2016 Karrada bombing
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 (2 July, 21:00 UTC), 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.
| July 2016 Karrada bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the War in Iraq | |
Immediate aftermath of the bombing, with smoke spewing from inside the building | |
| Location | Karrada, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Date | 3 July 2016 00:05 AST (UTC+03) |
| Target | Western-style shopping centre in a multicultural & multi-faith district of Baghdad. |
Attack type | Truck bombing, suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 347+ |
| Injured | 250+ |
| Perpetrator | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Motive | Loss of Fallujah |
ISIL issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, naming the suicide bomber as Abu Maha al-Iraqi. There were reports that the source of the blast was a refrigerator van packed with explosives. The explosion caused a huge fire on the main street. Several buildings, including the popular Hadi Center, were badly damaged.
On 18 October 2021, Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced that Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, the man behind the bombing was arrested by Iraqi security forces.