Security In Iraq, May 1-7, 2018

Violence continued to ebb and flow in Iraq. In the first week of May there were 51 incidents, which was just above the 44 seen in the last two full weeks of April. Those figures were still below the numbers seen in the first three months of the year.

From May 1-7, there were 51 reported incidents spread across Dhi Qar (1), Irbil (1), Babil (2), Anbar (4), Kirkuk (4), Kurdistan (4), Ninewa (4), Salahaddin (5), Baghdad (13), and Diyala (13). 51 was the highest amount in three weeks, but below the 60-70 incidents seen each week from January to March.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province May 1-7, 2018

Dhi Qar 1

Irbil 1

Babil 2

Anbar 4

Kirkuk 4

Kurdistan 4

Ninewa 4

Salahaddin 5

Baghdad 13

Diyala 13

Casualties In Iraq By Province Apr 15-21, 2018

Babil 1 (1 Wounded)

Kirkuk 1 (1 Killed)

Dhi Qar 2 (2 Killed)

Anbar 8 (8 Wounded)

Kurdistan 8 (7 Killed, 1 Wounded)

Ninewa 12 (6 Killed, 6 Wounded)

Diyala 33 (12 Killed, 21 Wounded)

Baghdad 48 (29 Killed, 19 Wounded)

Those incidents led to 57 killed and 56 wounded. 3 bodies were found in the rubble of Mosul, leaving 54 violent deaths during the week. 2 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), 5 Turkish soldiers, 10 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 40 civilians lost their lives along with 1 Turkish soldier, 17 ISF, and 38 civilians being injured.

Anbar had another week with very little violence. There were just four incidents, all IEDs that included a mukhtar’s house being blown up in Ramadi. The bombings resulted in 8 wounded.

Just a few weeks ago the Islamic State was infiltrating back into Babil with attacks nearly every other day. That has completely fallen off. During the first week of May there were 2 attacks, both IEDs, one on a mosque and another on a councilwoman’s motorcade in the Hillah district.

A group of insurgents dressed as members of the security forces walked into Tarmiya in northern Baghdad province at night and shot up a town. They left 21 dead and 10 wounded. That was by far the deadliest incident in the country at the start of May. Tarmiya is in the Baghdad belts where officials have constantly warned of IS movement. The Baghdad Operations Command has tried to secure those areas through constant raids. Overall, attacks have been down in Baghdad for the last 8 weeks. Before that there were around 20 incidents per week. From May 1-7, there were just 13. Even then, that is a miniscule amount for an area as large as Baghdad and so densely populated.

Diyala has been one of the areas where IS has been rebuilding. During the week they attempted to assassinate a member of the Election Commission, fired a mortar at a checkpoint, and threw some grenades at the house of the brother of a Federal Police director. The 13 incidents during the week occurred in nearly every section of the province. IS has been able to rebuild in the rural areas of Diyala, and the constant security sweeps there have not been effective in retarding their return.

The security situation in Kirkuk has changed recently. After the federal forces moved into the governorate in October 2017 violence spiked especially within Kirkuk city and the south. Since April however, things have subsided. There were just 4 incidents during the start of May. Two were in the south but two were in the Dibis district, which is in the north. The government did carry out a security operation in Hawija, which has been a major trouble spot.

In the middle of March 2018 Turkey made its latest incursion into northern Kurdistan attempting to eliminate PKK bases. The fighting there continued into May. 2 PKK and 5 Turkish soldiers were killed, and 1 Turkish soldier wounded. Ankara launched one air strike, while the PKK attacked the Turks in three villages. This is the result of the Erdogan government’s apprehension over the expansion of the PKK into Syria and western Ninewa in Sinjar. This is one of the longest operations Turkey has carried out for quite some time, and has led the PKK to assault the Turkish forces within Iraq for the first time in years.

Ninewa only saw 4 incidents. IS activity there has been in constant decline since the battle of Mosul ended.

Salahaddin is another major area of IS regrowth. There were 5 incidents, but four of those were gun battles with militants. They all ended with the gunmen fleeing, but showed that they have become more confrontational and willing to directly attack the Iraqi forces.

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
Feb 22-28	55	44	72
FEB	245	649	275
Mar 1-7	78	120	84
Mar 8-14	60	84	61
Mar 15-21	67	168	98
Mar 22-28	81	213	61
Mar 29-31	21	26	35
MAR	307	611	339
Apr 1-7	40	174	29
Apr 8-14	64	175	83
Apr 15-21	44	63	72
Apr 22-28	44	62	48
Apr 29-30	12	12	4
APR	204	486	236
May 1-7	51	57	56

Violence By Province May 1-7, 2018

Province	Violence
Anbar	4 Incidents 8 Wounded 2 ISF 6 Civilians 4 IEDs
Babil	2 Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian 2 IEDs
Baghdad	13 Incidents 29 Killed 29 Civilians 19 Wounded 19 Civilians 6 Shootings 4 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Grenade
Dhi Qar	1 Incident 2 Killed 2 Civilians 1 IED
Diyala	13 Incidents 12 Killed 4 Civilians 8 ISF 21 Wounded 10 ISF 11 Civilians 4 Shootings 6 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb 1 Mortar 1 Grenades
Irbil	1 Incident 1 Shooting
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 1 Shooting 2 IEDs
Kurdistan	4 Incidents 7 Killed 2 PKK 5 Turkish Soldiers 1 Wounded 1 Turkish Soldier 3 Shootings 1 Turkish Air Strike
Ninewa	4 Incidents 6 Killed 2 ISF 4 Civilians 6 Wounded 1 Civilian 5 ISF 2 Shootings 1 IED
Salahaddin	5 Incidents 4 Shootings 1 IED

SOURCES

Baghdad Press, "Bomb goes off near mosque in Babel," 5/5/18

Buratha News, "The crowd and the federal police are carrying out operations in south-west Kirkuk to target terrorist dens," 5/1/18

Al Ghad Press, "The brother of the Director of the Office of the Federal Police Commander was injured after being targeted by hand grenades in Diyala," 5/4/18

-  "The director of the Office of the Diyala Election Commission survived an assassination attempt south of Baquba," 5/1/18

Al Maalomah, "Injured bodyguard for member of Babil council in bombing targeting her convoy north Hillah," 5/6/18

- "Security forces pick up three bodies in West Mosul," 5/1/18

- "Unknown gunmen detonate the house of a Mukhtar, west Ramadi," 5/7/18

Al Mada, "Tarmiya attackers killed 30 victims and disappeared before security forces arrived," 5/2/18

Mostafa, Nehal, "Six policemen killed, wounded in Islamic State attack, northwest of Diyala," Iraqi News, 5/3/18