The 19 September 2010 Baghdad bombings were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 31 people, in two neighbourhoods of the capital.[1] Over a hundred more were wounded.[2] On 24 September the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]
Iraqis blamed the political deadlock in their country for the attacks as Iraqi authorities are struggling to form a unity government since March 2010 elections which rendered no single bloc to form a majority win and hence, depending upon each other, for forming a coalition government.[2][4]
Further the attacks in recent days also coincided with the USA's decision to downsize its troops in Iraq and handing over the security to Iraqi forces.[2][5]
On 19 September 2010 two car bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital almost simultaneously at around 10:10 am.[5] The first (and most powerful) car bomb exploded in the residential Mansour district killing 10 people.[4] The attack was in front of the local sales office of Asiacell (an Iraqi mobile phone company), although it is not clear if this was the specific target.[5][6]
Minutes later, a second attack occurred, in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of Al Kadhimiyah.[5] Apparently aimed at an office of the Iraqi Federal Police and the National Security Ministry in Adan Square, it killed approximately 21 people and injured 71.[4][7] A witness described the attack; "It was a minibus – the driver stopped and told people nearby that he was going to go see a doctor, a few minutes later, it exploded."[5]
