Chronology
January
- 1 January - A tribal fighter was profoundly wounded in a bomb blast in west of Baghdad. [1]
- 2 January -
- An explosive charge went off near an overcrowded market at Shatt al-Taji area north of Baghdad, leaving three people injured and another explosive charge targeted an army patrol at Al Tarmia area north of Baghdad, leaving two servicemen injured. [2] [3]
- A police conscript was injured in a bomb blast in the north of Ramadi city, Anbar. [4]
Al Anbar Governorate, or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The provincial capital is Ramadi; other important cities include Fallujah and Haditha.
- 3 January -
- A civilian was killed and five others were injured when two bombs blew up in Baghdad. [5]
- An explosive charge planted by Islamic State militants at Al-Qa'im district in Anbar went off while a police patrol was passing by the area, leaving three security men wounded. [6]
- A tribal fighter was killed, while two police personnel were wounded in confrontations with Islamic State members, northwest of Kirkuk. [7]
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, officially as the Islamic State (IS) and by its Arabic language acronym Daesh, is a Salafi jihadist militant group and former unrecognised proto-state that follows a fundamentalist, Salafi doctrine of Sunni Islam. ISIL gained global prominence in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi government forces out of key cities in its Western Iraq offensive, followed by its capture of Mosul and the Sinjar massacre.
Al-Qa'im District is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq, on the border with Syria. It is centred on the town of Al-Qa'im. The Euphrates river flows through it. At its western end, in the city of Husaybah, is the Al-Qa'im border crossing to Abu Kamal in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located 238 kilometres north of Baghdad. Kirkuk lies in a wide zone with an enormously diverse population and has been multilingual for centuries. There were dramatic demographic changes during Kirkuk's urbanization in the twentieth century, which saw the development of distinct ethnic groups. Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Arabs, and Assyrians lay conflicting claims to this zone, and all have their historical accounts and memories to buttress their claims.
- 4 January - Four civilians were killed and injured in a bomb blast and armed attack in south and west of Baghdad. [8]
- 13 January - Several people were killed and injured by a suicide bombing in Aden Square in northern Baghdad. [9] [10]
- 15 January - January 15, 2018 Baghdad bombings : Iraq's Ministry of Health reported that 27 people were killed and 64 injured by a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad. Although there were no immediate claims of responsibility, it was reported that such attacks had usually been the work of Islamic State in the past, and that elements of the group were still active north of the city despite the government's claim of victory in December 2017. [9] [10] Two days later (on Wednesday January 17, 2018) Islamic State "claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in Baghdad this week", though the New York Times suggested that the delay, and a number of errors in the claim, may show that the group's "media apparatus has been disrupted". [11]
- 16 January - The Times reported on 16 January that the Iraqi Army had launched an operation to oust ISIL from the Bosifian islands, a stronghold being used as a militant hideout. The hideout, located in Saladin governorate, was discovered in December and is one of the 10 patches where the group is still active. About 100 militants were killed by Iraqi forces in the past one week. [12]
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. The population of Baghdad, as of 2016, is approximately 8,765,000, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab world, and the second largest city in Western Asia.
Al Tarmia District is a district of the Baghdad Governorate, Iraq.
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad and 50 kilometers (31 mi) west of Fallujah. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate. The city extends along the Euphrates and is the largest city in Al-Anbar. Founded by the Ottoman Empire in 1879, by 2011 it had a population of about 375,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Sunni Arabs from the Dulaim tribal confederation. It lies within the Sunni Triangle of western Iraq.
February
- 7 February - Iraqi Army launches an operation in Tuz Khurmatu district against insurgents of the group called "White Flags" which consists of former ISIL members. Maj. Gen. Thamer al-Husseini states the operation was a success and secured five oil wells. [13]
- 18 February - 27 Popular Mobilization Units fighters were killed in a militant attack near Hawija. ISIL claimed responsibility. [14]
Tooz District is a district in the north-eastern part of Saladin Province, Iraq. Its main settlement is the city of Tuz Khormato. Other towns include Sulaiman Bek and Yankjah and Amirli.
Hawija is the centre of Al-Hawija District in the Kirkuk province of Iraq, 45 km west of Kirkuk, and north of Baghdad. The town has a population of about 100,000 inhabitants.
March
- 11 March - ISIL attacked a house in a village to the south of Shirqat, killing a tribal sheikh who led a Sunni militia against the group, as well as three others. In the town of Nijana, to south of Kirkuk, six people were killed by ISIL militants who had set up a fake checkpoint. [15]
April
- 9 April - A senior Iraqi intelligence officer stated that six militants including a leader, Abu Walid al-Shishani, described as a close associate of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and mastermind behind recent Kirkuk attacks, were killed by Iraqi forces. Then Iraqi woman started attacking every one was saved and now they are in charge. [16]
