 Incidents 9 Killed 2 Civilians 7 ISF 5 Wounded 1 Hashd 2 Peshmerga 2 Civilians 5 Shootings 6 IEDs 3 Mortars	8 Incidents 9 Killed 9 Civilians 3 Wounded 3 Civilians 2 Shootings 1 IED 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Bicycle    Bomb    Dismantled 2 Car Bombs    Destroyed	6 Incidents 4 Killed 4 Civilians 3 Wounded 1 ISF 2 Civilians 2 Shootings 2 IEDs 2 Car Bombs    Dismantled	3 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 1 Shooting 1 IED    Dismantled 1 Car Bomb    Dismantled

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Irbil	-	1 Incident 2 Wounded 2 Civilians 1 Turkish    Shelling	-	-	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Karbala	-	1 Incident 28 Killed 1 ISF 27 Civilians 22 Wounded 22 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 Suicide    Bomber 1 Suicide Car    Bomb    Destroyed	-	-	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 5 Killed 5 Peshmerga 5 Wounded 5 Peshmerga 2 Shootings 2 IEDs	8 Incidents 35 Killed 1 ISF 3 Peshmerga 31 Civilians 10 Wounded 10 Peshmerga 7 Shootings	6 Incidents 10 Killed 1 ISF 9 Civilians 5 Wounded 5 Peshmerga 2 Shootings 2 IEDs 2 Suicide    Bombers    Arrested	10 Incidents 14 Killed 1 Peshmerga 2 ISF 11 Civilians 10 Wounded 1 ISF 9 Peshmerga 4 Shootings 2 IEDs	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Maysan	-	2 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 IED	-	-	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
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	20 Incidents 857 Killed 2 ISF 5 Hashd 850 Civilians 10 Wounded 2 ISF 8 Civilians 10 Shootings 6 IEDs 4 Suicide    Bombers    Killed	17 Incidents 42 Killed 19 Civilians 23 ISF 24 Wounded 3 Peshmerga 6 ISF 15 Civilians 6 Shootings 7 IEDs 1 Suicide    Bomber 1 Drone Strike 8 Suicide    Bombers    Killed 11 Car Bombs    Destroyed	23 Incidents 617 Killed 9 Hashd 25 ISF 583 Civilians 16 Wounded 16 Civilians 6 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Car Bomb 8 Suicide    Bombers    Killed 7 Car Bombs    Destroyed	5 Incidents 4 Killed 1 ISF 3 Civilians 7 Wounded 2 ISF 5 Peshmerga 1 Suicide    Bomber 1 Car Bomb 14 Suicide    Bombers    Arrested/    Killed 4 Suicide Car    Bombs    Destroyed

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Qadisiyah	-	-	-	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 ISF 1 Shooting	-

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Salahaddin	5 Incidents 3 Killed 3 Hashd 113 Wounded 113 Civilians 5 Shootings	8 Incidents 8 Killed 1 Hashd 3 ISF 4 Civilians 19 Wounded 8 ISF 11 Civilians 3 Shootings 3 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Suicide    Bomber    Killed 1 Car Bomb    Destroyed	9 Incidents 15 Killed 1 Hashd 3 Peshmerga 11 ISF 17 Wounded 1 ISF 3 Hashd 13 Peshmerga 5 Shootings 1 IEDs 2 Suicide    Bombers 1 Suicide Car    Bomb 9 Suicide    Bombers    Killed 1 Car Bomb    Destroyed	1 Incident	5 Incidents 3 Killed 1 Peshmerga 2 ISF 8 Wounded 1 Hashd 1 Peshmerga 6 ISF 2 Shootings 3 IEDs

	Aug 1-7	Aug 8-14	Aug 15-21	Aug 22-28	Aug 29-31
Sulaymaniya	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 Civilian 1 Shooting	-	-	-	-

