Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)

Insurgency in Iraq after US withdrawal
Part of Iraq War
Date 18 December 2011 – present Location Iraq (mostly central, including Baghdad) Result ongoing
Belligerents
Sunni factions: Islamic State of Iraq al-Qaeda al-Qaeda in Iraq Iraqi Ba'ath Party Loyalists File:Ansar al-sunnah.jpg Ansar al-Sunna File:IAILogo.png Islamic Army of Iraq Other Sunni insurgents and militia	Shi'a factions: Special Groups Promised Day Brigades Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Kata'ib Hezbollah Soldiers of Heaven Other militias	Public security: Iraqi security forces Private Security Contractors Peshmerga
Commanders and leaders
Abu al-Qurashi Abu Dua Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri File:IAILogo.png Ishmael Jubouri	Muqtada al-Sadr Qais al-Khazali Akram al-Kabi Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani Abu Deraa Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Akran Hasnawi	Jalal Talabani Nouri al-Maliki Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari Massoud Barzani Ahmad Abu Risha
Strength
75,000-166,000 (based on total numbers of all Sunni Insurgent Wiki Articles)	19,000-25,000 (based on total numbers of all Shia Insurgent Wiki Articles)	Contractors ~7,000 Iraqi Security Forces 618,000 (805,269 Army and 348,000 Police) Awakening Council militias - 103,000
Total: between 1,136 to 1,436+ killed (by late May 2012)

The Iraqi insurgency after U.S. withdrawal or Iraqi attacks since U.S. withdrawal relates to continuing violent terror activities engaged by Iraqi, primarily radical Sunni, insurgent groups against the central government and the sectarian warfare between various factions within Iraq, in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal. These events directly succeeded the previous insurgency in Iraq (prior to 18 December 2011), but have showed increasingly violent patterns, raising concerns that the surging violence may lead to civil war.

Timeline

2011

December

• 18 December: The U.S mission in Iraq is officially declared over three days after the closing ceremony.

• 20 December: 4 killed Falluja: 1 killed by bomb inside shop. Baghdad: 1 university lecturer by AED. Mosul: 1 by gunfire. Haswa: 1 by IED.

• 21 December: 6 killed Mosul: 2 by gunfire. Kirkuk: 2 by AED. Abu Ghraib: 1 Sahwa chief by AED. Baghdad: 1 by gunfire.

• 22 December: 85 killed in total - Baghdad: 75 killed in several bombings; Baquba: 6 by gunfire; Mosul: 2 by IED, 1 body found; Kirkuk: 1 body.

• 23 December: 11 killed Baghdad: 5 by IEDs. Mosul: 3 by IEDs. Kirkuk: 1 by AED, 1 body. Gatun: 1 by gunfire.

• 24 December: 9 killed Baghdad: 2 by IED. Kirkuk: 2 by AED, 2 bodies. Hawija: 2 policemen by IED. Mosul: 1 body.

• 25 December: 17 killed Garma: 6 policemen by gunfire. Arbat: 2 by gunfire. Baquba: 1 body. Falluja: 1 policeman by gunfire. Abu Ghraib: 2 by IED. Baghdad: 1 by AED. Dujail: 1 by suicide car bomber. Mosul: 1 Christian by gunfire. Tikrit: 2 by car bomb.

• 26 December: 14 killed. Baghdad: 7 by suicide car bomber. Mosul: 2 by gunfire. Baiji: 1 body. Mussayab: 2 bodies. Al-Sieniya: 1 Sahwa member by gunfire. Baquba: 1 Sahwa member by IED.

• 31 December: U.S soldiers begin to leave Iraq.

2012

January

• 3 January - US soldiers complete the withdraw which began on New Year's Eve.

• 5 January 2012 Iraq bombings - 73 people killed, 149 injured.

• 10 January - car bomb attack in a predominantly Sunni area of western Baghdad, as roadside blasts killed three people in Mahmudiya, Baquba and Diyala.

