The April 2007 Yazidi massacre was a
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
of
Yazidis
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...
that took place on April 22, 2007, in
Mosul
Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
, in northern Iraq.
Massacre
At around 2PM (GMT+3), a bus carrying workers from the Mosul Textile Factory en route to
Bashiqa
Bashiqa (; ; ) is a town situated at the heart of the Nineveh Plains, Nineveh plain, between Mosul and Shekhan District, Sheikhan, on the edges of Mount Alfaf, Mount Maqlub. The inhabitants of the town are predominantly Yazidis.
The urban area of ...
,
Al-Hamdaniya District was stopped by cars owned by unidentified attackers. With the bus now stationary, the attackers got on, and checked the passengers' identity cards. According to
Iraqi police, after checking their identification, the armed gunmen told the
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
passengers to get off the bus. They then drove the bus to eastern Mosul with 23 remaining passengers, all
Yazidis, where the hostages were made to lie face down in front of a wall and shot, execution-style.
Reactions
According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', hundreds of Yazidis from Bashiqa gathered in the street to protest the killings.
See also
*
Qahtaniyah bombings, later that same year in August 2007
*
Genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State
The Yazidi genocide was perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017. It was characterized by massacres, genocidal rape, and forced conversions to Islam. The Yazidis are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking people wh ...
*
Sinjar massacre
The Sinjar massacre () marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidis, Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yazidi massacre, 04-2007
2007 murders in Iraq
Spree shootings in Iraq
Massacres in 2007
Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2007
Persecution of Yazidis in Iraq
Hostage taking in Iraq
April 2007 in Iraq
Mosul in the Iraq War
Deaths by firearm in Iraq
April 2007 crimes in Asia
Massacres of the Iraq War
Terrorist incidents in Mosul
Mass murder in Mosul
Terrorist incidents on buses in Iraq
2007 road incidents
2000s road incidents in Asia
Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators
Unsolved mass murders