The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in the area of modern Iraq, and does not include collateral damage, especially from raids and airstrikes, which were due to mistaken identity or unfortunately getting caught in the line of fire.
Pre-20th century DateLocationAttackDeaths (Alleged) PerpetratorNotesSource29 January – 10 February 1258 BaghdadSiege of Baghdad (1258)200,000 – 2,000,000 Mongol Empire Kingdom of Georgia Armenian Kingdom of Ciliciaestimates range from 200,000 to 2,000,000 civilian deathsAndre Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol. 2, (Brill, 2002), 13.The different aspects of Islamic culture: Science and technology in Islam, Vol.4, Ed. A. Y. Al-Hassan, (Dergham sarl, 2001), 655.21 April 1802 KarbalaWahhabi sack of Karbala2,000-5,000 Emirate of DiriyahAbout 12,000 Wahhabi Sunnis under the command of Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, the second ruler of the First Saudi State attack and sack Karbala, kill between 2,000 and 5,000 inhabitants and plunder the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Pre-Saddam 20th Century DateLocationAttackDeaths(Alleged) perpetratorNotesSource1915-1917 Northern IraqYazidi genocide (1915)300,000-500,000Ottoman forces, Kurdish tribesThe Yazidis were killed in mass, deported and forcefully converted to Islam, nearly wiped out their population.4 May 1924 Kirkuk1924 Kirkuk massacre200-300Assyrian LeviesAssyrian Levies massacre an estimated 200-300 people after a Turkmen shop keeper and Assyrian soldier get into an argument.7 August 1933 – 11 August 1933 Northern Kingdom of Iraq, notably at SimeleSimele massacreSeveral hundred (British estimate) "At other villages batches of men were killed, the total number aggregating 550." "Nearly 1,000 men, women and children were killed by Iraqi armed forces – and their villages were looted by Kurdish tribesmen."3,000–6,000 (Assyrian estimate) Royal Iraqi Army (led by Bakr Sidqi, Arab and Kurdish tribesthe Iraqi army massacred 600–3,000 Assyrian Christians1935–1936 Kingdom of Iraq1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts200Kingdom of Iraq, Iraqi Shia tribesmen, Ikha PartySeries of Shia tribal uprisings in the mid-Euphrates region against the Sunni dominated authority of the Kingdom of Iraq. In each revolt, the response of the Iraqi government was to use military force to crush the rebellions with little mercy1–2 June 1941 BaghdadFarhud~180 to 1,000+ Jews killed~300–400 pogromists killed during suppressionRashid Ali, Yunis al-Sabawi, al-Futuwa youths, and Iraqi mobsConsidered "The Beginning of The End of The Jewish Community of Iraq12 July 1946 KirkukGavurbağı massacre16-20Iraqi policeTurkmen protestors were massacredJanuary 1948 BaghdadAl-Wathbah uprising300-400 Iraqi PoliceIt is estimated that 300 – 400 demonstrators were killedRey, Matthieu. "Manifester en Irak en 1948", Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire, 2010, p. 25-38April 1950 – June 1951 Baghdad1950–1951 Baghdad bombings3–4Iraqi Zionist agents, Israeli Mossad agents, Iraqi Istiqlal Party agentsSeries of bombings of Jewish targets in Baghdad14 July 1959 Kirkuk1959 Kirkuk massacre71-79 Iraqi Communist Party, Fourth BrigadeKurdish members of the Iraqi Communist Party target Turkmens leaving an estimated 20 dead. This was followed by Kurdish soldiers from the Fourth Brigade targeting Turkmen residential areas with mortars, causing the destruction of 120 homes. Between 31 and 79 Turkmen were killed with 130 wounded. The Iraqi government referred to the incident as a "massacre".27 January 1969 Baghdad1969 Baghdad hangings14 Arab Socialist Ba'ath PartyIraqi authorities hanged 14 Iraqis for allegedly spying for Israel during a public execution in Baghdad; nine were Jewish, three were Muslim and two were Christian16 September 1969 SuryaSurya massacre47 Ba'athist regimeThe Iraqi military headed by Lieutenant Abdul Karim al-Jahayshee massacred 47 people in the Assyrian village of Soriya (Ṣawriyā) including the Chaldean priest Ḥannā Yaʻqūb Qāshā and left 22 wounded.HMML Hill Museum & Manuscript Library1975 NajafNajaf purges100 Ba'athist regimeOver 100 Shi’ite clerics killed and 1250 arrested.4-9 February 1977 Najaf and Karbala1977 Shia uprising in Iraqunknown Ba'athist regimeDespite brutally enforced ban on public religiousness, thousands of people defy it and head to Karbala during the Arba'een Pilgrimage. Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested by the regime.