• 14 January 2012 Basra bombing - 53 killed, 130 injured (mainly Shia pilgrims).

• 16 January - Separate car bombs against displaced members of the Kurdish Shabak community at the al-Ghadir camp and on industrial workers leave 12 people dead.

• January 24 - Four car bombs exploded in mainly Shia areas of Baghdad, killing at least 13 people and wounding 75.

• 26 January 2012 - 17 people died in bombings around Iraq, including seven people in attacks on Baghdad's s two predominantly Sunni districts, suggesting that Shiite militants could be retaliating amid fears of a reignited sectarian conflict in the war-ravaged country.

• 27 January 2012 - Zafaraniyah funeral procession bombing in Baghdad kills 32 (+1 suicide bomber), half of them policemen, the rest - Shia pilgrims. The attack also wounded 65 people.

February

• 19 February - police academy attack killed 15 people, when a suicide bomber walked up to the main gate of the compound in east Baghdad.

• 23 February - a series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 60 killed and more than 200 injured.

• 29 February - car bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed six people, including three security force members, and wounded at least 10.

March

• March 5 - a gang of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 27 police and then hoisted the battle flag of al-Qaeda in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in Anbar province.

• March 7 - car bomb attack in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad leaves three dead, as the capital is prepared for the Arab League summit. The same day, a suicide blast killed 14 in the predominantly Shia Turkmen city of Tal Afar.

• March 20 - major bomb attacks in Kerbala kill at least 46.

April

• April 19 - more than 20 bombs hit cities and towns across Iraq, killing at least 36 people and wounding almost 170. Al-Qaeda’s front group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed the April 19 attacks in a statement on the Honein jihadist website the following day.

• April 26 - a series of bombings across Iraq kills 13 and wound 39.

May

• May 14 - A suicide bomber targeting a police checkpoint in Baghdad killed at least three people while car bombs hit army and police patrols in two other cities, killing three others, police and hospital sources said on Sunday.

• May 31 - Kuwait's military training to fight the neighbouring insurgents by the U.S Army is complete after exactly twelve months and the occupying forces begin to pull out of the gulf.

June

• June 3 - The U.S withdraw from Kuwait is complete which leaves only 169 embassy guards in Baghdad's centre.

• June 4 - A suicide bomber killed 25 people and wounded over 65 at a Shiite foundation’s offices in Baghdad, sparking fears of sectarian strife at a time of political crisis. The attack in the center of the capital Baghdad’s was the deadliest blast in over four months, and was followed later by an explosion near a Sunni religious foundation’s headquarters, causing no casualties.

• June 13 - At least 84 people were killed and over 300 wounded in a series of highly coordinated attacks across Iraq.

• June 15 - The U.S Embassy is closed down and its staff begin to leave the country.

History

Since the United States completed its pullout on mid-December 2011, militant groups, mainly al-Qaeda in Iraq, have stepped up attacks targeting the country's majority Shia population to undermine confidence in the Shia-led government and its efforts to protect people without American backup.

Casualties

Further information: Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003 and Iraq Body Count project

Several dozens were killed within the first few days after U.S. withdrawal on December 18. About 337 mortal casualties were inflicted by the wave of violence during December 20-26.

About 200 died in January, with Al-Arabiya channel claiming January mortal casualties to be at least 151 people. Iraqi Body Count (IBC) claimed 451 casualties in January.

In February, the death count across Iraq reached 278 according to IBC.

74 people were killed between March 1-8 according to IBC. A total of 112 was killed in Iraq in March, according to government figures.

A total of 126 Iraqis were killed in April.

132 Iraqi were killed in sectarian violence in Iraq through May 2012.

Total

Since the U.S. withdrawal in mid-December 2011 until late May 2012 approximately 1,136-1,436 people had been killed in Iraq

See also

• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
• Sunni-Shia relations