Security In Iraq Jan 15-21, 2021

The third week of January was marked by a mass casualty bombing in the heart of Baghdad in a popular square with markets that left over 140 people dead and wounded. The last such attack took place in September 2019 when a car bomb hit Karbala but that only left 17 casualties. Baghdad hadn’t seen such an incident since July 2019 when two suicide bombers caused the deaths of five people and wounded another 20. The last truly horrific event in the capital was in January 2018 when two suicide bombers hit the exact same square with 143 casualties.

 

Since November 2020 the number of weekly attacks has remained relatively stable. There were 20 incidents total from January 15-21 but three of those were by pro-Iran groups. Three convoys carrying supplies for the U.S. were hit by IEDs during the week, two in Baghdad and one in Dhi Qar. That makes 9 attacks so far this month by these organizations versus 13 in December. That left 17 incidents by the Islamic State compared to 13 the week before and 20 the first week of January. That’s been about the average for the last two months.

 

Those attacks were spread across Salahaddin (1) Anbar (3), Babil (3), Baghdad (3), Ninewa (3) and Diyala (4).

 

52 people were killed made up of 17 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and 35 civilians and 133 were wounded including 7 ISF, 11 Hashd al-Shaabi, and 115 civilians. Baghdad obviously had the most casualties with 33 dead and 111 wounded. If not for the capital bombing members of the security forces would make up the majority of casualties as the Islamic State has launched a war of attrition against them.

 

IS is back to regular operations in Anbar. There were three IEDs during the week spread across Qaim, Haditha and Rutba. Before December there were hardly any incidents in the province as the insurgents used it mostly for moving men and material in from Syria. Since then there have been bombings and shootings every week. They are still few in number but it is a decided change from before.

 

Another area where IS may be ramping up its work is in the Jurf al-Sakhr district in northeast Babil. There were three attacks there with power towers being blown up, a sniper incident, and an IED on a checkpoint. All of these took place in the same area, Bahbahan. There were only four incidents total in the province in December, 3 in November, and 2 each in October and September. Jurf is the militants favorite target because it is a large Kataib Hezbollah base with lots of targets. The attack on the power towers also points to a new campaign by the militants to go after infrastructure.

 

Besides the two bombings by pro-Tehran groups a checkpoint was hit by a sniper in the Tamim district in the north, an  old IED went off in the south, and of course there was the twin suicide bombing in Baghdad. 32 people died and 110 were wounded in that attack. For the last two years IS has attempted to infiltrate into the city. It was able to get into the center and set off multiple bombs on a single day a few times but then backed off. It’s not clear whether this was due to new security measures or it simply decided to focus upon its rural strongholds. Likewise only time will tell whether the suicide attack was a one off or will start a new trend of assaults upon Baghdad and/or mass casualty bombings. The sparsity of such incidents in the last year, only three car bombs and seven suicide bombers versus 15 vehicles bombs and 12 suicide bombers in 2019, point to the group’s networks being disrupted and barely able to operate so a new wave of such attacks is unlikely.

 

Diyala saw the most incidents as usual with four. A power station was destroyed, along with a shooting, a body being found, and an infiltration attempt being foiled. All four took place in the Khanaqin district in the northeast which has been one of the most violent areas of the country since IS’s defeat in the war. Again, the assault on the power station was part of the new IS campaign.

 

For the second week there were no incidents in Kirkuk. This is a decided change since the Islamic State has de facto control of much of the southern section of the governorate.

 

There were three IEDs in Ninewa during the week. The first two, one in Tal Afar and one in Sinjar both in the west left a large number of casualties. The first saw 5 soldiers die and two more wounded while the second killed 9 and injured 2. One of the deaths was an army regimental commander. High ranking officers have been targeted since last spring as part of IS’s war of attrition against the security forces.

