Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Security In Iraq, Jan 1-7, 2016


2016 got off to a violent start in Iraq. There was a surge in operations by the Islamic State. First, the group was trying to make up for the loss of central Ramadi by carrying out a wave of attacks in western Anbar. It was also continuing with its winter offensive against the Kurds in Ninewa. That along with the discovery of a few mass graves with victims of IS led to a bloody week in Iraq.

There were 150 reported security incidents in the first week of January. That was the most attacks since the first week of August 2015 when there were 154. Insurgent activity has been going down across the country since the start of last year. The surge in incidents was due to the Islamic State picking up its operations in Anbar and Ninewa. The former was in response to the loss of Ramadi. The latter was due to a new offensive against the Kurds that started in December.

There were 808 dead and 421 wounded during the week. Those were the highest figures since the second week of August when there were 756 killed and 640 injured. The heavy fighting in Anbar and Ninewa along with several mass graves being uncovered were the causes of those numbers. There were 510 fatalities in Ninewa, 184 in Anbar, followed by 70 in Baghdad, 23 in Salahaddin, 8 in Kirkuk, 6 in Diyala, and 6 in Babil.

The dead were made up of 1 Hashd al-Shaabi, 6 Peshmerga, 106 Sahwa, 145 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 421 civilians. There were also 3 Hashd, 82 ISF, 102 Sawha, and 235 civilians wounded. 

During the week the Iraqi forces were trying to clear out the rest of Ramadi. On January 3 it was said that 80% of the city was cleared, and the ISF entered a whole slew of new neighborhoods and surrounding areas. That include Jamiya, Thalah, 17th Street, Albu Alwan, Andalus, Sufiya, Doctors Street, the Grand Mosque, the old stadium, Ramadi Hospital, Mukhabarat, Albu Faraj bridge, and others. The government claimed it had cleared out half of those before. Some were never freed, while others IS re-infiltrated into. The vast majority of the city and suburbs appeared to be cleared, but small insurgent cells were still running around, with more activity in the north and east. It will take a concerted effort to wipe out these units and make sure that IS does not re-assert control over sections in the future.

In response to its loss IS launched a huge number of attacks in the Ramadi region, in Thar Thar to the northeast, and around Haditha in the west. That included 84 car bombs and 37 suicide bombers, the vast majority of which were killed or destroyed. These attacks did lead to a large number of casualties including 131 ISF and Sahwa killed and 149 wounded. IS surrounded Haditha months ago and had not made any serious attempts on it for months. Thar Thar is adjacent to regions of Salahaddin that are still under IS control. In both cases, the insurgents were either aiming to draw the ISF away from Ramadi or looking for a target of opportunity where a sudden breakthrough could be made to claim a victory to make up for its setback.

After Baiji was liberated in October there was a debate about how important it was to IS compared to Ramadi. There were hardly any retaliatory strikes by the group after it lost Baiji and the nearby refinery, compared to an a wave of attacks after Ramadi fell. That seemed to confirm that the latter was the focus of the group, while Baiji was being used as a diversionary operation to draw away Baghdad’s forces from Anbar.

A mass grave in Ramadi was also discovered with 40 bodies in it killed by IS. The Anbar government claimed the militants killed several hundred before they left meaning more bodies are likely to turn up in the coming days.

Southern Baghdad remained the main target of IS. There were 19 incidents there compared to 11 in the north, 9 in the west, 8 in the east, and 4 in the center. The Islamic State is active in towns in southern Baghdad, northern Babil, and southern Salahddin, which it uses as launch pads into the capital.

