Incident Summary:
02/24/2008: In Iskandariyah, Iraq, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest he was wearing in the midst of a pilgrimage of Shiites on their way to Karbala to celebrate Arbaeen. Fortyfive pilgrims were killed in this attack, and 68 civilians were injured according to Iraqi police. The US military, however, says there were 40 deaths and 60 injured. These individuals were members of the Sadrist movement and it is believed that the perpetrators of this attack were members of al-Qaeda, and the motivation behind this attack was to have al-Sadr terminate the ceasefire he extended. Five suspects were arrested in connection with the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200802240001
When:
2008-02-24
Country:
Iraq
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Babil
City:
Iskandariyah
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Iraqi Civilians |
| Specific Description |
A pilgrimage of Shiites en route to celebrate Arbaeen |
| Nationality of Target |
Iraq |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Suicide (carried bodily by human being) |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | Yes |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
Five suspects were arrested in connection with this attack, although their group affiliation was not reported. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
5 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
64 Fatalities / 68 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
64 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
68 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Amit R. Paley and Joshua Partlow, “Blast Kills at Least 40 Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq; Fighting in North Intensifies; Turkish Soldiers, Kurdish Guerrillas Clash for Fourth Day,” The Washington Post, February 25, 2008. |
| “Death toll from Iraq pilgrim bombing rises to 63" Suna News Agency, February 25, 2008. |
| “Iraq arrests five over attack on Shiite pilgrims,” Agence France Presse, February 26, 2008. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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