Northern Iraq (North and North Central Regions – including the KRG)
The Northern Region reported 34 incidents during the period, a slight increase on last weeks figure and above the 2012 weekly average of 24. As is usual all of the reported incidents occurred in Ninawa province, with the vast majority focused on Mosul. However there were significant clusters of activity south of the city along theTigrisRiverValley– particularly in Hamam al-Alil – and in the far east of the province in Baaj District, adjacent to the Syrian Border. In Hamam al-Alil there were two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a shooting incident targeting ISF, in addition to an IED being found at the entrance to a mosque and a VBIED detonated under controlled conditions at the entrance to the college of Agriculture and Forestry. ISF also claimed to have arrested thirteen terror suspects in the town. In Baaj District there were two armed clashes with ISF, one involving a smuggler and one with an Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) cell, resulting in the death of one senior AQI member. In Mosul city itself there were a total of 22 reported violent incidents, of which nine targeted ISF and seven targeted civilians. There were no mass casualty attacks reported during the period. Most incidents this week in the city involved explosive devices (thirteen), with eight shooting incidents also reported.
The North Central Region reported 46 incidents during the reporting period, some way above the current 2012 weekly average of 35. This increase signalled an end to two weeks of relatively subdued activity in the region. The increased activity levels this week reflect surges in activity in most areas of the region; in particular the most intense and concentrated surge in violence this week were in Kirkuk City which witnessed a number of VBIED attacks, the plains southwest of the city – with numerous large attacks occurring – in Tuz District in the far east of Salah al Din and in Shirqat in the far north of the province. There was also an increase in reporting along both the southern reaches of the Tigris River Valley and in Diyala, which had both been relatively quiet in recent weeks. Reporting in these areas reflected an increase in the use of explosive devices targeting ISF, with infrastructure also being subject to unusually widespread attacks. There were a significant number of attacks targeting infrastructure in Salah al-Din province this week, with three incidents of communications towers being targeted and three IEDs being found near an oil pipeline in Ishaqi. In addition to this ISF claimed to have disarmed eighteen IEDs placed near power lines in Mushahada, in the far north of Baghdad Province adjacent to Salah al-Din.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) – No significant incident were reported during the period in the three provinces that comprise the KRG (Dahuk,Erbil and Sulaymaniyah). However, on 16 October, four bodies were found in a car near the Sarkirma Mountain, in the south of Sulamaniyah province. All had been shot dead, the exact details behind the shootings remains unknown.
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