Mosul Remains Troubled City

Like the rest of the country, Mosul in Ninewa province saw an increase in violence in August 2009. The city, the third largest in Iraq, has been one of the most violent areas in the country for several years now. It is the last urban stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups. The divisions between Arabs and Kurds have given the militants a rationale for their violence. According to press repots, in August there were 77 security incidents resulting in 102 deaths and 171 wounded. That averages out to 2.48 security incidents, 3.29 deaths, and 5.51 wounded per day. That was an increase in deaths from July, but about the same number of wounded. In that month there were 73 security incidents, for an average of 2.35 per day, 79 deaths, 2.54 per day, and 169 wounded, 5.45 per day. August saw the most deaths since October 2008. After that month deaths never reached one hundred until last month.

The Iraqi government has launched three security operations in the city with some U.S. help to little effect. In May 2008 Baghdad announced Operation Lion’s Roar/Mother of Two Springs, followed by Mother of Two Springs II in October 2008, and then a third offensive, Operation New Hope in February 2009 that included several thousand U.S. troops. The Americans also deployed Special Forces to the city. The number of wounded actually increased after that last operation. The commander of U.S. forces General Ray Odierno was so worried about Mosul that he wanted to keep American troops there after the June 30, 2009 withdrawal from Iraq’s cities, but the idea was vetoed by Baghdad. Since then joint U.S.-Iraqi patrols have quietly returned to the city under the guise of checking on reconstruction projects, but with no real affect upon the number of casualties.

Attack Statistics In Mosul Based Upon Press Reports

August 2009
77 Attacks/Incidents – 2.48 attacks & incidents/day
102 Deaths – 3.29 deaths/day
171 Wounded – 5.51 wounded/day

July 2009
73 Attacks/Incidents – 2.35 attacks & incidents/day
79 Deaths – 2.54 deaths/day
169 Wounded – 5.45 wounded/day

June 2009
73 Attacks/Incidents – 2.43 attacks & incidents/day
58 Deaths – 1.93 deaths/day
123 Wounded – 4.1 wounded/day

May 2009
83 Attacks/Incidents – 3.06 attacks & incidents/day
64 Deaths – 2.06 deaths/day
164 Wounded – 4.70 wounded/day

April 2009
79 Attacks/Incidents – 2.63 attacks & incidents/day
53 Deaths – 1.76 deaths/day
191 Wounded – 6.36 wounded/day

March 2009
86 attacks/incidents – 2.77 attacks & incidents/day
69 deaths – 2.22 deaths/day
169 wounded – 5.45 wounded/day

February 2009
81 attacks/incidents – 2.89 attacks & incidents/day
58 deaths – 2.0 deaths/day
111 wounded – 3.96 wounded/day

January 2009
52 attacks/incidents – 1.67 attacks & incidents/day
56 deaths – 1.80 killed/day
85 wounded – 2.74 wounded/day

December 2008
65 attacks/incidents – 2.09 attacks & incidents/day
68 deaths – 2.19 deaths/day
181 wounded – 5.83 wounded/day

November 2008
65 attacks/incidents – 2.16 attacks & incidents/day
53 deaths – 1.76 deaths/day
249 wounded – 8.3 wounded/day

October 2008
92 attacks/incidents – 2.96 attacks & incidents/day
112 deaths – 3.61 deaths/day
188 wounded – 6.06 wounded/day

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, “Car bomb kills 20 outside Shiite mosque in Iraq,” 8/7/09

Ahmed, Hamid, “Iraqi leader calls for anti-corruption campaign,” Associated Press, 5/9/09

