Location Baghdad, Iraq Deaths Approx. 76 | Attack type Car bombing, fire Non-fatal injuries Approx. 150 | |
Date 12 February 2007 (UTC+3) | ||
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.
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. 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.
Al-Askari anniversary
The bombings happened during 15 minutes of state endorsed silence, to mark the anniversary 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. Al-Maliki had been calling for calm, unity and reconciliation, and had said that the Iraqi Security Forces were regaining control of Iraq's security situation.