Security In Iraq Jan 8-14, 2019

(Iraqi News)

The number of incidents remained at exactly the same level between the first and second weeks of January. The number of casualties took a large drop due to two things. There were two new mass graves uncovered of victims of the Islamic State, and there were two car bombs.

There were a total of 32 incidents from January 8-14. 2 of those were Turkish air strikes upon the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq leaving 30 due to the Islamic State. Diyala and Kirkuk led the country with 7 incidents each.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14
Anbar	6	3
Babil	-	1
Baghdad	3	4
Diyala	5	7
Kirkuk	10	7
KRG	1	2
Ninewa	3	3
Salahaddin	4	5
TOTALS	32	32

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14
Anbar	4 (1K, 3)	30 (4K, 26W)
Babil	-	2 (2W)
Baghdad	3 (3K)	3 (3K)
Diyala	2 (2W)	3 (1K, 2W)
Kirkuk	16 (2K, 14W)	11 (5K, 6W)
KRG	7 (7K)	3 (3K)
Ninewa	3 (3K)	69 (69K)
Salahaddin	6 (1K, 5)	29 (12K, 17W)
TOTALS	41 (17K, 24W)	150 (97K, 53W)

There were a large number of casualties during the 2^nd week of January with 97 deaths and 53 injured. That was largely due to two mass graves being found in Ninewa. One contained 38 women and the other 28 soldiers, all executed by the Islamic State. Minus that Salahaddin with 29 and Anbar with 30 casualties each led the country. In total, there were 31 violent deaths. 3 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), 8 Hashd al-Shaabi, 28 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 58 civilians died and 3 Hashd and 50 civilians were wounded.

There were only three incidents in Anbar, but one of those was a car bomb. That occurred in Qaim in the west near the Syrian border leaving 2 dead and 25 wounded. The week before there was a suicide bombing in the center of the governorate. A mukhtar was also assassinated south of Fallujah. That marked the fourth month in a row that a town leader was killed. IS largely withdrew from Anbar at the end of 2017, but the attacks upon the mukhtars is important because IS has used this tactic before to assert its control over rural areas. While incidents have remained low IS has launched a steady flow of mass casualty bombings in the province.

An IED wounded 2 Hashd in the Jurf al-Sakhr district of northeast Babil. Attacks in that province are rare, but when they do happen they are almost always in that area.

Baghdad is another province that IS has largely stepped away from. There were just four incidents that were the likely work of the insurgents. All were shootings and took place in the towns in the outer north, south and west.

Central Iraq is the core base of the insurgency. Diyala saw 7 incidents, there were 7 in Kirkuk, and 3 in Ninewa. IS may also be returning to Salahaddin that had 5 incidents. IS burned a gravel plant and there was a shooting in the Khanaqin district in northeast Diyala. The militants have moved into this area after the federal government took over from the Kurds because now there are not enough forces deployed there to provide adequate security. There were also three rocket and mortar attacks in the Muqtadiya and Baquba districts in the center and west. In Kirkuk, two checkpoints were attacked and a Hashd was killed in front of his house in the Dibs district in the north, and a house was blown up in Hawija in the south for cooperating with the Iraqi forces. In Ninewa a mukhtar was killed in the north. Finally, in Salahaddin a suicide truck bomb went off in Tikrit leaving 3 fatalities and 10 injured. IS also attacked a group of Hashd in Yathrib, attacked a checkpoint killing 5 Hashd, and kidnapped several people, three of which were later found dead. These are all the tactics the group has been carrying out since the start of last year. They are meant to challenge local governments and security forces, and raise money. The attacks on the gravel plant for example, might have been done to extort money from the owners. The Iraqi forces have been completely ineffective in stopping the Islamic State’s re-emergence in the rural areas of these four provinces. The Iraqi forces tend to stick to checkpoints and bases, IS leaves when security sweeps are conducted and return afterward, and the government is almost completely absent at night. IS continues to hit Iraqi cities with vehicle bombs as well. The numbers remain low, but it shows that its networks are still active into urban areas.

