Security In Iraq Apr 15-21, 2023

Ramadan ended and the Islamic State did not launch its annual offensive in Iraq. There were more attacks in April then March but the numbers were still insignificant.

 

From April 15-21 there were 5 security incidents by the Islamic State. That compared to 4 the week before and 5 the first week of the month. The 14 incidents in April so far outpaced the 8 recorded in March. However, this was the twelfth straight week that incidents have been in single digits and the 14^th of 15 weeks in 2023 that has been true.

 

The 5 incidents took place in Baghdad (1), Diyala (3) and Kirkuk (1).

 

They resulted in 3 deaths, 2 in Diyala and 1 in Kirkuk.

 

In Taji in northern Baghdad province a grenade was thrown at an intelligence officer’s house. Taji is next to Tarmiya which has seen a steady dose of insurgent activity over the last few months.

 

There were three incidents in Diyala, including an IED on a patrol, an attack upon a checkpoint, and a raid upon a house where two people including a soldier were executed. What was different about these operations was that two of them were in the western section of the province which sees little insurgent activity. IS has long standing bases in the center and northeast of the governorate. When it works outside of those areas it’s usually in the northwest along the border with Salahaddin which is another region under IS influence. Those two attacks therefore can be considered offensive ones.

 

Finally, there was an attack upon the police in Kirkuk which left one officer dead.

 

Every year since 2003 the militants have launched Ramadan offensives in Iraq. 2023 marks the first year this has not happened. The insurgency is a shell of its former self and is isolated in the rural, mountainous and desert regions of Iraq where it has become irrelevant.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Apr 1-7	Apr 8-14	Apr 15-21
Anbar	-	1	-
Baghdad	-	1	1
Diyala	-	-	3
Kirkuk	3	-	1
Ninewa	1	2	-
Salahaddin	1	-	-
TOTAL	5	4	5

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Apr 1-7	Apr 8-14	Apr 15-21
Diyala	-	-	2 (2K)
Kirkuk	4 (1K, 3W)	-	1 (1K)
Ninewa	2 (2W)	1 (1W)	-
Salahaddin	2 (2W)	-	-
TOTAL	8 (1K, 7W)	1 (1W)	3 (3K)

 

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
Feb 1-7	6/2	1	5
Feb 8-14	1	-	2
Feb 15-21	4	4	8
Feb 22-28	9/1	7	3
FEB	20/3	12	18
Mar 1-7	3	10	4
Mar 8-14	2	2	1
Mar 15-21	2	1	3
Mar 22-28	1	2	-
Mar 29-31	1	3	-
MAR	9	18	8
Apr 1-7	5	1	7
Apr 8-14	4	-	1
Apr 15-21	5	3	-

 

Violence By Province Apr 14-21, 2023

Province	Violence	2018 Avg	2019 Avg	2020 Avg	2021 Avg	2022 Avg	2023 Avg
Anbar	-	12.6 incidents/ month	8.6 incidents/ month	7.0 incidents/ month	4.6 incidents/ month	2.0 incidents/month	0.6 Incidents/month
Babil	-	4.0 incidents/month	3.0 incidents/month	2.7 incidents/month	2.5 incidents/month	2.0 incidents/month	0.3 Incidents/month
Baghdad	1 Incident   1 Grenade	33.0 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	7.3 incidents/month	5.6 incidents/ month	3.5 incidents/month	3.6 Incidents/month
Diyala	3 Incidents 2 Killed 1 Civilian 1 ISF   2 Shootings 1 IED	38.6 incidents/month	30.0 incidents/month	30.6 incidents/month	22.8 incidents/month	12.2 incidents/month	5.3 Incidents/month
Kirkuk	1 Incident 1 Killed 1 ISF   1 Shooting	36.5 incidents/month	18.6 incidents/month	13.9 incidents/month	11.6 incidents/month	8.2 incidents/month	1.3 Incidents/month
Ninewa	-	20.0 incidents/month	13.2 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	8.4 incidents/month	6.0 incidents/month	3 Incidents/month
Salahaddin	-	21.7 incidents/month	10.6 incidents/month	11.2 incidents/month	11.5 incidents/month	5.5 incidents/month	2.3 Incidents/month
IRAQ	5 Incidents 3 Killed 1 Civilian 2 ISF   3 Shootings 1 IED	166.6 incidents/month	95.5 incidents/month	85.5 incidents/month	69.9 incidents/month	40.2 incidents/month	17 Incidents/month

 

SOURCES

 

NINA, "An IED explodes on a security patrol in Baquba. No injuries reported," 4/15/23

- "The Army Repels A Terrorist Attack East Of Baquba," 4/18/23

 

Rudaw, "Iraqi soldier, wife killed in suspected ISIS attack in Diyala," 4/18/23

 

Al Sumaria, "A policeman was killed in an armed attack in Kirkuk," 4/21/23

- "Targeting a senior officer's house north of Baghdad," 4/15/23