Two

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van 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 roug ...

s exploded in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

at 12:20 on 12 February 2007 in the Shorja market district, killing 76 people, and injuring 155–180. The explosions set market stalls, shops, and an adjoining 7-storey building on fire, causing further casualties, and local fire-crews struggled for hours to extinguish the flames. The collapse of a building was also reported. The injured were taken to the nearby Al-Kindi hospital, which struggled to cope with the influx, and more casualties are expected from injuries.

Al-Askari anniversary

The bombings happened during 15 minutes of state endorsed silence, to mark the anniversary of the Al-Askari Mosque bombing in

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

, which prompted heavy bloodshed. The Iraqi Prime Minister

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...

was participating in a televised ceremony remembering the victims of the attack, and was speaking when the blasts occurred, only two miles away. Al-Maliki had been calling for calm, unity and reconciliation, and had said that the

Iraqi Security Forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

were regaining control of Iraq's security situation.

References

Bombings in the Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) 2007 murders in Iraq Marketplace attacks in Baghdad Mass murder in 2007 Car and truck bombings in Baghdad Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2007 Terrorist incidents in Baghdad in the 2000s 2007 in Baghdad February 2007 in Iraq Building bombings in Baghdad 2007 building bombings 2007 fires in Asia Building and structure collapses in 2007 February 2007 crimes in Asia Arson in Iraq Car and truck bombings in 2007 21st-century mass murder in Baghdad Arson in 2007 Building and structure collapses in Asia {{massacre-stub