December 2009 Baghdad bombings
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The December 2009 Baghdad bombings were attacks in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, which resulted in the deaths of at least 127 people and injuries to at least 448 more. The attacks have been condemned internationally as acts of terrorism. Opposition parties within Iraqi politics have suggested that the attacks were aided by corruption within the Iraqi security forces and that the Iraqi Prime Minister,
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
, was incompetent in managing the incident. The
Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...
has claimed responsibility for the attacks.


Attack

The attack occurred on the morning of 8 December 2009, at approximately 10:30 am. Local residents reported one blast just after 10:00, which was followed about a half-hour later by another four blasts in quick succession. By mid-afternoon, officials had reported five blasts in the area. At least four of the attacks are believed to have been coordinated. The first of the bombings targeted a police patrol in Dora; this attack also wounded several people at a nearby college. The next four bombings were believed to be targeted at government buildings, and were detonated by
suicide bombers A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
.
Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...
has claimed responsibility for these four attacks; it is unclear if the attack in Dora was connected to them. Burnt out vehicles, believed to be the ones used for the bombings, were found outside the Finance, Foreign, and Justice Ministries. The attack is the deadliest in Iraq since the 25 October 2009 Baghdad twin truck bombings, which killed 155 people and wounded 500.


Perpetrators

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...
—an umbrella group around 'Al-Qaeda in Iraq'—on 10 December claimed the attack, saying it "targeted the headquarters of evil, the nests of non-belief (…) The list of targets will not end", and that they were "determined to uproot the pillars of the government".


Aftermath

As the attacks happened in such quick succession, security forces could do nothing to stop them or curtail the damage. However, Iraqi opposition party leaders have suggested that the attacks were the fault of corrupt security officers and accused Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki of not being able to manage the incident. Colonel Ahmed Khalifa of the Iraqi Army has criticised guards at security checkpoints, saying that "It’s clearly negligence and laziness at fault." Political interference in the Iraqi security forces was also a reason for the security failure. The Iraqi Security forces did not feel that they could handle the aftermath of the attack alone and requested assistance from American forces, who aided them in forensic work and crowd management. American troops also airlifted survivors to hospitals. Prior to the bombing, Iraqi forces had managed to deal with such incidents largely by themselves. Speaking of the latest assistance, a member of the provincial council commented "The Americans are friends and in difficult situations they come to help us." The day after the attack, the government's security chief for Baghdad was sacked by the Iraqi Prime Minister due to alleged security failings during the bombings.


Reactions

The attacks have been internationally condemned as terrorist acts, and condolences have been offered by the US and UK, as well as Jordan. There is a universal feeling among Iraqi officials that the aim of the attacks was to undermine the Iraqi elections. : Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
has said that the attacks were an attempt to "hinder the election" and cause chaos:
Mowaffaq al-Rubaie Mowaffak Baker al-Rubaie (alternative transliterations Muwaffaq al Rubaie and Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i) ( ar, موفق الربيعي, Muwaffaq ar-Rubayʿī) is an Iraqi politician, and was Iraq National Security Advisor in the government of Prime Minis ...
, the Iraqi National Security Advisor, blamed
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
for the attacks. He said: "''
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
aim is to show the government is unable to protect civilians and its own people and also to deter people from going to ballot boxes.''" Iraqi Major General Qassim Atta has also blamed Al-Qaeda, commenting that: "''This has the touch of al-Qaeda and the Ba'athists.''" : A spokesman for British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
said that "real improvements" have been made in the security and politics of Iraq, and that "Those who seek to use violence to undermine these efforts will not succeed". Foreign Secretary
David Miliband David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of P ...
offered his full support to the Iraqi authorities in their work against terrorism, saying that his thoughts are with those affected. Miliband has added that the Iraqi politicians and people have shown great determination in securing a democratic government. : White House spokesman
Robert Gibbs Robert Lane Gibbs (born March 29, 1971) is an American communication professional who served as executive vice president and global chief communications officer of McDonald's from 2015 to 2019 and as the 27th White House Press Secretary from 20 ...
condemned the attacks, saying that the attacks show that there are those who feel threatened by the fact that Iraq is "moving in the right direction". Vice-President Joe Biden said "The United States strongly condemns these attacks on the Iraqi people and their elected government," while adding that the US would stand with the Iraqi people as a partner and friend as they build national unity.
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, the US secretary of state, also said that "the terrorists who murdered innocent civilians today will not succeed in undermining the Iraqi people's progress toward a more peaceful and democratic future. The United States will continue to support the Iraqi people as they face down
violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...
and work to build a more peaceful and democratic nation."


See also

*
List of terrorist incidents, 2009 This is a timeline of incidents in 2009 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Guidelines * To be included, entr ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baghdad 2009 murders in Iraq 21st-century mass murder in Iraq Mass murder in 2009 Suicide car and truck bombings in Iraq Suicide bombings in Baghdad Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2009 Terrorist incidents in Baghdad 2000s in Baghdad December 2009 crimes December 2009 events in Asia