Security In Iraq Sep 8-14, 2020

Attacks in Iraq were slightly up the second week of September. Once again, the types of incidents like a car bomb and two suicide bombers showed that the Islamic State may be starting a fall campaign. Pro-Iran groups also kept up their steady pace of operations against Western targets.

 

There were a total of 27 security incidents in Iraq reported in the media from September 8-14. 6 of those were by pro-Iran groups. That included 2 IEDs on convoys carrying supplies to the U.S. in Babil, one of which left 1 member of the security forces (ISF) dead and 3 civilian casualties. There were similar attacks in Diwaniya, Salahaddin that wounded 1 civilian, and Baghdad that wounded 2 including one ISF, plus a rocket attack upon Baghdad’s International Airport. The first week of the month saw 3 more casualties caused by these types of attacks, and in August there was one death. This was a decided increase in the cost of these operations but there was no public outcry about it. Prime Minister Mustafa Kazemi did promise an investigation but that was into the rockets landing on Baghdad’s airport.  Sotaliraq quoted a military source that said Hashd units were behind these incidents, which is common knowledge.

 

That left 21 incidents by the Islamic State. That was up from 15 the week before. The incidents were spread across Anbar (1), Irbil (1), Salahaddin (3), Kirkuk (4), Ninewa (4), and Diyala (8).

 

They led to 8 dead and 29 wounded. 3 members of the ISF and 5 civilians were killed and another 3 Hashd al-Shaabi, 7 ISF, and 19 civilians were injured. Unlike previous weeks civilians accounted for most of the casualties. IS has been singling out the security forces in a war of attrition since the spring so this was a rare week when they didn’t make up most of the fatalities and wounded.

 

The Hashd claimed they stopped a car bomb in Anbar. Three Hashd were wounded as a result. The week before there was a car bomb in the province as well. There are very few incidents in Anbar as it’s used as a logistics and smuggling hub by the insurgents. Two car bombs in two weeks is a sure sign that IS might be starting a new campaign. Before September the last vehicle bomb incidents took place in May, again in Anbar, during the Spring offensive.

 

Diyala saw the most incidents as usual with 8. Most of those were regular shootings and IEDs, but there was also an assassination attempt upon a police general using a sticky bomb. This as part of the war of attrition IS has launched which has gone after officers in the security forces. The first week of September for instance, a Hashd brigade commander was killed in the province.

 

An IED went off in the Makhmour district of southern Irbil. This area is part of the disputed territories. It is only hit when the insurgents pick up their attacks. There was one more incident there in August, but before that it hadn’t been hit since June.

 

Kirkuk saw 4 incidents during the week. That included 2 suicide bombers being surrounded by the police and then detonating their devices. Like the car bomb in Anbar this was another sign of an IS offensive starting. There was a suicide bomber the week before also in Kirkuk. The dean of a college also escaped an assassination attempt.

 

Ninewa saw four IEDs in the south and an infiltration attempt in the west along the Syrian border. Like Anbar, there are rarely incidents in the governorate accept during IS campaigns.

 

There were three other incidents in Salahaddin beside the IED by a pro-Iran Hashd unit. There was an assassination attempt on the mayor of Samarra, a gun battle, and a checkpoint was fired upon.

 

Attacks by Pro-Iran Groups 2020

Date	Incident - Location
1/4/20	Mortar – Baghdad’s Jadriya – 5 wounded
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
	Mortar – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base – 3 wounded
1/5/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
1/8/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
1/12/20	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base – 6 wounded
1/14/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
1/20/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
1/21/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
1/26/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone – 3 wounded
1/31/20	Rockets – Kirkuk’s Qayara Base
	January Totals - 11
2/15/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
2/21/20	Rockets – Irbil’s Makhmour Base
	February Totals - 2
3/1/20	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Sadiq Base
3/2/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
3/5/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
3/11/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji – 3 killed (2 US, 1 UK), 12 wounded
3/14/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji – 7 wounded (3 US)
3/16/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Besmaya Base
3/17/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
3/26/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
	March Totals - 8
4/18/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Nahrawan Chinese company
4/6/20	Rockets – Basra’s Burjisiya US company
	April Totals – 2
5/6/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
5/19/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
	May Total - 2
6/8/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
6/10/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
6/13/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
6/14/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
6/15/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
	Rockets found - Rashidiya, Baghdad
6/18/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
6/22/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s International Airport
	June Total - 8
7/5/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone – 1 wounded
	Rockets found – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
7/10/20	Rockets found – Aimed at Baghdad’s Green Zone
7/11/20	Burned trucks carrying supplies to US - Muthanna
7/19/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
7/22/20	IEDs trucks carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
7/23/10	Drone and bomb found – Jadriya, Baghdad
7/24/10	Rockets – Baghdad’s Besmaya Base
7/27/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Camp Speicher
7/30/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s International Airport
7/31/20	Rockets found – Jabour al-Shaarah, Baghdad
	July Totals – 12
8/3/20	Rockets – 2 areas of Meshada Dist, Baghdad
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
8/4/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
8/5/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
8/9/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
8/10/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US - Basra
8/11/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
	Rockets – Landed in Tigris River, Baghdad
8/14/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
8/15/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Taji
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
8/16/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
8/18/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
8/21/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad – 1 killed
8/22/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
8/23/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
8/28/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
8/29/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
8/30/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
	August Totals – 24
9/2/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil – 1 wounded
9/3/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	Rockets UK security company – Baghdad
9/6/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad – 2 wounded
	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
9/8/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil – 1 killed, 2 wounded
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad – 2 wounded
9/10/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
9/12/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
9/14/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	September Totals - 11

