Chlorine Bombings in Iraq | |||||
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Part of Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
Insurgents | Iraqi security forces, U.S. military |
Chlorine bombings in Iraq began as early as October 2004, when insurgents in Al Anbar province started using chlorine gas in conjunction with conventional vehicle-borne explosive devices.
The inaugural chlorine attacks in Iraq were described as poorly executed, probably because much of the chemical agent was rendered nontoxic by the heat of the accompanying explosives. [1] Subsequent, more refined, attacks resulted in hundreds of injuries, but have proven not to be a viable means of inflicting massive loss of life. Their primary impact has therefore been to cause widespread panic, with large numbers of civilians suffering non life-threatening, but nonetheless highly traumatic, injuries.
Chlorine was used as a poison gas in World War I, but was delivered by artillery shell, unlike the modern stationary or car bombs. Still, its function as a weapon in both instances is similar. Low level exposure results in burning sensations to the eyes, nose and throat, usually accompanied by dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Higher levels of exposure can cause fatal lung damage; but because the gas is heavier than air it will not dissipate until well after an explosion, it is generally considered ineffective as an improvised chemical weapon.[ citation needed ]
In February 2007, a U.S. military spokesman said that ‘al Qaeda propaganda material’ had been found at a factory for chlorine chemical weapons in Karma, east of Fallujah, which led press agency Reuters to the conclusion that that “chlorine bomb factory was al Qaeda's”. [2]
Events in the year 2005 in Iraq.
Events in the year 2007 in Iraq.
The 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings were a series of attacks that occurred when five car bombs exploded across Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.
The 2008 al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq was a month-long offensive conducted by al-Qaeda in Iraq against the multinational coalition of USA, UK, Australia and Poland.
Events in the year 2009 in Iraq.
In 2003, there were 25 suicide bombings executed by 32 attackers.
2004 was most notably marked by a series of battles in Fallujah. See Fallujah during the Iraq War.
2005 in Iraq was marked by the first elections held in the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
2006 in Iraq marked the onset of a sectarian war in Iraq and remains the deadliest year of the Iraq War since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
This list details terrorist incidents occurring in Iraq in 2007. In 2007, the US sent 20,000 additional troops into combat as part of a troop surge. There were 442 bombings in 2007, the second-most in a single year during the Iraq War. Major events included a January 16 attack on Mustansiriyah University, which killed 70 and injured 180, and February 3 bombings at the Sadriyah market in Baghdad, which killed 135 people.
This article details major terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2008. In 2008, there were 257 suicide bombings in Iraq. On February 1, a pair of bombs detonated at a market in Baghdad, killing 99 people and injuring 200. Two other particularly deadly attacks occurred on March 6, and June 17.
This article details major terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2009. In 2009, there were 257 suicide bombings in Iraq. On April 23, a suicide bombing to a restaurant in Miqdadiyah killed 57 people, while a separate bombing in southeastern Baghdad killed 28. The next day, on April 24, a Shi'a shrine was targeted, in a bombing that killed 60. October and December saw two attacks kill over 100 people, with bombings on October 25 and December 8.
In 2009, following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities on 30 June, a campaign of car bomb attacks was conducted throughout Anbar Governorate. In early 2009, U.S. forces began pulling out of cities across the country, turning over the task of maintaining security to the Iraqi Army, police, and their paramilitary allies. Experts and many Iraqis worried that in the absence of U.S. soldiers, AQI might resurface and attempt mass-casualty attacks to destabilize the country. There was indeed a spike in the number of suicide attacks, and through mid and late 2009, al-Qaeda in Iraq rebounded in strength and appeared to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Iraq during 2010. Major attacks include a 1 February attack killing 54 in Baghdad, and a 10 May attack killed 45 at a fabrics factory in Hillah.
The 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings were two attacks in Baghdad, Iraq. The first attack in the morning was when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the Iraqi Army division headquarters on potential recruits to the army, some of whom had queued for hours prior to the bombings, that killed over 60 and wounded more than 100. The second attack took place in the evening when a fuel truck exploded in a Shia neighbourhood, killing 8 and wounding 44.
Islamic State of Iraq claimed the first of the two attacks.
A series of bombings and shootings occurred in Iraq on 16 August 2012, in one of the most violent attacks since post-US withdrawal insurgency has begun. At least 128 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in coordinated attacks across Iraq, making them the deadliest attacks in the country since October 2009, when 155 were killed in twin bombings near the Justice Ministry in Baghdad.
The following lists events the happened in 2013 in Iraq.
This article lists terrorist incidents in Iraq during 2016:
This is a timeline of events during the War in Iraq of 2013 to 2017 in its final year.
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