Attempted assassination of Abdul-Karim Qasim
Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim is lying in the hospital after the failure of the assassination attempt, From right to left: Farid Mahmoud, director of military movements, Hafez Alwan, the prime minister's aide, and the sons of Fadel Abbas Al-Mahdawi, president of the People's Court, standing on the left with Ismail Al-Arif, minister of education | |
| Date | October 7, 1959 |
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| Location | Al-Rashid Street, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Motive | Regime change |
| Target | Abdul-Karim Qasim |
| Perpetrator | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1 (including Qasim) |
| Part of a series on |
| Ba'athism |
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On October 7, 1959, Iraq’s Prime Minister Abdul-Karim Qasim, was ambushed in an attempted assassination. The ambush was organized by members of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, including Saddam Hussein, as part of broader efforts to remove Qasim due to his nationalist policies, which had alienated pan-Arabist movements and various opposition factions. The assassination attempt took place on Al-Rashid Street in Baghdad and resulted in Qasim sustaining non-fatal injuries. Although the plot failed, it had far-reaching consequences for Iraq’s political landscape.