The Government of Iraq has received a Credit (IDA Credit No. 42120) from the International Development Association (IDA) toward the cost of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Project (ERRP) implemented by the Ministry of Construction and Housing (MoCH), and it intends to apply part of the credit proceeds to payments for the consultancy services to prepare a transport sector master plan for the development of an integrated multi-modal transport system for Iraq.

There was no significant increase or decrease in the number of attacks recorded in Iraq last week but the fatality figure doubled from the previous week. At least 101 people were killed and 216 injured in nationwide incidents. Conditions appear to have worsened since the US military pullout at the end of 2011 and the situation does not bode well for the coming months.

Tactics
A total of 30 bomb attacks left 41 people dead and 136 injured last week. An additional suicide bombing in Za’faraniyah district in Baghdad left at least 32 people dead and 71 injured while over the last few days a second suicide bombing has hit Diyala province. The number of small arms attacks has been high over the past fortnight and last week the tactic left 27 people dead and eight injured. There was a relatively low number of indirect fire attacks (rockets and mortars), with one person injured by the tactic. There were no reported kidnappings.

Weekly Attacks in Iraq - the last 6 months

Geographic Distribution
Violence was concentrated in Baghdad, the central provinces, Kirkuk and Mosul. There was also a spike in violence in the towns of Tuz Khurmatu (Salah ad-Din province) and Ba’qubah (Diyala province). Conditions worsened in the capital, while there was a slight reduction in violence in the north of the country. The Kurdish region remained quiet, as did the south of the country, although a number of unknown blasts were reported in Basrah.

Sticky Bombs
Recent days have seen a rise in the number of sticky bombs reported in the country. Sticky bombs are also known as Under Vehicle Improvised Explosive Devices (UVIEDs). They are usually magnetic in nature and are affixed to a target vehicle before being detonated – usually by remote control. A rise in the tactic was also reported in spring 2011, as outlined in this Iraq Business News Article. UVIEDs are normally used to kill a specifically targeted individual, such as a ministry employee or senior member of the Iraqi security forces. Personnel should inspect their vehicles before and after every journey, even minor ones, if they are in unsecure parts of the country. Look out for any suspicious devices around the underside of the vehicle as you approach it, and be aware of your surroundings. Most of the devices are detonated by remote control by an operator who is situated within eyesight.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British private security firm working in Iraq since 2003. You can access AKE’s intelligence website Global Intake here, and you can obtain a free trial of AKE’s Iraq intelligence reports here.

AKE has updated its security, travel and political risk guidance on the country on the website Global Intake. For further details or to purchase access to the report please visit the site here.

Baghdad Provincial Council/Baghdad Governorate is pleased to re-announce  the project of (Replace the power network of Kamaliya district/locality 759 ) which is included within the projects of Baghdad governorate and funded from the allocations of regions development for 2011.
For all specialized offices and companies willing to participate in this tender,review the contracts department in Baghdad governorate to brief the required legal and fiscal conditions to obtain the subscription form in the tender for the sum (25000)Twenty five thousand dinars which is non-refundable,noting that the deadline for submission of bids are before 12:00 noon on Monday,27/02/2012 to the Secretary of Bids Opening Committee in the Governorate,and the tender must be inside a sealed envelope labeled with the name and the number of the tender and the name of the company and the bids will be opened on the day following the closing date at 10;00 am in the presence of the representatives of the participating offices.

Please click here to obtain further information.

PetroChina announces a new tender for provision of 4 driling services unit .

Bidding Details:

-ITB Package Request Fee: USD 100.00

-Place to obtain the ITB Package: PetroChina Base Camp . Kahla’a Missan Province Iraq.

Qualifications and documents required for ITB Package request:

-Filled ITB Package Request Form

-Copy of Certificate of Incorporation

-Copy of Certificate of Contracting /trade

-Original Power of Attorney to whom ITB package will be issued. This power of attorney must be signed by the legal representative of the interested company .

For Contact information , please click here.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has a requirement for Provision of Upgrade, Reapair and maintenance of Public Announcement (PA) System for the newly constructed buildings at UNAMI Regional Headquarters, Erbil, Iraq. The system should effectively cover the entire compund and making public announcements clearly audible in all areas and buildings within the compund.

