Security In Iraq Nov 1-7, 2023

The Islamic State made two rare appearances during the opening of November. Pro-Iran groups were far more active however as they escalate their confrontation with the United States.

 

There were a total of 11 security incidents in Iraq reported in the media from November 1-7. 9 of those were by pro-Iran factions and two by the Islamic State.

 

In the Haditha district of Anbar the Islamic State shot and killed a tribal Hashd member. The same day it attacked a checkpoint in Kubaisa, Anbar which left three soldiers dead and two wounded. These days it’s rare enough for the insurgency to carry out an attack and even rarer for them to be offensive in nature such as these two. Still this is a shadow of the number of operations the militants used to carry out.

 

The majority of violence during the week was at the hands of pro-Iran groups. The Al-Asad airbase in Anbar was hit 5 times, 4 incidents were with drones and the other by mortars. In Irbil there were 4 drone strikes on Al-Harir airbase. The Islamic Resistance claimed responsibility for these operations and is acting as an umbrella organization for Hashd forces linked with Tehran. Their attacks have increased since the start of the Gaza War. That means the chances of American retaliation in Iraq are increasing as well. The Sudani government is very worried about this situation feeling that the growing confrontation is ruining the country’s business environment and foreign relations with the West. It’s in the unenviable situation of being powerless since it has no control over the factions responsible.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Nov 1-7
Anbar	7/5 Pro-Iran
Irbil	4 Pro-Iran
TOTAL	11/9 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Nov 1-7
Anbar	6 (4K, 2W)
TOTAL	6 (4K, 2W)

 

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	-
Apr 22-28	2	1	-
Apr 29-30	1	1	-
APR	16	6	8
May 1-7	2	1	1
May 8-14	6	4	3
May 15-21	3	2	6
May 22-28	3	1	3
May 29-31	2	-	3
MAY	15	8	14
Jun 1-7	-	-	-
Jun 8-14	4	7	4
Jun 15-21	2	1	2
Jun 22-28	4	2	4
Jun 29-30	-	-	-
JUN	10	10	10
Jul 1-7	1	-	-
Jul 8-14	3	2	1
Jul 15-21	2	-	1
Jul 22-28	2	-	2
Jul 29-31	3/2	-	-
JUL	11/2	2	4
Aug 1-7	4	-	4
Aug 8-14	2	1	3
Aug 15-21	2	-	5
Aug 22-28	2	-	2
Aug 29-31	3/1	1	9
AUG	13/1	2	23
Sep 1-7	1	-	1
Sep 8-14	1	1	-
Sep 15-21	2	-	4
Sep 22-28	1	1	1
Sep 29-30	-	-	-
SEP	5	2	6
Oct 1-7	-	-	-
Oct 8-14	-	-	-
Oct 15-21	7 Pro-Iran	-	-
Oct 22-28	7/5 Pro-Iran	-	8
Oct 29-31	3 Pro-Iran	-	-
OCT	17/15 Pro-Iran	-	8
Nov 1-7	11/9	4	2

 

SOURCES

 

Babb, Carla, “Pentagon: 38 Attacks Target US Forces in Iraq, Syria,” Voice of America, 11/6/23

 

Bas News, "Anbar: Five Iraqi Soldiers Killed, Injured in IS Attack," 11/5/23

- "Drone Attack Intercepted Over Skies of US Military Base in Erbil," 11/3/23

 

Knights, Michael, Al-Kaabi, Amir, Malik, Hamdi, "Tracking Anti-U.S. Strikes in Iraq and Syria During the Gaza Crisis," The Washington Institute for Near East Policy 11/3/23

 

NINA, "Targeting Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq with mortar shells," 11/5/23

- "Two Drones Target An American Military Base In Erbil," 11/7/23

- "A US Forces Base Near Erbil Airport Targeted With A Drone," 11/6/23

 

Shafaq News, "A victim from the tribal mobilization fell while repelling an ISIS attack in the Anbar desert," 11/4/23

 

Van Wilgenburg, Wladimir, "Attack drones shot down above Ain al-Assad Airbase: Coalition," Kurdistan 24, 11/6/23