List of bombings during the Iraq War

Bombings were a regular occurrence during the Iraq War. They resulted in tens of thousands of casualties throughout the country, killing and wounding civilians and combatants alike. Many Iraqi insurgents favoured the tactic of suicide bombing, which was used at a particularly unprecedented scale against the American-led Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I). Additionally, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom collectively dropped 29,199 bombs on the country. This article does not list these aerial attacks, and instead concentrates on the smaller number of direct insurgent bombings during the sectarian conflict, when Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims fought each other on the one hand and the MNF–I on the other hand.

Insurgency

Most of the organized bombings were carried out by Sunni insurgents affiliated with Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Jama'at Ansar al-Sunna, and the Islamic State of Iraq, among others. The main targets of these bombings were MNF–I troops and private military contractors, as well as local Iraqi collaborators. Upon the outbreak of the Iraqi civil war in 2006, the various Sunni and Shia militant groups fighting in the country had effectively shifted their focus away from the MNF–I and began increasingly targeting Iraqi civilians on the basis of their sectarian affiliation.

A 2005 report by Human Rights Watch analyzed the Iraqi insurgency and highlighted: "The groups that are most responsible for the abuse, namely al-Qaeda in Iraq and its allies, Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic State of Iraq, have all targeted civilians for abductions and executions. The first two groups have repeatedly boasted about massive car bombs and suicide bombs in mosques, markets, bus stations and other civilian areas.