2011 Al Diwaniyah bombing

On 21 June 2011, at approximately 7:30 am local time, a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the residence of the provincial governor in Al Diwaniyah, Iraq. The attack was reported as targeting the governor specifically, though he survived unharmed. At least 27 people were killed and more than 30 were wounded in the bombing.

A second explosion was reported to have occurred a short time after the initial blast, as emergency services personnel arrived at the scene to respond to the first attack.

The bombing took place during the morning shift change of security personnel assigned to the governor. Because of this timing, the majority of those killed and wounded were security personnel rather than civilians or officials.

This attack was described as the first major incident of its kind in the city since two prior attacks: a 2009 bombing involving explosives attached to a bus that killed six people, and a 2007 roadside bomb that targeted a police patrol and killed seven officers.

In the aftermath, the bombing intensified political debate in Iraq, particularly among major political factions, over whether United States forces should remain in the country for security purposes. This debate occurred against the backdrop of a scheduled withdrawal of remaining U.S. troops by 31 December 2011. While some observers felt that overall violence in Iraq had decreased in the preceding period, others expressed concern about the security situation once the U.S. troop withdrawal was completed.

No individual has been named as a perpetrator, charged, or convicted in connection with this attack.