Iraq Body Count urgently needs your support to keep track of casualties - help us with a donation now

 

Early in 2007, our primary data collector noticed a trend that continued, and worsened, as the year went on.

This article provides an update on that troubling development.

Large bombings claim ever more lives

2007 sees the worst bombings ever – and more of them

4 Oct 2007

Iraq Body Count’s research shows that 27,000 civilian deaths from violence were reported in 2006. This represents a huge increase compared to preceding years: 14,000 killed in 2005, 10,500 in 2004 and just under 12,000 in 2003 (7,000 during the actual war/invasion, and another 5,000 during the ‘peace’ that followed).

Early indications are that roughly 20,000 violent civilian deaths will be recorded for the first 9 months of 2007. By year’s end, 2007 looks to be the second-worst calendar year for violence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, trailing only behind 2006, and still almost twice as deadly for civilians as the first year.

One measure by which 2007 quickly exceeded 2006 was in major ground-based bombing attacks which killed more than 50 civilians (and sometimes far more). Throughout all of 2006 there were 12 such attacks. Between January and April 2007 there were already 13. As of this writing, there have been 20 such attacks in 2007, claiming well over 2,000 civilian lives, with the worst-ever of these attacks occurring in August and killing over 500.

Altogether, there have been 49 of these attacks since 2003, killing 4,454 to 4,632 civilians, and probably more.

The death tolls from these large-scale incidents are well-reported: on average, each of the incidents listed here received 33 independent media reports, including updates to the death toll, ranging up to 92 reports for the largest incident. Even so, these attacks leave many wounded, some of whom may have died from their injuries after the last of these reports were collected. This makes it likely that more civilians may have died from them than the 4,454 to 4,362 recorded here.

The following table charts the 49 incidents recorded between March 2003 and September 2007:

2003 Total 83–95
k1100 Aug 29: 83–95 at Imam Ali mosque, Najaf
2004 Total 608–611
k021 Feb 01: 107–109 by suicide bombers in party offices in Irbil
k013 Feb 10: 55 killed by truck bomb in Iskandariyah
k022 Mar 02: 121 by suicide bombers in Karbala
k023 Mar 02: 67 by suicide bombers, Kazimiya, Baghdad
k136 Apr 21: 74 in bombings in Basra and Zubair
k251 Jun 24: 61 in multiple bombings in Mosul
k314 Jul 28: 70 by suicide car bomb in Baqouba
k707 Dec 19: 53–54 in suicide car bomb attack in Najaf
2005 Total 631–701
k991 Feb 28 : 125–136 by suicide car bomb in Hilla
k1023 Mar 10: 50–51 by suicide bomber in Mosul
k1260 May 04: 45–60 by suicide bomb, Arbil
k1618 Jul 16: 98 by suicide bomber near tanker, Musayyib
k1903 Sep 14: 111–114 by suicide bomb, Kadhimiya, Baghdad
k1981 Sep 29: 99–102 by car bombs in Balad
k2170 Nov 18: 74–90 by suicide car bombs in Khanaqin
k2172 Nov 19: 19–50 by suicide car bomb, Abu Sayda
2006 Total 918–977
k2381 Jan 05: 49–60 by suicide bomber in Karbala
k2382 Jan 05: 55–80 by suicide bomber in Ramadi
k2690 Mar 12: 57–58 by car bombs, mortars, Sadr City, Baghdad
k2860 Apr 07: 87–90 at Baratha mosque, northern Baghdad
k3358 Jul 01: 68 by car bomb in Sadr City, Baghdad
k3456 Jul 17: 60–72 in attack on market, Mahmudiya
k3458 Jul 18: 58–59 by suicide car bomb in Kufa
k3659 Aug 13: 72–76 in multiple attacks, Zaafaraniya, Baghdad
k3823 Aug 31: 67 killed in multiple incidents, east Baghdad
k4710 Nov 23: 215 by bombs, mortars in Sadr City, Baghdad
k4750 Dec 02: 61 in 3 car bomb attacks, Sadriya, Baghdad
k4851 Dec 12: 69–71 by suicide car bombs, Tayeran Square, Baghdad
2007 Total 2218–2248 (to end September )
k5154 Jan 16: 69–70 by car bombs and suicide bomber, Mustansiriya University, Baghdad
k5222 Jan 22: 88 by car bombs, Bab al-Sharji, Baghdad
k5337 Feb 01: 73 by suicide bombers in Hilla market
k5356 Feb 03: 136–137 by suicide truck bomb in market, Sadriya, Baghdad
k5457 Feb 12: 81–90 by several bombs, Shorja market, Baghdad
k5508 Feb 18: 62–63 by car bombs in market, New Baghdad
k5554 Feb 24: 56 by truck bomb in Habaniya
k5659 Mar 06: 118–120 Shiite pilgrims by suicide bombers in Hilla
k5897 Mar 27: 152 by truck bombs in market, Tal Afar
k5922 Mar 29: 53 by car bombs in Khalis
k5923 Mar 29: 80–82 by suicide bombers in market, Shaab, north Baghdad
k6112 Apr 18: 140 by car bomb, Sadriya food market, Baghdad
k6218 Apr 28: 73–74 by suicide car bomb in Kerbala
k6382 May 13: 49–50 by suicide truck bomb, Makhmour, near Arbil
k6733 Jun 19: 86–87 by suicide truck bomb, near Khillani Shiite mosque, Sinak, Baghdad
k6891 Jul 07: 159-160 by suicide truck bomb in market, Amerli, near Tuz Khurmato
k6985 Jul 16: 84–86 in three bombings in Kirkuk
k7080 Jul 26: 92 by truck bomb in market, Saba Qsour intersection, Karrada, Baghdad
k7132 Aug 01: 49–50 by suicide fuel tanker bomb, Mansour, west Baghdad
k7225 Aug 14: 516–525 by suicide fuel tanker bombs in Yasidi villages, Sinjar area