Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Security In Iraq, Aug 1-7, 2016


Violence remained at a low level for the seventh straight week in Iraq. Most of the casualties in the country were due to terrorist attacks in the capital Baghdad and executions by the Islamic State as it attempts to maintain control over the remaining areas under its control.

There were just 109 incidents reported in the press in Iraq from August 1-7, 2016. That was the lowest figure so far in the year. The huge reduction in violence in Iraq can be attributed to three main factors. First, the Islamic State’s spring offensive ended. Second, the group is trying to recover and regroup from its recent losses such as Fallujah, Garma, etc. Most of that is being done in the rural areas of central Iraq. Last, there are no major government offensives currently on going, which brings about a large number of militant counterattacks. 

During the week there were 66 incidents in Baghdad, 12 in Kirkuk, 10 in Diyala, 10 in Ninewa, 5 in Anbar, 4 in Salahaddin, and 2 in Babil.

Those resulted in 342 dead and 255 wounded. 1 Sahwa, 4 Hashd, 22 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 315 civilians were killed and 2 Sahwa, 14 Hashd, 37 ISF, and 202 civilians were injured. There were 175 fatalities in Kirkuk, 69 in Baghdad, 64 in Anbar, 25 in Ninewa, 6 in Diyala, 2 in Babil, and 1 in Salahaddin.

Anbar had just 5 incidents, but there were 64 dead. 46 of those came from a Coalition airstrike in the Qaim district in the west on August 2, and then there was another air strike the day before that killed 9. The Islamic State also executed 5 people in western Anbar.

The Iraqi forces were also doing clean up duty in the Khalidiya Island district, which had just been freed. The Waleed border crossing with Syria was also liberated. Unlike previous weeks there were not reported IS counterattacks during the week.

IS terrorist and insurgent attacks led to most of the 66 incidents, 69 dead, and 201 wounded in Baghdad. There were no mass casualty bombings during the week, but one truck bomb was discovered and dismantled, and two suicide bombers were killed in the outer south. That left the main killers in the province 33 IEDs and 4 sticky bombs. As usual IS concentrated on the south 25 incidents and north 19 incidents. There were also 18 incidents in the east, which is usually a mix of insurgent attacks, vigilantes, criminals, and Hashd, 4 in the west, and 1 in the center.

Violence In Baghdad, Aug 1-7, 2016
Center: 1 – 1 Shooting
East: 13 – 1 Shooting/Robbery, 1 Kidnapping, 2 Sticky Bombs, 3 IEDs, 5 Shootings
Outer East: 5 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Shooting, 3 IEDs
North: 10 – 1 Grenade, 1 Shooting/Robbery, 3 Shootings, 5 IEDs
Outer North: 9 – 1 Truck Bomb Dismantled, 1 Kidnapping, 1 Stickky Bomb, 3 Shootings, 3 IEDs
South: 15 – 1 Stabbing, 1 Sticky Bomb, 5 Shootings, 8 IEDs
Outer South: 10 – 2 Suicide Bombers Killed, 9 IEDs
West: 2 – 1 Shooting, 1 IED
Outer West: 2 – 1 Mortar, 1 IED

Diyala was the site of the only successful car bombing during the week. That occurred at a checkpoint north of Baquba that killed 1 Hashd and wounded 5 others. Otherwise, violence was at a low level as usual with four shootings and four IEDs. There were a total of 10 incidents with 6 fatalities and 11 injured.

There were just 12 incidents in Kirkuk, but 175 killed. That was due to 83 people being executed by the Islamic State in the Hawija district. As the insurgents have lost control of more territory and the Iraqi forces have moved north an exodus of people seeking to flee has begun. That was what led to the wave of killings during the week as IS struggled to maintain control. IS did launch three counter attacks upon the Iraqi forces during the week with several suicide car bombs that were destroyed, but 3 suicide bombers were able to get into a town in the district followed by an infantry assault that killed 15 and wounded 7. The Iraqi forces in turn have been rather quiet the last few weeks. They seized a road junction and one town, but appear to be holding ground for now, probably waiting for the Qayara air base to be refurbished before launching major operations again. IS also executed six people in the district.

The car bombing in Diyala was the only successful one in the country for the week. The government claimed to have destroyed 19 more, in Baghdad, Ninewa and Salahaddin.