Security Incidents In Baghdad, Jan 1-7, 2016
Center: 4 – 1 Stabbing, 1 Sticky Bomb, 2 IEDs
East: 7 – 3 IEDs, 4 Shootings
Outer East: 1 – 1 IED
North: 8 – 1 Robbery/Shooting, 1 Shooting, 2 Sticky Bombs, 4 IEDs
Outer North: 3 – 1 Shooting, 2 IEDs
South: 12 – 1 Car Bomb Dismantled, 1 Stabbing, 1 Robbery, 2 Shootings, 7 IEDs
Outer South: 7 – 1 Mortar, 1 Shooting, 5 IEDs
West: 9 – 1 Kidnapping, 1 Robbery, 1 Sticky Bomb, 1 Shooting/Robbery, 5 IEDs

Ninewa was the site of IS’s newest offensive against the Kurds. The militants attacked Peshmerga positions in nine different areas five out of seven days of the week. Since IS has not been concentrating upon one specific place it appears that the group is making exploratory attacks in search of a weak point. The Kurds have dug in positions and can quickly call in U.S. air strikes so this looks futile.

In the Mosul area IS executed a huge number of people during the start of January. The group reportedly killed 206 people including 75 members of the ISF and 83 from the Jabour tribe. 288 Yazidis were also found in a mass grave in the Sinjar district. Several similar sites were found after the Kurds re-took the area. As more time passes, more of these types of reports are likely.

IS also carried out a retaliatory attack in Salahaddin after Ramadi. On January 3, 2 suicide car bombs and 7 suicide bombers penetrated the defenses at Camp Speicher outside of Tikrit and killed 20 police recruits and wounded 17 more. Otherwise, IS operations in the province have fallen off since Baiji fell.

There were a total of 87 car bombs during the week. 84 of those were in Anbar in retaliation for Ramadi, again showing how important the city was to the Islamic State. Of the three others, one was dismantled in Baghdad, and the two others were used in the Camp Speicher raid. 

Violence In Iraq By Week 2015-16
Date
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1-7
226
540
525
Jan 8-14
187
776
514
Jan 15-21
197
438
528
Jan 22-28
207
573
898 + 150
Jan 29-31
94
329
567
JAN
911
2,656
3,032 + 150
Feb 1-7
168
572
689
Feb 8-14
183
462
572
Feb 15-21
177
697
383
Feb 22-28
202
614
722
FEB
730
2,345
2,366
Mar 1-7
196
408
595
Mar 8-14
164
419
655
Mar 15-21
178
1,312
505
Mar 22-28
201
310
406
Mar 29-31
81
212 + 4
218 + 150
MAR
820
2,665
2,529
Apr 1-7
153
276
422
Apr 8-14
165
864
525
Apr 15-21
190
880
714
Apr 22-28
187
564
479
Apr 29-30
56
169
182 + 299
APR
751
2,753
2,621
May 1-7
176
651
448
May 8-14
167
450
542
May 15-21
149
996
390
May 22-28
131
362 + 1,499
344
May 29-31
49
87
164 + 646
MAY
672
2,546 + 1,499
1,888 + 646
Jun 1-7
155
534
475
Jun 8-14
145
648 + 405
389
Jun 15-21
143
367
373
Jun 22-28
162
306
474
Jun 29-30
61
122 + 58
189 + 106
JUN
666
2,035 + 405
2,006
Jul 1-7
161
435
719
Jul 8-14
140
384
570
Jul 15-21
109
359
597 + 4,024
Jul 22-28
145
527
590
Jul 29-31
53
193 + 260
203 + 400
JUL
608
2,158
3,079 + 4,024
Aug 1-7
154
650 + 760
298
Aug 8-14
133
756
640
Aug 15-21
135
345
354
Aug 22-28
136
342
296
Aug 29-31
59
112
169
AUG
617
2,205 + 760
1,757
Sep 1-7
139
285
352
Sep 8-14
144
368
394
Sep 15-21
123
323
488
Sep 22-28
128
190
258
Sep 29-30
39
106 + 19
147 + 8
SEP
573
1,291 + 314
1,647 + 3,003
Oct 1-7
120
337
398
Oct 8-14
144
254
389
Oct 15-21
142
208
279
Oct 22-28
129
216
366
Oct 29-31
49
110
116 + 1
OCT
584
1,124
1,549
Nov 1-7
125
186
316
Nov 8-14
121
265
354
Nov 15-21
140
358
420
Nov 22-28
107
289
261 + 124 + 1,322
Nov 29-30
37
52 + 24
103 + 1
NOV
530
1,174
1,455 + 124 + 1,322
Dec 1-7
118
158
249
Dec 8-14
128
246
248
Dec 15-21
140
242
326 + 5,920
Dec 22-28
127
292
346
Dec 29-31
40
203 + 14
83
DEC
553
1,155
1,252 + 5,920
Jan 1-7
150
808
421

