Dujail Massacre

Dujail massacre
Part of sectarian violence in Iraq
Dujail Location of Dujail within Iraq
Location	Dujail, Saladin Governorate, Iraq
Coordinates	33°50′20″N 44°14′53″E / 33.83889°N 44.24806°E / 33.83889; 44.24806
Date	8 July 1982; 41 years ago (1982-07-08)
Target	Islamic Dawa Party
Attack type	Judicial reprisals
Deaths	142–148 Shia Muslims
Perpetrator	Iraqi Ba'athist Government
Motive	Retaliation for an unsuccessful assassination attempt by the Shia Islamic Dawa Party against the then President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein

The Dujail massacre was a mass killing of Shiite rebels by the Ba'athist Iraqi government on 8 July 1982 in Dujail, Iraq. The massacre was committed in retaliation to an earlier assassination attempt by the Iranian-backed Islamic Dawa Party against the then President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. The town of Dujail had a large Shia population, with 75,000 residents at the time of the incident, and was a well-known stronghold of the Dawa Party. It is located approximately 53 km (33 mi) from the capital of Baghdad, in the Sunni-majority Saladin Governorate of Iraq.

Hundreds of men, women and children were detained after the failed assassination attempt; more than 140 people were sentenced and executed^[1] for their alleged involvement in the plot, including four people who were mistakenly killed during the mass executions. Hundreds more were sent into exile and their houses, farms and properties were demolished.

Following his capture and subsequent trial during the Iraq War, Saddam Hussein was hanged on 30 December 2006 for crimes against humanity in connection with his involvement in the Dujail massacre. Many others, including Hussein's brother, were also sentenced and executed for crimes against humanity.