2011 Tikrit assault The 2011 Tikrit assault was an attack by Al - Qaeda in Iraq that took place in the city of Tikrit , Iraq , on the 29 March 2011 , while the war was still ongoing . Reuters news agency included the attack in its list of deadliest attacks in 2011 . The Al - Qaeda - linked group claimed responsibility for killing 65 people and wounding over 100 . At the time the United States Armed Forces were withdrawing . Tikrit was Saddam Hussein ' s birthplace . Description of Incident . On 29 March 2011 , gunmen from Al - Qaeda in Iraq wearing suicide belts hidden under military uniforms entered Tikrit , Iraq . The men presented themselves as Iraqi soldiers when they arrived at the security checkpoint . After being told they needed to be searched , they open fired on the guards . Around 1 p . m . , attackers blew up a car to create a diversion by the council headquarters . Following the car bombing , the gunmen proceeded to take control over the second floor of the Saladin provincial council ' s headquarters . The provincial council meets every Tuesday , but according to Ali Abdul Rihman , a spokesperson for the governor , the local politicians had ended the meeting early because there was little to cover on their agenda . Therefore many had already left the building . The gunmen did execute three councilmen , including Abdullah Jebara who was an outspoken critic of Al - Qaeda and terrorists , with shots to their heads and set fire to their bodies in front of the hostages . Insurgents were still carrying out attacks during the U . S . withdrawal and the transfer of powers to the Iraqis . As security reinforcements were arriving , another car bomb went off at the entrance of the council building . A five hour standoff ensued . Ahmed Abdullah , Salahuddin ' s governor , explained a fierce shootout between what he believed to be at least eight gunmen that had taken over the council building , hurling grenades at the Iraqi security forces that surrounded the building . Fifteen hostages were killed execution style during the captivity . The attack also killed two journalists , who were Sabah al - Bazi and Muammar Khadir Abdelwahad . Both journalists were covering a provincial council meeting . Iraqi Army forces together with US troops stormed the building , at which point the attackers blew up their explosives , which brought an end to the standoff . The bodies of six attackers were taken to the hospital where sources say the cause of death for two of the bodies had occurred from detonating their vest , while the other four deaths were the result of gun shot wounds . Several U . S . troops were said to have been wounded by a military spokespersonn . This incident killed 65 people and wounded 100 . Several days later Al - Qaeda in Iraq officially claimed credit for the attack . Casualties in journalism . Sabah al - Bazi . Sabah al - Bazi , 30 , died as a result of shrapnel from the bombing . He was assigned to cover a provincial council meeting that day . He worked for Al - Arabiya , CNN , Reuters and other international media as a freelance journalist . Al - Bazi was married and had three children . Muammar Khadir Abdelwahad . Muammar Khadir Abdelwahad , 39 , also died during the incident , but the cause of death is uncertain . He was a reporter for Al - Ayn news agency . According to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory , Ayn stated he was in contact with the agency while in the building and then was quoted saying , " We lost contact at the moment of the assault by the security forces . We later learned that he was dead . " Impact . The 29 March terrorist attack in Tikrit , Iraq was listed as one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq in 2011 . The attack resulted in 65 fatalities and 100 wounded . Among the many that lost their lives were government workers , security forces , and journalists Sabah al - Bazil and Muammar Khadir Abdelwahad . This event highlighted the fragility of the Iraqi security forces while U . S . forces were withdrawing