Thursday, August 28, 2014

Iraq Security Weekly roundup, week #40

Last week a total of 25 bomb attacks left 48 people dead and 161 injured. Small arms attacks left 81 people dead and 28 injured, including members of the security forces shot during clashes with militants, and a large number of Sunni civilians gunned down in a mosque in Diyala province. Indirect fire incidents (rockets, mortars and military artillery shelling) left 33 people dead and 43 injured.

Islamist militants led by the Islamic State (IS) continue to battle with the federal and Kurdish security forces in several parts of the central and northern region. The Kurdish Peshmerga, supported by US air strikes, managed to push back the IS frontlines away from Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) territory but IS fighters are likely to regroup around Mosul, a city unlikely to return to government rule for a considerable amount of time.

Elsewhere, fighting remains concentrated in areas with large Sunni populations, particularly the northern and central provinces, in areas such as Anbar province (both rural and urban areas), south and west of Kirkuk, Jurf as-Sakhr in Babil province and Diyala and Salah ad-Din provinces. Baghdad also continues to see sporadic terrorist attacks.

The southern region remains mostly quiet. The Kurdish administered north, rattled by IS activities around its peripheries, also saw a rare bombing, while the ongoing significant influx of refugees will continue to put pressure on the authorities.

Of all the incidents recorded, the aforementioned mosque shooting in Diyala province perhaps presents the greatest cause of concern. It could signal the return of sectarian bloodshed in the mixed central region. If the momentum of revenge killings escalates it could lead to a significant escalation in violence and prompt mass migration of civilians in several areas.


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Resource: AKE

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