Dual Vehicle Bombings Kill Scores in Baghdad

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 27, at least ninety-nine individuals were killed in Baghdad as a result of a double suicide vehicle bombing. Reports have come forth that the death toll is greater than one hundred individuals and could still be rising. In addition to the dead, some figures state that over five hundred people were wounded by the dual bombings; other totals put the number closer to seven hundred.

The bombings took place in the heart of the Iraqi capital near the justice ministry and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration. The buildings are located near the Tigris River and the high security “Green Zone.” The attack drew comparisons to the August 19 attack where one hundred individuals were killed by the truck bombing of two ministry buildings.

The number of individuals hurt by the explosion put a strain on local emergency services. The bombs destroyed dozens of vehicles, in addition to smashing the water pipes in the area. The streets were covered with debris and the bodies of those injured in the attack, forcing the authorities to close off the streets leading to the bomb site. Civilian vehicles were forced to supplement the emergency efforts on hand and help take injured individuals to the local hospital.

The bombs came from two truck bombs and represent the deadliest attack in Iraq since October 2007. The attacks come only three months after the United States ceded control of the cities to local Iraqi authorities. Among the dead were twenty-four school age children who were nearby when the trucks exploded. The children’s school bus ran into by one of trucks as they were trying to leave the Ministry of Justice.

While immediate credit for the attack wasn’t claimed, speculation after the explosions was that the attack was done by al Qaeda or remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime. On October 27, the Islamic State of Iraq, a group alleged to be associated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bombings. On a web posting, the group claimed that the bombers were “martyrs who had targeted the dens of infidelity.”

For more information, please see:

Telegraph – Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility For Iraq’s Worst Suicide Bomb Attack In Two Years – 27 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Scores Die In Iraq Car Bombings – 26 October 2009

AFP – Twin Suicide Vehicle Bombings Kill 99 In Baghdad – 25 October 2009

BBC – Twin Baghdad Blasts Kill Scores – 25 October 2009

Telegraph – Baghdad Blasts: 132 People Killed In Worst Attack In Two Years – 25 October 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive