In the Miqdadiyah bombing: at least 40 people are killed and 58 others wounded following a suicide bombing by ISIL at a Shi'ite funeral in the city of Miqdadiyah, Diyala, Iraq.

2016 Miqdadiyah bombing

The death toll in a suicide bombing in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala rose to 50. A further 58 people were wounded in the attack at a funeral for a Shi'ite Muslim militia fighter in Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of Baghdad.

Suicide attack

Violent tactic resulting in the attacker's intentional death

A suicide attack is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators intentionally end their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are…

Islamic State

Salafi jihadist militant organisation

The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisation and was a unrecognised quasi-state. IS occupied significant territory in Iraq and…

Shia Islam

Second-largest branch of Islam

Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to have been usurped by a number of…

Miqdadiyah

Place in Diyala, Iraq

Miqdadiyah is a city in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq. Its population is a mix of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen. The city is located about 80 km northeast of Baghdad and 30 km northeast of Baquba.

Diyala Governorate

Governorate of Iraq

Diyala Governorate or Diyala Province is a governorate in northeastern Iraq.

February 29

Day of the year

February 29 is a leap day —an intercalary date added periodically to create leap years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the 60th day of a leap year in both Julian and Gregorian calendars, and 306 days remain until the end of the leap year. It is the last day of…