Security In Iraq Jul 1-7, 2021

Violence spiked during the first week of July. That was due to the Islamic State increasing its campaign against Iraq’s power grid while pro-Iran groups picked up attacks in retaliation for the Biden Administration hitting Hashd camps.

 

There were a total of 38 security incidents reported from July 1-7 in Iraq. 9 of those were by pro-Iran factions leaving 29 by the Islamic State.

 

Those led to 46 dead and wounded. 1 member of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and 10 civilians were killed while 2 U.S. soldiers, 4 Hashd al-Shaabi, 11 ISF and 18 civilians were injured. Anbar had the most casualties with 19 followed by 12 in Salahaddin.

 

There were 7 attacks by pro-Iran groups with two more being thwarted. Convoys carrying supplies for the U.S. were bombed in Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Diwaniya and Salahaddin. Rockets were also fired at the Ain Al-Asad base in Anbar twice and Irbil Airport. One of those missile incidents in Anbar led to two American soldiers being wounded. Rockets were dismantled aimed at Baghdad International Airport and a drone was shot down over the Green Zone. The last week of June there were only 2 attacks by these groups. The uptick was in retaliation for the Biden administration striking Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayid al-Shuhada camps in Anbar and Syria at the end of June.

 

There were 29 incidents by the Islamic State. Those happened in Anbar (4), Baghdad (5), Diyala (4), Kirkuk (5), Ninewa (6) and Salahaddin (5). The last full week of June there were 17 attacks by IS. This was the most incidents by the insurgency since October 2020.

 

The main target of the insurgency was Iraq’s power grid. Electricity towers were bombed in Baghdad, twice in Kirkuk, twice in Ninewa, and in Salahaddin. IEDs were also dismantled by towers in Baghdad, Diyala, Ninewa and Salahaddin. Rockets were also fired at the North Gas Company in Kirkuk. The country is experiencing another hot summer and IS is trying to take down the electricity network to increase discontent with the government. That’s working as the nation is facing the worst power crisis since 2003.

 

There were four incidents in Anbar. That’s a lot for one week. There were two shootings and two IEDs all against the security forces. The province is usually very quiet because it’s used for logistics.

 

Besides the two incidents with power towers five IEDs were dismantled in Baghdad. One of these was in Khadimiya in the northern section of the city. In June IS hit the city proper which is very rare. The militants launched concerted campaigns to infiltrate into Baghdad in the past but gave up. It appears to be trying again.

 

Violence has changed in central and northern Iraq. Diyala is usually the most violent part of Iraq, but there were only four incidents this week. There were two shootings and an IED in the Muqdadiya and Khanaqin districts which are the centers of the insurgency along with the attempt on power towers which occurred in Azim in the north. A village was attacked and there was a kidnapping in Kirkuk, a checkpoint was assaulted and two IEDs went off in Ninewa, and three more bombs in Salahaddin. Violence went down in Kirkuk and Salahaddin last month but they appear to be rising again.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Jul 1-7
Anbar	7/3 Pro-Iran
Babil	1 pro-Iran
Baghdad	7/2 Pro-Iran
Diwaniya	1 Pro-Iran
Diyala	4
Irbil	1 Pro-Iran
Kirkuk	5
Ninewa	6
Salahaddin	6/1 Pro-Iran
TOTAL	38/9 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Jul 1-7
Anbar	19 (5K, 14W)
Diyala	7 (5K, 2W)
Kirkuk	2 (2W)
Ninewa	6 (6W)
Salahaddin	12 (1K, 11W)
TOTAL	46 (11K, 35W)

 

