1 February 2008 Baghdad bombings

Infobox terrorist attack
title=1 February 2008 Baghdad bombings


caption=Location of Baghdad in Iraq
location=Baghdad, Iraq
target=
date=February 1, 2008
time-begin=
time-end=
timezone=UTC+3
type=Suicide bombs
fatalities=98
injuries=208
susperps=
perps=Unknown: legal proceedings have not yet taken place.The 1 February 2008 Baghdad bombings occurred on February 1, 2008, when two suicide bombings occurred in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

Details

A female bomber detonated explosives at about 10:20am at the popular al-Ghazl pet market in the centre of the Iraqi capital. A second bomb exploded at a bird market in southeast Baghdad's al-Jadida district about 20 minutes later. 98 people were killed and about 208 injured by the bomb blasts. [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3E658E4D-A543-4155-9813-BA356F698451.htm Al Jazeera English - News - Toll Rises In Baghdad Market Blasts ] ]

The two blasts were shortly before the call to Friday prayers when many Iraqis were shopping or meeting with friends. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7221639.stm BBC News: Twin bombs kill scores in Baghdad] , February 1, 2008]

Brigadier-General Qassim al-Moussawi, Iraq's chief military spokesman in Baghdad, said the women who carried the explosives were mentally handicapped and may have been unaware they were on a suicide mission. "We found the mobiles used to detonate the women," he said, referring to the remote detonated devices that were used in the attack. Initial reports were that both women had Down Syndrome, based on the anaylsis of their intact heads. But later reports were less clear on the issue, saying that the women suffered from depression and schizophrenia and it was unknown whether they had a condition that made them unable to understand what they were doing. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/middleeast/21iraq.html Files for Suicide Bombers Show No Down Syndrome - New York Times ] ]

The acting director of the al-Rashad psychiatric hospital, Dr. Sahi Aboub, was arrested in connection with the attack on February 10. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/iraq/2004191006_iraq20.html Iraq | Siege mentality at Baghdad hospital | Seattle Times Newspaper ] ] . It has been reported [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/patrick-cockburn-this-is-the-war-that-started-with-lies-and-continues-with-lie-after-lie-after-lie-797788.html Patrick Cockburn: This is the war that started with lies, and continues with lie after lie after lie - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent ] ] that Dr Aboub is a Shia Muslim and that the al Rashad hospital is run by the Shia Mehdi Army. However, the attacks occurred in primarily Shia areas of Baghdad.

Reactions

*flagcountry|Iraq: Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said the use of disabled people underlined the "terrorists' moral degradation". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7223769.stm BBC News: Iraq market bombs toll nears 100] , February 2, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7221915.stm BBC News: In pictures: Baghdad market blasts]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7222816.stm BBC News: Eyewitness: Iraqi markets blown to bits]