August 2009 Baghdad bombings

The August 2009 Baghdad bombings were three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on 19 August 2009. The explosives were detonated simultaneously across the capital at approximately 10:45 in the morning, killing at least 101 people and wounding at least 565, making it the deadliest attack since the 14 August 2007 Yazidi communities bombings in northern Iraq which killed almost 800 people. The bombings targeted both government and privately-owned buildings.

August 2009 Baghdad bombings
LocationBaghdad, Iraq
Date19 August 2009
10:00[1] – (UTC+3)
TargetMultiple
Attack type
Car bombs and mortars
Deaths101[2]
Injured565+[3]
PerpetratorsIslamic State of Iraq (claimed)[4]

Bombings

The windows were blown out and the doors were taken out, even the door frames went. If I had been in my room at the time I would have been seriously injured or worse. Everything is locked down now. Nobody can move anywhere, nobody is getting in or out. Even our security team cannot move.

John Tipple, British citizen, referring to the bombing of the Rasheed Hotel.[5]

The bombings occurred on the six-year anniversary of the bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad, which killed the UN's coordinator of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello.[6] The capture of two al-Qaeda members in a car intended to be used as another bomb led officials to believe they were part of a coordinated attack.[7] The attack began in early mid-morning,[5] when a truck bomb exploded outside the Finance Ministry. A larger explosion followed outside the Foreign Ministry, accompanied by mortar attacks on the secure Green Zone. The bombing shattered windows, killing those near them,[7] and also brought down the compound wall across the street from the truck bomb.[8] The Foreign Ministry explosion alone killed 58 people, and left a crater 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep and 10 metres (33 ft) wide.[5] The next car bomb killed at least eight people and wounded at least 22 as it devastated a combined Iraqi Army-police patrol near the Finance Ministry.[5] Two bombings in distant areas of the city, one in the commercial Baiyaa district killing two and wounding 16, the other in the Bab al-Muadham district killing six and wounding 24.[5] One targeted the Rasheed Hotel, blowing out windows and door frames.[5] Several mortars fell inside the Green Zone's perimeter, one near the UN compound, where aid workers were meeting to discuss the "growing danger" facing aid groups.[9] The mortars were not confirmed by C-RAM IZ or any other US military.

In total, the attacks killed upwards of 90 people and injured upwards of 500.[1][3][7] Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had been scheduled to deliver a speech at a nearby hotel, but this was canceled due to attacks.[7]

Suspects and claim

Immediate suspicions fell on the Baathist alliance,[5] al-Qaeda,[1] and Sunni extremists.[8] The attacks were claimed, at the end of October 2009, by Islamic State of Iraq, calling the targets "dens of infidelity".[4]

A few days after the bombings, Iraq broadcast a video of former police chief Wissam Ali Kadhem Ibrahim, a Saddam Hussein loyalist, confessing to orchestrating a truck bombing at the finance ministry, the first of two bombings,[10][11] and recalled its ambassador to Syria, after demanding that two Baathist suspects be handed over. Syria said it was not involved in the attacks, and subsequently recalled its ambassador to Iraq.[12][13]

On 11 March 2010, Iraqi police arrested Munaf Abdul Rahim al-Rawi, the mastermind of the bombings. His capture also led to the death of al-Qaeda leaders Abu Ayub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. Al-Rawi was called the "Governor of Baghdad" and masterminded many of the other Baghdad bombings since August 2009, according to Major General Qassim Atta, a Baghdad military spokesman.[14][15]

Reaction

The Kurdistan Regional Government condemned the attacks,[16] blamed them on a "delay in security implementation" and called for unity among Iraqis.[17]

See also

References
  1. Richard Spencer (19 August 2009). "Iraq al Qaeda bombings kill almost 100 as multiple targets hit in Baghdad". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  2. "Fresh violence strikes Baghdad". Al Jazeera. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  3. "95 killed on Iraq's deadliest day since U.S. handover". CNN. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  4. Londoño, Ernesto (27 October 2009). "Extremist group claims responsibility for Baghdad bombs". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. Oliver August (19 August 2009). "Scores dead as Baghdad rocked by series of massive explosions". The Times. London. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  6. Rogene Fisher (19 August 2009). "Baghdad Attacks Come on 6th Anniversary of Devastating Bombing at U.N. Compound". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  7. "Dozens killed in Baghdad attacks". BBC News. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  8. Ahmed Malik (19 August 2009). "Baghdad bomb blasts latest:at least 95 dead and over 536 wounded". IB Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  9. "Aid Groups Highlight Growing Threats to Staff". The New York Times. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  10. Faraj, Salam (23 August 2009). "Iraq broadcasts truck bomber confession". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  11. Bomber confesses on Video from Straits Times Archived 2 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  13. Syria and Iraq summon ambassadors. Syrian News Station. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009. Archived 27 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine 3 September 2009.
  14. "Iraq captures senior al-Qaida leader: spokesman". Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. "Al Qaeda commander: How I planned Iraq attacks". Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  16. "Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)". www.krg.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011.
  17. "Kurdistan Region Presidency strongly condemns Baghdad attacks". Kurdistan Regional Government. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
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