Summary: This reporting period saw few militant attacks. There was attack with an improvised explosive device (IED) south of Mosul, one incident of extortion/threat, and authorities found one body of a man who was murdered by unknown militants. There were also reports of some 40 families being displaced from the sub-district of Shora (near the site of the IED) and the district of Hatra, due to fears of rising ISIS activity. On the other hand, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) conducted 12 operations to capture dozens of ISIS militants and suspects. During these operations, ISF also found and destroyed various weapons and explosives, and also destroyed a number of tunnels and positions used by militants. The U.S.-led international coalition conducted one airstrike that killed three ISIS militants.
Note: locations are approximate
Security Incidents
On August 23, forces from the Iraqi Army 15th division found a weapons cache in the Khana Sur area in the Sinjar district. The cache included several RPG munitions, IEDs and mortar rounds, which the ISF disposed of safely.
On August 24, ISF found weapons and munitions near Sineisla Lake west of Mosul. ISF also destroyed two ISIS hideouts and one car-bomb during the operation.
On August 25, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said it shot down an unidentified UAV that flew over one of its bases in the presidential palaces area in north Mosul.
On August 25, ISF arrested two men suspected of being ISIS fighter in the outskirts of the western side of Mosul.
On August 25, ISF arrested one man suspected of gathering intelligence for ISIS in the Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul.
On August 26, Military Intelligence said it infiltrated a terror cell and captured its three leaders in the Sumer neighborhood in Mosul and Qayyara sub-district south of Mosul. The cell was reportedly involved in oil smuggling from the Qayyara refinery as well as digging tunnels and trenches for ISIS.
On August 26, ISF found an unidentified body of a middle aged man in the Nahrawan area west of Mosul. The body had signs of torture and gunshots.
On August 26, police sources said 15 families evacuated the village of Khirbat Tel Teeba in the Shora sub-district south of Mosul due to repeated ISIS attacks.
On August 26, International Coalition aviation bombed ISIS positions near the Ali Resh village in the Makmour district southeast of Mosul, killing three militants and destroying their position.
On August 27, ISF arrested three ISIS members who had infiltrated the Hammam al-Alil IDP camp south of Mosul.
On August 27, ISF arrested a man in Tel al-Rumman in west Mosul who’s suspected of destroying the artifacts of the Mosul museum. The suspect had appeared in ISIS propaganda videos destroying museum statues with a hammer.
On August 28, a security source said that approximately 25 families evacuated from parts of Hatra district heading from Mosul city because of fear of increasing ISIS attacks on their areas.
On August 28, our community monitors reported that ISF arrested a criminal cell suspected of extortion. The cell reportedly extracted money from a shop owner in the Darkazliya neighborhood in eastern Mosul by threatening to accuse him of being a terrorist
On August 28, ISF arrested 16 people suspected of being ISIS members in the Atshana Mountains northwest of Mosul. The force confiscated weapons that were found on the suspects.
On August 29, an IED explosion targeted an Iraqi Army patrol on a road between the villages of Khirbat Tel Teeba and Farisiya in the Shora sub-district south of Mosul. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack.
Officially launched in June 2019, Ninewa-ISHM and Security Bulletins utilize information collected from community-based monitors; Iraq-based Arabic, Kurdish, and English news sources; data from aid agencies; and social media posts, verified and fact-checked by EPIC’s research team. This weekly bulletin is part of Safe Return, a project to support the safe and voluntary return of IDPs who have survived severe human rights abuses to their homes in Ninewa. Safe Return is made possible with the generous support of the American people through USAID in partnership with Heartland Alliance International