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Sep 1-7	Sep 8-14
Anbar	2	1
Babil	1 Pro-Iran	2 Pro-Iran
Baghdad	3/ 2 Pro-Iran	2 Pro-Iran
Dhi Qar	1 Pro-Iran	-
Diwaniya	-	1 Pro-Iran
Diyala	5	8
Irbil	-	1
Kirkuk	4	4
Ninewa	2	4
Salahaddin	1	2/ 1 Pro-Iran
TOTAL	19/ 4 Pro-Iran	27/ 6 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Sep 1-7	Sep 8-14
Anbar	8 (2K, 6W)	3 (3W)
Babil	1 (1W)	3 (1K, 2W)
Baghdad	2 (2W)	2 (2W)
Diyala	11 (5K, 6W)	7 (3K, 4W)
Irbil	-	3 (3W)
Kirkuk	8 (2K, 6W)	11 (1K, 10W)
Ninewa	4 (2K, 2W)	7 (3K, 4W)
Salahaddin	5 (2K, 3W)	1 (1W)
TOTAL	39 (13K, 26W)

 

Islamic State Activity in Iraq 2018-20

Diyala	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
2018 Totals	219	198	47	43	5	13	25	3	1
2019 Totals	185	112	33	63	2	6	29	2	-
Jan 2020	13	6	-	2	-	1	-	-	-
Feb	16	5	2	8	-	1	-	-	-
Mar	15	10	4	2	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	20	17	4	2	-	-	-	-	-
May	38	18	8	9	1	5	17	-	-
Jun	13	1	-	2	-	1	2	-	-
Jul	10	10	1	2	-	-	2	-	-
Aug	16	5	2	7	-	3	3	-	-
Sep	10	3	2	1	-	-	2	-	-

 

Kirkuk	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
2018 Totals	172	182	39	18	10	14	29	9	6
2019 Totals	77	116	24	19	6	8	18	-	1
Jan 2020	10	1	2	2	-	1	-	-	-
Feb	5	-	2	1	-	2	1	-	-
Mar	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	17	7	6	3	-	2	1	1	-
May	15	10	1	7	1	4	10	-	-
Jun	5	2	1	1	-	1	1	-	-
Aug	5	5	1	-	-	-	3	-	-
Sep	3	2	1	1	-	-	-	3	1

 

Ninewa	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
2018 Totals	139	74	43	7	5	6	6	2	3
2019 Totals	63	49	14	3	9	6	17	-	3
Jan 2020	7	5	2	1	-	1	-	-	-
Feb	5	5	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Mar	2	5	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	8	8	1	4	-	1	1	-	-
May	5	9	-	2	-	-	2	-	-
Jun	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jul	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Aug	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sep	2	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

 

Salahaddin	Shootings (Totals)	IEDs/ Sticky Bombs (Totals)	Gun Battles	Attacks on Checkpoints	Attacks on Mukhtars/ Sheikhs	Kidnappings	Attacks on Towns	Suicide Bombers	Car Bombs
2018 Totals	110	102	41	18	1	16	4	9	5
2019 Totals	60	54	32	5	2	6	8	2	6
Jan 2020	4	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-
Feb	5	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-
Mar	5	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	4	3	3	-	-	1	-	-	-
May	21	6	9	5	-	2	2	-	-
Jun	5	4	1	2	-	-	1	-	-
Jul	4	5	1	1	1	-	-	-	-
Aug	6	3	3	1	-	-	-	-	-
Sep	3	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-

           

