Security In Iraq Nov 15-21, 2018

(Baghdad Post)

Security continues to fluctuate in Iraq. In October incidents went up, but in November they have been the lowest weekly totals of the year. Despite those low numbers the Islamic State continued its recent activities of kidnappings, attacking villages, and most importantly car bombings.

There were 36 incidents reported in Iraq from November 15-21. This was only the fifth time that there were 30 incidents in one week in 2018. Baghdad and Diyala had 8 incidents each to lead the country during the week.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Nov 15-21, 2018

Babil 1

Dohuk 1

Anbar 2

Kurdistan 2

Salahaddin 3

Kirkuk 4

Ninewa 7

Baghdad 8

Diyala 8

Casualties In Iraq By Province Nov 15-21, 2018

Babil 2 (2 W)

Dohuk 3 (3 K)

Kurdistan 5 (5 K)

Baghdad 6 (6 W)

Diyala 7 (3 K, 4 W)

Kirkuk 7 (1 K, 6 W)

Salahaddin 24 (8 K, 16 W)

Ninewa 31 (30 K, 1 W)

There were 56 reported deaths and 29 wounded. 24 Yazidis were found in two mass graves in the Sinjar district in Ninewa leaving 32 violent deaths during the week. 4 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 5 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and 47 civilians died. 5 ISF, 7 Hashd al-Shaabi, and 17 civilians were injured. Ninewa had 31 casualties, but that was because of the bodies discovered. Salahaddin had 24 casualties largely due to a car bomb there.

Ankara is now carrying out weekly attacks upon PKK positions in northern Iraq. Three such incidents led to 8 dead, 3 were civilians and the other 5 were PKK members. Turkey is trying to keep pressure upon the group, while not risking any losses hence the strikes from the air.

Incidents have dropped in Baghdad during the month. There used to be double digit incidents each week as the insurgents were making a return to the capital province. That has now gone down to single digits the last two weeks. There were 6 from November 8-14 and then 8 from November 15-21. Almost all the attacks during the week were shootings. What hasn’t changed is that the capital still has the most incidents during the week, which has been true for most weeks over the last several months now.

Central Iraq remains the main base for IS. There were a total of 15 incidents in Diyala, Kirkuk and Salahaddin. In Diyala, a mukhtar’s son was killed, a police patrol in Khanaqin was ambushed, mortars were fired twice, and three villages were attacked in the Khanaqin district in the northeast. Of the 8 incidents there, 3 were in Abu Saida in the west and the rest were in the northeast. All 4 incidents in Kirkuk were in the south where IS has re-established itself. In Salahaddin, 5 fishermen were kidnapped in Amerli in the east. 3 of their bodies were later found. Most important a restaurant in Tikrit was hit by a car bomb. This was the third car bomb of the month. During the summer there was a large dip in vehicle bombs. That picked up in the fall. Before most of these attacks were in small towns. Now IS has moved back into urban areas. Tikrit, Mosul and now Tikrit have all been bombed recently.

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	20	12	5	1	-	2	5	5	-	-
Oct	11	22	2	-	1	1	-	4	-	-
Nov	11	7	3	1	1	-	4	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	14	25	2	2	1	3	4	2	-	-
Oct	16	29	1	4	4	1	4	2	-	1
Nov	5	7	2	-	-	1	-	1	-	-

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	10	1	1	-	-	1	1	3	1
Oct	2	9	1	-	-	1	-	1	1	-
Nov	3	7	2	1	-	1	-	1	-	2

(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)

Attacks remained low in Anbar with just two, but the types have changed. For example, a guard was kidnapped by a communications tower. Before they were mostly shootings and IEDs.

Ninewa is one area where the militants are re-activing their cells. There was an attack upon a checkpoint and a gun battle.

