Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Islamic State Continues Mass Killings In Northern Iraq 2nd Week of September 2014

 
Security incidents reported in the press continued their downward trend in the second week of September 2014. At the same time casualties have stayed at a high level because of on going massacres by the Islamic State in the sections of northern Iraq that they control. It seems that this is part of the organization’s consolidation of power as it seeks to eliminate its opponents and those it feels have no place in its caliphate.

From September 8-14, 2014 there were only 150 security incidents. That tied August 15-21 for the lowest amount for any week this year. That follows a steady decline in attacks that started in August and continues into September going from a high of 265 in the first week of August to 178 the second week, 150 the third, 179 the fourth, 168 September 1-7, and then 150 September 8-14. This all points to the fighting stabilizing across Iraq. There are no more large surges by the insurgents, and piece by piece the security forces and peshmerga are taking back small areas or holding off militant attacks.

Despite this the number of dead and wounded remain high each week. From September 8-14 there were 896 killed, the highest since 951 fatalities from August 1-8. The provinces with the most dead were Ninewa with 646, because of a massacre there, followed by 85 in Baghdad, 78 in Salahaddin, and 52 in Anbar. The other seven provinces reporting casualties were all in single figures. There were another 662 people wounded with the most in Baghdad, 236, Salahaddin, 217, and Anbar, 116.

Violence In Iraq By Week 2014
Date
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1-7
244
363
736
Jan 8-14
272
364
683
Jan 15-21
205
358
616
Jan 22-28
236
305
618
Jan 29-31
57
93
237
JAN
1,014
1,483
2,890
Feb 1-7
204
296
700
Feb 8-14
226
258
505
Feb 15-21
264
346
703
Feb 22-28
251
374
618
FEB
945
1,274
2,526
Mar 1-7
253
412
702
Mar 8-14
206
324
612
Mar 15-21
216
423
736
Mar 22-27
211
279
580
Mar 28-31
110
168
271
MAR
996
1,606
2,901
Apr 1-7
238
259
550
Apr 8-14
223
362
646
Apr 15-21
251
406
786
Apr 22-28
226
347
744
Apr 29-30
61
82
179
APR
999
1,456
2,905
May 1-7
198
246
483
May 8-14
257
469
752
May 15-21
183
256
426
May 22-28
204
407
817
May 29-31
63
90
132
MAY
905
1,468
2,610
Jun 1-7
224
588
1,021
Jun 8-14
227
658
887
Jun 15-21
170
729
564
Jun 22-28
170
720
775
Jun 29-30
56
127
236
JUN
877
2,822
3,483
Jul 1-7
200
511
622
Jul 8-14
211
577
625
Jul 15-21
225
398
1,000
Jul 22-28
223
549
801
Jul 29-31
65
162
230
JUL
924
2,197
3,278
Aug 1-8
265
951
885
Aug 9-14
178
709
1,152
Aug 15-21
150
348
499
Aug 22-28
179
542
815
Aug 29-31
58
118
289
AUG
830
2,668
3,640
Sep 1-7
168
616
751
Sep 8-14
150
896
662

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Sep 8-14 2014
Province
Security
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Types of
Attack
Anbar
17
52
30 ISF
3 Sahwa
19 Civilians
116
37 ISF
12 Sahwa
67 Civilians
5 Shootings
2 IEDs
2 Suicide Car Bombs
Babil
7
5
5 Civilians
19
19 Civilians
2 Shootings
3 IEDs
Baghdad
43
85
8 ISF
1 Sahwa
76 Civilians
236
5 ISF
231 Civilians
12 Shootings
23 IEDs
4 Sticky Bombs
4 Suicide Car Bombs
1 Motorcycle Bomb
Basra
8
2
2 Civilians

