Monday, September 24, 2018

Security In Iraq Sep 15-21, 2018

(Reuters)

Security in Iraq remained stable for another week. Incidents have remained relatively the same for the last five months. Casualties have been up the last two weeks. During the third week that was because a large number of bodies were recovered from the rubble of West Mosul.

There were 50 incidents reported in Iraq from September 15-21. The week before there were 54 incidents. Since April there have been an average of 40 incidents per week, but sometimes that rises to 50. Kirkuk with 10 and Baghdad with 13 led the country in incidents during the week.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Sep 15-21, 2018
Babil 1
Basra 1
Anbar 4
Diyala 5
Kurdistan 5
Salahaddin 5
Ninewa 6
Kirkuk 10
Baghdad 13

Casualties In Iraq By Province Sep 15-21, 2018
Babil 3 (3 W)
Anbar 4 (2 K, 2 W)
Salahaddin 10 (6 K, 4 W)
Baghdad 15 (6 K, 9 W)
Kurdistan 16 (16 K)
Diyala 23 (4 K, 19 W)
Kirkuk 31 (12 K, 19 W)
Ninewa 62 (47 K, 15 W)

93 people lost their lives and another 73 were wounded during the week. 5 Hashd al-Shaabi, 16 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), 33 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 39 civilians died and 15 Hashd, 27 ISF, and 29 civilians were injured. Ninewa had the most casualties at 62 because 43 bodies were dug out of the rubble of the Old City in west Mosul. That left 50 violent deaths overall during the week.

The Islamic State has been picking up its operations in Anbar recently. There has been a wave of suicide and car bombings recently. From September 15-21 however things were back to normal with just 4 incidents. That included three car bombs that were discovered during a sweep through the Akashat district in the west. A grenade was also thrown at a mukhtar in Fallujah. IS had mostly withdrawn from the province, but the recent attempts at mass casualty bombings showed a worrying trend that will have to be watched to see whether or not Anbar is a new front in the insurgency.

Baghdad once again led the country in incidents with 13. This has been because violence is down in central Iraq over the last few weeks. The types of incidents there has remained the same with a mix of IEDs, sticky bombs, and shootings.

IS continued its rebuilding in the center of the country. In Diyala, there was another attack upon a village in the Khanaqin district in the northeast. In Kirkuk, a car bomb went off at the Dawa offices in Kirkuk city, another town was attacked and an electricity tower was blown up in Hawija in the south and two people were kidnapped in the Riyad district at a fake checkpoint. Finally, there was one confrontation between the militants and security forces and a mukhtar was assassinated in Salahaddin. These all highlighted the tactics the insurgents have been using in recent months. They are attempting to control rural areas, charging taxes, attacking those towns that do not comply, eliminating local government officials by killing mukhtars, kidnapping people, and challenging the local security forces. There has also been an increase in recent weeks in car and suicide bombings pointing towards an escalation by IS in the types of operations they are attempting.

Ninewa, like Anbar has been relatively quiet in recent months. There was a suicide bomber however that hit an army unit leaving 1 dead and 8 wounded. The last suicide bomber was in February. Again, this points to the militants returning to mass casualty bombings.

Finally, there were five Turkish air strikes against PKK targets in northern Kurdistan. That left 16 members of the party dead. These have been regular occurrences, especially since Ankara launched a large incursion into northern Iraq in March. That has since ended, but the air strikes and artillery barrages continue.

Islamic State Activity in Central Iraq 2018
Diyala
Shootings
(Totals)
IEDs/
Sticky Bombs
(Totals)
Gun Battles
Attacks on Checkpoints
Attacks on Mukhtars/
Sheikhs
Kidnappings
Attacks on Towns
Mortars
Suicide Bombers
Car Bombs
Jan
20
24
2
7
-
1
-
6
1
1
Feb
14
13
4
3
-
-
-
-
1
-
Mar
29
21
14
5
1
2
1
5
-
-
Apr
13
18
2
2
-
-
-
2
-
-
May
11
11
1
3
1
1
3
4
1
-
Jun
32
17
5
12
-
1
5
4
-
-
Jul
20
19
2
3
-
2
3
1
-
-
Aug
17
18
2
2
1
1
3
3
-
-
Sep
11
9
-
1
-
2
2
3
-
-

Kirkuk
Shootings
(Totals)
IEDs/
Sticky Bombs
(Totals)
Gun Battles
Attacks on Checkpoints
Attacks on Mukhtars/
Sheikhs
Kidnappings
Attacks on Towns
Mortars/
Rockets
Suicide Bombers
Car Bombs
Jan
13
6
4
1
-
-
-
3
3
1
Feb
21
10
7
3
-
-
-
4
1
-
Mar
22
15
11
2
-
2
1
3
1
1
Apr
18
4
3
1
-
-
8
1
-
1
May
14
28
2
-
2
1
1
4
4
-
Jun
25
12
4
2
-
2
10
6
-
-
Jul
7
20
1
2
-
-
-
-
-
1
Aug
7
20
2
1
2
-
-
2
-
1
Sep
10
17
-
2
1
3
2
2
-
-

Salahaddin
Shootings
(Totals)
IEDs/
Sticky Bombs
(Totals)
Gun Battles
Attacks on Checkpoints
Attacks on Mukhtars/
Sheikhs
Kidnappings
Attacks on Towns
Mortars/
Rockets
Suicide Bombers
Car Bombs
Jan
11
9
8
-
-
-
-
2
-
1
Feb
7
5
1
1
-
2
-
-
-
-
Mar
23
8
9
2
-
3
-
-
1
-
Apr
6
8
2
2
-
-
-
-
1
-
May
14
10
10
1
1
-
-
1
1
-
Jun
15
15
4
1
-
7
-
-
-
1
Jul
9
6
-
4
-
-
2
1
1
-
Aug
9
15
1
3
-
1
1
1
1
-
Sep
5
7
1
1
-
-
1
1
3
1