Security In Iraq 2019-20

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
Jan 1-7	32	17/10	24
Jan 8-14	32	94/31	53
Jan 15-21	22	17/11	16/14
Jan 22-28	27	36/17	31
Jan 29-31	12	7	6
JAN 2019	114	139	130/128
Feb 1-7	29/1	76/16	30
Feb 8-14	24	26	18
Feb 15-21	40	112/37	12
Feb 22-28	25	36	70
FEB	118/1	250/115	130
Mar 1-7	13	22	45
Mar 8-14	19	75/10	37
Mar 15-21	12	66/37	21/11
Mar 22-28	13	8/5	1
Mar 29-31	6	8	7
MAR	61	147	101
Apr 1-7	20	22	13
Apr 8-14	41	28	42
Apr 15-21	17	9/8	26
Apr 22-28	19	45	15
Apr 29-30	2	1	4
APR	99	105	100
May 1-7	20	15	18
May 8-14	24	31	41
May 15-21	37/1	62/25	39
May 22-28	43	39	54
May 29-31	13	16	48
MAY	137/1	163/125	200
Jun 1-7	26	19	44
Jun 8-14	25/1	29	15
Jun 15-21	21/2	6	13/10
Jun 22-28	18	17	41
Jun 29-30	9	3	9
JUN	99/3	74	122/119
Jul 1-7	20	11	39
Jul 8-14	14	31	10
Jul 15-21	17	14	37
Jul 22-28	23	14	20
Jul 29-31	8	13	13
JUL	82	83	119
Aug 1-7	27	14	31
Aug 8-14	18	13	13
Aug 15-21	20	33	15
Aug 22-28	27	24	72
Aug 29-31	11	19	10
AUG	104	103	141
Sep 1-7	39	39	38
Sep 8-14	30	35	43
Sep 15-21	23	27	26
Sep 22-28	24/1	15	20
Sep 29-30	7	6	4
SEP	123/1	122	131
Oct 1-7	3	1	2
Oct 8-14	14	25	17
Oct 15-21	19	29	13
Oct 22-28	22/1	33	10
Oct 29-31	12/1	4	11
OCT	70/2	92	53
Nov 1-7	6/1	4	1
Nov 8-14	9/1	2	25
Nov 15-21	15/1	11	2
Nov 22-28	17/1	24	33
Nov 29-30	8/1	6	37
NOV	55/5	47	98
Dec 1-7	36/3	33	44
Dec 8-14	19/3	19	19
Dec 15-21	26	44	25
Dec 22-28	30/1	30	38
Dec 29-31	9	8	7
DEC	120/7	134	133
Jan 1-7	25/7	16	84
Jan 8-14	24/3	12	34
Jan 15-21	23/2	11	12
Jan 22-28	11/1	10	8
Jan 29-31	8/1	4	1
JAN 2020	91/12	53	139
Feb 1-7	22	13	11
Feb 8-14	18/1	5	38
Feb 15-21	16/2	42	18
Feb 22-28	25	15	34
Feb 29	4	5	2
FEB	85/3	80	103
Mar 1-7	17/3	11	17
Mar 8-14	15/2	13	33
Mar 15-21	14/2	5	19
Mar 22-28	14/1	13	11
Mar 29-31	9	5	10
MAR	69/8	47	90
Ap 1-7	27/1	27	37
Apr 8-14	24	25	51
Apr 15-21	33/1	19	34
Apr 22-28	22	8	40
Apr 29-30	5	2	4
APR	111/2	81	165
May 1-7	44/1	47	36
May 8-14	49	21	47
May 15-21	66/1	45	64
May 22-28	30	9	21
May 29-31	7	3	12
MAY	196/2	125	180
Jun 1-7	17	13	19
Jun 8-14	16/4	10	15
Jun 15-21	16/3	11	19
Jun 22-28	10/1	8	13
Jun 29-30	1	4	2
JUN	60/8	46	68
Jul 1-7	12/2	3	9
Jul 8-14	16/2	15	15
Jul 15-21	19/1	17	28
Jul 22-28	13/5	9	8
Jul 29-31	13/2	3	7
JUL	73/12	47	67
Aug 1-7	10/4	7	10
Aug 8-14	19/8	7	22
Aug 15-21	14/5	13	20
Aug 22-28	32/3	23	41
Aug 29-31	13/3	4	12
AUG	88/24	54	105
Sep 1-7	19/4	13	26
Sep 8-14	27/6	8	29

 

