2022 Diyala massacre

On January 21, 2022, several Islamic State gunmen raided an Iraqi Army base in rural al-Azim district, Diyala Governorate.^[a][2] At least 11 Iraqi soldiers were killed in their sleep.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

2022 Diyala massacre
Part of the Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)
Date 12 January 2022 Location Al-Azim district, Diyala Governorate, Iraq Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Iraq	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Zargham Luay †	unknown
Casualties and losses
11 soldiers killed	unknown

The attacks began at around 3:00 AM when the gunmen entered the barracks, proceeding to gun down sleeping soldiers before the IS terrorists left.^[8][9] Eleven people, ten soldiers and one lieutenant, Zargham Luay, were killed in total.^[10][11] Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack via Telegram.^[12] The Iraqi federal government immediately condemned the incident, launching a retaliatory airstrike against IS targets south of Hatra in response.^[2][13][11] Barham Salih, former prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, also condemned the ISIL terrorist attacks.^[14]

The massacre was condemned by the governments of Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.^[15][16][10] Iraqi Kurdish president Nechirvan Barzani held a telephone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in which he denounced the attack and extended empathy to the people of Iraq.^[17] On January 25, 2022, the United Nations Security Council voted to condemn the killings. The UN-released document is available in three languages: English, Arabic, and Kurdish.^[18]

Notes

1. al-Azim is nearby the city of Baqubah.^[1]