Attacks by Pro-Iran Groups 2021

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
1/22/21	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport/Jihad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
1/26/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	January Totals – 12 (1)
2/4/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
2/7/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
2/8/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
2/10/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
2/11/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
2/15/21	Rockets – Irbil Airport – 2 killed, 8 Wounded
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
2/17/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
2/18/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
2/19/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
2/20/21	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base – 2 wounded
2/22/21	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
2/25/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
2/26/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
2/27/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	February Totals – 16 – 2 killed, 10 wounded
3/2/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
3/3/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Al-Assad Air Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
3/11/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
3/13/21	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
3/15/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
3/18/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
3/20/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
3/21/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
3/25/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
3/29/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
3/30/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
3/31/21	IED dismantled – Diwaniya
	March Totals – 19(1)
4/1/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
4/4/21	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
4/5/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
4/7/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil x2
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
4/8/21	Rockets found – Anbar Ain Al-Asad Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
4/13/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
4/14/21	Drone – Irbil Airport
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
4/15/21	Rockets – Dohuk Turkish Army Base – 1 Turk killed 1 wounded
4/16/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
4/17/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
4/18/21	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base – 5 wounded
4/22/21	Rockets – Baghdad’s Camp Victory
4/25/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
4/27/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
4/28/21	Gunfire checkpoint – Anbar
4/29/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
	April Totals – 26 (1)
5/2/21	Rockets – Baghdad International Airport
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
5/3/21	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base – 1 Wounded
5/4/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
5/6/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
5/8/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
5/11/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
5/13/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
5/14/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
5/18/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
5/23/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar – 1 Wounded
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
5/24/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
5/27/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
5/28/21	Rockets dismantled – Baghdad
	May Totals – 22 (1) – 2 Wounded
6/3/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
6/6/21	Drone Attack – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
	Rockets Intercepted – Baghdad International Airport
6/8/21	IED dismantled – Dhi Qar
6/9/21	Drone Attack – Baghdad’s International Airport
	Rockets – Salahaddin’s Balad Air Base
6/11/21	Rockets dismantled – Diyala
6/13/21	Drone Attack – Baghdad’s International Airport
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Muthanna
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin – 3 wounded
6/14/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Baghdad
6/16/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
	IED dismantled – Baghdad
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
6/20/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
6/26/21	Drone Attack – Blagh, Irbil
6/27/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Salahaddin
	June Totals – 17 (3) – 3 Wounded
7/2/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil, Salahaddin
	Rockets dismantled - Baghdad
7/4/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US - Baghdad
7/5/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base
	Drone shot down - Baghdad
7/6/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar, Diwaniya
	Rockets – Irbil Airport
7/7/21	Rockets – Anbar’s Ain Al-Asad Base – 2 US wounded
	July Totals – 7 (2) – 2 US wounded

 

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	11	4	1	3	-	1	1	-	-
Feb	16	2	3	3	-	2	2	-	-
Mar	12	8	1	1	-	1	-	-	-
Apr	12	13	3	4	-	-	2	-	-
May	20	6	3	9	-	2	2	-	-
Jun	8	11	1	4	-	2	1	-	-
Jul	2	1	-	-	-	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	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Feb	5	2	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Mar	4	5	2	2	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	7	4	3	2	1	3	1	-	-
May	19	13	9	3	-	1	2	-	-
Jul	1	4	-	-	-	1	1	-	-

 

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	4	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Feb	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mar	8	4	2	2	-	-	-	-	-
Apr	10	6	6	1	1	1	-	-	-
May	9	5	4	3	-	-	-	-	-
Jun	2	12	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jul	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

           

Security In Iraq 2020-21

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
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
Jan 22-28	10/3	13	12
Jan 29-31	9/1	2	6
JAN	77/13	92	176
Feb 1-7	19/2	11	23
Feb 8-14	11/3	4	8
Feb 15-21	20/7	11	23
Feb 22-28	13/4	13	23
FEB	63/16	39	77
Mar 1-7	19/5	5	8
Mar 8-14	12/2	13	15
Mar 15-21	24/6	8	7
Mar 22-28	14/2	8	13
Mar 29-31	9/5	2	1
MAR	79/20	39	44
Apr 1-7	16/10	3	5
Apr 8-14	15/6	6	18
Apr 15-21	32/4	19	44
Apr 22-28	31/6	15	42
Apr 29-30	12/1	11	23
APR	107/27	54	132
May 1-7	36/8	33	37
May 8-14	31/5	14	25
May 15-21	15/2	3	3
May 22-28	20/9	3	24
May 29-31	11	6	11
MAY	113/24	59	100
Jun 1-7	12/5	6	29
Jun 8-14	22/10	7	7
Jun 15-21	24/4	14	14
Jun 22-28	19/2	10	17
Jun 29-30	5	-	21
JUN	83/21	36	87
Jul 1-7	38/9	11	35

 