Saddam Era DateLocationAttackDeaths (Alleged) PerpetratorNotesSource22 July 1979 Khuld hall1979 Ba'ath Party Purge21 Ba'athist regime organized by Saddam HusseinInternal purge of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party after the new president Saddam Hussein assumed power and alleged a Syrian back coup d'etat. 68 people were arrested, of which 21 were executed by firing squad. 1968–2003 Ba'athist IraqBa'athist Arabization campaigns in northern Iraq2,500Routine calculations do not count as original research, provided there is consensus among editors that the result of the calculation is obvious, correct, and a meaningful reflection of the sources. Basic arithmetic, such as adding numbers, converting units, or calculating a person's age are some examples of routine calculations. See also Category:Conversion templates. https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB14.1C.GIF row 1313 and 1314 1,000,000 and 10,000 to 2,000,000 and 100,000 Kurds were displaced and killed respectively between 1963 and 1987; 250,000 of them in 1977 and 1978. If deaths are proportional to the displacement then 2,500 to 12,500 Kurds would have died during this period depending on the scale of overall displacement and deaths used. to 12,500 Arab Socialist Ba'ath PartyBetween 1968 and 2003, the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party of the Iraqi Republic perpetrated multiple campaigns of demographic engineering against the country's non-Arabs. While Arabs constitute the majority of Iraq's population as a whole, they are not the majority in parts of northern Iraq, and a minority in Iraqi Kurdistan. In an attempt to Arabize the north, the Iraqi government pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing, killing and forcefully displacing a large number of Iraqi minorities—predominantly Kurds, but also Turkmen, Yazidis, Assyrians, Shabaks, Mandaeans, and Armenians, among others—and subsequently allotting the cleared land to Arab settlers1980s Ba'athist IraqPersecution of Shi'a muslims and political dissidents under Saddam Hussein50,000-70,000 Shi'a and 50,000 dissidents disappeared. Full death toll unknown.Saddam Hussein50,000 to 70,000 Shi'a, and 50,000 opposition activists, communists, Kurds and other minorities disappeared into Iraqi prisons in the 1980s1970-2003 NationwidePersecution of Feyli Kurds under Saddam Hussein25,000 killed Saddam Hussein, Tariq AzizMay 7, 1980, Persecution of Feyli Kurds under Saddam Hussein, Nationwide; 15,000–25,000 Feyli Kurds were targeted in a genocide via exportation and forced relocations.8 July 1982 DujailDujail massacre148 Iraqi Ba'ath PartyJudicial reprisal targeting Shia Muslims following a failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein by the Islamic Dawa Party. Saddam would eventually be executed for crimes against humanity in relation to the massacre.10 May 1983 Specific location unknownMassacre of the Hakim familyHundredsSaddam HusseinSaddam ordered further arrest of all Hakim family. Hundreds were killed and buried in mass graves.July–August 1983 Kurdistan RegionRepression of Barzani Kurds under Ba'ath regime8000Saddam HusseinIn July and August 1983, on the orders of President Saddam Hussein, over 8,000 men and boys of the Barzani Kurds, some as young as 13, were killed by the Ba'athist Iraq.16 March 1984 Abu Ghraib prisonAbu Ghraib purge4000 Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq RegionA mass grave was discovered at the Abu Ghraib prison, containing the bodies of thousands following a purge. Estimated 4000 dead.23 February – 6 September 1988 Kurdistan RegionAnfal Campaign50,000–182,000Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Hussein RashidCounter insurgency operation during the Iran–Iraq War targeting primarily Kurds, as well as other