2 Shootings
1 IEDs
3 Sticky Bombs
Diyala
10
5
3 ISF
2 Civilians
10
10 Civilians
4 Shootings
2 IEDs
Karbala
1
3
3 Civilians
12
12 Civilians
1 Car Bomb
Kirkuk
10
9
9 Civilians
6
6 Civilians
5 Shootings
3 IED
Najaf
2
5
5 Civilians
12
12 Civilians
1 IED
1 Car Bomb
Ninewa
15
646
34 ISF
612 Civilians
16
16 Civilians
10 Shootings
14 IEDs
Qadisiyah
3
6
6 Civilians
18
18 Civilians
1 IEDs
1 Car Bomb
1 Sticky Bomb
Salahaddin
34
78
6 ISF
20 Sahwa
52 Civilians
217
12 ISF
205 Civilians
18 Shootings
26 IEDs
3 Suicide Car Bombs
1 Suicide Boat Bomb


The Islamic State (IS) has kept up its intensive car bomb campaign. There were 12 such attacks in the second week of September from the 9th to 12th across Anbar, Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Qadisiyah, and Salahaddin leaving 60 dead and 283 wounded. September 8 was the worse day when two were set off in Dhuluiya, Salahaddin leaving 20 killed and 168 injured. The town has been under siege for weeks by IS and shows the tactical use of car bombs by the group. September 11 there were also three bombs in Karbala, Najaf, and Qadisiyah. The last time the south was hit was towards the end of August. IS has been striking the south with these types of attacks about once a month. For the last several weeks the insurgents have been able to carry out car bomb waves with only one to two days in between them, the highest pace seen in years. The huge amounts of explosives that the group captured during the summer are facilitating these attacks. IS has such large stockpile that it will be able to continue with this campaign for the foreseeable future.

Car Bombs In Iraq Sep. 2014
Date
Location
Dead
Wounded
Sep 1
Baya x2, Baghdad
13
45
Sep 2



Sep 3
Samarra, Salahaddin
7
17
Sep 4
Albu Faraj, Anbar
Kadhimiya & Sadoun St, Baghdad
Kirkuk, Kirkuk
24
85
Sep 5
Amiriya Fallujah, Anbar
Zafaraniya, Baghdad
Tikrit, Salahaddin
14
33
Sep 6
Samarra, Salahaddin

4
Sep 7



Sep 8
Dhuluiya x2, Salahaddin
20
168
Sep 9
Saqlawiya, Anbar


Sep 10
Saqlawiya, Anbar
New Baghdad & Ghadeer, Baghdad
19
57
Sep 11
Karbala, Karbala
Najaf, Najaf
Diwaniya, Qadisiyah
14
40
Sep 12
Ghadeer, Baghdad
Hammadi Shihab, Salahaddin
7
18
Sep 13



Sep 14



Totals
22
118
467


On the other hand, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) continued with their indiscriminate shelling and air strikes of civilian areas. For the week, there were three days of casualties in Anbar’s Fallujah and one day in Garma caused by government mortar and artillery fire leading to 16 fatalities and 47 wounded. That was far lower than the previous week when 69 people lost their lives and another 120 were wounded in Anbar and Kirkuk governorates. Additionally, there were air strikes on Anbar, Ninewa and Salahaddin in the second week of September that caused 18 dead and 34 wounded. New Premier Haider Abadi announced on September 13 that he was ordering the ISF to stop these attacks upon populated cities and towns. This would be a huge step towards lowering casualties if followed through with, and would also end some of the major complaints made by those living under insurgent control.

