18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings

2007 series of car bombings throughout Baghdad, Iraq

18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings
Part of the Iraqi civil war
LocationBaghdad, Iraq
Date18 April 2007 (UTC+3)
TargetSadriya, Sadr City, Karrada, al-Shurja
Attack type
Car bombs
Deaths198[1]
Injured251[1]
PerpetratorsUnknown
MotiveAnti-Shi'ism
  • v
  • t
  • e
List of bombings during the Iraq War
indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths
§ indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War
This list only includes major attacks.
2003
1st Baghdad
2nd Baghdad
Najaf
3rd Baghdad
1st Nasiriyah
1st Karbala
2004
1st Erbil
Ashoura
1st Basra
1st Mosul
4th Baghdad
5th Baghdad
Karbala & Najaf
1st Baqubah
Kufa
Marez
2005
Suwaira bombing
1st Al Hillah
2nd Erbil
Musayyib
6th Baghdad
7th Baghdad
1st Balad
Khanaqin
2006
Karbala-Ramadi
1st Samarra
8th Baghdad
9th Baghdad
10th Baghdad
2007
11th Baghdad
12th Baghdad
13th Baghdad
14th Baghdad
15th Baghdad
2nd Al Hillah
1st Tal Afar
16th Baghdad
17th Baghdad
2nd & 3rd Karbala
2nd Mosul
18th Baghdad
Makhmour
Abu Sayda
2nd Samarra
19th Baghdad
Amirli
1st Kirkuk
20th Baghdad
21st Baghdad
§ Qahtaniya
Amarah
2008
22nd Baghdad
2nd Balad
23rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
24th Baghdad
Karmah
2nd Baqubah
Dujail
Balad Ruz
2009
25th Baghdad
26th Baghdad
Baghdad-Muqdadiyah
Taza
27th Baghdad
2nd Kirkuk
2nd Tal Afar
28th Baghdad
29th Baghdad
30th Baghdad
2010
31st Baghdad
32nd Baghdad
3rd Baqubah
33rd Baghdad
34th Baghdad
35th Baghdad
1st Pan-Iraq
36th Baghdad
37th Baghdad
2nd Pan-Iraq
38th Baghdad
39th Baghdad
40th Baghdad
2011
41st Baghdad
3rd Pan-Iraq
Karbala-Baghdad
42nd Baghdad
Tikrit
3rd Al Hillah
3rd Samarra
Al Diwaniyah
Taji
4th Pan-Iraq
43rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
44th Baghdad
2nd Basra
45th Baghdad

The 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings were a series of attacks that occurred when five car bombs exploded across Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.[2]

The attacks targeted mainly Shia locations and civilians. The Sadriya market had already been struck by a massive truck bombing on 3 February 2007 and was in the process of being rebuilt when the attack took place.[3] The bombings were reminiscent of the level of violence before Operation Law and Order was implemented to secure the Iraqi capital in February 2007.

The attacks came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that Iraqi forces would assume control of the country's security by the end of the year, and they also came as officials from more than 60 countries attended a UN conference in Geneva on the plight of Iraqi refugees.

Bombings

The first attack occurred when a bomb detonated on a minibus in the Risafi neighborhood of Baghdad, killing four people and wounding six. A parked car in the Karrada neighborhood exploded afterward, killing 11 and wounding 13.

A suicide car bomber crashed his car into an Iraqi police checkpoint; the resulting explosion killed at least 41 people, including five Iraqi police officers, and wounded 76.

One hour later, the deadliest attack was in the al-Sadriya market in central Baghdad, where a powerful car bomb killed at least 140 people and wounded 148, according to an Iraqi hospital official. The bomb was reportedly left in a parked car and exploded at about 16:00 local time (1200 UTC) in the middle of a crowd of workers. The market was being rebuilt after it was destroyed by a bombing in February which killed more than 130 people.[4]

Later in the day another suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the Sadriya district of Baghdad killing two police officers and wounding eight.

Locations

  • al-Shurja: Minibus bomb killed at least 4 people
  • Karrada: Car bomb near private hospital killed at least 11
  • Sadr City: Suicide car bomber killed at least 41 at a checkpoint
  • Sadriya: Car bomb killed at least 140 at a market
  • Sadriya: Suicide car bomber killed at least 2 at a checkpoint

Aftermath

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks. US defense secretary Robert Gates, delivering remarks from Tel Aviv, claimed that Islamic State of Iraq might have perpetrated the attacks.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b CNN, Iraq orders arrest of top Army officer after deadly attacks Archived 24 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Up to 200 killed in Baghdad bombs". 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Player – Up to 200 die in Baghdad bombs". BBC News. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Baghdad death toll climbs to at least 183". NBC News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. ^ Yates, Dean; Villelabeiti, Ibon (18 April 2007). "Suspected Qaeda bombs kill nearly 200 in Baghdad". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

External links

  • In pictures: Baghdad bombs (BBC)