2016 Karrada bombing
On 3 July 2016, ISIL militants carried out coordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad that killed nearly 400 civilians and injured hundreds more.[3] A few minutes after midnight local time (2 July, 21:00 UTC), a suicide truck-bomb targeted the mainly Shia district of Karrada, busy with late night shoppers for Ramadan. A second roadside bomb was detonated in the suburb of Sha'ab, killing at least five.
The Islamic State issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, naming the Karrada bomber as Abu Maha al-Iraqi. There were reports that the source of the blast was a refrigerator van packed with explosives. The explosion caused a huge fire on the main street. Several buildings, including the popular Hadi Center, were badly damaged. The bombing is the second-worst suicide attack in Iraq by death toll after the 2007 Yazidi communities bombings and the deadliest terrorist attack in Iraq carried out by a single bomber.
| July 2016 Karrada bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) | |
 Immediate aftermath of the bombing, with smoke spewing from inside the building | |
| Location | Karrada, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Date | 3 July 2016 00:05 AST (UTC+03) |
| Target | Western-style shopping centre in a multicultural & multi-faith district of Baghdad. |
Attack type | Truck bombing, suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 341+ total:
|
Non-fatal injuries | 246 total:
|
| Perpetrator |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[2] |
| Motive | Loss of Fallujah |
Background
The 17 May 2016 Baghdad bombings were perpetrated by ISIL, killing over 101 people. Some security analysts saw the bombings in Iraq's capital as an effort to distract the attention of the Iraqi security forces from the battle of Fallujah.[4] The 2016 battle of Fallujah came to a close in June 2016 with the Iraqi government regaining control of the city of Fallujah from ISIS.[5]
The Baghdad bombings were the third mass killing of civilians by ISIL militants in recent days, following the 28 June attack in Istanbul, Turkey, and the 1 July attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[6] ISIL had sent out calls for increased attacks during the month long celebration of Ramadan.[7]
Attack and response
The suicide truck bomb hit a shopping area in Karrada, where many people were on the street during the evening in order to shop and to break their Ramadan fast with iftar at local cafes.[8] The bomb was concealed inside a refrigerator truck[8] driven by a suicide bomber.[9] It was the first major attack in Baghdad since the Iraqi government's recapture of Fallujah from the Islamic State in June 2016.[10] A Western security source in Baghdad told the BBC the bomb used "a new tactic which helped it to move undetected through checkpoints ... We've never seen it before, and it's very worrying."[11] The bombers reportedly used a "unique" mix of chemicals for the bomb. "We are used to big fires but the chemicals in this bomb were used for the first time in Iraq," according to Brigadier General Kadhim Bashir Saleh of the Iraqi Civil Defense Force.[11]
The initial death toll directly due to the bombing had been "limited", but the fire caused by the bombing trapped people in shopping centres, which lacked any emergency exits.[12] The bombing killed at least 324 people and injured at least 223.[13][14][15][16] Unconfirmed reports state that the car bombs may have passed checkpoints where Iraqi security forces still use fake bomb detectors such as the ADE 651.[17][18][19]
In the aftermath of the attack, Baghdad Operations Command claimed it had arrested members of a militant cell who were connected to the bombing.[10]
Other attacks
A second roadside explosion occurred in the largely Shia suburb of Sha'ab in northern Baghdad around midnight, killing at least five people and injuring 16.[10]
A third bombing targeted members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, killing one person and injuring five as well as damaging a vehicle. The bomb was an IED that detonated in Abu Ghraib District in Baghdad. A vehicle was also damaged.[20]
A fourth bombing in al-Latifiya in southern Baghdad killed one person. The bomb was placed under a civilian vehicle, and went off when the vehicle was being driven.[21]
So far, the casualties from the four bombings during the day in Baghdad include over 341 people killed and over 246 people injured.
