Security In Iraq, Feb 15-21, 2018

The number of security incidents dropped slightly in Iraq during the third week of February 2018. That was due to a decline in violence in Diyala and Salahaddin. There were a high number of casualties however, which were caused by more mass graves with Islamic State victims being found.

There were 59 incidents total during the week. For the last five full weeks there had been at least 60 incidents, so attacks were down, but not by much.

There was 1 incident in Salahaddin, 1 in Sulaymaniya, 3 in Anbar, 4 in Diyala, 12 in Kirkuk, 17 in Ninewa, and 21 in Baghdad.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Feb 8-14, 2018

Salahaddin 1

Sulaymaniya 1

Anbar 3

Diyala 4

Kirkuk 12

Ninewa 17

Baghdad 21

Casualties In Iraq By Province Feb 8-14, 2018

Diyala 2 (2 Wounded)

Anbar 7 (2 Killed, 5 Wounded)

Kirkuk 20 (28 Killed, 2 Wounded)

Baghdad 33 (6 Killed, 27 Wounded)

Ninewa 317 (310 Killed, 7 Wounded)

346 deaths were reported along with 43 wounded during the week. That broke down to 1 Peshmerga, 6 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 27 Hashd al-Shaabi, and 312 civilians losing their lives along with 3 Hashd, 9 ISF and 31 civilians being injured. The high number of fatalities was due to four mass graves being discovered in Ninewa with a total of 274 bodies in them.

The casualties were divided between Diyala (2), Anbar (7), Kirkuk (20), Baghdad (33), and Ninewa (317).

There was another quiet week in Anbar with just 3 incidents. All of those were in the center of the province and consisted of one IED and two shootings.

The capital province continued to have the most incidents with 21. 13 of those were IEDs with 7 targeting shops and markets. February 20 was one of the few days when no violence was reported in Baghdad.

Diyala saw a large drop in attacks compared to previous weeks. There were just 4 incidents. That included an infiltration attempt from Salahaddin and a suicide bomber that blew up the house of a Hashd officer. In the weeks before the governorate had been witnessing double digits in incidents.

Violence in Kirkuk continued to be concentrated in two areas Kirkuk and Hawija. Of the 12 incidents, 6 were in Kirkuk and 3 in Hawija. One of those included an ambush of a Hashd unit with Islamic State fighters dressed as members of the security forces that left 27 dead. That led to a security sweep through Hawija that included the police and Hashd destroying homes in several villages in retaliation. Hawija was one of the last areas of Iraq to be liberated, and many of the IS fighters simply faded away rather than fight. Since then there have been consisted reports of many militants still in the area, which this deadly attack drove home.

Ninewa also saw its fair share of violence with 17 incidents. Those were spread throughout the province in Mosul to Tal Afar, Tal Safouk and the Syrian border in the west to Qayara in the south. Four more mass graves were found as well with more people killed by the Islamic State. Al Sumaria reported that some believe there are another 500-600 bodies still buried in the rubble of the Old City in west Mosul.

Security In Iraq 2017-18

Week	Security Incidents	Dead	Wounded
JAN 2017	719	1,923	4,374
FEB	628	1,891 + 399	2,511 + 1,634
MAR	720	3,504 + 278	3,302 + 2,925
APR	578	2,933	1,955
MAY	528	2,038	1,563
JUN	534	2,038	1,563
JUL	478	1,490	650
AUG	359	1,949	584
SEP	306	728	549
OCT	286	913	865 + 1,700
NOV	296	1,282	425
DEC	261	763	300
Jan 1-7	71	50	66
Jan 8-14	64	62	70
Jan 15-21	68	156	151
Jan 22-28	68	148	66
Jan 29-31	27	23	22
JAN 2018	298	439	375
Feb 1-7	66	196	67
Feb 8-14	65	63	93
Feb 15-21	59	346	43

Violence By Province Feb 8-14, 2018

Province	Violence
Anbar	3 Incidents 2 Killed 2 ISF 5 Wounded 5 ISF 2 Shootings 2 IEDs
Baghdad	21 Incidents 6 Killed 6 Civilians 27 Wounded 27 Civilians 4 Shootings 13 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb
Diyala	4 Incidents 2 Wounded 2 Hashd 1 Shooting 1 IED 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Grenade
Kirkuk	12 Incidents 28 Killed 1 Peshmerga 27 Hashd 2 Wounded 1 Civilian 1 Hashd 4 Shootings 2 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Suicide Bomber 1 Rockets 1 Grenade 1 Suicide Bomber Arrested 1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Ninewa	17 Incidents 310 Killed 4 ISF 306 Civilians 7 Wounded 3 Civilians 4 ISF 9 Shootings 3 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber Killed 1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Salahaddin	1 Incident 1 Shooting
Sulaymaniya	1 Incident 1 Shooting

SOURCES

Bas News, "Mass Grave Discovered Near Mosul," 2/22/18

- "Mass Grave of 100 Victims of IS Found South of Mosul," 2/18/18

Al Ghad Press, "The federal police are searching and surrounding Hawija," 2/20/18

- "The popular crowd in Diyala frustrates an attempt to sneak out of Salahaddin," 2/16/18

- "Unidentified assailants target house in Hit," 2/17/18

Iraq Newspaper, "Daash Terrorists Blow Up House Of Lieutenant Colonel Salman Ali In Hawija," 2/16/18

Al Joumhouria, “Sky News: Police forces and the popular crowd destroy several villages using bulldozers southwest Kirkuk while tracking Daash members,” 2/20/18

Al Maalomah, "Gunmen attack Daesh house west Ramadi," 2/19/18

Mostafa, Nehal, "Seven Iraqi soldiers killed, injured in bomb blast, west of Anbar," Iraqi News, 2/18/18

NINA, "A mass grave for the victims of Daesh found south of Mosul," 2/17/18

Rudaw, “Updated: 27 Hashd killed after clashes with ISIS in Hawija pocket,” 2/19/18

Al Sumaria, “40 bodies recovered from rubble in Mosul,” 2/16/18