Violence In Iraq 2016
Date
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1-7
171
856
421
Jan 8-14
160
517
413
Jan 15-21
160
403
223
Jan 22-28
149
445
320
Jan 29-31
55
133
334
JAN
695
2,345
1,711
Feb 1-7
176
611
312
Feb 8-14
143
230
323
Feb 15-21
157
392
239
Feb 22-29
160
382
690
FEB
635
1,615
1,565
Mar 1-7
184
333
482
Mar 8-14
169
477
515
Mar 15-21
132
418
502
Mar 22-28
141
245
432
Mar 29-31
53
192
152
MAR
679
1,665
2,083
Apr 1-7
157
398
510
Apr 8-14
145
361
443
Apr 15-21
130
531
300
Apr 22-28
166
480
532
Apr 29-30
31
65
121
APR
629
1,835
1,906
May 1-7
164
386
422
May 8-14
147
407
687
May 15-21
127
387
617
May 22-28
150
315
445
May 29-31
84
122
313
MAY
672
1,617
2,484
Jun 1-7
177
592
1,639
Jun 8-14
136
345
472
Jun 15-21
154
416
523
Jun 22-28
123
329
410
Jun 29-30
40
429
3,405
JUN
630
2,111
6,449
Jul 1-7
120
589
635
Jul 8-14
129
242
316
Jul 15-21
123
168
272
Jun 22-28
115
234
366
Jul 29-31
43
95
119
JUL
530
1,328
1,708
Aug 1-7
109
342
255

Security By Province Aug 1-7 2016
Province
Incidents
Anbar
5 Incidents
64 Killed: 4 ISF, 60 Civilians
4 Wounded: 1 Civilian, 3 ISF
2 IEDs
Babil
2 Incidents
2 Killed: 2 Civilians
4 Wounded: 4 Civilians
1 IED
Baghdad
66 Incidents
69 Killed: 1 Sahwa, 2 Hashd, 5 ISF, 61 Civilians
201 Wounded: 2 Sahwa, 9 Hashd, 22 ISF, 168 Civilians
21 Shootings
33 IEDs
4 Sticky Bombs
1 Mortar
1 Grenade
2 Suicide Bombers killed
1 Truck Bomb Dismantled
Diyala
10 Incidents
6 Killed: 2 Hashd, 4 Civilians
11 Wounded: 3 ISF, 3 Civilians, 5 Hashd
4 Shootings
4 IEDs
1 Suicide Car Bomb
Kirkuk
12 Incidents
175 Killed: 175 Civilians
19 Wounded: 19 Civilians
6 Shootings
2 IEDs
1 Rockets
Ninewa
10 Incidents
25 Killed: 12 ISF, 13 Civilians
16 Wounded: 7 Civilians, 9 ISF
2 Shootings
22 IEDs
3 Suicide Bombers
1 Mortar
15 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
Salahaddin
4 Incidents
1 Killed: 1 ISF
1 Shooting
1 Mortar
3 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed

Car Bombs In Iraq Aug 1-7 2016
Date
Car Bombs
Dead
Wounded
Aug 1
Shirqat, Salahaddin – 3 destroyed


Aug 2
Hadhar & Qayara, Ninewa – 15 destroyed


Aug 3
Tarmiya, Baghdad – 1 destroyed


Aug 4
North of Baquba, Diyala
1
5
Aug 5



Aug 6



Aug 7



Totals
1 – 19 Destroyed
1
5

SOURCES

Airwars, "August 4th 2016: Baoizh village near Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq"

Iraq Body Count, “Recent events”

Iraqi News, "Aerial bombing in Anbar kills civilians," 8/3/16
- "Baghdad Operations kills two suicide bombers south of Baghdad," 8/7/16
- "Iraqi Army liberate Ramah village in Mosul," 8/6/16
- "Iraqi forces regain two areas south of Mosul," 8/2/16
- "Shia militia with international coalition liberate Waleed along Syrian border," 8/3/16

Al Maalomah, "Killed and wounded in a car bombing north Baquba," 8/4/16

Al Mada, "Khalidiya security: start of security operation against Daash in Khalidiya island," 8/5/16

NINA, "A booby-trapped tanker found hidden in one of the groves in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad," 8/3/16
- "Number Of Terrorists killed, Car Bombs Destroyed In Qayyarah And Hadhar South Of Mosul," 8/2/16

Sotaliraq, "Iraqi army thwarts three suicide bombings in Sharqat," 8/1/16

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