Security By Province Dec 2015
Province
Dec
Anbar
42 Incidents
184 Killed: 1 Hashd, 27 ISF, 104 Sahwa, 52 Civilians
162 Wounded: 13 Civilians, 50 ISF, 99 Sahwa
26 Shootings
4 IEDs
6 Suicide Car Bombs
2 Car Bombs
1 Rockets
1 Mortar
1 Motorcycle Bomb Destroyed
37 Suicide Bombers Killed
60 Suicide Car Bombs Destroyed
18 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil
10 Incidents
6 Killed: 1 ISF, 5 Civilians
21 Wounded: 3 Hashd, 4 ISF, 14 Civilians
3 Shootings
8 IEDs
Baghdad
52 Incidents
70 Killed: 2 Sahwa, 3 ISF, 65 Civilians
207 Wounded: 3 Sahwa, 5 ISF, 199 Civilians
10 Shootings
31 IEDs
4 Sticky Bombs
1 Mortar
1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Diyala
8 Incidents
7 Killed: 1 ISF, 6 Civilians
3 Wounded: 3 Civilians
5 Shootings
1 Mortar
Kirkuk
8 Incidents
8 Killed: 8 Civilians
1 Wounded: 1 Civilian
5 Shooting
Ninewa
19 Incidents
510 Killed: 6 Peshmerga, 91 ISF, 413 Civilians
3 Wounded: 3 Civilians
8 Shootings
1 Rocket
1 Mortar
4 Suicide Bombers Killed
Salahaddin
11 Incidents
23 Killed: 1 Civilian, 22 ISF
24 Wounded: 2 Civilians, 22 ISF
6 Shootings
2 IEDs
7 Suicide Bombers
2 Suicide Car Bombs
1 Rockets
1 Grenade

Car Bombs In Iraq, December 2015
Date
Location
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1
North of Ramadi x4, Anbar
35 Kilo, Haditha & North of Ramadi, Anbar – 11 destroyed
60
70
Jan 2
Albu Faraj, Anbar – 1 destroyed


Jan 3
Camp Speicher x2, Slaahaddin
Barwana, Garma, Haditha Nazim & Ramadi, Anbar – 46 destroyed
20
17
Jan 4
Outside Haditha, Anbar
Wadi Horan, Anbar - 3 destroyed
Baya, Baghdad – 1 destroyed
11
30
Jan 5
Nikhaib x2 & Ramadi, Anbar
Barwana, Niamiya & Ramadi, Anbar – 13 destroyed
8

Jan 6
Ramadi, Anbar – 2 destroyed


Jan 7



Totals
10 – 77 destroyed
99
117


SOURCES

AIN, "70 Daash killed, including 12 suicide bombers and destroy their cars in Ramadi," 9/1/15

Alsumaria, "Security forces freed the stadium area southern Ramadi," 12/10/15

Buratha News, "22 terrorists were killed and the destruction of 4 car bombs in repelling a Daash attack west of Garma," 1/3/16
- "Anti-terrorism forces regained control of all of Barwana area," 1/4/16
- "Dismantling of a car bomb in Bayaa 20 Street," 1/4/16
- "Foiled Daash attack with three suicide car bombs on security headquarters north of Fallujah," 1/3/16
- "Military units and tribes destroy 16 Daash car bombs in Anbar," 1/3/16
- "Security forces repel a Daash attack destroying seven terrorist car bombs north of Barwana," 1/5/16

eKurd, "Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief - January 5, 2016," 1/5/16

