Incident Summary:
08/07/2009: On Friday afternoon at 1300, in Shirakhan, Ninawa, Iraq, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near a Shiite Turkmen mosque as worshippers were leaving a joint prayer and funeral service, killing 39 civilians, wounding 276 others, and destroying the mosque and a dozen surrounding houses. There was no motive reported and no group claimed responsibility, but authorities suspected the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) was responsible.
Overview
GTD ID:
200908070008
When:
2009-08-07
Country:
Iraq
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Nineveh
City:
Jargan
Location Details:
The attack took place in Shirakhan, Ninawa.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Shiite Turkmen Mosque |
| Specific Description |
A Shiite Turkmen mosque |
| Nationality of Target |
Iraq |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Vehicle |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| A suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was used in the attack. |
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 |
The most recent available sources listed the fatalities for this attack from 36 to 39, and the injuries for this attack from 72 to 276, so the majority casualty figures have been used in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
40 Fatalities / 276 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
40 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
276 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| National Counterterrorism Center, "39 Civilians Killed, 276 Others Wounded in Suicide VBIED Attack by Suspected ISI in Shirakhan, Ninawa, Iraq," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, January 12, 2010. |
| presstv.ir, "Toll from Mosul Mosque Blast on Rise," http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102778§ionid=351020201 (August 07, 2009). |
| Voice of Iraq, "Mosul Mosque Blast Death Toll Up to 38, Wounded to 90," http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=117245 (August 07, 2009). |
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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