I get regular updates on the Iraq violence and here is one just sent to my e-mail.
Dear
Please find below AKE's latest press release. AKE has raised the security risk rating for Iraq
LONDON – Risk mitigation company AKE has raised the risk rating for Iraq on its intelligence website Global Intake. The rating change follows a sustained deterioration in security over recent months.
The country experienced an average of 15-16 attacks per day and 191 violent fatalities per week between July and September.
In comparison, there was an average of seven attacks per day and 60 fatalities per week throughout 2012.
Over 95 per cent of the current attacks are taking place in seven provinces – Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Diyala, Ninawa, Salah ad-Din and Ta'mim.
The south of the country sees far fewer attacks but conditions in the oil-rich region are still far from stable.
Conversely, AKE has also lowered the risk rating for Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) territory. This follows the conclusion of parliamentary elections in the semi-autonomous northern region.
From a security perspective KRG territory remains much quieter than the rest of Iraq but recent political rallies and a terrorist attack in September highlight that it is not completely without risk.
The current AKE security risk rating for Iraq is 40 (Highly Dangerous Business Environment) while the rating for KRG territory is much lower at 18 (Elevated Risk).
As a comparison the United Kingdom is rated at 7 (Stable) and Iraq's neighbour Syria is rated at 54 (Extreme Security Risks).
AKE maintains a real-time security, travel and political risk report on Iraq which can be accessed at this link.
ENDS For further information please contact John Drake from the AKE intelligence department at +44 (0) 207 816 5454, intel@akegroup.com
About AKE Founded in 1991 by Andrew Kain, AKE provides risk-mitigation services to the insurance, shipping, engineering and energy sectors, as well as supporting NGOs and the media in hostile environments.
About AKE Intelligence AKE Intelligence is based in the Lloyd's Building in London. Its team of worldwide regional specialists provide political and security risk analysis, forecasting and mitigation advice on countries around the world.
About Global Intake Global Intelligence AKE (Global Intake) is an online intelligence resource offering information and advice on security, political, medical and travel issues facing individuals and organisations around the world. It draws upon the combined expertise of AKE's intelligence analysts and security specialists who have access to a variety of open, closed and privileged sources.
About AKE Security Risk Ratings AKE maintains a unique 1-100 security risk rating system which expresses how hazardous a country or sub-national region is from a security perspective. A rating of 1 denotes that conditions are safe and stable, whereas a rating of 100 denotes widespread and terminal threat to life. The ratings are updated in real-time by the AKE intelligence department. Unlike many existing risk rating scales, it does not state that a country is too dangerous to work in. Instead, it expresses in detail how hazardous an operating environment is, allowing a traveller or organisation to judge themselves whether or not they want to do business there. You can view the latest risk ratings here: http://www.globalintake.com/world_risk_map.php
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