Casualties From Government Shelling Sep. 2014
Date
Location
Dead
Wounded
Sep 2
Fallujah, Anbar
9
33

Garma, Anbar
2
7
Sep 3
Fallujah, Anbar
13
6

Garma, Anbar
2
4
Sep 4
Fallujah, Anbar
18
7

Garma, Anbar
3
9
Sep 5
Fallujah, Anbar
7
34

Garma, Anbar
3
7
Sep 6
Fallujah Anbar
9
6

Garma. Anbar
3
7

Tal Ali, Kirkuk
1
3
Total
10
69
120
Sep 9
Fallujah, Anbar
9
23

Garma, Anbar
2
8
Sep 12
Fallujah, Anbar
4
16
Sep 13
Fallujah, Anbar
1

Total
4
16
47

Casualties From Government Air Strikes Sep. 2014
Date
Location
Dead
Wounded
Sep 2
Albu Zarkh & Tamor, Kirkuk
Alam, Salahaddin
39
38
Sep 4
Mosul, Ninewa
4

Sep 5
Baiji, Salahaddin
1
8
Sep 6
Hawija, Kirkuk
Ajeel, Salahaddin
22
19
Sep 7
Zab, Kirkuk
7
4
Total
8
73
69
Sep 8
Fallujah, Anbar
3
17
Sep 9
Baaj, Ninewa
1
6
Sep 10
Qayara, Ninewa
3

Sep 12
Mosul, Ninewa
10
10
Sep 14
Dhuluiya, Salahaddin
1
1
Total
5
18
34

(Wikipedia)

In Anbar the security forces are attempting to reverse the insurgents’ gains. IS’s move to take Haditha has stalled. The group laid siege to the town for weeks, launching almost daily attacks, but the security forces and tribes there were able to hold them off. The latter are now attempting to go on the offensive with the help of U.S. air strikes. On September 8, the army cleared one district in Haditha aided by the Americans, while the Interior Ministry spokesman said that Barwana, which is just across the Euphrates from Haditha was being cleared of insurgents as well. There are on going security operations in Ramadi and in the western desert around Rawa too, while several tribes in Garma, which is to the east of Fallujah began assisting the security forces there. The problem in Anbar is that the tribes and security forces have cleared areas again and again only to leave them and have the insurgents move right back in. For the week there were 52 killed in Anbar and 116 wounded, down from the 104 dead and 158 injured the week before.

Sadr’s Peace Brigades fighting in Jurf al-Sakhr, Sep 12, 2014 (EFE/EPA)

Northern Babil suffered through more fruitless security operations. September 13, the Babil Operations Command started its latest campaign in Jurf al-Sakhr, which includes militias. It has started more than 10 of these since the start of the year each time claiming success only to begin another one shortly afterward. This new one has about as much chances of success as the previous ones. The Islamic State appears to be firmly in control of the area moving its forces back and forth from neighboring Anbar, while fighting off the ISF in certain areas of the district. There were seven attacks for the week in Babil leading to 5 fatalities and 19 wounded. Like the previous week IS has gone after militiamen killing three and wounding another 8 during the second week of September. In total, there were 5 fatalities and 19 injured from September 8-14 in Babil.

Diyala has also seen some mixed results with its security campaigns. The ISF tried to free the water supply in Baladrooz from IS control, but on September 13 a parliamentarian said that it was inconclusive. The security forces also claimed to have cleared the infamous Hamrin Mountains area, which has been an insurgent hotbed for years. The inability of the ISF to hold the area was shown by the fact that the peshmerga went into Hamrin on September 9. IS has been carrying out retaliatory strikes in the province as well. September 12 it kidnapped 12 ISF and Sahwa members, executing three of them in Muqtadiya. The next day it arrested six tribesmen from the Jabour clan in Sensl. For the week 5 were killed and 10 wounded in the province.

IS is attempting to assert its control over the Hawija district of eastern Kirkuk province. September 11 it kidnapped 20 former Sahwa members and killed three of them. September 13 it held a parade through central Hawija after tribesmen killed two of its fighters. That same day IS executed four people in the Zab area. The Iraqi press reported that sheikhs in Hawija were turning against IS, and thus bringing about these retaliatory attacks. Only 9 people were killed and another 6 wounded during the second week of September.

