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.

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.

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 sometimes referred to as an act of "suicide terrorism". While generally not inherently regulated under international law, suicide attacks in their execution often violate international laws of war, such as prohibitions against perfidy and targeting civilians.

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 Syria in 2013, but lost most of it in 2017 and 2019. In 2014, the group proclaimed itself to be a worldwide caliphate, and claimed religious and political authority over all Muslims worldwide, a claim not accepted by the vast majority of Muslims. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and many countries around the world, including Muslim countries.

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 Muhammad's companions at the meeting of Saqifa, during which they appointed Abu Bakr as caliph instead. As such, Sunni Muslims believe Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali to be 'rightly-guided caliphs', whereas Shia Muslims regard only Ali as the legitimate successor.