Saturday, December 9, 2017

Security In Iraq, Dec 1-7, 2017


For 17 straight weeks Iraq has had less than 100 security incidents reported per week. During the first seven days of December there were just 59 Incidents the same amount as the last full week of November. There were 252 reported deaths, but 202 of those were from several mass graves in Ninewa, meaning there were only 50 violent deaths and another 61 injured mentioned in the media.

Broken down by province there was 1 incident in Basra, 1 in Sulaymaniya, 2 in Anbar, 2 in Babil, 3 in Salahaddin, 9 in Ninewa, 10 in Kirkuk, 11 in Diyala, and 20 in Baghdad.

That left 2 casualties in Babil, 3 in Sulaymaniya, 8 in Diyala, 10 in Kirkuk, 26 in Anbar, 51 in Baghdad, and 213 in Ninewa. That consisted of 1 Hashd al-Shaabi, 1 Sahwa, 2 Peshmerga, 4 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 244 civilian deaths, along with 3 ISF, 5 Hashd, and 53 civilian wounded.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Dec 1-7, 2017
Basra 1
Sulaymaniya 1
Anbar 2
Babil 2
Salahaddin 3
Ninewa 9
Kirkuk 10
Diyala 11
Baghdad 20

Casualties In Iraq By Province Dec 1-7, 2017
Babil 2 (2 Wounded)
Sulaymaniya 3 (1 Killed, 2 Wounded)
Diyala 8 (4 Killed, 4 Wounded)
Kirkuk 10 (10 Killed)
Anbar 26 (26 Killed)
Baghdad 51 (8 Killed, 43 Wounded)
Ninewa 213 (203 Killed, 10 Wounded)

During the week, there was a pause in the Jazeera Desert operation in western Anbar and Ninewa. 50% of the area was declared cleared and a 100 kilometer berm built along the Iraq-Syrian border. At the same time, forces were reportedly returning home, raising questions of whether the whole region would be secured or not. There is also the larger issue of if the government will maintain a permanent presence there to deny it to the Islamic State. Anbar officials have spoken of their desire for a desert protection force, but it looks less likely Baghdad will follow through.

Speaker of west Anbar, a councilman reported that 70% of Rawa and Qaim were destroyed and a high percentage of Ana as well. That included all the electricity and water stations, and 383 homes. These western towns were the last ones held by the militants in Iraq.

There were just two incidents in the province from December 1-7. One was an IED going off in a booby trapped house that killed 25 people returning to Rawa. These left behind ordinance are a constant threat.

On the one hand, Baghdad was the most violent province in the country with 20 incidents. On the other, it has only averaged 2-3 incidents per day, which is the lowest figures seen since probably 2003. During the week, a suicide bomber was arrested, but all the other incidents were small bombings and two shootings.

The insurgents were back to work in Diyala with 11 incidents. That included two shootings at checkpoints, an IED on the motorcade of a local council head, and two suicide bombers that were killed. Diyala officials continued to warn that IS was active in the rural areas of the province, and the head of the security committee in the provincial council asked for Prime Minister Haidar Abadi to intervene to prevent the situation from getting worse. Security in the governorate is under the control of the Badr Organization, and the premier has little say over its activities.

Another violent area was Kirkuk. The militants were accused of two kidnapping incidents, attacked a village and an ISF patrol. Since the summer there was an uptick in militant activity, but it was still only averaging just around 1 incident per day.

Ninewa was still seeing incidents in Mosul and the rural areas. A car bomb hit a displaced camp in Makhmour killing 3 and wounding 7. Another suicide car bomb was destroyed. In the west, IS was still trying to infiltrate across the Syrian border leading to clashes. Inside Mosul, people continued to be victims of IEDs left behind from the fighting.

Salahaddin is another governorate where IS is moving its forces in and out. During the week though, there were only 3 incidents with no reported casualties. Since Shirqat in the north was freed there has been a decided decrease in attacks in Salahaddin. That also may be due to the cyclical nature of IS activity which rises during the spring and summer, and then goes down.