Islamic State Activity in Iraq 2018-19

Anbar	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Mortars/ Rockets	Kidnappings	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
Jan 2018	8	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	1
Feb	3	8	1	-	-	-	-	1	-
Mar	6	15	3	2	-	1	1	-	-
Apr	1	5	1	-	-	-	-	3	-
May	2	7	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
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	3	-	-	1	-	1	-	-
Dec	1	4	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Jan 2019	3	2	1	-	1	-	-	1	1

Diyala	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 2018	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	17	13	5	2	1	1	4	4	-	-
Dec	15	10	3	3	-	1	1	2	-	-
Jan 2019	6	1	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 2018	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	7	7	2	-	-	2	-	1	-	-
Dec	8	6	-	-	1	3	1	2	-	-
Jan 2019	5	11	-	3	-	-	-	2	-	-

Ninewa	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
Jan 2018	18	8	7	1	1	-	-	-	-
Feb	19	7	8	1	-	1	-	1	-
Mar	20	6	7	1	-	1	-	-	-
Apr	8	6	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
May	11	6	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	9	7	2	1	-	-	3	-	1
Dec	8	6	1	-	3	1	-	-	1
Jan 2019	3	-	-	-	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 2018	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	5	7	2	2	-	1	-	1	-	2
Dec	4	-	2	1	-	1	-	1	-	-
Jan 2019	4	1	2	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 2018-19

Month	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs	Totals
Jan	7 (1- Diyala, 3 – Baghdad/Baghdad, 3 - Kirkuk)	6 (1- Anbar, 1 – Diyala, 1 – Kirkuk, 1 – Salahaddin, 2 - Babil)	13
Feb	4 (1 – Anbar/Ramadi 1 – Diyala 1 – Kirkuk 1 - Ninewa)	-	4
Mar	2 (1 – Kirkuk/Kirkuk 1 - Salahaddin)	1 (1 – Kirkuk)	3
Apr	4 (1 - Salahaddin 3 – Anbar)	1 (1 – Kirkuk/Kirkuk)	5
May	8 (1 – Diyala 1 - Salahaddin) 2 – Baghdad/1 - Baghdad 4 - Kirkuk)	-	8
Jun		1 (1 – Salahaddin/Tikrit)	1
Jul	1 (1 – Salahaddin/Tikrit)	1 (1 – Kirkuk/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/Fallujah 1 – Salahaddin)	3 (1 – Anbar/Fallujah 1 – Kirkuk/Kirkuk 1 - Ninewa)	5
Nov	-	3 (1 – Ninewa/Mosul 2 – Salahaddin/Tikrit)	3
Dec	-	1 (1 – Ninewa)	1
Jan	1 (1 – Anbar)	2 (1 – Anbar 1 – Salahaddin/Tikrit)	3

Security In Iraq 2018-19

Week	Security Incidents	Dead	Wounded
JAN 2018	265	417 (196 Bodies Found)	366
Feb 1-7	58	192	62
Feb 8-14	57	58	91
Feb 15-21	53	343	43
Feb 22-28	46	38	70
FEB	214	631 (215 Violent Deaths)	266
Mar 1-7	68	115	79
Mar 8-14	52	75	59
Mar 15-21	64	165	98
Mar 22-28	77	210	61
Mar 29-31	19	26	34
MAR	280	591 (446 Violent Deaths)	331
Apr 1-7	38	172	27
Apr 8-14	60	173	81
Apr 15-21	43	63	72
Apr 22-28	40	60	39
Apr 29-30	12	14	4
APR	193	482 (236 Violent Deaths)	223
May 1-7	45	52	55
May 8-14	55	68	49
May 15-21	35	55	80
May 22-28	49	72	51
May 29-31	16	39	15
MAY	200	286 (261 Violent Deaths)	250
Jun 1-7	50	96	29
Jun 8-14	67	107	88
Jun 15-21	40	82	19
Jun 22-28	45	53	62
Jun 29-30	17	21	14
JUN	219	359 (315 Violent Deaths)	212
Jul 1-7	50	56	90
Jul 8-14	42	56	31
Jul 15-21	50	59	63
Jul 22-28	29	61	19
Jul 29-31	23	25	11
JUL	194	257 (212 Violent Deaths)	214
Aug 1-7	43	49	30
Aug 8-14	43	38	44
Aug 15-21	38	24	40
Aug 22-28	35	25	61
Aug 29-31	27	68	43
AUG	186	204 (189 Violent Deaths)	218
Sep 1-7	38	44	54
Sep 8-14	48	63	127
Sep 15-21	44	90	70
Sep 22-28	36	22	27
Sep 29-30	9	19	29
SEP	175	237 (179 Violent Deaths)	307
Oct 1-7	54	85	92
Oct 8-14	43	161	41
Oct 15-21	54	87	35
Oct 22-28	24	24	53
Oct 29-31	23	10	24
OCT	198	367 (177 Violent Deaths)	245
Nov 1-7	32	75	36
Nov 8-14	39	111	19
Nov 15-21	30	51	29
Nov 22-28	26	36	30
Nov 29-30	9	4	27
NOV	136	276 (183 Violent Deaths_	141
Dec 1-7	22	21	11
Dec 8-14	22	15	22
Dec 15-21	23	23	17
Dec 22-28	30	24	37
Dec 29-31	15	225	4
DEC	112	308 (96 Violent Deaths)	91
Jan 1-7	32	17	24
Jan 8-14	32	97	53

