Attacks
The series of attacks began during the morning early rush hour and encompassed more than 40 incidents in and around 20 cities, the majority of them being car bombings. [3] [5] Both Sunni and Shia areas were targeted in the attacks. [5] Initially no group claimed responsibility for the wave of violence. [3]
In the capital Baghdad, two car bombs exploded at a heavily guarded checkpoint at the entrance to Baghdad International Airport, killing 3 and injuring 16 others. [1] [3] A blast in Kamaliyah killed 4 and injured 13, while a bombing at a market and a bus station in Umm al-Maalif killed 4 and injured 15. [1] Twin blasts in Habibiya and Karrada killed 4 and injured 24 others, while a car bomb in Shurta killed 2 and injured 9. [1] A roadside bombing wounded 5 policemen in Baladiyat. [1] [4]
In the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, a series of six car bombs left 9 people dead and 79 others injured. The attacks took place in three different neighborhoods in the center of the city – one predominantly Arab, one Kurdish, and one Turkmen. [1] Militants also shot and injured a local doctor. [1] [3] At least three car bombs exploded in Tuz Khurmatu, a city at 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Baghdad, killing six and leaving 67 others injured. [1] [7] [8] In Mosul, unidentified gunmen shot and killed a married couple and another civilian. A soldier was killed in another shootout with suspected insurgents, while 3 police officers and 2 civilians were injured in roadside bombings. An additional bombing inside the city resulted in no casualties. [1] A bombing at a local political office in Tikrit killed 4 and wounded 3 others, while a later blast at a checkpoint injured 13 policemen. [1] A blast in Ad-Dawr also injured 13 people, while 7 others were wounded after a bombing at a politician's home in a village in Saladin Governorate. [1]
In the town of Tarmiyah, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Baghdad, gunmen shot and killed a police officer. [1] [3] Another officer was killed by a sticky bomb in Buhriz. [1] A roadside bombing in Al Khalis killed a young child and injured 8 others. [1] A car bombing in Muqdadiyah injured seven people. [1] Five people were wounded in two separate blasts in Baqubah, including two policemen. [1] A roadside bomb injured a civilian on a rural road outside Khan Bani Saad. [1] A bombing in Tal Abta killed a police officer and injured two others. [1] Unidentified gunmen killed a captain and injured 2 soldiers in Sabeen, as well as a young man in Shirqat. [1]
In Fallujah, a suicide car bomber killed 2 policemen and injured 6 others at a checkpoint, while a sticky bomb killed 2 civilians. Unidentified gunmen shot dead another civilian, while a bombing south of the city resulted in no casualties. [1] A blast in Ramadi targeted a local Sunni cleric, killing 2 of his bodyguards and injuring another. [1] At least 19 civilians were injured in two car bombs that struck near Hillah in Iraq's Babil Governorate. [1]
In the southern city of Nasiriyah a car bomb was detonated near a market, killing 2 and injuring 14 others. [1] [5]
On 16 April police officials in Kirkuk announced they had arrested a group of five individuals who were involved in the bombings in that city. [9] Another eight people suspected of involvement were arrested by a joint army and police force in Diyala Governorate. [10] Elsewhere, the violence continued. In Aziziyah, a city 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Baghdad a car bomb killed at least four people on 16 April, and left 15 others injured. [2] In Mussayib, another southern city, a roadside bomb killed a soldier and injured two other people. [6] Another bomb killed a civilian and wounded two others north of Baghdad. [6] Three injuries were also reported in Tarmiyah. [6]