 

Things were relatively quiet in Salahaddin where only a group of IS fighters was intercepted.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21
Anbar	4	1	3
Babil	-	2/1 Pro-Iran	3
Baghdad	2	1 Pro-Iran	5/2 Pro-Iran
Dhi Qar	-	1 Pro-Iran	1 Pro-Iran
Diyala	4	7	4
Kirkuk	2	-	-
Muthanna	1 Pro-Iran	1 Pro-Iran	-
Ninewa	5	-	3
Salahaddin	2/1 Pro-Iran	3	1
Sulaymaniya	1	1	-
TOTAL	22/2 Pro-Iran	17/4 Pro-Iran	20/3 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21
Anbar	3 (3W)	3 (3K)	12 (3K, 9W)
Babil	-	2 (2W)	3 (3W)
Baghdad	1 (1K)	-	144 (33K, 111W)
Diyala	14 (4K, 10W)	11 (8K, 3W)	5 (2K, 3W)
Kirkuk	4 (3K, 1W)	-	-
Ninewa	7 (4K, 3W)	-	21 (14K, 7W)
Salahaddin	1 (1K)	-	-
Sulaymaniya	2 (2 W)	2 (1K, 1W)	-
Salahaddin	2 (2W)	-	-
TOTAL	33 (13K, 19W)	16 (11K, 5W)	185 (52K, 133W)

 

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 – Baghdad’s Rashidiya
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 – Baghdad’s Jabour al-Shaarah
	July Totals – 12
8/3/20	Rockets – 2 areas of Baghdad’s Meshada Dist
	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
9/15/20	IED on UK diplomatic convoy – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
9/16/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
9/17/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad also reported as Babil
9/18/20	IED American Inst for English Learning – Najaf
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin – 1 wounded
9/20/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
9/21/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
9/22/20	Mortars – Baghdad’s Green Zone
9/23/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
9/27/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
9/28/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Radwaniya – 5 killed 2 wounded
9/29/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
9/30/20	Rockets – Irbil Airport
	IED airport road – Baghdad
	September Totals – 31
10/1/20	Rocket at convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
10/5/20	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Jadriya neighborhood
10/11/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
10/24/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
	October Totals – 7
11/17/20	Rockets – Baghdad's Green Zone 1 killed, 5 wounded
	November Totals – 1
12/10/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
12/12/20	Mortar – Baghdad International Airport
12/20/20	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone – 1 wounded
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar – 1 wounded
12/21/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
12/23/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
12/25/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
12/27/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
12/28/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
12/29/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
12/31/20	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	December Totals - 13
1/1/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
1/4/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
1/8/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
1/9/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED dismantled – Dhi Qar
1/18/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
1/20/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
1/21/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad

 

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	-
2020 Totals	215	103	28	41	3	13	41	-	-
Jan 2021	8	3	-	3	-	1	-	-	-

 

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
2020 Totals	87	44	20	24	1	14	21	4	-
Jan 2021	-	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
2020 Totals	43	77	5	10	4	3	3	-	1
Jan 2021	-	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
2020 Totals	82	41	30	13	3	5	4	-	-
Jan 2021	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-

           

Security In Iraq 2019-20

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
JAN 2019	114	139	130/128
FEB	118/1	250/115	130
MAR	61	147	101
APR	99	105	100
MAY	137/1	163/125	200
JUN	99/3	74	122/119
JUL	82	83	119
AUG	104	103	141
SEP	123/1	122	131
OCT	70/2	92	53
NOV	55/5	47	98
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
Sep 15-21	32/10	12	14
Sep 22-28	28/7	19	11
Sep 29-30	6/3	1	6
SEP	113/31	53	86
Oct 1-7	19/5	9	12
Oct 8-14	14/1	8	10
Oct 15-21	30/1	25	26
Oct 22-28	25/1	16	24
Oct 29-31	5	4	5
OCT	93/8	62	77
Nov 1-7	11	7	10
Nov 8-14	25	23	39
Nov 15-21	19/1	18	25
Nov 22-28	24	11	26
Nov 29-30	8	1	10
NOV	87/1	60	110
Dec 1-7	19	4	30
Dec 8-14	21/2	13	26
Dec 15-21	15/2	6	8
Dec 22-28	17/6	3	22
Dec 29-31	11/2	3	4
DEC	83/12	29	90
Jan 1-7	21/2	13	19
Jan 8-14	17/3	12	6
Jan 15-21	20/3	52	133

