View source for 2005 Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster

{{Short description|2005 crowd crush in Iraq}}
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{{Infobox event
| title = Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster
| image = Al-Aaimmah bridge area.PNG
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| caption = Pilgrims crossed east from Al Kazimiyah (Al Kadimiyah) over A'imma (Al-Aimmah) bridge
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| date = {{start date|2005|08|31}}
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| location = [[Al-Aimmah Bridge]], Baghdad, Iraq
| coordinates = {{coord|33.374898|44.355208|region:IQ_type:event|display=inline,title}}
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| type = [[Crowd collapses and crushes|Crowd crush]], bridge collapse
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| reported deaths = 965
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The '''Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster''' ({{Langx|ar|كارثة جسر الائمة|lit=Bridge of the [[Imam]]s disaster}}) occurred on August 31, 2005 when 965 people died following a [[panic]], and subsequent [[Crowd collapses and crushes|crowd crush]], on the [[Al-Aaimmah bridge|Al-Aaimmah Bridge]], which crosses the [[Tigris]] river in the Iraqi capital of [[Baghdad]]. 

The incident was "the single biggest loss of Iraqi life since the US-led invasion in 2003".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2005-08-31 |title=Iraq stampede deaths near 1,000 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199618.stm |access-date=2024-12-03 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Incident==
At the time of the disaster, around one million [[pilgrim]]s had gathered around or were marching toward [[Al Kadhimiya Mosque]], the shrine of the [[Shi'ite Imam]] [[Musa al-Kazim]]. Tensions had been high within the crowd. Earlier in the day, seven people had been killed and dozens more wounded in a [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] attack upon the assembled crowd for which an [[Al-Qaeda]]-linked [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|insurgent]] group claimed responsibility.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-08-31 |title=Al-Qaeda linked group claims mortar attack in Iraq that led to stampede |url=http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2005/08/31/afx2199216.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112093523/http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2005/08/31/afx2199216.html |archive-date=2006-01-12 |website=Forbes}}</ref> Near the shrine, rumors of an imminent [[suicide bomb]] attack broke out, panicking many pilgrims. [[Interior Minister of Iraq|Interior Minister]] [[Bayan Baqir Solagh]] said that one person "pointed a finger at another person saying that he was carrying explosives...and that led to the panic". The man was presumed to be wearing a suicide [[explosive belt]] on the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-09-01|title=950-die-in-stampede-on-baghdad-bridge|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/world/middleeast/950-die-in-stampede-on-baghdad-bridge.html|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

The panicked crowd flocked to the bridge, which had been closed. Somehow, the gate at their end of the bridge opened, and  the pilgrims rushed through. Some people fell onto the concrete base and died instantly. The ensuing crush of people caused many to suffocate. The pressure of the crowd caused the bridge's iron railings to give way,<ref name=":0" /> dropping hundreds of people {{convert|9|m|ft|abbr=in}} into the Tigris river. There was nowhere on the bridge for the people to go, as the other end of the bridge remained closed, and was impossible to open anyway, as it opened inward.

===Attempts to rescue people===
People dived in from both ends of the bridge trying to help those drowning in the river. On the [[A'dhamiyyah|Sunni side]], calls went out from the loudspeakers of local [[mosque]]s to help those in trouble. A Sunni Arab teenager, Othman Ali Abdul-Hafez ({{langx|ar|عُـثْـمَـان عَـلِي عَـبْـدُ الْـحَـافِـظ}}, ''‘Uthmān ‘Alī ‘Abdul-Ḥāfiẓ''), succumbed to exhaustion and drowned as he rescued people in the water. He was later praised as a "[[Shahid (martyr)|martyr]]" by Iraqi politicians.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4214926.stm |title=Sunni rescuer hailed as Iraq hero |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=2005-09-05 |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
A three-day mourning period<ref name=":0" /> was announced by [[Prime Minister of Iraq|Iraqi Prime Minister]] [[Ibrahim al-Jaafari]]. [[President of Iraq|Iraqi President]] [[Jalal Talabani]] said the catastrophe "will leave a scar in our souls and will be remembered with those who died in the result of terror acts." Many of the dead were buried in the holy Shia Islamic town of [[Najaf]].

There was some political fallout also from the event, with [[Mutalib Mohammad Ali]], the [[Minister for Health]], blaming the defence ministers for not doing enough to secure the area. However, the prime minister dismissed any calls for resignation for any ministry.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-09-01 |title=Iraq head defiant after stampede |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4203396.stm |access-date=2024-12-03 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

After the disaster, a few commentators in the Western media speculated that given the scale of the incident it might tip the country into a [[civil war]] by antagonizing the [[Shi'a]] community. However, there was no immediate surge in sectarian violence. Opposition groups blamed the government and security forces for failing to prevent the incident. However, these groups themselves often encourage high turn-outs at religious events to prove the relative strength of their sect. Another factor leading to a high turn-out at Shia religious events is the fact such events were banned under [[Saddam Hussein]], and so many attend to express faith in a way they were banned from doing for decades.

