2011 Tikrit assault | |
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Location | Tikrit, Iraq |
Date | 29 March 2011 (UTC+3) |
Target | Government officials |
Attack type | shootings, bombings, suicide bombings, siege |
Deaths | 56 |
Injured | 98 |
Perpetrator(s) | al-Qaeda in Iraq |
The 2011 Tikrit assault was an attack that took place in the city of Tikrit on the 29 March 2011. At least five insurgents dressed in military uniforms broke into the building housing the provincial headquarters for the Iraqi government during a council session. The attackers shot and killed some of those present and took the rest hostages, after which a five hour stand-off ensued. Iraqi Army forces together with US troops stormed the building, at which point the attackers blew up their explosives. [1]
At least 56 people perished during the siege, including 3 influential lawmakers that were executed with shots to the head and then had their bodies burned in front of the hostages. A well known Iraqi journalist working for Al Arabiya television was also among the dead.[2]
Several days later al-Qaeda in Iraq officially claimed credit for the attack. [3]
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