Security In Iraq, Aug 1-7, 2024

Both the Islamic State and the Iraqi Islamic Resistance were active in Iraq during the first week of August.

 

In Diyala the Islamic State attempted to assassinate an army colonel in Khalis in the north with an IED. The colonel, his bodyguard and a civilian were wounded in the incident.

 

Starting in the middle of July the Islamic Resistance returned to attacking Ain al-Assad airbase in Anbar that houses U.S. troops. 3 such incidents occurred during the month.

 

The Biden administration quickly retaliated with a strike upon Kataib Hezbollah’s base in Babil’s Jurf al-Sakhr which Washington claimed was the source for the assaults upon Ain al-Assad. 15 people were killed and wounded which included the death of a Houthi from Yemen and the wounding of a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who were said to be involved in drone operations.

 

The Resistance responded with two rocket attacks upon Assad base on August 5 and 6. In the first incident 5 U.S. soldiers and 2 American contractors were injured.

 

Whether things will continue to escalate is yet to be seen. It does highlight two main issues however. The first is that for all the talk about the War in Gaza the pro-Iran groups in Iraq are following their own agenda of attempting to force the U.S. out of Iraq. Second, this puts the Sudani government in a precarious situation as it wants to maintain good relations with Washington but the ruling coalition includes many of the groups carrying out attacks. It is in constant talks with the factions to try to stop them from resorting to violence and was able to negotiate a ceasefire in February with the help of Tehran but that has obviously fallen apart as the Resistance wants the Americans to leave immediately and has grown impatient with negotiations.

 

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province

Province	Aug 1-7
Anbar	2 Pro-Iran
Diyala	-1
TOTAL	3/2 Pro-Iran

 

Casualties In Iraq By Province

Province	Aug 1-7
Anbar	7 (7W)
Diyala	3 (3W)
TOTAL	10 (10W)

 

Security In Iraq 2022-23

Week	Security Incidents (Total/By IS)	Dead (Total/By IS)	Wounded (Total/By IS)
JAN 2022	87/41 Pro-Iran	33	59
FEB	42/14 Pro-Iran	10	29
MAR	46/12/1 Pro-Iran	19	21
APR	111/22 Pro-Iran	34	103
MAY	73/13 Pro-Iran	41	51
JUN	40/14 Pro-Iran	7	33
JUL	43/6 Pro-Iran	33	54
AUG	57/7/1 Pro-Iran	24	54
SEP	41/1/3 M	9	64
OCT	28/2/3 M	17	45
NOV	23	10	28
DEC	33/1 Pro-Iran	42	38
JAN 2023	29/4 Pro-Iran	12	15
Feb 1-7	6/2 Pro-Iran	1	5
Feb 8-14	1	-	2
Feb 15-21	4	4	8
Feb 22-28	9/1 Pro-Iran	7	3
FEB	20/3 Pro-Iran	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 Pro-Iran	-	-
JUL	11/2 Pro-Iran	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 Pro-Iran	1	9
AUG	13/1 Pro-Iran	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
Nov 8-14	12/10	-	3
Nov 15-21	6 Pro-Iran	-	8 Amer
Nov 22-28	4 Pro-Iran	-	-
Nov 29-30	2	11	16
NOV	35/29 Pro-Iran	15	29
Dec 1-7	10/8 Pro-Iran	1	9
Dec 8-14	8/6 Pro-Iran	-	2
Dec 15-21	6/2 Pro-Iran	1	2
Dec 22-28	7/6 Pro-Iran	-	3 US
Dec 29-31	4 Pro-Iran
DEC	35/26 Pro-Iran	2K	16W
Jan 1-7	10/6 Pro-Iran/1 Iranian	5	9
Jan 8-14	7/3 Pro-Iran	3	3
Jan 15-21	10/6 Pro-Iran	6	6
Jan 22-28	11/10 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jan 29-31	3 Pro-Ira	-	-
JAN	42/28 Pro-Iran/1 Iranian	14	20
Feb 1-7	1 Pro-Iran	-	-
Feb 8-14	-	-	-
Feb 15-21	-	-	-
Feb 22-29	1	-	-
FEB	2/1 Pro-Iran	-	-
Mar 1-7	4/2 Pro-Iran	1	4
Mar 8-14	8/1 Pro-Iran	4	8
Mar 15-21	2	-	2
Mar 22-28	2 Pro-Iran	-	-
Mar 29-31	2/1Pro-iran	1	1
MAR	18/6 Pro-Iran	6	15
Apr 1-7	3/2 Pro-Iran	-	-
Apr 8-14	1 Pro-Iran	-	-
Apr 15-21	3 Pro-Iran	-	-
Apr 22-28	1 Pro-Iran	4	-
Apr 29-30	1	2	-
APR	9/7 Pro-Iran	6	-
May 1-7	3 Pro-Iran	-	-
May 8-14	6/5 Pro-Iran	5	5
May 15-21	11/9 Pro-Iran	1	6
May 22-28	6/2 Pro-Iran	11	12
May 29-31	1 Pro-Iran	-	-
MAY	27/20 Pro-Iran	18	22
Jun 1-7	4 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jun 8-14	2 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jun 15-21	2/1 Pro-Iran	1	-
Jun 22-28	5 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jun 29-31	1 Pro-Iran	-	-
JUN	14/13 Pro-Iran	1	-
Jul 1-7	2 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jul 8-14	4	10	4
Jul 15-21	4 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jan 22-28	2 Pro-Iran	-	-
Jul 29-31	-	-	-
JUL	12/8 Pro-Iran	10	4
Aug 1-7	3/2Pro-Iran	-	10 (5 Amer)

 

SOURCES

 

Arab News, “US strikes Iraqi militia to thwart drone attack on Israel: Report,” 8/1/24

 

Al Arabiya, "At least seven Americans wounded in Iran-backed Iraq attack: US defense official," 8/6/24

 

Al Mada , "The Phalange claims that the attack was launched from Kuwait and Baghdad supports that it was from outside the borders," 8/1/24

 

Martinez, Luis, "US carries out defensive airstrike in Iraq: Officials," ABC News, 7/30/24

 

Salem, Amr, "Second attack targets Ain Al-Asad airbase within 24 hours," Iraqi News, 8/6/24

 

Shafaq News, "Diyala .. An explosive device targeted an officer, wounding his brother and a member of his protection," 8/4/24