Thursday, April 9, 2015

Violence Remains Stable In Iraq Start Of April 2015


Violence in Iraq has been slowly receding since the peak of the summer of 2014. There was a jump in March due to the fighting in Tikrit. With that operation now over the numbers for attacks have gone down once again, while casualties have remained largely the same.

For the first week of April 2015 there were 121 attacks reported in the press. That was lower than any number recorded this year or last. As usual, Baghdad had the most security incidents with 44. Salahaddin had 30, Anbar 22, Diyala 10, Ninewa seven, Kirkuk four, Babil three, and Basra one.

Casualties were largely unchanged from the last full week of March. From April 1-7 there were 212 deaths in the news and 423 wounded. Again that was the lowest number of reported fatalities over the last sixteen months. It was made up of 63 killed in Baghdad, 60 in Anbar, 48 in Salahaddin, 23 in Diyala, 12 in Ninewa, four in Babil, and one each in Basra and Kirkuk. By type two members of the Syrian People’s Protection Unit (YPG), four Sahwa, 20 Hashd al-Shaabi, 49 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and 137 civilians died at the start of April. The injured consisted of 2 peshmerga, 54 ISF, 83 Hashd, and 284 civilians. There were a total of 635 casualties during the week, which was much the same as the 641 reported from March 22-28. 

Violence In Iraq By Week Jun. 2014-2015
Date
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jun 1-7
228
612
1,020
Jun 8-14
234
1,889
890
Jun 15-21
177
804
755
Jun 22-28
207
740
800
Jun 29-30
59
127
236
JUN
905
4,172
3,701
Jul 1-7
203
526
651
Jul 8-14
214
577
628
Jul 15-21
230
444
1,009
Jul 22-28
224
589
801
Jul 29-31
66
163
230
JUL
937
2,299
3,319
Aug 1-8
270
1,122
885
Aug 9-14
180
710
1,152
Aug 15-21
150
731
499
Aug 22-28
156
523
798
Aug 29-31
59
125
289
AUG
815
3,211
3,623
Sep 1-7
169
616
751
Sep 8-14
168
467
731
Sep 15-21
170
625
794
Sep 22-28
157
396
576
Sep 29-30
49
126
287
SEP
713
2,230
3,139
Oct 1-7
175
456
687
Oct 8-14
189
560
880
Oct 15-21
159
499
780
Oct 22-28
160
346
596 + 1,230
Oct 29-31
72
574
227
OCT
755
2,434
3,170 + 1,230
Nov 1-7
154
611
828
Nov 8-14
134
470
607
Nov 15-21
139
323
479
Nov 22-28
139
321
640
Nov 29-30
40
206
535
NOV
606
1,931
3,089
Dec 1-7
148
581
482
Dec 8-14
156
233 + 166
444 + 1,113
Dec 15-21
133
377
340
Dec 22-28
161
558
494
Dec 29-31
91
117
233
DEC
689
2,032
3,106
Jan 1-7
184
434
464
Jan 8-14
170
730
493
Jan 15-21
182
390
515
Jan 22-28
189
466
894
Jan 29-31
90
288
529
JAN
815
2,308
2,895
Feb 1-7
155
380
688
Feb 8-14
170
406
559
Feb 15-21
165
573
364
Feb 22-28
165
371
687 + 386
FEB
655
1,730
2,683
Mar 1-7
172
372
587
Mar 8-14
133
348
656
Mar 15-21
142
1,299
503
Mar 22-28
170
235
406
Mar 29-31
72
205
219
MAR
689
2,459 + 4
2,371 + 150
Apr 1-7
121
212
423

Violence In Iraq By Province Apr 2015
Province
Violence
Anbar
22 Incidents
60 Killed: 4 ISF, 56 Civilians
72 Wounded: 72 Civilians
13 Shootings
2 IEDs
4 Mortars
1 Rocket
Babil
3 Incidents
4 Killed: 1 ISF, 3 Civilians
11 Wounded: 4 ISF, 7 Civilians
2 IEDs
1 Sticky Bomb
Baghdad
44 Incidents
63 Killed: 7 ISF, 1 Sahwa, 55 Civilians
196 Wounded: 13 ISF, 183 Civilians
8 Shootings
25 IEDs
4 Sticky Bombs
2 Car Bombs
1 Mortar
1 Rocket
1 Grenade
Basra
1 Incident
1 Killed: 1 ISF
1 Shooting
Diyala
10 Incidents
23 Killed: 10 ISF, 1 Hashd, 12 Civilians
92 Wounded: 12 ISF, 69 Hashd, 11 Civilians
7 Shootings
1 IED
1 Car Bomb
Kirkuk
4 Incidents
1 Killed: 1 Hashd
2 Shootings
1 IED
Ninewa
7 Incidents
12 Killed: 2 YPG, 4 Hashd, 6 Civilians
2 Wounded: 2 Peshmerga
5 Shootings
Salahaddin
30 Incidents
48 Killed: 26 ISF, 3 Sahwa, 14 Hashd, 5 Civilians
50 Wounded: 25 ISF, 14 Hashd, 11 Civilians
22 Shootings
3 IEDs
2 Suicide Bombers
2 Mortars
1 Grenade

Car Bombs in Iraq Apr 2015
Date
Location
Dead
Wounded
Apr 1



Apr 2
Bab al-Mudham, Baghdad
7
26
Apr 3



Apr 4
Mansour, Baghdad


Apr 5



Apr 6
Imam Abdullah bin Imam Ali al-Hadi shrine, Diyala
4
7
Apr 7



Total
3
11
33


Over the last three months the Islamic State (IS) has been launching more and more vehicle improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). At the start of April however, there were only three. Two were in Baghdad and one was in Diyala. Unlike most of the attacks this year these were all aimed at civilian targets such as a shrine in Diyala. There were a total of 11 reported deaths and 33 wounded from these bombings.

