17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings
Encyclopedia
The 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings were two attacks in Baghdad
, Iraq
. The first attack in the morning was when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the Iraqi Army
division headquarters on potential recruits to the army, some of whom had queued for hours prior to the bombings, that killed over 60 and wounded more than 100. The second attack took place in the evening when a fuel truck exploded in a Shia neighbourhood, killing 8 and wounding 44.
On August 19, the Islamic State of Iraq
, an al-Qaeda
front in Iraq, issued a statement saying it carried out the strike on the army recruitment centre.
pulled out of coalition talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki following claims that al-Maliki was pushing for a sectarian division of government.
Security forces have been targets of attack in the months prior to this bombing. The United States began to reduce its troop strength in Iraq, from just under 60,000 at the time of this bombing, to about 50,000 by August 31, which was scheduled to be the formal end of combat operations.
The bombing was the first major attack of the year's Ramadan
, the most venerated month in the Islamic calendar
.
An interior ministry official said the majority of the victims were army recruits but there were also some soldiers who were protecting the recruitment centre among the casualties. The casualties among these soldiers were at least three dead and eight wounded, with the overall total killed at over 60.
, which includes al-Qaida in Iraq and other allied Sunni insurgent factions claimed responsibility for the attack. They boasted that its operative easily passed through checkpoints before detonating his explosives belt in a crowd of officers and recruits outside army headquarters
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The first attack in the morning was when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the Iraqi Army
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
division headquarters on potential recruits to the army, some of whom had queued for hours prior to the bombings, that killed over 60 and wounded more than 100. The second attack took place in the evening when a fuel truck exploded in a Shia neighbourhood, killing 8 and wounding 44.
On August 19, the Islamic State of Iraq
Islamic State of Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq , is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba,...
, an al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
front in Iraq, issued a statement saying it carried out the strike on the army recruitment centre.
Background
The bombing came amid uncertainty over the future government in Iraq following the Iraqi parliamentary election, 2010. One day before the attack former Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad AllawiIyad Allawi
Ayad Allawi is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraq's 2005 legislative elections. A prominent Iraqi political activist who lived in exile for almost 30 years, the politically secular Shia Muslim became a member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council, which...
pulled out of coalition talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki following claims that al-Maliki was pushing for a sectarian division of government.
Security forces have been targets of attack in the months prior to this bombing. The United States began to reduce its troop strength in Iraq, from just under 60,000 at the time of this bombing, to about 50,000 by August 31, which was scheduled to be the formal end of combat operations.
The bombing was the first major attack of the year's Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, the most venerated month in the Islamic calendar
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
.
First bombing
Unemployed people had queued for hours outside an Army recruiting centre when a suicide bomber approached and detonated his explosives. The recruiting location is near the Bab al-Muadhan (Great Gate) by the Tigris River and the former Iraqi Ministry of Defense building in downtown Baghdad.An interior ministry official said the majority of the victims were army recruits but there were also some soldiers who were protecting the recruitment centre among the casualties. The casualties among these soldiers were at least three dead and eight wounded, with the overall total killed at over 60.
Second bombing
On the same day another attack occurred at 21:30 in the majority Shia neighbourhood of Hay Ur. A bomb attached to a fuel truck loaded with kerosene exploded, killing eight people and wounding 44 more.Responsibility
On August 19, 2010 the Islamic State of IraqIslamic State of Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq , is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba,...
, which includes al-Qaida in Iraq and other allied Sunni insurgent factions claimed responsibility for the attack. They boasted that its operative easily passed through checkpoints before detonating his explosives belt in a crowd of officers and recruits outside army headquarters
Reaction
- A White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
spokesman said "There obviously are still people who want to derail the advances that the Iraqi people have made toward democracy. But they are firmly on track. And we're confident that we're moving toward the end of our combat mission. The fact that there is a lot of competition for who is going to be running that country is a good thing."