Violence By Province Jan 8-14, 2019

Province	Violence
Anbar	3 Incidents 4 Killed 4 Civilians 26 Wounded 26 Civilians 1 Shooting 1 IED 1 Car Bomb
Babil	1 Incident 2 Wounded 2 Hashd 1 IED
Baghdad	4 Incidents 3 Killed 3 Civilians 4 Shootings
Diyala	7 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 2 Wounded 2 Civilians 3 Shootings 2 Mortars 1 Rockets
Kirkuk	7 Incidents 5 Killed 2 Hashd 3 Civilians 6 Wounded 6 Civilians 3 Shootings 4 IEDs
Kurdistan	2 Incidents 3 Killed 3 PKK 2 Turkish Air Strikes
Ninewa	3 Incidents 69 Killed 28 ISF 41 Civilians 2 Shootings
Salahaddin	5 Incidents 12 Killed 6 Civilians 6 Hashd 17 Wounded 1 Hashd 16 Civilians 3 Shootings 1 Suicide Truck Bomb

SOURCES

Anadolu Agency, "Turkish jets 'neutralize' at least 3 terrorists in N. Iraq," 1/13/19

Baghdad Post, "Gunmen kill a civilian with stun guns in the Diyala bridge area of Baghdad," 1/10/19

- "Gunmen kill a Mukhtar near his home in Fallujah," 1/14/19

- "A mass grave containing the remains of 28 Iraqi soldiers was found south of Mosul," 1/13/19

- "A mass grave containing the remains of 38 women was found south of Mosul," 1/9/19

- "Unknown gunmen kill a civilian with silenced weapons in Baghdad," 1/8/19

Bas News, "IS Kills Another Village Chief in North of Iraq," 1/10/19

Ebraheem, Mohammed, "Pro-govt fighter killed in armed attack by Islamic State on Kirkuk checkpoint," Iraqi News, 1/14/19

- "UPDATED: Death toll from Tikrit car bomb blast rises to three," Iraqi News, 1/8/19

Al Forat, "A rocket strike near Baquba," 1/14/19

Iraq Newspaper, "Daesh Terrorists Announce Two Attacks In Kirkuk And Fallujah," 1/2/19

- "Daesh Terrorists Execute Officers And Leaders In The Popular Crowd in The Yathrib Farms Area," 1/11/19

- "Emergency Order Salahaddin: The Daesh Terrorists Attacked Checkpoint In Shahama And Killed 5 Of Our Members," 1/14/19

- "Muqtar Al-Hirmat In Mosul Killed And The Execution Of Three Citizens In Siniya," 1/10/19

Al Maalomah, "The popular crowd liberates sheep herders who were kidnapped by Daesh in Alam," 1/12/19

NINA, "Daesh blew up a house of a civilian in cooperation with the security forces in a village in Hawija," 1/13/19

- "A Fighter Of Popular Mobilization Forces Killed In Dibs District, Kirkuk," 1/14/19

- "Terrorist Set Fire In A Gravel And Sand Plant Northeast Of Baquba," 1/10/19

- "Two civilians wounded in armed attack northeast of Baquba," 1/11/19

- "Two members of the popular crowd were injured by a bomb exploded north Babylon," 1/11/19

Shafaaq News, "A member of the crowd was killed in a Daesh attack near Kirkuk," 1/13/19

Al Sumaria, "A civilian was killed in an armed attack southeast of Baghdad," 1/12/19

Xinhua, "2 killed, 25 injured in car bomb attack in western Iraq," 1/11/19