Casualties
The Iraqi Ministry of Defence revealed that at least 167 had been killed and over 180 injured, with those numbers expected to rise.[10][22] Reports from the scene indicated that many of those killed were children.[2][10] After initial reports, the death toll continued to rise as further corpses were recovered from the rubble and injured victims died of their injuries.[8]
Abdel Ghani Saadon, the general manager of Rusafa Health Directorate, issued a statement noting that the "hospitals of al-Kandi, al-Sadr and Sheikh Zayed received 138 wounded and 70 dead bodies of al-Karrada bombing".[23] He noted that fifty bodies were burned beyond recognition, and that samples from them had been sent for DNA testing to determine their identities.[23]
Responsibility
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant issued a statement claiming that it was responsible for the attack and that it had deliberately targeted Shia Muslims,[2] further identifying the suicide bomber as Abu Maha al-Iraqi.[9] Their involvement in the attack has yet to be independently verified.[2]
Jasim al-Bahadli, a former army officer and security analyst in Baghdad, stated that the attack was an ISIS attempt to "compensate for their humiliating defeat in Falluja".[8]
Reactions
Domestic
Political
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the scene of the attack on the following day, and was met by angry crowds shouting "thief" and "dog".[2][10] They were angry about what they perceived as the government's false promises regarding tightened security.[8] One local shop owner was quoted as stating "Thank God I managed to hit Abadi with stones to take revenge for the kids".[10] Abadi stated that he will punish the perpetrators of the bombings.[24] He also announced a public mourning that will last three days.[25]
After reporting in their most recent death toll, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence issues a statement that admitted that they were overwhelmed, with not enough resources, military checkpoints, and intelligence services to properly manage the security of Baghdad.[22]
On 5 July, Interior Minister Mohammed Al-Ghabban resigned, which was accepted.[26] The Interior ministry is responsible for police but not other forces providing security in Baghdad.[27] In his resignation, al-Ghabban said that the security system was "fundamentally flawed" and called for changes to increase the ministry's power. Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Shimmari, head of the Baghdad Operations Command of the Iraqi Army, along with the head of the division responsible for intelligence on Baghdad at the Ministry of the Interior and the official responsible for Baghdad in the national security adviser's office were removed from their posts by al-Abadi. Five convicts were executed and 40 suspected jihadists were arrested following the attack.[12]
According to the Rudaw Media Network, the bombing was "politically disastrous" for the Iraqi government, which had presented the recapture of Fallujah as a step that would make Baghdad less vulnerable to such attacks, as Abadi said that the attacks originated in Fallujah. Seeing that Baghdad was still vulnerable to such attacks, the population of the city could, according to Rudaw, be less supportive of diverting manpower to liberating Mosul.[28]
Religious
Iraq's leading Sunni religious organisation, the Association of Muslim Scholars, called the bombing a "bloody crime, regardless of who carried it out or what their motivations were".[10] A representative of Iraq’s top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Ahmed al-Safi, paid a visit to the site of the bombings. Christians also held commemorations.[29]
Other
On social media, some Iraqis expressed anger at the ADE 651 fake bomb detector, which Abadi announced would be withdrawn from checkpoints.[30] Users also question the silence of Saudis in light of the role of volunteer forces fighting Daesh and others in Iraq.[29] Reuters has also reported that Iraqis are calling for increased crackdowns on so-called sleeper cells.[31] Thousand of Iraqis gathered at the site of the bombing on 6 July to mourn the victims and express solidarity with their families.[32]
International
Abdul Kareem Khalaf, an advisor to the European Centre for Counter-terrorism and Intelligence Studies think tank, recommended that Abadi "have a meeting with the heads of national security, intelligence, the interior ministry and all sides responsible for security and ask them just one question: How can we infiltrate these groups?"
