BAGHDAD -- Since the United States military withdrew from Iraq in the middle of last month, 434 Iraqis have been killed in attacks across the country, according to security officials, one of the highest tolls for that amount of time in the past few years. The latest attack occurred Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a car filled with explosives...
BAGHDAD -- A series of explosions in Shiite neighborhoods here killed nine people and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of sectarian attacks. No group claimed responsibility, but the bombings bore the hallmarks of others by the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which says it has shifted its attention to Shiites and sources of...
BAGHDAD -- A series of explosions ripped through Iraq's capital on Thursday, an ominous turn for a country reeling from a deepening political and sectarian crisis that erupted after the departure of the United States military. It was Baghdad's deadliest day in more than a year. The attacks began at 6:30 a.m. and transformed the morning commute into...
Bagdad er Iraks hovedstad. Byens befolkning er på ca. 5.772.000 (pr. 2003). Navnet Bagdad betyder dommerens have, dvs. stedet retssager afgjordes (bagh=have og dad=dommer på oldpersisk). Andre udlægninger af navnets oprindelse er Guds gave (også persisk) og fåreindhegning fra aramæisk.
Byen lå på den vestlige bred af floden Tigris, men har bredt sig milevidt. Bagdad var et mindre betydningsfuldt sted indtil araberne omkring 762 gjorde den til det persiske riges hovedstad i stedet for Ctesiphon og det muslimske riges hovedstad i stedet for Damaskus, så det samlede muslimske rige nu rakte fra Nordafrika til Persien.
Mongolerne erobrede byen og lovede at der ikke skulle ske nogen noget, hvis de overgav byen. Men mongolerne dræbte alle - også kvinder og børn.