 

Violence By Province Jan 15-21, 2021

Province	Violence
Anbar	3 Incidents 3 Killed 1 Civilian 2 ISF 9 Wounded 1 Civilian 8 Hashd   3 IEDs
Babil	3 Incidents 3 Wounded 3 Hashd   1 Gunfire 2 IEDs
Baghdad	5/2 Pro-Iran Incidents 33 Killed 1 ISF 32 Civilians 111 Wounded 1 ISF 110 Civilians   1 Shooting 3 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers
Dhi Qar	1 Pro-Iran Incident   1 IED
Diyala	4 Incidents 2 Killed 1 Civilian 1 ISF 3 Wounded 1 Civilian 2 ISF   1 Shooting 1 IED
Ninewa	3 Incidents 14 Killed 1 Civilian 13 ISF 7 Wounded 3 Civilians 4 ISF   3 IEDs
Salahaddin	1 Incident

 

SOURCES

 

Aldroubi, Mina and Mahmoud, Sinan, "ISIS bombed high-voltage power lines near Baghdad, Iraqi military claims," The National, 1/19/21

 

Associated Press, "The Latest: Iraq raises death toll in Baghdad attack to 38," 1/15/18

 

Baghdad Post, "Eight members of the crowd were wounded by an explosive device in western Anbar," 1/16/21

 

Bas News, "Bomb Blast Kills Nine People in Sinjar," 1/17/21

- "Explosion at Iraqi Military Base Kills One," 1/18/21

 

Al Forat, "URGENT Death toll rises to 25," 7/15/19

 

Al Hurra, "Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in a bombing in western Anbar," 1/21/21

 

Iraq Newspaper, "Lieutenant Colonel Haider Adel, commander of the 2nd Regiment, 15th Division in the Iraqi army, was killed by a booby-trapped hut planted by ISIS north of Tal Afar," 1/17/21

 

Al Maalomah, "4 people were killed and wounded including two policemen as a result of the Jalawla attack," 1/15/21

- "The Popular Mobilization Forces fend off a terrorist attack in Jalawla, Diyala," 1/20/21

- "The Popular Mobilization Forces thwarted an infiltration attempt by ISIS in Salahaddin," 1/16/21

- "Thwarting a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Jalawla sub-district, Diyala," 1/15/21

 

Al Monitor, "Dozens killed in Baghdad suicide bombings," 1/21/21

 

NINA, "2 Fighters Of The PMF Wounded BY An IED, In Western Anbar," 1/15/21

- "3, Including A Woman, Wounded By An IED's Explosion, South Of Mosul," 1/19/21

- "A Body Of A Meat Seller Killed By ISIS Found And His Body Mutilated In The Outskirts Of Jalawla In Diyala," 1/16/21

- "Four soldiers were killed when a bomb exploded west of Mosul," 1/17/21

- "An IED Explodes On A Convoy Of Logistical Support For The Int'l Coalition South Of Baghdad," 1/20/21

- "ISIS Blows Up A Power Station On The Outskirts Of Jalawla In Diyala," 1/19/21

- "A popular crowd fighter was wounded by sniper fire north of Babylon," 1/19/21

- "Targeting a logistical convoy of the International Coalition with an explosive device west of Baghdad," 1/21/21

- "Two members of the Popular Mobilization  Forces were wounded by an explosive device north of Babylon," 1/21/21

 

Shafaaq News, "A girl was killed and her sister was seriously injured in an explosion in western Anbar," 1/17/21

- "Iraqi authorities announce the killing of 12 people and wounding five others in the bombing at the entrance to Karbala," 9/20/19

 

Al Sumaria, "Two explosions target a convoy to support the international coalition in Dhi Qar," 1/18/21

 

Xinhua, "7 killed in bomb explosion in northern Iraq," 1/17/21