On 6 July, New Zealand's Sky Tower in Auckland was lit up in the red, white, and black colors of the Iraqi flag to honour the victims of the attack. This initiative came at the urging of an Iraqi-New Zealander named Rania Alani who had called on the Sky Tower management to honour the victims of all attacks equally. Alani pointed out that Sky Tower had lit up in the colours of the French and American flags to honour the victims of attacks like the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting. In addition, the Auckland Iraqi community held a candlelit vigil at the Mission Bay fountain in a show of solidarity with the Baghdad bombing victims.[33][34] In Iran's Tehran, similar lights were draped on the Milad Tower in solidarity with Iraqis, and a candlelit vigil was also held outside the Iraqi embassy. The British flag at the U.K. Embassy in Baghdad was lowered to half mast. Further, an unnamed Spanish and Netherlands monument was also list in the colours of the flag. In an unknown place in Sweden, commemorations were also held with at least one police car having been dressed in the colours of the Iraqi flag. In Kuwait, an unnamed tower was lit in the colours of the Iraqi flag.[29]
See also
- List of Islamist terrorist attacks
- List of terrorist incidents, July–December 2016
- Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2016
- Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum attack
References
- ^ "Baghdad blast killed 292, many burned alive". Daily Mail. AFP. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Chulov, Martin (3 July 2016). "Isis claims responsibility for Baghdad car bombing as 120 die on single day". The Guardian.
- ^ "In Iraq, terrorism's victims go unnamed". CNN. January 12, 2017.
- ^ Salaheddin, Sinan (30 May 2016). "Iraqi forces push into Fallujah as IS bombings kill 24". Bigstory.ap.org. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "119 dead as car bomb rips through Baghdad shoppers". The Hindu. AFP. 4 July 2016.
It came a week after Iraqi security forces recaptured Fallujah from IS, leaving Mosul as the only Iraqi city under the jihadist group's control.
- ^ Hassan, Falih; Arango, Tim (3 July 2016). "Bombing Kills More Than 120 in Baghdad". The New York Times.
- ^ Euan McKirdy. "ISIS: More attacks on West during Ramadan". CNN. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Nearly 120 killed in overnight Baghdad bombings claimed by Islamic State". Reuters. 3 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Baghdad bombing: ISIS claims responsibility; suicide bomber's identity revealed". Iraqi News. 3 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Iraq violence: IS bombing kills 125 Ramadan shoppers in Baghdad". BBC News. 3 July 2016.
- ^ a b Doucet, Lyse (28 July 2016). "Iraq violence: Did IS use new type of bomb for deadliest attack?". BBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Iraq PM sacks Baghdad security chiefs after deadly blast". al-Monitor. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Death toll from Islamic State attack in Baghdad rises to 292". Times of Israel. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- ^ "Fury over insecurity as Iraqis mourn 200 dead in Baghdad blast". Yahoo! News. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "ISIS car bomb kills more than 100 in Baghdad". CTV News. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Baghdad suicide bomb attack death toll rises to 165, 225 injured". The Star. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ "Nearly 120 killed in overnight Baghdad bombings claimed by Islamic State". Reuters. 3 July 2016.
- ^ Hussain, Murtaza (23 November 2015). "This Fake Bomb Detector Is Blamed for Hundreds of Deaths. It's Still in Use". The Intercept. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Death toll in Baghdad bombing rises to 324: ministry". Reuters. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ Loaa, Adel (3 July 2016). "Bomb explosion in western Baghdad, one al-Hashd al-Shaabi member killed". Iraqi News. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ Sarhan, Amre (3 July 2016). "Car bomb blast kills civilian in al-Latifiya in southern Baghdad". Iraqi News. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ a b Adel, Loaa (3 July 2016). "Baghdad bombing: Casualties in Karrada rise to 347 – Iraqi News".
- ^ a b Adel, Loaa (3 July 2016). "Baghdad bombing: Scores of people dead, dozens injured". Iraqi News.
- ^ "Bom Baghdad Tewaskan 120 Orang, Irak Umumkan Berkabung Nasional". 4 July 2016.
- ^ Sarhan, Amre (3 July 2016). "Baghdad bombing: Abadi announces three-day mourning for Karrada victims - Iraqi News".
