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Car bomb went off in Basra province yesterday first bombing of southern Iraq in one year. IS lost its major base in Babil in Oct 2014 and had to rebuild and directed attention upon Anbar and Baghdad. Starting summer 2015 IS again started trying to bomb the south but efforts were foiled. Now finally got a bomb through. Read the details here.
Released monthly totals for attacks and casualties in Iraq for Sep 2015. Had lowest numbers for both in 2015, but was largely due to Eid holiday. Increased security was one factor but bigger one was fact that most Iraqi papers went on vacation so less reporting on violence across Iraq. Check out the charts for breakdown of casualties by week and by province here.
IS launched new car bomb campaign in Iraq in July. Diyala has become a new target. Is nearly one car bomb there per week. Diyala is not only a target of IS VBIEDs but is also a base to launch them into neighboring eastern Baghdad where Shiite neighborhoods are routinely bombed. Read the whole report here.
Just published weekly security report for 1st wk of Oct in Iraq. Lowest reported number of attacks for any full week of 2015 but casualties around same numbers as previous weeks. Joint forces launched new campaign to retake Ramadi but almost every area reported cleared had been gong through before showing whack a mole going on in Anbar. IS car bomb campaign entered 3rd month hitting new places like Diyala and Basra. Full report and lots of charts on violence in Iraq here.
Several new Iraqi militias began organizing and recruiting during the summer to go fight in Syria. Were all pro-Iran which is organizing new offensive to back Assad's forces in the northwest in Hama, Ladhidiya and Homs. Read the story here.
Very good video of Iraqi historian Amatzia Baram on the historical precedents that led to creation of IS in Iraq and the role of the Sunni tribes in the fight right now.
http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...dams-iraq.html
Why ISIS is Winning in Iraq
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Latest security report for 2nd week of Oct in Iraq is up. Govt forces finally cleared out Baiji area. Op in Anbar however continues to tread water. IS car bomb campaign also continues. Full charts and details here.
C-SPAN Video Brief: Military Operations Against ISIS in Iraq & Syria
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New security report for third week of Oct in Iraq. Govt forces finally took back Baiji in Salahaddin which had been fought over for more than a year. Anbar op made some headway in Ramadi but treading water in other areas. IS's car bomb campaign also still on going. Read all the details and view charts on the violence here.
As the imminent threat posed by the Islamic State has slowly subsided for the Kurdistan Regional Government it has become more open about its losses. Irbil like Baghdad was originally keeping its casualties secret and was only pumping out propaganda about its losses. In the last few months the KRG has admitted that it kept 10,000 casualties secret showing that the true cost of the war against IS in Iraq is still largely unknown. Read the article here.
Published security report for last week of Oct in Iraq. Govt offensives in Anbar and Salahaddin continue with major breakthrough in the latter with the taking of Baiji, the refinery and some of the surrounding towns. Full coverage with charts and figures here.
Published report for violence and security in Iraq in Oct. Attacks have leveled off in Iraq since May largely because IS on the defensive. Check out the full charts and numbers here.
The reality for Sunni's living under Shia control.....
Reuters: 1000s of Tikritis returned after ISIS defeat in Apr., now live in fear of militias. Kidnappings & robberieshttp://www.reuters.com/investigates/...ort/iraq-abadi …
Just published another interview for Musings On Iraq. I talked with Foreign Reports' Matthew Reed on his research into the Islamic State's oil industry. He believes rather than smuggling oil and refined products out through Turkey and other areas IS is now mostly selling to small local refiners in Syria and the Syrian government. This is in part due to coalition airstrikes and also due to local demand. Here's a link to the interview.
Town of Albu Ajeel outside of Tikrit shows the problems that will arise once IS is cleared out of Iraq. Albu Ajeel tribe was not only accused of being IS sympathizers but taking part in Camp Speicher massacre in Tikrit. After town was cleared in March Hashd and local tribal elements burned and destroyed almost the entire town. Then local tribes demanded not only blood money for dead relatives they claimed Albu Ajeel killed, but also wanted revenge against them as well. Read more here.
Just published weekly security report for 1st week of Nov. Ramadi offensive continued to show progress while being unable to hold many towns that were already cleared. Fallujah offensive shown little progress and Garma op caleld off. Baghdad leads country in violence. Mass executions continuing in Ninewa by IS. Car Bomb campaign continues into another month. Full details here.
Just published a new interview for Musings On Iraq. Talked with Kyle Orton about the debate over what role Baathists play in the Islamic State. He also discussed Saddam's Faith Campaign that created a generation of Islamists in Iraq, many of which joined the insurgency. Here's a link.
Just published new security report for second week of Nov in Iraq. IS is on the defensive leading to a reduction in attacks for last few weeks. Picked up its terrorist attacks in response which led to increase in casualties for the week. Full details and charts here.
Hi just did my 97th interview for Musings On Iraq. Talked with Prof Wayne Hsieh of the Naval Academy who was a member of a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Salahaddin's Tuz Kharmato. We discussed the history and conflicts in the district and why it recently exploded in violence between Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite Hashd this month. Here's a link.