(Gun Battles, Attacks on Checkpoints, Attacks on Mukhtars, Attacks on Towns are all subsets of the total number of shootings and IEDs/Sticky Bombs reported)

Suicide-Car Bombs In Iraq 2018
Month
Suicide Bombers
Car Bombs
Totals
Jan
7
(1- Diyala,
3 – Baghdad,
3 - Kirkuk)
6
(1- Anbar,
1 – Diyala,
1 – Kirkuk,
1 – Salahaddin,
2 - Babil)
13
Feb
4
(1 – Anbar
1 – Diyala
1 – Kirkuk
1 - Ninewa)
-
4
Mar
2
(1 – Kirkuk
1 - Salahaddin)
1
(1 – Kirkuk)
3
Apr
4
(1 - Salahaddin
3 – Anbar)
1
(1 – Kirkuk)
5
May
8
(1 – Diyala
1 - Salahaddin)
2 – Baghdad
4 - Kirkuk)
-
8
Jun

1
(1 – Salahaddin)
1
Jul
1
(1 – Salahaddin)
1
(1 – Kirkuk)
2
Aug
1
(1 – Salahaddin)
2
(1 – Anbar,
1 – Kirkuk)
3
Sep
6
(1 – Ninewa)
2 – Anbar
3 – Salahaddin)
2
(1 – Kirkuk
1 – Salahaddin)
8

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
(218 Violent
Deaths)
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
(233 Violent Deaths)
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
(466 Violent Deaths)
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
(240 Violent Deaths)
236
May 1-7
51
57
56
May 8-14
56
68
49
May 15-21
39
58
82
May 22-28
51
73
51
May 29-31
21
42
15
MAY
218
298
(273 Violent Deaths)
253
Jun 1-7
55
100
32
Jun 8-14
72
108
88
Jun 15-21
42
83
19
Jun 22-28
52
58
65
Jun 29-30
18
22
14
JUN
239
371
(327 Violent Deaths)
218
Jul 1-7
56
58
91
Jul 8-14
44
57
31
Jul 15-21
54
61
64
Jul 22-28
36
65
21
Jul 29-31
24
26
11
JUL
214
267
(222 Violent Deaths)
218
Aug 1-7
49
57
30
Aug 8-14
47
43
51
Aug 15-21
45
26
45
Aug 22-28
42
29
64
Aug 29-31
33
69
44
AUG
216
224
(209 Violent Deaths)
234
Sep 1-7
45
46
61
Sep 8-14
54
67
127
Sep 15-21
50
93
71

Violence By Province Sep 15-21, 2018
Province
Violence
Anbar
4 Incidents
2 Killed
2 ISF
2 Wounded
2 ISF

2 IEDs
1 Grenade
3 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil
1 Incident
3 Wounded
3 Hashd

1 IED
Baghdad
13 Incidents
6 Killed
6 Civilians
9 Wounded
2 ISF
7 Civilians

6 Shootings
2 IEDs
2 Sticky Bombs
1 Sound Bomb
1 Grenade
Basra
1 Incident

1 IED
Diyala
5 Incidents
4 Killed
4 Hashd
19 Wounded
2 ISF
7 Civilians
10 Hashd

1 Shooting
3 IEDs
2 Mortars
Kirkuk
10 Incidents
12 Killed
5 Civilians
7 ISF
19 Wounded
6 Civilians
13 ISF

5 Shootings
2 IEDs
1 Car Bomb
Kurdistan
5 Incidents
16 Killed
16 PKK

5 Turkish Air Strikes
Ninewa
6 Incidents
47 Killed
23 Civilians
24 ISF
15 Wounded
7 Civilians
8 ISF

2 Shootings
1 IED
1 Suicide Bomber
Salahaddin
5 Incidents
6 Killed
1 Hashd
5 Civilians
4 Wounded
2 Civilians
2 Hashd

2 Shootings
1 IED
1 Sticky Bomb

SOURCES

Bas News, "IS Attacks Villages near Hawija," 9/16/18
- "Kirkuk: IS Kidnaps Two Civilians at Fake Checkpoint," 9/18/18

Al Ghad Press, "Gunmen blow up an electricity power tower in Hawija, west Kirkuk," 9/19/18

Iraq Newspaper, "Now - A Car Bomb Explosion In Front Of The Maliki Party Headquarters In The Ninety Neighborhood In The Middle Of Kirkuk City And The Fall Of Wounded," 9/19/18
- "Nine Soldiers Were Killed And Wounded In A Suicide Attack With An Explosive Belt In The Village of Salamah in Mosul," 9/15/18
- "Police Found 43 Bodies, Including 23 Officers, In The Old City Of Mosul On Friday," 9/21/18

Al Maalomah, "Eight PKK members killed in northern Iraq," 9/21/18
- "Eleven Daesh were killed and three car bombs destroyed west Anbar," 9/21/18
- "Explosion of a grenade in Fallujah without injuries," 9/15/18
- "Five people were injured by a car bomb explosion in Kirkuk," 9/19/18

Mostafa, Nehal, "Paramilitary troops repel Islamic State attack in Salahuddin," Iraqi News, 9/15/18

NRT, "Mortar Attack By ISIS Wounds Five Civilians In Khanaqin," 9/18/18

Rudaw, "ISIS controls village in Khanaqin after Ashura warning, injuring 3," 9/18/18

Shafaaq News, "Gunmen kill an elected man and injure his wife in Samarra," 9/17/18

World Bulletin, "Turkish airstrike 'neutralizes' 8 terrorists in N. Iraq," 9/19/18

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