15 April 2013 Iraq attacks

{{Short description|2013 series of nationwide bombings and shootings in Iraq during the post-U.S. insurgency}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = 15 April 2013 Iraq attacks | partof = Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal) | location = Across Iraq | date = 15 April 2013 | target = Shia and Sunni civilians, Iraqi security forces | type = Car bombings, suicide bombings, roadside bombings, shootings | weapons = *Car bombs *IEDs *Automatic weapons | fatalities = 75<ref name=Antiwar/> | injuries = 356<ref name=Antiwar/> }} {{Campaignbox Iraqi insurgency (post U.S. withdrawal)}}

A wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq killed at least 75 people and injured more than 356 others on 15 April.<ref name=Antiwar>{{cite news|title=Iraq's Bloody Monday: 75 Killed, 356 Wounded|publisher=Antiwar.com|date=16 April 2013|url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2013/04/15/iraqs-bloody-monday-75-killed-356-wounded/|accessdate=16 April 2013|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618052419/https://original.antiwar.com/updates/2013/04/15/iraqs-bloody-monday-75-killed-356-wounded/|url-status=live}}</ref> The attacks came just days before the provincial elections which was held on 20 April.<ref name=VOA>{{cite news|title=Car Bombs Kill 5 in Iraq|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/car-bombs-kill-5-in-iraq/1642280.html|access-date=16 April 2013|newspaper=Voice of America|date=16 April 2013|archive-date=19 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419025642/http://www.voanews.com/content/car-bombs-kill-5-in-iraq/1642280.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Background== Violence in Iraq had decreased since its peak in 2006–07, but attacks remained common.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22149863|title=Iraq deadly bombings hit Nasariyah, Kirkuk and Baghdad|date=15 April 2013|publisher=BBC|accessdate=16 April 2013|archive-date=16 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416013851/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22149863|url-status=live}}</ref> Deaths rose in 2012 for the first time in three years.<ref name=Reuters />

In the months leading up to the 20 April provincial elections, the first since the withdrawal of US forces in 2011, tensions were high in Iraq as Sunni groups claimed they were being marginalized by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite dominated government.<ref name=BBC /><ref name=AlJazeera /> A number of large scale attacks linked to the Sunni umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq were carried out in early 2013 in an attempt to destabilize the country ahead of the elections.<ref name=BBC /> At least fourteen election candidates have been murdered,<ref name=AlJazeera /> while Anbar and Nineveh provinces have postponed elections because of security concerns.<ref name=VOA /> Four other provinces are not scheduled to hold elections on 20 April.<ref name=France24 />

==Attacks== {{Location map+ | Iraq | width = 300 | caption = Locations of some of the attacks | places = {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Aziziyah | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = | lat_deg = 32 | lat_min = 54 | lat_sec = 07 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 45 | lon_min = 04 | lon_sec = 39 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Baghdad | label_size = 100 | position = right | link = Baghdad | lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 19 | lat_sec = 30 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 25 | lon_sec = 19 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Ad-Dawr | label_size = 62 | position = bottom | link = Ad-Dawr | lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 27 | lat_sec = 0 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 43 | lon_min = 47 | lon_sec = 0 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Fallujah | label_size = 62 | position = top | link = Fallujah | lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 21 | lat_sec = 0 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 43 | lon_min = 47 | lon_sec = 0 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Hillah | label_size = 80 | position = bottom | link = Hillah | lat_deg = 32 | lat_min = 39 | lat_sec = 00 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 26 | lon_sec = 00 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Al Khalis | label_size = 62 | position = left | link = Al Khalis | lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 50 | lat_sec = 0 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 30 | lon_sec = 0 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Kirkuk | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = Kirkuk | lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 28 | lat_sec = 00 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 19 | lon_sec = 00 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Mosul | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = Mosul | lat_deg = 36 | lat_min = 20 | lat_sec = 24 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 43 | lon_min = 07 | lon_sec = 48 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Muqdadiyah | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = Muqdadiyah | lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 58 | lat_sec = 43 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 56 | lon_sec = 13 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Musayyib | label_size = 80 | position = left | link = Musayyib | lat_deg = 32 | lat_min = 46 | lat_sec = 43 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 17 | lon_sec = 24 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Nasiriyah | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = Nasiriyah | lat_deg = 31 | lat_min = 03 | lat_sec = 00 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 46 | lon_min = 16 | lon_sec = 00 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Ramadi | label_size = 80 | position = left | link = Ramadi | lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 25 | lat_sec = 0 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 43 | lon_min = 18 | lon_sec = 0 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Tikrit | label_size = 80 | position = left | link = Tikrit | lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 36 | lat_sec = 36 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 43 | lon_min = 40 | lon_sec = 48 | lon_dir = E }} {{Location map~ | Iraq | label = Tuz Khormato | label_size = 80 | position = right | link = Tuz Khormato | lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 52 | lat_sec = 38 | lat_dir = N | lon_deg = 44 | lon_min = 38 | lon_sec = 18 | lon_dir = E }} }}

