Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum attack

Last updated

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum attack
Part of Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
Iraq adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Balad
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum attack (Iraq)
LocationMausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, Balad, Iraq [1]
Date7 July 2016
23:00 (AST)
TargetShia Pilgrims
WeaponsSuicide car bombs, suicide bombs, guns, mortars
Deaths56 to 100+ (+3 attackers) [2] [3]
Injured75+
PerpetratorIslamic State flag.svg  ISIS
Motive Anti-Shi'ism [4]

On 7 July 2016, at least 56 people were killed and 75 injured after a group of attackers stormed the Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, a Shia holy site in Balad, Iraq. The attackers included suicide car bombers, suicide bombers on foot, and several gunmen. [5] They attacked Shia pilgrims celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. [1] There were three suicide bombers, and one of them was killed by security personnel. There were other attackers too. ISIL also launched several mortars into the area.

Contents

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carried out the attack, and claimed they killed over 100 people, which came shortly after a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad committed by ISIL that targeted Shias, killing at least 341 people and injuring over 246. [6]

Background

Four days before this attack, ISIL carried out the July 2016 Baghdad bombings, which constituted the deadliest single terror attack since the start of the Iraq War, killing at least 341 people. [7] After that attack, an Iraqi official speaking to the Guardian predicted that the group's next target would be a Shia shrine, reflecting its "desperation". [8]

The mausoleum is the resting place of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, the son of Ali al-Hadi, the tenth Imam of The Twelve Imams. Therefore, it is a popular place for Shia pilgrims. Located at the shrine were many Shia pilgrims celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The attack occurred during the Eid al-Fitr, when many pilgrims visit the site. [9]

Attack

Prior to the attack, ISIL launched several mortars into the area. After this, several attackers stormed the mausoleum using car suicide bombs, guns, and suicide belts or vests at around 23:00 (Iraqi time). There were three suicide bombers who attempted to run inside the mausoleum with the goal of blowing themselves up, killing civilians. One suicide bomber was shot by policemen before blowing himself up. A second bomber made his way inside the shrine and allegedly was able to blow himself up. [10] The third bomber was stopped from entering the shrine after being hugged by a civilian, instead detonating his suicide vest outside of the gate near police officers. [11] "At least 20 militants" then took over the shrine for half an hour, clashing with security while reinforcements arrived, killing at least seven. [12] It is unknown whether or not any of the other attackers were killed or arrested. The fire caused by the bombing also heavily damaged the marketplace next to the compound. [13]

The death toll of the attack was 56 with over 75 people injured, some critically. ISIL claimed that they killed over 100 people. They allegedly purposely targeted the Shias at the shrine. [14]

Aftermath

Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi

The man who was killed after stopping a suicide bomber from entering the shrine was named as Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi. He hugged one of the suicide bombers and thus mitigated the impact of the explosion of the suicide vest. Al-Baldawi, a local resident of Balad, likely saved dozens from death and injury. [11] He was described as a "hero" by many after what he did gained popularity online. [15]

Reactions

Following the bombing, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr deployed his militia to guard the shrine. [9] The town went into a lockdown as other potential attackers were searched by the police. [16]

Iraqi Defence Minister Khalid Al-Obeidi describe the attack as a "security failure". [14] The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also fired three his head of security after the bombing. [17]

Sheikh Abu Salam Saede, a tribal leader from Balad, interpreted the bombing as an attempt to restart sectarian violence caused by ISIL's defeat at Fallujah eight days prior, and blamed the Saudi ambassador. Mustafa al-Sufi, a resident of Balad, reported that some residents blamed Sunnis and internally displaced Sunni Iraqis for inciting the bombing. However, the Guardian commented that the "toxic heights" of 2006, when sectarian conflict was ignited after the al-Askari mosque bombing had not yet been reached, a view shared by al-Sufi, as "political leaders and tribal figures [...] asked for citizens to put their faith in the government to stop the attacks". [18]

Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, released a statement saying "It is clear the cowardly attack on the shrine aims to spark sectarian tensions and drag Iraq back to the dark days of sectarian conflict. With the people’s awareness and unity, the terrorists' goals will not be achieved." [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balad, Iraq</span> City in Saladin, Iraq

Balad, also transliterated Beled or Belad, is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District. Located in Iraq's volatile Sunni Triangle, between the towns of Al Dhuluiya, Yathrib and Ishaqi, Balad's inhabitants are primarily farmers who work mainly on grape and date farms and as citrus growers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 al-Askari mosque bombing</span> Attack on a Shia mosque in Iraq

At approximately 6:44 a.m. Arabia Standard Time on 22 February 2006, al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq, was severely damaged in a bombing attack amidst the then-ongoing Iraq War. Constructed in the 10th century, it is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Despite the magnitude of the explosions, there were no casualties. American president George W. Bush asserted that the bombing had been carried out by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which denied involvement in the attack.

Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Hādī was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the son of Ali al-Hadi and the brother of Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Imams in Twelver Shia, respectively. Some may have expected him to succeed his father al-Hadi to the imamate but he predeceased him in the garrison town of Samarra in Iraq, where al-Hadi was kept under surveillance by the Abbasids. His shrine is located near Baghdad, between Samarra and Kadhimiya. Considered a sacred site in Twelver Shia, his shrine was targeted by Sunni militants in 2016 in a deadly attack on its pilgrims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Al-Kazimiyya Mosque bombings</span>

In early July 2010, a series of bombing attacks in Baghdad, Iraq killed at least 70 people while injuring 400 during a Shia pilgrimage to Al-Kazimiyya Mosque, the mausoleum of Musa al-Kadhim. The bombings targeted those on the annual pilgrimage and took place from 6 to 8 July. The pilgrimage has been attacked in previous years by Sunni extremists and in 2005 was the site of a stampede that killed up to 1,000 people.

The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Iraq.

This is a timeline of events during the War in Iraq in 2015.

The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Iraq (2014)</span>

The Timeline of the War in Iraq covers the War in Iraq, a war which erupted that lasted in Iraq from 2013 to 2017, during the first year of armed conflict.

A suicide car bombing occurred on 17 July 2015 in the Iraqi city of Khan Bani Saad, targeting a local marketplace. As of 19 July 2015 approximately 130 people were killed in the bombing, with a similar number of injured. Several people were killed by collapsed buildings. The bomb was hidden under an ice truck in an attempt to attract more people amid the heat. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Shia Muslims have been persecuted by the Islamic State (IS), an Islamic extremist group, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the world.

This article lists terrorist incidents in Iraq during 2016:

On 28 February 2016, at least 70 people were killed and 60 wounded in Sadr City, a southern suburb of Baghdad, as two bombs went off at a crowded market. The explosions ripped through a market selling mobile phones in the mainly Shiite Muslim district. The assailants were suicide bombers riding motorcycles through the crowd.

This is a timeline of events during the War in Iraq in 2016.

In May 2016, the Islamic State conducted a series of bombing attacks in and around Shia neighbourhoods in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, killing and wounding hundreds. According to ISIL, attacks were aimed at Shia fighters.

On 13 May 2016, a group of militants armed with AK-47s attacked a cafe in Balad, Iraq, frequented by supporters of the Spanish football club Real Madrid. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. At least 16 people were killed and at least 30 were wounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Karrada bombing</span> 2016 bombing in Karrada, Iraq

On 3 July 2016, ISIL militants carried out coordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad that killed 340 civilians and injured hundreds more. A few minutes after midnight local time, a suicide truck-bomb targeted the mainly Shia district of Karrada, busy with late night shoppers for Ramadan. A second roadside bomb was detonated in the suburb of Sha'ab, killing at least five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Balad attack</span> 2016 terrorist attack

The attack on the shrine of seven Dujai was an attack on Friday, July 8, 2016, and claimed the lives of 36 people, following two bombings at least in the vicinity of the shrine of Sayed Mohammad in the southern Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. It is suspected that the ISIS terrorist organisation targeted the shrine with rocket-propelled mortars, followed by three suicide bombers, two of which detonated in a market near the shrine.

On 15 October 2016, four attacks in and around Baghdad, Iraq, resulted in the deaths of at least 60 victims and at least seven attackers, while injuring at least 80 more people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are believed to be behind the suicide bombing and two mass shootings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November 2016 Hillah suicide truck bombing</span> Terrorist attack in Hillah, Iraq

A suicide bombing occurred in Iraq on 24 November 2016 when a truck bomb exploded at a petrol station in Hillah, some 100 kilometers from southern Baghdad, killing at least 125 people and injuring many others.

References

  1. 1 2 "Iraq shrine attack: IS kills dozens in Balad". BBC News. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Iraq: Death toll from shrine attack rises to 56". 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "At least 35 killed in attack on Shi'ite mausoleum north of Baghdad". reuters.com. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Balad attack: at least 35 killed at Shia sacred site north of Baghdad". The Guardian. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Chulov, Martin (8 July 2016). "Iraq says Balad suicide blast is Isis attempt to stir up sectarian war". TheGuardian.com . Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "40 dead in ISIS attack on Iraqi Shiite shrine, officials say". 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "While we soul-search, Iraq burns and bleeds". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Chulov, Martin (8 July 2016). "Iraq says Balad suicide blast is Isis attempt to stir up sectarian war". TheGuardian.com . Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "At least 40 killed as Islamic State suicide bombers attack Shiite shrine in Iraq". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Multiple suicide bombers attack Shia shrine in Balad, north of Baghdad, dozens killed and wounded". Independent.co.uk . 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 Fadel, Leith (9 July 2016). "Iraqi man's heroics prevents ISIS suicide bomber from killing more civilians". Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "Dozens Killed in Suicide Attack on Shiite Shrine North of Baghdad". The New York Times. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Metro.co.uk, Richard Hartley-Parkinson for (10 July 2016). "Hero hugged suicide bomber to save other people's lives". Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Iraq: Death toll from shrine attack rises to 56". 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "Najih Al-Baldawi hugged a suicide bomber attempting to blow up a Shrine in Iraq's Balad area. His action cost him his own life as the suicide bomber detonated, but it saved the lives of dozens of others. • /r/pics". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  16. ↑ Hamdi Alkhshali; Angela Dewan (8 July 2016). "40 dead in ISIS attack on Iraqi Shiite shrine, officials say". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Iraqi PM fires head of security after shrine attack". 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Iraq says Balad suicide blast is Isis attempt to stir up sectarian war". The Guardian. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "35 killed in deadly attack on Shiite shrine north of Baghdad as Abadi sacks security chief". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.