Iraq Insurgents Launch Summer Offensive

Thursday, June 14, 2012









Iraq Insurgents Launch Summer Offensive In June 2012










The pace of operations by Iraq’s militants is largely determined by the
weather. During the colder winter months, they carry out far fewer
attacks. When the weather gets hotter, the number of incidents goes way
up. In 2012, the insurgency started their summer offensive in June with a
series of attacks upon Shiite pilgrims and the Shiite Endowment. That
was followed by a wave of attacks on June 13 up and down the entire
length of the country with all of Iraq’s major groups hit. In the coming
days and weeks there were will be more such events, resulting in an
increase in casualties. This is not a turn for the worse in Iraq’s
security situation, but rather the normal pattern of attacks that has
been followed for the last nine years.




June 2012 has been marked by a series of high-profile attacks throughout Iraq. On June 4, a suicide bomber set off a car bomb outside of the Shiite Endowment in Baghdad. 26 people were killed, and nearly 190 were wounded.
Later in the day, a mortar shell hit the Sunni Endowment in the
capital, but there were no casualties. Beforehand, the two organizations
had been arguing over control of land and religious shrines like the
Askariya one in Samarra, Salahaddin. On June 11, Al Qaeda in Iraq’s
front organization, the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the incident,
and warned that more were coming. That same day there were nearly forty
attacks throughout the width and length of the entire country. First,
in Baghdad, Shiite pilgrims were heading towards the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in Kadhimiyah. He was a great grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and is considered a Shiite saint. These events have been favorite targets of militants. The violence started right after midnight when a bomb went off in the city. At 5 am, a truck bomb exploded amongst pilgrims in Kadhimiyah. Two mortar shells landed in the same neighborhood, killing six, and wounding 38. A car bomb detonated just outside of the area, and another blew up amongst pilgrims in Karrada. In that last incident, pilgrims were in tents outside of a mosque getting food, water, and resting after their trip. Two other bombings occurred in Mashem and on Palestine Street, both in central Baghdad. In total, the New York Times
had an initial count of 29 deaths, and 80 wounded in the capital. That
was just the beginning of the day’s events. In Ninewa province, there was a car bombing in front of a Kurdish party headquarters in Mosul killing two, and wounding five, and six killed, and ten wounded by roadside bombs against army and police convoys in the rest of the governorate. Four bombs struck Kirkuk in Tamim, one outside of the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Salahaddin had six incidents, including two car bombs in Balad killing
five, and wounding 30, a car bomb hitting pilgrims in Taji, leaving seven casualties,
an attack in Samarra, and two car bombs in Tikrit that left twenty-one
killed and wounded. Diyala witnessed a car bomb in Baquba that led to 29
dead and wounded, while gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the Sadiyah
district. Southern Iraq was not spared either, with two car bombs in Basra killing 10,
two car bombs in Hillah in Babil, one of which was aimed at policemen
that left 22 killed, and 50 wounded, and another at a Shiite mosque that
left no casualty. In Wasit, car bombs struck in Aziziya, and in Karbala
explosions targeted day workers there. Finally, in Anbar, three houses
belonging to policemen in Fallujah were bombed leaving three dead, and
12 wounded, two police were killed at a checkpoint in that city, there
was an explosion in the city of Haswa, a sticky bomb killed a government
worker in Hit, and a suicide bomber in Khalidiya, which is outside of
Ramadi left three dead, and six wounded. Overall, the BBC had almost 300
wounded, while the New York Times counted more than 90 dead. This was
by far the bloodiest day of the year. Some reports tried to highlight
the sectarian nature of the incidents. That was true of the attacks upon
the pilgrims. Al Qaeda in Iraq has consistently gone after every Shiite
event in the country, hoping to create tensions, and a possible
retaliatory attack, which they hope would bring the country back to the
brink of civil war. That has not happened yet. More importantly, June 13
showed that militants carry out attacks against all of Iraq’s major
groups. Not only were Shiite Arabs struck, but so were Sunni Arabs, and
Kurds. It also points to the fact that there are other groups operating
in the country. Al Qaeda simply does not have the manpower to carry out
all of that day’s violence, and is not really interested in incidents
that do not gain major press coverage. The other groups do not get the
press coverage, and usually don’t even get named, but they are the heart
and soul of the insurgency, carrying out the daily routine of attacks
in Iraq.

Pilgrims like these heading towards the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in Baghdad were targeted on June 13, 2012 (Getty Images)

Security check outside of shrine June 13. More police and soldiers were deployed in Baghdad after the Shiite Endowment was bombed, but they couldn't stop the wave of attacks (Getty Images)

Man in hospital after being wounded by attack in Karbala June 13 (Reuters)

Aftermath of bombing in Baghdad's Karrada June 13 (AP)

Damage done by bombing in Kirkuk June 13 (Reuters)

Remains of a car after a bombing in Baghdad June 13 (Reuters)

Wreckage being removed from Hillah June 13 (AP)

June’s events point to the fact that Iraq is still a very dangerous
place to live. Gunshots, mortar attacks, and bombings are common
occurrences. At the same time, it’s important to keep the recent
security incidents in context. Every year since 2003, insurgents have
picked up their attacks during the summer. June therefore, is not a
change in violence, but rather follows the annual pattern. The pace of
militant operations is not consistent either, meaning that there could
be dips in deaths and attacks in the coming months, and when the winter
comes the uptick in violence will pass. Finally any talk of sectarianism
or civil war that might emerge from reporting or discussion of the
month will be overblown. Iraq’s militants have shown that they are equal
opportunity killers, as June 13 saw Sunni and Shiite Arabs, and Kurds
all amongst their victims. They also have not been able to bring about
the armed response by Shiites that they have wanted, and even the
breadth of their operations are not equal to what they did at their peak
from 2005-2007. Unfortunately, this has become the norm for Iraq.




SOURCES




Ahmed, Rezan, “Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for attack on Baghdad’s Shiite Endowment,” AK News, 6/11/12

- “Six policemen and soldiers killed in Nineveh roadside bombings,” AK News, 6/13/12




Ahmed, Rizan, Khallat, Khudr, and Msarbat, Anwar, “22 casualties in
Mosul and Fallujha: four gunmen arrested and car bomb defused,” AK News,
6/13/12




Arango, Tim, “Shiite Targets Are the Focus In Bombings Around Iraq,” New York Times, 6/13/12




Arango, Tim and Ghazi, Yasir, “Violence Spreads In Struggle For Shrine,” New York Times, 6/4/12

http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/