Violence Drops In Iraq In January 2023

 

Violence dropped in Iraq from December 2022 to January 2023. The Islamic State has been quiet since a short summer offensive. However, there was a small uptick in activity by pro-Iran groups during the month.

 

There were a total of 29 security incidents reported in Iraq in January. In December there were 33, in November 23 and October 28.

 

Four of those incidents were by pro-Iran groups. In Baghdad they set off two IEDs against convoys working for the U.S. in the Yusifiya area in the south. They also fired rockets at the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniya twice. In December these factions carried out 1 attack, none in November, 2 in October, 1 in September and 7 in August. The groups have been more interested in the new Sudani government than going after the Americans which accounts for the drop in attacks.

 

There were 25 incidents by the Islamic State in January. That compared to 32 in December, 23 in November, 23 in October, 37 in September and 49 in August. That last month was the peak of a small summer offensive. After that attacks dropped off.

 

January’s incidents took place in Babil (1), Baghdad (5), Diyala (7), Kirkuk (3), Ninewa (5), Salahaddin (3) and Sulaymaniya (1).

 

Those resulted in 12 dead and 15 wounded. 2 Hashd al-Shaabi, 4 civilians and 6 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) lost their lives while 2 Hashd, 6 civilians and 7 ISF were wounded. All 6 provinces where IS attacks took place saw casualties in single digits with Diyala having the most with 8 followed by 7 in Baghdad.

 

The insurgency remains focused upon protecting its areas. The first week of the month there were 7 incidents by the Islamic State with 1 being offensive when a Hashd unit was attacked in Ninewa. The second week there were 5 incidents 1 of which was offensive when a group of Hashd got into a gun battle with insurgents in Salahaddin.  The third week there were 10 incidents none of which were offensive. The last week of January there were 3 incidents with 1 being offensive when two police were shot in western Baghdad an area where IS has not been active in weeks. The last three days of month there was a bombing in Babil which was also offensive in nature. That was four offensive attacks out of 25. The other incidents were aimed at keeping the government out of IS regions and intimidating the population. The group’s main concern continues to be maintaining control in places like the Muqdadiya and Khanaqin districts in central and northeast Diyala, Hawija in southern Kirkuk, and Tarmiya in northern Baghdad. It barely operates outside of those areas. This marks the weakest period in the Iraqi insurgency since 2003. The Islamic State can continue at this rate for years though because it is in rural areas where there is little government presence even without the insurgents.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Jan 29-31	Totals
Babil	-	-	-	-	1	1
Baghdad	4	-	1 Pro-Iran	2/1 Pro-Iran	-	7/2 Pro-Iran
Diyala	2	3	3	-	-	7
Kirkuk	-	-	2	1	-	3
Ninewa	1	1	2	1	-	5
Salahaddin	-	1	2	-	-	3
Sulaymaniya	-	1 Pro-Iran	1	1 Pro-Iran	-	3/2 Pro-Iran
TOTAL	7	6/1 Pro-Iran	11/1 Pro-Iran	5/2 Pro-Iran	-	29/4 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Jan 1-7	Jan 8-14	Jan 15-21	Jan 22-28	Jan 29-31	Totals
Babil	-	-	-	-	2 (2W)	2 (2W)
Baghdad	5 (3K, 2W)	-	-	2 (1K, 1W)	-	7 (4K, 3W)
Diyala	1 (1K)	3 (3K)	4 (4W)	-	-	8 (4K, 4W)
Kirkuk	-	-	2 (2K)	-	-	2 (2K)
Ninewa	-	-	3 (3W)	1 (1W)	-	4 (4W)
Salahaddin	-	4 (2K, 2W)	-	-	-	4 (2K, 2W)
TOTAL	6 (4K, 2W)	7 (5K, 2W)	9 (2 K, 7W)	3 (1K, 2W)	2 (2W)	27 (12K, 15W)

 