Islamic State Activity in Anbar 2018

Anbar	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
Jun	4	3	2	-	-	1	-	-
Jul	3	5	1	-	-	-	-	-
Aug	4	4	2	1	-	-	-	1
Sep	3	8	-	-	-	-	2	-
Oct	9	5	3	1	1	2	1	1
Nov	1	2	-	-	1	1	-	-

Islamic State Activity in Ninewa 2018

Ninewa	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
Jun	7	2	3	1	-	-	-	-	-
Jul	9	9	1	1	1	1	2	-	-
Aug	9	9	2	-	-	1	1	-	-
Sep	8	3	2	-	-	-	-	1	-
Oct	13	5	-	1	-	1	-	-	1
Nov	7	3	2	1	-	-	1	-	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
Oct	2 (1 - Anbar 1 – Salahaddin)	3 (1 – Anbar 1 – Kirkuk 1 - Ninewa)	5
Nov	-	3 (1 - Ninewa 2 – Salahaddin)	3

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	57	67	127
Sep 15-21	50	93	71
Sep 22-28	47	27	33
Sep 29-30	11	20	29
SEP	210	253 (195 Violent Deaths)	321
Oct 1-7	60	88	94
Oct 8-14	50	169	48
Oct 15-21	56	88	37
Oct 22-28	31	28	54
Oct 29-31	25	10	24
OCT	222	383 (193 Violent Deaths)	257
Nov 1-7	38	80	46
Nov 8-14	42	112	19
Nov 15-21	36	56	29

Violence By Province Nov 15-21, 2018

Anbar	2 Incidents 1 Sticky Bomb
Babil	1 Incident 2 Wounded 2 Hashd 1 IED
Baghdad	8 Incidents 6 Killed 6 Civilians 6 Shootings 1 IED
Diyala	8 Incidents 3 Killed 1 Civilian 2 ISF 4 Wounded 4 ISF 6 Shootings 1 IED 2 Mortars
Dohuk	1 Incident 3 Killed 3 Civilians 1 Turkish Air Strike
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 6 Wounded 1 Civilian 5 Hashd 3 IEDs 1 Mortar
Kurdistan	2 Incidents 5 Killed 5 PKK 2 Turkish Air Strikes
Ninewa	7 Incidents 30 Killed 2 ISF 28 Civilians 1 Wounded 1 ISF 4 Shootings 1 IED
Salahaddin	3 Incidents 8 Killed 8 Civilians 16 Wounded 16 Civilians 1 Car Bomb

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Car bomb kills five in Iraq's Tikrit: sources," 11/18/18

Bas News, "Three Men Found Dead in Tuz Khurmatu," 11/21/18

Ebraheem, Mohammed, "Islamic State militants kill two Iraqi policemen in Iraq's Makhmur," Iraqi News, 11/19/18

- "Mass grave of Yazidis executed by Islamic State found in Mosul," Iraqi News, 11/21/18

Erozden, Can, "Turkish airstrikes 'neutralize' 5 terrorists in N. Iraq," Anadolu Agency, 11/21/18

Al Forat, "Abu Saida field stadium is under mortar bombardment," 11/15/18

- "URGENT Death of an officer and wounding of policemen in armed attack in Khanaqin," 11/19/18

Iraq Newspaper, "The Leader Of The Turkmen Front In Amerli Is Kidnapped By Terrorists," 11/19/18

- "Terrorists Kidnap A Communications Tower Guard In Anbar," 11/16/18

Mostafa, Mohamed, "Relics of 7 Yazidi victims of Islamic State found in Iraq's Sinjar," Iraqi News, 11/18/18

NINA, "/3/ mortar shells landed on a village northeast of Baquba," 11/16/18

- "Daesh attacks the village of the Governor of Kirkuk with even mortar shells," 11/16/18

- "Gunmen Assassinate Mukhtar's Son Northeast Of Baquba," 11/16/18

- "Security Forces Kill A Terrorist And Arrested Another In Baaj, West Of Mosul," 11/18/19

Shafaaq News, "Armed militants attack three villages in Khanaqin and take control of a police checkpoint," 11/19/18

Sotaliraq, "Three people of Dohuk were killed by Turkish shelling," 11/15/18