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.<ref name=BBC /><ref name=AlJazeera>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/04/201341562946963175.html|title=Many dead in serial blasts in Iraq – Middle East|newspaper=Al Jazeera English|date=15 April 2013|accessdate=16 April 2013|archive-date=6 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906175525/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/04/201341562946963175.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Both Sunni and Shia areas were targeted in the attacks.<ref name=AlJazeera /> Initially no group claimed responsibility for the wave of violence.<ref name=BBC />

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.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=BBC /> 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.<ref name=Antiwar /> Twin blasts in Habibiya and Karrada killed 4 and injured 24 others, while a car bomb in Shurta killed 2 and injured 9.<ref name=Antiwar /> A roadside bombing wounded 5 policemen in Baladiyat.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=Reuters>{{cite news|last=Raheem|first=Kareem|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE93E07320130415|title=Bombs kill more than 30 across Iraq before local poll|newspaper=Reuters|date=15 April 2013|accessdate=16 April 2013|archive-date=7 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307042322/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE93E07320130415|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Antiwar /> Militants also shot and injured a local doctor.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=BBC /> At least three car bombs exploded in Tuz Khurmatu, a city at {{convert|170|km|mi}} north of Baghdad, killing six and leaving 67 others injured.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=dw15apr>{{cite news|title=Nationwide bomb attacks rattle Iraq ahead of polls|url=http://www.dw.de/nationwide-bomb-attacks-rattle-iraq-ahead-of-polls/a-16743906|accessdate=16 April 2013|newspaper=Deutsche Welle|date=15 April 2013|archive-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330233340/http://www.dw.de/nationwide-bomb-attacks-rattle-iraq-ahead-of-polls/a-16743906|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=taw15apr>{{cite news|last=Tawfeeq|first=Mohammed|title=Deadly wave of bombings across Iraq ahead of elections|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/world/meast/iraq-violence/?hpt=hp_t2|accessdate=16 April 2013|publisher=CNN|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Antiwar /> 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.<ref name=Antiwar /> 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.<ref name=Antiwar />

In the town of Tarmiyah, {{convert|50|km|mi}} north of Baghdad, gunmen shot and killed a police officer.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=BBC /> Another officer was killed by a sticky bomb in Buhriz.<ref name=Antiwar /> A roadside bombing in Al Khalis killed a young child and injured 8 others.<ref name=Antiwar /> A car bombing in Muqdadiyah injured seven people.<ref name=Antiwar /> Five people were wounded in two separate blasts in Baqubah, including two policemen.<ref name=Antiwar /> A roadside bomb injured a civilian on a rural road outside Khan Bani Saad.<ref name=Antiwar /> A bombing in Tal Abta killed a police officer and injured two others.<ref name=Antiwar /> Unidentified gunmen killed a captain and injured 2 soldiers in Sabeen, as well as a young man in Shirqat.<ref name=Antiwar />

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.<ref name=Antiwar /> A blast in Ramadi targeted a local Sunni cleric, killing 2 of his bodyguards and injuring another.<ref name=Antiwar /> At least 19 civilians were injured in two car bombs that struck near Hillah in Iraq's Babil Governorate.<ref name=Antiwar />

In the southern city of Nasiriyah a car bomb was detonated near a market, killing 2 and injuring 14 others.<ref name=Antiwar /><ref name=AlJazeera />