UNAMI is intends to award this contract for one year, with an option of extension for additional Four consecutive one year periods at UNAMI’s discretion and also subject to service provider performance which should be satisfactory.

The services shall be provided and executed by a qualified and experienced company based on detailed scope of works, the UN General Conditions of Contracts for provision of Goods and other related documents which will be provided later on by UNAMI to qualified companies who express their interest and qualify for the tender. For this purpose UNAMI will under take a competitive bidding exercise shortly.

Please note on the following:

This EOI is not an invitation for submission a bid.

UNAMI reserves the right in selecting the invitees for the competitive bidding based on substantial and proven records of performance in the subject field of activities and mere expressing an interest would not automatically warrant for ITB document.

UNAMI reserves the right to reject EOI’s received after the deadline (08-02-2012 12:00 AM * GMT(+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Brussels )

AKE has compiled statistics covering violence in Iraq over the course of 2011. The average week saw 56 attacks, many of which included bombings targeting civilians on an indiscriminate basis. The Iraqi security forces also suffered numerous attacks and will likely remain a major focus for militant groups now that the US military has withdrawn from the country. A total of 1716 explosive attacks took place, with 78 of them involving suicide bombers. Eighty-three people were also kidnapped, with many remaining in captivity or unaccounted for.

Weekly Fatalities in Iraq - figures fluctuated throughout 2011

Casualties
AKE also documented at least 2893 fatalities over the year. However, the true figure is almost certain to be much higher. AKE figures are collated on a ‘spot’ basis, i.e. they are taken within 24 hours of a violent incident and do not take into account those who have died later from their injuries. The monitoring agency Iraq Body Count recorded a rise in civilian casualties in 2011, with 4,059 documented fatalities over the course of the year.

Q4 Conditions
Between October and December Baghdad was the most violent part of the country. The capital saw an average of 2-3 attacks per day, accounting for 38 per cent of all the violence in the country over the period. The next most hazardous province was Ninawa where the city of Mosul saw an average of 1-2 attacks per day. Other violent areas included the volatile and socially-mixed province of Ta’mim (Kirkuk) as well as the central provinces of Anbar, Babil, Diyala and Salah ad-Din.

Frequency of Incidents Oct-Dec 2011

Greener Pastures
The Kurdish provinces were very quiet, although they saw a small number of incidents, including cross border military operations by Iran and Turkey and a rise in localised social tensions in certain areas. The south of Iraq also saw very little violence. The quietest provinces in the whole of the country were Muthanna and Najaf which saw no major incidents of violence at all in the last quarter of the year. Even the oil-rich and previously troubled  provinces of Basrah and Maysan were far quieter than their counterparts in the centre and north of the country.

The Energy Sector
Such improvement in the southern region bodes well for the numerous companies looking to do business in the area in 2012. However, with ongoing violence, including a significant bombing in central Basrah the day before an oil and gas conference last year, security will likely remain a major consideration over the coming months for the industry.

Planning for 2012
AKE maintains a real-time security, political and travel risk report on Iraq, which readers can purchase here.  It contains risk assessment material, projections on how the security and political risk environment is likely to evolve over the coming year, travel guidelines and advice, as well as an archived database of analysis on the country stretching back to 2003. You can also obtain a free trial of our emailed intelligence by filling in your details here.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, an international risk mitigation firm working in Iraq since 2003. You can follow him on twitter here, and you can view the company website here.

Conditions continue to fluctuate in Iraq. Levels of violence rose slightly last week, but in the absence of any major mass casualty attacks the overall number of fatalities fell from the previous week. At least 47 people were killed and 71 injured in nationwide incidents. Countrywide, a total of 25 bomb attacks left 16 people dead and 40 injured. An additional suicide bombing in Babil province left three people dead and 18 injured. A notable rise in the number of small arms attacks left 28 people dead and 13 injured. Two Iraqi nationals were abducted in Ta’mim province while the body of a British national, abducted in 2007, was finally handed over to the authorities. The central provinces experienced the lion’s share of violence. Iraqi Kurdistan saw no major incidents of violence at all,

North
The cities of Kirkuk and Mosul remain very hazardous, with almost daily attacks in both. The police and military remain the most common target of militant attacks in the non-Kurdish governed north of the country although civilians are also regularly being singled out because of their community backgrounds. Members of the Shabak community were hit by a bombing against an IDP camp in Bartala, near Mosul last week, for example.

