12 February 2007 Baghdad bombings

12 February 2007 Baghdad bombings
Location Baghdad, Iraq
Date 12 February 2007 (UTC+3)
Attack type
Car bombing, fire
Deaths Approx. 76
Non-fatal injuries
Approx. 150

Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad, Iraq at 12:20 on 12 February 2007 in the Shorja market district, killing 76 people, and injuring 155–180.[1][2]

The explosions set market stalls, shops, and an adjoining 7-storey building on fire, causing further casualties, and local fire-crews struggled for hours to extinguish the flames.[3] The collapse of a building was also reported. The injured were taken to the nearby Al-Kindi hospital, which struggled to cope with the influx, and more casualties are expected from injuries.[4]

Al-Askari anniversary

The bombings happened during 15 minutes of state endorsed silence, to mark the anniversary[5] of the Al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra, which prompted heavy bloodshed. The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was participating in a televised ceremony remembering the victims of the attack, and was speaking when the blasts occurred, only two miles away.[6] Al-Maliki had been calling for calm, unity and reconciliation,[7] and had said that the Iraqi Security Forces were regaining control of Iraq's security situation.

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 07, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.