Security In Iraq, Nov 15-21, 2017

There was a slight spike in violence in Iraq during the third week of November, but there were still fewer than 100 incidents. This was the 15^th full week in a row that occurred.

There were a total of 79 incidents reported in the media. That was the most since 91 recorded from September 15-21. There was 1 in Basra, 1 in Dohuk, 1 in Kurdistan, 1 in Najaf, 5 in Babil, 5 in Diyala, 5 in Salahaddin, 7 in Kirkuk, 8 in Anbar, 22 in Ninewa, and 23 in Baghdad. The last two provinces were the reasons why there was an increase from previous weeks.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Nov 15-21, 2017

Basra 1

Dohuk 1

KRG 1

Najaf 1

Babil 5

Diyala 5

Salahaddin 5

Kirkuk 7

Anbar 8

Ninewa 22

Baghdad 23

There were a total of 138 deaths and 159 wounded during the week. 3 Turkish soldiers, 17 Hashd al-Shaabi, 23 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 95 civilians were killed, and 3 Turkish Soldiers, 9 ISF, 19 Hashd, and 128 civilians were injured. 3 of those occurred in Dohuk, 3 in Kurdistan, 3 in Najaf, 6 in Diyala, 8 in Babil, 20 in Kirkuk, 22 in Anbar, 41 in Ninewa, 50 in Baghdad, and 141 in Salahaddin.

Casualties In Iraq By Province Nov 15-21, 2017

Dohuk 3 (1 Killed, 2 Wounded)

KRG 3 (2 Killed, 1 Wounded)

Najaf 3 (1 Killed, 2 Wounded)

Diyala 6 (3 Killed, 3 Wounded)

Babil 8 (2 Killed, 6 Wounded)

Kirkuk 20 (9 Killed, 11 Wounded)

Anbar 22 (14 Killed, 8 Wounded)

Ninewa 41 (38 Killed, 3 Wounded)

Baghdad 50 (12 Killed, 38 Wounded)

Salahaddin 141 (56 Killed, 85 Wounded)

During the week Rawa, the final Iraqi town held by the Islamic State was liberated. 6 of the 8 incidents in Anbar occurred in that district. IEDs left 8 soldiers and 3 Hashd dead and 2 soldiers and 5 Hashd wounded. 2 reporters were killed and wounded as well during the fighting to take the town. In central Anbar 2 suicide bombers were arrested. The Iraqi forces are now talking about sweeping through the rural, desert and mountain areas of Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin, which are the lawless areas of Iraq where the insurgency is still operating. The difficulty of securing these areas is twofold. First, their remoteness makes it difficult to move and keep forces there. Second, the large size of many of these areas such as the Anbar desert causes manpower problems. Finding enough forces to maintain checkpoints, patrols, etc. to make sure IS doesn’t have freedom of movement in the areas is a huge dilemma. Currently, Iraq doesn't even have enough forces to secure the towns and cities that it has freed. That’s in part because they made no plans for post-IS security and have not brought back the local police forces as a result. It’s yet to be seen whether the government can come up with a comprehensive security plan for these areas or will just sweep through them and leave as it has done time and time again in the past.

Babil remained target of the insurgents. There were 5 incidents which were split between the Jurf al-Sakhr and Iskandiriya areas of the governorate in the north.

Now that the Battle of Mosul is over Baghdad has returned as the center of violence in Iraq. There were 23 incidents. IS is still active there, but most of their operations are small scale such as shootings and IEDs. There are rarely even attempts at mass casualty bombings anymore marking the best security situation in the capital province since 2003.

Militants have been moving back and forth between Diyala and Salahaddin for months now. For several weeks that resulted in a high number of attacks especially large bombings. In the last few weeks however, that has all faded away. There were just 5 incidents during the week for example.  

There are sporadic insurgent attacks in Kirkuk mixed in with political violence. First, a PUK office was shot at and a sound bomb thrown at the house of Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s member. North Oil Company workers are being targeted. For the last two weeks, they have been victims of kidnappings. There were two firefights with IS in the Dibis and Rashad districts. Militants are said to be active in the Hawija district still in the south, which was recently liberated.  

The Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) carried out some rare attacks against Turkish troops in northern Dohuk. Two times they ambushed Turkish patrols killing three soldiers and wounding three more. The PKK has had bases in the region for decades leading Ankara to station troops in the area for just as long. For weeks now Turkey has been shelling and carrying out air strikes leading to countless casualties. The PKK finally decided to strike back.

Despite its defeat at the Battle of Mosul, IS has maintained a presence in Ninewa. It has been especially active in two areas. One is in Hamam al-Alil, south of Mosul. It has been carrying out attacks upon local security forces there several times a week. There were 9 such incidents from November 15-21. The militants have also been attempting to come across the Syrian border, but have been turned back by the Hashd. There are also occasional attacks within Mosul, along with returnees getting killed by IEDs left over from the fighting. In response, the security forces have begun cordoning off neighborhoods one by one and searching for IS members.

Salahaddin has been another governorate when IS has been re-building. In the last few weeks its attacks have been sporadic, but it still attempts mass casualty bombings a few times a month. During the week for instance, a suicide car bomb hit a market in Tuz Kharmato killing 36 and wounding 85.