Weekly Attacks in Iraq - the last 6 months

Centre
Militant and terrorist activity was concentrated in the centre of the country – particularly Diyala province around Ba’qubah. Baghdad also saw several attacks although the capital is currently quieter than normal. Indirect fire attacks (rockets and mortars) in the city left no casualties and only limited damage last week. Nonetheless, one of the attacks targeted the Turkish embassy, signalling a warning for nationals of the country that they are as much at risk of being singled out for attacks as other foreigners. For some time, Turkish nationals have been able to ‘slip under the radar’ in Iraq, blending in and travelling low profile. Nonetheless, Turkish nationals were amongst those abducted in the country last year and with worsening relations between Baghdad and Ankara Turkish organisations should perhaps consider reviewing their security measures in place at present. Low-profile measures will probably suit the majority of Turkish firms and nationals for now. Blending in should still be regarded as the best means of mitigating risk. Nonetheless, at least some protection should be regarded as better than nothing.

South
No major incidents were reported in the south of the country last week although unknown blasts were reported in Basrah on 25 January. Under-reporting remains a concern in the region and while it is certainly far quieter than the centre and north of Iraq it should not be regarded as ‘safe’.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British private security firm working in Iraq since 2003. You can access AKE’s intelligence website Global Intake here, and you can obtain a free trial of AKE’s Iraq intelligence reports here.

The number of attacks taking place in Iraq actually fell last week. Nonetheless, the associated number of casualties was still much higher than average. At least 100 people were killed and 261 injured in nationwide incidents, several of which targeted Shi’ah pilgrims gathering to commemorate Arba’een. Violence was concentrated in the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk in the north, as well as Ramadi and Ba’qubah in the central provinces.

North
In Ta’mim province on 13 January a suicide bomber driving a car laden with explosives attacked the home of a senior police officer in northern Kirkuk, injuring two people. The only fatality was the terrorist himself, which is relatively low for a tactic often responsible for dozens of killings. Kirkuk does not see regular suicide bombings at present but it has done in the past. The tactic could become more common in the area in the future if inter-communal relations deteriorate and violence rises. Another suicide attack in the northern region took place in Mosul on the same day. Police raided a house in the west of the city, shooting dead two suspected militants inside before a third man detonated an explosive belt, injuring two of the officers.

Centre
Co-ordinated attacks struck Anbar province on 15 January when militants detonated bombs and attacked police stations and a power facility using guns and RPGs. The police responded and clashes continued for some time in what bears the hallmarks of similar attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq. On a number of occasions over the past two years terrorists have detonated bombs around a targeted building, then attacked using firearms and suicide belts with the intent of taking hostages temporarily and then causing multiple casualties. Most of the assailants die during such attacks.

Baghdad was relatively quiet last week, with a lower than normal number of incidents recorded in the city. The security forces were on high alert for Arba’een and are believed to have prevented several attacks. Nonetheless, a suicide bomber still managed to kill several people in an attack in the south of the city, indicating that even with the authorities in a state of vigilance, terrorists are still able to engage in open violence.

South
At least 53 people were killed and 130 injured in a suicide bombing targeting Shi’ah pilgrims in Basrah on 14 January. While three more suicide bombings in the capital and north of the country left nine people dead and 32 injured but it was the southern incident which claimed the most lives. While the authorities can claim credit for having prevented a number of attacks over the course of Arba’een, they will nonetheless be blamed by many for failing to protect members of the public. Stops at vehicle checkpoints may now increase on main routes in the southern provinces and cars with number plates from the central region may be specifically singled out for stop and search exercises. Personnel are advised to comply and ensure that all the necessary paperwork and vehicle registration is in order.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British private security firm working in Iraq since 2003. You can access AKE’s intelligence website Global Intake here, and you can obtain a free trial of AKE’s Iraq intelligence reports here.