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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Police: arrest the perpetrators of yesterday's Kirkuk bombings.|url=http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHGDJI|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630003906/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHGDJI|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2013|accessdate=16 April 2013|newspaper=National Iraq News Agency (NINA)|date=17 April 2013}}</ref> Another eight people suspected of involvement were arrested by a joint army and police force in Diyala Governorate.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eight suspects in yesterday's bombings arrested in Diyala.|url=http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHFMKD|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630010235/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHFMKD|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2013|accessdate=16 April 2013|newspaper=National Iraq News Agency (NINA)|date=17 April 2013}}</ref> Elsewhere, the violence continued. In Aziziyah, a city {{convert|75|km|mi}} south of Baghdad a car bomb killed at least four people on 16 April, and left 15 others injured.<ref name=VOA /> In Mussayib, another southern city, a roadside bomb killed a soldier and injured two other people.<ref name=France24>{{cite news|title=Iraq bombings kill six |agency=AFP |date=16 April 2013 |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/iraq-bombings-kill-six-111555768.html |accessdate=16 April 2013}}</ref> Another bomb killed a civilian and wounded two others north of Baghdad.<ref name=France24 /> Three injuries were also reported in Tarmiyah.<ref name=France24 />

==Reactions==

===Domestic=== *{{flagicon|Iraq}} Sadrist Movement – A statement released by Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the attacks, but also accused the current cabinet of not doing enough to protect civilians and being too preoccupied with campaigning for the upcoming elections.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sadr: Explosions take place while the ruling party busy campaigning for election|url=http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHFMDF|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630011420/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHFMDF|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2013|accessdate=16 April 2013|newspaper=National Iraq News Agency (NINA)|date=17 April 2013}}</ref>

===International=== *{{flag|European Union}} – High Representative Catherine Ashton released a statement, condemning "in the strongest terms" the series of attacks, as well as the recent spate of violence targeting local politicians and election candidates.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ashton condemns attacks in Iraqi cities|url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2304892&Language=en|accessdate=17 April 2013|newspaper=KUNA|date=16 April 2013|archive-date=22 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322080056/https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2304892&Language=en|url-status=live}}</ref> *{{flag|France}} – Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot offered condolences to the victims and "strongly condemned" the attacks in a briefing, while reaffirming France's position on national unity and a rejection of violence.<ref>{{cite news|title=France condemns new wave of bombings in Iraq|url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2304976&Language=en|accessdate=17 April 2013|newspaper=KUNA|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> *{{flag|Iran}} – A Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the attacks.{{cn|date=August 2021}} *{{flag|Japan}} – Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Yutaka Yokoi released a statement, condemning the "atrocious acts of terrorism" and offering condolences to the people affected. The statement added that Japan hopes the Iraqi government and its people can "tackle their domestic problems through further progress in national reconciliation" despite the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan condemns bomb attacks in Iraq|url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2305145&Language=en|accessdate=17 April 2013|newspaper=KUNA|date=16 April 2013|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401143918/https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2305145&Language=en|url-status=live}}</ref> *{{flag|Lebanon}} – Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri phoned Prime Minister al-Maliki and "expressed condemnation" at the series of attacks across Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|title=Berri phones al-Maliki to express condemnation of Yesterday bombings in Baghdad and several other provinces.|url=http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHGDIE|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630010744/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GHGDIE|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2013|accessdate=17 April 2013|newspaper=National Iraqi News Agency (NINA)|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> * {{flag|Turkey}} – The Foreign Ministry issued a statement, condemning the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|title=Number of casualties rises to 21 in Baghdad bomb attacks|url=http://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/160671--g|accessdate=16 April 2013|newspaper=Anadolu Agency|date=15 April 2013|archive-date=11 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911205717/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/car-bombs-hit-iraq/255425|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Iraq}} * List of terrorist incidents, January–June 2013

==References== {{Reflist|33em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraq bombings}} Category:Bombings in the Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) Category:Car and truck bombings in Iraq Category:2013 mass murders Category:Suicide bombings in Iraq Category:2013 murders in Iraq Category:Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2013 Category:Spree shootings in Iraq Category:Violence against Shia Muslims in Iraq Category:Terrorist incidents in Baghdad in the 2010s Category:April 2013 in Iraq Category:2013 in Baghdad Category:Terrorist incidents in Mosul Category:Terrorist incidents in Kirkuk Category:Military history of Fallujah Category:History of Nasiriyah Category:Military history of Ramadi Category:History of Saladin Governorate Category:2013 in Diyala Governorate Category:History of Babylon Governorate Category:Military history of Tikrit Category:21st century in Mosul Category:Mass murders in Mosul Category:21st century in Kirkuk Category:Military history of Diyala Governorate