==World reaction==

Governments and world leaders offered their condolences after the catastrophe:
*{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Syria]]n Foreign ministry official quoted by state [[news agency]] [[Syrian Arab News Agency|Sana]]:
:"The Syrian government and people express their sympathy to Iraqis and to the families of the victims, and they wait for the day when security, stability and progress reign in the country."<ref name=theage>{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/iraq/iran-blames-disaster-on-suspicious-hands/2005/09/01/1125302657791.html |title=Iran blames disaster on 'suspicious hands' |publisher=The Age |date=2005-09-01 |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|Iran}} [[Iran]] Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Hamid Reza Asefi]]:
:"[Iran offers its] condolences and sympathy with the Iraqi people and government. Suspicious hands are involved in conspiracies to incite violence and bloodshed among the different Iraqi groups and tribes so that they disturb the security and calm of the Iraqi people"<ref name=theage/>
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] [[Jack Straw (politician)|Jack Straw]], speaking on behalf of the [[European Union|EU]] and the UK –  holder of the EU presidency:
:"It is still not clear exactly what started the stampede which led to these hundreds of deaths and injuries. However, it is clear that the same crowd of Shia pilgrims, celebrating an important Shia religious festival, had earlier suffered a mortar attack... I condemn utterly this despicable act of terrorism against innocent civilians just as I condemn, too, those that continue to use violence and terror more widely in order to further their aims in Iraq. The depravity of these individuals who commit these acts of terrorism against their fellow Muslims sadly knows no bounds."<ref name=bbc>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4203124.stm |title=Reaction to Iraq stampede |publisher=BBC News |date=2005-08-31 |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States Department of State]] spokesman [[Sean McCormack]]:
:"The [[United States]] deeply regrets the tragic loss of life of worshipers in Kadhimiya, Baghdad today... Our sincere condolences and thoughts and prayers go out to the many Iraqi families who lost loved ones in this tragedy."<ref name=bbc/> The stampede received relatively little attention in the U.S. media because it occurred just two days after [[Hurricane Katrina]] struck the [[Gulf Coast]], the aftermath of which continued to dominate headlines.
*{{flagicon|Arab League}} [[Amr Mussa]], [[Arab League]] [[Secretary General]]:
:"[We need a] redoubling of Arab efforts to support the Iraqi people in their sad hour."<ref name=bbc/>
*{{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan]] President [[Pervez Musharraf]]:
:"It is with most profound sadness and grief that I had learnt about the death of hundreds of pilgrims in Baghdad."<ref name=bbc/>
*{{flagicon|United Nations}} [[UN]] spokeswoman [[Marie Okabe]]:
:"The secretary general has learned with great sadness of the human tragedy that took place today in Baghdad."<ref name=bbc/>

==See also==
* [[List of fatal crowd crushes]]
* [[Karbala stampede]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikinews|Several hundred killed after stampede in Baghdad}}
* [[CNN]]: [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/09/01/iraq.main/index.html "Iraq mourns 965 stampede victims"]
* [[Reuters]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20050911031732/http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-09-01T022244Z_01_DIT131351_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-IRAQ-DC.XML "Iraq mourns as stampede loss overshadows war"]
* ''[[The Times]]'' (London): [https://web.archive.org/web/20060106152909/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1758443_1,00.html Panicked pilgrims were crushed or leapt for their lives into Tigris]
* ''[[The Guardian]]'' (London): [https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1560359,00.html "A cry of suicide bomber, and 700 perish in Iraq stampede"]
**[https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1560227,00.html "They were crying to be rescued. But there was no way to help them. It was survival"]
* [[Iraq War documents leak|Iraq Warlogs]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721080314/http://www.wikileaks.ch/id/8C6468B5-12D2-435C-A960-1C0BF0AE7DE7/ Corresponding Iraq Warlogs event]

{{Human stampedes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster, 2005}}
[[Category:2005 in Baghdad]]
[[Category:2005 disasters in Iraq]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters in Iraq]]
[[Category:Human stampedes in 2005]]
[[Category:Impacts of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:Disasters in Baghdad]]
[[Category:Building and structure collapses in 2005]]
[[Category:Crowd collapses and crushes in Asia]]
[[Category:August 2005 in Iraq]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by overloading]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by terrorism]]
[[Category:Tigris River]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by warfare]]
[[Category:History of the Tigris–Euphrates river system]]