Iraq remains in Crisis, New Security Weekly Roundup

 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.

A total of 48 non-suicide bomb attacks left 53 people dead and 220 injured last week - an increase from recent weeks.

Three additional suicide bombings left seven people dead and 15 injured.

Small arms attacks left 14 people dead and 118 injured, including members of the security forces shot during clashes with militants.

Indirect fire incidents (rockets, mortars and military artillery shelling) left 46 people dead and 142 injured.

The bodies of at least 26 people were also recovered abandoned in various parts of the central region.

Last week's summary:

• Total number of violent incidents: 625 (slight rise from previous week)
• Total fatalities (not including militants): 146 (decrease from previous week)
• Total injured (not including militants): 495
• Average weekly number of violent incidents: 57 (2012) and 98 (2013)
• Average weekly fatalities: 60 (2012) and 140 (2013)

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Source: AKE GROUP.

Iraq in Crisis, Iraq Security weekly report

Total number of violent incidents recorded last week: 557 (slight decrease from previous week) Average weekly number of violent incidents during previous years: 98 (2013) and 57 (2012) Total fatalities last week (not including militants): approx. 314 (increase from previous week) Average weekly fatalities during previous years: 140 (2013 and 60 (2012) Total injured last week (not including militants): 352 Violence remains concentrated in urban parts of Anbar, Salah ad-Din, Diyala, Ninawa, Babil and Ta'mim province, as well as along the Syrian border. Baghdad and Kirkuk also continue to suffer sporadic terrorist attacks as the terrorists will want to maintain pressure on the federal and Kurdish authorities. The southern region and northern Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) territory remain relatively quiet but they are nonetheless still at risk of terrorist violence. With support, now from Israel, for an independent Kurdish state, the borders of Iraq appear increasingly fragile, but any re-drawing of the map is unlikely to be easy, straightforward or peaceful. Last week a total of 21 non-suicide bomb attacks left 10 people dead and 21 injured countrywide. Four additional suicide bombings left 40 people dead and 116 injured, a rise from recent weeks. Suicide bombings may become particularly common for the duration of Ramadan due to last until around 28 July. Small arms attacks left 42 people dead and 57 injured, including members of the security forces shot during clashes with militants. Indirect fire incidents (rockets, mortars and military artillery shelling) left 58 people dead and 158 injured (a notable rise). Militants appear to be using the tactic to target military facilities and intimidate populations in settlements which have not fallen under their control. --------------- Source: AKE

Iraq Weekly Roundup, Week #25

Levels of violence rose considerably in Iraq last week. In total, at least 103 people were killed and 334 injured in nationwide incidents, a very high figure for the country

Incidents were concentrated in Ninawa province and the central region but a series of attacks also took place around the south of the country on 16 June, leaving dozens of casualties.

A total of 51 non-suicide bomb attacks left 70 people dead and 274 injured. This is a very high figure on its own, but there were also four additional suicide bombings, which left four people dead and 31 injured. Terrorists have evidently increased the pace of their attacks.

Small arms attacks left 22 people dead and 18 injured, a more standard figure for the country.

Security is likely to be heightened in Anbar and Ninawa provinces over the coming days ahead of delayed provincial elections but this may not deter militants who may attempt to conduct further political assassinations and terrorist attacks aimed at intimidating would-be voters who might otherwise go to the polls.

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Source: AKE Group

Iraq Weekly Roundup Week# 23

Levels of violence fell in Iraq last week but conditions remain tense and the situation could escalate quickly once again. The coming week could see a rise in violence, particularly in the centre of the country.

Sectarian tensions, anti-government protests, terrorist attacks and divisions between the Kurdish and federal authorities remain intense.

Last week violent incidents were concentrated around Anbar, Baghdad and Diyala provinces, as well as through Salah ad-Din province and in the city of Mosul further north. These areas will likely remain the main flashpoint over the coming weeks and months. Conditions were quiet in the south although notable incidents relating to violence and crime took place in the region nonetheless.

At least 76 people were killed and 220 injured in nationwide incidents, which is a fall from recent weeks, but still a relatively high figure when compared to recent years.

A total of 36 bomb attacks left 30 people dead and 130 injured. Three additional suicide bombings left 19 people dead and 84 injured.

Although there was a decline in the number of small arms attacks they still left 26 people dead and six injured.

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Source: AKE Group. 

Iraq "In Focus"

Initial results of the 20 April provincial elections show Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s State of
Law coalition leading in eight of the twelve provinces holding elections, reports Reuters. With 87 per
cent of the ballots tabulated, the coalition’s strong showing consolidates Maliki’s position ahead of
2014 parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Maliki appeared to blame the Syrian civil war for Iraq’s growing sectarian violence,
according to Al Jazeera. Maliki stated, “[s]trife is knocking on the doors of everyone, and no one will
survive if it enters, because there is a wind behind it, and money, and plans”. Iraq’s most recent wave
of violence began on 23 April when government security forces moved against anti-government
protesters, primarily Sunni, in the town of Hawijad sparking
clashes that left 53 people dead, according to Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Following five days of bloody
violence in Iraq, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reports
more than 215 people killed in sectarian attacks. UN Special
Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler urged political, tribal and religious
leaders “not to let anger win over peace”, warning that the
country was “at a crossroads”, reports BBC. In an effort to quell
violence in the country, Iraqi authorities suspended the licenses
of ten television satellite stations on 28 April. Iraqi authorities
accused the stations of inciting sectarian violence, according to
BBC. Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission stated that
stations such as pro-Sunni Al Jazeera encouraged revenge
against security forces after the raiding of a Sunni protest camp
on 22 April that sparked country-wide violence.


