The January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks were a series of five consecutive

suicide bombing 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 ...

s in

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 ...

18 January attack

On 18 January 2011, a bomber killed 63 people and injured around 150 in the city of

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

. The bombing occurred near a

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

facility where several hundred people were gathered. The attack was blamed on a lack of security at the event; a local police official said that " e security procedures weren't good. They did not meet the demands of such a gathering." A local councilman, Abdullah Jabara, said that the attack was committed by

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

, and was intended "to shake the security in the province and to bring back instability to Tikrit."

19 January attacks

On 19 January, at least 15 people were killed in two attacks in the towns of

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 populat ...

and Ghalbiyah, both located in the same region about northeast of

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 ...

. In the incident in Baqubah, the attacker reportedly fired on guards at a police building before driving an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to med ...

with

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s into the building, where the vehicle was blown up. This attack killed either 13 or 14 people, while injuring between 60 and 70. The building collapsed after the attack, burying survivors of the initial

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

. The bombing was estimated to have used of explosives and left a crater in diameter. In Ghalbiyah, a suicide bomber killed two people and injured 15 out of a crowd marching from Baghdad to

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...

, a holy city. An official from the

Diyala Governorate Diyala Governorate ( ar, محافظة ديالى ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in central-eastern Iraq. Provincial government *Governor: Muthana al-Timimi *Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Council Geography Diyala Gov ...

and three of his

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...

s were wounded in this incident.

20 January attacks

On 20 January, at least 56 people died when two

car bomb 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 ...

detonate Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with ...

d near Karbala during the holy festival of

Arba'een , duration = 1 day , frequency = once every Islamic year , observedby = Shia , date = 20 Safar , date2018 = 30 October , date2019 = 19 October , date2020 = 8 October , date2021 = 28 September , date ...

. In Baquba, three others were killed in a separate suicide bombing.

References

January suicide attacks 2010s in Karbala January 2011 suicide attacks Attacks on buildings and structures in 2011 Attacks on police stations in the 2010s January 2011 suicide attacks Crime in Karbala Explosions in Karbala History of Diyala Governorate History of Tikrit January 2011 suicide attacks Islamic terrorist incidents in 2011 January 2011 crimes January 2011 events in Iraq Massacres in 2011 January 2011 suicide attacks January 2011 suicide attacks January suicide attacks Vehicular rampage in Asia January 2011 suicide attacks {{terrorism-stub

18 January attack

19 January attacks

20 January attacks

See also

References