Violence Picks Up Again In Iraq In July 2021

Violence increased in Iraq in July. The number of incidents by pro-Iran groups stayed the same between June and July. The uptick was due to the Islamic State who’s attacks went from 62 in June to 90 in July. That was the highest amount of monthly attacks since May 2020. This included more incidents in areas that have previously been quiet and a mass casualty bombing in Baghdad.

 

There were 17 attacks by Pro-Iran groups in July plus two failed incidents. Convoys carrying supplies for the U.S. were hit with bombs 13 times in Anbar (2), Babil (2), Baghdad (1), Basra (1), Dhi Qar (4), Diwaniya (2), and Salahaddin (1). A drone hit a military base in Irbil, and rockets were fired at Anbar’s Ain Al-Assad base twice, Baghdad’s Green Zone twice, and Irbil Airport. Rockets were also dismantled in Baghdad and drone was shot down over the Green Zone. Most of the attacks occurred during the first two weeks and the last week of the month. Two U.S. soldiers were wounded during one of the rocket attacks in Anbar. This was the same amount of incidents in June.

 

There were 90 incidents by the Islamic State during the month. Those occurred in Anbar (12), Babil (4), Baghdad (14), Diyala (17), Irbil (2), Kirkuk (14), Ninewa (13), and Salahaddin (14). This was the most attacks since 194 in May 2020 and the second spike in violence this year. It also showed new emphasis upon previously quite provinces such as Anbar, Baghdad and Ninewa.

 

There were a total of 106 killed and 164 wounded in July. 3 Hashd al-Shaabi, 27 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 76 civilians died and 2 U.S. soldiers, 18 Hashd, 30 ISF and 114 civilians were injured. That was the highest amount of casualties for the year. It also showed that the militants were targeting civilians against in previous months members of the security forces had the most casualties.

 

Security changed in Anbar, Baghdad and Ninewa in July. Anbar and Ninewa usually see single digit attacks because they are used for logistics instead of operations but in July they had 14 and 13 incidents respectively versus 2 and 6 in June. In Anbar a power tower was blown up and an ISF camp was attacked, while in Ninewa two power towers were bombed, IEDs were dismantled around two more, and a checkpoint was attacked. In the capital province the insurgents have reactivated its cell in Tarmiya in the northern section and are trying to infiltrate into the city proper once more. That resulted in a suicide bombing in Sadr City that left 35 dead and 59 wounded. The previous suicide attack in Baghdad was in January.

 

Diyala is the center of the insurgency in Iraq but violence has been going down there. Incidents went from 31 in May to 19 in June and 17 in July. As usual almost all the attacks were in the Muqdadiya district in the center and Khanaqin in the northeast where IS has de facto control of many rural areas. Most attacks are meant to keep locals and ISF out of those places.

 

Babil and Salahaddin saw a jump in incidents, while they remained the same in Kirkuk. Attacks in Babil went from 1 in June to 4 in July. Three of those were in the Jurf al-Sakhr district in the northwest which is a Kataib Hezbollah base with army units around it and a favorite target of IS. There were 14 incidents in Salahaddin in July up from 9 in June. Power towers were a main target with three attempts and repair workers were bombed at another tower site. It’s also believed that IS shot down an army helicopter in the Amerli district in the east that left 5 soldiers dead. Kirkuk saw 14 incidents in June and July each. There were two bombings of power towers, a village and an army camp were attacked, the North Gas Company and two villages had rockets fired at them last month. Salahaddin and Kirkuk have well known IS camps yet violence constantly fluctuations up and down there. The insurgents appear to be more interested in rebuilding their cadres in the two governorates more than carrying out operations.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Jul 1-7	Jul 8-14	Jul 15-21	Jul 22-28	Jul 29-31	Totals
Anbar	7/3 Pro-Iran	2/1 Pro-Iran	4	1	1	16/4 Pro-Iran
Babil	1 pro-Iran	-	3	-	3/2 Pro-Iran	7/3 Pro-Iran
Baghdad	7/2 Pro-Iran	4/1 Pro-Iran	3	1	3/1 Pro-Iran	18/4 Pro-Iran
Basra	-	1 Pro-Iran	-	-	-	1 Pro-Iran
Dhi Qar	-	-	1 Pro-Iran	-	2 Pro-Iran	3 Pro-Iran
Diwaniya	1 Pro-Iran	1 Pro-Iran	-	-	-	2 Pro-Iran
Diyala	4	4	3	3	3	17
Irbil	1 Pro-Iran	1	1	1 Pro-Iran	-	4/2 Pro-Iran
Kirkuk	5	4	2	3	-	14
Ninewa	6	4	2	1	-	13
Salahaddin	6/1 Pro-Iran	4	1	-	4	15/1 Pro-Iran
TOTAL	38/9 Pro-Iran	25/4 Pro-Iran	20/1 Pro-Iran	10/1 Pro-Iran	16/5 Pro-Iran	110/20 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Jul 1-7	Jul 8-14	Jul 15-21	Jul 22-28	Jul 29-31	Totals
Anbar	19 (5K, 14W)	-	6 (3K, 3W)	5 (3K, 2W)	3 (3K)	33 (14K, 19W)
Babil	-	-	2 (2W)	-	1 (1K)	3 (1K, 2W)
Baghdad	-	2 (2K)	96 (37K, 59W)	1 (1K)	2 (2K)	101 (42K, 59W)
Diyala	7 (5K, 2W)	-	4 (4W)	5 (4K, 1W)	9 (4K, 5W)	25 (13K, 12W)
Irbil	-	-	1 (1K)	-	-	1 (1K)
Kirkuk	2 (2W)	8 (3K, 5W)	7 (5K, 2W)	4 (1K, 3W)	-	21 (9K, 12W)
Ninewa	6 (6W)	10 (1K, 9W)	2 (2W)	2 (1K, 1W)	-	20 (2K, 18W)
Salahaddin	12 (1K, 11W)	4 (1K, 3W)	5 (2K, 3W)	-	44 (20K, 24W)	65 (24K, 41W)
TOTAL	46 (11K, 35W)	24 (7K, 17W)	123 (48K, 75W)	17 (10K, 7W)	60 (30K, 30W)	270 (106K, 164W)

