23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings

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Sadr City bombing
Sadr City bombing
Location Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq
Date November 23, 2006
15:10 – 15:55 (UTC+3)
Attack type Car bombs and mortar rounds.
Deaths At least 215
Injured 257
 
Major terrorist attacks of the Iraq War
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The 2006 Sadr City bombings were a series of car bombs and mortar attacks in Iraq that began on November 23 at 15:10 Baghdad time (12:10 Greenwich Mean Time) and ended at 15:55 (12:55 GMT). Six car bombs and two mortar rounds were used in the attack on the Shi'ite Muslim slum in Sadr City.[1]

[edit] Casualties and aftermath

The attacks killed at least 215 people and injured 257 others, making it the second deadliest sectarian attack since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.[2][3][4] Following the attacks, the Iraqi government placed Baghdad under 24-hour curfew beginning at 20:00 Baghdad time (17:00 GMT), shut down Baghdad International Airport to commercial traffic, and closed the docks and airport in Basra, Iraq. The curfew was lifted on November 27.[5][6]

The Shi'ites responded almost immediately, firing 10 mortar rounds at the Abu Hanifa Sunni mosque as Azamiya, the holiest Sunni shrine in Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven.[7] The morning of November 24, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Shiite militiamen retaliated for the attacks, dousing six Sunni Arabs in kerosene and burning them alive.[8] The Iraqi Army could not confirm the reports of Sunnis being burned alive, and found only one mosque that had suffered fire damage.[9] However, the AP stands by its story after reconfirming its details with their sources.[10]

[edit] Timing of the attacks

The attacks occurred while residents of Sadr City were commemorating the life of Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.[11] Al-Sadr was killed by the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in February 1999.

On November 16, 2006, an arrest warrant for Harith al-Dari, a prominent Sunni cleric, was issued in Baghdad.[12] Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and a controversial figure in his own right, called out on Friday for al-Dari to issue fatwas prohibiting the killing of Shiites, membership in "al Qaeda or any other organization that has made (Shiites) their enemies," and expressing support for the restoration of the Imam Ali Shrine. When al-Dari has done this, Sadr says he will oppose the arrest warrant against him.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Attack on Baghdad Shiite slum kills 160 - Yahoo! News (Link dead as of 15 January 2007)
  2. ^ Bombs kill 138 in Baghdad's Sadr City - CNN
  3. ^ Baghdad curfew after bombing wave - BBC News
  4. ^ Iraqi militias take revenge for slaughter of 215 - MSNBC
  5. ^ Bombs in Shiite slum kill at least 161 - MSNBC
  6. ^ Curfew lifted but tension high in Baghdad - Reuters, November 27, 2006
  7. ^ The Independent: 140 reported dead in Baghdad attacks
  8. ^ Shiites burn six Sunni worshippers alive - Kansas.com
  9. ^ One Mosque Burned in Hurriya - Multi-National Force - Iraq November 25, 2006.
  10. ^ AP Defies Military, Bloggers on Story of 6 Iraqis Set on Fire
  11. ^ Assault on Iraqi Civilians Is Deadliest Since 2003 - Washington Post November 24, 2006.
  12. ^ Iraqi Arrest Warrant Revives a Sunni Cleric's Fortunes - Time Magazine November 18, 2006.
  13. ^ Sunni leader must stop bloodshed, says Sadr - Australian Broadcasting Corporation November 24, 2006
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