A company owned by the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals has announced that it will buy buy a textile production line from a Swiss company for 1.77 million Swiss francs [$2.24 million, 3 billion Iraqi dinars].

Alforat TV quotes a director of the company as saying that the company is waiting for Ministry approval to complete the contract with the Swiss company Rieter.

The production line is intended to produce high-quality yarn in Wassit [Wasit] governorate.

(Source: Alforat TV)

Up until Monday, the past week was turning into one of the quietest so far this year, but then a series of mass casualty attacks swept the country, leaving dozens of people dead and injured. Provincial government buildings and security force installations and patrols were the most common targets of the attacks, although civilians were caught up in many of the blasts. The most devastating attack took place in Kut, where two bombs in a central commercial area left over 30 people dead and over 60 injured. While several of the other attacks involved suicide bombers, they did not inflict nearly as many fatalities.

Distribution of Violence

Incidents were scattered countrywide, and while many took place in Baghdad and the central provinces, there were also several incidents in the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul, and even some rare attacks in the southern holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, which are normally very well patrolled. Evidently terrorists still have the opportunity to overcome the security measures being maintained by the Iraqi authorities.

Distribution of Monday's Violence - AKE Intelligence

Political Implications

The attacks may re-invigorate the debate as to whether or not the US military should stay beyond the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) deadline on 31 December. However, it would be extremely difficult for any Iraqi politician to invite the US to maintain its troop presence on Iraqi soil beyond the date. It is likely that the majority of American troops will have left the country by the end of the year, although some may stay behind to protect specific US assets and to provide support to the Iraqi security forces in a training and advisory role.

Countrywide Trends

Apart from the mass casualty attacks of 15 August the month of Ramadan has remained relatively quiet. This is now a familiar pattern in the country, where the holy month has seen a decline in militant activity over recent years.

Kurdistan remains very quiet, with Iranian troops ending their pursuit of Kurdish terrorists – for now at least – in the Qandil Mountains. However, Ankara may resume its cross border attacks following a terrorist attack against troops in the south east of Turkey earlier on Wednesday. If it does, however, the fallout will remain limited to mountainous areas. Settlements, oil fields and areas of business activity will remain largely unaffected.

Weekly Attacks in Iraq - the last 6 months - not including the attacks of Monday

In the centre of the country recent violence has been concentrated in Baghdad, with clusters of incidents around eastern Anbar province, north-western Wassit province and scattered throughout Diyala and Babil provinces. The south of the country has seen very little in the way of violence over recent weeks, although Najaf was caught up in the mass casualty attacks of Monday. A double suicide bombing in the Hayy al-Hussein district of the holy city highlighted the fact that even normally quiet and well patrolled parts of the region are at risk of being targeted.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British private security firm working in Iraq from before 2003. Further details on the company can be found here while AKE’s intelligence and political risk website Global IntAKE can be accessed here.

You can obtain a free trial of AKE’s intelligence reports here.
You can also follow John Drake on twitter here.

The head of the Wassit Investment Commission today laid the cornerstone for a $24m [29 billion Iraqi dinar] iron and steel factory.

This is the first factory to be established in the province in the last 40 years, the province’s media director stated.

Majid al-Attabi told Aswat al-Iraq that the factory will be established in Aziziyah area, 90 km north of Kut, by an Iraqi investor.

The last factory was build by the government 40 years ago for textile production.

The factory will provide 150 local jobs in addition to 15 percent of foreign workers with engineering specializations.

Wassit’s Investment Commission gave permission, since its establishment in 2007, for 10 investment permits in various sectors.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

Wassit local government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian company BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) to build a 500 MW power station, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq.

Taha Rudaini, a member of the local government’s Media Committee, told the news agency that the station will be powered by diesel (black oil).

“The province got the final permission from the Ministry of Electricity to build this station”, he added.

BHEL has reportedly implemented power stations in Sulaimaniyah, Beiji [Baiji, Bayji], Rumaila (Basra), Oman, Yemen and UAE, in addition to its responsibility of 70 electrical projects in the region.

Discussions to find a venue for the station are underway.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

The province of Wassit [Wasit] has blacklisted 19 general contracting companies for their slackness in implementign project, the province’s governor announced on Thursday.

“Nineteen were blacklisted and five of them had their licenses withdrawn for their delay in carrying out service projects,” Mahdi al-Zubaydi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

He noted that the local administration in the province has decided not to allow those companies to enter into tenders under their names or any other names and to notify the planning ministry and the trade ministry’s companies registering department on the names of those firms.

“The province will take whatever legal action available against those prohibited companies if they ever entered under other names or do work on a subcontracting basis,” Zubaydi added.

AKnews reports that over 600 companies work in the construction sector in Wassit province.

