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The Hay al Jihad massacre occurred on July 9, 2006 in the Hay al Jihad neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Estimated 40 Sunni civilians were killed by Shia militiamen.
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Witnesses said Shia militiamen in Baghdad's religiously-mixed Hay al Jihad neighborhood set up fake roadblocks a day after a car bomb killed 12 Shi'ite worshippers and wounded 18 in the area's Zahra mosque whilst Sunni mosques celebrated with gunfire.[1] Drivers were allegedly pulled from their cars and their identity cards inspected. Any Sunni Muslims identified were then separated from the rest and killed. Police maintain that more than 40 died, disputing a claim by a senior government official, Haidar Majid, that only nine people were killed.
Radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr appealed for calm following the shootings. His Mahdi Army militia, which has a strong presence in Sadr City, was accused of involvement in the attacks, but his office denied any responsibility.
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