Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Musings On Iraq Security Report March 8-14, 2014

 
Violence in Iraq took a slight dip in the second week of March 2014. The number of reported attacks and casualties both went down compared to the first week of the month, which was the worst of the year so far. The main cause of the decline was due to fewer car bombings by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). In fact, quite a few provinces reported the lowest number of attacks and casualties for the year. Despite that the week was still very deadly for the citizens of Iraq.

In The second week of March there were 206 reported security incidents in Iraq. That was below the first week’s 252, and tied for the second lowest amount for the year so far. The result was 322 killed, of which 119 were members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 8 were from the Sons of the Iraq and Awakening known as the Sahwa, and two were from the Asayesh, and 193 were civilians. Another 605 were wounded, made up of 434 civilians, 166 ISF,  4 Sahwa, and 1 Asayesh. Bombs were the most common form of attack at 101 for the week, along with 86 shootings. There were 13 suicide bombings, just around the same amount as the first week of the month, 11, but there were only 9 car bombings down from 20 the previous week. That reduction was one main cause for the drop in casualties.


Reported Violence In Iraq By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
245
285
202
240
204
227
265
251
252
206
Dead
363
372
358
308
296
255
347
374
412
322
Wounded
736
683
597
624
700
501
696
615
702
605

Reported Violence In Iraq By Province Mar. 8-14, 2014

Attacks
Deaths
Wounded
Anbar
57
85
145
Babil
5
54
163
Baghdad
44
53
137
Basra
2
2
0
Diyala
13
21
42
Kirkuk
7
5
9
Ninewa
33
30
42
Salahaddin
43
70
65

Tamim
9
7
11

Despite the overall trend for the period Anbar remained very violent. There were 57 incidents there causing 85 killed and 145 wounded. Despite all the focus upon Fallujah, Ramadi has been the center of fighting lately. There were 26 incidents there for the week, including a large number of shootouts between the security forces and the insurgents. March 14 for example gunfire was exchanged in seven different parts of the city. Government shelling continued to take its toll as well. There were casualties due to artillery and mortars on March 8 in Ramadi and Fallujah, March 9 in Fallujah, March 12 in Fallujah, March 13 in Fallujah and Ramadi, and those two cities again on March 14. In total, 22 were left dead and 51 wounded as a result. Finally, on March 13 a suicide car bomb was used to destroy a bridge in Rawa leaving behind 19 killed and 20 injured. These have been some of the highest casualty figures in the province since the fighting started there at the end of December.


Reported Violence In Anbar By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
54
69
37
60
25
45
48
55
57
57
Dead
116
52
42
63
30
55
54
45
83
85
Wounded
243
126
47
245
79
131
89
136
108
145


Babil is another province that has become unstable since the middle of February. There were just five incidents there for the week, but one of those was a suicide bombing in Hillah on March 9 that caused 50 fatalities and 160 wounded. That was one of the worst single attacks in the last few years. The northern portion of the province has become a base for ISIS and a likely source for building car bombs that are sent into Baghdad and the south. The security forces recently tried to clear the area but were beaten back. That cost the provincial police chief his job. The suicide attack was a message to the government by the Islamic State saying that it was still strong and operating in the province.


Reported Violence In Babil By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
8
3
4
3
2
16
16
1
10
5
Dead
4
0
3
0
0
33
55
4
23
54
Wounded
28
7
3
5
0
70
137
0
46
163
 
Casualties in Baghdad dropped for the week due to there being fewer car bombs in the province. The week before there were ten such attacks leaving behind 33 dead and 116 wounded. In comparison, there were only five during this period. On March 8 one went off in Qahira leaving 6 dead and 14 wounded. Then there were three on March 13, one in Zayouna leaving 5 wounded, another in Sadr City with 9 injured, and then the final one in Nahda that didn’t hurt anyone. ISIS launches car bombs in waves in the capital. This week was simply one of those transition periods in between larger bombing attacks. In total, there were 44 incidents for the week, the fewest for 2014, leading to 53 deaths, the second lowest amount for the year, and 137 wounded. This was a lull in operations by insurgents, and the major reason why overall casualties were down for the period.


Reported Violence In Baghdad By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
59
58
69
58
65
47
52
54
70
44
Dead
106
147
172
90
148
50
79
113
118
53
Wounded
183
299
388
187
347
129
217
235
288
137


Salahaddin saw almost as many attacks as the week before they just weren’t as deadly. There were 43 incidents with 70 killed and 65 wounded. Tikrit, 16 attacks, Samarra, 6, and Baiji and Shirqat with five each saw the most violence. The ISF and Sahwa were the main targets accounting for 37 of the dead and 42 of the injured. The insurgency has successfully re-emerged in the province and has also gone after local politicians as a district mayor was killed in Tikrit on March 8. That same day there was an attempt on the life of a candidate from the Iraqi National Dialogue Front. March 9 a bus carrying workers from the North Oil Company was ambushed in Tuz Kharmato leaving three of them dead and 7 wounded. Most of the attacks in Salahaddin were small and targeted usually consisting of an attack upon a checkpoint or a drive by shooting or an IED on an ISF patrol.