Meanwhile, as fighting raged in the northern city of Fallujah and villages surrounding Baquba there were signs that Maliki’s military was “fracturing along sectarian lines”, reports New York Times (NYT). An influential Sunni cleric, Sheik Abdul Malik al-Saadi, has urged members of Iraq’s security forces to abandon their posts and join the opposition. The Iraqi army is already facing Sunni attrition within its ranks. Also, AAP reports that Sunni Minister of Education Mohammed Ali Tamimand Minister of Science and Technology Abdulkarim al Samarraie resigned from their Cabinet posts after the 22 April incident.
A number of other security-related events were reported this past week. A group of unidentified gunmen seized the government offices of the Sunni town Sulaiman Bek on 25 April, according to Middle East Online. Soon after, Iraqi forces used helicopter gunships to fire at militants hiding in the village which was eventually retaken on 26 April, reports NYT. On 26 April, three Sunni mosque bombings in Baghdad and an additional bombing north of the country’s capital left four dead and fifty wounded, reports AAP. In Sunni-majority Anbar province, militants shot and killed five Iraqi soldiers on 27 April, reports Reuters. As a result, a curfew was imposed throughout Anbar province, according to RFE/RL. On the same day, Reuters reports that Sunni tribes from Anbar province announced the formation of the Army of Pride and Dignity, “meant to protect Anbar province”, according to Sheikh Saeed Al Lafi. Also, Kurdish security forces deployed beyond the formal boundary of their autonomous region on 27 April, a move they said was to protect civilians in the oil-rich territory over which both the Kurds and Baghdad claim jurisdiction, according to Reuters. On 29 April, five car bombs struck predominately Shi’ite cities and districts across Iraq, killing 36 people and wounding scores more, reports Associated Press (AP).
Murat Karayilan, military head of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK1) told Voice of America (VOA) that an estimated 2,000 PKK fighters would commence their withdrawal from Turkey in early May 2013 and expect completion within several months. The announcement is the first major step forward in the peace process between the Turkish government and PKK rebels. Additionally, PKK members will receive political training in the Kandil Mountains of northern Iraq, according to UPI. After training is completed, the PKK will launch a democratization campaign in Iraq.
In economic news, Russian oil company Lukoil expects to produce 150,000 crude barrels per day from the West Qurna-2 field by January 2014, reports UPI. The West Qurna complex is near the Iraqi port city of Basra and is estimated to contain as many as 14 billion barrels of crude.
Thanks & Regards,
Mohamedridha Alaskari.

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As it of: CimicWeb. Landa Lavender, resources: AP, AAP, NYT, RFE/RL, BBC, VOA,

Iraq Security Weekly Roundup, week #12

Levels of violence rose considerably in Iraq last week, making it the second-worst week for violence so far this year.

At least 125 people were killed and 302 injured in nationwide incidents, the worst casualty figures since a spate of co-ordinated terrorist attacks in September.

At least 49 non-suicide bomb attacks left 82 people dead and 253 injured – a very high figure for the country.

Three additional suicide bombings left 11 people dead and 33 injured. There has been a rise in suicide attacks over recent weeks although most appear to have inflicted a relatively small number of casualties.

Small arms attacks left 32 people dead and 14 injured, a relatively high figure. Many took place in the capital where militants appear to have resumed targeted assassinations against civic employees and senior members of the security forces. Officials associated with the April provincial elections have also been singled out countrywide.

Otherwise, indirect fire attacks (rockets and mortars) left three people injured. Two people were also found stabbed to death in Anbar and Wassit provinces.

Violence was concentrated in Baghdad, which experienced more attacks than any other week since the end of 2011. Mosul was also violent, but more customarily so. Otherwise incidents were concentrated in the central region, predominantly in districts adjacent to the capital.

Iraq Weekly Roundup. Last week in 2012

Levels of violence fell in Iraq last week. At least 21 people were killed and 55 injured in nationwide incidents, a relatively low figure for the country.

A total of 21 bomb attacks left two people dead and 42 injured. Most of the devices were small and evidently low-yielding in terms of the number of casualties caused. There were no suicide bombings reported.

Small arms fire attacks left 17 people dead and five injured. Indirect fire attacks (rockets and mortars) left one person dead and three injured. Two people were also abducted although one was freed by the police a few hours later.

Violence was concentrated in the centre of the country, as well as the northern city of Mosul which saw more attacks than anywhere else. The south of the country was relatively quiet although the authorities are preparing for possible attacks over the coming days. The Kurdish region also saw ongoing Turkish military operations against Kurdish rebels in the mountains.

At the time of writing a series of additional bombings have also been reported around the country, with casualties reported in Babil, Diyala and Ta'mim provinces. Shi'ah pilgrims are amongst the victims and more such attacks against them should be anticipated over the coming days as they gather to mark Arba'een, due to culminate on 3 January.


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Source: AKE Group