(Sources: Aswat al-Iraq, AKnews)

The chairman of the Wassit Investment Commission said that a number of Bulgarian companies visited the governorate on Thursday to discuss investment opportunities.

Sadeq Howeidi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Friday that the delegation discussed agriculture and industrial sectors, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the province relating to the medial sector.

They are reportedly also interested in infrastructural projects.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

Overview

Levels of violence have been rising in Iraq over the past four weeks. The increase has been gradual, but consistent and last week saw more than 40 attacks reported countrywide for the first time since mid-December. Recent days have seen a particularly concerning rise in militant activity and social tensions in the northern city of Kirkuk. There have also been a number of attacks on Shi’ah worshippers in Salah ad-Din province. Demonstrations calling for an improvement in public services are also ongoing in many urban areas of the country, with violence reported today at a protest in Wassit province.

Weekly Violence in Iraq

North

While Mosul has suffered the majority of northern violence over recent months, the past few days have seen a worrying rise in the number of attacks taking place in Kirkuk. On 15 February three Turkish nationals were abducted in the city by unknown gunmen. These are the first foreign nationals to have been abducted in the country since a US national of Iraqi origin was snatched by Asa’ib Ahl ul-Haq in Baghdad in January 2010. Further analysis on the latest kidnap trends in Iraq can be found here. A further three Iraqi nationals were abducted in Kirkuk over the past week. One of them, a Christian, is still being held, while of the other two, one was found dead and the other alive but injured. The ethnically mixed and contested oil-rich city has been a smouldering crisis waiting to happen for years. Conditions have been quieter than normal over the past few months, but inter-communal animosity between the city’s Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen residents lingers on. 2011 may see a deterioration in community relations and a subsequent rise in violence, while concerns have been raised over a possible security gap once the US military withdraws on 31 December.

Centre

Last week saw a number of attacks on Shi’ah worshippers in the province of Salah ad-Din, including in the holy city of Samarra. A bomb blast against the revered Askari mosque in the city in 2006 helped catalyse a major escalation in sectarian violence in the country and it is likely that the Sunni terrorists responsible for the latest attacks are intent on emulating a similar worsening in conditions. In Diyala province the police have recovered a large number of bodies in recent days. They are believed to belong to the victims of radical Islamist violence which was rife in the province prior to 2008. Organisations such as al-Qaeda in Iraq have been significantly weakened since then, although such groups still have a presence in the region. Members and sympathisers continue to be arrested in police operations in Baghdad, Ba’qubah and other cities in the centre of the country. Meanwhile, demonstrations inspired by events elsewhere in the Middle East are also taking place in Iraq. Unlike Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain however, the Iraqi protesters are demanding an improvement in employment conditions and the supply of public services (particularly electricity). The authorities have heightened their security measures around urban areas in Anbar province in anticipation of possible protest violence but the majority of events have so far passed peacefully. The main exception to this so far has been an incident in Wassit province. Here protestors stormed the provincial government headquarters in Kut, setting fire to buildings. Private security guards are reported to have responded by opening fire on the crowd, killing at least one person. Further analysis on the latest unrest in Iraq can be found here.

South

The south has also seen its share of demonstrations over the past week, with residents of cities including Basrah, Nassiriyah and Samawah turning out to demand improvements in employment rates, electricity supplies and water services. The majority of these gatherings have remained peaceful but they should be avoided nonetheless as they could turn violent at short notice. Note that an explosive device was defused west of Basrah city on 7 February. On 13 February a bomb on the main road between Zubayr and the border crossing at Safwan also killed one person and injured two. The police are conducting an investigation but it is being speculated that the victims may have been militants who accidentally detonated the device when trying to lay it. On 10 February in Dhi-Qar province four rockets landed on Imam Ali airbase near the southern city of Nassiriyah. No casualties were reported but personnel staying on fortified facilities in the south of the country should review their safety measures nonetheless. Rockets and mortars pose the greatest risk to facilities which might otherwise be deemed well protected and ‘secure’. There are no grounds for complacency in Iraq and personnel staying at such facilities are advised to familiarise themselves with their emergency procedures. Know where your nearest shelters and medical kits are and be prepared to take cover at very short notice.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE Group, a British private security firm working in Iraq from before 2003. Further details on the company can be found here.

You can obtain a free trial of AKE’s intelligence reports here

You can also follow John Drake on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/johnfdrake

AKE ltd

Wassit Provincial Council met with a number of Turkish firms on Sunday to discuss possible investment ventures in the province, according to the chairman of its information committee.

The projects are in the fields of sanitation, water networks and “urban communities”, Sondos al-Dhahabi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The designs of four new cities in the province – al-Dabouni, al-Noamaniya, al-Hafriya and al-Suwayra – will be announced,” she said.

Dhahabi noted that the council has warned blacklisted companies against implementing service and urban projects in the province under other names.

“The names of those companies will be announced this week.”

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)