In Anbar, the security situation remained deadlocked. The main struggle was over control of the provincial capital Ramadi. There was fighting there during most of the week. During the end of 2014 IS gained ground in the city and began assaulting the government center and security bases on the perimeter. During the week IS also began firing mortars and rockets at Amiriya Fallujah. On the other side, Baghdad was finally beginning to pay attention to the province. On April 3, it was reported that reinforcements were being sent to the Habaniya army base in preparation for a major campaign. Three days later Prime Minister Haider Abadi authorized Anbar’s governor to buy weapons to arm local tribes. Government forces also made some progress in its month long offensive in Garma clearing an eastern section of the area, while starting a new operation in Shjariya outside of Ramadi.

Attacks declined in Diyala during the first week of April, but the situation was still precarious. In January, Badr Organization head Hadi Ameri claimed that the province was cleared after an operation in Muqtadiya in the center of the governorate. That was a huge exaggeration as there has been no change in the number of attacks there over the last four months with 55 in December, 55 in January, 51 in February, and 59 in March. In April, a parliamentarian and the district head in Abu Saida both called for renewed security sweeps to restore order and counter the Islamic State. This highlights a constant problem the security forces and Hashd have been running into, which is a lack of manpower to hold territories after they are cleared. The Muqtadiya sweep simply dispersed IS fighters to other parts of the province. After the government forces moved on to Salahaddin, the militants moved back in hence the lack of change in violence over the last several months.

Last month the peshmerga began a push into southern Kirkuk with the goal of reaching Hawija, the main IS base in the province. Some Hashd forces joined in attacking from Salahaddin. Together they made steady progress last month, but that apparently stalled in April as there were no reports on that front. On the positive side insurgent activity has largely subsided in the governorate. In the first week of April for example, there were only 4 incidents reported in the news.

One of the few other places where the Islamic State has been massing forces and carrying out large scale attacks has been in Ninewa. Every week, it launches attacks upon Peshmerga positions. In April it assaulted Khazar and Sinjar. These have gained no ground and usually result in high losses for the insurgents. IS also continued with its executions in Mosul killing 10 people.

Tikrit in Salahaddin was finally freed at the end of March, but there were still clearing operations in the northern Qadisiya district, and fighting around the Ajil and Alas oil fields outside of the city. IS also launched three attacks in the Baiji area, and attempted a large thrust in the Hamrin Mountain range. These clashes killed 26 members of the ISF, 3 Sahwa, 14 Hashd and five civilians, and wounded 25 ISF, 14 Hashd, and 11 civilians.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, “Iraq battles IS in Tikrit week after city ‘retaken,’” 4/7/15

AIN, "ISF repel ISIL attack in Al-Alam, kill 14 terrorists," 4/1/15

Alsumaria, "Diyala security announce foiling largest Daash attack inside Hamrin range in Salah Din," 4/7/15
- "Killed nine Daash militants including a French national suicide bomber north of Tikrit," 4/7/15
- "The outcome of the bombing of the holy door at seven dead and 26 injured," 4/2/15

Fox News, “Iraq claims victory over ISIS in Tikrit, but US military official says ‘block-to-block’ fighting ongoing,” 4/1/15

Independent Press Agency, "Tamimi demanding security forces be sent to Diyala province," 4/7/15

Iraq Times, "A car bomb explosion in the Mansour district in western Baghdad," 4/4/15

Al Jazeera, “Iraq army hunts ISIL fighters after Tikrit breakthrough,” 4/1/15

Kurd Press, "IS receives new defeat from Kurds in Shingal," 4/4/15

Al Mada, "17 members of Daash killed in clashes north of Tikrit," 4/2/15

Al Masalah, “The formation of a new organization by Daash in Diyala,” 4/7/15

Millet, "Two Gerilla Fighters Martyred in Shingal," 4/4/15

NINA, "Liberation of eastern area of Karma area from Daash occupation," 4/4/15,

Radio Free Iraq, "07 April 2015," Daily Updates from Anbar, 4/7/15,

Rudaw, "Peshmerga fight off ISIS assault on Khazir front," 4/4/15

Shafaq News, “Abadi and al-Obeidi authorize the governor of Anbar to buy weapons in preparation for the battle to liberate the province,” 4/6/15
- “The arrival of reinforcements from Baghdad to Anbar,” 4/3/15
- "More than 70 elements including 13 Arab terrorists killed in attacks and battles in Salahuddin," 4/6/15


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