- ^ "PressTV-Iraq PM accepts interior min. resignation". Press TV. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "Iraqi minister submits resignation over Baghdad bombing - News from". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ Iddon, Paul. "Will Baghdad's deadliest bombing affect plans to liberate Mosul?". Rudaw. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "PressTV-Saudi silence surprises, but also angers Iraqis". Press TV. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "More than 120 killed in Islamic State's worst bomb attack in the Iraqi capital". Chicago Tribune. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Iraqis want crackdown on 'sleeper cells' after huge Baghdad bomb". Reuters. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ "Thousands gather to mourn victims of Baghdad blast". al-Monitor. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Satherley, Dan (6 July 2016). "Sky Tower to honour Iraqi dead". Newshub. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ Barrat, Nicola (6 July 2016). "Sky Tower lights up in honour of Baghdad bomb victims". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
External links
Media related to July 2016 Baghdad bombings at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to A large number of bombings have taken place in Baghdad, especially since the beginning of the War in Iraq. Wikipedia has individual articles on the following attacks:
1950s1950–51 Baghdad bombings20032003 Jordanian embassy bombing in Baghdad
Canal Hotel bombing
27 October 2003 Baghdad bombings20042004 Ashura bombings in Iraq
June 2004 Baghdad bombing
14 September 2004 Baghdad bombing
30 September 2004 Baghdad bombing200517 August 2005 Baghdad bombings
14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings2006Buratha Mosque bombing
1 July 2006 Sadr City bombing
23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings2007Mustansiriya University bombings
22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings
3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing
12 February 2007 Baghdad bombings
18 February 2007 Baghdad bombings
29 March 2007 Baghdad bombings
2007 Iraqi Parliament bombing
18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings
19 June 2007 al-Khilani Mosque bombing
26 July 2007 Baghdad market bombing
1 August 2007 Baghdad bombings20081 February 2008 Baghdad bombings
6 March 2008 Baghdad bombing
17 June 2008 Baghdad bombing
28 September 2008 Baghdad bombings20098 March 2009 Baghdad police recruitment centre bombing
6 April 2009 Baghdad bombings
23 April 2009 Iraqi suicide attacks
24 June 2009 Baghdad bombing
19 August 2009 Baghdad bombings
25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings
8 December 2009 Baghdad bombings201025 January 2010 Baghdad bombings
1 February 2010 Baghdad bombing
4 April 2010 Baghdad bombings
6 April 2010 Baghdad bombings
April 2010 Baghdad bombings
10 May 2010 Iraq attacks
20 June 2010 Baghdad bombings
July 2010 Baghdad bombing
17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings
19 September 2010 Baghdad attacks
2 November 2010 Baghdad bombings201124 January 2011 Iraq bombings
27 January 2011 Baghdad bombing
28 August 2011 Baghdad bombing
October 2011 Baghdad bombings
22 December 2011 Baghdad bombings20125 January 2012 Iraq bombings
27 January 2012 Baghdad bombing
23 February 2012 Iraq attacks
13 June 2012 Iraq attacks
9 September 2012 Iraq attacks201319 March 2013 Iraq attacks
18 April 2013 Baghdad bombing
27 May 2013 Baghdad bombings
21 September 2013 Iraq attacks
2013 Iraq Christmas Day bombings2015February 2015 Baghdad bombings
2015 Baghdad market truck bombing2016January 2016 Iraq attacks
February 2016 Baghdad bombings
April 2016 Baghdad bombing
11 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
17 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
2016 Karrada bombing
9 September 2016 Baghdad bombings
October 2016 Baghdad attacks
December 2016 Baghdad bombings2017January 2017 Baghdad bombings
Al-Faqma ice cream parlor bombing2018January 2018 Baghdad bombings
Genocide of Shias by ISILThe genocide of Shia Muslims by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) refers to the genocide within its formerly controlled areas in Iraq and Syria.