 

Attacks by Pro-Iran Groups July 2021

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
7/8/21	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
7/10/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Anbar
7/11/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Basra
	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Diwaniya
7/15/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
7/24/21	Drone strike – Irbil’s Al-Harir Base
7/29/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Babil, Dhi Qar x2
	Rockets – Baghdad’s Green Zone
7/30/21	IED on convoy carrying supplies to US – Dhi Qar
	July Totals – 17 (2) – 2 U.S. Soldiers wounded

 

Security In Iraq 2021

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
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
Jul 8-14	25/4	7	17
Jul 15-21	20/1	48	75
Jul 22-28	10/1	10	7
Jul 29-31	16/5	30	30
JUL	110/20	106	164

 

Violence By Province July 2021

Province	Violence
Anbar	16/4 Pro-Iran Incidents 14 Killed 1 Hashd 4 ISF 9 Civilians 19 Wounded 2 US Soldiers 2 Hashd 7 ISF 8 Civilians   6 Shootings 6 IEDs 2 Rockets
Babil	7/3 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Killed 1 Civilian 2 Wounded 2 Hashd   2 Shootings 3 IEDs
Baghdad	18/4 Pro-Iran Incidents 42 Killed 4 ISF 38 Civilians 59 Wounded 59 Civilians   5 Shootings 11 IEDs 1 Suicide Bomber 3 Rockets 1 Drone
Basra	1 Pro-Iran Incidents   1 IED
Dhi Qar	3 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Wounded 1 Civilian   3 IEDs
Diwaniya	2 Pro-Iran Incidents   2 IEDs
Diyala	17 Incidents 13 Killed 1 ISF 12 Civilians 12 Wounded 6 Civilians 6 ISF   10 Shootings 6 IEDs 1 Sticky Bomb
Irbil	4/2 Pro-Iran Incidents 1 Killed 1 Hashd   1 Shooting 1 Rockets 1 Drone
Kirkuk	14 Incidents 9 Killed 1 Civilian 8 ISF 12 Wounded 4 Civilians 8 ISF   7 Shootings 4 IEDs 3 Rockets
Ninewa	13 Incidents 2 Killed 2 Civilians 18 Wounded 3 ISF 7 Civilians 8 Hashd   3 Shootings 13 IEDs
Salahaddin	15/1 Pro-Iran Incidents 24 Killed 1 Hashd 10 ISF 13 Civilians 41 Wounded 6 Hashd 6 ISF 29 Civilians   4 Shootings 13 IEDs 2 Rockets

 

SOURCES

 

Asharq Al-Awsat, "Drone Attack Targets Iraq Base Hosting US Troops," 7/24/21

 

Bas News, "IS Shells Two Villages in Kirkuk," 7/26/21

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

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

- "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, "A logistical support convoy belonging to the American coalition was targeted with an explosive device in Diwaniya, southern Iraq," 7/11/21

 

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

 

Al Masalah, "Electricity: An IED attack targeting a high-pressure transmission line in Anbar," 7/19/21

 

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

 

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

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

- "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

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

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

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

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

- "A Convoy Of Logistical Support For The Int'l Coalition Targeted With An IED In Basra," 7/11/21

 

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

- "Suicide attack in Iraq's Sadr City kills at least 35, wounds dozens," 7/19/21

 

Shafaq News, "A bombing targets logistical support for the international coalition in western Iraq," 7/10/21

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

- "An explosion targets cadres working to repair power lines in Salahaddin," 7/8/21

- "A fuel tank driver was injured in two explosions, one of which targeted an international support convoy in southern Iraq," 7/29/21

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

- "Investigation results: The Iraqi helicopter was downed in an attack in Salahaddin," 7/31/21

- "A new explosion targets an international support convoy south of Baghdad," 7/29/21

 

Shilani, Hiwa, "ISIS fighters overrun Kirkuk army barracks, kill 4 soldiers," Kurdistan 24, 7/17/21

 

Al Sumaria, "An explosive device targets a convoy of the International Coalition in Nasiriya," 7/15/21

- "The final toll of the victims of the explosion in east Baghdad," 7/19/21

- "Two attempts to blow up electric power towers in Ninewa and Diyala thwarted," 7/11/21

 

Xinhua, "3 security members, IS militant killed in western Iraq," 7/23/21

- "Roundup: Deadly blast in Iraqi capital kills at least 28, wounds 66," 7/20/21