From 15 to 21 May 2013, a series of deadly bombings and shootings struck the central and northern parts of Iraq, with a few incidents occurring in towns in the south and far west as well. The attacks killed at least 449 people and left 732 others injured in one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in years.
Background
From a peak of 3,000 deaths per month in 2006–07, violence in Iraq decreased steadily for several years before beginning to rise again in 2012. In December 2012, Sunnis began to protest perceived mistreatment by the Shia-led government. The protests had been largely peaceful, but insurgents, emboldened by the war in neighboring Syria, stepped up attacks in the initial months of 2013. The number of attacks rose sharply after the Iraqi army raided a protest camp in Hawija on 23 April 2013. Overall, 712 people were killed in April according to UN figures, making it the nation's deadliest month in five years.
Post-Hawija targets have included both Sunni and Shia mosques, as well as security forces and tribal leaders. According to Mahmoud al-Sumaidaie, the deputy head of Iraq's Sunni Endowment, at least 29 Sunni mosques were attacked between mid-April and mid-May, resulting in the deaths of at least 65 worshippers. In contrast, only two Shiite places of worship were attacked during the same period, with a single person being killed. During the whole of 2012, a total of 10 Sunni mosques were attacked, signifying a recent increase in the sectarian nature of the insurgency.
Attacks
On 15 May, a total of nine car bombs struck the capital Baghdad, killing 23 people and injuring 108 others. All of the attacks targeted Shia civilians, with bombs exploding at a bus stop in Sadr City, as well as locations in Kadhimiya and New Baghdad. A pair of bombs detonated near government offices in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing 10 people and injuring 13 others, while 2 policemen were injured in a roadside bombing outside the city. A roadside blast in Mosul killed 2 policemen and injured another. A suicide bomber struck a checkpoint in Tarmiyah, killing 2 policemen and injuring 8 others. Mortar shelling killed a soldier in Akashat, near the border with Syria, while a bombing in Hammam al-Alil killed 2 soldiers and wounded 3 others. Blasts in Baqubah and Muqdadiyah killed a civilian and injured 5 others. Unidentified gunmen killed 2 Sahwa militiamen in Mehraijiya.
Attacks continued at a similar pace on 16 May, with 40 people killed and 107 injured across the country. In Kirkuk, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque where the memorial service for the victims of the previous day's bombings was taking place, killing 12 people and injuring 36 others. A separate bombing in the city killed 2 children. In the capital Baghdad, a car bombing killed 9 people and injured 28 others in Sadr City, while gunmen shot dead the brother of an Iraqiya party member and injured 2 of his bodyguards. Other attacks in the Kamaliya, Bayaa and Chkok neighborhoods killed 6 people and wounded 24 others, all of them civilians. Four bombings struck Mosul, killing 2 soldiers and injuring 13 others, including 5 members of the security forces. Bombings in Tarmiyah and Shirqat killed 4 police officers and injured 4 others. In addition, gunmen shot dead an employee of the civil defense agency in Fallujah.
Violence rose sharply on 17 May, as most of the incidents appeared to target Sunnis in apparent retaliation for previous attacks against Shiites. Twin bombings struck Baqubah, with the first bomb exploding as worshippers were leaving the town's main Sunni mosque after attending morning prayers. As people gathered to help the wounded, a second explosion occurred, inflicting even more damage than the first. At least 43 people were killed and 80 others were injured in the attacks, which were the second deadliest to ever hit the city after a July 2004 bombing at a police recruit center that killed 68 people. "I was about 30 meters from the first explosion. When the first exploded, I ran to help them, and the second one went off. I saw bodies flying and I had shrapnel in my neck," reported an eyewitness. The attack continued a trend of targeting Sunni mosques; about thirty were attacked between mid-April and mid-May. Baqubah was an important center for the insurgency during the height of the Iraq War and was declared to be the center of operations for the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006, before US troops moved in and forced the group to relocate. The city was the site of major attacks in 2004, 2008 and 2010.