Violence By Province August 2017

Province	Violence
Anbar	41 Incidents 73 Killed 3 ISF 5 Hashd 65 Civilians 57 Wounded 5 Hashd 17 ISF 35 Civilians 10 Shootings 14 IEDs 3 Mortars 1 Rockets 1 Grenade 1 Sticky Bomb Dismantled 4 Suicide Motorcycle Bombers Killed 3 Suicide Bombers Killed/Arrested 1 Suicide Car Bomb Stopped
Babil	13 Incidents 6 Killed 6 Hashd 35 Wounded 13 ISF 21 Hashd 1 Civilian 5 Shootings 8 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber Killed
Baghdad	98 Incidents 79 Killed 3 Hashd 18 ISF 58 Civilians 182 Wounded 3 Sahwa 7 Hashd 26 ISF 146 Civilians 24 Shootings 50 IEDs 5 Sticky Bombs 5 Car Bombs 1 Grenade 5 Suicide Bombers Killed 3 Car Bombs Dismantled
Basra	2 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 Sound Bomb
Dhi Qar	3 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 IED
Diyala	47 Incidents 33 Killed 1 Peshmerga 1 Hashd 12 ISF 19 Civilians 27 Wounded 2 Hashd 2 Peshmerga 8 ISF 15 Civilians 10 Shootings 19 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Motorcycle Bomb 7 Mortars 1 IED Dismantled 1 Bicycle Bomb Dismantled 5 Car Bombs Destroyed/Dismantled
Irbil	1 Incident 2 Wounded 2 Civilians 1 Turkish Shelling
Karbala	1 Incident 28 Killed 1 ISF 27 Civilians 22 Wounded 22 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Suicide Car Bomb Destroyed
Kirkuk	28 Incidents 64 Killed 4 ISF 9 Peshmerga 51 Civilians 30 Wounded 1 ISF 29 Peshmerga 15 Shootings 6 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers Arrested
Maysan	2 Incidents 1 Shooting 1 IED
Ninewa	90 Incidents 1,645 Killed 15 Hashd 63 ISF 68 ISF & Hashd 1,509 Civilians 748 Wounded 1 Hashd 8 Peshmerga 20 ISF 42 Civilians 677 ISF & Hashd 41 Shootings 20 IEDs 3 Suicide Bombers 2 Car Bombs 1 Drone Strike 35 Suicide Bombers Arrested/Killed 22 Car Bombs Destroyed
Qadisiyah	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 ISF 1 Shooting
Salahaddin	28 Incidents 29 Killed 4 Civilians 4 Peshmerga 5 Hashd 16 ISF 157 Wounded 4 Hashd 14 Peshmerga 15 ISF 124 Civilians 15 Shootings 7 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 2 Suicide Bombers 1 Suicide Car Bomb 10 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Car Bombs Destroyed
Sulaymaniya	2 Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian 2 Shootings

SOURCES

AIN, “In figures .. Declaration of losses during the Tal Afar operation,” 9/2/17

Baghdad Post, "2 civilians injured in blast at Baladiyat in Baghdad," 8/13/17

- "2 mass graves containing 500 bodies discovered in Mosul's Badosh," 8/25/17

- "30 dead bodies uncovered in 'mass grave' at market in Mosul," 8/6/17

- "80 bodies uncovered in mass grave in Tal Afar," 8/26/17

- "Iraq police defuse 2 car bombs in Diyala, no casualties," 8/28/17

- "Suicide bomber killed before blowing himself up in Anbar," 8/11/17

Bas News, "IS VBIEDs Prepared to Attack Peshmerga Detonated by Airstrikes," 8/17/17

- "Twin Car Bombs Kill, Injure At Least 11 in Baghdad," 8/27/17

Buratha News, "A suicide bomber failed to target displaced people north of Rutba," 8/10/17

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

eKurd “Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief – August 16, 2017,” 8/16/17

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

Al Ghad Press, "Another car bomb in Baladrooz, east Diyala," 8/28/17

- "Interior Ministry: The seizure of a car bomb and the arrest of its driver and the destruction of two explosives in Diyala," 8/30/17

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

- "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Karbala: 50 Dead And Wounded In Cement Factory Attack," 8/12/17

Al Maalomah, "Four people, including a child, were injured by a car bomb explosion east Baghdad," 8/14/17

- "Four suicide bombers were killed while trying to sneak into Wadi Horan area west Anbar," 8/20/17

- "Suicide car bomb attack abandoned west Anbar," 8/16/17

Al Masalah, "Car bomb explosion west of Karbala," 8/12/17

- "Soldiers prevent suicide bomber from blowing himself up in Anbar," 8/15/17

Mostafa, Nehal, "IS members killed before carrying out suicide attacks eastern Salahuddin," Iraqi News, 8/15/17

- "Police kill 2 suicide bombers in western Baghdad," Iraqi News, 8/23/17

- "Soldier dies in car bombing west of Karbala," 8/13/17

- "Soldier killed, another wounded by booby-trapped vehicle in Salahuddin," Iraqi News, 8/20/17

NINA, "PMF Thwart A Car Bomb Attack Northeast Of Salahuddin," 8/15/17

- "Popular Mobilization Detonates A Car Bomb North Of Salahuddin," 8/10/17

Rudaw, "12 dead after car bomb explodes in Baghdad market," 8/28/17

Sotaliraq, "Car bomb attack south Baghdad," 8/29/17

Sulaivany, Karzan, "Iraqi forces foil IS attack, kill 12 militants in Salahuddin," Kurdistan 24, 8/14/17

Al Sumaria, "Car bomb attack north Baghdad," 8/24/17

- "Interior Ministry reports two explosives experts were injured during the dismantling of a car bomb near the Al Mehsan complex," 8/13/17

- "Interior: Two civilians injured in a car bomb explosion east Baghdad," 8/29/17

- "Security source: At least one soldier was wounded by foiling a car bomb attack west Karbala," 8/12/17

- "Two suicide bombers were arrested and a car bomb was seized in central Baghdad," 8/13/17

Xinhua, "Iraqi forces killed 12 IS militants in Salahudin clashes," 8/13/17

- "Iraqi paramilitary units kill suicide bomber in Iraq's Tikrit," 8/12/17