Violence By Province Jul 1-7, 2021

Province	Violence
Anbar	7/3 Pro-Iran Incidents 5 Killed 1 ISF 4 Civilians 14 Wounded 2 US Soldiers 2 Hashd 5 ISF 5 Civilians   2 Shootings 3 IEDs 2 Rockets
Babil	1 Pro-Iran Incident   1 IED
Baghdad	7/2 Pro-Iran Incidents   8 IEDs 1 Rockets 1 Drone
Diwaniya	1 Pro-Iran Incident   1 IED
Diyala	4 Incidents 5 Killed 5 Civilians 2 Wounded 2 Civilians   2 Shootings 1 IED
Irbil	1 Pro-Iran Incident   1 Rockets
Kirkuk	5 Incidents 2 Wounded 2 Civilians   1 Shooting 4 IEDs 1 Rockets
Ninewa	6 Incidents 6 Wounded 3 Civilians 3 ISF   1 Shooting 8 IEDs
Salahaddin	6/1 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 11 Wounded 2 Hashd 3 Soldiers 6 Civilians   8 IEDs

 

SOURCES

 

Bas News, "Rocket Attack Targets North Gas Company in Iraq," 7/6/21

- "Salahaddin: Two Iraqi Shia Militiamen Injured after IED Hit Their Convoy," 7/6/21

- "Three Electricity Transmission Towers Destroyed in SW Kirkuk," 7/6/21

- "Three More Power Transmission Towers Hit by Bombings near Baghdad," 7/2/21

- "Tuz Khurmatu: Bombing Hits Family of Seven," 7/2/21

- "Two Civilians Injured in IS Attack on Kirkuk Village," 7/1/21

 

France 24, "US forces shoot down armed drone near US embassy in Baghdad," 7/5/21

 

Iraq Newspaper, "ISIS terrorist attacks the army in Kubaisa and kills them," 7/5/21

 

Kurdistan 24, "Iraq says thwarted rocket attack on Baghdad International Airport," 7/2/21

 

Al Monitor, "Militias launch spate of attacks on US positions in Iraq," 7/7/21

 

NINA, "2 Civilians injured By An IED Explosion, South Of Mosul," 7/7/21

- "2 Electricity Transmission Lines And 5 Towers Targeted With IEDs In Nineveh And Kirkuk," 7/3/21

- "An Attempt To Blow Up An Electrical Power Transmission Tower Thwarted And An IED Dismantled In Diyala," 7/7/21

- "A civilian was injured by an explosive device left behind by ISIS, south of Mosul," 7/4/21

- "A convoy of logistical support for the International Coalition forces was targeted with an explosive device in Babylon," 7/2/21

- "A force from the 25th Brigade in the Popular Mobilization thwarts an attempt to detonate the electric towers south of Nineveh," 7/4/21

- "An IED Explodes On A Detachment To Maintain Electricity Networks In Diyala," 7/4/21

- "ISIS Kidnap A Civilian South Of Kirkuk," 7/5/21

- "New Targeting To Energy Towers Near Tulul Al-Baj, South of Mosul," 7/1/21

- "Seven Civilians Killed And Wounded In Clashes With ISIS, Northeast Of Baquba," 7/5/21

- "Targeting a convoy of logistical support for the International Coalition forces in Salah al-Din," 7/2/21

- "Thwarting an attempt by ISIS terrorist gangs to blow up a power transmission tower north of Baghdad," 7/6/21

- "Two convoys of logistical support for the international coalition targeted with two explosive devices in Diwaniyah and Anbar," 7/6/21

 

Al Noor News, "Explosive devices targeting the power line feeding the Karkh water project," 7/5/21

- "Two members of the crowd were injured in an explosive device explosion in Anbar," 7/5/21

 

Rasheed, Ahmed, Al-Khalidi, Suleiman, "Series of attacks target U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria," Reuters, 7/8/21

 

Reuters, "Rockets hit Iraq's Ain al-Asad base housing US forces, no casualties: US coalition," 7/5/21

 

Shafaq News, "A bombing targets a logistical support convoy of the International Coalition on the outskirts of Baghdad," 7/4/21

- "Injuries among the ranks of the Iraqi army in an ISIS attack, southeast of Mosul," 7/4/21

- "Injuries in the ranks of the Iraqi army in an ISIS attack, west of Anbar," 7/1/21

- "Three soldiers injured in an explosion in Salahaddin," 7/5/21

- "Thwarting a terrorist plot targeting civilians north of Baghdad," 7/7/21

 

Sherwani, Halgurd, "Suspected ISIS fighters kidnap civilians, kill five in Iraq's disputed Khanaqin," 7/5/21

 

Al Sumaria, "Intelligence thwarts a second attempt to blow up an electricity pole in the island of Tikrit," 7/2/21

- "Processing an explosive device north of Baghdad," 7/4/21

 

Xinhua, "IS militants kill 4 fishermen in western Iraq," 7/3/21