2004 Erbil bombings

{{Short description|Double suicide attack in Iraq}}

{{Infobox terrorist attack

| title = 2004 Erbil bombing

| partof = Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006) in Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)

| image = 1 Feb Memorial, Erbil.jpg

| caption = Memorial of 2004 Erbil bombing in Sami Abdulrahman Park

| location = Erbil, Kurdistan Region

| target = Headquarters of PUK and KDP

| date = February 1, 2004

| type = Suicide bombings

| fatalities = 117

| injuries = 133

| perps = Two Al-Qaeda members

| motive = PUK and KDP alliance with the United States

}}

{{Campaignbox Iraq War bombings}}

The 2004 Erbil bombings was a double suicide attack on the offices of Iraqi Kurdish political parties in Erbil, Kurdistan Region on 1 February 2004. The attackers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies as hundreds gathered to celebrate Eid Al-Adha in Erbil.{{Cite news |last=Gettleman |first=Jeffrey |last2=Wong |first2=Edward |date=February 1, 2004 |title=Twin Bombings in Northern Iraq Kill at Least 56 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/01/international/middleeast/twin-bombings-in-northern-iraq-kill-at-least-56.html |access-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210164916/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/01/international/middleeast/twin-bombings-in-northern-iraq-kill-at-least-56.html |url-status=live }}

A former government minister, the deputy governor of Erbil Governorate and the city's police chief were among those killed at the offices of the Kurdistan Region's main political groups, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The attacks occurred as party leaders were receiving hundreds of visitors to mark the start of Eid.

The Al-Hayat newspaper allegedly speculated that the bombings may have been retribution for the capture of bin Laden's courier Hassan Ghul in The Kurdistan Region.{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Juan |date=2004-02-03 |title=Were Irbil Bombings Revenge For Capture |url=https://www.juancole.com/2004/02/were-irbil-bombings-revenge-for-capture.html |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Informed Comment |language=en-US}}

"We have no group that's claimed responsibility," Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor said, saying al Qaeda or Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish Islamist group with suspected al Qaeda ties, could be responsible. "It could be any number of groups attempting to operate inside Iraq," he added.{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Death toll climbs in Iraq suicide blasts - Feb. 2, 2004 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/02/sprj.nirq.main/ |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=CNN |archive-date=2023-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307054705/https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/02/sprj.nirq.main/ |url-status=live }}