minority groups that had allegedly collaborated with the Iranian Army. During the campaign, the Iraqi government made extensive use of chemical weapons which resulted in thousands of casualties. Use of enforced disappearances, mass deportation and detention camps were also present. The operation is recognized as a genocide by Human Rights Watch.GENOCIDE IN IRAQ Human Rights Watch, 1993The Crimes of Saddam Hussein – 1988 The Anfal Campaign PBS Frontline16 March 1988 Halabja, Kurdistan RegionHalabja massacre3,200–5,000 Iraqi RepublicIraqi government used chemical weapons on Kurdish town, At least 3,200–5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 7,000-10,000 people were injured or suffered long-term illness.13 February 1991 Al-A'amiriya, BaghdadAmiriyah shelter bombing408+ United States Air ForceTwo laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing 408+ civilians of Iraqis. US military intelligence claims it was a military facility while Iraqi officials identify it as a bomb shelter1 March – 5 April 1991 nationwide1991 Iraqi uprisings25,000–180,000 killed (Predominantly civilians) Iraqi Republic, In response to multiple insurrections led by a variety of Kurdish, Leftist and Shia Islamist groups, the Iraqi government violently repressed the rebellion. Chemical weapons and nerve agents such as Mustard Gas, Sarin and Phosgene were allegedly used, though this has been disputed.28 March 1991Altun Kupri, Kirkuk Governorate1991 Altun Kupri massacre1,000-3,500 Iraqi Army on the order of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi Ba'ath Party, Arab nationalistsThe massacre targeted Turkmens, in particular males, both children and adults alike, and was organized by security forces affiliated with Saddam Hussein's army7 October 1991Sulaymaniyah, Sulaymaniyah GovernorateSulaymaniyah massacre60+ Kurdish fighters (allegedly affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party)Executed unarmed and surrendered Iraqi Army soldiers following the 1991 uprisings. Witnessed by journalists and condemned by human rights organizations.
After 2003 May 19, 2004 – Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre, refers to the U.S. military's attack on a wedding party in Mukaradeeb, a small village in Anbar Province, Iraq near the border with Syria, on 19 May 2004. The attack killed 42 civilians and wounded many others.
August 1, 2004 – 2004 church bombings in Baghdad and Mosul, Baghdad and Mosul; 12 died, 71 injured.
September 12, 2004 – Haifa Street helicopter incident that killed at least 13 civilians by American helicopters.
October 24, 2004 – Massacre of New Iraqi Army recruits by Sunni insurgents, 49 killed. November 19, 2005 Haditha massacre, Haditha 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by United States Marines. March 12, 2006 Mahmudiyah rape and killings on by U.S. Army soldiers, 4 killed. March 15, 2006, the Ishaqi massacre, where four women and five children, one aged five months were allegedly killed by U.S. Forces. This was denied by the Americans, who said a building collapsed during a firefight, killing four people—a suspect, two women and a child. March 2006, US troops killed 4 Iraq prisoners. Between May 7 and 8, 2006, 51 bodies were found in Baghdad, all handcuffed, blindfolded and shot in the head and abdomen. July 9, 2006, Hayy Al-Jihad massacre on by Shia militia, 40 killed. April 23, 2007, April 2007 Yazidi massacre, Mosul; 23 died; the murders were considered to be a reprisal for the honor killing of a 17-year-old Yazidi girl. On April 17, 2007, 51 bodies of Iraqi civilians and military personnel, who were killed in the previous two years, were found in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad. June 29, 2007, Al Ahamir Massacre, Al Ahamir, 10-14 Iraqi civilians were killed by Al Qaeda.