On 11 May 2016, the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

conducted a series of attacks in and near

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, the capital of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, killing at least 110 people and wounding more than 165. According to ISIL, attacks were aimed at

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

fighters.

Attacks

The first attack, a

truck bombing A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

, exploded in a crowded outdoor market in the eastern part of

Sadr City Sadr City ( ar, مدينة الصدر, translit=Madīnat aṣ-Ṣadr), formerly known as Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, aṯ-Ṯawra) and Saddam City ( ar, مدينة صدام, Madīnat Ṣaddām), is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

, killing mostly women and children. Later in the day, a suicide attack occurred in the Shiite

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya ( ar, ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, al-Kāẓimiyyah, ) or Kadhimayn (, ) is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of on ...

neighborhood, killing 18 and wounding 43. In the Jamea district in western Baghdad, another car bomb went off in the afternoon, killing at least 13 people. At least seven people were killed and twenty others were wounded in the car bomb explosion that took place in al-Rabie’ street in western Baghdad. More bombings killed over 101 people on May 17. There were also many attacks outside of Baghdad of the same day, some attributed to ISIL. Five mortar shells fell near residential houses in the vicinity near

Baqubah Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populati ...

, resulting in the death of two civilians and wounding three others. An explosive device that was emplaced on the roadside near Baqubah went off while a taxi was passing in the area, resulting in the injury of two persons that were inside it. Five young civilians volunteered to shoot five Iraqi soldiers, accused of apostasy, in their heads for ISIL. The attacks were preceded by another bombing in Samawa on May 1.

Background

Iraqi Shia militias were fighting alongside the Iraqi army against the

(ISIS). The area of Sadr City saw repeated attacks targeting its Shia population. In February 2016 a pair of ISIL bombings in Sadr City killed 52 people. The market bombed on 11 May is one of the main four outdoor shopping venues in Sadr City.

Bombing

According to an eyewitness, the bomb in Sadr City was placed in a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

loaded with fruit and vegetables. The truck had parked and then its driver quickly disappeared among the crowd, according to an eyewitness who also noted that the explosion jolted the ground. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by ISIL, which released a related statement on social media saying it intended to target Shiite fighters. Iraqi officials denied ISIL's claim that the attack was carried out by a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baghdad bombings 2016 murders in Iraq 21st-century mass murder in Iraq 2010s in Baghdad Car and truck bombings in Iraq ISIL terrorist incidents in Iraq Mass murder in 2016 May 2016 crimes in Asia Suicide bombings in Baghdad Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2016 Terrorist incidents in Sadr City Violence against Shia Muslims in Iraq Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016