Southern Iraq (South Central and South East Regions)
The number of incidents in the South Central Region for the period halved from ten to five, some way below the weekly 2012 average of nine. Babil Province, which normally dominates reporting in the South Central Region, recorded no high profile attacks and only one explosive incident, in which an unknown device detonated as two children were playing with it. The only other incidents in the province were two SAF attacks, one each targeting a civilian and ISF and a foiled kidnap in Hilla. While Babil has regularly appeared subdued in recent months, the previous week’s reporting revealed that the threat posed by Sunni Arab insurgents in the northern half of the province is still very much extant.
The South East Region reported nine incidents during the period, slightly above the 2012 weekly average of seven. Once again the majority of incidents were focused in Basra Province, where there was a sound bomb targeting the vehicle of a policeman, two grenade attacks on civilian, and numerous murders. Reporting of this nature is usual in Basra Province and is assessed to reflect criminal and communal activity rather than organised militia or insurgent violence. Outside of Basra Province there were murders in Maysan and Dhi Qar and large cache of twenty IEDs found in Samawa, the capital of Muthana Province. Muthana is typically very subdued and this find is unusual, though there is no additional evidence to suggest that it relates to militia or insurgent activity inside the province itself.
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