Despite being the religious majority in Iraq, Shia Muslims have been killed in large numbers by ISIL. On 12 June 2014, ISIL killed at least 1,600-1,700 Shia Iraqi Army cadet recruits in the Camp Speicher massacre. ISIL has also targeted Shia prisoners. According to witnesses, after the militant group took the city of Mosul, they divided the Sunni prisoners from the Shia prisoners. Up to 670 Shia prisoners were then taken to another location and executed. Kurdish officials in Ibril have reported on the incident of Sunni and Shia prisoners being separated and Shia prisoners being killed after the Mosul prison fell to ISIL.Amnesty International has held ISIL responsible for the ethnic cleansing of ethnic and religious minority groups in northern Iraq (Christians and Izadis/Yazidis) on a "historic scale", putting entire communities "at risk of being wiped off the map of Iraq". In a special report released on 2 September 2014, it described how ISIL had "systematically targeted non-Sunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, of individuals and forcing more than tens of thousands of Shias, Sunni along with other minorities to flee the areas it has captured since 10 June 2014". The most targeted Shia groups in Nineveh were Shia Turkmens and Shabak, who have lived together for centuries in Nineveh province, large parts of which have come under ISIL's control.
IraqIraq (, (listen) or ; Arabic: العراق al-'Irāq; Kurdish: عێراق Eraq), officially known as the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جُمُهورية العِراق Jumhūrīyyat al-'Irāq; Kurdish: کۆماری عێراق Komari Eraq), is a country in Western Asia, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians and Kawliya. Around 95% of the country's 37 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish.
Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land.
The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws and live in cities under an organised government—notably Uruk, from which "Iraq" is derived. The area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires. It was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid and Ottoman empires.The country today known as Iraq was a region of the Ottoman Empire until the partition of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century. It was made up of three provinces, called vilayets in the Ottoman language: Mosul Vilayet, Baghdad Vilayet, and Basra Vilayet. In April 1920 the British Mandate of Mesopotamia was created under the authority of the League of Nations. A British-backed monarchy joining these vilayets into one Kingdom was established in 1921 under Faisal I of Iraq. The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003. After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party was removed from power, and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The US presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country. Out of the insurgency came a highly destructive group calling itself ISIL, which took large parts of the north and west. It has since been largely defeated. Disputes over the sovereignty of Iraqi Kurdistan continue. A referendum about the full sovereignty of Iraqi Kurdistan was held on 25 September 2017. On 9 December 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL after the group lost its territory in Iraq.Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 19 governorates (provinces) and one autonomous region (Iraqi Kurdistan). The country's official religion is Islam. Culturally, Iraq has a very rich heritage and celebrates the achievements of its past in both pre-Islamic as well as post-Islamic times and is known for its poets. Its painters and sculptors are among the best in the Arab world, some of them being world-class as well as producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets. Iraq is a founding member of the UN as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement and the IMF.
KaradaKarada may refer to:
Karada, India, a settlement in Kodagu district, Karnataka
Bondage rope harness, a rope bondage technique
Cleistanthus collinus, a toxic tree whose bark contains leucodelphinidin
Karhade Brahmin, a Hindu tribe in India
List of battles and other violent events by death tollThis page lists mortalities from battles and individual military operations or acts of violence, sorted by death toll. For wars and events more extensive in scope, see List of wars and disasters by death toll. For natural disasters, see List of natural disasters by death toll.
List of major terrorist incidentsThis is a list of terrorist incidents, conducted by non-state actors, resulting in more than 100 deaths.
List of terrorist incidents in 2016This is a list of terrorist incidents which took place in 2016, including attacks by violent non-state actors, split up by month. Note that terrorism related to drug wars and cartel violence is not included in these lists.
List of terrorist incidents in July 2016This is a timeline of terrorist incidents which took place in July 2016, including attacks by violent non-state actors for political motives.
October 2016 Baghdad attacksOn 15 October 2016, four attacks in and around Baghdad, Iraq, resulted in the deaths of at least 60 victims and at least seven attackers, while injuring at least 80 more people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are believed to be behind the suicide bombing and two mass shootings.
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