Security In Iraq 2022-23

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
Jan 1-7	18/9	3	4
Jan 8-14	35/21	3	18
Jan 15-21	12/5	17	12
Jan 22-28	16/3	8	19
Jan 29-31	6/2	2	6
JAN	87/41	33	59
Feb 1-7	11/3	1	10
Feb 8-14	14/6	8	3
Feb 15-21	9/1	-	11
Feb 22-28	8/4	1	5
FEB	42/14	10	29
Mar 1-7	7/3	1	-
Mar 8-14	18/3/1	6	5
Mar 15-21	10/4	5	6
Mar 22-28	6/1	7	4
Mar 29-31	4/1	-	5
MAR	46/12/1	19	21
Apr 1-7	16/8	-	6
Apr 8-14	21/7	8	25
Apr 15-21	22/2	10	22
Apr 22-28	44/4	14	44
Apr 29-30	6/1	2	6
APR	111/22	34	103
May 1-7	31/3	8	25
May 8-14	9/2	2	7
May 15-21	18/6	10	6
May 22-28	13/1	21	11
May 29-31	2/1	-	2
MAY	73/13	41	51
Jun 1-7	6/2	-	8
Jun 8-14	12/4	1	9
Jun 15-21	10/2	5	2
Jun 22-28	12/6	1	14
Jun 29-30	-	-	-
JUN	40/14	7	33
Jul 1-7	7/1	6	11
Jul 8-14	3	-	2
Jul 15-21	11/2	14	16
Jul 22-28	18/7	9	21
Jul 29-31	4	4	4
JUL	43/6	33	54
Aug 1-7	9/1	6	15
Aug 8-14	14	2	14
Aug 15-21	7/2	-	6
Aug 22-28	23/4	14	15
Aug 29-31	4	2	4
AUG	57/7/1	24	54
Sep 1-7	11/1	3	20
Sep 8-14	5	-	12
Sep 15-21	12	4	14
Sep 22-28	10/2 M	2	16
Sep 29-30	3/1 M	-	2
SEP	41/1/3 M	9	64
Oct 1-7	9/2 M	6	16
Oct 8-14	8/2/1 M	5	19
Oct 15-21	6	4	7
Oct 22-28	3	2	1
Oct 29-31	2	-	2
OCT	28/2/3 M	17	45
Nov 1-7	7	1	3
Nov 8-14	6	1	8
Nov 15-21	8	7	17
Nov 22-28	2	1	-
Nov 29-30	-	-	-
NOV	23	10	28
Dec 1-7	13/1	6	11
Dec 8-14	6	7	8
Dec 15-21	6	29	15
Dec 22-28	6	-	4
Dec 29-31	2	-	-
DEC	33/1	42	38
Jan 1-7	7	4	2
Jan 8-14	6/1	5	2
Jan 15-21	11/1	2	7
Jan 22-28	5/2	1	2
Jan 29-31	1	-	2
JAN	29/4	12	15

 

Violence By Province Jan 2023

Province	Violence	2018 Avg	2019 Avg	2020 Avg	2021 Avg	2022 Avg
Anbar	-	12.6 incidents/ month	8.6 incidents/ month	7.0 incidents/ month	4.6 incidents/ month	2.0 incidents/month
Babil	1 Incident 2 Wounded 2 Civilians   1 IED	4.0 incidents/month	3.0 incidents/month	2.7 incidents/month	2.5 incidents/month	2.0 incidents/month
Baghdad	7/2 Pro-Iran Incidents 4 Killed 1 Civilian 3 ISF 3 Wounded 3 ISF   3 Shootings 4 IEDs	33.0 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	7.3 incidents/month	5.6 incidents/ month	3.5 incidents/month
Diyala	7 Incidents 4 Killed 1 ISF 3 Civilians 4 Wounded 4 ISF   4 Shootings 1 IED 1 Suicide Bomber killed	38.6 incidents/month	30.0 incidents/month	30.6 incidents/month	22.8 incidents/month	12.2 incidents/month
Kirkuk	3 Incidents 2 Killed 2 ISF   2 Shootings 1 Suicide Bomber Killed	36.5 incidents/month	18.6 incidents/month	13.9 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	8.2 incidents/month
Ninewa	5 Incidents 4 Wounded 4 Civilians   1 Shooting 5 IEDs	20.0 incidents/month	13.2 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	8.4 incidents/month	6.0 incidents/month
Salahaddin	3 Incidents 2 Killed 2 Hashd 2 Wounded 2 Hashd   1 Shooting	21.7 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	11.2 incidents/month	11.5 incidents/month	5.5 incidents/month
Sulaymaniya	3/2 Pro-Iran Incidents   2 Rockets
IRAQ	29/4 Pro-Iran Incidents 12 Killed 2 Hashd 4 Civilians 6 ISF 15 Wounded 2 Hashd 6 Civilians 7 ISF   11 Shootings 11 IEDs 2 Suicide Bombers Killed 2 Rockets	166.6 incidents/month	95.5 incidents/month	85.5 incidents/month	69.9 incidents/month	40.2 incidents/month

 

SOURCES

 

Al Masalah, "A missile attack targeted the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaiya," 1/13/23

 

NINA, "A convoy of logistical support for the international coalition forces targeted with an explosive device south of Baghdad," 1/26/23

- "The Popular Mobilization ends the "ISIS" attack east of Salah al-Din by defeating the terrorists," 1/9/23

- "The Popular Mobilization repels an attack by ISIS in Al-Hatra Island," 1/1/23

- "Two children were wounded when an explosive device exploded near a five-a-side stadium, north of Babylon," 1/30/23

- "Two rockets fell in gas field in Sulaymaniyah," 1/27/23

 

Shafaq News, "A logistical support convoy targeted the International Coalition south of Baghdad," 1/19/23

- "Two gunmen attack a police patrol and kill one of its members in Baghdad," 1/25/23