Ninewa had by far the highest casualties for the week due to the Islamic State carrying out mass killings. September 8 32 people were executed by IS in Mosul and Wadi Hajar. September 10 31 police were executed in the province. Two mass graves were also discovered that day. One in Humaidiyat held the bodies of 500 prisoners from Badush prison, which was taken by IS the day Mosul fell. Another site in Barzak, Zummar had 35 Yazidis in it, another sign of the Islamic State’s attempt to wipe out the religious group. Finally, on September 14 30 people were shot in Tal Afar. The peshmerga continue to clear sections of the province to the north of Mosul. On September 11 the Kurds freed two villages in the Bashiqa area, and eventually took Bashiqa itself on September 13, which is to the northeast of Mosul. Because of the IS murders there were 646 killed compared to only 16 wounded in Ninewa for the week.

Salahaddin continues to see the most fighting in the central section of the governorate. After relieving the siege of Amerli last week, militias and the ISF are now trying to break the IS blockade around Dhuluiya. Militias are also trying to clear the villages surrounding Amerli. Like in other provinces IS is also trying to intimidate the population. It kidnapped 23 people in Samra and Dujail on September 9. September 11 it blew up 20 houses of ISF members in Shirqat. That same day a mass grave with 30 bodies was found in Sulaiman Bek. September 13 it also made an assault upon Baiji Refinery, which it failed to take during the beginning of its summer offensive. The insurgents remain in firm control of much of the northern section of the province despite its setback in Amerli. Even if Dhuluiya were to be retaken it would not change the strategic situation in Salahaddin. Relieving the towns stops more massacres, but they are not that important to the militants. There were 78 dead and 217 wounded during the week in the governorate.

SOURCES

AIN, "20 persons kidnapped eastern Tikrit," 9/9/14

Ajrash, Kadhim and Al-Ansary, Khalid, "Islamic State Bombs Iraq Oil Refinery, Tank Catches Fire," Bloomberg, 9/13/14

Alsumaria, "Daash arrested six civilians in Baquba on charges of attempting to form an armed organization against them," 9/13/14
- "Daash executed two policemen in center and south of Mosul," 9/8/14
- "Found a mass grave containing the remains of 30 bodies east of Tikrit," 9/11/14
- “Haditha announce the start of a military operation east of city cleared of Daash,” 9/12/14
- "Killing and wounding 25 people including eight children in fall of mortars in
Fallujah," 9/4/14
- “Killing one civilian and wounding three others in pounding of village targeted
southwest of Kirkuk,” 9/6/14
- "Killing one person and injuring eight others in aerial bombing north of Tikrit," 9/5/14
- "Killing three soldiers and wounding five by military car bomb explosion north of
Tikrit," 9/13/14
- “The start of a major military operation to purge the area of Khazraj in Dhuluiya of Daash,” 9/12/14
- “Start the process of an extensive security operation in three areas of Ramadi to liberate it from Daash,” 9/12/14

Associated Press, "Attacks kill 30 people in Iraq's capital, Baghdad," 9/10/14

The Australian, "Hospital bombing kills 18 in Iraq," 9/7/14

Aswat al-Iraq, "32 civilians killed, 27+ wounded in Salahl-din province," 9/2/14

Buratha News, "Daash delivers to the forensic medicine in Mosul 30 bodies including senior officers executed within a week," 9/8/14
- "Gunmen kidnap three civilians and found the bodies of two unidentified men south of Tikrit," 9/9/14
- "Killing and wounding 12 people including terrorist elements of Daash in
aerial bombardment east of Tikrit," 9/6/14
- “Peace Brigades starts entering the area of Albu Hassan district surrounding Amerli,” 9/12/14

Dolamari, Mewan, "500 Bodies Found in IS Mass Grave in Northern Iraq," 9/10/14

Fahim, Kareem, Ahmed, Azam and Semple, Kirk, "Sunni Mistrust Is Major Hurdle for
New Iraqi Leaders," New York Times, 9/10/14