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
Sep 1-7	62	68	73
Sep 8-14	78	412	176
Sep 15-21	91	145	180
Sep 22-28	52	78	104
Sep 29-30	23	25	16
SEP	306	728	549
Oct 1-7	64	60	84
Oct 8-14	72	352	85
Oct 15-21	60	321	449
Oct 22-28	65	337	78
Oct 29-31	25	23	25
OCT	286	1,093	721
Nov 1-7	72	135	97
Nov 8-14	62	445	64
Nov 15-21	79	138	159

Violence By Province Nov 15-21, 2017

Province	Violence
Anbar	8 Incidents 14 Killed 3 Civilians 3 Hashd 8 ISF 8 Wounded 1 Civilian 2 ISF 5 Hashd 1 Shooting 5 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers Arrested
Babil	5 Incidents 2 Killed 2 Civilians 6 Wounded 1 Civilian 5 Hashd 3 Shootings 2 IEDs
Baghdad	23 Incidents 12 Killed 1 ISF 2 Hashd 9 Civilians 38 Wounded 1 ISF 4 Hashd 33 Civilians 10 Shootings 8 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb
Basra	1 Incident 1 IED
Diyala	5 Incidents 3 Killed 3 Civilians 3 Wounded 3 Civilians 3 Shootings
Dohuk	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 Turkish Soldier 2 Wounded 2 Turkish Soldiers 1 Shooting
Kirkuk	7 Incidents 9 Killed 2 ISF 7 Hashd 11 Wounded 5 Hashd 6 ISF 5 Shootings 1 IED 1 Sound Bomb
KRG	1 Incident 2 Killed 2 Turkish Soldiers 1 Wounded 1 Turkish Soldier 1 Shooting
Najaf	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 Civilian 2 Wounded 2 Civilians 1 Shooting
Ninewa	22 Incidents 38 Killed 1 ISF 5 Hashd 32 Civilians 3 Wounded 3 Civilians 16 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Salahaddin	5 Incidents 56 Killed 11 ISF 45 Civilians 85 Wounded 85 Civilians 2 Shootings 1 Suicide Car Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber Killed

SOURCES

Abdul-Zahra, Qassim, “ISIS loses its last major territory in Iraq,” Christian Science Monitor, 11/17/17

Associated Press, "Death toll from Iraq suicide attack rises to 36 people," 11/22/17

Baghdad Post, "8 soldiers killed, injured in blast in western Kirkuk," 11/20/17

- “Iraqi forces launch crackdown on ISIS suspects in Mosul,” 11/15/17

Bas News, "Three Hashd al-Shaabi Militias Killed by IS in Southern Kirkuk," 11/20/17

BBC, "Suicide car bombing at north Iraq market kills 23," 11/21/17

Buratha News, "The death of an officer and three soldiers in the explosion of a house in Rawa," 11/19/17

Ebraheem, Mohammed, "19 people killed, 70 injured in bomb blast in Salahuddin," Iraqi News, 11/21/17

- “Curfew imposed in four districts in Mosul to arrest outlaws,” Iraqi News, 11/21/17

Faraj, Murtada, "Iraqi officials: Bombing in contested town kills 32 people," Associated Press, 11/21/17

Al Forat, "The popular crowd foils an attempt to sneak across the border," 11/19/17

Al Ghad Press, "Gunmen kidnap an employee of the North Oil Company," 11/18/17

- "Two suicide bombers were arrested before targeting an officer's home in Haditha district," 11/20/17

- "Unknown assailants target the home of a PKK supporter south Kirkuk," 11/15/17

Al Gharbiya News, "An explosive device hit an army patrol west Anbar," 11/19/17

Al Maalomah, "Death of a man and his wife in an armed attack south of Mosul," 11/20/17

- "The martyrdom and wounding of eight fighters from the popular crowd in the explosion of a house bomb in western Anbar," 11/19/17

- "Unknown gunmen assassinate four members of the tribal crowd south of Mosul," 11/15/17

Al Mada, “A combined operation to hunt down Daesh in the desert linking 5 provinces,” 11/18/17

Mostafa, Nehal, "Curfew imposed to look for Islamic State attackers of village, south of Mosul," Iraqi News, 11/19/17

- "Nine Islamic State members killed as army foil attack, southeast of Mosul," Iraqi News, 11/21/17

- "Seven IS members killed as troops repel attack near Iraqi-Syrian borders," Iraqi News, 11/16/17

- "Three persons of same family killed, injured in armed attack, south of Mosul," Iraqi News, 11/18/17

- "War correspondent kill while covering battles in Anbar," Iraqi News, 11/16/17

NINA, "4 Of Turkmen Force, 5 Terrorists Killed In Clashes South Of Kirkuk," 11/16/17

- "The body of a young man found north of Babylon," 11/20/17

- "A dead body of a young man found south of Hilla," 11/20/17

- "Security Forces Repulse Three Attack To Daesh South Of Mosul," 11/20/17

- "Three members of the popular crowd were injured in a bomb explosion north of Babylon," 11/19/17

- "Two members of the popular crowd injured in a bomb explosion north of Babylon," 11/16/17

- "A University Professor injured in an armed attack in the Abi Gharaq area in Babylon," 11/18/17

Shafaaq News, "gunmen attack the popular crowd in the central district of Kirkuk," 11/17/17

- “Gunmen kill three people in Mosul, including a member of the crowd,” 11/15/17

- "Turkey says two soldiers killed in northern Iraq," 11/16/17

Al Sumaria, "A health worker and his son were killed by an explosion inside the emergency building of the Rawa General Hospital," 11/20/17

- "The killing of engineering commander from the Jazeera Operations Command and two soldiers in an explosion of a house in Rawa," 11/21/17

- "Three Turkish soldiers were killed and wounded north Dohuk," 11/15/17

Westcott, Tom, “The hunt for rogue IS fighters in Iraq’s vast desert,” Middle East Eye, 11/16/17