Violence By Province Sep 8-14 2020

Province	Violence
Anbar	1 Incident 3 Wounded 3 Hashd   1 Car Bomb Destroyed
Babil	2 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Killed 1 ISF 2 Wounded 2 Civilians   2 IEDs
Baghdad	2 Pro-Iran Incidents 2 Wounded 1 Civilian 1 ISF   1 IED 1 Rockets
Diwaniya	1 Pro-Iran Incident   1 IED
Diyala	8 Incidents 3 Killed 1 Civilian 2 ISF 4 Wounded 1 ISF 3 Civilians
Irbil	1 Incident 3 Wounded 3 Civilians   1 IED
Kirkuk	4 Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 10 Wounded 5 Civilians 5 ISF   2 Shootings 1 Sticky Bomb 2 Suicide Bombers
Ninewa	4 Incidents 3 Killed 3 Civilians 4 Wounded 4 Civilians   1 Shooting 4 IEDs
Salahaddin	4/1 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian   3 Shootings 1 IED

 

SOURCES

 

Baghdad Post, "The assassination of a security member by unknown gunmen in Baqubah," 9/10/20

- "Security Media: Thwarting an attempt by ISIS to bring weapons, medicine and women into Iraq," 9/12/20

 

Bas News, "College Dean Survives Bomb Attack in Kirkuk," 9/14/20

- "IS Militants Attack Iraqi Forces in Kirkuk, Injure Three Policemen," 9/9/20

- "Mosul: Two Bomb Blasts Target Civilian Vehicles," 9/12/20

- "One Killed in Attack on Kirkuk Oilfield Guards," 9/14/20

- "Roadside Bomb Injures Civilians in Makhmour," 9/13/20

 

Al Hurra, "Iraqi local official survived an assassination attempt," 9/8/20

- "Security operations in four Iraqi provinces to "dry up" the sources of terrorism," 9/10/20

 

Al Maalomah, "The Popular Mobilization Forces and security forces carry out a raid and search operation west of Tuz Khurmatu," 9/10/20

- "The Popular Mobilization Forces fend off an attack by ISIS south of Samarra," 9/12/20

- "The Popular Mobilization Forces launch a security operation on the Iraqi-Syrian border," 9/10/20

- "Security forces storm the desert areas between Ninewa and Salahaddin in search of wanted persons," 9/11/20

 

Middle East Monitor, “Iraq: Rockets target Baghdad airport for second time in a week,” 9/8/20

 

NINA, "2 Civilians Killed By IED South Of Mosul," 9/13/20

- "7 Dens For ISIS Destroyed, IEDs Seized In A Joint Operation In Kirkuk," 9/10/20

- "A Brigadier General In Diyala Police Escaped An Assassination Attempt When A Sticky Bomb Exploded In His Car," 9/10/20

- "A Civilian Injured By An IED, Northeast Of Baquba, Diyala," 9/9/20

- "Four people, from the same family, were wounded by an explosive device in southeast Mosul," 9/13/20

- "In the south of the country, two explosive devices were exploded at the International Coalition convoys," 9/14/20

- "The PMF Foils An Infiltration Attempt By ISIS Elements In Diyala," 9/12/20

- "The Popular Mobilization imposes a security cordon in the west of Khanaqin district and clear 21 km," 9/9/20

- "The Popular Mobilization launches the Operation "Al-Fateh Al-Mubin" to end terrorist cells west of Anbar," 9/13/20

- "A Soldier Killed By An ISIS Sniper, North Of Baqubah," 9/12/20

- "A soldier was injured in an explosive device explosion south of Baquba," 9/9/20

- "Two suicide bombers blow themselves up after being besieged in Kirkuk," 9/8/20

- "Unidentified Gunmen Assassinate A Civilian In Baladruz District In Diyala Governorate," 9/13/20

 

NRT, "Rocket Hits Perimeter Of Baghdad International Airport, No Casualties," 9/10/20

- "Two Federal Police Injured In Kirkuk Explosion," 9/8/20

 

Shafaaq News, "4 civilians were killed and wounded in separate incidents in Diyala," 9/8/20

- "Thwarting a bloody attack against the security forces in Anbar," 9/12/20

 

Sotaliraq, "ISIS attack the crowd south of Samarra," 9/14/20

- “Military source: The elements and leaders of the Katyusha cells have been identified … they belong to the PMF,” 9/8/20

 

Al Sumaria, "The crowd announces the repulsion of an attack by ISIS north of Khanaqin," 9/6/20

 

Xinhua, "Iraqi driver wounded in bomb attack targeting U.S.-led coalition convoy in Iraq," 9/13/20

- "Security member killed in bomb attacks on U.S.-coalition trucks in Iraq," 9/9/20