11 May 2016 Baghdad Bombings

In May 2016, the Islamic State (IS) conducted a series of bombing attacks in and around Shia neighbourhoods in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, killing and wounding hundreds of people. According to IS statements, the attacks were aimed at Shia fighters, though the victims were overwhelmingly civilians.

The attacks occurred against a backdrop of ongoing conflict in which Iraqi Shia militias were fighting alongside the Iraqi army against IS. Sadr City, a predominantly Shia district of Baghdad, had previously been targeted by IS; in February 2016, a pair of bombings there killed 52 people. The market bombed on 11 May 2016 was one of the four main outdoor shopping venues in Sadr City.

On 11 May 2016, a truck bomb exploded in a crowded outdoor market in the eastern part of Sadr City, killing mostly women and children. According to an eyewitness, the bomb had been placed in a pickup truck loaded with fruit and vegetables; the truck was parked and its driver disappeared into the crowd before the explosion, which was strong enough to jolt the ground. IS claimed responsibility, stating on social media that it intended to target Shiite fighters, and claimed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber — a claim Iraqi officials denied.

Later that same day, a suicide attack occurred in the Shiite Kadhimiya neighbourhood, killing 18 people and wounding 43. In the Jamea district of western Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in the afternoon, killing at least 13 people. A separate car bomb explosion on al-Rabie' street in western Baghdad killed at least seven people and wounded twenty others.

Additional attacks, some attributed to IS, took place outside Baghdad on the same day. Near Baqubah, five mortar shells struck residential houses, killing two civilians and wounding three others. Also near Baqubah, a roadside explosive device detonated as a taxi passed, injuring two occupants. Separately, IS reported that five young volunteers had shot five Iraqi soldiers accused of apostasy.

A further wave of bombings followed on 17 May 2016. A suicide bombing in the all-Shia Sha'ab district killed 41 people and wounded more than 70. A car bomb in Sadr City killed at least 30 and wounded 57. A car bomb in the majority-Shia al-Rashid suburb south of the capital killed six and wounded 21. A parked car bomb in a market in the Dora neighbourhood of southern Baghdad killed eight and wounded 22. A suicide bomber targeted a restaurant in the Habibiya neighbourhood, killing nine and wounding 18. A bomb blast in al-Rashid killed one person and wounded another, and a bomb near a market in the al-Amin neighbourhood of eastern Baghdad killed two and wounded seven.

No individuals have been named or charged in connection with these attacks in the available reporting.