Al Forat, "52 Daash killed, including bombers in Ramadi," 1/4/16
- "Killing of Daash members and the destruction of car bombs in the northern area of Ramadi," 1/6/16
- "The start of a military operation to purge the Grand Mosque and the old stadium in Ramadi," 1/5/16

Iraq Times, "The martyrdom and wounding of 130 members of the army and tribal crowd in wide Daash attack on 10th Army headquarters in Ramadi," 1/1/16

Al Mada, "Cleared two near areas north of Ramadi, killing dozens of Daash militants," 12/27/15
- "Clearing all the areas in central Ramadi, killing dozens of Daash," 1/3/16
- "Daash executed 83 from the Jabour tribe in Qayyarah," 1/3/16
- "Daash resorting to suicide attacks after loss of Ramadi and army repels their violent attacks," 1/4/16
- "Federal police clear eastern Ramadi area," 7/26/15
- "Four car bombs blown up, killing three Daash snipers in the center of Ramadi," 1/5/16
-“Joint forces have surrounded Barwana west of Ramadi,” 11/14/14
- "Killing and wounding 30 security members including officers in suicide attacks targeting Nineveh police camp in Spyker," 1/3/16
- "Started freeing the villages in western Anbar's Barwana," 1/3/16

Al Masalah, "Counter Terrorism Force raised the Iraqi flag over the Grand mosque in Ramadi," 1/7/16
- "Counter-terrorism unit freed Ramadi's hospital," 1/6/16
- "Destroyed three Dash dens north of Ramadi," 1/2/16
- "Freed 80% of the center of Ramadi," 1/3/16
-"War media declares victories of the joint forces," 1/7/16

New Sabah, "Security forces begin the final process of freeing Albu Faraj bridge and Howaz and move toward the center of Ramadi," 12/26/15

NINA, "Anti-terrorism device raised the Iraqi flag in Ramadi," 1/7/16
- "An army force backed by the sons of the tribes liberated Barwana district western Anbar," 7/17/14
- "Breaking News..Anti-terrorism forces liberated new areas in Ramadi," 1/3/16
- "Breaking News.Cleansing Barwana area from the IS elements," 9/8/14
- "Daash executed /75/ employees of the police and the National Guard in Mosul," 3/1/16,
- "The Ministry of Defense announces the Liberation of the sit-ins square in Ramadi," 10/18/15
- "Urgent…6 Suicide Bombers Storm Camp Speicher, Kill And Wound A Number Of Nineveh Police Trainees," 1/3/16

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "IS Claims Suicide Bombings At Iraqi Military Base," 1/3/16

Radio Free Iraq, "07 August 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 8/7/14

Rudaw, "Iraqi army reports more gains against ISIS," 1/4/16

Salaheddin, Sinan, "IS attacks troops in western Iraq, killing 11," Associated Press, 1/4/16

Sarhan, Amre, "Army forces foil ISIS attack on Police Headquarters in Anbar," Iraqi News, 1/2/16

Sattar, Sardar, "First Mass Grave Discovered in Ramadi," Bas News, 1/4/16

Shafaq News, "Security forces and PMU progress toward the center of Ramadi," 8/18/15

Sotaliraq, "Army expands its control over Ramadi and incure dozens of dead," 1/1/16
- "Destroyed 12 Daash car bombs and the killings of dozens of its member in Barwana," 1/3/16
- "Killing dozens of soldiers in attack on headquarters in Ramadi," 1/1/16
- "Repelled an attack by two suicide car bombs in Haditha," 1/1/16
- "Violent clashes in the center of Ramadi and set off a Daash bomb," 1/5/16

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