On 18 April , five massive car bombs , including two suicide bombers , exploded in mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad killing 198 people and wounding 251 others . The deadliest was in the mainly Shiite Sadriyah neighborhood in an attack on a market , which had already been hit by car bombs in previous attacks , where 140 people were killed and 148 were wounded . Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the Iraqi army colonel who was in charge of security in the area around the Sadriyah market . On the national level the Associated Press reported nearly 240 confirmed civilian fatalities making it the deadliest day since The Associated Press began recording daily nationwide deaths in May 2005 . The Department of Defense said the following , " It 's been a very bad day in Iraq , obviously , with the number of casualties that have taken place . ... But we 've always said that there are going to be good days and bad days ahead . With respect to casualties , this had been a very bad day , " according to their spokesman , Bryan Whitman
five massive car bombs
18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings
Operation Imposing Law