Security In Iraq 2017
Week
Security
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1-7
188
509
1,346
Jan 8-14
168
371
1,036
Jan 15-21
137
585
1,262
Jan 22-28
145
289
310
Jan 29-31
74
127
338
JAN
712
1,881
4,292
Feb 1-7
123
388
176
Feb 8-14
164
434
390
Feb 15-21
148
393
508
Feb 22-28
185
647 + 399
1,390 + 1,634
FEB
620
1,862 + 399
2,464 + 1,634
Mar 1-7
179
749
622
Mar 8-14
171
551
614
Mar 15-21
143
571
1,166
Mar 22-28
152
1,233
575
Mar 29-31
71
374 + 278
288 + 2,925
MAR
716
3,478 + 278
3,265 + 2,925
Apr 1-7
174
903
487
Apr 8-14
126
599
669
Apr 15-21
108
479
449
Apr 22-28
122
698
328
Apr 29-30
39
138
51
APR
569
2,817
1,984
May 1-7
106
405
468
May 8-14
109
601
386
May 15-21
132
363
224
May 22-28
106
433
150
May 29-31
69
214
236
MAY
522
2,016
1,464
Jun 1-7
136
1,403
487
Jun 8-14
127
658
174
Jun 15-21
114
480
101
Jun 22-28
119
340
246
Jun 29-30
37
349
127
JUN
533
3,230
1,135
JAN-JUN
3,669
15,262 +
677
14,497 +
4,559
Jul 1-7
141
798
331
Jul 8-14
105
298
86
Jul 15-21
87
124
72
Jul 22-28
107
189
122
Jul 29-31
37
50
25
JUL
477
1,459
636
Aug 1-7
80
143
188
Aug 8-14
88
955
124
Aug 15-21
73
97
100
Aug 22-28
85
674
132
Aug 29-31
31
30
40
AUG
357
1,958
1,261
Sep 1-7
62
68
73
Sep 8-14
78
412
176
Sep 15-21
91
145
180
Sep 22-28
52
78
104
Sep 29-30
23
25
16
SEP
306
728
549
Oct 1-7
64
64
84
Oct 8-14
72
133
85
Oct 15-21
60
321
449
Oct 22-28
65
372
222 + 1,700
Oct 29-31
25
23
25
OCT
286
913
865 + 1,700
Nov 1-7
72
135
97
Nov 8-14
62
445
64
Nov 15-21
79
138
159
Nov 22-28
59
149
76
Nov 29-30
24
415
29
NOV
296
1,282
425
Dec 1-7
59
252
61

Violence By Province Dec 1-7 2017
Province
Violence
Anbar
2 Incidents
26 Killed
1 ISF
25 Civilians

1 Shooting
1 IED
Babil
2 Incidents
2 Wounded
2 Hashd

1 IED
1 Grenade
Baghdad
20 Incidents
8 Killed
1 Hashd
1 Sahwa
6 Civilians
43 Wounded
1 ISF
3 Hashd
39 Civilians

2 Shootings
14 IEDs
2 Sticky Bombs
1 Suicide Bomber
    Arrested
Basra
1 Incident

1 IED
Diyala
11 Incidents
4 Killed
1 Civilian
1 ISF
2 Peshmerga
4 Wounded
1 ISF
3 Civilians

4 Shootings
1 IED
1 Grenade
2 Suicide Bombers
    Killed
Kirkuk
10 Incidents
10 Killed
1 ISF
9 Civilians

5 Shootings
1 IED
1 Grenade
Ninewa
9 Incidents
203 Killed
1 ISF
202 Civilians
10 Wounded
1 ISF
9 Civilians

1 Shooting
3 IEDs
1 Car Bomb
1 Suicide Car Bomb
    Destroyed
Salahaddin
3 Incidents

1 Shooting
2 IEDs
1 Mortar
Sulaymaniya
1 Incident
1 Killed
1 Civilian
2 Wounded
2 Civilians

1 Turkish Shelling

SOURCES

Baghdad Post, "3 killed, 7 wounded in Makhmour car bomb," 12/6/17

Bas News, New Militant Group Emerges in Mandali, East of Diyala: Official, 12/3/17
- "Suicide Attack Near Mosul Foiled," 12/1/17

Ebraheem, Mohammed, "6 persons killed, injured in two bomb blasts in Baghdad," Iraqi News, 12/3/17
- "Policeman shot dead by sniper in border area between Diyala, Salahuddin," Iraqi News, 12/6/17

Al Ghad Press, "The arrival of 7 victims of the explosion in Makhmour to Irbil," 12/6/17
- "Foiled an attack on a checkpoint northeast of Baquba," 12/2/17
- President of the Diyala council calls on Abadi to intervene to prevent a security disaster in the province, 12/3/17
- "Targeting the President of the Mandali Council by an improvised explosive device east of Diyala," 12/1/17

Al Maalomah, "Death of a woman by a bomb explosion in the old city of Mosul," 12/4/17

Al Mada, The sluggishness of the operations command in Anbar means aborting the desert cleansing,12/1/17

Mostafa, Nehal, 70% of western Anbar towns destroyed by war against Islamic State: Official,Iraqi News, 12/1/17
- "Official: Over 25 persons killed in booby-trapped houses, west of Anbar," Iraqi News, 12/1/17
- "Suicide attacker killed, three foreigners arrested, east of Diyala: Commander," Iraqi News, 12/4/17

NINA, "A Family Of Six Killed By Blowing Up Their House In Mosul," 12/5/17
- "The PMF Foils An Attack Of Daesh And Kills Six Of Its Members West Of Mosul," 12/6/17
- "Two elements of Daesh, one of them a suicide bomber, killed in a military operation east of Baquba," 12/2/17


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