Reported Violence In Salahaddin By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
39
40
39
41
37
46
54
49
44
43
Dead
43
79
50
57
57
48
84
83
121
70
Wounded
85
118
70
101
125
80
135
97
108
65


Diyala and Kirkuk remain largely off militants’ agenda. In the former there were only 13 incidents resulting in 21 killed and 42 wounded. In the latter there were just nine attacks with 7 dead and 11 injured. That tied for fewest attacks in a week, second lowest killed, and lowest injured. That was largely in line with the previous weeks.


Reported Violence In Diyala By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
17
20
12
19
14
12
19
19
15
13
Dead
42
25
49
37
13
12
13
33
19
21
Wounded
67
37
31
13
27
28
27
56
32
42

Reported Violence In Kirkuk By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
10
14
7
18
16
22
16
14
18
9

Dead
4
5
8
18
4
15
11
7
11
7

Wounded
70
21
27
33
25
23
26
10
41
11



Violence has gone down the last two weeks in Ninewa. There were 33 incidents for the week along with 30 killed and 39 wounded. That was the second fewest attacks and wounded, and the lowest amount of deaths. The provincial capital of Mosul is a major financial base for ISIS. In the last year or so it has attempted to intimidate and scare the local officials and ISF there, and that remains the main purpose behind attacks there.


Reported Violence In Ninewa By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
56
55
31
38
41
36
55
52
35
33
Dead
47
58
33
40
41
38
49
78
31
30
Wounded
60
66
30
40
94
36
72
75
52
39


Finally there were just a few attacks in southern Iraq. There were 2 in Basra leading to 2 killed, shootings each. That was it for the eight governorates of the region. The south was a major target for ISIS in the previous year. In 2014 however its focus has moved northward and the south has been left pretty much alone. There are shootings and explosions every now and then, some of which are likely the work of militias or gangs, but otherwise the insurgents have left the region alone.


Reported Violence In 8 Southern Provinces By Week 2014

Jan
1-7
Jan
8-14
Jan
15-21
Jan
22-28
Feb
1-7
Feb
8-14
Feb
15-21
Feb
22-28
Mar
1-7
Mar 8-14
Incidents
2
8
3
3
4
5
2
3
3
2
Dead
1
6
1
4
3
6
0
7
2
2
Wounded
0
9
1
0
3
4
0
5
1
0


SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Iraq attacks kill nine, including parliament candidate," 3/8/14
- "Iraq suicide bombing death toll rises to 50," 3/10/14
-"Seven dead in Baghdad area attacks," 3/14/14

AIN, "Civilian killed central Basra," 3/12/14
- "Driver killed in Basra," 3/16/14
- "Security forces clash with ISIL elements in Ramadi," 3/14/14

Associated Press, "Suicide bomber uses Iraq police humvee in attack," 3/8/14

Buratha News, "Four Martyrs and six wounded, and the collapse of the bridge is part of a suicide bombing that targeted a gathering of army western Anbar," 3/13/14
- "Martyrdom and wounding six children by fall of a mortar shell on the playground on a popular football center of Ramadi," 3/14/14

Al Forat, "Mayor killed central Tikrit," 3/8/14

Iraq Times, "people dead and injured in the bombing of a bridge in Rawa, 39 which occurred yesterday in Anbar," 3/14/14
- "people were injured by a car bomb in Sadr City 9," 3/13/14

Al Jazeera, "Deaths in suicide bombing in Iraq," 3/9/14

Al Mada "Killed and wounded 14 civilians by random bombardment of the army on Ramadi," 3/13/14
- "Killing and wounding four soldiers in an armed attack south of Ramadi," 3/14/14

NINA, "/5/ Civilians Injury by Bombing of the City of Ramadi," 3/8/14
- "/23/ Civilians, Including Women and Children, Got Martyrdom and Wounded in the Shelling of Fallujah," 3/9/14
- "Armed clashes resumed between army and armed elements in Ramadi," 3/14/14
- "Car bomb goes off in Central Baghdad," 3/13/14
- "A child killed and four civilians wounded in Fallujah," 3/12/14
- "A civilian killed, six injured in Fallujah," 3/13/14
- "A Civilian Killed, Three Members of One Family wounded by Artillery Bombing to the City of Ramadi," 3/14/14
- "Two people, including a child killed and wounding seven others in Fallujah," 3/14/14
- "Urgent…one killed, ten others wounded of employees NOC in an armed attack south of Kirkuk," 3/9/14
- "A woman, a child killed, six wounded in bombing on Fallujah," 3/8/14

Al Rayy, "Five people were injured in eastern Baghdad bombing," 3/13/14

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraq: Bombs Kill at Least 8 People in Baghdad," Associated Press, 3/13/14

Xinhua, "41 killed in separate attacks across Iraq," 3/10/14

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