Al Forat, "Civilian executed by ISIL in Mosul," 9/13/14
- "Dhilo'aya clashes, bombings result in killing, injuring 42 persons," 9/8/14
- "ISIL executes 3 western Kirkuk," 9/14/14
- "Shirqat: ISIL terrorists detonate 20 houses of ISF elements," 9/11/14

Independent Press Agency, "Daash kidnapped 13 people and executed three of them in Diyala," 9/12/14

Iraq Times, “Moussawi: reveals the end of military campaign to lift the siege of Balad Ruz since last Saturday,” 9/13/14

Jassim, Ali, "Killing one civilian and wounding six others in aerial bombing west of
Mosul," 9/9/14

Al Mada, "30 people killed and wounded in Baghdad bombings," 9/12/14
- "Daash executed three tribal elders south of Kirkuk, "9/12/14
- “Daash review in Hawija..and Anbar launches the process of “Revenge of the Spyker,”” 9/13/14
- "Death and injuring of 48 displaced people in wrong aerial bombardment east of
Tikrit," 9/2/14
- "Killing and wounding 12 civilians in aerial bombing of southwest Kirkuk," 9/7/14
- "Killing and wounding 14 people including women and children in aerial bombing south
of Kirkuk," 9/2/14
- "Killing and wounding 19 people as army bombed Fallujah," 9/3/14
- "Killing one person and wounding his brother in aerial bombardment of wrong area in
Dhuluiya," 9/14/14
- “Peshmerga progressing cautiously south of Mosul and experts dealing with the “bomb cities,”” 9/13/14

NINA, "/4/ Civilians killed in an air raid east of Mosul," 9/4/14
- “/5/ villages belonging to Makhmour, southeast of Mosul liberated by Peshmerga,” 9/13/14
- "/20/ people killed and wounded due to random bombing on Fallujah," 9/12/14
- “/34/ Elements of the IS killed and wounded in military operation in Jurf al-Sakhar,” 9/13/14
- “Army troops liberated Al-khvajia in Haditha from the IS control,” 9/8/14
- "Breaking News..A suicide attack on a checkpoint northwest of Fallujah," 9/10/14
- “Breaking News.Cleansing Barwana area from the IS elements,” 9/8/14
- "Daash kidnaps 20 members of the former Sahwa forces west of Kirkuk," 9/11/14
- “An Extensive Military Operation Starts to Liberate areas north and east of Dhuluiya in Tikrit,” 9/10/14
-"Islamic State executes 31 police officers in Nineveh refused to cooperate with them," 9/10/14
- "Islamic State executes an engineer in Kirkuk," 9/14/14
- “Kurdish security cuts the supply of the (IS) in Hamrin Basin, northeast of Baquba,” 9/9/14
- "One person killed, others wounded due to random shelling on Fallujah city," 9/13/14
- “Peshmerga forces liberated two villages north of Mosul,” 9/11/14
- "Suicide bomber attack an Army checkpoint in northwest of Fallujah," 9/9/14
- "Three brothers killed by an airstrike south of Mosul," 9/10/14
- "Toll of victims of the bombings of Baghdadil-Jadidah district up to 76 killed and
wounded," 9/10/14
- "Twenty people killed and wounded in aerial bombing in Mosul," 9/12/14

Radio Free Iraq, "02 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/2/14
- "03 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/3/14
- "05 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/5/14
- "06 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/6/14
- "08 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/8/14
- "09 September 2014," Daily Updates from Anbar, 9/9/14

Radio Nawa, "Daash executed two women residents of Mosul," 9/11/14

Shafaq News, “Five most prominent clans in al-Karma join the security forces to fight ISIS,” 9/9/14

Xinhua, "18 killed in clashes, suicide bombing in Iraqi town," 8/9/14
- “Iraq PM orders halt of shelling populated areas in fight with IS,” 9/13/14

Yacoub, Sameer, "Iraq Car Bomb Attacks Kill 17," Associated Press, 9/11/14

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