Aswat al-Iraq, “2 civilians killed in eastern Mosul,” 8/26/09
- “2 cops killed in attack in Mosul,” 8/17/09
- “2 policemen killed in attacks in Mosul,” 8/7/09
- “4 cops killed, injured in clashes with gunmen,” 8/19/09
- “4 security personnel killed, wounded in Ninewa blast,” 8/19/09
- “6 wounded in grenade blast in central Mosul,” 8/16/09
- “Bookstore owner gunned down in Mosul,” 8/31/09
- “Civilian killed, 2 soldier wounded in Mosul blast,” 8/27/09
- “Civilian killed, attacker nabbed in Mosul,” 8/25/09
- “Gunmen break into store, kill its owner,” 8/17/09
- “Gunmen kill 2 soldiers in Mosul,” 8/16/09
- “Gunmen kill shopkeeper in Mosul,” 8/22/09
- “Gunmen kill taxi driver in Mosul,” 8/16/09
- “Gunmen kill woman, injure civilian in Mosul,” 8/10/09
- “Gunmen shoot down merchant in Mosul,” 8/14/09
- “IED blast kills soldier, wounds 2 in Ninewa,” 8/3/09
- “IED explodes in northern Mosul,” 8/11/09
- “IED kills civilian, wounds cops in Mosul,” 8/18/09
- “IED kills soldier, wounds 2 in western Mosul,” 8/3/09
- “IED wounds 3 soldiers in Ninewa,” 8/31/09
- “Iraqi soldier wounded in Mosul attack,” 8/30/09
- “Medicine factory personnel killed, wounded by IED,” 8/5/09
- “Ninewa local official wounded in IED blast,” 8/16/09
- “Ninewa police arrest 2 gunmen in central Mosul,” 8/27/09
- “Oil official assassinated in Mosul,” 8/3/09
- “Police defuse car bomb in Mosul,” 8/17/09
- “Police defuse Katyusha rocket southeastern Mosul,” 8/31/09
- “Police kill gunman in Mosul,” 8/4/09
- “Policeman gunned down in northern Mosul,” 8/10/09
- “Policeman killed, another wounded in Mosul blast,” 8/27/09
- “Policeman killed in Mosul checkpoints attack,” 8/8/09
- “Policeman shot down by gunmen in Mosul,” 8/7/09
- “Policeman shot down in Mosul,” 8/23/09
- “Policeman wounded in clashes with gunmen in Mosul,” 8/30/09
- “Roadside bomb kills mayor, 2 children in Mosul,” 8/22/09
- “Soldier injured in eastern Mosul,” 8/4/09
- “Soldier wounded by sticky bomb in Ninewa,” 8/18/09
- “Sticky bomb destroys oil container south of Mosul,” 8/4/09
- “Sticky bomb kills civilian in western Mosul,” 8/17/09
- “Sticky IED explodes in front of house of oil employee,” 8/26/09
- “Telecoms company personnel killed, wounded in blast,” 8/12/09
- “Traffic policeman gunned down in Mosul,” 8/1/09
- “Unknown body found in Mosul,” 8/7/09
- “Unknown body found in Mosul,” 8/23/09
- “URGENT/3 soldiers killed by car bomb in Ninewa,” 8/21/09

Al-Badrani, Jamal, “Bombs targeting Shi’ite Muslims kill 44 in Iraq,” Reuters, 8/7/09

DPA, “Four killed, eight wounded in attacks in northern and western Iraq,” 8/12/09

Gatehouse, Gabriel, “US troops back on patrol in Iraq,” BBC, 7/28/09

Hammoudi, Laith, “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Friday 14 August 2009,” 8/14/09
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Friday 21 August 2009,” 8/21/09
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Monday 3 August 2009,” 8/3/09
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Tuesday 18 August 2009,” 8/18/09

Issa, Sahar, “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Monday 17 August 2009,” 8/17/09
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Thursday 20 August 2009,” 8/20/09

KUNA, “Four Iraqi soldiers killed in car bomb blast,” 8/23/09

Loyd, Anthony, “US withdrawal from Mosul leads to fear of Iraqi insurgent attacks,” Times of London, 6/1/09

Myers, Steven Lee and Robertson, Campbell, “Insurgency Remains Tenacious In North Iraq,” New York Times, 7/10/09

Reuters, “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 3,” 8/3/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 5,” 8/5/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 6,” 8/6/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 9,” 8/9/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 10,” 8/10/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 12,” 8/12/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 21,” 8/21/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 25,” 8/25/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 26,” 8/26/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 28,” 8/28/09
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Aug 29,” 8/29/09