Shortly after a suicide bombing in Baghdad’s eastern Shia-dominant, largely poverty-stricken neighborhood of Sadr City on July 19, speculation ran rife that the attack originated from a Sunni-majority town roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.
Concerns about the potential for rekindling sectarianism were raised. An Arabic hashtag that translated as “Tarmiya is blowing us up” placed blame on the Sunni-majority town and surrounding area north of Baghdad, rich in agriculture, orchards and dense vegetation.
